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twoidiotwriters1 · 1 year ago

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The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: The journey back home was exhausting BUT I'm okay now -Danny Words: 2,591 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Still' -by Kailee Morgue

IV: And I Said No, You Know, Like a Liar

"Leo," Annabeth tries for the tenth time. "Did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or—"

"No." Leo's pale and shaking. "The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."

"On purpose?" Frank stares at him like he's insane... and he might be.

"No!" The boy closes his eyes, trying to remember. "Well, yes... I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me—"

"A cold feeling," Annabeth echoes like she knows what that means.

"Yeah," Leo looks at her. "Why?"

"Annabeth," Percy calls from below deck. "We need you!"

Leo leans against the mast defeatedly, he got all of his friends hurt and he's just about ready to puke, which softens Annabeth's conduct.

"He'll be fine," she tells him, referring to Jason. "Frank, I'll be back. Just... watch Leo. Please. Ara, coming or staying?"

"I'll stay," she replies.

Once the others are gone, Ara speaks again.

"Look at me," she demands.

Leo's lip quivers and he closes his eyes. Ara reaches for his face, her fingertips are cold and they alleviate the pain in his temples. He doesn't look at her yet, too ashamed to face her.

"It's okay. You didn't hurt me."

"I tried to," he replies hoarsely. He can feel Ara absorbing his guilt with the empath touch, and he doesn't know how to stop it, so he pushes her hands away. "I don't—I would never—"

"I know," she brushes his curls back, trying to ease him. "I'm okay."

She can't shake off the feeling that this is her fault... that this is the curse manifesting at last. Maybe Leo short-circuited after he came into contact with the Romans, and the ancient part of his soul remembered something and tried to fix a past mistake.

Whatever the reason, Ara has to correct it before it gets worse. She turns to Frank. "Dragon boy. I saw you in my dreams, you looked after my brother. Thank you."

Frank doesn't know how to respond to that, so he points to the laurels that fell off her belt. "I think that's yours."

Ara glances at the crown, but she doesn't pick it up. "Yeah, leave it there, nothing will happen to it."

"Your name isn't Sammy?" Frank blurts out randomly, looking at Leo.

Leo snaps his eyes open just to glare at Frank. "What kind of question is that?"

"Nothing. I just—Nothing. About the firing on the camp... Octavian could be behind it, like magically or something. He didn't want the Romans getting along with you guys."

Ara appreciates Frank's willingness to believe them even though they're probably the most unnerving kids he'll ever meet, and even though his girlfriend spent most of the feast staring at another boy.

"Well, if Leo wasn't in control of himself," she stands up. "I'll find out who was, and I'll take care of it."

"Thank you... Strategus." Frank clears his throat.

She smiles. "Call me Ara."

"Hey," Leo speaks, still in a bad mood. "I should talk to Festus and get a damage report. You mind...?" He gestures at the rope.

Ara unties him and Frank helps him to his feet. "Who is Festus?"

"My friend. His name isn't Sammy either, in case you're wondering. Come on. I'll introduce you."

We're waiting for Nico in the arena. I'm using a real sword today, Mike won't join us so I seized the opportunity.

Nico shows up with a greenish face, dark circles have appeared under his eyes, and he isn't as lively as usual.

"What's wrong?" I check his temperature. "You okay?"

"I had a weird dream," he says weakly.

Lily and I share a look. Now that we know who his godly parent is, we suspect Nico's going to get some hints about it too. We can't allow that while his sister is away.

"I'm sorry. I must've made you nervous by telling you about my Iris message to Percy..."

I talked to my brother the other night—my mom was there too, but I don't wanna think about that part—and he said Bianca was okay, but I think telling Nico only worsened his anxiety.

He pushes my hand away from his face. "I'm fine! Let's train."

Lily gives me another look. Percy needs to bring Bianca back to camp, I don't know how to help Nico.

"The port aerial oars have to be fixed before we can go full speed again. We'll need some repair materials: Celestial bronze, tar, lime—"

"What do you need limes for?"

"Dude, lime," Leo gets a little impatient when others can't keep up with his thoughts. "Calcium carbonate, used in cement and a bunch of other— Ah, never mind. The point is, this ship isn't going far unless we can fix it."

Festus makes a couple of other noises and Leo nods.

"Oh... Hazel! That's the girl with the curly hair, right?"

"Is she okay?" Frank asks anxiously.

"Yeah, she's fine. According to Festus, her horse is racing along below. She's following us."

"We've got to land, then."

"She's your girlfriend?" Ara asks, noticing the lavender hue around him.

Frank takes a second to respond. "Yes."

"You don't sound sure," Leo teases him.

"Yes. Yes, definitely. I'm sure," he replies defensively.

Leo raised his hands. "Okay, fine. The problem is we can only manage one landing. The way the hull and the oars are, we won't be able to lift off again until we repair, so we'll have to make sure we land somewhere with all the right supplies."

"Where do you get Celestial bronze?" Frank asks. "You can't just stock up at Home Depot."

"Festus, do a scan."

"He can scan for magic bronze?" Frank wonders. "Is there anything he can't do?"

"You should've seen him when he had a body," Ara sighs.

The memory of a whole Festus seems to worsen Leo's already terrible state of mind. Percy and Annabeth come back on deck together, both looking stressed. Leo steps forward. "Is Jason—?"

"He's resting," Annabeth announces. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."

"Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?" Percy eyes him.

"Man, I—I don't understand how it happened," Leo stammers. "I'm so sorry—"

"Sorry?" He steps closer menacingly.

"Percy, really, don't start," Ara warns him.

"Don't start?" The boy repeats aghast. "He started it!"

Annabeth places a hand on his chest and pulls him back. "We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

Festus talks again, and Leo sighs in relief. "Perfect."

"What's perfect?" Annabeth asks. "I could use some perfect about now."

"Everything we need in one place," Leo declares. "Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."

Frank obliges quickly, and then Percy moves forward.

"Ara, can we talk?" He asks, glaring at Leo.

Ara's not in the mood to deal with her brother. "Later. I have to patch up Leo."

"I'm okay—"

"You're not," Ara shuts him up. "Sit down and let me do my job."

Leo fixes his gaze on the controls, embarrassed and miserable. Ara turns to Annabeth and looks at her with pleading eyes. "I got this, you can go."

"C'mon," Annabeth pulls Percy back. "I'll show you where your cabin is."

It's the two girls versus him, and he's never been able to win those battles. When the couple leaves, Ara turns back to Leo going back to her gentle tone.

"Hey—"

"Don't patronize me," he leans on the control board, eyes fixed on the monitor. "Please. You told me once that pity parties are good for nothing. Don't throw one now."

"Alright," Ara replies with a strong voice. "I've got a bruised rib, my brother doesn't like you, and you're a war criminal in New Rome. But..." She tries to reach for his hand, and when Leo doesn't move away, she holds it firmly. "You sound so smart when you ramble about construction materials—it's kinda hot, honestly."

Leo sighs heavily, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "You think that'd make me feel better, but..."

Ara clicks her tongue. "You were being used, Leo. And I've got proof," she grabs his face and forces him to look at her. "You called me Arae before leaving and I hated it."

He blinks and frowns. "So what? You don't like your name, that's not new."

"Ever since we met you call me Doll, Sunshine, Cielo—or Corazón when you're feeling extra cheesy," she teases him. "You only call me Arae when it's the two of us and we're being serious, but when you did it then... it felt like a stranger was talking to me."

Ara steps back, feeling a little crazy.

"It sounds stupid, but you pronounce it in a very specific way. Whoever talked to me, wasn't you."

Leo glances at the panel and radars on the control board, but he's thinking of how she called him Leónidas while trying to make him snap out of his trance, and how she almost succeeded because it feels different when she says it.

"Your brother should stay mad at me anyway, if it hadn't been for him—"

"Don't even," Ara rolls her eyes. "You know I can kick your ass any time."

"But it wasn't me!" Leo reminds her with frustration. "How are you not angry? I ruined everything! Even the ship we broke our backs building for six months!"

She can't tell him that she's not mad because she's sure this is the curse's fault, that's only going to make him spiral into a whole new crisis. Besides, she is angry, but mostly at herself, so she can't correct him unless she wants to get lectured.

"Big prophecies are never easy..." She squeezes his shoulders. "You wanna sulk for the rest of the day? Be my guest, but let's fix the ship while you're at it."

Leo shakes his head, tilts his head to the side, and plants a soft kiss on her knuckles. "Alright. I can do that."

"Cool. Now sit down and let me heal your head," Ara lightly runs her fingers through his curls. "We can be miserable together after I'm done with this."

"Fun date ideas," he replies, the tiniest smile on his face.

Leo manages to land the ship on the water. He's still not talking much, but Ara knows he'll need time to feel like himself again. As they approach the stairs, they hear hooves behind them and they turn, finding Hazel and her horse on deck.

"How—?" Leo stumbles back. "We're in the middle of a lake! Can that thing fly?"

"Arion can't fly," Hazel explains over the loud whines of the horse. "But he can run across just about anything. Water, vertical surfaces, small mountains—none of that bothers him."

"Oh."

Ara notices the way Hazel keeps looking at Leo, and whatever it is that has her so fascinated, it's starting to get annoying.

"General," Coach Hedge shows up with his bat. She'd almost forgotten he was on the ship with them. "Does this count as an invasion?"

"No!" Leo and Ara say at the same time.

"Um, Hazel," Leo says awkwardly, "you'd better come with us. I built a stable belowdecks, if Arion wants to—"

"He's more of a free spirit." The girl says, diving off the animal's back. "He'll graze around the lake until I call him. But I want to see the ship. Lead the way."

Ara and Leo guide her downstairs, but more than awkward, it's unsettling. Hazel is glowing lavender, and Ara isn't a jealous girl, or at least she doesn't think she is, but no one has paid attention to Leo like this before, and she's having trouble tolerating it.

They walk past Jason's cabin, where Piper is looking after him, and then they reach the mess hall where the rest of the crew is.

"So we've landed," Percy says, staring at one of the screens showing Camp Half-blood. "What now?"

"Figure out the prophecy?" Frank suggests.

"Which one?" Ara says sarcastically.

"I mean... that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"

"The what?" Leo asks.

Frank explains that Ella spat out a prophecy from an old collection of books. Ara's secretly glad the harpy didn't notice her, she doesn't want to hear her prophecy again, let alone recited by a crazy harpy.

"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guesses. "You didn't want them to get hold of her."

"Ella's sensitive," Percy scowls at the Camp Half-blood scenery. "She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want... It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

"Let me think about the prophecy," Annabeth leans on the table. "Right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?"

"The easiest thing is tar," Leo starts right away. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."

"We'll have to hurry," Hazel says. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."

Leo makes a face. "Guys... I don't know what happened. Honestly, I—"

"We've been talking," Annabeth interrupts him. "We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned... I felt it too. It must have been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened—"

"How can we be sure it won't happen again?" Frank inquires.

"I'm fine now," Leo assures him. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."

"Split up?" Percy frowns. "That sounds like a really bad idea."

Ara crosses her arms, challenging her brother. "I'll go with Leo. If anything happens to him, I can take care of it."

Percy's eyes flash with annoyance. "Ara—"

"It'll be quicker," Hazel intervenes, smartly guessing an argument between Ara and Percy isn't quick to put out. "Besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited, right?"

"You're right," Annabeth agrees. "The same reason we needed the Argo II... outside camp, eight demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three or four. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."

Percy glares at Ara sending a clear message. This isn't over. He turns and holds Annabeth's hand. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good."

"Oh, that's easy," Hazel smiles. "Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth and Percy into town for the tar?"

"I...I suppose," he hesitates. "But what about you?"

"I'll ride Arion with Sa—with Leo and Ara," she quickly corrects herself. Ara remembers Frank called Leo "Sammy". Is that some old friend of theirs? "We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark."

Frank doesn't look happy about this arrangement, and neither is Ara, but maybe she absorbed a bit too much of Leo's disheartenment.

"Guys, if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?" Annabeth continues.

"With luck, just a few hours."

"Fine," the blonde girl gets up. "We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."

"I don't need luck, Annabeth," Ara seizes Almighty and stares at the symbols on it, the needle is completely still. "Just a deadline."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus

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hypnotisedfireflies · 2 years ago

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Hi. I’ve loved the world you’ve created with the Driftverse. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’m just wondering, if you could give more insight of Tess’ feelings for Nico.

For so much of Dawn, she worked so hard to keep him out of her mind. In contrast, I felt she was at peace with Mike being gone. She said her goodbyes. I feel part of her blames Mike and will never forgive him for not saving Nico, but she can talk about him with Joel. I feel that even in current time Driftverse, Nico’s still a taboo. I don’t feel Tess willingly would recall a memory of her son. It may be triggered by an event, but otherwise I feel his still hidden.

Sorry for the ramblings. But, if you could share more insight. It would be welcomed :)

Hi Anon! Thank you for your ask and for your lovely thoughts, I really do appreciate that people are enjoying it. :) Your ramblings are most welcome and I will try to answer without chasing 1000+ words this time! (Spoiler alert: I fail.)

I should preface this by saying that I deliberately set out to make Tess a complicated mother. Not a bad mother, but a complicated one. Motherhood is a spectrum like everything else. I thought it would add an interesting layer to Tess’s story if not only had she also been a parent, but if her relationship to that role was very different to Joel’s. He was very comfortable being a father, he was the proud and primary carer for his daughter, he probably felt like this was the thing he was best at and loved every minute of it. My Tess was not comfortable being a mother and felt that she was pretty bad at it.

But that doesn’t mean she didn’t love her child. Tess really did fucking love Nico, she just related to that role as parent with some difficulty. It didn’t come naturally to her and she had been in so much physical pain from conception through to the birth, when she hemorrhaged and nearly died. So for Tess, it was a fraught, traumatic thing … but having those complicated emotions doesn’t mean you don’t love and cherish your child.

She had also not really wanted children – which was kind of a problem since she married Mike knowing he came from a big family, and he did want kids. I think they probably never talked about that with the gravity it deserved.

“…even before he was born, I knew I didn’t want any more. And I also knew,” she laughed bitterly, “That that would probably be a problem. I was prepared to die on that hill. Turned out I didn’t have to.”

and:

“It didn’t come easy to me. Being a mother. I actually didn’t even want kids. Just thought I should. That’s what you do, right? You get married and you have kids.”

Mike probably thought she would change her mind (because all women want kids, right..?) and Tess … well, she didn’t necessarily believe that marriages had to last forever and for her, this was a sensible decision because they loved one another and they could pool resources. It didn’t mean she didn’t love Mike – she did – but she was a realist, not a romantic:

She had entered into her marriage loving Mike, but she hadn’t been very invested in the death-do-us-part bit. She had said something to him about that once, something that Mike judged too nihilistic and felt very hurt about. Tess hadn’t meant to hurt him. She had only meant that, well, life happened.

And then over on the other side of things you had Mike who wanted a big family so badly that he took it very hard when Tess couldn’t have more children:

“Mike didn’t take it too good. I really hated him for that.” Tess had never admitted that to anyone. “I really hated him for being so … completely destroyed by … wasn’t it enough? We had Nick, I was fine. It should have been enough.”

I don’t think they would have stayed together had Nico not been born, and I don’t think they would have stayed together had Cordyceps not happened – for both their opposed opinions on family (I’m sure Mike would’ve wanted to explore other options to expand their unit) and on other things, too.

I mean, Tess even gave him carte blanche on naming the kid, probably because she was trying to deal with the fact that she was pregnant and that was one detail she didn’t need to worry about:

“Nico. But he got called Nick all the time. Family name on Mike’s side. Not my first choice, but,” shrug.

Absolutely no one within Tess’s circle at that time even knew she was Actually Not Okay with all of this because she was so good at keeping her hand hidden. Mike was supposed to be able to see her – and he could, to a point – but he was definitely projecting and unable to really see how much Tess was blindsided by this. Even Rachel missed the point, because Tess told Tommy in Sioux Falls during The Knight of Cups:

“I was pregnant when I got married and I didn’t even know it,” Tess admitted.

Tommy groaned. “Oh, shit. No way!”

“Yeah. Uh huh. I was so mad. I was so mad.”

But Rachel tells Joel in Indy during Spite:

“Did you know she was actually pregnant when they got married?”

“No.”

“Neither did she. It all happened pretty fast. But she was really happy, you know? She was so excited.”

I mean I could talk about Tess’s self-isolation here and guardedness but I’m trying very hard to stay on topic, lol.

So Tess had all this going on in her head: her distance from everyone close to her, the love there but meaning something different to herself and her husband, and a baby who she loved but was something of a struggle for her. The Outbreak happens and Mike is holding Nico when they’re attacked and the latter is killed. All the things she went through – nine months pregnancy, terrible birth, confusion thereafter – and all Mike had to do was protect him while she killed the crazy person trying to eat them and he couldn’t even do that. So yes, anon – you’re right. She can’t forgive him (though she is able to let him go on one level) and staying angry about that failure is a powerful enough barrier to be able to forget Nico – because she wants to forget.

Okay. So that’s the past, where is Tess now with Nico? I had to ramble a bit in order to answer this properly! :D

Joel lets Tess forget Nico, the same way she lets him remember Sarah. Their whole MO is keeping one another alive and however they want to do that – then that’s fine, they’ll support each other. But Joel also values the importance of giving her the space to explore it when she needs to, as long as she doesn’t exploit it – like she tries to early on to change the subject:

“Don’t give up anything about him unless you are 100 percent ready. You keep it in here,” he pressed on her heart, gripping the front of her shirt, “until you are sure.” He was giving her something. This wasn’t advice. This was a piece of himself, a key to his survival. “Nothing else matters.”

Joel learned a lot more about Tess right then than just a few details about her son…

They’re able to share their full stories in Indy and years later in Lincoln (2016?) Tess starts to talk about Nico in a more healthy way when she sees Bill’s sugar bowl and her relationship to the past begins to change:

This was more than she had ever said to Joel about Nico. It was more than she had said about Nico in twelve years. The pain was still there, engrained in her heart and soul, but she didn’t want to forget anymore … Joel didn’t care that he hadn’t heard any of this from her first. He was, Tess realised, just glad for her that she had been able to say anything at all.

But it will still never come easily to her. You’re right, anon, when you say that she wouldn’t willingly recall a memory and that it is somewhat taboo. I think she would be able to talk about him if she is the one to initiate the conversation like she does in Lincoln, when she has the control and is in the right place mental place to be able to do so. Joel, very aware of that, would never just bring Nico up without warning, but I do think they would sometimes be able to just talk about their kids like they do a bit in Dusk, and it would be okay.

It think by Dusk she has successfully disconnected from that part of her past, whether she still wants it to be that way or not:

“I don’t actually remember what he looks like. Not at all. He’s been gone for a few years like that. I guess I finally got my wish.”

Thank you for such a thoughtful ask; it’s fascinating to me to know what hits with readers or what people would like to know more about, and it’s also a really nice exercise for me to get things that are just rolling around in my head on to paper, because so much of it is just doesn’t make it into the story.

#driftersverse #tlou fanfic #asks #tlou fanfiction

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much-obliged-timothy · 2 years ago

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Whumptober #7

Devil May Cry - #7 - Shaking Hands

The attack had been sudden.

Nero, Dante, Vergil, Nico, and Kyrie had been heading back towards the van after stopping for food. It was Kyrie who had called and asked them to meet up, happy because a neighbor had gifted her coupons for a local food place. It was so rare that she and Nero had the money to treat others out.

They’d enjoyed a meal together before knowing they needed to get back to work. Kyrie was walking them to the van, she and Nico lagging just a little behind the boys as they shared the last of the dessert they’d brought in a take-out container.

And then the demon had struck, so sudden and fast that Nero, Vergil, and Dante were flung off their feet. They hit the pavement hard, springing back up just in time to see the demon rushing at Kyrie, a sharp claw extended as it aimed to tear her throat out.

Nero had never moved so fast in his life. Vergil caught the demon by its wing just as Nero drove a blade into it and knocked it off course.

It hit the ground, thrashing wildly and catching Nero in the face. He ignored the burning pain and slashed into it with wild fury, not stopping even when the damn beast was clearly dead.

“Nero!”

Vergil yanked him away, catching his wrist to still his swings. Nero was breathing heavily, murderous gaze locked on the dead creature.

“Jeez, kid, it’s dead,” Dante said, but his voice was oddly soft instead of his usual teasing.

“Nero,” Kyrie said, sounding afraid.

His head whipped around, but her concern was so clearly for him instead of herself that he nearly dropped his sword. She stepped forward, gently touching his cheek.

“Oh, Nero,” she whispered. “Are you alright? Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Your face-”

“Go, Kyrie. Nico, take her home.” Nero tightened his hold on his sword. “There could be more around. I’ll be fine, Kyrie.”

Nico urged Kyrie away. Kyrie stopped, looking between the twins. Dante nodded at her, and only then did she leave.

“Let’s get your face cleaned up,” Dante said. “Can’t believe the bastard had to go for your face. As if looking like your dad wasn’t bad enough.”

“We’re identical twins, you idiot,” Vergil said. “Nero, snap out of it. There are no others around. They would’ve attacked already.”

“Go get his face taken care of. I’ll do a lap around the block just to be sure,” Dante said.

Vergil shoved Nero roughly until he got moving on his own. The two found a bathroom and went inside, Vergil grabbing paper towels and handing them to Nero.

“Clean yourself up,” he said, leaning against the wall.

Nero looked at his face in the mirror. He had long, deep gashes across his face from the creature’s claws. He would heal soon enough from the wounds.

But Kyrie. God, it would’ve torn out her throat if he’d been too slow.

“Nero,” Vergil said sharply.

Nero realized his hands were shaking so badly that he’d lost hold of half the paper towels. He couldn’t drag his gaze away from the mirror, though. Those deep gashes would’ve been in her throat. She would be dead, after they’d just spent a happy, normal afternoon together.

“Nero, will you get over it?” Vergil said. “Nothing happened.”

“Fuck you,” Nero exploded, slamming his fist into the wall hard enough to damage it. His fist trembled against it. “I almost lost her! Do you have any idea what that would’ve done to me?!”

“Yes,” Vergil said, his voice so sharp that Nero felt as though he’d been slapped. “You saved her. I was not so fortunate when my loved ones were attacked.”

Nero put his face in his hands. “I can’t stop- I almost lost her. If I hadn’t been fast enough they would’ve…Just like Credo. Fuck. Fuck!”

“Stop,” Vergil said firmly. “She is fine.”

Nero slowly looked at Vergil. “You helped me save her. You caught its wing. You slowed it.”

Vergil stiffened. “I’ve worked hard to hone my speed.”

“Thank you, Vergil,” he said quietly. “I…I am sorry, about your mom. About what happened to you as a kid. I know I call you a prick a lot. With the way you and Dante act, sometimes I just forget what you went through. I only made it through losing Credo because of Kyrie. I can’t imagine going through that loss alone.”

Vergil seemed almost embarrassed now. “Enough. Clean your face and let’s go.”

Nero nearly smiled at big, bad Vergil being so thoroughly defeated by the thought of expressing emotions. His hands still shook and he looked down at them.

They shook now, but they’d been steady when it mattered.

Nero struggled to clean his face, blaming delayed adrenaline as the rest of his body trembled alongside his hands. When he’d finished, he headed for the door, stopping as he passed by Vergil.

“There is no one and nothing in the world more important to me than her, and you helped me protect her today. Maybe you’re really not as much of a prick as I thought,” he said.

It was worth it, both to get the thanks through Vergil’s thick skull and to see him squirm uncomfortably at sincerity.

#whumptober2022 #no.7 #shaking hands #devil may cry #fic writing #Nero Sparda #Vergil Sparda #Dante Sparda #dmc nero #dmc vergil #dmc dante #dmc kyrie #jtdoeswhumptober

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the-ghost-king · 4 years ago

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About the cupid scene, Nico was forced to come out, but its also made very clear that Cupid is the bad guy. So is Aphrodite to an extent. They have a twisted and fundamental misunderstanding of love and how it works for mortals. I get that people could be mad about how Nico was forced to come out and putting him through more emotional trauma, but I also think its very realistic in showing how callous and cruel the gods understanding of love is.

I am reminded of the quote by Madeline Miller, "There is no law that gods must be fair..."

I also understand why the scene might be traumatic for other young LGBTQ+ readers, I've seen a lot of people talk about the fear of being outed in regards to them reading that scene as a kid. I completely respect their feelings on that, and I understand that as well. However, as someone who had been forcibly outed once before reading that scene, that scene really helped heal me. I don't think the Cupid scene is inherently homophobic, and I'm often bothered by the lack of nuance regarding around how it's handled.

I recognize it's a very emotional scene, and that people may have a hard time fully separating their emotions from that scene, but at the same time if there's a group of people saying "hey I understand why you disliked this scene but it was really helpful to me as a child because of the different experiences I had" maybe slow the breaks and hear what others also in the community have to say before determining if the scene is homophobic. You don't have to like the scene, and yeah maybe the scene did hurt you but that doesn't make it homophobic.

I want to specify on my word choice there a little closer, because of course outing someone is an act of homophobia, and the scene is homophobic in that sense. However often times the conversation about homophobia in this scene goes to "Rick was homophobic for writing this" where personally I would say this scene toes the line at being too far without ever crossing it. Some people may think this depiction crosses the line into "Rick was homophobic for writing this" which is fine, but just because something depicted homophobia and hurt you doesn't mean it was homophobic. Something doesn't have to out rightly be stated to be bad, in order to be read as bad*, and the Cupid scene does a wonderful job of depicting this.

I talk here about how Nico is shown what love is, and how love is treated by Nico, and how it affects his character. I think it's important to note that Nico's entire storyline can essentially be encompassed in an Orpheus-like or Odyssey-like tale. Nico's undergone this huge emotional and physical labor all in the name of having some form of unconditional love. I think that post is a really important read in the context of this one because I very carefully outline how love shapes Nico and how Nico shape and chooses his own definition of love, but I want to specifically dig into the Cupid scene on this post.

The big criticism often seen is "it's homophobic" which I covered above, and I want to clarify I'm not upset with or mad at or trying to tell anyone they can't dislike it or even say you can't say it's homophobic (my words on my one post are a bit off I'll admit) but the problem I have is when people believe they hold a moral high ground for thinking it's homophobic, or they remove all nuance from the discussion with "it's homophobic". Which is frustrating and annoying because it's a very complex scene, and it really changes Nico's arc and personality and it does help characterize him.

The big reason it shapes him so much is because of the other largest reason the scene is criticized, Cupid's behavior. What often fails to be recognized in those scenes is that Cupid is intentionally painted as the villain, this is very important to the scene.

In the context of this scene Nico makes an unspoken choice, a choice of "what is love to me?". I talk about how Nico claims his narrative in BoTL when he overcomes Minos, and he partially peaks that arc by convincing Gods to join the final battle of TLO. Following that arc however, Nico falls into his second arc, his crush on Percy was important in PJO, but not as important as it is in HoO.

By HoO Nico's entire character revolves around Percy, how to help Percy, how to aid Percy, etc. All of this has to do with Nico's crush on Percy, but also as an act of repayment because Nico hurt Percy- Nico lied to him about knowing him at New Rome in SoN, and he goes to Tartarus shortly after... This mirrors what Percy did after Hades tricked Nico... Percy choked Nico because he was upset with him, so Nico tried to win back Percy's affection by bathing him in the river.

The Cupid Scene is the resolution of Nico's arc, he is essentially given a choice- Cupid or Jason?

For this reason, we do see Nico recognize love for what it has been vs how it could be.

Cupid is there to represent what love is, to Nico love is brutal, and painful, and a lot of hard work... Nico has made himself utilitarian in love simply because it is the only way he can find any affection. Love to Nico is about flaying yourself for the benefit of others, to trample any and all parts of yourself simply to appease those you care for, because you want them to love you so much as you love them. The parallels I could draw between Nico and Orpheus, or Nico and Odysseus... I'd be here a long while...

In that scene Jason represents the alternative form of love which Nico chooses after his interaction with Cupid.

Jason says during the scene that he "preferred Piper's idea of love" which has to do with kindness and caring, etc, and then Jason becomes the embodiment of that idea during the scene- which showcases the alternative of what love can be, thus making Jason a personification of love in the context of that scene.

Jason looks to Nico, he doesn't ask for more, he simply looks to Nico with understanding and acknowledges him for who he is, and he does the exact opposite of what Nico expects:

Jason loves Nico where he is, without conditions, without forcing Nico to become something more. Jason didn’t force Nico to say more than what was necessary for him to understand, Jason looked at Nico and he called Nico brave.

Cupid is a more volatile form of love than Aphrodite, Cupid shoots arrows that makes people animals, that can make a god grow insane, but Aphrodite's form of love is about acceptance and humanity (think to how she picked Ares over Hephaestus even if it was perhaps "wrong")- both are about truth but one is about force and the other about acceptance.

When Nico walks out of there, he makes his choice- he is forced to come out yes, Cupid is wrong for doing this, but Jason again stays a figure of love in Nico's life. Jason basically says, "Good job, I know that was hard, thank you for sharing and let me know if you need anything, people will care about you and understand you," again and again and again to Nico, he doesn't tell Nico he has to come out, and he agrees to keep it between them for now. Jason is love as acceptance, Jason is the first person who unconditionally loves Nico, and that's the choice.

Will Nico accept unconditional love? If the answer is no, then Cupid wins and Nico is denying himself. If the answer is yes, then Jason and Nico win, and Nico no longer needs to make himself utilitarian in love in order to be loved.

The choice is made with Reyna and Hedge, most specifically Reyna.

When he accidentally comes out to them, and they accept him without making a big deal of it, without show, just that acknowledgement and "thank you for sharing" and Nico accepts their words and friendship still- Nico made his choice then to accept the love he was being freely given.

“He carried so much sadness and loneliness, so much heartache. Yet he put his mission first. He persevered. Reyna respected that. She understood that. She'd never been a touchy-feely person, but she had the strangest desire to drape her cloak over Nico's shoulders and tuck him in. She mentally chided herself. He was a comrade, not her little brother. He wouldn't appreciate the gesture.”

This is where we see the slow and steady, and healthy, end to Nico's arc in regards to love really grow into itself, and he begins to heal. He no longer sees such an intense need to make himself utilitarian for love, and he begins to heal from his internalized homophobia too.

(Internalized homophobia discussions with Nico also bother me too often times, people too often assume you can't date while struggling with internalized homophobia or at least very heavy handedly imply that which is just not true... You may have some issues in your relationship, but you can work through the internalized homophobia while building a new relationship and be just fine. Also to assume someone has an unhealthy relationship because of internalized homophobia is weird and lowkey reinforces the idea that "broken" people don't need love, but also does a huge disservice to so many LGBTQ+ people who are happily married/themselves but still struggle with these feelings, and to see a healthy relationship depiction despite someone in that relationship struggling with internalized homophobia is fine and good actually. As long as the individual can recognize what they're dealing with, and work through it in a healthy and constructive manner, then there's nothing wrong there...)

When I started this post to be honest I thought I would have a lot more to say, it's a scene that touched and changed me so deeply as a person, and beyond that in a more objective experience it completely changes Nico's character, by turning his arc around and beginning his healing process. To be honest, there probably is more to be said on it, I just haven't found the words yet... I know parts of this post are clunky and in a year I'm going to read this and see all the places it could be better but for now I'm content with it.

Whether or not someone considers the scene homophobic is a subjective experience, but I think this is a very well written scene purely for the characterization and symbolism, intentional or otherwise. I don't really care that much to debate if it's truly a homophobic scene or not, I can see both why people say it is and why people say it isn't and that can be culminated into "people have different needs" and "minorities aren't a monolith". Personally my much larger complaint is the complete lack of nuance and insight scenes like this are handled with, not the matter of personal opinion an individual reaches on the scene.

*the post uses the word "adult audience" and yes, fair point, children should not be able to decipher symbolism to the extent adults can. But older children and young teens, which the RRverse series are sold for, is when critical thinking skills and media analysis do begin to become parts of classroom curriculum. The scene does an excellent job of not outright stating Cupid is evil, but of depicting that in a very clear cut way.

#nevermind i lied here you go #nico di angelo #meta #long post #anon #ask #internalized homophobia #fandom homophobia

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thebigqueer · 4 years ago

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Ok, here we go. Dark!Bianca idea. Shortly after the events in the desert, a severely injured Bianca is found by agents of the Titans who were shadowing the quest party off-page. She is brought back to Titan HQ and is convinced to join their crusade against the gods while her friends and family think she's dead. Jump ahead to BotL, instead of Kelli the Empousa, it is a mysterious masked assassin who attacks Percy and Rachel at Goode. The events mostly play out unchanged until Geryon's (1/8)

ranch, where instead of Bianca, it is the ghost of Maria di Angelo who is revealed to be sending Iris messages to Percy about Nico, while also strongly hinting that Bianca's still alive. Jump ahead to Mt St. Helens, Percy fights the assassin again, and during his stint on Ogygia, Percy begins to put two and two together after the assassin demonstrated skills similar to the Hunters. At Antaeus' Arena, the assassin is finally unmasked to reveal a still-alive but scarred Bianca, replacing (2/8)

Ethan Nakamura as the demigod enforcer. Percy is convinced that Bianca is being mind-controlled and goes to Mt Tam to rescue her as well as stop Kronos. However, when he confronts her, Bianca reveals that she's operating of her own free will, feeling vengeful against the gods for robbing her of her life and having pledged her loyalty to her new Titan master. Kronos intends to make Bianca the prophesy kid, promising her the free will she craves so badly as well as promising not to hurt (3/8)

Nico. Going into the Last Olympian, Percy and Nico are both determined to convince Bianca that she's making a mistake, and this time Nico's duplicity is not to simply learn about his mother but to try and summon her spirit to get through to Bianca. At the same time, Kronos gradually starts treating Bianca as less of an ally and more of a tool, and the Titans' actions cause her to have doubts even though she dosen't know what else to do. It all comes to a head in the final battle.(4/8)

Nico returns from the Underworld by himself early, giving Hades an ultimatum to come and fight or hide. Just before the final attack, Kronos sends Bianca to infiltrate Olympus to disable the magic defenses, but Nico arrives to intercept her and make one last bid to save her. They fight, with both begging the other to stand down even as they slug it out. Finally, just as Percy arrives to chase Kronos, the battered siblings' duel ends when Nico gives another ultimatum. He throws down his (5/8)

sword and gives Bianca, now reduced to fear and frustration-induced tears, the choice between perusing her grudge and allowing herself to continue being Kronos’s slave or doing the right thing. Finally able to make a legitimate choice of her own, Bianca chooses to turn her back on the Titans. She still ends up wounded, but unlike Ethan in canon, Nico manages to save his sister while Percy and Kronos have their final battle. After everything ends, Percy petitions for Bianca’s pardon along (6/8)

with the rest of his list, though Bianca turns it down, realizing the harm she almost caused to the person she loved more than anybody else. She is given a reduced sentence in service to her father, and though she does not properly forgive any of the gods that hurt her, she does recognize that the spite and anger she felt would only lead to more death. Nico gets to visit her occasionally, and she starts a road to redemption that Luke never got the chance to take. In HoO, Bianca is (7/8)

more of a background character, but it is she that finds Hazel in Asphodel and alerts Nico to her. Overall, dark!Bianca is an anti-villain who’s affiliation with Kronos is clearly drawn from her pain and grief over the gods’ interference in her life, but her saving grace is her brother. Nico manages to pull her out of the darkness and save her from becoming the same monster Luke became. What do you think? (bear in mind, this is my rough draft) (8/8)

Okay, WOW. Anon, I am actually going to start a petition to make you the new Percy Jackson author because that was such an interesting plot to read.

First of all, I love that you replaced Bianca with Ethan. As interesting as he was in the series, and as much as I loved his character, after reading through your rough draft, I feel like Bianca would have been a much better character to use throughout PJO. Her arc could have been expanded upon and completed thoroughly, and it could have made a lot of sense. Ethan felt more like a representation of "demigods turned to the other side," which I get is the point, but I loved the way you used Bianca because with your plot, her character could have been used so well to properly show how easily the Titan army manipulated kids.

Furthermore, I feel like your plot with Bianca could have been a much better way to use her character throughout the series. From my interpretation, in canon she seemed more like a stand-in tool just to enhance Nico's own character arc and his motives, but your plot for her would have actually given her some kind of foundation and an actual arc for her to go through. You've given her such an interesting character and I think it really provides more justice to what she could have been.

I also love the way that not only did you give her a better arc, but you also enhanced Nico's own arc and the plot, too. Her death in the books seemed more symbolic to him and a turning point in his character, but with her character in your AU, it's both important to Nico and Bianca. You've given her an actual character, and you've set up such an interesting conflict between Nico and Bianca.

Additionally, I love the divide you've created between them. I think that - based on what we know about her in the books - as much as she loves her brother, Bianca also feels very limited with him because of how she's been forced to grow up and be his savior. She understands that he's only a child, though, which I think could also play into her own hatred for the gods - they've not only destroyed her family, but now they're forcing her to take the role of an adult when she's a mere child, too? She was never angry at Nico - she was only ever mad with the gods.

Maybe that's something that Nico also feels bad about, and maybe he tells her about it when they're standing each other down. Maybe she lets him know that she never hated him or felt that he was bringing her down.

Also, I want to add that I adore the way you put them on opposite sides. It sets up such an interesting dynamic to their relationship because here you have two people who love each other so much, but they're on two different sides of a large war. They're both too stubborn to go onto each other's sides, and Nico knows Bianca's only going to get herself into more danger. I just love the potential that has for both of their characters.

I know Percy had a large fear about Nico being another kid to join Kronos' army, so I bet Bianca being on his team would have left Percy incredibly terrified for Nico, too, because he knew how much Nico loved Bianca. Would he have been nervous for Nico's ability to change his mind? Nico knows he'd never join Kronos, but would Percy have known?

And, knowing that Bianca's now on the Kronos side, how would Percy react? Because he felt pretty guilty about her death in TTC, right? Would he feel guilty that she's on the other side now, too? Would he try to reason with her, only to push her further away? I'd love to see how Percy would deal with knowing that Bianca - an important child of the Big Three - would react to her being there. He was already nervous about Nico joining sides, but having Bianca there would have really scared him.

And the part about Bianca finding Hazel instead of Nico? That was mind-blowing. I love everything about that situation because now that introduces Hazel into the narrative of Nico and Bianca's story. My question for you would be how does Hazel's character change now? How does she fit in with Nico and Bianca? Because in Heroes of Olympus she's clearly very insecure about her relationship with Nico and how he views her, but if she actually knew Bianca, how would she feel? Would she feel more left out (knowing that Bianca and Nico have known each other much longer and have a stronger connection with each other)? Would she be distrustful? And how would the three of them adapt to this additional family member? I have high hopes that by the end they would all love each other very much, but I'm just really curious into how Hazel's addition would influence the dynamic of all three.

And, essentially, it all ends into a somewhat win-win situation. Bianca's still living; Nico's got two new sisters; Hazel now has a new family.

I think this is such an interesting concept, and I'd love to read it. If you ever post it anywhere, please do share the link! This was such an intriguing plot to go through and, again, I think this could have been a much better use of Bianca's character.

Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

#WOW #I seriously wish you had a Tumblr because I just know you would post the most interesting takes #anon tag #asks #pjo meta #nico di angelo #bianca di angelo #hazel levesque #rick riordan #riordanverse #nico di angelo headcanon #bianca di angelo headcanon #hazel levesque headcanon #riordanverse headcanon #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #hoo

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thecatprince · 4 years ago

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How to say I love you without ever saying it at all

Read on AO3

Summary: I love you. Virgil has always struggled with saying those words. Roman has been hurt by them one too many times. However some things don't need to expressed through words.

Pairings: Prinxiety

Warnings: Slight Janus and Patton negativity (Janus moreso than Patton), roman is very angsty, i think that is about it!

Authors Notes: Another Post-POF/FWSA Prinxiety fic? You’d better believe it! (This is the only thing I know how to write now aalhdjhakfjadhf) This is a little different from my usual style of writing, so I hpe you enjoy! If you like this fic then please leave a comment or reblog as that makes my day!

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I love you.

Virgil had always struggled with saying those words. Something about the weight of them and what they meant and implied, felt too much and tended to cause him anxiety. He opted to show his feelings instead, showing his love and care through actions, doing and saying other things that help to convey his emotions towards others.

I love you, he said as he hung out with Patton, talking about feelings and eating cookies. I love you, he said as he listened to Logan talk about the latest book he had read. I love you, he said as he sat with Roman, allowing the creative side to do his makeup and paint his nails, talking about Disney and swapping nicknames as they did so. He never said any of those things out loud, but he always felt it, and he knew they knew.

I love you. Roman hated those words. He had once loved them, the way they sounded, the way it provided a sense of warmth, the weight of them and how they could easily express want, comfort, support, friendship and, well, love. That was, until those words had been weaponised.

“Oh Roman, you know I love you.”

Those words were cold, slippery, smooth and hurtful. Roman knew love, one of his functions was literally romantic love, and this wasn’t it. No one who loved someone would hurt them this way, poke at their insecurities, build them up just to knock them down, use them and then leave them in the dust. To Roman, those words coming from his mouth sounding meaningless. Cold. Fake. Sharp. Those words hurt.

Roman desperately wanted to believe Patton when he said he loved him. He wanted to run into Patton’s arms, have Patton hold him while he cried, comfort him with cookies and a smile. But Patton had stood by. He had let this happen. He had moved forward, understood everything quicker than Roman, had hurt Roman and then left him behind. He wanted to believe Patton loved him, but he didn’t even say anything while Janus stood there and tore him down.

“We love you kiddo.”

“You know I love you.”

Those words, used again and again, with no real proof of any actual meaning. Roman wanted to believe them, believe that they loved him and that he was loveable, but when he heard those words all he could think about was how much they had hurt him.

Roman had sunk out and had barely made it to his room before he broke down, shaking as sobs wracked his body, feeling weak, fragile and broken. He had felt useless, worthless, wrong and hurt. He had felt more alone than ever, used, broken and left behind by everyone who had said they had loved him.

Except for Virgil.

Virgil and Roman had never really gotten along in the past, often at each other’s throats, there desires conflicting in almost every scenario. But, slowly and gradually, they grew closer. It started small, talking about neutral topics like Disney or favourite foods, teasing each other in a friendly manner, and then slowly talking about bigger issues, what they wanted, their goals in life. They started to hang out, spend hours doing each other’s makeup and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas so much they could recite it by heart. And in the midst of the chaos, the pain and the insecurity Roman was feeling, Virgil came and helped him.

Virgil had seen the signs. The way Roman put up a wall of dramatics and theatrics to hide his insecurities, the way he insulted people to drive them away, the way he made fun of things he loved to lessen the pain when others did it, the way he continuously and repeatedly got pushed down, brushed off, manipulated and made mistakes. Virgil had seen the hurt in his eyes when someone rejected an idea of his. He had seen Roman flinch whenever Janus spoke. He had seen the raw pain and heartbreak in his face when he found Roman after Janus’ acceptance, seen the broken shell of a side who was formerly strong and proud and brave.

And Virgil knew. He knew that he had to save Roman. Because he had been down that path. He had thought no one had loved him, that they didn’t care or hated him, that they didn’t need him, or were better off without him. He could see Roman going down the same path and knew it was only a matter of time before Roman was gone.

So when Virgil found Roman alone in his room, body shaking as he cried, looking broken and weak, Virgil knew he needed to try and save him. He loved Roman, and he couldn’t stand to lose him, not after they had come so far. Virgil felt a need to protect him, to hold him and save him from the pain.

I love you, he told Roman as he held him close as he cried. I love you, he said as he rubbed circles on Roman’s back, gently wiping the tears from his cheeks. I love you, he thought, as he listened to Roman talk about everything he was feeling and thinking, knowing that he was only scratching the surface and that there was so much Roman was hiding. I love you, he said as he whispered words of comfort to the broken figure in his arms, holding him as close to his chest as he could, afraid that if he let go Roman would just break apart and disappear. “I’m here for you.” I love you. “It’s okay.” I love you. “You matter to me.” I love you. “I’m not leaving you.” I love you. “You’re my hero.” I love you. “You are amazing.” I love you. “You deserve so much love and happiness.” I love you. “You matter.” I love you. “I care about you.” I love you.

Roman had eventually fallen asleep, and Virgil had stayed the night, as if needing to protect him from every invisible force that could hurt him as he slept. And he never left. Day after day he stuck by Roman’s side, helping him pick up all the broken pieces of his life, sharing all of their scariest and darkest thoughts and all of times they felt worthless, useless, unwanted, unloved. Day by day they grew closer and closer, and slowly, gradually, naturally, Virgil found himself falling in love with Roman. He had always loved Roman, ever since they had all saved him from ducking out, but this was different. Being in love with Roman was warm, gentle, sweet, welcoming and natural.

And every day he showed it. He showed it by listening to Roman bare his soul to him late at night, when things were said that couldn’t be said during daylight. He showed it through staying with Roman for every step of the way, both of them leaning on each other for support and building each other up, piece by piece. He showed it by being there for Roman through the good and the bad, listening to Roman rant about whatever Disney movie, gay cartoon show or musical he was obsessed with at that moment, and comforting him when everything was too much and he broke down crying.

But Virgil could tell that Roman never really understood how much he cared, never really let himself believe that Virgil could care for him. He could see it in the way that Roman’s expression faltered whenever Virgil smiled at him, the way he cautiously smiled back, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards slightly before returning it with a sad grin. He noticed the emotions swimming in Roman’s eyes when he looked at him, the almost raw desperateness and dimming hope, as if almost wanting to believe something but not quite letting himself do so. And every time he noticed it, it broke his heart, but he didn’t give up. He would wait as long as it took for Roman to understand how much he loved him.

And then entered Nico. And Nico, well, he was simultaneously the best and worst thing that had ever happened to Thomas. The best because Nico brought Thomas such a sheer amount of excitement and happiness into his life that he had so desperately needed after the complete clusterfuck that was the wedding/callback situation. The worst because Nico brought change and change was scary. After this point there was no turning back. They were moving forward, into uncharted territory and it scared Virgil, more than anything. Not to mention the pain that they had felt at the last heartbreak, something Virgil wanted to avoid at all costs.

But Roman had looked so heartbroken, and he had gone through so much pain and hardship already, and he was just standing there, looking devastated and resigned. Virgil knew how much Roman wanted this, how much he craved this and how much he deserved it. Because Roman did deserve it. He deserved to be heard, to have happiness, to have his desires and wants and dreams be fulfilled, without being called selfish, bad, wrong, evil. What Roman wanted mattered, and Virgil could hardly stand the way he looked in that moment.

And so Virgil did the only thing he could do. And finally – finally - Roman understood. Roman looked at Virgil, the expression of brokenness and despair he had felt seconds ago morphing into one of disbelief and shock and eventually elation. Roman smiled, truly smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he let out a huff of laughter, evidently over the moon. All Virgil could do was stare as Roman transformed from the broken man he had known to the dashing, lively, passionate prince he had always been. And Virgil knew that Roman understood.

The push, for Roman. A silent I love you.

A hand on his shoulder. That look on his face. The highest of compliments.

I love you too.

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Thanks for reading!! Feel free to leave comments, reblogs or thoughts as that is greatly appreciated!!

#cat writes #prinxiety #prinxiety fanfic #hurt/comfort #roman angst #ngl kind of proud of the second half of this #patton negativity #janus negativity #i love patton but Roman is hurting so that is why it is there #ask to tag

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jwillowwolf · 3 years ago

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Okay, so I have a Theory for what will happen in the Finale, but it comes with a very long rant about my reasoning for said theory, so I’ll put it under the cut. Basically, I just got excited and wanted to talk with someone about what I think will happen and have turned to the internet to share my thoughts. Warning for spoilers from Working Through Intrusive Thoughts bellow.

Before I can get to what I think will happen, I need to explain the context of my thinking. Currently, we have Logan feeling ignored, Roman feeling lost, Virgil feeling defensive, Patton feeling confused, Remus just being his dramatic gremlin self, and Janus is in his element.

Logan himself said to Remus “It’s not every day Thomas... is interested in... carrying out this sort of thing.” Showing that today was important to Logan and spoiled by 1) Remus’s interfering, and 2) Thomas going out with Nico. Not to mention he lost his cool for a second and now we’ve got Orange to look out for.

Now, there are two possible theories I know of on this scene. 1) Logan is the Orange-side, which seems to be the most popular opinion. 2) the Orange-side, similarly to Janus, can possess other sides. Personally, I think that Logan being the Orange-side is most plausible.

We have seen Logan almost lose his temper before when he threw a piece of paper at Roman in ‘Learning New Things About Ourselves’. He seems shaken by that, almost scared of what he did. Or maybe of what could have happened. He looked even more shaken in ‘Working Through Intrusive Thoughts’ when we got a glimpse of orange in his eyes. He knows there is a dangerous side to him, an emotional state of anger and frustration that he’s been doing his best to keep under control.

How much longer will he be able to control it though?

Next, we have Roman still feeling kind of upset towards Patton, if his stiff reaction to him speaking in the end card is anything to go by. I describe him as feeling lost because in a way he’s lost his moral compass. After what happened in ‘Putting Others First’, I think he distrusts Patton and considering he has in a way followed morality’s lead through all of this, he’s now struggling through questions of what he decides for himself is wrong and right. And he needs to get this right because he’s meant to be the hero, the good creativity. Or that’s what he’s believed all this time.

He’s been conditioned to see things in black and white. To him, there’s meant to be a clear distinction between a hero and a villain, which means if he does something that is not considered good then he’s bad. You can see how that mindset affects him firstly in ‘Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts’ “It’s a little like looking into a funhouse mirror, but instead of a giant head, or like, long legs and a tiny torse, …it shows you… everything you don’t wanna be” and then at the end of ‘Putting Others First’ “He’s (Janus) asking us to go back on things we’ve known for years! rights and wrongs, should’s and shouldn’t’s!”

The world is not black and white like Roman was taught, so now he’s lost himself in trying to understand the many different shades of grey around him.

Continuing down the angst road, we have Virgil’s uncharacteristic behaviour towards Patton. Yes, we have seen him act this way before, but ever since the ‘Accepting Anxiety’ arc he’s acted differently. More like his true self with the knowledge that he’s safe and among friends, like Logan said in Fitting In he’s part of the group. So, what changed?

Logically he would act out this way as a part of his fight or flight response, or more specifically he’s fighting against what scares him. He acts this way towards Janus and Remus (although it’s harder with Remus since he’s Remus) he gets defensive, cold, and downright mean because he’s trying to protect himself. My point? Something about Patton is scaring Virgil.

If we look at the relationship between them before Virgil’s behaviour, then we have what happened in ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts'. Virgil was at a terrible point of stress over Remus showing up, mainly because Patton was stressed at Remus showing up. Pat’s knee jerk reaction to Remus and what he contributes sends Virgil into a panic because, in a sense, they’re connected as Thomas’s emotions. This may seem odd but stick with me here.

Fear and stress are the two things that drive Virgil. In ‘Why do we Get Out of Bed in the Morning’, he mentions that Thomas feeling stressed over deadlines and projects causes him to “work overtime”. As for fear, that’s clear enough in ‘Moving On’ parts 1 and 2, with his reaction to Patton’s Room. The strong influence of emotions in Patton’s room may have heightened his function because emotion is a core part of who he is. In fact, in ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’, Logan asks Virgil how Thomas is feeling. This means that he is just as connected to Thomas’s emotional state as Patton.

There isn’t a clear indicator of what happened between ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’ and ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’ to prompt Virgil’s behaviour towards Patton. Or is there? Let’s look at what exactly he says to Patton:

First from ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’: “How can Thomas Feel B-A-D with his inner D-A-D?” “I can think of a few ways.” This is the first time Virgil lashes out at Patton, and it’s obvious through the whole episode that he’s stressed out.

He actively wants to address the problem throughout the episode and is in a lot of emotional turmoil since the others seem to be ignoring it while he just can’t. Seriously, the pain piles upon him till the point he and Thomas fall into an anxiety attack.

So why does he antagonise Patton here? Because Patton is the one ignoring the problem. Patton is the one most actively ignoring what happened and Virgil is feeling hurt by that. Sure, Logan is distracted, but Logan understands that there are healthy distractions and can stay concentrated on the movie, causing him to not notice Virgil’s dilemma until later. And Roman is still following Patton’s lead here. When he took a jab at Virgil at the beginning and Patton said, “that’s not nice Roman.” He instantly panicked and scrambled to amend himself.

After ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’, we don’t see Patton and Virgil interact again until the end card of Working Through Intrusive Thoughts. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re giving him permission.” “Well, y-yeah. Of course I would.” Virgil bringing up Patton giving Thomas permission seems out of context, and yet it’s perfectly in line with the ending of ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’ where Patton said “I can’t control every little thing that pops into your head. This may be unnecessary, but, … It’s okay if you sometimes think some… Icky thoughts, Thomas. You have my… permission”

This begs the question though, why is that the line that stuck with Virgil? Because Virgil doesn’t want to be manipulated anymore.

If we look at his relationship with Janus for a moment, then anyone from a mile away can see the two have some sort of history. Something that goes beyond even Virgil’s past as one of the others. The relationship that they used to have. It’s been established that Remus used to unsettle Virgil, so I doubt they spent too much time together, but Janus? That’s a very different story.

Janus is deceit, lies, and denial so he may have hidden Virgil from Thomas. He may have lied to Virgil about his function to keep him under control. It was the best way he knew to hide Virgil from Thomas. But in the end, Virgil came to the realisation that Janus was a lair and hence they must have had a terrible fallout.

This began his arc as the ‘antagonist’ in Thomas’s life. He no longer allowed Janus to control him and faced the light sides on his own. He fought to have his voice heard along with the rest. Now he’s scared of losing the freedom he fought for via Patton taking control.

He’s been down the road before where he was taken advantage of, and he doesn’t want to fall for that again. Never again.

Oof, okay, now we come to Patton himself. He seems fine from the outside, but we all know that he has a habit of keeping his negative emotions on the down-low. He doesn’t exactly know what he’s done. That doesn’t excuse it, but it does put his behaviour into context.

In ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’ he realises how his reaction to things has influence Thomas’s wellbeing. In ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’ He’s trying to stay committed to Thomas's decision and not influence changing his mind towards facing the problem. Then in ‘Putting Others First’, we see how absolutely distressed he’s feeling because the influence he has over Thomas could be used for bad and hurt Thomas.

In a nutshell, he doesn’t want to become the bad guy, but he doesn’t know how to correct his behaviour. In ‘Putting Others First’ he even asks Janus “What can we do”. It shows that he knows he’s doing something wrong and wants to do the right thing, but everything he’s ever known has been torn apart and now he’s just left confused.

He doesn’t know what to do anymore.

Remus is just doing what he normally does. He’s functioning just fine and honestly, there isn’t anything much to unpack about his behaviour. He’s being himself. Although perhaps there’s something, or someone, behind what he’s doing.

It’s no secret that Janus is the brains of the two (although Remus can create some magnificent Rube Goldberg machines) and could be the mastermind behind this scheme. Since he was introduced, we knew Janus hid behind lies and worked with complex plans to fulfil his goals. The ending of ‘Putting Others First’ shows that he has a part of himself that is only looking out for others but that doesn’t change the fact he’s planning something.

His words at the end of ‘Working Through Intrusive Thoughts’ “Yes, everything is just… fine.” He knows something is not fine. He may even be behind instigating the entire thing.

This time though, perhaps his scheme is meant for good. He can see how the sides are very different from each other. Their working together as the light sides is incredibly unstable. Thomas's mental wellbeing is practically hanging from a thread.

How do we solve this problem? Expose it. So far, Janus's meddling has been to push things into the light. to get Thomas to face all aspects of himself and better understand the complexities of the world.

The truth needs to come out before things can get better.

And all of that brings me finally to the main point of my rant. My personal theory about what will happen with the finale.

Patton and Roman/Virgil currently have an unresolved conflict. That’s what will start the episode. Patton is trying to fix things with Roman and/or Virgil. Logan will try to be the mediator for the situation, and no one seems to be listening to him.

Then Janus shows up and is now on Patton’s side. This is making things worse because well Roman and Virgil still don’t like Janus at all. Perhaps Virgil will even snap and give more context into what happened between him and Janus, comparing Janus and Patton now that Pat seems to be betraying them. Remus even shows up and adds his own comments to further unsettle everyone. The fight is going to get bigger until finally, Logan snaps.

Orange-Logan is now part of the mix, and he is angry. Nothing is holding him back anymore so now everyone is going to have to focus on him. They will listen to him now, which is good, but because anger has taken over, Logan isn’t the same. He’s not able to reason with his own emotions and act as the voice of reason. Everything is coming down!

So now the fighting has gotten even worse, even louder, everyone is stressed and hurt and shouting and then Virgil says “stop”. He doesn’t shout it, he just speaks in a normal calm tone, although his voice is echoing a bit. Everyone does stop mainly out of confusion at his sudden hushed tone, then they see what is happening to Thomas. All their arguing has caused him to spiral into a panic.

Virgil calms Thomas down from his panic, and then Logan from his anger. It’s good for Logan to stand up for himself to be listened to, but anger will get them nowhere. He even apologises for not listening to Logan before things got this bad.

Logan calms down and apologises for his behaviour then calmly calls out the others on their own actions. With a calmer atmosphere, everyone can see a bit more clearly where they were in the wrong and apologise to one another. They talk things out, come to an understanding and resolve their feelings.

Anyway, if you made it to the end of this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this theory and any theories you have regarding the finale. Thank you for reading and I hope that you have a wonderful day.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts virigl #logan sanders #ts logan #roman sanders #ts roman #patton sanders #ts patton #janus sanders #ts janus #remus sanders #ts remus #ts spoliers

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the-blind-assassin-12 · 3 years ago

Note

Creator Spotlight Tag! You've been tagged by a fellow creator to share three of your own creations that you want to throw the spotlight on. They can be new works, old works, finished or in progress, popular pieces or ones that flew under the radar, the ones you're most proud of or the ones that you had the most fun writing, it doesn't matter! The idea is to celebrate yourself and the things that you create, because no one but YOU could have created them!! Pass it along to three other creators to spread the self celebration! :)

Anon!! Thank you! I don't really do much unprompted self-spotlighting, so thanks for forcing my hand hahaha

I'm going to stick to three more recent pieces, because I'm actually really proud of the way that they turned out, which is another rarity for me lol

A Clumsy Romance - Nico (house comes with a bird) x Female Reader -one shot Summary: Nico’s upcoming trip to Buenos Aires won’t be his first time there. But he hasn’t traveled to that city in ten years, and the last time that he did went very differently than he had hoped it might. Getting ready to go back brings up a lot of old memories and new questions. All about you.

A Bad Idea - Dieter Bravo (the bubble) x Female Reader - one shot Summary: Being in a relationship with Dieter Bravo was never something you saw happening in your life, but life had a way of shifting and changing from what you thought it would be into something else. And what you had with Dieter? It sure was something else - in the best way possible. When you suggest something fun for the two of you to try in the bedroom though, change strikes again and spins things in the other direction - the worst possible one. Could one bad idea be the undoing of both of your careers and your relationship?

Survivor Blues - Joel Miller (the last of us) x Female Reader -ongoing Summary: Sometimes life as a survivor is just as hard as doing the things necessary to survive. Impossible choices, painful losses, brutal conditions - they take a toll and leave scars, some that never fully heal. Twenty-four years after everything goes to shit, you know these things to be true. Having lost everyone who ever mattered to you, you start to wonder what could possibly be left to keep going for. That’s when you meet Joel Miller, a survivor like you, and when he brings you back to Jackson and you see what’s possible there, you wonder whether you found your answer - or if all you’d found is just more to lose.

#thank you anon!#creator spotlight tag #self promotion is not my jam but i am actually very proud of these #pedro pascal character fics #nico x female reader #nico house comes with a bird #dieter bravo x female reader #dieter bravo the bubble #joel miller x female reader #joel miller tlou

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jobrookekarev · 3 years ago

Photo

Just to Break Me Like a Promise

T.S. x Jolex Week 2021 hosted by @thejolexgroupchat

Chapter One of Two: In the Name of Being Honest

Words: 6974

Summary: When Jo goes into labor, she finally picks up the phone and calls Alex to tell him that she's in labor with their baby girl. As she asked him to come back she remembers the life that they had together all too well.

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy.

Relationship: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson.

Characters: Jo Wilson, Alex Karev, and Levi Schmitt.

Rating: General Audiences.

Additional Tags: Angst, Taylor Swift, All Too Well, The Letter, Pregnancy, Labor.

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

AN: I do not own any of Taylor Swift’s music.

……………………………………………………………………

Jo held her swollen baby bump as she pushed open the red door of the loft. She didn't know why but it seemed heavier than usual as she pushed it open. Alex was always the one to keep the door well oiled, but now he was gone, that was her responsibility. However, it wasn't easy to remember to do the things that he used to do for her now that she was on her own. Sometimes the responsibilities seemed endless and she missed having a partner to share the burden with.

The Loft was cold and dark, and it reminded her of the first night she showed it to him as they walked through the door of the Loft together. There was something about this place that drew her in. She thought that they could take it and make it into anything they wanted, and they did. As she flicked on the lights, the warm light revealed the cozy home they had and the life that they created together. That other life they had created stirred in her belly as her daughter kicked against her hand.

Jo shrugged off the coat that she wore now that summer had turned to fall and hung it up on the hook. That morning as she and Levi left for work, she wished that she had her favorite scarf, but she can’t remember where it was and suspected that she left it at Meredith's house the last time they had waffles Sunday. They still had waffle Sundays, but it wasn't the same without Alex. Nothing was the same without him.

She waddled over to the cabinet behind the couch and put her bag down along with her keys and everything else. At 39 weeks pregnant, the only thing she wanted to do each night was collapse on the couch, watch TV, and fall asleep until she gave birth. Thanks to her friends, most nights, she did. They kept her fridge well stocked, so she didn't have to worry about cooking dinner. Link came over and did her laundry every week, and Bailey and Carina had her on a light work schedule, so she was home by 6 p.m. every night. Jo loved her new mentor, and after switching from surgery to OB, she had grown to admire Carina, and the two had become close friends. Jo didn't mind that she was keeping a close eye on her baby. Except when it meant keeping a close eye on her.

Apart from that, Jo had at least one visitor a night who would come in and check on her before Levi got home from work. Some nights Jo appreciated the company, but most nights, she felt like a toddler who needed babysitting. Still, the worry of her friends was much needed, especially since she didn't have Alex to worry over her.

Jo didn't want to think about the husband that left her tonight, but it was hard not to think about him when she carried around a little part of him every day. Her daughter had been quiet on the drive home, but as Jo walked around the Loft, she was greeted with a series of movements as her daughter wiggled around.

“Hello, my sweet girl,” Jo whispered as she pressed her hand into the side of her belly as her daughter kicked against her fingers. Jo moved her hand over and pressed into the other side of her belly as her daughter lightly kicked her hand again. They played a little bit of back and forth, poking and kicking for a second before Jo rubbed her belly and walked over to the kitchen.

The latest pre-made dinner was her favorite macaroni and cheese, made by Levi, although he did put broccoli in it. After she warmed up her dinner, she walked over to the window and watched the rainfall on the parking lot while the city lights glittered in the rain. The views from the Loft certainly weren't the best in the city, but it was nice, and Jo enjoyed watching the rain.

She looked down at her rain stained car next to Alex’s Audi. She didn’t know what to do with it, so it just sat abandoned beside her own. She remembered the time they drove upstate to stay at a cabin in Bellingham for a long weekend. She controlled the music and got him to sing along to Taylor Swift. He didn’t lie and say he only knew the lyrics because of the kids who blasted it on the ped’s floor. With her, he never hid what he liked. They drove through the autumn trees on a winding road and the leaves fell like the rain. Everything was golden as the setting sun came in through the windows and the red and orange leaves were a colorful paint on the grey pavement. The memory was as vivid as ever and she could hear his laugh as he insisted on carrying her into the cabin and straight to the bed.

She pulled her sweater closer around her shoulders and held her cup of tea close to her lips, feeling the warmth of steam and the sweet scent before she took a sip. As she looked around the Loft and waddled over to the couch. They had designed the Loft in a way that it always fit the fall theme. It was always cozy and warm on the dreary winter rainy days. Which was good considering that was pretty much the majority of the weather in Seattle. This October, Jo, and Levi had put up more decorations than usual. There were pumpkins everywhere, although their carved Mini pumpkins sat next to colorful corn cobs on the kitchen table. They had strings of leaves all around them, although a lot of those were just the ones that they brought in on their shoes. The theme of the Loft had always been red, and that red fall theme had trickled over into the nursery she had set up in the corner where the dining table used to be.

She thought she would set it all up on her own bit by bit, doing a little each day, and she did. She slowly bought everything she needed, but the day the crib and the dresser were delivered, her friends surprised her with a decorating nursery party in favor of a baby shower she wouldn't let April plan for her. Meredith, Jackson, April, Link and Amelia, Maggie and Winston, and all the kids came over along with Schmitt and Taryn and Nico, and the rest of the Grey-Slone family. They all put together the furniture, folded and washed the baby clothes, and put the toys away. They got the dresser, and the changing station set up all while Jo just sat in her new rocking chair and directed traffic. Everybody else from the hospital had stopped by and delivered gifts, and at the end of the day, Jo had a full nursery ready for her daughter.

It was so wonderful she nearly cried. After Alex left, she decided to go through with her pregnancy alone. She would tell him eventually, but for now, she needed to do this by herself. She thought that she would be completely alone, but Jo was never alone. She had a family now, and even in the loneliest of times, they all banded together to take care of her. That meant more to her than anything else. It was perfect, but the one person who should have been there putting together the nursery with her wasn't there.

Jo let out a sigh as she rested her tea mug on the end table and reached for the remote that was too far away. Levi always put it on the coffee table, not the end table like Alex did, and it was almost impossible to reach from her reclined position. She leaned forward and stretched to reach it as she bruised it with her fingertips before she grabbed ahold of it.

“I’m gonna kick you out pretty soon if you keep restricting my movements, kiddo. It’s bad enough that I can’t take the stairs or walk faster than a duck,” Jo huffed as she sat back and sipped her tea.

In response, her daughter gave her a series of swift kicks to her ribs.

“Ow, okay, I get it you want out too. I know there’s not much room in there, but it’s not my fault you're so big,” Jo said as she rubbed her belly to comfort her daughter.

However, this time, her daughter didn't kick her, and instead, a painful contraction gripped her stomach. Jo and mediately sat up and tried to breathe through it. She had had a few Braxton Hicks contractions earlier in the day but nothing this strong.

“No, no, no,” Jo moaned as she breathed out and tried to get through it. Once the contraction passed, she scolded her daughter. “You can't send me into labor now. I haven't even told your father about you.”

The day they had driven up to the cabin was long gone, but a part of him was still with her. She tried to pretend that she was okay, but she wasn’t. She knew she had to tell Alex about their daughter, but even then, it wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't bring his love back. She had gotten so close to telling him a number of times, but every time she heard his voice on the phone, she just couldn't. The day she had her 20 week scan and found out she was having a girl, she had gotten so close to telling him. In a rush of excitement, she pulled out her phone and dialed his number to tell him that they were having a daughter. But the phone just rang and rang, and when he didn't pick up. She was once again left listening to his voicemail, her excitement had turned to disappointment, and she just ended the call. Looking back now, she didn't know why she didn't tell him. She should have, but she couldn't bear the thought of not seeing his face or hearing his voice when she told him. She wanted him to pick up the phone for her, but he never did.

Jo didn't remember the rest of the day too well, but she remembered how Meredith and Link, and to her surprise, even Bailey, offered to let her stay with them as her mood darken. But Jo was determined, maintain her stability for the sake of her daughter, and she didn't want to leave the Loft. It was her home and it held so many memories of Alex. It was hard to face the memories of him after he left, but when she found out she was pregnant, she clung to every bit of him that she could, in the hope that she could give it all to her baby.

Jo closed her eyes as she sat back on the couch and listened to the news anchor go on and on as she heard the rain pelt against the windows. She sat cozy and warm on the couch as she got lost in her memory. She could see it all again. The drive up to that little town with the cabin. She remembered the wind in her hair and the music of the radio. She didn't know what it was about her smile that day, but Alex couldn’t stop staring at her. He had looked over and stared at her with that little crooked smile, and it was only because she rolled her eyes and looked back at the road that she noticed the light turn yellow. Alex had to slam on the brakes to avoid running the red light. It was a bit scary, but she laughed because he got distracted by her, and she would never get tired of the way that he looked at her like that. It was happy and painful to remember, but she remembered it all too well.

She wasn't surprised when she fell asleep, she was so tired these days, but she was woken up only a few minutes later to another contraction. This one was just as strong as the one before, and Jo tried to remember all the breathing techniques and exercises that she had learned over the past few months now that she was an OB/GYN resident. She did her breathing and set her tea down. It was still warm in her hand as she set it down on the arm of the couch. Jo tried to move into a more comfortable position and rolled onto her side. As the contraction finally passed as she let out of breath.

“Hey you, I thought we agreed you weren't coming yet,” Jo said as she put her hand over her bump and her daughter replied with gentle and soft movements as she squirmed around but pushed her arm out. “You can't come yet, please.”

Jo got up and started walking around the loft, or rather waddling. She looked at her watch, waiting for the next contraction to come, but it never did. Jo finally relaxed, letting her shoulders sag as she finished her tea. She went over to the nursery, brushing her hand along the railing of the crib as she sat down and the rocking chair. She put her feet up on the ottoman as she gently rocked back and forth. She had chosen a classic glider, but it was insanely comfortable, and both her and her baby were calmed by the rocking motion.

She reached over to the nightstand to grab the baby blanket. It was the leaf printed muslin swaddle that she intended to bring her daughter home from the hospital in. She had been carrying it around so that it would have her scent on it when her daughter was born. As she grabbed the swaddle, her hand brushed over the photo albums she had been looking at a few days ago. It was Alex's photos from when he was a kid. When his mom had visited, she had brought it with her. The album was something she had created for Alex, Amber, and Arron.

Alex had cried when he first saw it. Neither of them had many photos from when they were kids. After Helen had gotten more stable, she started sorting through the things in the house and found all the photos. She had made each of her kids, and each album was filled with photos and little descriptions of the memories of each photo. Having the photo album meant the world to him.

Jo had loved the album too and she had sat next to Helen on the couch as they all went through every photo. Alex had blushed this deep red color and tried to keep certain photos from her, but she loved every single one of them. It was filled with photos from his childhood, from when he was a baby to when he was a teenager. Helen even managed to track down a few photos of him in college when he was on the wrestling team. Jo’s favorite was from when he was a little kid, sitting in a twin-size bed with dinosaur sheets. She smiled because she loved that little chubby kid as much as she loved her tall, scruff husband. He was just so cute and her heart just melted on the spot. Helen told her stories about him in the library, how he took care of his siblings, and his successes on the wrestling team. Jo loved every second of it, especially when Alex blushed and hid in her shoulders.

That night as he laid next to her before he fell asleep, he whispered that he wanted to do that for their baby. He wanted them to have a photo album and memories of their childhood for them to look back on. It was the reason Jo had the photo album out because she had started a baby book. She had written down every detail of her pregnancy and tucked away every little ultrasound. She had no idea what she was doing, but luckily the book was all set up, and all she had to do was write everything down and add the photos. It wasn't much, but it was something that their baby would always have.

Jo knew everything about Alex’s childhood, just like he knew everything about hers. She remembered how he promised that their baby would have a better childhood than either of them did. She put a hand on her belly and felt her daughter move around. She knew that their daughter would have that good childhood that they never got, whether she had to do it alone or not. She didn't know how they would work it out, but even if she and her daughter only had Alex part-time, she knew that he would be the best father in the world. In the meantime, she could be a good enough mother to make up for the rest of it.

She had another Braxton Hicks contraction and laid back and let go of the photo album as it fell to the floor. This one lasted a little longer, but it finally passed, and Jo looked down at the photo album open on the floor. She hadn’t been able to reach anything on the floor since she hit 30 weeks, and she can't remember the last time she was able to tie her shoes. At least Levi didn't mind picking up after her as Jo decided to leave it.

She looked down at the photo album again. It was open on pictures of Alex in high school. He was so handsome in his wrestling uniform. Despite how much she tried to tell herself that she could do this on her own, she knew she never could. The memories of their life together were so vivid and fresh, and Jo was glad that she got to keep them. As the fridge came to life and hummed, she looked over and remembered the night that they danced together in the refrigerator light. It was late, and they were both on night shift and had come home to make dinner. As they cooked together, Jo put on some music, and then she grabbed his hand and pulled him in the dance with her. He laughed and kissed her, then gave in and danced with her for a few minutes before the pasta started to boil over. She could still remember the sound of his laughter and the feel of his hands on her waist. She remembered it all too well.

This time after she fell asleep, she woke up to Levi gently calling her name and shaking her shoulder. “Jo, Jo, wakey, wakey,”

Jo groaned and swatted at the hand that poked her shoulder. “Leave me alone, Schmitt.”

“Fine, I just thought that you wouldn't want to sleep all night in the rocking chair,” Levi said as she opened her eyes, looking up at him as he pulled back and shrugged.

Jo sighed as she realized she was still sitting in the glider and held out her hands to him. “Ugh, help me up, please.”

Levi pulled her up, although not without a strain on them both. He wasn't quite strong enough, and although she was reluctant to admit it, she was getting too big. After he helped her up, she walked towards the bed as she heard him pick up the photo album and put it back on that nightstand.

“Was there anything else you dropped,” Levi asked as he looked around the room and collected her dinner dishes and then the mug of tea she left on the couch.

“No, just the...” Jo trailed off with a groan as she leaned against the post as she had another Braxton Hicks contraction.

“You okay?” Levi asked, but she just squeezed her eyes shut and ignored him. He had long since learned not to touch her or interfere when she was having a Braxton Hicks, or she would bite off his head.

“Yeah,” Jo said as the contraction finally passed, and she went over to sit back down on the couch. “She's just been dramatic today. I've been having Braxton Hicks since this afternoon.”

“You've been counting them, though right,” Levi asked, suddenly worried as he came over to her.

“Yes, of course, I've been counting them. I'm not a moron, and I'm not in labor,” Jo said, waving her hand to dismiss him.

“Okay, I'm just saying your full term, so it can happen any day now,” Levi said, walking back to the kitchen. “Did you have dinner already?”

“Yes, Dad,” Jo said as she rolled her eyes. She didn't need a lecture on how close she was to her due date.

It was something everybody, especially Meredith and Link, had been annoying her about. Jo was highly aware of it as the day she would have to call Alex and tell them that she had their daughter was getting closer and closer. She had avoided him for nine months, saying that she wouldn't tell him until she had the baby. She was still on the fence about whether she wanted him there, and she delivered. She knew that he would be there for her, and he would comfort her and hold her hand and get her ice chips and let her scream and cry and yell at him for leaving her. However, other times the thought of seeing him again while she was in labor was too hard. As she made her birth plan and attended to the labor and births of countless other birth givers and babies, she wanted things to be calm. She wanted people there who would support her, and although Alex was the best person for that since he left her, things had changed, and she wasn’t sure he would be.

Her daughter wiggled and painfully stretched out inside of her pushing on her organs as Jo let out gasped and rubbed up and down her belly. She pressed down on where her daughter's feet were. She had dropped lower a few days ago, giving her a little extra room, but she and Carina estimated that she was at least 9 pounds, so regardless, she didn't have much room.

“I know,” Jo said with a sigh as she talked to her baby girl. “You're ready to come out, but I'm not ready for you yet. You got to hang tight just for a little bit longer, please, baby girl.”

Her daughter relaxed as she gently kicked her hands, and Jo smiled. However, it doesn't seem that her daughter wanted to listen to her tonight. As then she heard a pop and felt a gush of water. It was just a little trickle, and Jo blushed in embarrassment as she thought it was her bladder releasing as her daughter pushed on it. However, as she drenched her jeans, instead of smelling like pee, it smelled a little sweet, and Jo suddenly realized what happened.

“No, no, not yet, please not yet,” Jo said as she put her hand on her belly as she looked down at her lap that was soaked in her amniotic fluid.

“What's wrong,” Levi said in a panic as he came over to her. He looked down at the dark patch in her jeans as her amniotic fluid continued to soak her pants and then looked up at her. “Oy vey, you're in labor, your water broke, you're in labor.”

“Levi,” Jo said through gritted teeth as she had another contraction. “Call Meredith.”

“Yeah, okay, okay,” Levi said, taking a deep breath as he scrambled to try and find his phone. “Oy vey.”

Jo tried to relax as best she could and breathe through the contraction, going to the technique of counting in her head as she breathed in and out. As soon as the contraction passed, Jo put her hand on the sidearm of the couch and pulled herself up. She looked back at the white couch that was now stained wet and a little red with blood.

She tried to remember not to freak out seeing the blood as she knew it was normal, but she couldn't help but grieve for the ruined couch cushion. It was kind of fitting that her water broke on their couch. The couch had been through so much. They had spilled beer and pizza sauce and teriyaki on that couch, but they'd always manage to get the stains out, but this was one stain that probably would mark the fabric forever.

Jo looked over at Levi in his little space where Alex’s weights used to be. He rummaged through everything on his twin-size bed, mumbling and trying to find his phone. Jo rolled her eyes as she made her way over to her bed. She grabbed her purse from the cabinet behind the couch and her pillow. Her hospital bag and the car seat were already in her car as she figured she didn't want to lug all of it down there while she was in labor, and she was so glad she did. Now that she was in labor, she realized she wanted a few extra things. She grabbed a few snacks from the kitchen, her favorite hair scrunchie, her headphones, and of course, the baby book. Jo put everything on her bed before realizing she was still in her wet jeans and grabbed a pair of sweatpants before she went over to the bathroom.

“What are you doing,” Levi asked, his head popping up as he rushed over to her. “You don't need to push, do you? Cuz if you need to push, I can be ready. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”

“Okay, first off, you are not going to be in the room while I’m pushing. Secondly, I don't need to push ye. I just want to change out of my wet jeans,” Jo said as she put her hand on the door handle to the bathroom and shut it in his face.

“Okay, but leave the door unlocked in case anything happens,” Levi shouted as Jo kicked off her jeans and left them in a mess on the floor.

There was a reason why she didn't pick Levi to be her labor partner, and now she severely regretted Meredith’s offer to let her stay with her. If Meredith were here, she would have already helped Jo change and then helped her to the car. But Meredith’s house was so crowded with Maggie, Link, Amelia, and all the kids. During the last few weeks of her pregnancy, Jo's nesting instincts had kicked in, and she felt the need to be at the Loft and make sure that everything was ready for her daughter. Besides, knowing Link, if she went into labor when he was around, he would probably be just as panicked as Levi.

It was a struggle to put on anything that involved her feet these days. She also had to pause as she had another contraction, but she managed to put on her sweatpants before she went back out. Levi was still running around the Loft collecting things, but at least he was on the phone with Meredith. Jo went over to the bed and got her things. Jo stood in the entryway with her bag on her shoulder, and her pillow under her arm as Levi still scrambled to find his things.

“Alright, I’m gonna go wait in the car,” Jo said as she waddled over to the door, reaching for her jacket and her favorite pair of gray slippers.

“Okay, I’m coming too,” Levi said as he scooped up his things before taking her bag and the pillow from her as they made their way down to her car.

Jo put her hood up and pulled her coat around her middle, although her belly stuck out and her white T-shirt got wet. She handed her car keys to Levi as she had another contraction and paused as she leaned on the hood of the car. They were still ten minutes apart, but now that her water had broken, they were much more painful, and she watched the rain fall on the windshield, trying to let it calm her as she followed the water droplets down the glass. After it passed, she let Levi help her into the front seat as he finished putting everything in the back. Finally, he climbed into the driver seat and started up the car before he froze.

“What now,” Jo said in annoyance, gritting her teeth.

“I think I forgot my wallet upstairs,” Levi said quickly, padding his thighs and then his butt only to come up empty.

“Well, go get it,” Jo yelled at him as he quickly scrambled out of the car and ran back upstairs. “And don't forget to lock the door.”

Now that she was finally alone in the car, with only the grey skies and the rain that pitter pattered on the rooftop. Jo pulled out her phone as she figured that now was as good a time as any to call Alex. She put one hand on her belly as she pulled up his contact. Even if she got his voicemail now, she knew she had to tell him that they were having a baby.

To her surprise, she had a voicemail from Alex waiting for her. She knew she shouldn't be surprised. He left her a few voicemails in the past few months. He always called in the middle of the night or early in the morning when he knew she would be sleeping, and even if he did call during the day, she never picked up for him. Since he sent the divorce papers and the letter, he had left her a few voicemails asking for her to sign the papers and send them back, but she couldn't do that yet. She quickly pulled up the voicemail and held her phone to her ear as his familiar voice came through her phone.

“Hey Jo, I was just wondering if you had filed the divorce papers yet. I still haven't heard from you, and Meredith won't tell me anything, so I just thought I'd call and ask you. I know this is hard, this is hard for me too, but,” Alex trailed off with a sigh, and she could tell that he had pushed the phone away from his ear and put a hand over his face like he always did when he was tired and frustrated. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry I had to end things like this. I'm sorry that it's all on you to end our marriage. I could make it easier for you, and I could meet up with your lawyer or you or something, just let me know. Again I'm really sorry Jo, but I really need those papers, please. Please just call me and tell me what you want to do, okay?”

She knew Alex better than anybody. She knew about his father and his mother and Amber and Arron. She knew that he was the wrestling state champion in junior year in college. She knew that Mr. Myers who worked the night shift with his favorite foster parent. She knew that even though Amber was grown up and had a family of her own, Alex still felt the need to take care of his baby sister, which is why they visited her twice a year. She knew he loved to drive as he always said it was where he could really think. She knew that he loved Taylor Swift music, and she knew that he loved dancing but only with her. She knew that when he found out about the twins, he had panicked and he ran. It was always his first thought, and it was hers too, but she had stopped running a long time ago, and she thought he did too, but his letter was his way of running away again.

“I swear I love him, but sometimes I hate him. I know he's your father's baby girl, but he is the most frustrating person I've ever met,” Jo nearly screamed as she clenched her phone before she let out a breath and rubbed her hand across her belly. “Even when we were together. And even now, I can tell that he still loves me too. He's trying to make the divorce easy for me, but he doesn't know that I’ve been put off filing the papers because I have you. Once he meets you, he's going to be faced with the reality of what he's done. I don't know if he'll come back to us, but I want him to be there for you. I wish this was easy, baby girl, and I'm sorry it's not. You deserve parents who aren't in the midst of a divorce. You deserve parents who are so much better than this.”

Jo took a deep breath as tears collected in her eyes. She had always wanted the best for her daughter. She wanted things to be good for her. So she had ignored the truth that things weren't in the hopes that if she ignored it long enough, Alex would come back to her and things would be good again. She knew now that she was foolish to think that. Every time he had called her since he sent the letter, it felt so casually cruel, but she knew he was just being honest. She felt like every promise he ever made to her, he broke again and again. All she could hear some nights with him saying that he wasn't going anywhere except home with her, but none of the words on the letter replayed in her head, saying that he wasn't coming home. If it wasn't for their baby girl, Jo thought she would have broken down.

She let a few tears fall down her cheeks before She had another contraction. This time she let herself cry out in pain. But when the pain passed, she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. As hard as this was and as much as it wouldn't fix anything, she had to tell Alex. He deserved to know. She wasn't going to be like Izzie and keep his daughter from him. She couldn't do that to either of them, but she couldn't help but feel like she was throwing a bomb into the middle of his life.

Still, she picked up her phone and dialed his number again. He was the first name in her contacts and last call that she had gotten. So she wasn't surprised when it rang for a little while, but she was surprised when he picked up.

“Hi Jo,” Alex said with such sadness in his voice as if it physically pained him to say her name.

“Alex,” Jo breathed out his name despite the pain. He always filled her with a sense of relief. Jo took a deep breath as she looked at the clock, and she only had a few more minutes until her next contractions hit, and she wanted to get it all out to him.

“Look, about the divorce papers…” Alex started to say.

“Alex, I can't file them, not now, just not now, because I'm pregnant. I'm having our baby girl, right now actually. I'm, I'm in labor, and I can't file the divorce papers because they only allow family members in the delivery room right now, and you're my family, and I need you. Our baby girl needs you.”

Alex was silent on the other end of the line, and Jo was a little grateful for that because her next contraction hit, and she let out a moan as she tried to breathe through the pain again. She leaned forward and put her head on her arms as she leaned against the dashboard. She could hear Alex calling her name, but in the midst of her contraction, she couldn't respond until finally, it passed.

“Jo, Jo, are you still there? Are you alright? Is, is she alright,” Alex begged her for answers, and she could tell that he was moving around in the background. “Please talk to me!”

“I'm fine and she's fine too,” Jo said, still a little breathless from her contraction. “She's perfect actually, she's healthy, and she's strong, but my contractions are really strong too.”

“How far apart are they? Has your water broken yet? How long have you been having contractions? Are you at the hospital?” Alex asked a series of questions as he rambled off in a panic, just like she didn't know he would.

“Alex, stop,” Jo cut him off before he started asking her more questions. “My contractions are ten minutes apart, and my water broke a few minutes ago. So I've only been having them for a couple of hours. It's still really early, I can tell, but I'm headed to the hospital now. Levi's driving me, or he's supposed to be.”

“Schmitt is driving you to the hospital?” Alex asked as Jo looked up to the window to see him finally coming out the door of the apartment building and rushing over to the car.

“It's a long story. A lot has changed since you left, Alex,” Jo said in a whisper, so much had changed.

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered too.

“Okay, ready to go. Did you call Meredith?” Levi asked, breaking their little bubble of silence as he got in the car.

“Just drive,” Jo said, putting her hand over the receiver as Levi pulled out of the parking lot before she went back to her call with Alex. “I'm headed to Grey-Sloan right now. I umm, I have Meredith and Carina, and they’re going to be with me through my labor but, but I want you there too.”

“Of course, of course, I'm going to be there. I'll be there as soon as I can, and you can scream and cry and yell at me or just hold my hand, and I'll feed you ice chips or something. I'll get you whatever you want, Jo,” Alex said in the same voice that he used to promise her the world with, and although she knew she shouldn't, she believed that he would keep his word this time.

“Okay,” Jo said with a nod, tears springing in her eyes. He was coming back to her, to her and their baby.

“Okay, do you want me to stay on the line with you until I get there?” Alex offered, god, he was so sweet, but Jo didn't know what she wanted.

“Don't you have to catch a plane or something?” Jo asked, trying not to hold her breath as she waited for his answer.

“No, actually I'm in Chehalis with…” Alex trailed off, not wanting to say her name, and Jo was glad because she didn't want to hear it. “I'm just, I'm in Chehalis, and I can be there in an hour if traffic isn't too bad.”

“You’ll have to go through Tacoma and the traffic in Tacoma is always terrible,” Jo said, closing her eyes and her tears finally fell down her cheeks as Levi drove through the downtown streets. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes as she looked at the road ahead of them. “Okay, just why don't you just get here as soon as you can, and I'm going to call Meredith, but not before I yell at Levi's for taking the wrong street.”

“I'm not taking the wrong street. This is the best way to get to the hospital,” Levi insisted as he gripped the wheel and painfully went this exact speed limit as he cautiously drove.

“No, you're on 4th ave, but you should have hopped on Highway 99. It’s faster!” Jo insisted as she pointed at the map he had up on his phone showing the option for the route she wanted.

“Yeah, but it's dangerous to drive on the highway,” Levi protested as he stayed the course. “And this is the way that I take when I ride my bike, so this is the way we're going.”

Jo threw her head back against the headrest and groaned as she had another contraction. She tried to breathe again as she gripped the door handle as if it was Alex’s hand. She didn't want to go through this alone. She wanted him here now.

“That’s it, deep breaths, Jo, you're doing great,” Alex's gentle voice came through the phone as he was there for her. “Just keep breathing and trying not to kill Schmidt. He should be careful he's got precious cargo.”

Jo took comfort in his words as she let out a breath and the contraction finally passed. “Our daughter is going to be so excited to meet you, so just get here as soon as you can, please, Alex.”

“I'm excited to meet her too,” Alex said, and for the first time since he left her, he sounded happy. “I can't wait to meet her, and I can't wait to see you again, so I'm going to hang up and hop in the car right now. I'll be there as fast as I can, okay?”

“Okay,” Jo said with another nod as she put a hand on her belly and Alex hung up.

His voice was still ringing in her ear as she remembered it all too well. Yet, soon she would hear his voice as he sat beside her and supported her as she delivered their baby girl, and she wouldn't have to remember because she would have him back. If only for tonight, if only for her baby girl.

……………………………………………………………………

AN: Part 2 is coming soon!

#jo wilson #alex karev #grey's anatomy #jolex #TSJolexWeek21 #otp: home and heart #grey's anatomy fanfic #my work #my writing #my fanfiction #my photos #my edits

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marbleheavy · 3 years ago

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Marble's Top 5 Fics

I am stealing from CJ >:) but not the year in review because I posted uhh (checks notes) 29 fics this year and I do NOT want to look through them all. Anywhoosies, these are apparently the best of the 204k words I wrote this year !!

1. so it turns out that teachers don't sleep at school

5,848 words

“So, Occam’s razor,” a boy says.

“What?” another boy asks.

“The simplest answer is that he’s single and probably a loner because we don’t have any indication otherwise, so let’s just operate from there,” he clarifies.

There are reluctant hums in agreement and Theo is about to interject with the fact that Nico’s sister could count as a friend but Nico bustles in and once again, everyone bites their tongue and pretends they weren’t all just speculating about how much of a hermit he is.

Nico's TA and students are determined to figure out something, anything about him. Of course, it would all just be a lot easier if they asked. Either way, Professor di Angelo is decidedly a lonely hermit. (Someone should really tell his husband and baby that)

472 kudos

2. Tell all the truth but tell it slant

4,992 words

“What can I do, Will?” he begged, “How do I… how do I fix this?”

“You have to tell me the truth,” Will said, his voice steady and powerful.

Nico felt himself jolt, a strange warmth passing over him as his tongue suddenly felt heavy in his mouth. Panic began to swell in his chest and he shuddered. “Nico?” Will asked, his anger immediately replaced with concern, “What happened?”

Solangelo Week Day 7: Curses

408 kudos

3. Will Solace licks rocks (and other discoveries made)

5,391 words

But that all ends quickly as Will’s voice cuts through the noise.

“Austria isn’t even real!” Will exclaims.

Everybody’s chatter cuts off immediately as they swivel to look at him. Will looks around nervously and laughs awkwardly. “Will, honey,” Nico says earnestly, “What the fuck?”

5 things Nico learns about Will and one thing he already knew.

(Or, alternatively, giving Will Solace a personality)

367 kudos

4. I Can Feel Us

2,379 words

“Will, what’s wrong?” Lou Ellen asked, her voice tight with fear and concern.

He just kept babbling incoherently as he sobbed and screamed, still clutching himself. “It hurts ,” he finally said clearly enough for others to understand.

Lou Ellen’s stomach dropped but she tried not to let herself assume the worst. “What do you mean?”

Will’s face crumbled even more as he wailed, “I hurt. He hurts. I- I can’t- I can’t breathe it hurts so bad.”

Soulmates share each other's pain and emotions.

301 kudos

5. My heart has left its dwelling place

8,920 words

Will pulled him to his feet and Nico seemed to shake himself off slightly, though his eyes were still trained on the blond. “Um, thanks,” Nico said after a moment.

Suddenly the flood gates opened and words were spilling out of Will’s mouth and he couldn’t stop them no matter how much he wanted to. “No, don’t thank me! I ran into you and knocked you down in the first place, I’m sorry! I swear I didn’t mean to, I wouldn’t purposely run into you. I mean, I wouldn’t purposely run into anyone but especially not you,” Will babbled, his hands waving wildly, “Not in like a— well, you know, that way. But just as a courtesy thing? But I’m sorry either way, I wasn’t paying attention, and I—“

“Will,” Nico cut him off, his eyebrows raised, “It’s okay.”

Or, Will and Nico broke up two years ago and Will realized just how much worse it was to live without Nico.

278 kudos

Technically my number three fic was The Creation of Man but I started that in 2020 so I excluded it >:)

Thank you SO much who read or engaged with anything I wrote this year! This year was really amazing, I connected with a lot of people and I feel like I grew a lot both as a person and a writer and I appreciate all the people who helped me do that <3. I am very excited for the new year and have a lot of writing plans that I hope y'all like!

Love you all <3

#marble writes #my fics #solangelo #solangelo fanfiction #nico di angelo #will solace

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dmc-tings · 4 years ago

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DMC Gang Teaching their s/o how to drive

Dante

Uh, yeah he knows how to drive

But... he's not the best teacher

Usually ends up asleep in the back

Cause he trusts you to figure it out

One day though, damn near changed his life

You smashed into a newspaper stand

The impact woke him from his nap

You were holding on to the steering wheel for dear life

Tears welled up in your eyes and he immediately pulled you into his lap

Kicking the door open, hauling both of you out of Morrison's now wrecked car

Dante was more concerned about you

You still hadn't said anything, just letting tears fall down your face

He checked you over, he was silent as well

Pissed at himself for letting his negligence, almost get you killed

The cops showed up, after a kind soul called them

An ambulance got to the scene and checked the pair of you over

While the paramedics looked you over, Dante called Vergil and Nero

The pair made it to the scene in Nico's van

But it wasn't just the two of them, the whole crew came

Kyrie and Lady rushed to your side, Lady shoving the paramedics and cops away from you

Kyrie got you talking, letting you weep onto her shoulder

Dante got a scolding from Vergil and Trish

Something along the lines of, "How could you be so wreckless." And "You knew that was dangerous, Dante."

He wasn't listening tho, he watched you cry into Kyrie's arms, while Lady rubbed your back comfortingly

Once the scene cleared out, it was just you and the crew

Oh! And a confused and angry Morrison

"How the hell.... Dante, you know your paying for this."

Your half-devil finally made his way to you, for once (and during this whole thing) speechless

His head hung, he didn't need Vergil, Trish or Lady to scold him

He was beating himself up over this

You looked up from Kyrie and Lady, throwing yourself into his arms

Crying out "I'm sorry's" and "I should have been more careful's"

He shushed you, burying his face in your shoulder, "Im sorry. I should have been paying more attention."

He silently cried into your neck

After that day, Dante took more care in paying more attention to your driving

Once you got your license though, he still took naps

Or so you thought

The devil man would only be resting

Peeking at you every so often

Vergil

You stood awkwardly in the archway of your shared bedroom

Vergil giving you a (visibly) shocked look

You wanted him to what?

"Verg? Did you hear me?" You shuffled your feet abit, again

He blinked at you

Dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and down right appalled

"You.. You want me to..."

You looked away, abit ashamed

But to your defense, you could and had always walked everywhere in Red Grave

You really didn't need to drive, unless you went to the beach or somewhere out of town

But.... Vergil didn't know how to drive either, he had spent the last 20 something years in hell

And the last thing he thought he would ever be asked to do or teach was FUCKING DRIVE

He shook his head, not saying anything to you

You bit your lip and looked away from him

You misunderstood his head shaking

Then his face flushed, letting out a grumble

"I dont know how to drive."

And in his defense, he just teleports or opens a portal to where he wants to go

You straightened up, "Wh-what?"

Great, you were back at square one

Vergil gave a small cough, "Why do you need to learn how to drive?"

You looked at your feet, "I just wanted to learn..."

In all honesty, Nero had teased you about being an adult, and not knowing how to drive

It made you feel low

Vergil gave a huff, noticing your hesitation

"Who." He stood up

You looked at him, "Ver-"

"Was it Dante? No... he barely knows how to drive..." his eyes flashed

You grabbed his arm, but it didn't stop him

He slashed open a portal, right into the shop

"Who teased (him/her)." It wasn't a question, a demand for the person who insulted his sweetheart

"Vergil. Please stop..."

Everyone in the shop looked at Nero, who had his headphones in

Vergil let out a growl and pushed you behind him

"Teach them how to drive!" He snarled, slicing the headphones off of his son's head

Nero shot up and got ready to fight back, but stopped when he realized what was happening

"Uh... sure... i-"

"Both of us."

Dante burst onto laughter, realizing what Vergil was getting at

Nero looked at Nico, "uh... can we-"

"Oh hell nah!"

At a loss Nero looked at you and his dad

"Well.... uh... i-"

Vergil scoffed, throwing a few summoned swords at his cackling brother

Then he pulled you close, "Tease them about not knowing how to drive again, and you'll feel my wrath."

He took you back home

After setting you on your feet and giving you a kiss on the forehead, he returned to his reading

"So..."

"You have me. No need to drive."

And that was the end of that

Nero

Nero sat in the van in the driver's seat

You in his lap

You insisted that he sit in the passenger seat

But the part-devil placed you in his lap

Now he was scratching his head

"Nero?" You looked at him with big puppy dog eyes

He looked down at you, "Yeah?"

"Do you know what your do-"

Nero waved his gauntlet clad hand

"Of course, I got this."

He, poorly, started to explain the gears, buttons and switches in front of you

"Aight. So. You got the gear shift, I think it's a stick. And the... uh... windshield wipers. And the lights in front, and the brights..."

'Oof,' you thought, 'I could have just asked Dante... and got just about the same experience.'

You drummed your fingertips on the steering wheel

Finally, tired of your boyfriend droning on, you turned the key and started the van

Nero jumped, then patted you on the head, pointing at the 3 pedals at your guys feet

"Well since your in my lap, I'll work the pedals. Just tell me when to speed up and slow down. Ok?"

You nodded, "Alright! Nice and slow though."

From here, using team work, you and Nero made your way around the block

Slow and steady

Then Nero hit the breaks a bit too hard

You nailing your forehead on the steering wheel

"Shit! Nero!" You leaned back rubbing your sore head

"S-sorry! There was a old lady crossing the street..." he mumbled

Then leaned forward a bit, examining your forehead

He sucked his teeth, "Shiiiiit. That looks bad babe...."

"No shit." You barked

You felt your boyfriend flinch at your tone

After the pain passed you patted him on the arm, that was wrapped around you

"Its ok. Good thing you stopped though." You pointed at the old lady still trying to cross the street

Nero nodded, grunting with agreement

"I... I think thats enough driving for the day."

Nero gave another nod, letting you crawl into the passenger seat

He made way back to the garage/shop

Once parked he looked at you

And you gave him a smile

"Thanks. That was pretty fun!"

Nero gave a small laugh, "I suppose it was, save for you bashing your skull on the wheel."

You huffed, poking out your lip, "Not entirely my fault."

(Yes, I include him, cause some people like him. And personally I like his character as well)

You and V were cuddling in the living room of your apartment

You leaned into his chest, watching tv, as he read from his book and gently running a hand through your hair

"V." You spoke lifting your head

He gave an acknowledging hum, looking to you from his book

"Can you teach me how to drive?"

He looked at you, his mind drawing a blank

As Vergil, he never drove, hell they barely walked

"Love, I've never driven.... Ever." He told you gently

You looked forward at his chest, searching your mind, trying to figure out who you could ask to teach you how to drive

V cocked his head at you, wondering what was going through your mind

You looked up, eyes shining, "we could learn together! There's plenty of books on driving!"

V's eyes lit up as well, your excitement fueling his

"Oh? Where to we begin then?"

You both sat up, you grabbing your phone and V sitting up with you

"Well the DMV would be a good start. They can give us all the info to study."

"There's a written test?" V asked, he knew he could pass that

You nodded, not looking up from your phone"Yes. And there is a driving segment as well."

V froze and looked down at you, but seeing you so excited, he didn't want to ruin your fun

Later you both got everything from the DMV

And at V's insistence, the library as well

You both spent weeks reading and learning

Even convincing Nico to let you practice and take the driving part of the test, using her van

Eventually when it was time for the tests, you both where prepared

You passed them with flying colors

Ignoring the dangerous tips Nico gave you

When it was V's turn, he passed the written exam

But hesitated when it was time to get into the van

He stood at the driver's door, hand on it

You walked to his side, gently putting your hand in his

"V? You can do it. Just don't think too hard about it."

He looked at you to speak, but you cut him off, sealing his lips with a kiss

Happy, he climbed in

You sat alone in the DMV, anxious

He came back with the instructor minutes later, beaming proudly

"You were correct, my dear. I didn't overthink."

He pulled you into a hug, after you both got your licenses

#dante devil may cry #vergil devil may cry #nero devil may cry #v devil may cry #lady devil may cry #trish devil may cry #nico devil may cry

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raindancer2004 · 4 years ago

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Blended Family

Word Count: 5,038 Demetri x OC - Part Ten - Final Part Warnings: Fluff. Yes, I have used a picture of Charlie for grown-up Nico.

Felix and Demetri put Sophie through ‘Newborn Bootcamp’ to help with her self-control. “Hey buddy, what are you doing here?” Demetri asked as Nico entered the courtyard “I’m here to help…” “Nico, I can’t let you do that” Demetri cut him off “I’m half-human so my blood will appeal to mum and I’m half-vampire so I am quicker and stronger than Ellie” Nico told him, a determined expression on his face, as he looked between his parents “You’re not quicker or stronger than her” Demetri warned, pointing at Sophie “I know dad, but you’re quicker and he’s stronger than she is” Nico nodded in Felix’s direction. Sophie was holding her breath whilst Felix had wrapped an arm around her waist, ready to hold her back if needed. Sophie let out the breath she was holding and looked at Nico “I’m sorry for the other day sweetie, you know I’d never hurt you or Ellie” “I know mum, that’s why I’m here to help. Ellie’s missing you and dad and doesn’t know why you went for her and the quicker you get control, the better…for all of us.” Demetri gave Nico a proud smile.

Wednesday afternoon, Nico tested Sophie’s self-control in a way that Demetri and Felix did not approve of but went ahead anyway. He decided to cut his palm and left a trail of blood from the garden fountain to the Queen’s prized Rose bushes. Sophie picked up the scent and started to follow it but stopped after a few moments as something didn’t feel right. She inhaled deeply and fear ran through her entire body “Nico” She cried out and ran to him, cradling him in her arms, whilst inspecting the still bleeding wound. “Are you ok sweetie?” She asked concern laced in her voice “I’m fine. I cut my hand on purpose. It was a test” He smiled at her “I-I could’ve hurt you Nico, why would you…” “I had faith in you mum, I was relying on that mother’s instinct of yours and guess what, it worked, that part of you won over the blood thirsty newborn part” He said proudly and watched relief and happiness wash over her face “Come on or that’ll get infected.”

Demetri stood watching the scene unfold with Jane and couldn’t believe his eyes “That’s one brave kid Demetri” “I know, but I’m still upset with him, he risked his life” “He doesn’t see that way Dem. You should be proud of them both, I am. This means their bond is stronger than her need for blood.” Jane replied “I suppose this means you won’t be pain dropping my mate anymore?” He asked “I only did it three times and it was on the lowest setting, I promise” She replied.

Thanks to working with Demetri, Felix, Jane and Alec twenty-four-seven, Sophie got her bloodlust under control within a week and everyone was proud of her, especially Demetri. Admittedly, Sophie did kill the postman on Friday, but in her defence, he smelt really appealing, like ‘chocolate and cinnamon’ and she did completely ignore Gianna who sitting less than three feet away at the time, something Gianna was happy about, so much so she helped Sophie dispose of the body. “I think that’s progress. Well done Sophie” Gianna praised with a smile “Thank you Gianna and for helping clean up” Sophie replied “Demetri is likely to be less upset about the ‘accident’ if he knows we took care of the ‘evidence’” Gianna added.

That Sunday Demetri decided to allow Sophie to see Ellie as she was missing her mum and he couldn’t take the sad look in her eyes anymore “Is mummy ok now? Can I see her soon?” She asked as he carried her back to his room “Mummy is feeling better yes, she struggled a little after she woke up as a vampire. We’re going to see her now” Demetri replied gently and Ellie smiled at him.

Once they reached the door, he put Ellie down and watched her run into the room and straight to Sophie “Mummy” Sophie picked her up and held her close, breathing in her scent “I’ve missed you hunny” “I missed you too mummy.” Alec was in the room ready to remove Sophie’s senses if needed. Demetri knew that Ellie was aware of Alec’s gift, having caught him playing peek-a boo with her when she was younger, in that ‘special’ way that only Alec could. “I’m sorry about what happened in the garden last week Ellie” Sophie said low “It’s ok mummy. Santiago explained that newborns can be unpredictable and that I wasn’t to blame” She replied and snuggled into Sophie. Demetri and Alec smiled knowing that Sophie and Ellie were going to be fine now, although Demetri knew he’d still be worried about them until Sophie had passed her newborn stage.

Time Skip – Ellie at 13 years old

Having hybrid going through an accelerated teenage phase was one thing but having a human teenager in the castle was something no one was prepared for, with the exception of Sophie and Gianna.

Ellie woke up one morning with a sore stomach and blood on her bedsheets, giving herself and Nico a mini heart attack. “Nico...Nico wake up” He rolled over and grumbled sleepily “Whaaat? It’s too…” “I’m in pain and bleeding Nico, please” She cut him off, pain evident in her voice, Nico was instantly awake and with his feet tangled in his duvet fell out of bed in his hasty attempt to get to Ellie. He pulled back her duvet to look at her to discover there was no visible wound but there was blood surrounding his sister and he panicked, he phoned his dad knowing he and his mum liked to get an early one on one training session in of a morning. “Dad. Ellie’s in pain and bleeding, please come quick” Sophie overheard the conversation and knew exactly what was wrong with Ellie and was fully prepared. Sophie had to practically wrestle her mate and son out the room and “But Soph, she’s my daughter…” “Dem, please this is embarrassing and awkward enough for her, let me deal with this and then you can see her” Sophie cut him off. Alec caught the scent of blood as he left the throne room and ran straight to the elite guard floor “Ellie, Ellie…” “Ellie’s fine Alec” Demetri told him but he still tried to fight him to get inside Ellie’s room, Nico stood beside his dad, blocking the door.

Jane stepped out of her room “Don’t make me use my gift on you brother” Sophie couldn’t believe that she had threatened Alec with her gift as everyone knew they had a pact to never use their gifts on each other. “Ellie’s bleeding and they seem so calm about it” He growled back, clearly worried about Ellie. “Ellie is having her first period and doesn’t need you crowding her right now. Let Sophie deal with it” Jane explained and found it amusing when Nico and Alec’s faces held identical confused looks “It’s a monthly thing Nico” Demetri added, having calmed down “The first time is always unexpected” Sophie called through the door “If you knew what it was why did you not say something dad?” Nico asked “You said Ellie was bleeding and I panicked, it didn’t cross my mind that it could be the reason when you rang but your mum knew what was wrong when she heard our phone call” He replied and heard Sophie and Ellie snicker from behind closed doors “What were they going to do mum, rip apart the invisible man that hurt me” “Not funny Ellie. I was worried and hurt myself falling out of bed to help you” Nico grumbled “I know, I’m sorry I was worried too but you can’t blame me for that” She called back. “Why’s Alec so worried?” Ellie asked quietly “He cares about you Ellie, we all do” Sophie replied low.

That afternoon Ellie curled up into a ball in her parent’s bed with a hot water bottle whilst watching film with Sophie. “This happens every month, the cramps and bleeding?” Ellie asked “Yes, hunny, it’s all part of becoming a woman” “Well, that sucks” Ellie replied. Demetri sat at his desk with Nico beside him as he looked up information on ‘menstrual cycles’ “They really should add a chapter on this at the back of the baby books, warning parents of what to expect during the teenage phase” Demetri muttered, Nico nodded and replied “It’d be more helpful if they sold a teenager version of the baby book” Sophie choked back a laugh “I’m sorry for being an inconvenience to you all” Ellie retorted, Nico flinched at the attitude behind her tone “You’re not an inconvenience princess, it’s just…I was unprepared for this stage in your life” Demetri replied, turning his chair to look at her “He bought baby books after we met so he’d be able to look after you and know what to expect as you aged slower than your brother” Sophie told her “Well I’m sorry that I wasn’t born a hybrid” Ellie growled and rolled over “It’s not my fault I’m a lowly human” She muttered low but they heard her and tried not to laugh “I warned you the teenage years would be fun” Sophie said “I don’t remember you using the word fun mum” Nico replied “I remember you saying one ‘wait till she’s a teenager’” Demetri added.

Once Ellie had her first period, the monthly week-long mood swings were a minefield that Demetri and Nico dealt with in their own way, much to Sophie’s amusement. Alec on the other hand kept his distance for the first two days of that week, after Ellie threw an encyclopaedia across the room once, that narrowly missed his head screaming “Arrgh, I hate being human.”

“What happened?” Demetri asked Alec as he entered his room “All I did was enter her room to say hi and to see if she wanted anything” He told Demetri who shook his head. “Rookie mistake” Nico muttered smirking “How come she doesn’t throw stuff at you two?” “Dad and I will not share our secret with you. You need to figure this out on your own” “Now you’re just being mean Nico” Alec replied and Nico just smiled.

Nico and Demetri learnt after a few months how to avoid being shouted at and having items thrown at them during the ‘bad’ mood swings. Their research online told them that chocolate releases endorphins, which is the happy hormone and some women get a craving for chocolate, so as a result there was always a stash of Ellie’s favourite chocolate in the fridge. As Nico runs hotter than her due to being a hybrid, Ellie often snuggles up with Nico when she has stomach cramps and if she gets too hot, she cuddles into her mum or dad. Nico also found that running Ellie a bath with her favourite bubble bath ‘Raspberry and Vanilla’ scored him brownie points, especially if he handed her a hot chocolate to drink whilst she soaks. “You two spoil her, you know that right?” Sophie asks her mate and son “Being a human teenager sucks mum, anything I can do to make it better for her I will” Nico replies “She’s my daughter, I can’t watch her suffer either, I’m sorry” Demetri replies “I know but you’re setting a high bar for her mate to reach” Sophie replies “If he can’t reach or exceed the bar, then he doesn’t deserve her” Nico replied and Demetri nodded.

Caius sets Ellie and Nico a History assignment in which they need to write a report on someone that they admire from history. Ellie decides to write her report on her dad and she borrows his Volturi crest, his engraved silver compass from Sophie and the baby book he bought so he’d know how to look after her for the show and tell part of the report. Nico chose to write his about Marcus, because although he lost the love of his life, he didn’t let that destroy his life, he found a way to continue living without her. This is something Nico admired.

Demetri was getting ready for guard duty but couldn’t find his Volturi crest “Hey Nico, have you seen my crest? It isn’t where I left it” “Ellie has it. Ellie also has your silver compass and the baby book you bought years ago” Nico calls back “How do you know she has those items?” Demetri asked curiously “That’s what I do, I track objects” Nico replied and Demetri gave him a proud smile “You do a have a gift and it’s tracking related” Demetri pulled Nico up into a hug “I’m so proud” “Thanks dad…I hate to cut the proud dad moment short but I have to join Ellie in the library as we have to present our reports to Caius. You and mum should come along” Demetri released Nico and went to get Sophie from Heidi’s room “Hey, mi amore we are needed in the library” Demetri smiles at her.

Aro, Marcus, Sulpicia and Athenodora are sitting in the library with Demetri, Sophie standing in the doorway listening to Nico and Ellie give their reports, along with Felix, Heidi and the twins. Demetri feels proud when he realises Ellie’s report is about him and his life starting with him being born and raised in Ancient Greece, becoming a vampire and living in Egypt with Amun and Kebi as they helped him hone his gift, then meeting and joining the Volturi as an elite guard. She also speaks about his tracking gift and how it works. Finally, she speaks about the last thirteen years, where he met his mate Sophie and together, they raised her and Nico. “I admire my dad because although he has been around for 1000 years and seen and done many things, he’s still learning and experiencing new things, mainly thanks to me, his human daughter and he takes it all in his stride. Also, he is fiercely loyal and protective of those he cares about and I love him very much” Demetri felt his eyes filling with venom “I love you too princess.”

Time Skip – Ellie at 16 years old

Once Ellie and Nico had completed their education with the Kings and their wives, Nico wanted to experience college in the human world with Ellie, but she wasn’t so keen after her childhood experience in the human world. Sophie, Demetri and Ellie were sitting on the sofa in Demetri and Sophie’s shared room, with Nico sitting on the chair beside them “Mum, dad, Ellie, there’s something I want to talk to you about. I’d like to attend college in the human world” Nico saw shock wash over their faces “Nico, you can’t be serious? You know what I went through as a child” Ellie said, not quite believing what she was hearing “I know Ellie but it was different back then, you were a child and attended school alone. This time we are grown up and we’d attend college together.” He replied giving her a smile. “I have no problem with you attending college, all that I ask is that you do it together” Demetri added looking between Nico and Ellie “Will the Kings be ok with this Dem?” Sophie asked, worried “They will be ok with it as Nico and Ellie do not pose a threat to us or our secret” Demetri replied.

Nico and Ellie attended college together posing as twins; Ellie studying Art and Literature, Nico, Art and History. Both of them excelled in their studies and made a few friends whilst remaining close to one another. They had been in college for a few months when one of their mutual friends invited them to a party that weekend. “We’ll let you know if we’re free” Nico told their friend politely, Ellie nodded in agreement.

Later that night Felix could hear Demetri and his daughter having a disagreement about her being allowed to attend a friend’s party “Come on dad, Nico’s going to be there and I am older than he is” She said “I said no Ellie, you’re only 17” Demetri replied “Exactly dad, I’m 17, I’m am adult and have been for a year. I only asked to be respectful. I mean I bet Nico didn’t ask to go” “You may be an adult in the eyes of the law but you are my daughter and I said no…” “But dad” “But nothing. I do not want you at a party where there are boys and alcohol. End of discussion” “Arrgh I hate you” She stormed out of her parent’s room entering her own and slamming the bedroom door shut behind her “Went well then?” Nico smirked, putting down his book to look at her “Bite me” She replied throwing herself onto her bed.

Demetri squeezed the bridge of his nose and counted to ten “Kids” He muttered; Felix stood in the doorway laughing “What’s so funny Fe?” Demetri asked “Oh I’m just remembering a conversation we had about…17 years ago regarding ‘immortal teenagers’ and how you said you’d go crazy if you had to deal them for eternity. Ironic isn’t it considering you now have two immortal teenagers” He chuckled “Helpful Fe” He growled and Felix held his hands up “I bet you sympathise with Carlisle and Esme now” Felix replied smiling “Get lost” Demetri growled. “Everything alright?” Sophie asked entering the room noticing Demetri looking stressed and Felix looking amused “Ellie hates me because I said she couldn’t go to that party on Saturday and Felix thinks parenting immortal teenagers is funny” Demetri replied “Ellie doesn’t hate you babe, she’s just upset, angry maybe and she lashed out in the heat of the moment. Trust me” Sophie said as she cupped his face; she leaned forward and kissed him “Can I ask why she isn’t allowed to go, seeing as Nico will be there?” Sophie asked cautiously “Because there’ll be boys and alcohol and I don’t want her around that…I won’t be there to protect her” He answered low; Felix left the room knowing that the next part of that conversation was a private one. “Ahh…ok” Sophie said realising Demetri’s reasoning “You cannot protect her from everything…” “I can and will protect her from that environment mi amore. I know Nico will be there but…” “He’s not her father” She said low “Exactly, I am. I failed you…I will not fail my daughter” She cupped his cheeks pressing her lips to his “Our daughter” She corrected and he nodded resting his forehead to hers “You didn’t fail me Dem, you didn’t know me then remember” “I know but…” He trailed off “Maybe we should tell her why you are so protective” Sophie said softly “Then I’d have to tell her she’s not mine…that I’ve lied to her all this time…then she’ll really hate me” He sounded upset at the very thought “Ellie is yours; she always has been and always will be…you know that” She reassured him “I think she knows that you’re not biologically related given that Nico grew up quicker than she did” She added and he nodded.

Demetri knocked on his kid’s bedroom door before popping his head round the door “Ellie, we need to talk…alone. Nico do you mind?” “Not at all dad. I’ll be with mum” Nico got off his bed and left the room. “Can I sit down?” Demetri asked nodding to the end of her bed “Whatever” She replied, he sat down and took an unneeded breath “You and I need to talk princess…but I need you to know I love you so very much and that will never change” Ellie sat up and nodded “O-ok” “You know that mum and Nico aren’t biologically related…” He paused and she nodded “Well, neither are you and I…before you say anything you were two months old when I first met you and your mum although we didn’t get together straight away…” “I know you had Nico with someone else, she passed away and you and mum met back up when I was four months old and the rest is history as they say” She cut him off and he smiled “Yes, but…there’s something you need to know about…” Demetri cut himself off when Ellie climbed onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him “You are my dad, you’re the only dad I’ve ever known. I know why you’re protective of me and I understand your reasons for saying no about the party…we don’t need to talk about it, really” Ellie said resting her head on his shoulder “I love you dad” She kissed his cheek “I love you too Ellie, more than you know” He tightened his hold on her “I’m sorry I said I hated you, I didn’t mean it. I could never hate you” She told him, tears filling her eyes “Hey don’t cry, I know you didn’t mean it. It was said in the heat of the moment” Ellie nodded and snuggled into him; he kissed her hair.

Sophie and Nico stood in the doorway watching them “For what it’s worth mum I was never going to that party, I would only have gone to protect her” He placed an arm on her back “I know sweetie, you’re a good brother” She said as she wrapped an arm around him “I’m curious to see how they get along once she’s immortal…I mean he will be the one to train her and everything” Sophie whispered and Nico chuckled “That is going to be one interesting year. I suggest we hide anything breakable.” Sophie chuckled too “You know we can hear you two, right?” Ellie said looking at her mum and brother “I have experience dealing with newborns…both human and vampires so we’ll be just fine” Demetri added smiling “Not to mention Uncle Felix will doubt help you out” Nico added “Dad’s going to show me how I can take down Uncle Felix as I’ll be as strong as him once I’m a newborn” Ellie added smiling “Now that is one fight I’d pay to see” Sophie said laughing “As long you put your money on me mum” “Of course Ellie, with your dad teaching you how to fight it’ll be an easy win” She replied “I know his weaknesses” Demetri whispered in Ellie’s ear smiling.

Alec sat with Demetri for a little while during the initial part of Ellie’s transformation “You know seventeen years ago I watched you and Sophie blend your little families together to create a new one, you accepted each other’s children as though they were your own and I admire you both for doing so as it couldn’t have been easy” Alec said thinking back to when Demetri met Sophie and Ellie and when he bought them into their world “It wasn’t easy at first as I had to keep a big secret from her but once I had told her about me being a vampire and we had spoken of the circumstances surrounding Ellie and Nico’s births, everything fell into place” Demetri replied and Alec nodded “I remember and the ‘mission’ that occurred after that conversation” “Speaking of Sophie and Nico, did you know that after she got control and everything settled down, Nico asked her to bite his wrist so that he has her mark on him and he bit her wrist in return; their venom marking each other, thereby strengthening their mother /son bond; making them mother and son, as they explained it to me afterwards” Demetri asked “I didn’t know that but I can understand the logic behind it, as they have always had a close relationship as mother and son” Alec replied “Ellie told me recently that once I change her, she will truly be my daughter as she’ll have my venom running through her and she and Nico will also be actual siblings” “Therefore finally becoming one blended family” Alec added “Exactly” Demetri said with a smile.

Ellie woke three days later to find her parents and brother waiting for her, her red eyes scanned all of them before settling on her dad. She ran straight for him and jumped into his arms wrapping hers around his neck “Thank you for keeping your promise. I love you” Having caught her with ease Demetri wrapped his arms around her “I had no intention of breaking that promise princess. I love you too.” He set her down on the floor and she hugged her mum next.

“Look who’s finally joined the immortal club” Nico said smiling, Ellie punched his arm lightly “Hey little sister play nice” Nico says still smiling “Excuse me, little sister? Na ah. I’m older than you little brother” She replied “I’ve always been your big brother Ellie” “That’s because you had an unfair advantage of being a hybrid, therefore you have ‘played’ at being my big brother…but now I’m all grown up it’s only fair we resume our actual roles, little brother…or should I call you baby brother” She replied in a teasing tone, Demetri and Sophie laughing at the expression on his face “Baby brother?” He mouthed and she nodded “You may be older than me but you will always be my cute little sister” Nico wrapped his arms around her hugging her “I love you Ellie” “I love you too Nico” Ellie replied hugging him back. Demetri watching Ellie closely, to ensure she doesn’t attack Nico and feels proud of her for not being tempted by her brother’s human half.

“Ready for your first hunt princess?” Demetri asked “Yes. Is Nico still coming?” Ellie replied “Of course I am. I promised not to hunt or drink blood until you were changed, wanting us to share that experience together” Nico answered her with a smile.

Demetri, Sophie, Nico and Ellie left the castle to go hunting as evening fell, Demetri leading them to alleyway where it would be easy to lure humans to their death without exposing themselves. “When I say you run forward and grab the humans by the throat and waist ensuring your grip is tight and bite down hard” Demetri instructed his children as he eyed a human couple walking towards the alleyway. “Nico stay with your mum and Ellie, I’ll be back in a moment” Demetri said and made his way to end of the alleyway and spoke to the approaching couple “Please help me my wife is hurt…” Demetri led them into alleyway, getting closer to his family, a moment later Demetri’s voice calls out “Now” Nico and Ellie run forward with Ellie grabbing the female and Nico grabbing the male; holding them against themselves and biting down on their necks letting the blood flow down their throats, Ellie feels the burn ease with each delicious drop of the female’s blood. “Well done you two. You were quick and they were fairly clean kills” Demetri praises “Yes, you both showed more restraint than I did when I was a newborn” Sophie added with a smile, Demetri sped over to her and took her into his arms “So you struggled a little at first but you gained control quickly, with help of your family and friends” Demetri told her, kissing her temple “I think mum’s a little irked that you are a calmer newborn than she was” Nico whispered to Ellie “I can’t help that” Ellie whispered back “I know Ellie.”

Demetri enjoyed training Ellie, teaching her to fight, to protect herself and to take down Felix in a sparring match. Nico even joined the sessions to test Ellie’s skills ahead of her ‘match’ with Felix and was impressed with his sister’s skills.

The sparring match between Ellie and Felix was watched by the whole castle, Caius and Athenodora even held up a banner ‘Go Ellie’ “Not playing favourites at all are we, brother?” Aro asked amused, Caius ignored him and cheered her on, shouting “Well done little one” when Ellie finally pinned Felix down, with his arms bent behind him.

A few nights later Demetri and Sophie were enjoying some quiet time together, reminiscing about the last seventeen years “I know there have been some challenges along the way, but I think we did a great job of blending our families together and raising our children” Demetri said to Sophie “I agree, I mean it was impossible not to fall in love with you and Nico, you’re both so adorable” She replied smiling and he chuckled “Well you and Ellie captured our hearts straight away too, being so cute and human” He smiled against her neck “We’re not human anymore” “I know, I am the one who turned you both…remember” He kissed her neck and she hummed “I remember everything, including Ellie capturing your heart on the plane, even if you didn’t realise it at the time” “Nico captured yours at the park the moment you saw him, mi amore” She nodded and snuggled back into him, as they sat on the sofa, the fire crackling low.

Ellie and Nico were standing in their parent’s doorway “Bless them, they’re strolling down memory lane” Ellie said to Nico, her voice teasing “They’re right though, there have been challenges but we’ve overcome them as a family. For the record Ellie, I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. You were so small and cuddly” He told her smiling “You were cute too bro, and I appreciate that you spent so much time with me as we grew up, even though you aged quicker than me” She looked up at him and smiled “You’re my sister and I liked spending time with you, I still do now. I found you fascinating as you grew up. Most impressive though was how you won over the Kings, including Caius, but I think putting the vampires in a timeout helped you two bond” He chuckled at the memory “What can I say, I’m just so darn loveable” She replied smiling. “That you are” Demetri agreed smiling over his shoulder at his children “I’m looking forward to spending forever as a family” Sophie added smiling.

#demetri volturi #felix volturi #alec volturi #jane volturi #aro volturi #caius volturi #marcus volturi #heidi volturi #volturi #twilight

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thejudgingtrash · 4 years ago

Note

🌳

Thank you for sending me a prompt :D This one shot it definitely not proofread, so I'm sorry about that.

I tried to do something different aside from Percabeth for once - Ruegard! Also tw: character death

Thorns and Roses

Silena looked at her. “Clarisse…” she mumbled.

“No. Please don’t,” Clarisse cried. Tears clouded her vision and her last moments with her.

“I’m so sorry.”

It took a mere split second for Clarisse to fall deep for her. It was a lazy glance to the side of the arena, when she saw her smile and wink. The encouraging wave of her hand that rose as Clarisse slammed Percy with her magical spear.

But that was all that it took, many summers ago. It was all that Clarisse little hardened heart needed. Clarisse La Rue, formally bully exterior, now nothing but a shell of destruction and failure.

She was truly her father’s creation. Her looks, her wit, her sharpened senses, her rage. All came from him unfortunately. But with the looks came the bad. The legitimate children of Zeus and Hera were cursed, no one wanted to admit it. They lacked in tact, they lacked in grace. Their status was only high lightened by their status and birth rights.

The captivating beauty of one Silena Beauregard was all that made Clarisse nearly forget those facts. Those pesky thoughts that had haunted her ever since she was a child. A child of Ares who had the greatest honor and the greatest displeasure of actually meeting her father.

The minute the son of Poseidon stepped into the camp; everyone knew. He looked like a younger and smaller version of his father; most people just played the indifferent card aside from that annoying Athena girl. Had Annabeth owned the medical tool kit from the Apollo cabin, she would have dissected Percy as if he were an insect. But no. Percy was successful with retrieving the lightning bolt and found out that one of the most beloved and prominent campers was a traitor. It was a wonder that Luke never bothered to try to recruit from the Ares cabin. With Clarisse on his side, it would have been a stroll through the parks, waging war against Olympus. Not only that, Percy had the nerve to humiliate her father for all to see. The Ares cabin had been the laughing stock for a whole year.

Then the sea rat stole her mission and final chance to shine and marked Clarisse’s downfall. Disgust. That was what her father breathed the few times she had seen him and pleaded for his advice. Strategizing wasn’t the strength of the legitimate war children. It was blood lust, destruction, interruption. And just like that he had wiped the Iris message with his hand, closing their call.

Clarisse La Rue, the biggest failure on Mount Olympus. But she was different. Silena, who greeted her every day. Silena who asked how she was feeling. It was Silena who was nurturing and caring. She who clearly sought her out and bonded with Clarisse. The campers saw it and yet they didn’t. Clarisse turned from the loud and brash leader of the cabin into a more solemn version of herself.

Love and war. Thorns and roses. They were opposites, but who was about to say they would attract each other? Love was pure and soft. It made you swoon and see the world through different lenses. War was the other side of the spectrum. It tore apart, it hurt, it caused pain. It would leave scars for eternity as love stood by its side to caress it. Ares and Aphrodite. Two forces not to be reckoned with. The beauty of a rose was always accompanied by the pain of its thorns.

“I want to see Charlie. See… Charlie…” coughed Silena. Blood sticked to her torn lips.

“I’m in love,” Silena had giggled back then. She tried to bite the smile down that came through anyways. Just like always.

Clarisse could hear her own heart beat louder with every new tact. It was beating to the rhythm of anticipation. She licked her lips and tried not to nervously touch her dull hair. I love you too.

“It’s Charlie, Charles Beckendorf.” Silena admitted, her blue eyes shining as bright as a thousand stars. Then she smiled again and broke Clarisse’s heart into tiny pieces.

It was the greatest irony of them all that a child of Hephaestus stole the heart of the daughter of Aphrodite all while the mighty speechless fruit of Ares could do nothing but sit there and watch. The gods must have a feast with that gossip on Mount Olympus.

O gods, why did you shoot Clarisse with the arrow of love? Eros, how could you? Didn’t she suffer enough shame and humiliation? It wasn’t that Clarisse was angry or disappointed. She was truly as happy for Silena as Silena was in love. She wanted to see her flower bloom and see her smile every day. If it meant that it was Charles who captured that precious place so be it.

But it was… Jealousy? No, Clarisse didn’t want to steal Silena away from Beckendorf. They deserved each other. Despite the children of Hephaestus being mental twins to the children of Ares, both with their and non-conforming looks, their strength and the cautious glances the other campers threw into their direction, Clarisse didn’t wish her cousin any harm. Beckendorf was shy around Silena and even if watching them share small kisses here and there caused Clarisse’s stomach to drop. She wanted Silena to blossom.

It was envy. If Clarisse could switch parts with Beckendorf she would do so in a heartbeat. He was polite and quite popular even if he wasn’t aware of it. While most of Hephaestus’ creations had a harsh tone to them, Beckendorf was truly one of his best to rise. The heart of a fighter and the smarts that could beat any quantum computer. And he beat Clarisse too, when it came to Silena Beauregard’s heart.

Clarisse tried to branch out, meet new people even in camp. She tried to keep an eye out for any other possible romantic partner, alas to no success. She was no dainty small girl which others seemed to prefer. She had her height and her muscles in her arm that beat most mortal men. No chance for her witty and empathetic personality to shine through.

Clarisse was no child of Aphrodite. She couldn’t smell emotions on a whim, but her father’s powers gave her a similar skillset. She could sense whenever something wasn’t right and it started months ago before the Battle of Manhattan. Silena was distant. Her hair was less shiny and her eyes as dull as the calm seas. She couldn’t look her in the eyes. She was distracted, looked to the side.

Something was off with her, no matter how much positivity the daughter of Aphrodite used to cover her tracks. Clarisse could tell, but she was tactful enough to not pry. Oh, had she pried back then. She had seen the signs, why didn’t she step up and say something? The difference between desperation and the calm before the storm was so small.

Silena ran away from Clarisse as if she had been hit by the arrow of hatred. The beauty could tell that she was unable to deceive her dearest friend. So, she stopped talking to her at all, avoiding her on every occasion. No more boy trouble, no more talks, no more sneaking off to the beach, no more laying down and watching the stars. Well, Silena watched the stars. Clarisse could only see her.

The manipulation of the Aphrodite cabin never worked on the children of Ares. They saw clear through lies and deception. In war every moment counted. You needed to be one with your environment. You needed to know your opponent. Was he stronger than you? Did he have more men? Was he able to do things you could never do? Would he risk things you would never do?

Avoidance was clearly the better tactic. Silena had learned a lot from Annabeth and the other children of Athena back in those days.

The moment Clarisse’s heart began to break forever was when it turned out that Silena had been the spy for the cursed Castellan boy. That he was. A naïve boy who thought that whining and throwing a fit on the ground would cause change. As the son of one of the master manipulators on Mount Olympus, Luke should have seen Kronos’ betrayal a mile away. But he was a broken and cursed boy like all of them, a kid in college and the Titan Lord cracked him like a walnut. No one in camp could have resisted, not even the strongest children like Percy, Thalia and Nico.

But why her? Why Silena? What did he do to Clarisse’s sweet Silena? What did he do that made her lights go out forever? What did he do to let her die like that? She deserved the death of a warrior, not the death of being the traitor’s second-class shadow.

Silena had chosen her in the end. Her, poor Clarisse La Rue. Like Patroclus and Achilles back then, millennia ago. She chose to disguise herself as Clarisse. The greatest deception, a war tactic of its own.

How had Achilles overcome his loss? How did he mourn? With agony. With the most destructive pain. With anger. Was he ever reunited with his lover? Clarisse did not know the answer. All she saw was her rose wilting on the dirty grounds of Manhattan.

The poison tore Silena’s face apart, the sad reminder of her being was slowly decaying. The shell of her being. The pain that she left in Clarisse’s heart. Silena had coughed and Clarisse knew it was time for Thanatos to put an end and for Hermes to bring her to the other side. She knew it, yet didn’t want to face the truth. It would break her already broken heart.

“Why did you do this?” whimpered Clarisse. “Why did you, you silly girl?”

But Clarisse knew why. It was like always – Silena did it out of love. Both for Beckendorf and for her. Her last moment was dedicated to the both of them.

The last red petal fell. It was just like that. One last breath and her life force was gone, the eyes dull and an ash gray layer covered her. The teary blue eyes. It was no picture for the gods yet something Clarisse would never forget. Of that she was certain. Silena’s black hair was framing her body like a dark halo. They were putting down roots on the cold and hard concrete. The final whispers of an escaped nymph making peace with the situation.

A piercing cry haltered all movements. Monsters and men alike. It echoed through the streets and drowned out all the noise from the battle grounds. Today they would die. Rage covered every inch of her body. The movements were robotic as if a parasite had taken over her, but it truly was the devastation that manifested itself within Clarisse’s mind.

She had killed that fucking drakon just like it killed one of the most precious people on earth. She never had the chance to hell her that she loved her dearly and sincerely. Deep down Clarisse knew that Silena knew the entire time. But she never had the guts to say it to her face, rejection be damned. To be freed of the burden and speak her truth. Clear her consciousness and her mind.

She was shaking with pain and desperation. Every muscle, every thought burned and hurt. Clarisse channeled all the ugliness of war. All of her strength just for her. She who had just left this plane of existance.

Clarisse had lost her.

The thorns had lost their beauty.

And they would all pay for it.

I hope the Apollon and Daphne theme shone through ^^ lmk what you think!!

#greenteamatchas #Mel answers #mel writes #pjo #percy jackson #clarisse la rue #silena beauregard #ruegard #clarena #pjo fanfic #TLO #the last olympian #death

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