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mariana-oconnor · 2 years ago

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Fanfiction Deep Cuts

Tagged by @drgrlfriend Thank you!

tag a writer if you’d like them to share a never-before-seen playlist/moodboard/bit of background lore from one of their fics!

I don't do playlists or moodboards, so what we're looking at here is deleted scenes. So, hey, guys, guys, guys. Did you know that once upon a time there was a whole extra chapter to Silhouette?

Hell, I have a lot of deleted scenes from Silhouette and I've managed to dig out my external hard drive to find them. So here, have the original Chapter 4 of Silhouette, that both I and my beta agreed was unneeded and also stretched the suspension of disbelief a bit too far, even for an unapologetic identity porn fic. (I was so tempted to put the Tony & Bucky scene instead because I love it so much, but this one won out because Dog Cops).

Tagging anyone who wants to play because I never know who to tag for these things.

Silhouette Chapter 3.5: 30,000 feet

(under a cut to save your dash because it's almost 3k)

It’s weird, but since they’ve been chasing the world’s greatest assassination double act around, Bucky and Steve have wandered into some of the worst recesses and cesspools humanity has to offer: People trafficking in Barcelona, arms dealers in Alexandria, the cult leader and his brainwashing victims in Ottawa. Well, maybe that’s not the weird part. When you follow criminals, you’ve got to expect them to associate with criminals. The weird thing is that Hawkeye and Black Widow are taking half of these people down.

Bucky supposes that there’s no love lost between members of the criminal fraternity, but it feels different somehow. Even the marks that seem squeaky clean on the surface (the civil rights lawyer) turn out to be in the middle of some hideous act or three, and the evidence is always right there, like the pair of them plan their kills for the most incriminating times. All of which means that Bucky and Steve are getting a reputation for uncovering massive crimes and they’re doing very little of the legwork.

Not that they’re not doing any legwork. SHIELD hasn’t given them a jet yet, but the expenses they’re racking up on international flights have got to be raising some flags.

Take this one, for example. They’ve just been to Kuala Lumpur and now they’re following a lead to Rio de Janeiro. Coulson’s probably going to raise an eyebrow at that, but they’re pretty sure it’s a good tip. With the more they know about the pair, it’s got easier to tell what’s true and what’s not. It feels sort of like they’re getting to know them.

It’s been almost 6 months now. From what Coulson says, no one’s ever lasted this long before. Bucky knows that Hawkeye and the Widow must know about him and Steve, but he has no idea what they think of it. The small moments of communication they’ve had with them – the napkin, the tool dropped off at the hotel – indicate that they’re not angry about it. It seems more like a game to them and it’s starting to feel a bit like that to Bucky as well. He’s lost the anger at being led around, and he… maybe, slightly, is enjoying the challenge of it.

He shakes his head. This is one of the many reasons he hates long haul flights, even if this is one of the double decker planes that feels like something out of science fiction. Nothing to do but think, or watch whatever terrible TV or film is available.

Dog Cops, for crying out loud. Who watches Dog Cops?

The guy next to him, apparently. He’s been laughing for the past hour or so at what the animals on the screen are doing. Bucky doesn’t know what they’re saying, but he can’t imagine that it’s as funny as the guy seems to think it is.

It should be annoying, the constant chuckles and gasps, but it’s not. It’s not like Bucky’s going to sleep any time soon - sleeping sitting up is a surefire way to have nightmares since Afghanistan – and the guy’s got a nice laugh. Bucky’s the only one who thinks so, it seems, because the lady across the aisle is glaring every time the man opens his mouth. Not that it does any good. The guy in C62 is oblivious to everything but the antics of the four-legged detectives on the screen.

“Officer Wagsalot, no!” he says at what must be a crucial dramatic moment. It just looks like a dog licking another dog to Bucky.

“Shhh,” the woman across the way hisses. Bucky just looks at her. He’s got a very effective look. The only people it doesn’t work on are Steve, Hill, Coulson, and his family.

She shuts up.

The guy laughs again. At least someone’s having fun.

Steve’s got the window seat and Bucky’s trapped between him and the Dog Cops fan, which isn’t ideal, but he can endure it.

An hour later and Bucky’s given up on his book for the second time. He doesn’t know why he thought a thriller would be a good idea, given his day job, but it had been a choice between the latest adventures of Jack Montgomery, super spy, or one of those romantic novels with the soft pastel cover and the wishy-washy title. ’13 Minutes to Death’ had seemed more Bucky’s style.

Steve’s snoring isn’t helping matters either. Apparently the disapproving woman has run out of disapproval, though, because she doesn’t spare one of her judgemental looks for Steve, even though he sounds like a chainsaw. That’s the one thing the super soldier serum made worse, if anything. His old lungs couldn’t have held enough air to make this much noise.

Bucky takes a video just so he can guilt trip Steve later, and maybe to prove a point because Steve always complains that Bucky’s snoring keeps him up all night when they share a room – which is often because SHIELD are cheapskates.

“Friend of yours?”

It seems Dog Cops has finished because the guy has the headphones off and is looking right at Bucky. He’s got a weird beard that doesn’t suit his face at all, and wire rimmed glasses.

“Yeah,” Bucky says. “Not that I need more blackmail material, but why not?” C62 chuckles.

“He does sound like a machine gun.” Bucky laughs.

“So you ran out of dogs to watch, huh?” he asks. He wouldn’t normally start a conversation with a stranger these days, but what the hell else is there to do at 30,000 feet? And the guy’s attractive in an academic sort of way.

“I’m all caught up,” the guy says. “I’m away on business a lot, so I miss it half the time. Had to catch up on what’s going on with Officer Wagsalot and Mongrel Malone.” He looks at Bucky expectantly, as though he thinks that what he just says makes sense.

“Sorry, I don’t watch it,” Bucky admits. He feels a little guilty when the man’s face drops.

“What?! It’s a seminal work of American television!”

“I’m sure it is,” Bucky assures him. “But I travel a lot too. Not sure I’d be able to keep up.”

“You should try it. Only philistines don’t appreciate the greatness that is Dog Cops.” Bucky grins and nods past the guy at Ms Judgemental on the other side of the aisle.

“Some of our fellow passengers wouldn’t agree with you.” 63C follows the line of his gaze to give the woman a quick once over. She notices them looking and gives a very dismissive sniff as Bucky waves at her.

“She was probably worried about spoilers,” the guy tells him. At Bucky’s huff of disbelieve he holds up a hand. “That, my friend, is a true Dog Cops fan. We can tell our own. It’s like a secret society.”

“Right,” Bucky says. “Not sure she looked like a fan when she was shushing you.”

“She shushed me?” the guy asks. His face falls again. “I wasn’t really being that loud, was I? I’m terrible at judging volumes. My best friend’s always telling me to keep it down.”

“It was fine,” Bucky says. “I didn’t mind.”

“Yeah, well,” the man scrabs a hand across the back of his neck, then brings it round to scratch at his beard. “Sorry if I kept you awake or something.”

“Not like I was going to get any sleep anyway,” Bucky tells him with a shrug. “I can’t really sleep on airplanes.”

“Tell me about it.”

They both glance over at Steve, who is way too big to fit comfortably in airplane seating these days and looks a lot like human spaghetti. But he’s still fast asleep.

“He can sleep anywhere,” Bucky says. “Always, since we were kids.” Bucky doesn’t mention that it had been out of necessity for all the trips to hospital and all the pills he was on that made him drowsy.

“Tell you what I like to do,” the guy says, distracting Bucky from his weird thoughts. “People watch.”

“Yeah.” Bucky looks around. “Hate to break it to ya, but no one’s really doing a whole lot.” The guy shakes his head.

“Nah, not like that. I mean, everyone’s just sitting down, that’s dull. But like, there’s a word – sonder, it means that moment when you remember that everyone’s got their own lives, even if they’re just extras in yours.”

Bucky frowns, looking around.

“So I like to try to work out what those lives are. I mean, the woman we were talking about before, clearly she’s an archaeologist on her way to uncover a mythical lost city.” Bucky looks at her and tries to imagine it.

“I think she’s more likely a drugs mule,” he says. That startles a laugh from the other man.

“Dark. I like it,” he says. He looks over at the woman again and nods sagely. “You know, I think you might be right,” he says. “What about the skinny guy over there, with the headphones?” Bucky turns to look and considers the man for a second. His first instinct is student, but that’s obviously not the aim of this game.

“Alien,” he says finally. “He’s just here to observe us.”

They make up progressively weirder stories for each of the passengers. The old man two rows ahead is a retired dinosaur wrestler and the young girl behind them’s a time-travelling student from the future. Bucky almost chokes when the guy declares that a red-haired flight attendant is an international assassin.

“She’s a flight attendant,” Bucky points out.

“That’s what she wants you to think. Perfect cover. You get to travel all over the world and no one really notices you.”

Bucky considers the woman for a moment. She’s pretty in the polished way all flight attendants are pretty and she smiles her plastic smile as she serves the drunk man at the front another drink. She’s just another flight attendant.

“Nah… I don’t think you’re right about that one.” 62C smiles enigmatically. “So what did you think about me?” Bucky asks and the guy freezes.

“I… uh… I didn’t,” he says and Bucky smirks at the look on his face because he definitely did.

“Fine, then. What about now?”

“That would be cheating.”

“I didn’t know there were rules.”

“I already spoke to you. It’s supposed to be based entirely on looking at the person,” the guy says quickly. This is clearly going to be good.

“Well, I won’t say anything if you don’t.”

The man shifts uncomfortably and scratches his beard again.

“Go ahead. I swear I won’t get mad if you call me a lizard person.” Bucky sits back and gestures for the man to continue. It’s amusing watching him trip over his own tongue. 62C looks conflicted for a minute before shifting in his seat to face Bucky properly. He looks him up and down and it’s not a flirtatious glance or a joking one. Bucky tenses a little as he notices the sudden switch to serious.

“You’re American, New York from your accent,” the guy starts slowly. “I’d say ex-military – the way you sit and the way you look around a room. You prefer not to be noticed most of the time. You and your friend are very close, practically brothers.” He pauses, words hesitating on his tongue and Bucky takes a moment to draw in a quick, settling breath. The man looks him in the eye and shrugs. “And you’ve seen some shit.”

Bucky’s laugh is a little broken.

“I’ve seen some shit,” he agrees. His left hand curls into a fist. He sees the man look at it. It’s not a stare, not a question, just a glance and Bucky sort of wants to tell him, about the cave and HYDRA and the first arm, the one that was half rust and sent jolts of pain through him. He wants to talk about being strapped into the chair and knocked out with not enough anaesthetic. About coming to with someone drilling into his shoulder. His hand is shaking.

“Sorry,” 62C says quickly, holding up his hands in the universal non-threatening gesture. “I didn’t mean to…”

“No,” Bucky says. “It was a while ago. I… You were right about the army. I lost my arm in combat.” The truth fades into the civilian-friendly lie. “They didn’t have a lot of medical facilities where I was so…”

“But at least you got a cool cyborg arm,” the guy counters. It’s not the sympathy or pity Bucky was expecting and it makes him laugh again. 62C takes that as permission to continue. “I mean, that thing’s snazzy. Bet it comes in really useful when you need to punch through walls.”

“Which is something I do a lot,” Bucky concedes. It hasn’t come up, but he supposes it might. “So what do you do? Psychic?”

“Nah. Can’t you tell? I’m in a Mariachi band.”

The red-headed flight attendant comes over to offer them another drink and the conversation ends naturally. It’s only a few minutes before the pilot announces that they’re arriving in Dubai for their overnight layover.

As the man, and Bucky hadn’t even got his name, stands up to grab his bag from the overhead locker their eyes meet and they both chuckle.

“Thanks for the company,” 62C offers, holding out his hand. Bucky shakes it gratefully, feeling warm calluses.

“I should be thanking you,” Bucky tells him. “Otherwise I would have just been stuck with this one and his snoring.” To his left, Steve is blinking awake. “Don’t suppose you’re heading to Rio?”

“Nah. Dubai’s my home for the next few days,” 62C replies.

“Strange that we just spent seven hours together and now we’ll never meet again,” Bucky says. He tries not to be sad at the prospect.

“Maybe not,” the guy shrugs. “Maybe we already did and we just don’t remember it – in a bar, or at a café. Or maybe you drove right past me in the street. Who knows? The world is full of weird coincidences.”

The doors are opened and everyone starts shuffling off. Bucky loses sight of 62C in the crowd.

“Make a friend.” Steve asks, grinning like the little shit that he is. Bucky elbows him.

“Yeah, we bonded over your terrible snoring!”

“I don’t snore,” Steve protests, and Bucky just pulls out his phone and presses play. Steve listens for a few seconds before cringing.

“Separate rooms tonight?”

“You read my mind.”

When Clint gets to the rendezvous point in the back corridors of the airport, Nat is waiting for him, peeling off her flight attendant gear to get into her new outfit, and wrapping the head scarf over her hair. A change in her make-up and she’ll be a completely new person.

Clint can’t get the stupid beard off his face quick enough.

“This stuff itches,” he tells her. He’s sure he spent half his conversation with Bucky scratching at it. The man must have thought he had some sort of skin disease. “And I think it’s given me a rash. Next time I want the old glue again.”

“I don’t complain about the wigs,” she points out.

“You’re not allergic to the wigs!”

She hasn’t mentioned his conversation with Barnes, and she probably won’t. He knows she doesn’t approve. She thinks he’s getting too involved and he is. When she’d seen that he’d deliberately arranged it so that his seat on the flight was next to Barnes and Rogers she’d given him her most piercing look, and she does keep glancing at him like she’s worried. It had been a risk, a huge stupid risk, but he hadn’t quite been able to resist. And it had been worth it. The flight had been ten times more interesting with Barnes to talk to, even with Rogers’ ridiculous snoring.

She huffs and grasps his face to examine it.

“You’re not allergic. It’s only red because you’ve been scratching at it. Now get changed. We’ve got a job to do and a time limit.”

Clint glares at her, but takes the duffle bag she holds out and starts stripping. He’s going from travelling academic to wealthy business man. It’s an easier change than Nat’s.

It is disturbingly easy to get out of the airport without going through security when you know what you’re doing.

“I still can’t believe you got us a job on the way to another job.” He hops into the new trousers. They are apparently very expensive, going by the label, which Clint’s actually heard of, but they don’t look it. “This is not what overnight layovers are for, Nat. They are for sleeping. I need to sleep!”

“If you hadn’t been busy flirting with Barnes then you could have been asleep on the flight,” Nat points out. Clint doesn’t really have a witty comeback for that, so he just pouts until she throws his shirt into his face.

“Put your shirt on. I don’t want to be arrested for indecent exposure.” He rolls his eyes, but does as she says. They tuck away their usual arsenal of weaponry. With the less revealing clothes, Nat gets to hide more than usual. With what she’s wearing today, she could hide pretty much anything, which could be useful as they’re gate-crashing an evil international business man convention today. Good times.

#fanfic meme #my writing #drgrlfriend #Silhouette #Deleted scene #Winterhawk #my fic #Winterhawk fic #I always said I was going to do a deleted scenes work on AO3 but I never did

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queridopascal · 3 years ago

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I posted 2,814 times in 2021

638 posts created (23%)

2176 posts reblogged (77%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 3.4 posts.

I added 2,053 tags in 2021

#pedro pascal - 570 posts

#javier peña - 340 posts

#frankie morales - 268 posts

#comment reblog - 255 posts

#fic rec - 213 posts

#pedro pascal character fanfiction - 88 posts

#pedro pascal x reader - 83 posts

#agent whiskey - 82 posts

#francisco catfish morales - 79 posts

#dave york - 75 posts

Longest Tag: 100 characters

#when you know the word in two or three other languages but you forget the word in your mother tongue

My Top Posts in 2021

car sex

Pairing: Javier Peña x F!DEA Agent Reader

Warning: angst, feelings bc it’s me, 18+, explicit content, SMUT, dry humping, unprotected sex (p in v)

KINKTOBER 2021 MASTERLIST

“I’m fine, Javier. Stop asking.” you huffed as you crossed your arms, the residual adrenaline from the raid still pumping through your veins.

“Don’t ever leave my sight again, okay?” he glared in your direction but didn’t meet your gaze, and you could sense a thick layer of tension settle between you two.

Javier put the keys into the ignition but didn’t start the car, he sat there with his hands on the steering wheel instead, grip so tight that his knuckles turned white.

“Be more careful next time.” he sighed, shoulders relaxing as he exhaled deeply. “I don’t want to —” he cut himself off and shook his head, eyes staring into space.

Javier was unable to look you in the eye, he didn’t want you to see all the demons that haunted him, all the nightmares he had, and all the terrible images of the moment he realized he was so close to losing you.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered sheepishly as you looked at the moon out of the tinted window, guilt creeping up into your stomach and making it clench.

He turned to you, head tilted to the side. “I care about you. And I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

You swallowed and looked into his eyes for a moment, and before he could turn away to start the car, you gathered all your courage and leaned over the center console, kissing him softly. He gasped in surprise once he felt your mouth against his, and all negative thoughts were suddenly forgotten, the softness of your lips the only thing he could focus on in that instant.

“I—I don’t want to push you, I don’t want to rush you if you don’t want to.” he breathed out as he slowly pulled away, his lips mere inches away from yours.

You bit the inside of your cheek and rested your forehead against his, carding your fingers through his hair with one hand while caressing his cheek with the other.

“I want this.” you reassured him firmly. “I want you, Javi.”

He sighed, and it was as if a dam broke: cupping the back of your head, he pulled you in and crashed his lips to yours in a searing kiss that made your head spin and mind go blank, completely thoughtless.

Both his hands settled on your hips, and with a sharp tug, Javier helped you climb over the center console and guided you down onto his lap, your legs on either side of his thighs so that you were straddling him.

“You’re so beautiful and so damn stubborn.” he said as he stared into your eyes, completely enchanted by the way they crinkled when you grinned.

Without saying a single word, you grabbed the lapels of his shirt and pulled his lips back on yours; the impatient pressure against the seam of his mouth made him smile, and he opened it with a grunt, letting your tongue slide in to entwine with his.

Javier wrapped his arms around you, pulling away from your mouth only to pepper kisses along your neck and down to your sternum, tasting the salty sweat drops that gathered on your cleavage.

“Javi…” you sighed, fingers tugging at his hair as you cradled his face between your hands and let his tongue lick at the plump swell of your breasts that was spilling out from the neckline of your shirt.

Head buried into the softness, he mumbled something incoherent before kissing his way back up to your chin; you let out a sigh and pressed your hips down against the growing bulge in his jeans, grinding back and forth as you placed your hands on his shoulders for leverage.

Javier smirked, his features sparkling with desire and laughter as he watched you move on top of him and arch your back sinfully, breasts bouncing ever so slightly with your motions.

Running your hands down his chest, you shuffled backwards to undo the button and lower the zip of his jeans, and he moaned when you freed him from the confines of his clothes and took him in your warm hand; he was thick and long, and your mouth watered at the sight, wishing you could taste him on your tongue, wishing you could feel him spill down your throat.

You swiped your thumb across the head and spread the precum that was beaded there before taking the finger to your mouth and licking it clean, never breaking eye contact with him.

“Fuck…” he groaned, his voice now a wonderful baritone sound that made your cunt clench on air.

“Please Javi,” you begged him as you ground your hips faster, pace matching the strokes of your hand around his throbbing cock. “Fuck me.”

He nodded frantically and helped you settle over him, his thick fingers reaching the apex of your thighs and moving your drenched panties to the side, lightly brushing against your clit in the process; that brief contact felt like a rush of pure electricity down to your core, and you whimpered when his cock twitched underneath you, its head catching on your sensitive bud for a split second.

Your eyes found his in the darkness of the car, lust filled stares locked together as you guided him inside, lowering yourself slowly until he was fully sheathed inside of you.

Javier shuddered and closed his eyes at the welcoming warmth of your cunt, his hands grabbing handfuls of your thighs as he adjusted in his car seat; you tilted your head forward and kissed him as you began to ride him slowly, savoring the way he stretched you open and how well he filled you up.

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420 notes • Posted 2021-10-01 18:09:35 GMT

𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧

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REQUESTS/HEADCANONS MASTERLIST

WRITING EVENTS MASTERLIST

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* = indicates SMUT

• Relief *

Synopsis: being apart for two weeks made your heart ache, you missed him every second. When you looked around in your apartment, every single thing reminded you of him: the empty crystal ash-tray on the coffee table, the pack of cigarettes on the nightstand, his shirts, the bottle of rum you shared on special occasions and his yellow aviator sunglasses he inadvertently forgot home when he left.

• Fantasy *

Synopsis: you squeeze under the desk and listen to their conversation. Javier’s voice is composed and authoritative and you hear him gasp when your hand accidentally brushes against his thigh, grazing the fabric of his pants. You want to retrieve it, but are taken by surprise when he laces his fingers with yours and keeps them firm in his grip, leaving your hand right where it is.

• Desire *

Synopsis: the bell rings, breaking the silence of your apartment, and you smile to yourself knowing who’s gonna be waiting outside in the corridor.

• Closer *

Synopsis: the last two months had been rough, he had missed you like the desert misses the rain, feeling as if life had been drained out of his body. He had convinced himself that he was over you, but waking up every morning to an empty and cold bed had made him realize that he wasn’t. And he never would have been.

• Lost Time *

Synopsis: 6 months. It’s been 6 months since Javier went back to Colombia and left behind the love of his life. Now that he’s back home, will he be able to make up for lost time and mend your broken heart

• We

Synopsis: after moving to his place and finding out your clothes won’t fit into the closet, you decide to buy a new one.

• Sleepless

Synopsis: you can’t sleep without Javier by your side.

• At first sight

Synopsis: when did ordering food turn into falling in love at first sight?

• Almost

Synopsis: that one time you almost met Javier Peña.

• Day off

Synopsis: Javier has had a couple of rough days at work; all he needs now, is some quality time with his daughter.

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466 notes • Posted 2021-02-21 09:50:54 GMT

sleepy + clothed sex

Pairing: Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Warning: 18+, explicit content, SMUT, needy!Frankie, fingering, unprotected sex (p in v), creampie, fluff

A/N: dedicated to @softpedropascal, her Frankie fics were the first ones I read when I joined this fandom 💜

KINKTOBER 2021 MASTERLIST

The weather was still warm despite being in October, but the heavy rain had forced you to cancel your plans, transforming a much needed walk in the park into a lazy Saturday.

You both ended up cuddling in your bed, eyelids heavy with sleep as the sound of rain lulled the two of you peacefully; Frankie stirred slowly every now and then, his face hidden in your hair as his hands moved from your waist down to your thighs, grazing the soft skin and making you sigh contentedly.

But Frankie became needy at some point, and his left hand hiked up the skirt of your floral sundress to squeeze the tender, warm flesh of your thigh. With his lips pressed to the side of your neck, he left a couple of sloppy kisses just below your ear before letting his tongue lick a small stripe of skin that led to your earlobe.

“Please baby,” he mouthed in the crook of your neck as his hand reached the hem of your panties, teasing the skin there with not so subtle circles of his thumb. “wan’ you so bad.”

You turned your head to the side and grabbed a fistful of his hair, fingertips tangling in his disheveled brown locks and tugging gently; and when his gaze met yours, a simple nod of your head made all coherent thoughts in his mind fly out of the window.

His hand slid into your panties, index and ring finger spreading you open for him as his middle finger dipped between your slick folds, gathering some of your juices before coming up to teasingly rub at your clit.

“All this for me, baby?” he asked, mouth agape in wonder and brown eyes fixed on your face.

“A-all for you, Frankie.” you nodded as you gripped his wrist, urging him to keep going.

“Wanna be inside you, pretty girl.” he murmured, warm lips resting against your temple as your body writhed under his touch.

“Fuck me, Frankie. Please, I need to feel you.” was all you managed to say before you let out a choked moan, legs shaking uncontrollably as you soaked his fingers with your release.

Frankie worked you through it, his tongue hot against yours as he captured your little whimpers and cries of his name with a desperate kiss, his clothed cock heavy against your hip.

“I got you,” he grunted as he lowered his sweatpants and boxers and took his throbbing cock in hand, lining it up at your entrance before pushing only the tip in, making you gasp.

He exhaled deeply once your wet warmth enveloped him, and his left hand grabbed the back of your thigh, lifting your leg up until your knee was at level with your shoulder; his other hand slid underneath your body and rested on your stomach, pulling you back against his chest.

With a single, slow thrust, Frankie pushed himself inside of you, hissing and closing his eyes at the tightness of your cunt around him.

Tilting your head up and to the side, you placed a kiss to the corner of his mouth as he began to thrust into you, and the motions made your nose bump against his. Frankie let out a small laugh at that, but it soon turned into a groan when your cunt fluttered around him, and he tightened his grip on your thigh, fingers digging into the supple flesh.

“Gonna cum in this perfect pussy, g-gonna fill you up so good, pretty girl.” he stuttered, hips pistoning in and out of you at a relentless pace while your hand reached blindly for his hair.

“Fill me up, Frankie.” you moaned, eyes closing shut as you felt your second orgasm approach.

A particular deep thrust made you tug harshly at his hair, and he ducked his head, taking your earlobe between his teeth and sucking it to muffle his own groans.

“So close, so c-close...” you whimpered, already feeling boneless, his pace faltering and quickening as he chased his own ecstasy.

“M-me too... come on pretty girl,” he encouraged you. “Come. On.” he punctuated those two words with a deep thrust each, and you immediately fell over the edge, eyes rolling at the back of your head as stars exploded behind them, blinding pleasure overtaking your whole body and making you scream his name.

“That’s it...” he pushed himself deeper, “fuck baby, ’m gonna cum...” he slurred out, completely drunk off of you.

And with a few more sloppy thrusts, his hips stilled against your ass, cock twitching inside of your cunt and painting it with threads of his milky seed, hot and thick, some of it spilling out and carving its path along the back of your other thigh.

Frankie pulled out of you with a hiss and placed a small kiss to your kneecap before finally easing his grip on your leg; his thick fingers caressed your calf in the process, leaving goosebumps on your skin in their wake.

“I love you so much, pretty girl.” he whispered in your ear, the warmth of his panting breaths making you shiver.

“I love you too, Frankie.”

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513 notes • Posted 2021-10-02 15:16:47 GMT

hand job + size difference

Pairing: Din Djarin x GN!Reader

Warning: 18+, explicit content, SMUT, touch starved Din

A/N: this is for you @queenofthefaceless 🖤

KINKTOBER 2021 MASTERLIST

Din was exhausted, the evening workout had literally destroyed him; his muscles were sore, his legs so heavy that he barely managed to drag himself to the bunk.

“You should stop doing this to yourself, Din.” you murmur with folded arms as you look at his tired figure. “I hate seeing you in this state.”

A modulated sigh echoes through the room, followed mere seconds later by a grunt of pain.

“Take off your armor, let me give you a massage.” you propose as you approach him, eyes raking over his broad body.

Din remains silent for a few moments, then nods and jumps off the bunk to remove every layer that covered his body, from the cold beskar to the soft undergarments.

“I need you to sit as straight as possible, feet on the ground.” you instruct as you position yourself behind him and rest both hands on his broad shoulders.

You start massaging the knots there, moving your thumbs in slow, circular motions and applying a light pressure to his shoulder blades.

“You’re very tense,” you observe, sinking your thumbs a little deeper into his flesh, “try to relax.”

Din wasn’t used to being touched; you had realized it the very first time you had put your hand on his shoulder as a sign of comfort. Din had immediately pulled away, as if your touch had hurt him, burned him in some kind of way.

“I’m... trying.” he hisses, head falling forward as you concentrate your massage on his trapezius, but Din is as taut as a violin string.

“Can I... try something?” you ask him sheepishly, stopping your movements.

“Go ahead.”

You inhale deeply, then bring both your hands to his stomach and caress it gently.

“W-what are you doing?” his deep voice comes out trembling from underneath the helmet, and he shivers under your touch.

“Shh...” you whisper, resting your chin atop of his bare shoulder as you watch your hands move lower.

When your fingers graze the fabric that encases his cock, Din gasps and stops you immediately, grabbing both your hands in his.

“You don’t have to...”

“Do you trust me?”

Din sighs, and you can only imagine how his eyes must look behind the visor as they search yours. “Yes.”

You tentatively slide your right hand inside his underwear until your fingers wrap around his cock, warm and semi-hard as it falls in the palm of your hand. You begin to move your hand slowly, up and down, feeling his member harden and swell in your gentle grip.

Din tilts his head back, and you take the opportunity to leave a kiss on that portion of his jaw that sticks out from under the helmet; a slight stubble tickles your lips, only increasing the desire to see his face one day.

When Din regains the strength to look down at his lower half, he can’t hold back a deep moan when he sees your hand, so small and delicate, struggling to wrap itself around his now fully erect and engorged length.

You pull your hand away for a second, spitting on it before bringing it back around his cock; your saliva mixes with his pre-cum as you increase your speed, watching the head of his shaft, flushed and silky, disappear inside your fist only to reappear as your hand moves lower.

“How does it feel?” you murmur, pressing your lips to the warm skin of his shoulder.

“S-so g-good...” he stammers as he closes both hands into tight fists.

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566 notes • Posted 2021-10-04 20:51:26 GMT

breeding

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader

Warning: unprotected sex (p in v), breeding kink, creampie, Din and reader are married, fluff

KINKTOBER 2021 MASTERLIST

“You think they will get along, Cyar’ika?” he asks as his hands rest on your hips, pulling you down on top of him.

You raise an eyebrow and look down at him. “Who?”

“The Child,” he murmurs as he grazes your skin, “and our baby.”

“I… don’t know, Din.” you exhale, shrugging your shoulders, “Besides, I’m not even pregnant.”

He smirks and sits up as his mouth finds your neck and starts to suck on it.

“You’re not now.” he affirms as one of his hands comes up to cup your breast. “But you will be soon.”

His gaze is impenetrable, dark, filled with lust and desire, and you moan when he kisses you, sliding his tongue into your mouth all the while rolling you over to the side.

His fingers explore every inch of your naked body before they find your soaked folds, and he strokes a finger through them, marveling at how warm and slick you already are.

“You want me this bad?” he whispers, and you stare at him, biting down on your lower lip as you nod.

Din kisses you again as his fingers pump in and out of you, curling up to graze that sweet spot and scissoring you open for him; when your first orgasm hits you, he works you through it as he kisses your chest: his tongue licks stripes of your skin, and his mouth latches around your nipples, sucking and pulling at them until your vision erupts in an explosion of white light, almost blinding.

“Put a baby in me.” you plead breathlessly as you come down from the high, your hands clutching at his broad shoulders as you look into his eyes.

He groans in response and grabs the back of your thighs, sliding you towards him until your ass is trapped between his muscular thighs, and then, he sinks into you.

Din grips your legs, encouraging you to wrap them around his hips, and he starts to thrust, slowly at first, and then he gradually increases his rhythm when he sees you lift your hips to desperately meet his movements.

“Look at me, mesh’la.” he demands as he grabs your chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting your head up to meet his gaze.

You frown when he pushes himself deeper, and his brows knot with concern for an instant, concern that is promptly erased when you pull him down for a kiss, moaning into his mouth.

“I want your baby.” you mutter against his neck once your mouths part, your lips tracing his jaw until they reach his ear, and you tug at his earlobe, causing him to stop for a moment.

Din moans as you suck the tender flesh into your mouth, and his thumb comes down to circle your clit; he can tell you’re getting closer by your whimpers and by the way your walls tighten and flutter around him.

“That’s it Cyar’ika,” he whispers as he starts to slam into you, his hips snapping against yours as he repeatedly hits that perfect spot inside of you. “Come on beautiful, let go.”

He increases his pace, his thumb circling your clit rapidly, and you come with a loud cry of his name while your nails dig into his firm back.

Your orgasm triggers his own, and he empties himself inside of you as he squeezes your hips; you can feel the warm rush of his seed filling you, and you pull him down for a kiss as your bodies tremble in unison.

The moment you catch your breath, you turn your head to the side and reach out to touch his face gently.

“I want them to have your eyes.” you say as you caress his cheek.

Din smiles warmly at your words, taking your other hand in his and kissing every knuckle. “My eyes? Why?”

“Because they’re beautiful.” you sigh. “You got me hypnotized when I saw you without the helmet for the first time.”

“They’re just… brown eyes.” he chuckles, shaking his head.

“No,” you say as you look at him, “they’re Din Djarin’s brown eyes.”

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583 notes • Posted 2021-10-22 21:16:39 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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solarune · 5 years ago

Text

flowers in your hair

part of @neo-cult-ure‘s colours collab! | masterlist + prologue

pairing: lee taeyong x fem!reader (feat. a nosy lee donghyuck, childhood best friend quian kun, and college best friend/co-worker johnny seo)

genre: fluff, soulmate au, florist au, coffee shop au, idiots (literally) to lovers

warnings: taeyong being too cute to be real, florist!taeyong, coffee shop owner!reader, donghyuck is annoying, reader has a nightmare, switches to taeyong’s pov for one part

word count: 10,577

summary: what you know about your soulmate taeyong in the 6 years that you’ve known him: he has 6 tattoos but is already planning on getting 4 more, he loves his dog ruby very much, he has only ever shared his banana bread recipe with one person (you), his mom makes the best kimchi jjigae in the entire world, his favorite color is pink, and he is the man of your dreams. literally.

what you don’t know about taeyong: what he looks like.

what you know about the owner of the new flower shop across the street: he has light brown hair, he’s a caffeine addict (if his cousin donghyuck picking up coffee 5 days a week says anything about it), and he is your enemy by association (according to kun).

what you don’t know about the florist: his name.

a/n: i’ve wanted to write a florist!taeyong fic for the longest time and i finally got to!! thank you so much to @neo-cult-ure for reaching out to me to be part of this collab and please please please check out the rest of the fics because they were all written by some really talented writers!! thank you to @jungwoohoos for checking this fic over as she’s done with my others ily. hope you enjoy and feedback is always appreciated :-)

When you open your eyes, you can’t help but feel like something is off. You can’t quite put a finger on it but something feels strange. But perhaps it was that strange dream that you had last night. Something about picking a color and finding your soulmate? The details of the dream were already escaping you but it doesn’t matter because you have to start getting ready for school-

Wait. School?

You sit up in bed and realize that you’re back in your childhood bedroom. You can even hear your dad singing in the shower judging by the terrible vocals that you can hear through your closed door. But why are you at your parents’ house? You look at your bedside table and see your phone and a letter with your name on it beside it. Picking up your phone, you check the time and realize that it’s 7am but it’s the date that throws you off; it’s 8 years behind. You pick up the envelope and slide your finger under the flap, hoping that whatever was inside would help you figure out just what exactly was going on.

Dear Y/N,

You’re probably wondering what’s going on. Your memories from our reality are mixing with your memories from the reality that you’re in so life is going to be a bit confusing. Good thing I wrote this letter to explain, huh? My name is Cyan. I’m the woman you ran into and told you to pick a color to find your soulmate. Yes, that was real, it wasn’t a dream. You’re currently in an alternate universe and your goal is to find your soulmate. Once you do that, you will return back to our reality and you and your soulmate will have the memories from the alternate reality. It’s your job to not only find them in the alternate reality but in our reality as well. This sounds difficult but don’t worry. Fortunately, you and your soulmate are able to meet in your dreams. However, I don’t know the exact details about that so you’ll have to figure them out yourself. Good luck and hopefully we’ll see each other soon!

All the best,

Cyan xoxo

You sit in bed for the next 5 minutes, trying to process everything in the short letter. You have a soulmate? You’re in an alternate reality? And not only that but you’re a teenager again so now you have to go back to high school? And what about your reality? How does time work here? Is this like a Narnia thing where you’re gone for years but return at the exact moment that you left? Or are you there for a week but 10 years have passed when you go back? And what the hell did “Cyan” mean about meeting your soulmate in your-

“Y/N! Are you awake? You’re supposed to leave in 20 minutes!”

Everywhere you turned, people were always talking about soulmates. Was there ever a time that we didn’t ever know who our soulmate is? How are we able to communicate with each other in our dreams? What about the people who don’t actually end up with their soulmate in the end? But you didn’t care about that. Especially in this very moment. Soulmates, in fact, aren’t real at all.

At least, you wish they weren’t real right now.

Because then Doyoung wouldn’t have broken up with you just because he finally dreamt about his soulmate last night. You’d probably be with him right now, watching whatever cult classic movie he thinks you just have to see because you made a comment once about never watching Fight Club during 8th grade. If he hadn’t had that dumb dream, your 2 year relationship wouldn’t be a flaming pile of garbage right now and you wouldn’t have the new drugstore eyeliner that Yejin had recommended to you running down your face.

“Wanna see this video that Xiaojun sent me of his dog?” Kun asks you, effectively breaking the hour of silence that the two of you have been sitting in, the only noise coming from your spontaneous bouts of crying and the videos on Kun’s phone as he scrolls through TikTok. After seeing that state that you were in at school when Doyoung broke up with you that morning, Kun knew that he wasn’t going to leave you alone today. You turn over to face him with a sigh, your head propped up on your hand as you watch Kun’s cousin’s dog run around their living room. But even an overexcited puppy isn’t enough to lift your spirits, something that Kun notices immediately and he frowns. “Listen, Doyoung didn’t deserve you and you know that and if given permission, I wouldn’t hesitate to dropkick him for you. You’ll find your soulmate eventually, and I’m sure they’ll be everything you actually need in a partner.”

You wrinkle your nose at his words; you and Kun have been best friends since you were 5 so it’s weird to hear him saying this cheesy stuff to you sometimes. “That was really nice and I really appreciate that, Kun, but please don’t tell me that you’re about to confess your feelings to me.” You laugh loudly when your best friend shoves you, returning his glare with a smirk as you attempt to smother him in a hug. “I’ll always love you but-”

“Y/N, I’m just trying to be a good best friend,” Kun rolls his eyes as he goes back to looking at his phone. “Your life isn’t one of those fanfictions you used to read when you were 15.”

“Yeah because if it were, the universe wouldn’t have made my boyfriend of 2 years dump me the day before my birthday!”

That night, you roll over in your bed for what feels like the millionth time. You check the time on your phone again and groan at the late hour, mentally preparing yourself for the exhaustion that you’re bound to feel tomorrow. You wonder if turning 18 will feel any different. Will you dream about your soulmate tonight? Not like you’re too eager to talk to any guy in a non-platonic way but it would still be cool. You wonder what they’re like; what’s their favorite color, what’s their favorite place to go to clear their head, do they like to look at the stars just as much as you do? You feel yourself grow tired as you think about your soulmate and force yourself to not think about Doyoung, your eyes finally closing as you wonder if your soulmate likes flowers.

“Thanks for coming tonight. Want some cake?”

Someone places a slice of cake into your hands and when you look up to thank the person, all you can see are deep brown eyes. Both literally and figuratively; their eyes are very nice but they’re also blurry. You blink a couple of times and squint to get a better look at them but even when they’re standing so close to you, you can’t seem to make out any distinct features at all. You look around at all of the other partygoers and find that you can see them all just fine, so why can’t you see this person?

“My name’s Taeyong. And judging by the fact that you’re the only person in here that I can’t see, I’m going to guess that you’re my soulmate and you also can’t see me. Am I right?” they say to you, and even though you can’t see him, you can tell that there’s a smile on his face.

You stick your hand out and, even though he can’t see you, you smile at Taeyong. “My name is Y/N.”

Taeyong shakes your hand but rather than letting go, his grip tightens ever so slightly and his hand slides across yours to grip it as he leads you away from the spot you were standing in. He takes you outside, the cool night air refreshing on your skin and the moonlight making everything glow ethereally. He sits on the grass in the middle of the yard and gestures for you to do the same, laughing quietly to himself when he sees you looking up at the night sky in awe. You take a seat next time, your eyes never leaving in the sky as you whisper, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many stars before.”

“Do you like looking at the stars?” Taeyong asks.

You nod, your gaze finally leaving the sky above you to look at the boy next to you. “They’re pretty. And they make me feel… seen. The light from those stars, which are most definitely dead by now, travelled millions of light years just for us to see them, and they see us too. I don’t really know how to explain it but looking at the stars just makes me feel like everything is going to be okay.”

“Whenever I visited my grandparents, my grandpa would take me outside and show me all of these constellations using his telescope. Everything I know about the stars and the planets are because of him.” Taeyong goes quiet and you wait. From the way he’s looking down and pulling up blades of grass, you can tell that what he’s going to say next is important. “He died when I was 16. Some drunk driver who couldn’t tell the difference between the road and the sidewalk. I was so sad after he died.” You place your hand on his knee as a sign of comfort, not wanting to push him since you two just met. He lets out a mirthless laugh and you can’t help but smile sympathetically. “I stayed with my grandma for that entire summer after it happened. One night I was using his telescope and I couldn’t get it to focus properly and I just got so mad that I broke it. I cried after that and my grandma found me the next morning, sleeping out in the yard next to the broken telescope. She yelled at me, not because I broke his telescope, but because I could’ve gotten sick.”

“He sounds like a great man,” you murmur. “I’m sure he’s proud of you and that he misses you just as much as you miss him.”

Taeyong hums beside you, the two of you continuing to look up at the stars in silence. “So,” he says loudly to break the silence. “Any sad childhood stories you want to tell me? Since apparently I’ve decided that that’s what we’re going to do the first time that we meet.”

You burst out laughing at that, and even though you just got your heartbroken, you think that having a soulmate won’t be that bad after all. “I think we’re going to have to at least be friends before I tell you all about my traumas.”

The boy beside you gets up and offers a hand down to you, helping you stand up. “Friends?” he asks incredulously. “We’re soulmates!”

“All I know about you is that your name is Taeyong and that you broke your dead grandpa’s telescope while stargazing,” you point out.

You turn to look at him and your breath hitches, finally noticing that Taeyong is completely facing you and is standing very close to you. He takes both his hands in yours and you look up at him, and even though you couldn’t make out his facial features, you could feel his hands in yours and the warmth radiating off of him and that was enough. There’s this inexplicable pull in your stomach that makes you want to move even closer to him and just as you can feel yourself lift your foot up to take that first step, you panic and take a giant step back instead, letting Taeyong’s hands fall to his side.

“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong? Did I say something to offend you?” your soulmate asks, taking a step towards you but stopping when you put your hands up.

“You didn’t do anything, Taeyong, don’t worry,” you reassure him. “It’s just that…” You bite your lower lip in worry, wondering if talking about your personal life was appropriate in this situation. But he did just tell you something personal about him- “My boyfriend of 2 years broke up with me today so I’m not looking to rush into anything any time soon. I know that we’re soulmates but I need time to heal and be my own person.”

Taeyong doesn’t say anything for a bit and you wonder if you’ve told him too much. Just as you begin to think of ways to stop yourself from sleeping ever again so you don’t have to see him, he surprises you. “Out of all the people the universe could have put me together with, it just had to be you. I think we’re going to be great friends in no time!”

He holds his hand out for you and you take it, allowing him to lead you back to the party.

When you wake up, the first thing you see are the glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling. Even though they’re nothing like the ones you saw in your dream, you can’t help but think of your soulmate’s grandfather. After a few minutes, you realize that you don’t remember your soulmate’s name or the story he told you about his grandfather.

“Great, so all I know about him is that he likes to stargaze with his grandpa-”

“Y/N, who are you talking to? Are you getting ready for school?”

Your meetings with Taeyong usually consist of you trying to remember at least one thing about the other, hoping that the repetition will be enough to get something to stick when you wake up that morning. The two of you are in Taeyong’s dream tonight (as you usually are since you rarely dream and if you do, usually it’s about someone trying to kill you), walking through a park full of cherry blossom trees with your arms linked together. He leads you over to a bench where you both sit in silence for a bit, the two of you lost in your own separate thoughts.

“So,” Taeyong says to break the silence. “We both leave for university tomorrow.”

You look over at him to find him already looking at you, and even though you can’t see him, you know that you share the same feelings he’s experiencing right now. “I know, it’ll be weird, right? One step closer to being in the adult world and all that. What higher power decided that I’m capable of being an adult?”

Taeyong’s hand brushes over yours and hovers hesitantly before taking it in his own. You let it happen because you know that he doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s just as scared as you are, so why not find comfort in the person that’s supposed to be in your life forever? You squeeze his hand and rest your head on his shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent of the cherry blossoms before sighing deeply. Everything is about to change.

Your soulmate hums in consideration, shifting his body closer to you to make you more comfortable. “Well I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to college so I can be an adult,” he confesses. “I’m going because I want to get drunk off my ass with my friends.”

You roll your eyes at his joke, sitting up straight so you could playfully shove him. “Oh shut up, Taeyong, you know you’re gonna be the best astronomer out there.”

He shrugs in response, fiddling with your hand in his lap as he looks out at the trees in front of you. “We’ll see. Life is crazy; we might end up somewhere we weren’t even expecting.”

And Taeyong was right. Life is crazy. Yours and Taeyong’s first year at university was hard. You were pursuing a major in economics while Taeyong was pursuing a major in physics with a concentration in astronomy. The two of you were so stressed your first year that you barely got to meet in your dreams because neither of you had any; you just slept. Your lives were: wake up, go to class, do work for the rest of the day, find some time to eat in between all of that, and then sleep just enough to keep you alive.

But you knew that you couldn’t do this for another 3 years. You ended up switching to a major in food science and nutrition with a minor in business while Taeyong switched to a major in plant science. During your time at university, the two of you tried as best as you could to remember where the other went to school so you could try to meet somewhere in the middle but the most you could remember by the end of your third year was that you both go to school in Seoul.

(“You remember that we’re both in Seoul, so that’s good!” Taeyong reassures you one night as you whine about still not being able to meet each other. “We’re one step closer!”

“Yong, Seoul is huge and there’s so many universities here. How are we supposed to narrow it down?” you pout as you lean forward to rest your forehead against his chest.

Taeyong sighs and pats your head, not knowing what else to say because he knows you’re right. But he won’t give up hope; he knows he’ll see you soon. Just as he’s about to answer, the room around you goes dark and you hear the creaking of floorboards above you. He can see the fear in your eyes when he meets your gaze and his heart begins to pound. There’s a loud bang from upstairs and you immediately run out of the building you were in.

“You know, I’m really starting to hate your dreams. Maybe this is why we can’t remember anything, because we’re too busy running for our lives like we’re in a horror movie!”

When you woke up that morning, all you could remember was that he hates being in your dreams.)

By the beginning of your last year, the two of you agreed to stop trying so hard to meet each other. You assume that the universe just isn’t ready for the two of you to meet yet so you might as well enjoy just spending time with each other. Taeyong agrees and surprisingly, it works. You start to remember more and more about him—small things like his dog’s name and that the scar next to his eye resembles a rose—so you start to write them down. You even make a list of things that happen every day that you would want to tell him just in case you see each other that night.

Last night, you finally remembered the recipe for his banana bread, something that took you nearly an entire year to learn. You grab your journal from your desk and write down the recipe, humming in satisfaction when you write down the last ingredient. You read over the other things you’ve learned about Taeyong over the years—his favorite color is pink, he has a dog named Ruby and she is one of the 4 most important women in his life (“Who are the others?” “You, my mom, and my sister obviously!”), he has 4 tattoos—and hear his voice in the back of your head from your first year reassuring you.

We’re one step closer.

You place the finished drink on the counter just as the bell above the door jingles, alerting you to your first customer of the day. “One medium iced caramel macchiato with almond milk,” you announce, holding out a straw and napkin for Kun to take as he walks up to you with half-closed eyes. “Busy night last night?” you tease him as he takes his first sip, laughing when you see his body relax at the first taste of caffeine. “That one’s on me since you look like you need it.”

“Xiaojun had his friends over last night,” Kun complains as he takes a seat at the counter to be near you, tracing the letters of the coffee shop's name that’s on the cup sleeve as he talks. “It’s nice living with him since we’re cousins and all but him and his friends are such enablers. But I beat all of them at Mario Kart last night, so it was worth it I guess.”

You hum in understanding and pick up a towel to clean off the counters, knowing that the usual morning rush would come in soon and you wouldn’t get a chance to clean when it did. “So what I’m hearing is that it’s actually your fault, is that right?”

“They’re enablers, Y/N, I’m telling you!” your best friend protests, his words a bit muffled due to the straw in his mouth as he takes another sip. “They know that I can’t resist playing Mario Kart when I’m drunk!”

“They got you drunk?” you repeat. “I’m starting to think that I don’t even know who you are anymore, Kun. Getting drunk on a Sunday night knowing you have work the next morning? Doesn’t sound like my best friend if you ask me.”

Kun rolls his eyes at you but just as he’s about to respond, the bell above the door jingles (quite violently) and another customer walks in with a “Good morning, Busy Bean!” You look up to find Donghyuck walking towards you, a wide smile on his face and his right hand hidden behind his back.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Kun grumbles, gathering up his stuff as soon as he hears the younger boy’s voice.

You laugh at that, knowing that the only reason Kun dislikes Donghyuck is because he works for the new florist across the street. But Kun’s just funny like that sometimes. He had been the only florist in town and everybody knew about his shop, A Thousand Petals. The place was beautiful and Kun was good at what he did. But then a couple of months ago, the competition rolled in. At least, that’s what it was for him. To you, the new flower shop across the street from you meant nothing other than the fact that they had replaced the burger joint that nobody went to. And let’s just say that Kun didn’t appreciate being surprised with competition on a Monday morning while being handed his daily macchiato. You gave him free coffee for a week to make up for it.

“Bye Kun!” Donghyuck shouts happily, waving to him energetically even though your best friend only grunts in response. He walks up to the counter and reveals what he was hiding behind his back: a bundle of daisies. “Some pretty flowers for a pretty girl,” he says as he hands them over to you.

You accept them with a smile, thanking him as you put them in a mason jar in front of the register. “What’ll it be today, sunshine? The usual?” you ask, even though you’re already punching in the order for 2 iced Americanos.

Donghyuck blushes at your nickname for him and his lovestruck eyes staring at you doesn’t escape your notice. You’ve grown used to the boy’s antics and know that his flirting is meaningless. “Nope,” he replies, popping the ‘p’ as he leans against the counter. “Just a muffin please. And can I get it warm?”

You nod and put in his order, taking his cash and then smiling when you see him put the change in the tip jar. “So why no coffee today?” you ask as you put his muffin in the oven. “You guys find a place better than mine?”

The boy’s jaw drops at this, his posture straightening as he looks at you in shock. “Y/N, how dare you even suggest that. You know that there’s no coffee place better than yours!” He takes one of the flowers from the jar and starts fiddling with it, his smile widening when Johnny, one of your employees, comes out from the back. “Johnny!”

Johnny’s eyes widen at the sight of him and he freezes, his cup of coffee only midway to his mouth. “Damn, I thought you’d be gone already,” he mumbles, the two of you laughing as the boy starts fake crying. Johnny takes out the muffin from the oven and hands it to Hyuck after putting it in a bag. “Thanks for coming to The Busy Bean, we hope to never see you again.”

You push Johnny on to the floor, throwing a towel at his face as you chuckle. “Johnny, stop being mean to Hyuck and go clean the tables before Mrs. Choi complains again about them being dirty.” You ignore his noise of complaint in favor of turning back to the boy still in front of you who’s already started eating.

“His Majesty doesn’t want coffee yet,” he shrugs, crumbs falling from his mouth as he answers your question. “But you know he’s a caffeine addict so he’ll probably send me over during my lunch break.” He throws out the bag and puts the flower that he left lying on the counter back into the jar. “Speaking of which, I should probably head back. See you in a few hours!”

You wave goodbye to him and watch as he crosses the street to the flower shop. Donghyuck is an interesting kid. When you first look at him, you wouldn’t think that he works at a flower shop but you found out he’s only working there for the summer because he starts university in the fall. And his cousin’s the one that owns the place so it was a guaranteed job (“My mom and his mom actually had to convince him to let me work there but you know, I basically already had it.”). Ever since he first walked into your store, he’s been trying to set you up with his cousin, swearing up and down that the two of you would be great together. You’ve always laughed it off though since you weren’t particularly looking for anything and you weren’t about to take advice from an 18 year old.

“Here they come,” Johnny announces, running back to stand behind the counter with you as the morning rush comes in. You notice that the crowd seems to be bigger than usual and you feel nervous; The Busy Bean had just recently gone through some construction and had expanded but your new employees haven’t finished training so they can’t start working until next week. Johnny can tell that you’re nervous and places a hand on your shoulder, and when you look up at him, you see him smiling down at you. “Don’t be nervous, we’ll be fine! We always are.”

When you were in college, Johnny was the first friend that you made. Being without Kun was weird and scary even though he was only a 30 minute subway ride away from you but luckily, the boy living across the hall from you was there to provide you with company. The two of you did everything together—when you weren’t busy with labs and presentations and he wasn’t busy with his research and papers, that is. You even applied for jobs at the Starbucks on campus at the beginning of your junior year, and you were pretty sure the manager would have fired the both of you for always goofing off if you weren’t his best employees.

But the day that you knew he was going to be in your life for a long time was when you finally told him your dream of opening your own coffee shop. It was something that only Kun knew, too embarrassed to tell anyone else after your parents had told you that it would never happen. Johnny had surprised you that day, promising to be your first employee once it happened. You watch him from your place behind the coffee machine, watching him talk to Mr. Park from the restaurant that the two of you always go to with a smile on his face. Aside from Kun and your store, Johnny is all you have and when he notices you staring at him and makes a face at you, you thank the universe for putting him in your life.

“I have returned!” Donghyuck announces when he walks into the cafe, true to his word about returning during his lunch break. Behind him is a man who looks to be only a few years older than him with hair the exact same color as coffee foam. You’ve never seen him before but Hyuck apparently knows him as you watch him drag the older boy up to the counter. “2 medium iced Americanos please,” he says to Johnny in a cute voice, pouting when the man behind the register denies him his order with no emotion in his voice.

“Where’s your manager? I need to tell her you’re being mean to me,” Hyuck says as he sticks his tongue out at Johnny. You walk over with their coffee and place it down on the counter with a laugh, bumping Johnny with your hip to get him away from the register.

“Maybe Johnny wouldn’t be mean to you if you didn’t try to annoy him every time you’re here, sunshine,” you tease him as you take his money. Johnny hands them straws and napkins, making sure to stick his tongue out at the teenager in retaliation. You shake your head at him when he sees that you notice. You’re surrounded by children.

“Oh, this is the owner of The Busy Bean by the way,” Hyuck says to his cousin, smirking when he notices a blush beginning to form on his cheeks. “You know, the girl that you said you think is cute when you first saw h-”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” the older boy greets you very loudly as he cuts off Donghyuck, reaching out to shake your hand with blazing cheeks. “I’m- Uh- I-I’m TY.”

You shake his hand as you stifle a giggle, finding the blush on his face cute. Donghyuck on the other hand does nothing to hide his laugh, just narrowly avoiding an elbow in his side from his cousin. “Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I wasn’t aware that I would be in the presence of royalty today otherwise I would have rolled out the red carpet.”

“I wasn’t aware that, uh, you have such a nice smile,” the florist compliments you, making you smile as you thank him. “Your teeth are pretty,” he blurts out and you feel your smile falter as you process the compliment. Your teeth are… pretty? Johnny and Hyuck attempt to stifle their laughter at the man’s outburst, the man in question turning red as a tomato when he realizes what he said to you. He slowly starts to back away, pulling Donghyuck by the back his shirt towards the exit as he stutters out, “U-Uh I mean- S-Sorry that was weird- You uh-”

“Watch out!” you warn him, noticing a customer looking down at their phone pushing open the door right into his back.

TY lets out an ‘oof!’ as the door hits him, stumbling forward and tripping over his own feet to regain his balance. The coffee in his hand wasn’t so lucky however, spilling all over the floor and some of it even getting on Hyuck’s white shoes. The two of them quickly rush over to get napkins, TY sputtering out apology after apology as he cleans up the mess on the floor while his cousin whines about the coffee on his new shoes. You quickly get to work on making him a new coffee while Johnny deals with the new customer.

The pair quickly exit after you give TY his coffee, and you’re able to hear Hyuck saying, “I’m telling your mom that you spilled coffee on my new shoes. Also who the fuck calls you ‘TY’, why didn’t you just tell your name like a normal person? I can’t believe I’m related to-” before the door closes.

“Do you think that guy’s ever gonna come back?” Johnny asks you after the customer had left, gesturing towards the flower shop.

You can see Hyuck dancing in the middle of the store while the owner laughs and you can’t help but smile. You wonder what his laugh sounds like. “I hope so.”

As you’re getting ready for bed that night, you open up the notes app on your phone to read over what you wanted to tell Taeyong about in case you saw him tonight. Even on slow days, you usually have at least one or two things to tell him, but tonight you find it empty. You hadn’t thought about him all day.

Taeyong surprises both himself and Hyuck when he decides to go back to The Busy Bean only a week after what his cousin likes to call The Incident™ (he even says “trademark” out loud, what a weirdo). The man usually isn’t one to be this brave but he can’t deny the pull that he feels towards you. You’re cute, you have a nice laugh, and he wants to make you smile again. And your iced Americanos are unmatched. Starbucks who?

Walking into the cafe, he immediately feels his hands start to sweat at the sight of you. Your hair looks extra shiny today and you’re dancing along to the song that’s playing with Johnny (kind of badly, but it’s pretty cute). Taking a deep breath, he repeats the simple order in his head one more time. One medium iced Americano, one medium iced caramel coffee, and 2 cake pops. (“If I don’t get to go, then you have to make it up to me somehow!” Hyuck protested when Taeyong told him to watch the store while he went to get coffee. So cake pops it is.) When you see Taeyong walking towards the counter, you give him the biggest smile and he swears his heart skips a beat. He knows he’s going to end up with Y/N eventually but wow, this girl sure knows how to take his breath away.

“Welcome back, Your Majesty,” you greet him, your cheeks still slightly pink from your laughing and dancing. Taeyong notices a daisy tucked behind your ear and he realizes that it’s one of the daisies that he had shoved into Hyuck’s hands and told him to bring when he went to the store just last week. The man feels his heart skip a beat at that; you look like a goddess. “Didn’t think we would see you back here so soon. Our red carpet is at the dry cleaner’s unfortunately.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Taeyong shrugs, playing along with your teasing. “I get treated better here than I do at my own shop anyways. Hyuck won’t stop bringing up last week to literally everyone we know.” He blushes when he brings up the events of last week but he feels immensely better when you laugh. “Thank you for replacing my coffee by the way. I can pay for it now since I left so quickly last time.”

“That one was on the house,” you say, waving your hand in the air. “Anyways, what can I get for you today?”

Taeyong makes sure to come back at least twice a week after that, much to Donghyuck’s dismay. Each time he comes, he has to force himself to go back to his own store rather than staying and talking with you and Johnny. He finds himself growing more and more comfortable with your presence, his words coming more easily to him the more he’s around you. The conversation even turns flirty at some point, something that he didn’t even think he was capable of since graduating college. Sure he’s had a few lay it on pretty thick with him when they come into the store but middle aged women aren’t exactly his type. You are more his type, if he’s being honest. You and his soulmate, Y-

“Your name is Y/N?!” Taeyong all but squeaks out, his voice cracking as he drags his eyes from Johnny to you. Could you be…?

Both you and Johnny blink at him, not understanding where this sudden outburst came from. “Uh yeah, why? Is there something wrong with that?” you joke as you continue to make his drink.

Taeyong mentally shakes it off, subtly rolling his shoulders to rid himself of the unnecessary excitement he just felt. It’s probably just a coincidence. The universe seems to like mocking him, apparently. There’s no way he would just randomly find his soulmate like this. He couldn’t even remember where she ended up living after graduating college. “It’s nothing,” he says while shaking his head, giving Johnny a small smile as he hands over his cash. He notices the withering daisies in front of the register and makes a mental note to bring some fresh ones next time. “I’ve just always liked that name. I think it’s pretty.”

When you first created The Busy Bean, you hadn’t thought of incorporating flowers until Kun brought up that you had said you wanted to make it stand out from other cafes. That and the fact that the store’s name is based off of “a busy bee” and that, in the words of Kun, “your best friend just so happens to be the owner of the best flower shop in the city.” Unfortunately for you, your best friend and the owner of the best flower shop in the city won’t be around for an entire week because of a family emergency. And because of the store’s recent expansion and being so busy with training all of your new hires, it had completely slipped your mind to order new flowers for next month’s theme. When you had said all of this to Johnny during a lull in the morning rush, all he said in response was, “That’s rough, buddy.” (The two of you have been rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender together recently.) What a great best friend.

After making sure that Johnny and the new hires knew exactly what they would be doing during the closing shift, you take a deep breath and do the one thing that you know Kun will never forgive you for once he finds out. “He’ll forgive you, you have no other choice,” you whisper to yourself as you cross the street towards Bloomin’ Love. You open the door and are greeted by the fresh smell of flowers, a Yiruma song softly playing in the background and fitting the atmosphere perfectly as the setting sun shines golden light into the store. It felt like you had entered a magical world.

“Welcome to Bloomin’ Love,” Hyuck greets you, not even looking up from his phone as he leans against the front counter. “Is there anything I can help you with today?”

“I don’t think your boss would be very happy if he found out that you were using your phone while there’s a customer in the store,” you tease him as you walk up to the counter, laughing when Hyuck scrambles to hide his phone and looks up with wide eyes.

The boy’s shoulders immediately deflate when he sees that it’s just you, placing his phone in front of him as he smiles at you. “Y/N, I didn’t think I would ever see you in here. Did you and Kun get into a fight or something? Did he finally get mad that you’re ‘fraternizing with the enemy’s cousin because I’m trying to get you to fraternize with the enemy’?”

You shake your head, explaining, “Kun’s out of town, he has no idea that I’m here right now. I actually need to talk to TY, is he here? I have a big order because I need new flowers for The Busy Bean next month.”

Donghyuck nods as he points towards the back, an area that you assume is restricted to customers since it’s behind the counter. “He’s in his office right now. Let me just tell him you’re here really quickly.”

He walks away quickly before you even have a chance to nod, so you take a look at the flowers around the shop. Directly behind you are bouquets of roses but what really strikes your interest are the magnolia flowers and plum blossoms along your left. You lean down to smell them, their floral scent overwhelming your senses and making you feel even calmer than you already did.

“Plum blossoms are one of my favorite flowers,” a voice says from behind you, making you jump and bump into whoever it was. You feel hands on your waist that help steady you as you sway on your feet, your eyes coming up to meet those of the man you were looking for. “Sorry about that,” TY chuckles, the tips of his ears pink as he withdraws his hands from you. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Donghyuck said you’re looking for me?”

You nod frantically, before explaining your situation to him, his eyes never leaving you as you talk. “I usually give Kun complete creative control because I don’t know much about flowers and which ones bloom during which season.”

TY nods understandingly, humming as he thinks and scans over the various plants in the store. “Flowers that only bloom during spring…” He begins to walk around, with you following a few steps behind him, his hands hovering over the flowers and his fingers occasionally brushing over their petals as he looks at each one carefully. TY suddenly stops in his tracks, one hand resting on a peony before he suddenly turns to you with a wide grin on his face. “I think I have some ideas.”

The florist brings you back to his office, and you think you see Hyuck wink at the both of you as you follow his cousin to the back but when you get a closer look, the boy’s already assumed his previous position of scrolling on his phone. As of recently, the teenager has been teasing you more and more for what he assumes are the beginnings of feelings for his cousin. And even though you swear up and down that the two of you are just friends, you can’t help but think about the possibilities some nights. Which makes you feel guilty because what about Taeyong? Your dreams with him have felt different lately, both of you distracted at one point or another, the conversation becoming awkward at some points because the both of you know that something has changed. Is this the universe testing you? Putting a man that you feel yourself growing more and more fond of with every passing day just to see if you’ll reject him in favor of the partner that it has chosen for you?

“Y/N?” the florist calls out, his hand waving in front of your face to get your attention. You jump slightly in your seat, eyes meeting his after you’re pulled out of your thoughts. “You still with me? I asked if you could give me a floor plan or something of where you put all of your flowers.”

“Oh sorry,” you apologize, heart pounding in your chest at getting caught zoning out. You pull the floor plan that you and Kun had first made 2 years ago and hand it over to TY, your eyes tracing the veins in his hands as he smooths out the paper on his desk. His hands look like they would be really nice to hold. Wait what? No, stop, think about Taeyong.

TY shares his general thought process with you, lightly drawing circles and arrows on the paper to show you where he pictures bunches of hyacinth and jasmine would be. Names like Barberton daisy, dogwood, azalea, and peony are mentioned while you nod along enthusiastically, not really knowing what any of them look like but trusting the vision in the man’s head completely. As he’s talking, you can’t help but get lost in the sound of his voice, the passion and flow of his words making your heart swell. As guilty as it makes you feel, you couldn’t help the feelings that you could feel blooming in your heart for the florist.

The two of you stand once TY is done sharing his ideas and you’ve run out of questions to ask. You force yourself to leave rather than think up an excuse to spend more time with him, his laughter paired with the way he looks at you dangerous for your pounding heart and overly imaginative brain. He says goodbye to you with a wave but not before handing you a business card with the store’s number should you have any more questions. As you’re walking out, you can hear Hyuck teasing his cousin, and when you turn around to spare TY one last glance, you can see a blush on his cheeks as he quickly looks away, as if he was caught staring.

Just before you get into bed that night, you take one last look at the business card that you had been given just hours ago. When you read the name on the card, you feel as if time itself has come to a stop. Your breathing turns shallow as you bring the card closer to you, squeezing your eyes shut and then opening them just in case it was some weird trick of the light. But it wasn’t. Right there on the card is the one name that you weren’t expecting at all.

Lee Taeyong.

It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, it’s just a-

You feel yourself being pulled down into the water, a hand wrapped around your ankle dragging you down to the bottom of the pool. You kick with all of your strength at the invisible attacker, your lungs screaming for air as you thrash in the water. A pair of arms wrap around your waist and pull you out of the water, the person screaming at you to stand as they tug on your arm. Coughing your lungs out, you can just barely make out Taeyong’s blurry form as he runs out onto the empty street with your hand in his.

Suddenly, an SUV with its lights on appears behind you, the driver revving the engine and accelerating very quickly towards the two of you. You just barely dodge it, the vehicle only inches away from Taeyong’s body as you pull him towards a dark house. You climb over fences and run through yards, neither of you daring to say a word in fear of whoever is after you being near. Your hand stays in his the entire time, too scared of getting separated to let go.

You see a light approaching you and duck behind some garbage cans, willing your breathing and heart rate to slow so that you could listen for any footsteps. Taeyong quivers beside you in fear, his hand squeezing yours and when you look over at him, you can only imagine how scared he must look right now. Looking at him, you realize that there was something you wanted to talk about tonight but with every single nerve being on edge since you’re, you know, running for your life, you can’t remember what it is for the life of you. Lights from the SUV pass by, gravel crunching underneath the tires as the car goes by you very slowly. You pray to every higher power out there that they don’t catch you and you release a quiet sigh of relief when you see the car turn and drive farther away from you.

“Have I ever told you how much I hate being in your dreams?” Taeyong murmurs, his grip on your hand loosening but still not letting go. “Because I really hate being here right now.”

You huff out a laugh before slowly standing up to brush the dirt off of you. Just as you’re about to respond, you feel a hand clap over your mouth, Taeyong’s eyes widening as he screams and reaches out for you. Something sharp presses against your back just as you hear a gunshot, blood quickly soaking into Taeyong’s pants from getting shot in the thigh, before everything goes black.

You have to stop yourself from looking over your shoulder every 5 minutes because of the intense nightmare that you had yesterday. The feeling of being watched lingered with you all morning, something that Johnny noticed and was concerned about at first until you told him the reason you were acting so paranoid and jumpy. Then he just ended up teasing you and even scared you in front of a customer, falling on the floor laughing when it happened. But you couldn’t help it, the dream just felt so real and it didn’t help that Taeyong, an actual person, was there with you to make it seem all the more real. You wonder how he must be handling it, you know he’s not the biggest fan of horror movies or scary things in general.

You decide to visit Bloomin’ Love during your lunch break, the questions that you wanted to ask Taeyong still unanswered. But if you’re right and Taeyong actually is TY, then you would get your answer in a few minutes. Except it turns out that you won’t be getting your answers today.

“What do you mean he’s not here?” you ask Hyuck in disbelief, even looking towards the back to check if the office light is on in case he’s just playing a joke. “He’s your boss and one of the two people that work here, why are you here and he isn’t?”

The boy shrugs before hopping up to sit on the counter, long legs swinging as he bops along to the music that’s playing from what you assume is his own playlist. “He was here when I got here this morning but then he left after an hour and told me he’s taking the rest of the day off because he’s been feeling anxious all morning. Something about having a nightmare last night? It must have been really bad for him to take a day off because you and I both know that this store is basically his baby.”

He had a nightmare?

The bell above the door jingles as a customer comes in and immediately approaches the two of you to ask for help. You back away to let Hyuck do his job, bidding him goodbye before heading back to The Busy Bean. Hyuck’s words swirl around your head, the conversation replaying over and over as you take out the business card that you put in your pocket this morning to look at the name printed on it.

Taeyong. Lee Taeyong, the owner of Bloomin’ Love. Lee Taeyong, who introduced himself to you as TY. Lee Taeyong, your soulmate.

After that, you become distracted during work, your eyes constantly looking at the clock to see how much longer until your shift is over. Of course the one day that you find out who your soulmate is, the one day that it would be super convenient to be able to leave work early, is the day one of your new workers can’t come in because they got food poisoning the night before. You don’t even know what you’re going to do once your shift is over though. The number on the card is the store number and you already know that Taeyong isn’t there. Maybe you could just ask Hyuck to give you his number? But then what? What would you even say? “Hey TY, it’s Y/N. Hyuck told me that you had a nightmare last night so I think you might be my soulmate”?

The universe, however, seems to have your back. At the end of your shift, just as you’re saying goodbye to Johnny and Jaemin, one of your new hires, you hear a very familiar voice call out your name. And when you turn around, there stands the exact man that you’ve been hoping but not expecting to see all day. You can’t help but smile widely when you see him and nod when he asks if you want to sit.

“These are for you, by the way,” he says as he gives you a small bouquet of pink forget-me-nots. “Pink is my favorite color but they reminded me of you when I saw them in the store just now.”

You thank them as you take the flowers from his hands, inhaling deeply before placing them down on the table. “You were in the store? Hyuck told me you took the day off.”

“I stopped by just to make sure he didn’t burn the place down,” TY chuckles and he sounds… nervous? Looking at him, you notice that he’s barely making eye contact with you, taking more interest in tracing the tattoo of a lavender plant that’s on his inner forearm. You wonder if he knows what you know, or at least what you think you know. You wonder if maybe he’s even known this entire time.

“Do you have a soulmate, TY?” you blurt out, too impatient to indulge him with more small talk.

He looks up at you with wide eyes at your question and you watch as the tips of his ears turn red. “I-I do,” he responds while nodding simultaneously.

“What are they like?” you ask him, telling yourself to calm down and to make sure that you’re right. It would be really embarrassing if you aren’t.

“She’s the girl of my dreams,” he jokes, laughing loudly when you groan and roll your eyes at his dumb joke. “She really is though. She’s really smart and knows exactly what she wants from life. She’s extremely hard-working but she also knows when she needs to stop and relax. She really likes strawberry cake and also likes stargazing. I actually tried making a move on her when we first met because I was young and dumb but then she told me that her boyfriend of 2 years had just broken up with her, so I felt extremely stupid that night.”

You feel like your heart is about to burst out of your chest at his words and you know that you must have a funny look on your face because TY- no, Taeyong is looking at you strangely. “What about you?” he asks, his wide eyes and head that’s tilted slightly to the side reminding you of a puppy. “What’s your soulmate like?”

You laugh and take a deep breath, mustering all of the courage to pour all of the love you’ve been wanting to show Taeyong all these years into your words. “He’s the best, honestly, I’m really lucky that he’s my soulmate,” you say softly, your eyes not once leaving Taeyong’s as you speak. “He’s really goofy and not at all afraid to be who he is. He’s very supportive too; Johnny and Kun were always there for me when college got hard, especially when I switched my major, but it was his words that always kept me going. His favorite color is pink and he absolutely adores his mom, he swears up and down that her kimchi jjigae is the best in the entire world. When we first met, he-”

You stop to look at Taeyong and you see tears in his eyes, a soft smile on his face as he listens to you talk. You take a shuddering breath and lift your hand to gently take his hand in yours; he knows. “When we first met, he told me about his grandpa and how his love for the stars came from him.” You see a single tear cascade down Taeyong’s cheek and you reach out to wipe it away. With a watery laugh, you say, “He also told me that he ended up breaking his grandpa’s telescope after he died.”

Taeyong rests his forehead against your joined hands as he laughs, his eyelashes wet with tears and his eyes shining when he looks back up at you. “I finally found you,” he whispers in awe. “After all of these years, the universe finally put you right in front of me and I didn’t even know.”

“That day, when you said that you think my name is pretty,” you say, his words playing in your mind as you remember the day you’re talking about, “did you know?”

“I was suspicious but I thought it was too good to be true,” Taeyong says as he shakes his head in disbelief. “I thought that there was no way that the girl I’ve been dreaming about for 6 years just so happens to own the coffee shop across the street.” He raises your hands to his lip to kiss the back of yours and you feel so happy that it feels like you’re practically vibrating in your seat.

You’re about to respond when you hear Johnny call out, “Hey lovebirds, keep it PG! There are kids in here!” The two of you turn your heads towards the direction of his voice to find not only Johnny behind the counter but also Kun and Hyuck standing there.

“Did you forget about our plans, Y/N?” Kun calls out teasingly, a smirk on his face as his eyes flicker from your hand in Taeyong’s to your face.

“Oh fuck,” you whisper, head turning to look at Taeyong with wide eyes.

He smiles at you reassuringly, kissing the back of your hand once more before letting go. “I’ll call you later?”

You nod enthusiastically, the two of you exchanging numbers before you stand up. You look up at Taeyong, not yet wanting to leave his presence. You can feel the warmth radiating off of his body and there’s a familiar pull in your stomach and this time, you allow yourself to indulge in it. He leans down just as you lean up, and as cliche as it is, it really does feel like you’re the only two there when you kiss. Taeyong tugs one of the flowers from your grasp and breaks off part of the stem, tucking the forget-me-not behind your ear and rubbing your cheek with his thumb before pressing one more kiss to your forehead and murmuring a “see you tomorrow” against your skin.

Waking up the next morning, you let yourself indulge in thoughts of yesterday, the events leading up to the kiss replaying in your head and making butterflies erupt in your stomach all over again. You and Taeyong had agreed to go on your first date today after work and you wish that someone could invent a time machine so you could just skip the work day and go on your date already.

You sit up in bed and feel every ounce of happiness drain out of you, your surroundings unfamiliar to you. The walls are still the same color but the books on your shelf are different, your floor is carpeted, and who the heck are those people you’re with in the pictures on your wall? You even look out the window to find a completely different view. Where the hell are you?

It suddenly hits you that you’re back in the real world—or your reality at least. The past 8 years have basically just been one long dream. You jump out of bed and rush to the bathroom to check to see if there were any visible signs of aging. You let out a sigh of relief when you realize that you still look the exact same and go back to your room to check the date on your phone just to confirm. There’s an envelope with your name on it beside your phone and you feel a sense of déjà vu as you rip it open.

Dear Y/N,

Welcome back! Hopefully you’re not too disoriented after returning to our reality but I wrote this letter just in case. It’s only been a day since we first met so don’t worry, everything in your old life is still the same as it was. It’ll take a few days for memories from your life here to resurface so just take it easy for now. You should still have your memories from your alternate universe and your soulmate should have them too, so all you have to do is find them! I know this sounds hard but don’t worry; as I’m sure you already know, the universe works in mysterious ways~

See you soon, Cyan xoxo

You let yourself plop back down onto your bed, giving yourself a few minutes to process everything before taking a deep breath. Taeyong. You have to find Taeyong. Getting out of bed, you decide you get dressed and get ready for the day, a memory of your friend Yuna telling you about the new cafe across town resurfacing, so you decide to go there. You feel too cooped up in your apartment, you need to do something.

Passing by the window of the cafe, you can’t believe your eyes when you see Cyan sitting at one of the tables. She smiles at you through the window while lifting a mug in greeting and you rush to enter the coffee shop, your hands shaking at your side as you approach her. “Good to see you, Y/N,” she greets you, standing up just as you sit opposite her. You’re about to stand as well before she gently pushes you back down with a hand on your shoulder. “These are for you,” she says as she hands you a small bouquet of pink forget-me-nots. You look down at the flowers, memories of the past 8 years (yesterday?) overwhelming you but you shake it off and look up, only to find Cyan gone. You look around frantically but it’s like she disappeared, completely vanished in thin air as you look around the coffee shop and even out the window. With a huff, you put the flowers on the table and settle your chin on your hand as you wonder what to do next.

“Are you finished with this?” an employee asks you as they point at Cyan’s empty coffee mug.

You look up, about to answer, when your breath catches in your throat, your eyes meeting very familiar brown ones that widen at the same exact time as yours. Before you stands Taeyong, a brown apron with the words “Wake Up Cafe” embroidered on it in gold tied around his waist. Standing up, you reach out to grab one of the flowers and break off part of the stem before slowly reaching out and tucking it behind his ear. His hair is different, a little longer and a dark grey color with bits of silver rather than the light brown that you’re used to, but you see the rose-shaped scar beside his shining eyes and you feel like you could cry. Taeyong’s hands cup your face and his thumbs come up to brush away tears that you didn’t even notice, the distance between your lips and his slowly decreasing.

His lips brush over yours and his eyes flicker back and forth between your eyes and your lips. “Found you.”

You chuckle at his words and close the distance, and you wonder if springtime feels just as good for the blooming flowers as the love that you can feel blooming in your chest when you kiss Taeyong.

677 notes · View notes

justalittlepartofme · 4 years ago

Text

A cold morning

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Summary: Even though you went to sleep with Loki, you wake up really early by yourself. You got up just to find him worried and questioning many things he has done.

Word count: 972

Warning: Angst I guess?

A/N: It’s my first time ever writing fanfiction and also writing it in english, so pleeease don’t be too harsh on me! I want to get better so feedback is appreciated. So yeah, here we go.

• • • • • •

My arm falls in the air when I try to hug Loki. There is nothing there. The spot next to me is empty and cold. The spot where Loki is supposed to be.

I’m also not in my spot. I’m in the middle of the mattress, with my body spread all over it. It was a comfortable pose to sleep on but not an attractive one to look at. I beg Loki didn’t see me like this when he got up.

I crawl, half still asleep, half awake, to the bedhead where my pillow was leftover. I also take Loki’s one between my arms and hug it. It has his smell.

Once there, the sunray bothers my eyes. The curtains have been left open.

I get up to look for him. My desire to sleep with him a few more minutes beats the wish of staying in bed. It is seven o'clock. We may get more than a few minutes. Neither of us has to work today. However, as both of us are awake, we could take advantage of that. We haven’t spent much time together during the last week.

I find him in the balcony, looking at the vast city in front of him. He didn’t change his pajamas, so he is probably cold. A loose shirt wouldn’t make much for him, so I take a jacket before going out.

“Hey”, I say with a deeper voice than expected. Loki turns around and then his glare goes back to the buildings. “Why are you up so early?”.

“Couldn’t sleep”, he responds. Loki’s serious tone catches me off guard. His body is tense.

“Another nightmare?”, I put the jacket over his shoulders and hug him from the back. My hands find their way under his shirt and lay on his stomach. His skin was warmer than expected. I realize he may not need the jacket at all as he doesn’t feel as cold as I do.

Loki nods but doesn’t say a word. When I met him, he used to have nightmares almost every night. But after a while, they stopped. They appear once in a while, nothing compared as often as they used to. Although they were as much severe.

They made their comeback a week ago, with no reason at all (or at least that’s what he said to me). He didn’t refuse to tell me what they were about, but he did avoid the questions. So after three days, I stopped asking.

“Wanna come back with me for a little bit? It’s kinda cold outside”, I was about to rest my face on his back but he suddenly turns around to face me. He takes away the jacket and covers me with it. His hands stay on my shoulders.

He seems exhausted. There are purple eye bags on his face and his skin looks more pale than usual.

“Sometimes I forget you don’t feel as warm as me”.

My hands cup his face. He seems terrible as if something keeps tormenting him, even when he is awake.

“Come back to bed with me. Please”.

He shifts his glance away nervously for a few seconds before staring straight at me.

“Were you in New York when it happened?”, Loki’s sudden question makes me frown. He grabs my hands and takes them off his face.

“Wait. What? When what happened?”.

“You know… when it happened”.

I didn’t answer. The tension between us grows slowly.

“Answer me. Please”, he begs with a painful look on his face. He isn’t used to saying “please”, let alone beg.

“Yes, I was in New York”, a muscle in his jaw twitched instantly. “But I was safe! I could run away in time”.

“Yes! That’s the problem! You were safe from me. You had to run away from me”.

“Stop that, Loki. Don’t… It’s been a long time since then”, I sighed. He doesn’t look at me and his hands go through his hair violently. “You have changed. Everything has changed”.

I try to touch his face but he takes a step backward. He seems unstable so I don’t try to add more pressure. I stay in my place.

“I’ve been thinking. You shouldn’t be with me. I’ve been so selfish all this time. This… you and me… we shouldn’t be doing this”.

“Don’t you dare!”, indignation fills my body. His eyes open wildly in surprise. “Your past is your past. You can’t change that and until you accept that, you are not going to be able to move on. You’ve done a lot of good things since then, and I have forgiven you”.

I take Loki’s chin and make him look straight at me. He presses his lips together. His chest goes up and down fast. I tuck his hair behind his ears and slowly lean in. Our bodies are touching each other, but there is still space between us.

“I’ve been dreaming that you died”, he lets out suddenly. The thought which has been storming him. “You died during the attack. Because of me. I was the one who killed you”.

“I’m here”, I whisper, while his head rests against my hand and his eyes close. “I’m still here so don’t be the one who pulls me away”.

Loki takes my hand between his and leaves a kiss in the palm of it. His heartbeat has slowed down.

“Come back to bed with me. Please”, I say one more time while pulling him softly to the door. A corner of his mouth lifted, almost imperceptible.

Loki sleeps for the rest of the day. He doesn’t move much while sleeping and he doesn’t seem to notice when I get up at midday. A bit of color has returned to his face. Finally, he looks peaceful.

#Loki #loki fanfic #loki x reader #loki x you #loki imagine #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson imagine #loki laufeyson fanfic #loki fanfiction #sm

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youre-killing-me-fandom · 4 years ago

Text

Parkner week 2020 Day 1: future au

This trope was not my own idea. Also, this is my first time writing fanfiction so it’s probably terrible. All constructive criticism is welcome.

..........................................................................................

The last thing Tony Stark remembered was the white-hot pain of the stones' power rushing through his body followed by the peaceful relief of feeling nothing as his surroundings slowly drifted away.

Yet there he was, standing inside of a building that looked strangely similar to the Avengers Compound though at the same time, completely different.

"Tony… you've been gone for over ten years…" said Pepper slowly with tears in her eyes.

Tony's eyes widened in shock. "What year is it?"

"2036"

Tony's mind had to take a second to process what he was hearing. He had been gone for thirteen years, which means Morgan should be almost eighteen, Peter 29, and Harley 30. His kids grew up without him; his baby girl was an adult; Peter and Harley had graduated for Christ's sake, from both high school and college. Tony couldn't have held back the sob he let out even if he tried.

"Oh Tony…" she gathered her husband in her arms. He buried his face in her neck and let out heart-wrenching sobs. His tears were beginning to dampen Pepper's neck when she started to run her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner.

"They were devastated, you know," Pepper began, "Everyone was, but it took them longer to finally accept that you were gone."

Tony raised his head and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Who?"

"Harley and Peter," replied Pepper, "Harley locked himself in your lab for days on end and wouldn't come out until someone went in and forced him to get some rest. Peter wouldn't eat and hardly got any sleep from all of the nightmares he was having. It finally got to the point where Helen had to hook him up to an IV after he passed out once. That was when I told them both that you wouldn’t want them doing this to themselves. After that, they started to make progress.”

Another wave of sorrow hit Tony like a brick wall. His boys were so upset over his death that they neglected their own health. How many times had they willingly allowed themselves to be hurt because of him?

"But they got better," continued Pepper, "They were able to find comfort and start looking after each other." She let out a chuckle. "They were practically attached at the hip. Still are."

That made Tony smile. He was glad that they got along. He always wanted to introduce them but never got the chance to before the Blip happened.

"You should see them. You'd be so proud. They're both helping me so much with Stark Industries. I honestly have no idea what I'd do without them," said Pepper, as she wiped away the remaining tears left on his face.

"What about Morgan? How’s she?"

"She's amazing," said Pepper. Tony tried to make a comment about how of course she is, she’s his daughter, but Pepper just ignored him with an eyeroll. "Peter says she's the perfect combination of you and me with your brains and my business skills. God only knows one day the three of them are either going to take over the world or destroy it."

Tony let out a snort, "That sounds about right."

···································

They continued to talk about everything he'd missed for over an hour when Pepper let out a startled sound, “I forgot to tell you-"

"Hey Pepper, do you know where my..laptop...is…" said Harley as he walked in before making eye contact with Tony and tapping his watch, which turned into a repulser that was aiming straight at the older man.

“Harley?” Tony asked in wonder, tears threatening to spill again. Harley looked different from how he did when he had last seen him, but that was, without a doubt, him. His dirty blonde hair had grown long enough to reach just above his ears, and, Jesus, was he tall. The blue-eyed boy looked like he reached a height of about 6’3”, a full two inches taller than Tony himself. He was about to say more but was cut off by a startlingly hard voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?" yelled Harley. Pepper jumped up in alarm at the younger boy's harsh tone and stood between the two of them, getting in the way of the repulser's shot.

"It's not him, Harley." Not who? Tony thought.

Harley’s narrowed eyes never left the other man as he replied with a snarl, "Tony’s dead, so who else could it be?"

"It's not, I had Friday check to make sure it wasn't an illusion. Do you really think I wouldn’t think of that?" said Pepper, her voice laced with accusation.

Harley looked at her for a second before reluctantly lowering his gun “No...but then how-”

“Your guess is as good as mine. He said the last thing he remembers is using the stones against Thanos before ending up here.”

Tony watched them talk back and forth for another ten minutes while he processed what just happened. What did this person do to make him so hostile? Before he could stop himself, he voiced his confusion.

Harley stopped arguing with Pepper and turned to him with a sigh, “You’re really you, aren’t you?” His eyes searched Tony for any hesitation while he waited for an answer.

“Of course, who else would I be? Seriously, what’s going o-”

He was cut off by someone throwing themselves at him and wrapping their arms around him in a firm hug. “God, I missed you, old man.”

Tony relaxed in his grip and returned the hug tightly. “Missed you too, kid”

It took them several minutes to rein in their emotions and let go of each other, their faces wet with tears. Neither of them were ever really good at emotions, both preferring to make sarcastic comments rather than state their true feelings.

“So, you never answered my question,” stated Tony.

Harley looked at him in confusion, “What question?”

“Who did you think I was?” Tony both wanted to change the subject and satisfy his curiosity, but Pepper and Harley gave each other a worried glance before tentatively turning back to him.

“It’s a, uh, long story,” Harley said, “A lot happened while you were gone," but as he raised his arms to start explaining, Tony noticed something.

“Hold on a second...Is that a wedding ring?! You're married?!"

“Oh, well, I guess,” The blonde boy sheepishly rubbed his neck.

“What do you mean you ‘guess?’” Tony cried, “Who is it? Do I know them?”

Harley looked overwhelmed, but it was obvious that Pepper found this all amusing due to the bright laugh she let out. “I told you he would go crazy if he ever found out. Just wait until he hears who it is.” The boy glared at her for a second, wishing she wouldn’t encourage the older man. It wasn’t that Harley was afraid to tell Tony about his husband, but...he was kind of afraid to tell him about his husband. Both Harley and Peter knew that Tony had seen them both as sons, and they had mournfully speculated on multiple occasions what his reaction would be; however, now that he was given the chance to find out for himself, he was hesitant. Would Tony be mad at them? God knows that neither of them would be able to deal with their pseudo-father's rejection very well, especially Peter.

“Well, you see, it’s-”

“Tony?” Tony’s head shot up at the sound of his name.

“Peter! Wait, it's not-” Harley tried to reach out to the other boy, but he fearfully jerked away from the incoming touch, eyes wide. When he saw this, Harley’s blue eyes softened into something akin to hurt and a small sympathetic noise left his throat.

“Peter, sweetheart, you’re ok, you’re safe. It’s not Beck,” spoke Harley softly, as if he were talking to a frightened animal, but it didn’t seem to work. Peter began to hyperventilate the longer he looked at the scene in front of him. In an attempt to block out the illusion, he quickly shut his eyes and covered his ears, trying to defend himself against the more than likely painful experience he was about to have.

“Pepper, get him out of here!” snapped Harley, and it didn’t take long for Pepper to grab Tony’s arm and pull him out of the room despite the boy’s rude tone. At this point, Tony was very confused. He thought Peter would be ecstatic to see that he was back, not fearful. And who is Beck? The name is vaguely ringing a bell. Is that who Harley thought he was? What did he do to Peter that would make him have a panic attack the moment he thought he saw him?

Once he and Pepper were out of sight from the other two, they came to a stop. “What the hell was that all about?” Tony demanded.

Pepper let out a long sigh, and in that moment, she looked very tired. "Do you remember Quentin Beck?"

The second Tony heard the man's full name, memories of a brown haired man screaming at him rushed to the surface of his brain. That psycho was who everybody was so defensive against? Tony remembered the project they were working on. Beck was brilliant, but he had proven himself to be unstable when he tried to use an experiment with their work on an unsuspecting intern. After that, Tony had stopped the partnership between them and wrote up a contract that said Tony got full rights to the product and Beck would only get part of the credit since Tony had done most of the work anyways. He really hoped that didn't result in consequences for his protege.

But unfortunately his hope ended up being dashed when Pepper began to explain all of the things Beck had done to Peter in Europe as revenge for what Tony had done, from revealing his identity and framing him for murder to hitting him with a speeding train (of all things), all while psychologically tormenting him with illusions of his worst fears and most traumatic experiences. Apparently while Peter was on the run as an international criminal, Pepper and Happy had sent him to stay with Harley to lay low while they cleared his name and did damage control.

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. His son had gone through hell and back in the wake of his death and Tony wasn't there to help him. Peter must've felt so alone, not to mention all of the PTSD he must've gotten from the whole ordeal.

Pepper saw the combination of anguish and fierce protectiveness on his face and assured Tony that yes, Peter had been through a lot, but between Harley, Happy, May, Morgan, and herself, he was able to mentally recover for the most part. He still has nightmares and panic attacks about what happened but he is now able to put the suit on and protect New York despite what happened to him as Spider-man.

Tony still had so many questions, but before he could voice any of them Friday’s robotic voice said, "Mr. Keener wishes me to tell you that you may make your way back to the living room."

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

As Pepper slowly led Tony back to where the boys were, she cautioned, "Just give him some time. One of Beck's favorite things to torment him with was you."

Tony's anger flared once more. How dare Beck hurt his kid like that. It's a good thing he's dead because he definitely wouldn't be alive for much longer with Tony here now.

When they finally re-entered the living room, what Tony saw made him freeze. Peter wasn’t cowering against the wall anymore but was now standing in Harley’s arms with his face buried in the taller boy’s chest. Harley had his head rested on top of Peter’s chocolate curls as he serenely swayed the both of them back and forth and murmured something Tony couldn’t hear. He looked over to Pepper to see if she was seeing the same thing he was, but she was just looking at the two with fond eyes before quickly glancing in Tony’s direction with a smug smile. He raised his eyebrows at her in question but she just gently shook her head and cleared her voice to grab the others’ attention.

Peter and Harley both looked up, startled, before de-tangling from each other minus one hand. The former looked at Tony with hesitation and asked, “Is it really you?”

“Yeah, bud, it’s me,” replied Tony, trying to put as much sincerity in his eyes as possible.

When Peter heard that, he let out a sob and let go of Harley’s hand as he threw himself at his mentor. Tony was quick to meet him halfway in a bone-crushing hug, securing his arms around the boy as he turned his face into the younger man’s temple. Peter was openly crying with his head tucked into Tony’s neck, the tears on his face soaking the older man’s skin, “I missed you...so much,” hiccups breaking apart his speech.

“God, I missed you too, kid,” was all Tony could say in response.

It felt like hours before they let go of each other, them both trying to make up for the years they didn’t have together. When they finally took a step back, Peter went back to Harley’s side and grabbed his hand again, seeking comfort from it. That was when Tony noticed the gold band on his ring finger as well. “What the hell?! You’re married too?!” he shouted.

Peter, Harley, and Pepper all gave each other a look that lasted a little too long, and Tony felt like he was missing something, “What?”

“You really haven’t figured it out yet?” replied Pepper with a touch of humor in her voice.

“Figured what out?”

“I guess I never actually told you who I was married to…” chimed Harley, “It’s, uh, it’s Peter. Peter’s my husband.” The couple gave each other a look full of love and adoration before turning back to Tony to see his reaction.

Tony’s breath was knocked out of his lungs, “Holy shit, seriously?” He always knew the two of them would get along together like fire takes to oxygen, but he never imagined this. Though now that he thinks about it, it kind of makes sense. The boys are very similar with their love of science yet are complete opposites personality-wise. Harley is rough around the edges and prefers to avoid discussing feelings or showing his true emotions, much like Tony does. While Peter, on the other hand, is soft-hearted and does his best to think about everybody else but himself. Together, they seem to complete each other, picking up the slack in one part of the other’s life that they weren’t aware was weighing them down.

This time Peter spoke up saying, “Yeah, uh, we’ve been together for over ten years now. About four years ago Harley proposed to me and we got married two years later.” Tony’s heart dropped at the thought of missing their wedding.

“They were both pretty upset about you not being able to be there, so we set up a chair in the front with a picture of you sitting on it,” added Pepper.

Tony tried to will away the tears that were threatening to spill again but a few of them ran down his cheeks anyways. He was touched by their gesture and walked forward to engulf them both in a hug that they returned, “I’m happy for you, boys.” The two of them seemed to relax at that, but by then, everyone in the room was crying.

“I’m glad you’re back,” whispered Peter with a smile despite the tears running down his face.

“Me too, kid, me too.”

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ramblinganthropologist · 3 years ago

Text

Fictober 21 - 4 “Fine I give up”

Fanfiction

Fandom: Mass Effect (Actor AU)

Summary: Yep. They fucked - so much for his self control, huh? Now Macen has to deal with the fallout, and more importantly, his feelings. Maybe it wasn’t just sex after all. Did he mention he was bad at ad-lib?

(Don’t worry folks, the confession will come another day... I’m tired, lol.)

---

…

You know that part where he said he was going to break things off? Yeah… the opposite of that had happened.

Macen was careful to sit up as he glanced across the darkened room. Next to him, fast asleep and burrowed under the covers, was his costar. Alex’s face was peaceful as he wandered through his dreams, like he hadn’t just fucked the turian within an inch of his life. Baby faces were damn deceptive that way, and he was proving to be a fine example.

His body was sore in that way he enjoyed oh so much as he slid out of bed, distributing his weight so he didn’t wake the human up. Naked as the day he was born, he padded to Alex’s shower and got in. Human showers were always too damn cold for him, but it didn’t matter as he let the water pour down his carapace as he stood there, standing at the drain.

“You said you weren’t going to do it again…”

And that promise had crumbled like a sandcastle on the beach the moment Alex had looked at him with that expression. After that, it was a blur of tossed clothing, roving hands, and tongues that were still learning how to play nicely with each other. Part of him was glad he had clipped his talons the day before… but that was like admitting defeat in itself.

Fuck… he had fucked up.

He sighed as he rested his head against the shower wall, praying for the freezing water to snap some sense into him. Macen knew he should leave the moment he was dry and had found his pants, but a large part of him just wanted to go back to bed. They had to be on set early tomorrow. He’d be wasting valuable sleep time if he went back to his place. Besides, Alex was closer…

And they’d risk showing up together.

“No, you’re going home after this. It’ll just mean more coffee tomorrow.”

Yet his voice wavered as he washed the soap disappear down the drain. Even then, he was doubting himself. Right then, it felt like he was fighting a war against an unholy combination of his sex drive and… well he didn’t want to mention the other organ. It shouldn’t have had a say in this in all. Really, if anything, his situation was his brain’s fault. Damn thing had gotten used to the human…

Yeah… he had totally meant his brain.

“Alright, get in there and say goodbye.”

The water shut off and Macen dried off in silence. Still naked, he padded back to the bed. Unsurprisingly, Alex was still fast asleep, hugging a bit of the blanket as he dreamed. He looked so peaceful, that it almost seemed cruel to wake him up.

But… he couldn’t just go without saying anything. They had moved past the fuck and leave point months ago.

“Shit…” Macen’s expletive hissed out from between his teeth as he looked around for his pants. At least those he could find – halfway across the room. What could he say, Alex was an enthusiastic partner. Add in the training, and he had reach. No wonder people kept trying to get him to sign up for friendly biotiball matches. “Just… get them and say goodbye.”

Yet when he reached down, he could see the human’s face better. Something about how soft and quiet he looked did terrible things to his stomach, and his pants dropped to the floor with a soft thump. Unfortunately for him, his belt buckle hit first – the metal clang rang out like a shotgun blast.

Shit…

“Mmm…” Alex rolled onto his stomach and burrowed under the blanket. “S’cold… come back to bed, Macen.”

Now, at the moment the turian was definitely not in a sub headspace. If he had been, that could have explained his compulsion to stay. Yet, there was nothing like that in the moment. Something else was leading him back to the bed he had been trying so hard to avoid. It was a powerful urge, and he had no ability to resist.

“I’m coming…” He slid back in, pulling the cover back over his naked body. As soon as he had settled back in, Alex’s arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. He could feel the human’s heart on his back, and it made his beat faster as his mouth went dry. “Alex?”

“Too cold…” Then there was a sleepy yawn as he nuzzled into his back. “Night…”

Macen’s stomach bubbled as he felt himself leaning into the touch. Logic was screaming at him to do anything, but he was ignoring it then. Instead, he felt his eyes slowly close as the warmth of Alex’s body and his off-beat heart lured him back to sleep. In the morning he would regret this, but at the moment he didn’t care. Right then, there was just the bed and the warm embrace of the man he had come to…

He could deal with that thought later. Much later.

---

“They totally came to the set together.”

“Do you think those rumors were true after all?”

Nothing like crew rumors to make Macen regret being born.

It was finally time for some food after a long morning of filming. Just like he had feared, he and Alex had wound up heading to work together. To say people were talking was putting it mildly. He wouldn’t be surprised if it had already wound up on social media, though he had no ability to check. After the last two disasters he called relationships, he had gotten rid of the entire thing.

Honestly, he didn’t miss the memes. Plus, it gave him a mysterious edge. It was good PR.

Still, his carapace itched as he shot the two humans a glare as he passed. He still had enough bad boy reputation that they scattered like ants, but it didn’t do much more than soothe his prickled ego. In that moment, he had probably confirmed everything they had been whispering about.

What… no one had ever claimed he was smart.

“Fuck…” Macen sighed as he found a quiet place to settle in and eat. Doing so with the mandible implants was a little difficult, but he had figured it out with trial and error. It was good he had too – makeup had been getting annoyed with him. Now at least he was back in their good graces, which was what anyone should want in his line of work.

“Yeah, I’d be saying that too if I was you.”

A shadow had fallen over the turian, and he didn’t even need to look up to know who it was. There were only two people on set who went around in all black armor on the regular, and one of them definitely didn’t set him in shade like that. Just the sound of her voice made his stomach drop.

Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire…

Beau took a seat nearby, her eyes laser focused on him. It made it hard for Macen to swallow his lunch, but he did his best. Honestly, it wasn’t the best idea – it felt like he was swallowing concrete. At least it didn’t actually get stuck, but maybe that death would’ve been preferable to whatever she had planned for him. He’d had a good life… mostly…

“Afternoon, Beau…” Even he knew that was a faulty opening, but Macen had committed to the bit. “Can I help you?”

Another glance as she sipped from a can of soda. “Just wondering when you’re going to ask Alex out and get it over with. You two have been dancing around this for way too long.”

Macen was glad he hadn’t been eating at that point – if he had, he would’ve sprayed levo crumbs everywhere, and as far as he knew she was allergic. Instead, he just choked on his own spit and wound up coughing. To say it wasn’t his finest moment was putting it mildly at best, but at the moment it was all he could do.

At least she had enough heart to thump him on the carapace a few times. It wasn’t going to do anything – he wasn’t human – but it was the thought that counted.

“Don’t die on me, Virius. Garrus was a nightmare to find someone for, or at least that’s what I heard.”

He coughed a few more times, eyes watering. Words were hard, but doable. “I’m not… we’re not…”

Yet there was the feelings in his stomach squirming about in the mere mention of the man he more often than not found himself in bed with. He was adult enough to admit they had moved past simple sex, but… this was something else entirely.

And it was a dark, nasty road, one he knew way too well to be comfortable with anymore.

“I see the way you look at each other. Besides, you’re over each other’s places so much you might as well just fucking move in.” When he gaped, Beau added, “We text each other. I can tell when he’s getting laid, his messages stop and then he’s all relaxed after.”

Damn Alex for being so obvious in his tells…

Macen managed to straighten up, but his heart was still pounding. “It’s… complicated, ok?”

“Because you’re making it that way. You were an ass, get over it and get with it before you regret it.” Beau took another sip from her can. “Unless you’re still thinking this is just a sex thing.”

No… even he knew that one. And even thinking of that made him sigh as he hung his head. It was impossible to ignore the feelings that had been plaguing him for quite some time. To admit it was, in a way, admitting defeat in a war against himself. It was one he had tried to win for so long, yet he was seeing the last of his defenses crumble with every touch, every smile, every time Alex so much as looked at him.

He may have been a turian… but he knew he was beaten.

“Alright, fine … I give up.” His mandibles twitched. “I like the guy, ok?”

Part of him had expected the words to taste bitter on his tongue. Defeat was supposed to be something like that, and yet it was the complete opposite. Macen was surprised to find he felt lighter with just a few words. Of course, that didn’t last long – as soon as there was room, worry filled the place denial had once been.

He never got a fucking moment’s rest.

Beau shook her head as she put her can down. “I hope your delivery’s better when you tell him, Virius. How the hell did you get an award for acting?”

“I never said I was good at ad lib.” Despite everything, he snorted. It was a little bitter and self-depreciating, but it was still a laugh. “That’s going to take more work. I have no idea what to say to him.”

Something about this made him feel like a stupid teenager again, crushing on the cute boy in his class before either of them wound up in basic. He was far too old for something like this, and yet the feelings were so familiar he couldn’t deny it. Despite how hard he had tried, he had damn well caught feelings for Alex.

Well… at least his taste had improved. The guy in his math class had turned out to be a real dickhead.

“That I can’t help you with, Virius.” Beau stood, once again enveloping him in shadow. “But, lucky for you he’s coming this way. Time to work on those ad-lib skills.”

In that moment, Macen could have sworn she smirked as she left him behind to go fuck with someone else’s day. Even worse, she was right – he could see Alex in the distance and judging by the speed he had been spotted by the human and was now being targeted.

Shit… he hadn’t been kidding. He had always been terrible at ad-lib. But… there was no way out of this except through it. All he could do was brace himself for impact and hope he didn’t get tossed like a biotiball during a champion match.

For all he knew, Alex was capable of that now. Wouldn’t that be a way to go… death by being yeet’d by his crush into a wall. Well, there were worse ways he supposed…

Fuck, he so wasn’t ready for this. Fuck…

#fictober21 #ramblinganthropologist's writing #shakarian #the actor AU

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sirspud · 3 years ago

Text

BREAKING NEWS

We interrupt your regular broadcast for more shitty wish-fulfillment fanfiction written by Australian dipshit, SirSpud. Links to this atrocity are found below, and an excerpt of this nightmare is under the banner.

Fanfiction.Net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13615322/11/Pokemon-Diamond-and-Pearl-An-Abridged-Novella AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725101/chapters/81455863

Floaroma Town was, by popular opinion, one of the most beautiful villages in Sinnoh. The place was home to a massive flower meadow that sent wonderful aromas through the town, making it a retiree’s dream and a pollen allergist’s nightmare. It was here that the Floaroma Spring Contest was starting to begin in earnest. Stalls were being set up, coordinators were practicing, and a small army of TV crews had invaded the normally quaint and quiet town, trampling the local scenery in the name of ‘cinematic shots’.

It was here that our heroes had just arrived, having made their way through the Ravaged Path and through the light forestry of Route 204 to arrive in this picturesque little village. Like any Pokémon trainer worth their salt, their first stop was to the Pokémon centre for some healing, cheap food, and a well-deserved break.

It was here that Ash and Dawn sat at a small table in the communal area. They were currently waiting on Brock to finish up with his business, whatever that was, and had each bought a rather bland pasta dish, covered with cheese and sporting a few vegetables that had been boiled to oblivion. Beside them, sitting on the ground, Pikachu and Piplup ate from their bowls of dry, tasteless kibble, trying to pretend that they were instead enjoying Brock’s cooking.

“So…” Ash started to say, trying to break the silence that had settled upon them like a blanket of awkwardness. “New contest, huh?”

“Yup.” Dawn nodded, scooping a spoonful of terrible pasta into her mouth. “Hopefully it’ll go better than last time.”

“It should do. You’ve been practicing every morning, right?”

“Urgh. I tried to.” Dawn groaned. “But I’ve been having really bad dreams lately, so I wake up and I’m not in the right headspace for it.”

“Really?” Ash said sympathetically. “How come?”

Dawn looked up from her meal with pointed, deliberate slowness to give Ash an accusatory glare of disdain.

“Oh. Right.” Ash looked away for a moment. “…Sorry.”

“…It’s fine.” Dawn sighed. “The fact that Pachirisu still isn’t listening to me isn’t helping either.”

“Ah, that stuff just comes with time.” Ash said dismissively. “When I started out, Pikachu didn’t listen to anything I said. He got a bit better after we almost drowned and got attacked by a flock of Spearrow, but it still took a long time before we trusted each other.”

“…Sweet son of Arceus, dude.” Dawn looked up at her friend in concerned disbelief. “How many times have you almost died?”

“I prefer to think it in terms of how many times I haven’t died.”

“That means the same thing!”

The sliding doors from the atrium slid open, interrupting their conversation. Brock walked slowly over to their table, clutching his lower back in pain. Croagunk followed by his side, his ever-present creepy grin upon his face.

Ash looked at Brock as he came to the table. “…Nurse Joy?”

“…Maybe.” Brock replied reluctantly, sitting next to Ash and wincing as he did so. “I think he might’ve actually poisoned me this time.”

“So, was that why you wanted to do your stuff alone?” Dawn asked, unimpressed. “So you could harass the local single women unjudged?”

“Not originally, no.” Brock sighed. “I wanted to give both of your parents a call to let them know about the Hunter J situation, but the reception here is awful. Couldn’t even get a connection.”

“…Oh. Cool.” Dawn replied, trying to hide her alarm. “Uh, weird question, but… why would you do that?”

“Yeah, why?” Ash added quickly, almost panickily.

Brock raised an eyebrow. “…Because that’s the responsible thing to do?”

“Yeah, but, like, I can do that.” Dawn said hurriedly, chuckling nervously. “You don’t have to call her, I can call her on, like, my Pokétch!”

“Mm… hm.” Brock folded his arms at her. “So, why don’t you call her now?”

It was almost issued like a challenge. Dawn opened her mouth, closed it, then she spluttered, “Well, why doesn’t Ash call his parents on his PokéDex, huh?”

“Can’t. I don’t have an internet license.” Ash explained.

Dawn stared at him for a moment, trying to make sense of what he said. Quickly giving up, she said, “Okay, well… maybe I don’t have reception here either! Did you think about that?”

“The Pokétch uses a different network than the phones here, doesn’t it?” Brock asked neutrally.

“Different doesn’t mean better!” Dawn replied defensively, holding up the hand that held the watch and pointing at the device. She heard the atrium doors open again, but she ignored them. “This thing can barely reach people a hundred feet away! There’s no way it can hold a conversation all the way to Twinleaf Town! It also can’t send texts, or set alarms, or… tell me what date it is…”

Dawn lowered her hand and looked down at the device, hesitantly admitting, “…It actually kinda sucks.”

“I see you’re still the ideal model for financial independence.” A boyish voice said from the side.

“Shut up, Kenny.” Dawn replied automatically, turning around in annoyance. “If I wanted your sass, I-”

Dawn blinked in surprise as she registered who had just spoke to her. It was a young boy, around about the same age as her, sporting a green t-shirt with white stripes worn atop a long-sleeved undershirt that was also green, but a little darker. His hair was an unkempt dark auburn mess, his eyes a blackish-brown, and his face sported a mischievous grin.

“Kenny!” Dawn cried with delight, immediately leaping up to embrace him.

The boy spread out his arms welcomingly. “Dee-Dee!”

Dawn skidded to a stop, shutting her eyes tight in a grimace.

“I hate you so much.” Dawn growled exasperatedly as Kenny burst into laughter. “Why won’t you let me forget that?”

Kenny chuckled. “Hey, you stop reacting to it, I’ll stop teasing you.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s how it works!” Dawn snapped. “That’s like a mugger going, ‘Hey, I’ll stop robbing you if you stop defending yourself’!”

Kenny smirked at her, and though she tried, Dawn couldn’t keep up the irritation for long. She broke back into a smile and embraced him.

“I missed you, dude.” Dawn sighed.

“Me too.” Kenny said as the two friends let go of each other. “I thought you were going to tell me when you started your journey!”

“…Not gonna lie, I actually completely forgot about that.” Dawn said sheepishly. “First few days were… pretty intense.”

“Wow.” Kenny folded his arms, an expression of mock hurt on his face. “I can’t believe you’d just betray me like that.”

Dawn smirked, folding her arms right back. “You really wanna talk to me about betrayal? Who was it, again, who only remembered his best friend’s birthday at the last minute?”

“Erm…”

Dawn looked back at the others, who were kind of just staring awkwardly.

“I don’t wanna be rude, but… we don’t know who this is.” Ash said.

“Ah.” Dawn stepped to the side. “Ash, Brock, this is Kenny Greenfield – my best friend stroke tormentor.”

“Yo!” Kenny greeted.

#ash ketchum #brock #dawn #pokemon #Pokemon Diamond And Pearl #fanfiction #abridgement #parody #pikachu #piplup #kenny #diamond and pearl #honestly it's more of a retelling at this point #abridged #ao3

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theheartsmistakes · 5 years ago

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The Last Night Part III

(Author’s Notes: Hello readers! Here is Part III of The Last Night, a Jordelia fanfiction, from Cassandra Clare’s Chain of Gold. As always thank you for reading and please do give it a like, reblog, comment, and let me know if you’re interested in more. Happy and safe quarantine to you all!)

Here is Part I

Here is Part II

Thunder crackled over the carriage as it drove down central London. The streets were empty this time of night except for those wayward travelers and the few patrons on their way home from the pubs. Rain fell in torrents in a way that Cordelia hadn’t seen it rain in a long time. With her head resting on Alastair’s shoulder, their hands bound together like when they were small children, she watched the city that she’d grown to love blur past her through the window. Alastair had taken her hand when she emerged from the Institute and hadn’t let it go since. Her skin, just a bit lighter than his own, but still similar. He smelt like their father she noticed: a warm spice mixed with smoke. It was comforting in that it reminded her of home: of white hot sand, open kitchen windows, and colorful tapestries that her grandmother said were known to capture spirits. As a child, the intricate black designs reminded her of runes by the way they swirled and bent and stood out amongst the other colors, because of that, she believed there to be magic in carpeting.

When they’d visit Sona’s family in Persia, Cordelia felt a deep and dormant part of her come alive. She’d join the other children in the sand coated streets and run barefoot in the shadows of the clay buildings. Men would fill the hallways with laughter; women, adorned in their colorful silks and intricate beading, would throw flowers from windows as the children ran by. When it would come time for them to leave, she’d wish that she was a tree with roots so strong that nothing could uproot her.

How desperately she wanted to share that part of her with James. To run with him in the warm shadows, barefoot as their own laughter filled the alleyways. They would drink spiced tea in the garden while exchanging their favorite pieces of literature by the trickling water fountains.

No, she couldn’t let herself think that way any longer. He wasn’t hers to fantasize about anymore. She would need to learn to fold up those thoughts and bury them away into a distant part of her. It was the only way to survive. The hardest parts aren’t the goodbyes, she thought, but the flashbacks that follow. The memories and what-could-have-beens.

“Layla?” Alastair stirred her gently. “Where have you gone to?”

“Home.” She answered sleepily.

He patted the back of hand gently. “We’ll be there shortly.”

“Not that home.” Cordelia sat up and turned to face her brother. “Do you remember going to grandmam’s house, in Persia? Do you remember their house on the top of the hill that looked out over all the clay city? Do you remember the way the kitchen smelt like abgoosht?”

Alastair nodded. “I can’t believe you remember it. You had been so young.”

“I remember all of it,” she said. “Do you think that we could ever go back there?”

“Of course, Layla.” Alastair reached up to cup her cheek in his gloved hand. “We can go wherever you’d like. Idris won’t be like it was before. We’ll have each other, and before long our new sibling to keep us busy. Lucie can come to visit, Anna, and—” His voice trailed off with his thoughts. Cordelia wondered if he thought about Thomas. She had wanted to ask him what happened between the two of them, but if Alastair felt anything like the way she felt upon simply hearing the name James, she didn’t want to be the catalyst for his pain.

She hadn’t told him of her plans to join the Iron Sisters. She hadn’t told anyone. It seemed terribly cruel to keep it a secret from her brother who was about to uproot his entire life in London to live with her in Idris. He tried so desperately to make it sound like a fairytale and the adventures that would follow.

“Alastair,” she began, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I’m—“ She noticed for the first time the thin webs around his eyes and the deepening crease between his eyebrows. He’d already put so much of his life on hold because of her, to protect her, she couldn’t allow him to do it any longer. “I’m not going to stay in Idris and I don’t think you should either.”

His dark eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“There’s nothing for us there.” She took a deep breath, trying to draw strength. “Because of what I’ve done, the Clave won’t likely allow me to join in missions, and by affiliation you’ll be excluded as well.”

“Where would you go?” Alastair’s tone grew more firm.

“To the Iron Sisters.”

“No.” Alastair shrank away from her as if she’d struck him. “The answer is no, Cordelia.”

“I’m not asking.”

“Well as your older brother and your guardian, I’m saying no.” Alastair moved to the other side of the carriage and rapt twice on the glass window.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m turning this carriage around that’s what I’m doing.” Alastair nearly shouted at her. “Had I known your intentions of joining that underground cult, I would have never agreed to leave London.”

“They’re Shadowhunters,” said Cordelia, “just as you and I are Shadowhunters.”

“I would never be able to see you, Cordelia.”

The carriage merged onto the side of the road and came to a stop.

Alastair turned back around to face her and slowly slid down into the seat. “You’d be isolated, worse than Jem, it’d be like—like you were dead.” He turned to look out the window as the rain fell in crooked streams over the glass like translucent veins. His jaw shook the way it did when he was adamant about something and could not be budged.

“I want to be known for something other than scandal,” said Cordelia. “The Iron Sisters offer me the chance to change my fate, to take back a semblance of my honor, and do something with the life that I have been given. Alastair?” She reached for him but his expression had gone cold. “I won’t let you waste another moment of your life because of me. I made my choices and I’m ready to accept the consequences for those choices, but I will not let you shield me from this— the way you did with father.”

“You had a childhood because of what I did.”

“And you will have a beautiful life because of this.”

Alastair dropped his hand from his mouth and shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “No, I will have nothing.”

He had said once, offhand, when he thought no one was listening, you don’t actually end up with the people you love, but with the ones who stay. At the time, she thought it cruel and the thought made her sad. She felt as thin as a piece of paper. The last thing she wanted to do before leaving was upset her brother. He will heal one day, she thought. One day, he will forgive her. He’ll find someone to love and to stay.

Their driver came around to stand at the carriage window awaiting further instruction.

“Dâdaš.” His eyes that mirrored her own flashed to her. They were red and full of rage: at her, at everything. She reached for him again when their carriage jolted forward, nearly throwing Cordelia into Alastair, except she didn’t quite make it and instead ended up sprawled out on the carriage floor.

“Bloody hell.” Alastair turned to the window where the driver had been standing, but he was no longer there.

“What was that?” Cordelia asked, pushing herself up to her knees.

“I’m not sure.” Alastair reached for the door. “Stay here. I’ll see what’s going on.”

“I’m coming with you.” Cordelia successfully got to her feet and followed her brother out of the carriage— the rain so thick she could hardly see in front of her.

“Martin?” Alastair called for their driver. “Martin, what’s going on?”

Cordelia glared down the dark road where she thought she saw a figure standing in the middle of the street, but it very well could have been a trick of the mist. Rain dripped down her face, flattening her hair, and drenching her clothes in minutes. A horse screamed in agitation behind her, but when she turned around to investigate, she felt her foot catch on something. She looked down, expecting her boot to be caught on a stone, instead finding a blood red hand wrapped around her ankle.

“Martin!”

“Run, Miss Carstairs, run.”

She fell backward when the carriage started moving again. A scream only comparable to nightmares ripped from her throat as the wheels rolled over Martin trapped underneath it. Afraid to open her eyes, Cordelia fumbled to her feet again. The skirt of her dress becoming increasingly heavy with water but she managed to find her footing.

“Martin.” She sobbed, turning around slowly, when a pair of arms reached out for her. She screamed, but recognition settled in, as Alastair’s face appeared before her own. He pulled her into his chest and whispered in her ear not to look.

“What’s going on?” She demanded over another ripple of thunder.

Alastair had a spear in his right hand, held out in front of them ready to empale whatever or whomever came near. At some point, he had abandoned his waist coat and tie. “I don’t know.” His eyes danced sharply around them. “Draw Cortana, I believe we’re under—“

Before he could finish his sentence, a great wind beat down on top of them and for a moment the rain stopped. Simultaneously, they looked up as a Diggoron demon with a wing span of twenty feet, a body the length of a whale, and the jaws of a dragon screeched above them. Its sharp tail, barbed with spikes, swung down towards them.

Alastair shoved Cordelia aside and took the brunt of the hit sending him flying through the air and into the darkness.

Cordelia landed painfully on hands and knees, but in a moment, her hands reached behind her and grabbed the hilt of Cortana. Instantly, she felt warmth radiate through her palms as if she’d grabbed the end of a burning log and not the metal end of a sword. The blade rang as she drew it from its home and held it out in front of her.

Her breath came out in a white cloud as the air around her took on a great chill. Rain dripped into her eyes marring her vision. The air smelt heavily of sulfur and the metallic tang of freshly spilt blood.

Her feet slipped on the pavement as she ran in the direction Alastair had been thrown. The streets were empty and unnaturally dark without the glow of the moon. All of the lamps had been snuffed leaving her alone in complete darkness. She hadn’t enough time to draw a night vision rune, besides her Stele was tucked safely in her bag on the runaway carriage.

When she was a child, as a part of her training, she would wrap a blindfold over her eyes and let loose a Revarrt demon, a small seemingly harmless bug except it packed a terrible sting if one allowed it too close. It had a particularly high pitch buzz. With her eye sight gone, Cordelia would hold out her blunt weapon as if it were Cortana and wait for the buzzing to come close and swing.

It felt as if she were back in the training room in Idris again, waiting for the buzzing to get close enough to her.

“Cordelia!” She heard from her left and stopped. It came again from behind her. “Cordelia!” Her name took on different voices: Alastair, Lucie, Sona, Matthew, Elias, James.

“Cordelia.” Something hissed right behind her ear. She swung Cortana in an ark but whatever had been there had left in a wave of smoke.

“What do you want?” She yelled into the darkness. “There’s no need for games.”

She felt something brush the side of her neck. In a flash of gold, Cortana cut through the air, but once again she was met with nothing. Movement caught the corner of her eye on her left. A dark mound lay in the middle of the road.

Alastair.

She stumbled into a run, Cortana’s weight in one hand, as she raced to her brother’s side. A slow, dark current circled his head and ran down the street.

She fell down beside him, Cortana clattered to the pavement beside her, as she carefully picked up his head in her hands. There was blood everywhere, more blood than she thought she’d ever seen in her life. Head wounds bleed the worst, she told herself. It was fine. He would be fine.

“Cordelia.” More blood seeped from between his lips, staining his teeth. “You— It wants—“

“Don’t speak.” Quickly, she found a hole in the hem of her dress and ripped a piece from it. It was wet and filthy but she pressed it to his head and picked up his hand to hold it in place. “I’m going to find the Stele. We’ll put an iratze on you and it’ll be fine. Hold that in place.”

He mumbled something as she stood up again.

A gust of wind, so powerful it nearly pushed her forward, swept past her again. As she reached for Cortana, a moment too late, the spiked tail of the Diggoron demon connected with her chest.

A spike lodged into her ribcage, but she hardly noticed, looking out at the glistening city of London from such great heights. For a moment, while her body lay suspended in the air, she thought about how quiet it was. Without even a chance to scream and all of the air knocked from her chest, it was inexplicably silent- as if time and space had stopped.

The bliss, however, was short lived. Her stomach flew to her throat as her body fell through the air towards the earth and landed back on the street sliding across the stones like a limp doll until her back slammed against a wall.

Sound and pain rushed back to her. Unable to draw breath into her lungs, her heart rate elevated in her ears, it felt like she were drowning on dry land. Rain ran into her eyes and spilt down her cheeks as she looked up at the blackened sky swirling with rain and mist.

A figure came to stand over her. For a brief moment, she thought the face familiar. The tangle of dark hair lay limp now and the eyes, went from warm yellow to black. His fingers grazed her cheek as he spoke her name. James. A great pair of wings spread out from his back and the darkness seemed to swallow her whole.

#chain of gold #jordelia #Cordelia Carstairs #alastair carstairs #the last hours #shadowhunters #james herondale #lucie herondale #Matthew Fairchild #will herondale #cassandra clare #the infernal devices #anna lightwood #thomas lightwood #christopher lightwood #the merry thieves #will herondale #tessa gray

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vendeavendea · 4 years ago

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I Forgive You

I wrote another fanfiction which I didn’t want to share online, but I was talked into it, so here it is.

It’s also on AO3 with some additional notes.

Summary: Catra's been thinking a lot about having a private talk with Entrapta, so when, a few days after the removal of Horde Prime's chip, Entrapta shows up in her room with the intention of checking on her healing progress, she instantly agrees. CW for brief mentions of emotional and physical trauma.

I Forgive You

After that one time when she'd removed Horde Prime's chip, Catra didn't really have any other chance to talk to Entrapta in private. They normally didn't even see each other outside the control room where everyone gathered from time to time to share a meal or just chat or have a good laugh about meaningless little things such as how much Wrong Hordak admired that awful pink nightshirt-wannabe piece of cloth Adora had found in the ship's storage room while looking for supplies for dinner, or how much Bow freaked out after realising that Glimmer had been using one of his three-branched arrows as a fork ever since she'd been on the ship. Entrapta barely ever left the control room, and usually she wasn't alone in there, and Catra didn't want anyone else to be around while talking to her, but for some reason, she failed to understand why, she didn't want to ask her to come to her room either. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't because she was scared. Why would she be scared of Entrapta? She'd helped her by removing that chip and setting her free from all those horrible visions of Prime she'd been having while being part of his hive mind. She'd been nothing but nice to her, even after everything that'd happened between the two of them back in the Fright Zone. There was definitely nothing scary about Entrapta. So Catra told herself that she didn't ask her to come to her room simply because the things she wanted to discuss with her were not important.

Either way, when one day, right after she woke up from a nap, Entrapta just casually turned up in her room with a bunch of various tools peeking out of her pockets, babbling something about a checkup she needed to carry out on her condition after the removal of the chip, first "for the experiments log", and then "just in case", Catra found herself agreeing instantly without questioning her. She didn't even care what exactly this so-called checkup would involve. As long as it served as a good reason for her to talk to Entrapta, she didn't mind whatever she was planning to do to her.

"Do I need to take off my top or anything?" she asked timidly.

"Oh, no, don't worry about that," Entrapta assured. "Just stay sitting on the bed and do this." She stretched out her arms to the side, and Catra copied her hesitantly. Entrapta grinned then grabbed her voice recorder and held it to her mouth with a lock of hair while removing her gloves and tucking them into her pocket.

"Follow-up on experiment number 982, exactly 124 Etherian hours after the extraction and deactivation of the chip," she dictated to the recorder while walking round Catra and observing her thoroughly, first from a comfortable distance, then getting closer and closer. Catra warily kept following her with her eyes. "Subject gave permission to carry out a checkup examination on her recovery progress and the possible physiological effects or repercussions."

Catra let out a quiet groan. The only repercussion she could think of would be the annoying nightmares she kept having ever since Adora had brought her here, but she doubted those were something Entrapta would be interested in, and even is she was, there was no way she'd be willing to share them with her.

She suddenly shivered when she felt Entrapta touching her shoulder from behind, right below the sleeve of her top, and running her fingers through her fur. Her touch was gentle and careful, but Catra couldn't help remembering the crawly feeling of Horde Prime's hand resting right at the same spot, and the memory made her feel queasy. She shuddered and tensed her muscles, hoping that Entrapta wouldn't notice.

Even if she noticed, she didn't comment on it. She pulled back her hand from Catra's body and lifted up the voice recorder again. "Subject's fur is dense, shiny and smooth, just like healthy feline fur is supposed to be." She turned to Catra and moved closer to her face, so uncomfortably close that Catra started to feel an urge to pull back, but she forced herself to sit still and let Entrapta examine her eyes and her nose. "Open your mouth wide!" Entrapta instructed, holding the voice recorder away but keeping some of her hair on the record button. Catra obeyed, her tail waggling nervously as Entrapta was glaring at her teeth and her tongue. "Ocular, nasal and oral mucosae and teeth are all intact." She grabbed her wrist and pressed two fingers somewhere round the base of her thumb. "Pulse is slightly fast but within the normal range. By examination, no anomaly detected in vital functions, but for this, subject's confirmation is also necessary," she said to the recorder, then she turned to Catra. "Does your body function normally? Any significant changes? Digestion? Respiratory system? Nervous system? Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"I don't think so," Catra replied. She suddenly thought of how different and less awkward this would be if it wasn't Etrapta being this close to her, carefully checking each and every bit of her. She imagined a pair of blue eyes running over her body, golden locks of hair floating gently in the air... She blushed, shook her head and swept that goddamn thought away, right when Entrapta got behind her and lifted herself up with her hair to check the back of her neck where Horde Prime's chip had been embedded earlier. She held the recorder back to her mouth with a lock of hair while leaning closer.

"Visible cicatrix is observed in the place of the removed Horde chip," she noted, gently touching the scar with the tip of her hair. Catra winced and groaned. She didn't really feel any pain, but it was still very unpleasant. "Slightly sensitive to tactile input, but not unusually so." She looked at Catra's face again and grinned cheerfully. "Okay, great, we're done. Thanks for your cooperation." She put her recorder away and moved back from Catra's bed using her hair, but she didn't get too far away. Catra looked up to her face, unsure of what's next.

"Is that all?" she asked.

Entrapta nodded. "Yup. You are completely healthy."

"Well, it's... good to hear that," Catra replied shily. Of course she was healthy after She-Ra's powerful healing magic and finally getting rid of that horrible chip. She didn't even understand why Entrapta'd thought this whole examination was necessary. Not like she actually cared, she'd only agreed to this for her own reasons. For a moment, she studied Entrapta's face before she started to speak again. "Um, can you please stay? Just... for a little while," she asked, though Entrapta didn't really seem to be keen to leave anyway. "We kind of... haven't really talked much... in a while."

Entrapta sat down on the bed next to her, quite close, but not close enough for their bodies to touch, and stared at her with an intrigued smile on her face.

"So, do you want to talk about something in particular?" she asked curiously, making Catra blush so hard that she had to look away.

"Yeah, sort of..." she answered, staring at her own hands resting on her knee. It took all her willpower to lift her head back up and face Entrapta again. "Look, I... I really am sorry. For... You know. Everything. I know no matter how many times I say it, I can't make it right... but... I'm sorry."

"Oh." Entrapta seemed to be a bit confused, but she was still smiling. "We've talked about this earlier, remember? I've told you I forgive you."

"Yes, I know," Catra replied quickly. "I just... don't understand why you don't hate me."

"I'm not sure I'm following your logic," Entrapta blinked, scratching her head. "Do you want me to hate you?"

"No, that's not..." Catra started, but then she suddenly swallowed the rest of the words. She sighed and turned away again, blushing, her tail swinging nervously behind her, slightly touching one of Entrapta's pigtails once, then quickly moving the other way. Of course, she shouldn't have expected it to go so smoothly. This was Entrapta, after all. Catra cleared her throat and looked up again. "No. I don't want you to hate me. I just don't get it. You... forgave me so easily."

"All the others did, too," Entrapta pointed out, absently playing with the tip of her pigtail.

"Well, yeah..." Catra clenched her fists on her knees, and her tail was moving even faster behind her back. They all really did forgive her, didn't they? She slid her fingers against the back of her neck where she could feel the scar left by Prime's chip. After all that they'd been through, after all that she'd done to her, to all of them, was it really that easy for her to gain their forgiveness? Even Adora's forgiveness? Did she really deserve to belong here with them just because after all those terrible decisions, she'd done one single good thing in her life?

Entrapta slowly got up and took a few steps towards the door. Catra was following her with her eyes, thinking that she was about to leave, but she stopped just a couple of inches away from the entrance.

"I don't know about them, but I know how it feels when you want to belong somewhere so badly, and you're trying real hard, but it's not enough," she said quietly. She was still facing towards the door and away from Catra, her pigtails seemed to be quite tense, slightly lifted from the ground in a curved position, as if she was ready to wrap them around herself, but they didn't move. "I believe people who do their best deserve a chance. And a second chance as well. Because we all make mistakes. I know you're a good person, Catra."

"I've hurt you," Catra muttered.

"Yes you have," Entrapta nodded. "And I won't forget that. But when I lived with you guys in the Fright Zone, for the first time in my life, I felt home. And I won't forget that either."

Catra snorted. If Entrapta had really felt home in the Fright Zone, that was definitely not because of her. She'd never done anything to make her feel that way. Scorpia was the one who'd cared about her feelings, who'd treated her like a friend, who'd really appreciated all her hard work. Scorpia and...

"Oh, come on, we both know it wasn't me that made you stay with the Horde," she grumbled, and Entrapta suddenly turned around, her welding mask covering her face. Catra didn't even remember seeing her pull it down.

"He was there on the ship, too, wasn't he?" Entrapta asked.

It was so obvious who she was talking about, but Catra was speechless. She shivered as the memories invaded her brain, the agonising pain in her whole body, the horrific sounds of her own screams echoing in the room, melding together with the chanting of the clones all around. The hopelessness, the numbness, the emptiness. How was she supposed to tell this to Entrapta? How was she supposed to tell her that she'd witnessed Hordak go through the exact same thing just because she'd reminded him of who he really was? That she hadn't done anything but stand there and watch Prime torture him? All this after separating him from Entrapta, probably the only person he'd ever truly cared about. Catra flattened her ears and buried her face behind her knees. Everything that had happened, it was all her fault. How could she ever truly accept Entrapta's forgiveness for what she'd done to her and Hordak? Do you want me to hate you? Maybe her real answer was yes. Because that was what she deserved. And there was nothing in the whole universe that could change that.

"Leave," she hissed quietly. Entrapta didn't move an inch.

"You've seen him, haven't you?" she asked desperately, almost begging. "Please, I need to know wha—"

"I said leave!" Catra snapped. The hair all over her arms was spiked, her tail was wagging restlessly, and she tried so hard to keep her body still, but she knew that Entrapta'd already seen how strongly she was trembling. "You've done your little experiment on me, now go and mess with the ship or something!"

Instead of obeying, Entrapta stepped a bit closer and settled herself on the floor in front of the bed. A pink screwdriver fell out of her pocket and rolled away with a soft clinking sound. It was close enough that if she'd wanted, she could have easily grabbed it with her hair to pull it back, but she didn't care at all. She was just sitting there quietly, looking down at her own knees through the glass of her welding mask.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought you might know what happened to him... But I shouldn't have asked you about what you've seen there. I didn't consider your feelings and the fact that you may be traumatised by what you've been through, and this was very selfish of me."

Catra couldn't see her face behind the mask, but hearing the way her voice cracked was enough for her to realise that maybe she wasn't the only one who'd seen this pointless checkup as nothing more but an opportunity to talk to Entrapta in private. Maybe Entrapta had been doing the same, maybe she'd made up this whole thing just to get a chance to ask her about Hordak. And Catra couldn't blame her. Sometimes, even back then in the Fright Zone, she'd caught herself admiring Entrapta's courage and strength. She knew so little about emotions and relationships, and yet it seemed to be so easy for her to just open up and be honest about her own feelings. After all that love and forgiveness she'd given her, Entrapta had the right to get the answers she was looking for. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt.

When Entrapta got up and started to walk away, Catra reached out, trying to grab her arm. She wasn't fast enough to do that, but at least she managed to catch one of her pigtails, making her stop.

"It's not selfish to worry about a friend," she said quietly, suddenly thinking of Adora again. "Listen, there's no easy way to say this." She sighed and slowly let go of Entrapta's hair, which, instead of dropping down, stayed in the air in the exact same position. "But I want to be honest with you."

Entrapta walked up to her and sat back to the bed while using her hand to lift up her welding mask, revealing her face once again. Catra had never seen her eyes shine so eagerly before.

"Is he okay? What did he do to him?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Last time I saw him, he..." Catra swallowed loudly, her fingers tightened into a fist. She was desperately trying to find the right words, but the memories flooded her again, and they were too fresh and too realistic, making it almost impossible to think clearly. "I... On the ship, there was this... creepy pool full of some weird goo, and he was... I was..." The screaming and chanting in her head grew louder, and she could almost feel that bright greenish liquid burning her skin. Sharp pain shot through the back of her neck, and she shivered, her fur spiking up.

"Catra, it's okay," Entrapta said softly. "You don't have to go into details if it upsets you."

Catra took a deep breath, nodding gratefully.

"He was brainwashed," she whispered, absently raising her hand to touch the scar on her neck. She hadn't wanted Entrapta to ever see her this vulnerable, but now she just couldn't care anymore.

To her surprise, Entrapta gave her a light smile when their glances met. Her eyes were full of sadness, and yet, her gaze was strangely hopeful.

"But he'll be alright," she said, her tone almost interrogative. "I mean, Adora's brought you back, so there has to be a way to save him, too, right?"

Catra found herself smiling back at her. She herself still had no idea how exactly Adora had managed to snap her out of Prime's control, but she definitely knew the person who'd be able to do the same for Hordak. After all, she'd witnessed what he'd been like after getting separated from Entrapta. A spark of guilt flared up inside her, but she didn't let it overcome her. She could feel awful and hate herself and blame herself all she wanted later when she'd be alone, but not right now. This moment was Entrapta's, not hers.

"Yes," she nodded. "He'll be fine. Just... don't give up on him, okay?" she added, remembering Adora's words, the words that had given her so much strength to fight for her own free will back then.

"I would never give up on him," Entrapta replied.

"Good."

Catra got up and walked to the wall to pick up the screwdriver Entrapta'd dropped earlier, and as soon as she touched it, she heard Entrapta's voice behind her.

"Catra," she said quietly. Catra looked back at her. "Thank you for telling me all this. I really appreciate it. I know it was difficult for you."

Catra tensed her fingers around the screwdriver, then handed it to Entrapta.

"It's the least I could do fo—" Before she could finish the sentence, two tiny arms wrapped around her body, softly but firmly, followed by a blanket of violet hair, and all the rest of the words she was about to say suddenly got lost somewhere in her throat.

"I'm sorry, I'm not as good at hugs as Scorpia," Entrapta muttered into her chest.

Catra's mind went completely blank, and she couldn't move a single muscle. Part of her felt like this was too much, she wanted Entrapta to let her go and leave, but another part was longing to hug her back, to accept all that love and affection she was offering her. But she couldn't. She was just standing there still, breathing heavily, not knowing what to do or say.

That is how Adora found them a few moments later, when she entered Catra's room. As soon as she noticed she was there, Catra's eyes widened and she flinched in Entrapta's embrace, who pulled away just enough to see what was going on, but didn't release her. Catra blushed hard and looked away, wishing it had been anyone, anyone else instead of Adora who'd walked on them. But Adora didn't seem to be bothered at all.

"Ah, there you are," she grinned. "I've been looking for you two everywhere. Glimmer's just found a really weird First Ones' board game in the back cabin, and we're about to try it. You wanna come and join us?"

"Oooh, what kind of board game?" Entrapta asked happily, letting go of Catra so suddenly that she lost her balance for a second and nearly fell over. "This is so exciting! I've never played a board game with non-robots!"

She bounced out of the room, and Adora walked up to Catra, reaching out her hand towards her.

"Come," she said, smiling. "It's going to be fun."

She knew it wouldn't last long, but as they walked out of the room hand in hand, Catra felt like no amount of guilt could surpass the gratitude she felt for having these wonderful people, her friends, around her just when she needed them most.

#She-Ra #She-Ra Reboot #SPOP #entrapta #entrapdak #catra #adora #catradora #my fanfiction

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alittlebitweird4 · 4 years ago

Text

Heart of a Monster (Fraxus Fantasy AU) - FT Reverse Bang 2020

I am so excited to show off my piece for the Fairy Tail Reverse Bang hosted by @ftguildevents ! This was my first time participating in something like this and I had a blast! My fanfiction is based on fanart created by the amazingly talented @fairiesherefairiesthere which you can check out here. I have been wanting to write something like this but didn’t know where to start but their piece and ideas gave me the inspiration that I needed. I am really proud of how it came out (although there are other things I would have added in if I had the time). Regardless, I hope y’all enjoy this. Thanks so much to my fabulous beta reader @onyxbaku (Twitter) who, among other things, helped me get Laxus to sound more Laxus-y.

Synopsis:

Freed is a peaceful spirit living on the outskirts of the kingdom of Magnolia. Frightened by this mystical being and misunderstanding his intentions, the humans gather a mob to vanquish the spirit. After a difficult battle, the humans successfully capture the spirit’s heart; however, instead of killing him, this act transforms the once kind spirit into a horrible monster. The king sends his strongest knight, Laxus to finish the job. But Laxus ends up growing closer to Freed than he expected.

Genres: fanfiction, AU, fantasy, BL

You can read the story on Wattpad, AO3, or under the cut. Enjoy and remember to check out all the other amazing entries for this event~

Prologue~

Once upon a time, a spirit was said to be lurking on the outskirts of the kingdom of Magnolia. The humans, frightened by this foreign presence, plead to their king for protection. When the king brushed aside their fears, they decided to take matters into their own hands. A group of villagers headed up the mountain with the intention of capturing the spirit’s heart as a trophy and as a warning to other paranormal entities.

“Freed! They’re coming!” Evergreen shouted, pointing at the mob ascending the mountain - a pulsing mass of fire and anger approaching the castle.

“My babies and I can take care of them,” Bickslow announced, raising up the wooden dolls which contained the souls he controlled.

“Hold your attacks,” Freed replied calmly.

With a loud bang, the door came down and the humans flooded into the castle. Freed remained seated, Bickslow and Evergreen on either side of him ready to spring into action if needed.

“Monsters!” a man yelled, stepping forward from the group with a sword in his hand.

“Rude,” Evergreen muttered, earning a glare from Freed.

“This is your chance to get far away from here and never bother us again. Otherwise…” the man said, raising his sword, “we’ll take matters into our own hands.”

“Yeah! Tell them, Trevor!” The villagers cheered the man on.

“We have no quarrel with your people. We do not wish to fight you,” Freed replied.

“What? I do!” Bickslow retaliated, his babies chanting “Fight! Fight!” as they floated around him.

The crowd gasped. One young man, in horrified disbelief, said, “It’s true! A soul-stealing demon!”

“Bickslow!” Freed reprimanded. Bickslow replied with a nervous laugh, realizing that he had made the situation worse.

“A-and I hear the woman is a witch!” the young man continued.

“Witch?” Evergreen gasped. “Who’s going around calling me a witch?! I’m clearly a beautiful fairy!”

“That leader must be really terrifying to be able to give orders to a demon and a witch.”

“I’m not a witch!”

“Then let’s cut off the head of the snake!” The first man, Trevor, cheered. He charged into battle with the rest of the mob quickly following suit.

Freed sighed. “Please, we do not want to hurt you. We only wish to continue on with our lives here in peace.” He was drowned out by the commotion. The mob was on them in full force and Evergreen and Bickslow were beginning to fight back. “Evergreen, Bickslow, do not kill or maim anyone. Do only what you must to survive. Don’t let them turn us into monst-” his words were cut short by a dagger plunging into his chest. He looked down to see the same terrified young man from earlier.

“Take its heart as a prize, Michael!” someone called to the boy. The young human reached into Freed’s chest and pulled out his heart. He held up his prize hesitantly to the rest of the mob, who cheered violently. Bickslow and Evergreen screamed and tried to run to Freed through the mob.

Thunder rumbled. The castle shook. Instead of dying, Freed began to transform. He let out a guttural scream as he grew in size and sprouted giant horns. The hole where his heart had been glowed, the pulsing light mimicking the lost heartbeat.

“Freed!” Evergreen finally reached her friend; however, the greeting she received was not friendly by any means. The newly transformed Freed reached out and mercilessly plucked the fairy’s wings. As Evergreen screeched in pain, she was covered in glowing purple runes. When the glowing subsided, she was gone.

The mob looked around in terror. “Up there!” someone shouted, pointing at a window. Evergreen was trapped in the stained glass, her magic separated from her and secured in a second window.

“Freed… what did you do?” Bickslow’s horrified shock quickly turned into anger and he charged. Freed picked each of the flying dolls out of the air. “My babies!” Before Bickslow could transfer the souls or do anything else to fight back, he too was covered in those glowing purple runes. On the wall facing Evergreen’s windows, Bickslow and his babies occupied two more.

The humans fled the castle as quickly as they could, trampling over each other in panic. Some of them were captured by the monster. Those who made it out ran back home without a look back at the castle. Their mission was a success, but had an unexpected outcome. Instead of dying, the spirit was transformed into a terrible monster.

The young man who had wrenched the spirit's heart from his chest went to the king for help. He described truthfully what had happened and what he had done, not sparing any gruesome details of the ensuing transformation and violence.

The king instructed his subject to bury the heart and to not spread his story. The monarch's worst fears were coming true and he wished to sweep everything under the rug as quickly as possible. So, to fix the mess, he decided to call in the local magical knight to quickly dispose of the demon.

Laxus smiled smugly, quite satisfied with himself. He had just come from a meeting during which the king begged for his help. There was just something about having royalty bow down to him instead of the other way around. He supposed it was just another perk of being the resident magical knight.

After preparing some supplies, he set out from the small town in the direction of the ominous castle whose occupant had been making the locals uneasy. The closer he got, the more he could feel the darkness emanating from the place. Heh. I'm gonna show this demon who's boss, Laxus thought with a smirk. The prospect of putting a horrible monster in its place got his blood pumping with excitement and confidence.

Standing in front of the castle door, he took a deep breath. Then, he stormed in with a flash of lightning. Subtlety was never his strong suit. However, as soon as he passed the threshold, he found himself caught in a trap of glowing purple runes. He writhed in pain, feeling as if his very life force was being drained by the runes. He soon found out that it wasn’t his life force, but rather his magic that was being ripped from him. His eyes followed a beam of bright light from his body to the stained glass windows lining the room. He watched in horror as the pattern on one of the windows became that of lighting bolts - Laxus’ magic. It appeared that several other magical abilities, and even a couple of people, had been trapped here as well. On one side, a woman looked down at him in anguish from her stained glass prison. Next to her was a pattern of wings, which Laxus guessed had once belonged to her. Opposite the woman was a man in a helmet. Laxus wondered if this man had been another knight sent in to do this job; however, he quickly dismissed the thought as nothing else about the man suggested knighthood. Beside the helmet-wearing man was a window panel containing some sort of wooden creatures.

What happened here? Laxus wondered in disgusted horror as the last of his power was drained from him. He could hear heavy footsteps descending the stairs and coming towards him. His head was spinning and he was in pain but he managed to make out the sight of a towering figure with large horns and a gaping hole in its chest. The demon smiled sickly at his new prey. The glistening fangs and cold eyes were the last things Laxus saw before everything went black.

When Laxus finally came to, those horrible images he had witnessed came flooding back to him. Drowning in nightmares, he gasped for air. After a few desperate breaths, he finally calmed down enough to take in his surroundings. He noticed a square of runes on the ground around him. He reached out his arm and the runes came shooting up, forming a glowing cage and singeing his hand upon contact. “Shit, that actually hurt!” he complained.

A deep, slow chuckle sounded in response to his pain. Laxus looked up to see the same demon he had glimpsed earlier. The creature was sitting on a throne and wearing an expression like that of a cat playing with a mouse.

Laxus swallowed his fear and stood up, locking eyes with the creature before him. “Demon! I have been sent here by my king to vanquish you once and for all,” his voice resonated clearly and loudly through the castle.

“Is that so? And how is that going for you?” The creature retorted with a smirk. “You have no magic and can’t leave that square. You will be my plaything until you rot or until I grow bored of you.” His voice was gravelly and distorted. Whatever this creature was he did not look or sound human. Laxus recalled some of the old wives’ tales he’d heard about people who’d had their souls stolen and wondered if this was what they turned into.

Laxus’ eye twitched slightly with anger at being belittled by the demon. “I’ll find a way out,” he declared with cool arrogance, though he knew deep down that the odds were not in his favour. “And when I do, watch out. I’m going to make sure that you never terrorize any humans again.”

The demon chuckled at Laxus’ baseless optimism, a horrible sound that somehow resembled that of breaking glass. “Whatever you say… hero,” the last word was dripping with so much venom that Laxus shuddered involuntarily.

Growing bored of Laxus, the demon turned and left up the staircase. Long green hair and a cape adorned with stars flowed behind him. Laxus could imagine children wishing upon stars at night only for this demon to pluck those stars out of the sky and wear those shattered dreams.

“Hey! Come back here!” Laxus called into the empty space where the demon had been. He was alone, with only the terrified faces frozen in the stained glass to keep him company.

The following morning, Laxus woke from a shallow and restless sleep on the cold hard floor of the castle. He was startled by the sight of the demon looming over him, studying him.

“Are you finally gonna let me out of here so we can settle this like men?” Laxus asked.

“You don’t see me as a man. Only as a monster,” the demon’s distorted voice made Laxus feel sick. He couldn’t argue with that statement. The demon retreated back to his throne from which he observed his prey.

“So… who are they?” Laxus asked, gesturing to the stained glass, trying to make conversation. “Those are real people in there, right?”

“I think… I think they were my... friends?” The word “friends” was the last thing that Laxus had expected to hear and sounded especially wrong coming out of the demon’s mouth.

“Some friend you are,” Laxus muttered.

“What was that?”

“If that’s how you treat your friends, I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me,” the knight said sarcastically, his cocky optimism returning.

The light emanating from the hole in the demon’s chest grew brighter and pulsed rapidly. “You know nothing,” he said angrily.

“So what did your ‘friends’ call you?” Laxus asked flippantly, ignoring the creature’s growing anger. “You must have a name, right?”

“No. I don’t.”

“Huh? Then what do people call you?”

“No one is calling me anything now,” he gestured to the stained glass. After a pause he added, “I think I had a name at some point. I can’t remember it now though and it is not important,” as he spoke, his tone grew angrier.

“It really bothers you doesn’t it?”

“Do not mock me, human.”

“Geez, don’t be so sensitive. I wasn’t-” The demon waved his hand and the runes glowed, causing Laxus to fall asleep mid sentence.

Even after several days, Laxus still was not accustomed to waking up on the castle floor. “Why haven’t you just killed me by now?” Laxus asked, his voice coarse and weak from lack of food and water.

“I… don’t know.”

“All you ever say is ‘I don’t know.’ What the fuck do you know, then?” Ignoring the demon’s angry growls he continued, “Wait a minute… you can’t kill me. That’s the only reason that makes sense. You can’t kill me, can you?” The demon’s silence confirmed Laxus’ suspicions. “So why not, then? You have me trapped here, starving to death, because you’re too weak to kill me yourself? Is that it?”

“I told you I DON’T KNOW,” the demon roared, the light in his chest pulsing angrily.

“What, you got amnesia? Did you hit your oversized head?”

"I… didn't fight back,” he spoke slowly.

Laxus raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“When the humans came… I… didn’t fight back,” he sounded confused as if even he himself couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t fight back against attackers.

"Bull. Shit," Laxus taunted, angering the demon further. "I saw the guys who confronted you. Given the shape they were in you can't honestly tell me you were a gracious host."

The creature thought for a moment but it seemed as though he couldn’t fully remember or understand what had transpired on that day. “What does it matter?” He asked angrily. He paused and sighed before asking, “Did I kill any of them?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t know.”

Laxus sighed, then thought for a moment. The people who had come running back from the castle had been injured but not fatally, and those unlucky few who had been captured eventually found their way back as well. “No. I think everyone managed to survive.”

“Why didn’t I kill them?”

“Why the hell are you asking me?”

The demon slumped in his throne and took a deep breath. “I… don’t know who I am. When the humans came… they changed me.”

“What do you mean changed?”

“What happened exactly is foggy. I don’t even know when it happened, though I can guess based on your arrival and… the visions.”

“Visions?”

“Pieces of that day. They’ve been coming back to me in fragments. Those two,” he gestured to the figures in the stained glass, “they stood by me. I told them not to fight. I don’t know why I did that,” he spoke as though he was trying to recount someone else’s memories. “One of the humans - a young man - he charged at me. I felt a wave of anger and then… nothing. The next thing I remember is seeing humans fleeing back towards the kingdom.”

“So you conveniently don’t remember any of the things that you did. The things that put dozens of people in the hospital.Your story is that humans stormed into your castle and attacked you and your ‘friends’ unprovoked. One young guy came at you, a towering demon, and busted you up so bad you blacked out. And then they all decided to run away?”

“I know how it sounds but that is the truth. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. Your opinion does not matter.”

“Well if you really believed that you wouldn’t be keeping me around for these meaningless conversations,” Laxus muttered.

After a pause, the demon added, “I don’t think I was always… like this. That boy… he took something from me.”

“Oh so the big bad humans stole from you too?”

The demon, lost in thought and grappling with his hazy memories, ignored Laxus’ snide remark. He hesitantly brought a hand up to the hole in his chest. “There was something here,” he said in a faraway voice.

“Your heart?” Laxus asked, puzzled.

“Heart?”

“Ya know the organ in a person’s chest that pumps blood through their body? The thing people associate with kindness and… love.”

“Love? What is that?”

“You don’t know what love is?”

The demon shook his head.

“Well I guess it’s like… a feeling,” Laxus blushed. He wasn’t easily flustered but then again he had never before found himself having to explain love to a demon. “Like you would do anything for someone because… they mean the world to you and make you feel… whole.”

The demon touched the hole where his heart had presumably once been.

“Hey! Restore my magic,” Laxus demanded boldly.

The demon chuckled. “Why do you suppose I do that?”

“If you don’t, then I’ll have a harder time marching into that town and getting your heart back,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“You would do that?”

“Of course. They had no right to take it from you in the first place.”

“But if I give you back your power, then there’s nothing to guarantee that you will return. What is stopping you from leaving here and never coming back? Or coming back with an army to kill me?” Freed asked, skeptically.

“I’m a man of my word.”

“You gave your word to your king that you would kill me.”

“No, I gave him my word that I would take care of the problem. I get your heart back and you stop being all monster-y, right?”

“I think so.”

“Eh, good enough,” Laxus shrugged, smiling slightly. Noticing that the demon still had reservations he added, “Trust me.”

The demon sighed. Suddenly, Laxus’ skin crawled with purple runes.

“What the hell?” Laxus exclaimed. Though he shortly began feeling reinvigorated. He saw the lightning pattern disappearing from the stained glass and felt the familiar tingle of electricity sparking in his veins.

“Your magic has been returned to you,” the demon said, eyeing Laxus warily.

“Oh yeah I feel stronger now! Time to go get that heart,” Laxus declared. “I wish I knew what to call you.”

“I think my name was… Freed.”

“Okay, then. See you soon, Freed.”

“See you soon…”

“Laxus. Laxus Dreyar.”

“I demand an audience with the king!” Laxus easily pushed through the palace guards.

“Oh, Laxus! You’re back! Does that mean the mission was a success? Is that horrid monster finally dead?” The king asked hopefully.

“He’s only a monster because you people made him one!”

“Preposterous! I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Yeah right,” Laxus scoffed. “That’s the reason you just sent me, right? You wanted it done quickly and quietly.”

“I don’t like your tone, Laxus. You should show respect to your king.”

“Ha! Then you should be a king worthy of respect.”

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“I’ll let myself out. If you’re not gonna give me answers then you’re just in my way.”

Laxus stormed out of the castle, fuming. His quest wasn’t going as smoothly as expected. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure.

“Michael.”

The boy jumped and attempted to avoid Laxus’ gaze.

“Michael… you were there, right? At the demon castle? Tell me what happened that day.” Remembering the anguished look on Freed’s face, he grew more desperate. “Please,” he added sincerely.

Michael was shocked at the desperation in Laxus’ voice. “Well…” he began, “one of the men from the village said he was gathering a mob to take care of a spirit living on the outskirts of the kingdom. Spirits make a lot of people anxious and the king wasn’t doing anything about it. So a group of us went to the old castle where the spirit has been seen. I honestly didn’t actually expect to see anyone… but the spirit was there with his two friends. The spirit didn’t want to fight. I… I think I messed up, Laxus.”

“What did you do, Michael?”

“I took the spirit’s heart,” his voice was trembling and barely audible. He swallowed hard then continued with his story. “I made everything worse. He didn’t die. He… changed. He got bigger and scarier and… so much angrier. He even attacked his own friends.” Tears started to form in the boy’s eyes.

Hearing Freed’s story confirmed renewed Laxus’ motivation. “Where is his heart?”

“The king told me to bury it. I’m not even supposed to be telling anyone this story. Wait… you’re not-”

“Working for the king? I’m supposed to be. But I went to the castle and saw what became of that spirit. He’s in pain, Michael. I won’t turn you in to the king. I just want to fix this mess. So… where did you bury the heart?”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to just cover up the mess I made and pretend it never happened.” Michael disappeared into his home and came back out shortly clutching a wooden box. He looked around nervously, checking for anyone who might be watching, before handing the box to Laxus.

“Thank you, Michael.”

Michael nodded. As Laxus was turning to leave, the younger man added, “Please… tell him I’m sorry.”

“Will do.”

The king must have expected Laxus would retrieve Freed’s heart. The royal army surrounded the kingdom’s border, blocking Laxus’ path to Freed.

“How could you side with a monster, Laxus?” One of the knights implored.

“How could you?” Laxus retorted. “Your king is a liar. The only monster out there was created by the people of this kingdom. Get out of my way so I can fix this mess.”

“Stand down, Laxus,” the head knight warned, brandishing his sword. It made Laxus laugh.

“You really think you can stop me? I can crush you all like mere ants under my boot.”

On their leader’s command, the army charged at Laxus. Laxus retaliated with lightning. A sword caught him in the arm, but it didn’t slow him down. On the contrary, it angered him and drove him to fight harder. “This is for Freed,” he said, knocking down the knights in his way with a bolt of lightning.

Laxus broke through the barricade and ran on autopilot to the castle, clutching the wooden box tightly to his chest.

Laxus crashed through the door, panting after having run all the way up the mountain.

“You came back,” Freed marveled.

“Of course… I did,” Laxus said, still trying to catch his breath. He held up the box triumphantly. However, the smug look on his face quickly disappeared. “Shit. Someone’s coming. They must have followed me.”

“Who followed you?”

Freed’s question was answered by the royal army bursting through the door of the castle.

“They did,” Laxus answered. He tucked the box away in his coat and prepared to fight.

Seeing that Laxus was outnumbered, Freed made a decision. The stained glass glowed brightly and two people came out of it. The two looked at Freed, then at the army. Though disoriented, they did not hesitate to back up Laxus in defending their old friend.

“Laxus,” one of the knights began, “if you’re going to defend monsters then you will be vanquished like one!”

“Oh we are not the monsters here!” The woman from the stained glass argued.

Laxus took her words to heart. She was right. He took the box out of his coat and called to Freed, “Heads up!”

The box hurtled towards him and he caught it. He opened it hesitantly and his heart, as if pulled by an imaginary force, flew to his chest where it belonged. With a flash of light, Freed changed back into his original form.

Though smaller and admittedly less intimidating, he walked confidently up to the fight. “I am not a monster, and so I will give you one more chance to back down from this ridiculous fight,” he said calmly to the army. The two figures from the stained glass looked at each other and nodded before falling into line behind him. Freed held out his hand to Laxus. Laxus hesitated before grasping it and joining his new friends. “Now,” Freed began, addressing the troops, “would you really like to charge against four powerful magical beings who just want to continue living their lives unbothered, or can we handle this like adults?”

One by one, the soldiers began to lower their swords and mutter apologies for disturbing the spirit and his friends. “Good choice,” Freed replied. “Now go back to your kingdom. Tell your people that we mean them no harm. And tell your king that we will not be so forgiving next time something like this happens.”

The soldiers filed out quickly with frantic gasps of “yes, sir!”

Once they had all gone, Freed sighed and turned to his friends. “I’m so sorry!”

“I’m so sorry for the way I treated all three of you. Though I’ll admit I do not fully remember all of it. Without my heart… I just felt so… empty. And I lashed out. I apologize deeply.”

“It’s okay, Freed, we know that wasn’t really you,” the woman reassured him, patting his arm.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it!” The helmeted man chimed in. Wooden dolls floated behind him repeating his words.

“Thank you, Evergreen. Thank you, Bickslow.” Freed looked pleadingly up at Laxus. Now that Freed was back to his normal appearance, Laxus was the taller of the two.

“Yeah. It wasn’t your fault,” Laxus replied gruffly, fighting back a blush.

“Thank you, Laxus,” Freed replied, relieved. “Now. What will you do? I’m afraid you probably won’t be welcomed back into your kingdom.”

“Yeah I guess not. I don’t think I’d want to go back anyway after what they did.”

“Well… there are plenty of rooms here,” Freed stated. “You’re welcome to stay if you want.”

“Really?”

“After all the trouble I caused, the least I can offer you is shelter and protection. I promise you can actually have a proper room this time, not just a rune cage in the foyer.”

“Heh, well that sounds like a pretty good deal, then.”

Freed reached out his hand and Laxus shook it, sealing the deal.

10~

Laxus took some time to explore the castle before finally venturing into his own room.

“Laxus?” Freed stepped in from the hallway and approached the man hesitantly.

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to say thank you for sticking up for me like that and for getting my heart back. I know you sacrificed a lot even though I did nothing to deserve your kindness.”

Laxus was shocked by Freed’s honesty and sincerity. “It was nothing,�� he declared with a shrug. “Besides, you’re a lot nicer with your heart than without so it is a win-win for everyone, right?”

“Heh I guess so,” Freed blushed. “Still, it means a lot to me. I feel like my words are not enough to express my gratitude.” He pondered this for a moment and then moved closer to Laxus. He quickly placed a kiss on the other man’s lips.

Laxus was stunned, but only for a moment. He quickly recovered from the shock and wrapped an arm around Freed’s slender waist, pulling him closer to kiss him deeply. They stood there, entwined in each other's arms, in a well-deserved escape from the chaos they had experienced that week.

#ftrbb2020 #fairy tail #fraxus #raijinshuu #freed justine #laxus dreyar #fantasy #au

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thdorkmagnet · 4 years ago

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See the Light (Star is Rapunzel AU Part 4)

Summary: A series of one-shots and multi-chapters proving why Star Butterfly should be considered a Disney Princess, as Star and company take over the roles of all your favorite Disney Princess characters! (Starco inevitable)

Check out my other stuff on Fanfiction!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. Tangled belongs to Disney. All rights go to their respective owners.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Marco was in shock. That much was clear to Star as she cast worried glances at him from across the small clearing the three had settled down in for the night. She was starting to worry about him honestly as he just sat numbly on the log, his unblinking eyes staring deeply and emptily into the flickering light of the campfire. He looked drained, devoid of any and every emotion, and Star was fairly sure she hadn't seen him blink in over an hour.

She couldn't blame him for this reaction, it was only natural after all, it was probably not every day he was in the presence of two magical beings and it was bound to be confusing. Still, she figured he would recover once they had explained the situation to him. She hoped he would at least, it was starting to bother her that he hadn't looked at her in a while, though she had no idea why. For some reason, she seemed to be craving his attention.

Janna settled down beside her friends as she finished setting their meal on to cook over the campfire, just some fish Star had managed to catch after much trial and error. Janna was still in her human form for now, which Star knew had to be wearing out soon, so she figured they better hurry up and explain everything before she changed back, since it was clear Marco didn't speak bat.

The two girls now sat on either side of Marco and Star cleared her throat, deciding it was best if she started. "So, Marco I bet you have a lot of questions, huh?" She asked awkwardly, nearly slapping herself for saying something so dumb. Duh, of course he did.

"Maybe just... a couple," the thief sheepishly admitted, he seemed to be acting just as awkward as she felt and Star found something bizarrely comforting about that.

"Okay well, I guess I should start from the beginning, then," she began, clearing her throat. But suddenly she noticed the way her friend was clinging onto his hand, laying it gingerly in his lap and Star leaned over to examine it closer. "Did something happen to your hand?" she asked.

"Huh?" Marco said in surprise, before following her gaze to his palm, wrapped up tight in bandages. "Oh yeah, I scraped it on one of the rocks back in the cave."

Star frowned, cooing softly, "Oh you poor thing! Here, let me help you."

As soon as she began fiddling with the bandages, Marco began to protest, putting his good hand on her shoulder to try and hold the blond back. "No, no, that's okay. You don't have to-"

"Marco," Star interrupted, her voice soft but firm and the boy froze and locked eyes with her. "Trust me."

Marco stared deep into her crystal blue orbs for a moment before he loosened his grip and allowed her to finish whatever it was she was doing. It's not like she could make things any worse, right?

So instead, the boy just watched in confusion as she began to wordlessly wrap strands of her hair around the scrape, looping it multiple times until the injury was fully covered by her blond locks. "Uhh, so what exactly are you doing?" he asked after a moment, his curiosity and impatience getting the best of him.

"You'll see," she said, with barely suppressed joy, shooting him a playful wink. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, as her mouth slowly opened. But suddenly, her eyes snapped back open as she rushed to add, "Oh and try not to freak out."

"Whaaa-" Marco began, slightly unnerved now, but Star just closed her eyes and started the same process as before.

"Flower gleam and glow," she began, her gentle smooth singing voice throwing Marco off guard. She was singing again.

"Let your power shine." This was the same song from before, which meant...

And just as expected a warm glow lit up the darkened area, starting at the roots of the blond's hair and slowly crawling its way down. "Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine."

Marco watched in awe as the glowing trail flowed through Star's long locks, sucking in a breath as it reached his hand. "Heal what has been hurt..." Wait, what was that last bit?

"Change the fates' design..." Marco gasped as his hand began tingling but not in a bad way, it felt... oddly comforting. "Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine." Marco, still in shock as the tingling grew into a steady, soothing warmth, looked over to Janna who just gave him a smug, knowing look.

Finally, Marco's gaze returned to Star as she finished her song, her eyes closed and the glow from her hair making her face shine with an otherworldly beauty, causing the boy's cheeks to heat up as he let out a soft breath. "What once was minnnee."

The moment she stopped singing, the glow vanished and the tingling sensation disappeared, leaving Marco blinking as his eyes struggled to adjust to the dim lighting once again. He began to unwrap his hand, wanting to see the result of whatever his magical friend had just done and Star bit her lip as she watched him intensely, waiting to judge his reaction.

The moment Marco saw the state of his hand, he felt the urge to scream, barely stifling the shocked cry as he saw his hand had been completely healed, not a scratch anywhere in sight. "Oh wow, th-that is.. I um, that's... certainly something," Marco chocked out, plastering on a forced smile, trying not to let his discomfort show out of fear of upsetting Star.

"Marco, it's okay if you're freaked out," Star told him, seeing through his act in a heartbeat.

Marco laughed awkwardly, rocking back and forth on the log while clutching his hand to his chest. "What, no. Freaked out? I'm not freaked out. Are you freaked out?!"

"Marco!" Star said, placing her hands on his cheeks and staring deep into his eyes. "Its really alright if you aren't okay," she reassured him softly.

But she felt instant regret for this action as she became all too startlingly aware of just how close she was to him and how deep and vast his brown eyes were. The boy seemed aware of this too because his breath hitched at the action and his face pooled with blood. Star quickly released him, ignoring her own blushing cheeks, playing with a loose strand of her hair, doing her best not to meet his eye.

Marco cleared his throat before asking, in a still slightly unnerved tone, "So, uh, how long have you been able to... do that?"

Star shrugged, finally meeting his eye again. "Basically forever. My mom said when I was really little that people tried to steal my hair so they could use its power. But, turns out if you cut it, it doesn't work anymore and it never grows any longer." She pulled back her many layers of hair to show him a short blond strand. She let her hair drop back, a sad look crossing her face as she admitted, "That's why I stayed in the tower for so long. I didn't want anyone using this power for the wrong reasons. But I figured since I'm old enough now, it would be okay." Her eyes looked into the flickering fireplace as she added bitterly, "Not that mom would agree."

Marco gave Star a sad look, placing his hand gently over hers, causing her eyes to jump to his for a second. "I'm sorry, Star. That must have been terrible, being cooped up and stuck in one place is literally my worst nightmare."

"Yeah, it was pretty tough," the blond admitted. The two shared a long look before Star gave him a small smile and said, "But y'know today has been the greatest day of my life, even with the near-death experiences."

The two shared a chuckle, Marco immediately agreeing, "Same." The young thief blushed before adding, "But I guess that's because I got to spend it with you."

Star's eyes widened at that, twinkling in the dim firelight. For a moment, the two just stared at each other with blushes on their cheeks, until they heard a cough next to them and they both whipped their heads over to see Janna giving them a cocky smirk. She pointed down at their hands and they followed her gaze only to gasp as they realized Marco's palm was resting on Star's. The young thief immediately pulled his hand away, rubbing the back of his neck, while Star began to shyly play with a strand of hair again.

"So uh, Janna," Marco began, hoping the girls wouldn't pick up on the squeak in his voice. "What about you? What's your story?"

Janna shrugged, casually leaning back on the log before saying, "Eh, you know. Snuck into a witch's garden, ate from a forbidden berry bush, got cursed by the witch, just your generic everyday hexing."

"Riiiiighht," Marco mumbled, with a roll of his eyes. But an eyebrow slowly raised and he asked in confusion, "So, wait then how did you meet Star?"

"Oh, it's a funny story actually," Star began giddily before she began recounting her first meeting with her pet and best friend.

Meanwhile, hidden in the bushes just outside the clearing, two forms were watching the group of teens from the shadows. Eclipsa was glaring at the young, smiling boy who had stolen away her daughter. The look he kept giving Her Flower making Eclipsa's insides burn with fury and unease. Especially when Star continually shared the look with the young thief.

Ludo just looked bored, impatiently tapping his fingers on his crossed arms. "What are we waiting for? Let's just go over there and grab her while she's distracted."

The bird Monster took a step forward only to be forcefully pulled back by Eclipsa, the woman telling her partner calmly, "Patience, Ludo. These things take time. We mustn't rush things."

Ludo grumbled but obeyed Eclipsa staying in their hiding spot as he stared longingly at the golden hair that was going to make him rich. He figured it was best to go along with this woman's plans, at least until he had the girl in his clutches. Then he was planning to... 'part ways' with Eclipsa. After all, Ludo wasn't much for sharing his spoils. "Okay, then what do we do?" He asked instead, the impatience clear in his voice.

"First, we need to drive those two apart, otherwise we will have a persistent thief on our tails," Eclipsa explained, her narrowed eyes never straying from the boy in red who was getting a little too close to her daughter for Eclipsa's liking, both figuratively and at the moment literally.

"And how do we do that?" Ludo asked in annoyance. From the look of those two, they seemed inseparable.

Eclipsa just smiled. "Leave that to me."

"...it took weeks to get the smell of burnt hair and grapefruit out of the tower," Star cheerfully said, as she finished up her story. "And Janna and I have been together ever since."

"Wow, that was a pretty incredible story," Marco said mystified, his eyes shimmering with joy as he and Star shared a smile. He paused, before adding hesitantly, "And if not for the day I had I probably wouldn't have believed it."

"Yeah, guess it is a bit far-fetched, I mean I didn't even know pig goats could climb a tower," Star admitted.

Marco laughed, his hand unknowingly squeezing Star's, causing the blond's fingers to tingle at the touch. "So what, is it always that crazy for you?"

"Ah, yeah I guess," Star replied hesitantly, not sure if Marco saw that as a good thing or a bad thing, remembering his less than enthusiastic reaction to nearly drowning earlier today. She didn't know why, but it really mattered to her how Marco felt about her. She wanted him to like being around her as much as she liked being around him.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it if you keep hanging out with us," Janna said with a casual little smirk.

Marco smiled back at the two and Star felt her heart flutter in her chest as Marco's shimmering brown orbs froze on her for a second, causing her cheeks to heat up with a blush. Especially as he added sweetly, "Yeah, guess I will."

But the moment was quickly interrupted as Janna stated with slight annoyance, "Hey, guys, the fire is starting to die." The two broke their gaze as they turned to the fire-pit and sure enough the flames were already starting to lose their flicker, in a couple of minutes there would be nothing left of it but hot embers.

"Oh guess you're right, Jan," Star said, absentmindedly, her brain still consumed by the mental image of a soft, brown gaze. "Guess we better throw on another log."

"Yeah, see that's the thing, we don't have anymore," Janna replied. "Because somebody didn't grab us enough." The girl shot Star a fixed stare, causing the blond to puff out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Hey, I did my best considering this is my first time outside ever!" Star whined defensively while shooting her friend a glare.

"Hey, no worries, Star," Marco spoke up before the girls' argument could get any worse, standing and smiling down at the two. "I'll just go get some more," he reasoned pleasantly, pointing over his shoulder at the thick foliage behind him.

"Thanks Marco," Star said in her typical cheery tone.

"And I'll go with you, just to make sure you get enough and don't end up getting eaten by a bear," Janna said, rising from the log herself and throwing an arm around the boy's shoulder, slowly leading them away from the safety of the fire.

"I don't need a babysitter," Marco said with a scowl.

"Oh but I think you do," Janna said in a sing-song voice, much to the young thief's annoyance. "I mean, I left you two alone for like a minute and you almost drowned."

"That's not the same thing!" Marco shouted, before their voices and forms faded from view, leaving Star alone in the flickering firelight.

The blond smiled at her friends' playful banter, glad to see the two acting so close despite the short time they had known one another. To Star, it felt like she had already known Marco her whole life, rather than a day, their time together something she knew she would treasure from now until the end of time. Star couldn't help but smile and blush at the thought of Marco, he was so nice to her and so much fun to hang out with, the image of him singing earlier in the bar causing her whole face to light up. She really wanted to get to know him better and luckily for her she would have plenty of time to-

"Well, I thought he would never leave," a voice said behind her, and Star's eyes widened in fear, slowly turning around to see the form of her mother, staring blankly down at her. Her skin was more wrinkly than before, strands of greying hair were seen peeking out from beneath the rim of her hat.

A wave of guilt washed over Star as she shot to her feet, her mind reeling in shock to see her mother standing there. "M-Mom?" Star stuttered out nervously, shifting uncomfortably while her fingers were busy fiddling with a strand of golden hair. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Well I came home a bit early and you'd never guess what I found back at the tower," her mother said in what was clearly a fake pleasant tone, the scolding look in her eyes sending shivers down Star's spine. "Can you guess what I found, Star?"

"Ummm..." Star muttered out, her heart hammering away in her chest.

But Eclipsa didn't allow her daughter to finish, as she said quickly in a forceful and reprimanding tone, "The answer is nothing. Because my daughter found it better to lie to me and sneak out behind my back."

Star cringed, looking lost down at her feet, hoping they would somehow provide the answer. But, to her disappointment they didn't, so the blond had no choice but to reluctantly raise her head and meet her mother's sharp gaze as she swallowed the lump in her throat and nervously replied, "I'm sorry, mom. I know I shouldn't sneak out but you didn't give me any choice."

"No choice. You knew exactly what you were doing when you lied to me, young lady," Eclipsa scolded.

"Well I had to, you weren't listening to me," Star said in exasperation. Ugh, why couldn't her mom just see what she was doing to her? "I tried to tell you about the floating lights and that I was old enough to go see them but nooo-"

"I was trying to keep you safe, Star," Eclipsa argued. "The outside world is a dangerous place, you could get hurt, someone could try and steal your hair or-"

"Yeah, well I've been outside all day and nothing like that has happened!" the blond replied with an annoyed huff, crossing her arms bitterly in front of her chest. "I'm not a little kid anymore, mom! I can take care of myself!"

"Oh really?" Eclipsa said, giving her daughter a long, hard look.

"Yes, really!" Star shouted back. "Besides I'm not completely alone out here, mom! I've got someone looking after me-"

"Oh yes, the young wanted thief, he's certainly doing a great job of protecting you," the older woman interrupted sarcastically. "He obviously has nothing but your best interest at heart far more than I do," she added bitterly, putting a hand to her chest as her eyes shone with hurt.

Star felt the familiar tug of guilt at her mom's words but they were instantly overpowered by the accusation towards her new friend, a wave of anger passing through her. And feeling the need to stand up for her friend she snapped out without thinking, "How can you say that?! Marco has been nothing but nice to me since I met him! Sure it was a bit of a rocky start but since then he's looked out for me." Star paused her cheeks flushing some as she added, " And I-I like him and I-I think he likes me, too."

Eclipsa stared at her wordlessly for a second before bursting into laughter, much to Star's surprise and embarrassment, her cheeks pooling with so much blood she was afraid she might faint. "Oh darling, you really are too naive for this?" her mother whispered, shaking her head. "You're not thinking clearly. This is the whole reason I told you not to leave. Can't you see he's just using you to get what he wants?"

Star's eyes sharpened into a glare as she argued, "No! No, Marco, isn't like that. He cares about me, he does!" The blond didn't allow any room for doubt, keeping her voice firm and confident.

"Oh, really," her mother said, the disbelief at her daughter's words as plain as day. A clever smile slowly crept across her face as she added, "Well then, why not put him to the test to see if he is really who you say he is?"

Star had a bad feeling about that but not seeing any way out, she replied, "What do you mean?"

"Well if you're so sure he won't leave you once he has what he wants then why not give it to him early," Eclipsa said, while slowly reaching behind her back and pulling out... Marco's satchel.

Star's eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth dropping open at the sight. She took a step back, frantically asking, "How did you find that?!"

"I have my ways," her mother replied simply. "But the bigger question is: What will your little friend do once he sees this? Will he stay with you? Or will he leave and never look back?"

Star's surprise quickly faded into determination as she snatched the satchel out of her mom's hands, the woman just staring at her daughter with a smug, knowing grin. "Marco isn't like that. And I'll prove it to you!" Star turned on her heels, ready to face Marco for whenever he got back, her voice tight with anger. "He'll stay with me, you'll see."

Eclipsa shrugged. "Very well. But when he rejects you, don't bother to come crying to me because I tried to warn you," the woman said, her words poison to Star's mind, who slowly felt her determination wavering, doubt beginning to flood her mind. “Just remember, you wanted to be treated like an adult, Star. Well, now you get to learn just how harsh the real world is."

Star, feeling the doubt beginning to overpower her senses, swerved around to say something to her mom, both of out of need to tell her mom she was wrong and to calm her own mind. But to Star's surprise, her mom was completely gone, like she had vanished into the night. Star looked around a few times for any sign of her mom before realizing she was alone again. Alone with her thoughts.

Star slowly looked back down at the satchel in her grip, her hands tightening so much around it her knuckles were starting to turn white, and she did her best to swallow down her doubt, her mother's words still ringing in her ears. Was she right? Would Marco leave? No, no of course he wouldn't, she argued with herself. Marco would never do that. Would he? Star bit her lip as her worried thoughts overwhelmed her, making her hesitant to decide what to do.

What was she going to do?

But before Star could make a decision she heard a familiar voice echoing through the trees, getting closer and closer every minute. Star panicked, looking around for a place to hide the satchel, before spotting a large rock and quickly threw the bag behind it, hopefully out of view from either Marco or Janna. The girl then turned to face her friends, plastering on the most innocent smile she could as she listened to their conversation as they got closer.

"Unbelievable! I can't believe you turned back into a bat and made me carry all the firewood by myself?!" came Marco's annoyed tone.

Janna let out a few squeaks, confirming to Star that Janna had finally reverted back to her original form.

The boy growled under his breath, before adding, "Oh don't give me that, I know that look, you did it on purpose, didn't you?"

Another more innocent squeak this time.

"Y'know I may not be able to understand you, but I can tell you're being sarcastic," Marco scoffed, rolling his eyes just as he stepped into the clearing, Janna perched on his shoulders and a large pile of wood in his arms. The young thief then loudly called, "Hey Star! I got the-"

But the boy stopped as he spotted Star standing in the middle of the clearing, a guilty look in her eyes and a far-too-wide-to-be-real smile on her face. Marco and Janna's eyebrows both shot up as the boy asked suspiciously, "Star, what's going on?"

"Nothing," the girl said much too quickly.

"Is everything... okay?" the boy asked, worry pinching his brow for a moment.

Star nodded. "Yep, everything's fine. Nothing to worry about, whatsoever," the girl continued, waving a hand at the boy.

Marco didn't seem convinced but he just shrugged and let the subject drop, dumping the pile of firewood on the dimming coal, reigniting them back to life. He sat down on the tree trunk again, asking slightly worriedly, "So should I be worried about any negative side-effects to you healing my hand like that?"

"No, why?" Star asked, plopping down next to him.

"Well, I was just thinking," the boy continued, looking down at his arm. "Is my arm gonna be like super-strong now or like glow in the dark or grow to twice the size of my own head or become a sentient monster arm that tries to devour the soul's of my enemies!"

"Marco, you're spiraling," Star said, placing a hand on the boy's back as he panted heavily from his almost panic attack.

The boy took a few deep breaths to calm himself before turning to Star with a sheepish grin, "Uh, sorry about that."

Star just giggled and shook her head. "It's fine. But don't worry your arm is totally normal. No weird magic applied."

The boy let out a sigh of relief. "That's good." He gave the girl a playful smile. "Although, it would be kinda cool to have a magic super arm or something."

"Yeah, then we could be magic twins!" Star agreed brightly.

"Yeah," the boy in red replied, shooting her a grin.

The two shared a laugh as a pleasant moment passed between the two, one that felt like an eternity for the two teens as they gave each other wistful smiles, brown and blue dancing in the firelight. But then Star remembered the satchel hidden not two feet away, her gut twisting in guilt and she reluctantly broke eye contact with her friend, letting out a fake yawn, stretching her arms over her head. "Oh wow, it's getting late, isn't it?" the girl said quickly, pretending to be more tired than she felt.

Marco gave her an odd look, which made Star's heart rate spike, before he simply replied with a shrug, "Yeah, we should probably head for bed. It's a big day for you, tomorrow. Gotta be ready for it."

"Mm-hmm," the girl agreed, plastering on a fake smile to try and hide the worry and guilt she was feeling from her friend's observant eye. The boy didn't seem to pick up on the blond's distress this time, just laying down in the grass and saying in a tired tone, "Okay well, goodnight, Star."

"Night, Marco," the girl whispered back, watching from her spot on the log as the young thief's eyes closed. She laid down on the grass a few moments later, her back to the boy, listening to his gentle snoring and staring guiltily at the rock that hid her greatest secret. She contemplated her options for a bit, wondering what she should do. Her mother seemed convinced Marco would leave the moment she gave him the crown but that wasn't true, right? She had been confident in defending him at the time but the more she thought about it the more worried she became. Marco had no reason to stay with her once he had the crown, he was only helping her because she had blackmailed him not because he cared about her. Star wanted to believe her speech to him was what convinced him to take her to see the floating lights, but how could she be sure?

She couldn't, not until she gave him the crown, and the thought of doing so now petrified her. What if he left, what if after this whole adventure was over, the two parted ways? Star had always figured that was the plan but now she didn't want him to go. She didn't want things to go back to how they were, she wanted to live and explore the world and, most importantly, she wanted Marco to be with her through all those adventures. Star didn't want to be alone again. Before she had always known she was bored, but it hadn't occurred to her just how lonely she was until she met Marco. Janna had been her only friend for so long and her mom was almost never home. When this whole adventure was over, what then? And the fact that she didn't know the answer scared her more than anything else.

Star didn't get a lot of sleep that night.

…

The clearing remained undisturbed through the night, the sun slowly peeking out from behind the treetops changing the peaceful night into an equally quiet morning. Star had finally managed to doze off into the late hours of the night, using her hair as a make-shift pillow and blanket, curled up into a comfortable ball, smiling to herself in sleep. Janna was perched upside down on one of the tree branches, her wings folded around her to keep out the annoying morning light. Marco lay sprawled out on the grass, snoring loudly, lost deep in peaceful dreams, unaware of the world around him turning. That was until a shadow fell over him, and a drop of water him directly in the face.

The boy's face scrunched up as he was disturbed from his dreams and he mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, before drifting off again. Until another drip hit his cheek and he groaned. Then another and another until finally, he opened his eyes to see what it was that was assaulting him with water. His eyes went wide though as the angry and soaked form of Pony Head stood over him, letting out long puffs through her nostrils while glaring daggers of hate and malice at the young thief. Marco gave her a weak smile, trying his best to scoot away from the enraged horse as he stuttered nervously, "Oh, uh, h-hey, buddy, any chance you came all this way to forgive and forget the whole incident yesterday?" He put on the most charming smile he had in hopes of pacifying her.

Star awoke to the sound of a high-pitched scream nearby and she immediately sat up straight, wide-awake as she looked around the clearing for any signs of trouble. That's when she spotted Marco being dragged away by the horse from yesterday, one of his feet held tightly in the pony's teeth while his arms flailed around wildly in the soft grass, trying to grab onto something, anything to save himself from being taken. The moment he locked eyes with Star he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Star, help me!"

"Marco!" Star screamed back, as she jumped up and ran over to her friend and his animal kidnapper. Star grabbed the young thief's arm pulling back on him with all her might. Pony gave a sharp tug on the boy's leg, hoping to dislodge the blond but to her surprise, Star stood firm, able to match Pony's strength despite her frail-looking form. From there, the two engaged in a fierce tug-of-war over the boy, both putting everything they had into their effort, much to Marco's discomfort and pain. "Ow, ow, ow! Star, my arms don't stretch that far!" the boy shouted in pain but both just ignored him as they continued fighting for victory.

"Give me back my friend, you jerk," Star groaned through gritted teeth, digging her heels into the ground as best she could.

Pony's eyes narrowed in anger at the comment, her grip for just a moment lessening and Star took advantage of the temporary distraction to finally pull her friend free, the two collapsing on the ground in a pile and Pony stumbling back in surprise.

"Marco, are you okay?" Star asked, sitting up and putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

The boy let out a groan as he muttered, "I feel like I just got ripped in half."

"Sorry," Star said, giving him a sheepish smile before turning her attention back on the horse. Pony Head stood there startled for a second, staring at the two teens in shock, then down at the boy's empty boot in her teeth, before finally realizing what just happened and let out a puff of anger.

"Uh oh," Star whispered.

Pony dropped the boot from her teeth before moving toward the two with fire and purpose in her steps and Star quickly jumped to her feet, placing herself between her friend and his animal attacker, holding her hands up in an attempt to calm the horse. "Whoa, whoa, okay. Easy there," Star said in the most soothing voice she could. "Calm down, everything's okay, just stay calm."

Pony Head stopped, observing the two closely and Star smiled hopefully, feeling like she was actually getting through to the horse. She turned to grin at Marco when Pony suddenly trotted past her, now heading right for Marco. The boy screamed and ran away from the crazy horse and Star could only watch in disbelief as Pony chased the boy around the clearing, Marco doing everything he could think of to escape. Eventually, he managed to get his hands on the frying pan, holding it threateningly out as he yelled in warning, "Don't come any closer! I'm armed and I know how to use this thing... sorta!"

Finally, Star could take no more as she let out a loud groan and stormed over to the pair, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she once more put herself between them. "That's enough, both of you! No more fighting!"

"She started it," Marco argued, pointing an accusing finger at Pony Head, who gave an argumentative neigh that roughly translated to, Oh no you didn't just say that!

"I don't care who started it, you both need to cut it out right now!" Star replied, before turning her attention back on Pony Head. "Okay, look I don't know what you're problem with Marco is but this is the biggest day of my entire life and I am not letting anything ruin that for me," Star began, keeping a firm glare on Pony Head, who actually seemed to falter some under Star's determined and aggressive tone. The blond sucked in a deep breath, before continuing in a much more upbeat tone, "So how about you two make up so that you won't have to fight anymore?"

Pony didn't seem to like the idea, looking stubbornly away from the pair and Marco decided to make the first move, letting out a sigh before saying, "Look, I'm sorry I rode you without permission but can we please just start over?"

Pony Head looked between the two for a few seconds before, rolling her eyes, thinking in her head, Yeah right, like I'd ever be friends with a turd like you.

Star could tell the horse wasn't going to go along with her plan and tried desperately to think of a way to convince her, biting her lip in concentration. That's when a new idea popped into her head and she switched tactics saying, "How about this, you put whatever issues you have with Marco aside for one day and let him take me to go see the floating lights and after that, you can go back to hating him all you want, okay?" Star gave Pony Head a bright grin, a hopeful gleam in her eyes as she waited for the horse's answer.

But Pony still didn't seem convinced and Star decided to add in an extra layer giving the horse a pouting look, her wide eyes trained on the horse as she held her hands up in a begging motion. "Pleeease?" she whimpered, before making little whining noises.

Even the stubborn Pony Head couldn't ignore the pleading look, the girl's eyes practically digging into her soul and she accepted defeat just this once, letting out a groan before nodding, still looking none too happy about it, though. Alright fine, you win this round, girl.

"Yay!" Star exclaimed, pumping her hands into the air in victory. "Aw man, thank you so much!" the girl continued, hugging the horse tightly, who froze up in surprise. Star didn't seem to notice though as she continued talking at a mile a minute. "You won't regret it, I promise! And hey, I have a great idea, how about you come with us? Yeah, I bet you know your way around the kingdom! Maybe you can show me some stuff since this is my first time out of my tower! What do you say?"

Pony looked between Star and Marco for a minute before nodding her head and Star squealed in delight. "Yes, this is awesome! Welcome aboard... ummm, oh wait, I don't even know your name, hmmm..." The girl looked down at the small crest on the horse's neck and read it aloud, "'Pony Head'. Huh, that's a weird name but okay! Pony Head it is then!"

While that was going on though, Marco was feeling hesitant, keeping a wary eye on his enemy and his new friend, unsure about having this crazy horse travel with them. After all, something told him this horse wasn't much for following the rules and he doubted she would keep true to her word if given the chance to take him down. He decided to voice this concern out loud, saying nervously to Star, "Uh, Star I'm not sure if having this horse-"

"Pony Head," Star corrected.

"Fine, I'm not sure having Pony Head come with us it a good idea," Marco replied.

"What, why not?" Star asked, her eyes shining with innocence.

"Because she's tried to kill me before and I don't trust her," Marco explained with slight exasperation.

"Aw come on, Marco, it'll be fine, Pony's not gonna try anything," Star reassured her friend, before directing her attention back on the horse. "Right, Pony?"

The horse gave Marco a smug look before flipping her mane, keeping her head raised in a superior manner.

Star and Marco locked eyes as the blond said, "See?"

"Do you even know what that means?" Marco asked, an eyebrow slowly rising.

"Of course I do, Marco. She said yes," Star said with a confident grin, before she added under her breath, "I think."

"Wait, what?"

"Now come on, let's get going!" Star exclaimed, ignoring her friend's concern as her excitement and eagerness took control, practically hopping around the clearing. "I can't wait to get to see a real town with my own eyes! Janna, wake up, it's time to go!"

The small bat lazily unfolded her wings, somehow sleeping through the whole noisy incident earlier, yawning and stretching her wings over her head, before starring over at the horse in surprise for a second. But she just shrugged, figuring there was no point in questioning it and flew after her friend, who ran out of the clearing, still squealing in joy.

"Wrong way, Star!" Marco called after her and the blond reversed course, shouting as she ran past them, "I knew that!"

Once the girl and bat disappeared from sight, Marco turned to Pony Head, giving her a distrusting glare. "I'm watching you, horse. You better not try anything, especially something that might get in the way of Star's big day," the boy said in warning, making his voice sound as threatening as he could.

Pony just continued to give him a smug look and the young thief grew more and more suspicious, his eyes narrowing with each passing second before Star's far-off voice interrupted the tense moment. "Come on guys! I think I can see the town up ahead!"

The two finally broke off their heated glare before following after the girl, though they still flashed each other distrusting looks the whole way there.

…

By the time the group made it to the Kingdom of Corona Star was practically shaking with excitement, the smile on her face incapable of growing any wider as she gazed transfixed at the massive city in front of her. She turned to the others, pointing at the collection of buildings with disbelief and Marco smiled and gave her a thumbs up. The girl squealed before racing across the bridge, her trail of hair soon covering the whole length of the stone structure.

Once she was in town, she couldn't help but gap at every sight she saw, her mouth hanging open as she took in the simplistic beauty of the kingdom, her senses alive and in overdrive as every sight, smell, and sound made goosebumps leap up her arms. There were so many things to see, everything festive and full of wonder, and there were more people here than Star had even thought possible. She didn't know so many people could be together in one place like this and she happily waved to every soul who passed her, though they kept giving the strange girl confused and baffled looks, all of them beyond curious of this bright, bounce girl with unbelievably long hair.

But Star didn't seem to notice, she was too enchanted by the quaint town to care as she took an eager few steps through the bustling streets. So distracted she didn't even notice as several people tripped over her hair, one of them carrying a box of chickens which broke and sent the birds scattering around the town causing trouble. Marco, however, took notice of this, doing his best to scoop up as much of his friend's hair, frowning as he tried to think up a solution to Star's hairy problem. It was Janna that spotted their solution, gaining the boy's attention before flapping over to a group of small girls, happily braiding each other's hair and Marco grinned in triumph. He whistled gaining the girl's attention as they looked up in confusion, only to gasp in delight at the sight of Star's long and unbraided hair. It wasn't long before Star's hair had been properly braided by the group of girls, who even decorated it with flowers, the blond giddily thanking the girls for their help, beyond pleased with her new look.

From there, Star and Marco started exploring the town, with the festival currently going on there was more than enough to do and the former was eager to see it all. The young thief didn't protest as he was dragged from sight to sight by the enthusiastic blond, feeling his own heart swell at the pure joy on Star's face. The two spent the rest of the day experiencing everything the Kingdom of Corona had to offer, Star would try any piece of food offered to her, would partake in any activity she saw, and greet every smiling face within view. Soon her bubbly energy seemed to spread to the rest of the town, as everyone became even more festive and friendly and Star relished in the peaceful atmosphere. Marco had to be careful to avoid being seen by any guards that patrolled the town but other than that, no one seemed to recognize or care about him, too focused on his cheerful friend to even notice his presence. Not that he minded, happily staying on the sidelines and letting Star take center stage.

He did, however, go out of his way to show Star a few things the village had to offer, bringing her to the town library (which Star almost passed out when she saw) and buying her a cute little flag that had the golden sun crest of Corona and various other things. When Star found out about the 'Lost Princess' she insisted that they buy a flower to honor her, which Marco was powerless to argue over, he basically gave into Star's every whim. But then almost everyone in the town seemed to do the same as she at one point even managed to drag the whole town into a dance in the center of town, her bright energy almost intoxicating and completely irresistible to pretty much anyone. Something about her just made people want to be near her and her naive but charming ways seemed to draw people in. The blond even somehow convinced Marco to join in on the fun, pulling him reluctantly out onto the dance floor, the two laughing and having a good time as the kingdom celebrated. Although for some reason the boy's heart kept skipping a beat every time he looked Star's way, his cheeks turning red against his will. And when the final dance ended with the two face to face, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes, Marco could feel brain cells frying from the beautiful look on Star's face, her cheeks lightly flushed from all the dancing and her eyes shining with so much joy it nearly took Marco's breath away.

The day eventually drew to a close as people made their way to the docks in preparation for the floating lights spectacular that was about to begin. Marco rented a small rowboat and began to slowly row them out to the center of the large lake, Pony and Janna waiting at the docks for them to return, the two happily munching on a bushel of apples Marco had bought. But for whatever reason, Star didn't feel excited to witness the very thing she had been dreaming about her entire life, for some reason she felt... nervous. A little afraid, even. She started to wonder if maybe she had gotten sick or something because it felt like there were butterflies in her stomach from the way it kept doing flips and her whole body was on edge. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself but it didn't help much, her brain spinning out of control as she stared down at her reflection in the water, leaning against the side of the boat.

Marco finished rowing them out to a good spot, right in the center of the lake where they would be sure to see everything and he smiled as he looked over at his friend. But his smile dropped as he saw the nervous look in her eyes and asked, "Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you excited?"

Star shrugged, before replying unenthusiastically, "Yeah, I guess."

"Well, what is it?" Marco tried, seeing very clearly that something was upsetting her friend to make her act so unlike the Star he knew.

"It's nothing," the girl muttered, dipping her finger in the water and watching it ripple in response.

"Come on, Star, you can tell me," Marco insisted, moving so he was at her side, placing a comforting hand on her back, trying to ignore the tingle that ran up his arm.

"It's just... I've waited my whole life to see this and now that it's about to happen, I'm scared," Star confessed, playing with a loose strand of hair that had come out of her ponytail. "What if I don't like it? What if it doesn't live up to what I've been dreaming about for so long? I just don't want to be disappointed."

"You won't," Marco assured her in a comforting tone. "It'll be worth the wait, trust me."

"How do you know?" Star asked, turning to him with wide eyes and the boy swallowed the lump in his throat.

He shrugged. "I just do," he replied simply, giving her a warm grin.

Star smiled back at him, before asking hesitantly, "And once it's over, what do I do then?"

Marco took a moment to think about his answer to that, before he said in a confident tone, "Well that's the best part, you get to find a new dream."

Star's face brightened at that, the joy returning to her eyes as she looked deep into Marco's chocolate brown, saying in a wistful tone, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Marco."

"Anytime, Star," the boy replied, moving back to his previous seat. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Star felt her chest clench up as she remembered the satchel she had tucked under her seat when Marco wasn't looking, feeling the familiar guilt tugging at her heartstrings. "Yeah, right," she whispered painfully, still torn over her decision.

But this was soon forgotten as she looked out across the river and saw a bright light reflecting in the dark waters, her eyes widening to the size of saucers as she looked up, seeing a small beam of light lifting into the air. Her heart stopped for a second as time seemed to stand still, watching the small lantern float up into the night sky, a thousand stars decorating the view, making it look absolutely breathtaking. Then another floated up behind it then another and another, until soon dozens of floating lanterns were released into the air. Star gasped though, as soon there were lights all around them, the citizens lighting up lanterns all over town, until the whole kingdom was lit up in a warm glow. Before long the whole sky was filled with the lanterns all spinning lazily through the air as they sprinkled the sky around them like falling snow. Star stood up, nearly tipping the whole boat and causing Marco to struggle to regain his balance but the blond didn't notice, her eyes never leaving the beautiful sight.

Marco put a hand on her shoulders, guiding her back down to her seat as her shimmering sky blue orbs watched the lanterns in awe. The girl smiled blissfully as she watched the breathtaking display, nothing in her fifteen years of dreaming could prepare her for the luminous sight. She had spent so many years waiting for this moment and at last, she finally felt like she was actually living, really truly existing, like everything up to that point had just been preparing her for right now. Because now she was here, blinking in the starlight, and it was more beautiful than she could have ever hoped for.

And just when she thought it couldn't possibly get any better, she saw a glow coming from across the small boat and looked over in disbelief to see Marco holding two of the floating lanterns, both already lit, giving her a knowing smile. "Marco, what's this?" she asked, leaning closer to stare at the lights in wonder. She hadn't seen one up close before now and it was just as beautiful as the ones floating down around her.

The boy shrugged, replying simply, "Just wanted to make your big day as special as possible, so I picked these up while you weren't looking." He handed her one, the girl holding it delicately in her hands, making her face light up and sending chills down Marco's spine at her unearthly beauty. But her smile for just a moment faltered and the boy felt a sudden wave of anxiety hit. "Do you like it?" Marco asked, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about his gift.

But when Star looked up with tears in her eyes and a loving smile on her lips, all thoughts and worries instantly vanished, replaced instead with a fast-beating heart and blushing cheeks. "I love it," the blond said in a chocked tone and the boy felt his smile return wholeheartedly.

"I thought you might," he replied, shooting her a wink.

And suddenly Star felt herself come to a decision, unable to ignore her friend's kindness any longer, he had to know the truth. He deserved to know the truth. After everything he had done for her, it was the least she could do for him. And so, taking in a deep breath Star said with a slight tremor in her voice, "I have something for you, too."

Marco gave her a confused frown, but it quickly turned to surprise as he watched the girl reach under her seat and pull out the satchel. Star watched nervously as Marco's wide eyes jumped from her to the satchel and back to her, his mouth making an adorable 'O' shape. She bit her lip before confessing, "I, uh, shouldn't have taken this in the first place and I knew I should give it back to you bu-but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And I know, I'm bad, I'm a bad person but I just- I was afraid." She felt a lump form in her throat, tears surfacing in her crystal blue eyes as she chocked out, "I was afraid that once I gave this back to you that that would be it. We'd go our separate ways a-and we'd never see each other again and I didn't want to face that because... I like you, Marco! And I don't want to say goodbye to you!" The girl sniffed, swiping a hand across her face. "I'm sorry, I know I messed up but I just don't want to be alone again."

Star waited for Marco to start yelling at her or scolding her, telling her that it was all her fault and that they weren't friends anymore and he never wanted to see her again, but to her surprise, he didn't do or say any of those things. Instead, he just smiled at her, a warm and sincere smile that made Star's heart float, and gently put a hand on the bag pushing it forgotten to the bottom of the boat, before saying in an understanding tone, "I'm not going anywhere."

Star stared at the boy in shock for a moment, unable to believe what she was hearing before Marco held out one of the lanterns to her with a tender look in his eyes. And finally, the blond smiled and took the offered gift from her friend. The two released their lights at the same time and watched mesmerized as the two beams of light floated up into the night sky, spinning and twirling around each other in perfect unison and harmony, almost as if they were dancing to an unspoken song. And as the two's eyes slowly drifted back to one another, they found themselves drawn to each other's eyes, brown and blue shining in the luminescent glow of the lantern light.

And suddenly, everything was different as it felt like they were seeing one another for the very first time. Suddenly all the years of loneliness and unhappiness faded away, the picturesque scene taking place all around them disappeared, only the shining eyes of their partner was all that was left. And slowly the two moved closer, their eyes closing as their lips touched and it was like a firework had just gone off. Nothing in Star's fifteen years of living in a tower could have prepared her for the kiss. The only possible word to describe it was "perfect". Because it was, it was really, truly perfect, so warm and real and right that it took Star's breath away. And to her, it felt like a promise. A promise that the future would be equally as happy and amazing as this moment and she felt herself giving in freely to the feeling, letting it consume her being, safe in the knowledge that Marco was here with her. And that was all that mattered.

In all his years of robbing and thieving, Marco had never actually kissed anyone before but he knew nothing could ever top the feeling of Star's lips against his own. And the pure thrill that came from the simple act was stronger than any caper or mission could ever provide. And suddenly all those years on the run, a blur of adrenaline and close calls, felt meaningless. Marco had finally seen the light and that light was Star. The boy felt Star move closer as if seeking his affection and he happily responded, deepening the kiss as for the first time ever... he felt truly content. Finally, Marco and Star pulled apart, panting as they smiled blissfully at one another, their brains spinning as they tried to process the wonderful moment they had just shared, their eyes shining in the lantern light as a smile slowly splayed across their features.

But suddenly something drew Marco's attention away from Star's gorgeous blue orbs as he spotted a glow across the shore, a shadow of a movement he managed to pick up out of the corner of his eye. And just like that, the wonderful moment came to a crashing halt as he forced himself to tear his gaze away from the infinite beauty that was Star to try and figure out if what he thought he saw was real. It had looked like Kelly, standing on the shore, holding a lantern, before disappearing into the treeline, and in that moment Marco came to a realization.

As long as he was wanted, Star would never be safe. If she chose to stay with him, she would be forced to spend the rest of her days on the run, always having to look over her shoulder or watch her step, an outcast to society itself. Star didn't deserve that. He had seen how joyful she had been to be a part of the festival. How clearly important the sense of belonging meant to her. And right then Marco knew he had to fix this, no matter the cost.

"Marco?" Star's hesitant voice cut into his thoughts as he slowly turned to see her staring at him in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no I'm fine," Marco said giving her the brightest smile he had at the moment.

"You sure? You were kinda staring at nothing for a minute," Star asked, still not looking convinced.

Marco swallowed thickly, before saying, "Yeah, I just remembered I have something I need to do."

Marco rowed the boat to the shoreline, right by where he had seen Kelly and he turned to his confused companion with another quick smile. "Everything's okay, I just need to take care of something real quick." He picked up the satchel from the bottom of the boat, feeling Star's eyes watching his every movement.

The blond stared at him nervously for a moment and Marco half expected her to argue but instead all she did was give him a forced smile and said, "Okay." The young thief had only taken a step before the girl blurted out, "Hurry back."

Marco turned to her with a nod. "I will," he assured her, giving her a warm and hopefully comforting smile before disappearing into the fog. The boy continued on for a few feet, clutching the bag close to his chest, ignoring the creeping feeling is his gut or the troubling thoughts in his head. He didn't care if this was a terrible plan. He didn't care that there were a million ways this could end badly for him. He had to do it. For Star.

Finally, he spotted Kelly up ahead, her back to him ,the only thing he could see was her mop of green hair which glowed almost menacingly in the lantern light. He cleared his throat, trying to work up the nerve to say what needed to be said, finally managing to blurt out, "Uh, hey Kelly." The girl didn't respond and Marco took that as an opportunity to continue, sucking in a deep breath before saying, "Look I know we haven't ever seen eye to eye before, but... I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Marco nervously rubbed the back of his neck, the uncomfortable tension making him feel hesitant. But he couldn't stop now, he had to clear his conscious, he had to make this right somehow. "I know that probably doesn't mean a whole lot coming from me but I really do mean it." He slowly reached into the satchel and pulled out the crown saying, "Sooo here you can have this back. I don't need it anymore. And if you have to arrest me and... well, y'know, that's fine. But just please leave my friend Star out of it. She doesn't deserve to be dragged down with me."

Once the boy finally finished voicing his thoughts he became distinctly aware that something was seriously... off. Kelly hadn't said so much as a word yet or attacked him or anything. The creeping feeling returned as a took a step closer to the hairy girl, muttering, "Kelly?" The boy placed a cautious hand on her shoulder but quickly gasped in fright as the 'thing' he thought to be Kelly fell over. Marco stared at the makeshift scarecrow that he had been talking to, whoever made it using leaves and bramble to make it look like Kelly's hair in the low lighting. And Marco had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

But before the young thief could contemplate this any further he heard something hit the ground next to him and barely had time to recognize it as some sort of smoke bomb, before it went off covering Marco in a thick, green gas. Marco collapsed to his knees, choking and coughing on the knock out gas as it filled his burning lungs. The forest floor started to sway as the boy felt his eyes dropping, the sudden urge to sleep almost overpowering him. "Well, well, look who fell into my trap," a voice said above the gasping teen and he looked up to see the small bird Monster grinning evilly down at him.

"L-Ludo?" Marco choked out, before falling into another coughing fit. "Wh-What are you-"

"Isn't it obvious? I followed you here after those idiots let you go. And now I'm going to take what's rightfully mine." Ludo explained, the superior grin never once faltering. He leaned a little closer to the boy, making sure to not breathe in any of the toxic fumes. "And you can't stop me."

"Fine," Marco gasped, his lungs struggling for breath. "Just take the crown, I don't care."

Ludo laughed at that, long and hard, before saying in a shrill voice, "You think I care about some dumb crown?"

"Wh-What?!" Marco murmured, fear clenching his chest. Was he after- No, no that was impossible, Marco reminded himself. There was no way he could know about Star's ability.

Ludo smiled, a smile that confirmed Marco's worst fears, before Ludo said in a hinting tone, "Why would I want a crown when I could have the real prize?"

Marco's heart stopped, as the truth came crashing over him at once. He knows, Marco's fading consciousness screamed. "N-No, Star," the boy coughed, struggling to stand, to stop him from hurting Star but he found it was a losing battle, his limbs felt like they were made of bricks. Still, Marco gritted his teeth and used every last ounce of strength he had to try and stand. Eventually, the boy had no more energy to spare and he collapsed to the ground once more, panting and gasping for air.

"Aww, don't worry, Marco, I'll take good care of your friend for you," Ludo said, just as Marco lost consciousness, the smugness in the Monster's tone causing the young thief's heart to twist with anger. The last thing Marco heard before the darkness overtook him was the shrill cackle of the victorious Monster who had bested him.

…

Star tried not to let her thoughts get the best of her as she waited impatiently for Marco to return. She fiddled with a loose strand of hair, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as she did her best to keep the creeping fear at bay, still hearing her mother's poisonous words in her head, telling her that Marco had left her. No, Star thought firmly, clenching her hand into a fist and forcing her body still. Marco wouldn't do that. He promised he'd be back and she trusted him.

It was then that she heard a noise off to her side and she smiled as she saw a light coming from the treeline, a long shadow of a figure confirming that her friend had returned. She couldn't help but gloat to the inner voice of her mother, thinking victoriously, See I told you he'd be back. She quickly hopped out of the boat, before greeting her friend warmly, "Hey Marco, what was that all about?"

But her smile dropped, her eyes widening in surprise as instead of being greeted by the smiling face of Marco, a small bird Monster stepped out of the woods, a twisted smile stretched across his beak as he observed the startled blond. "Hello Star," he said, his voice an evil squeak.

"Ludo!" Star exclaimed in bewilderment. What was he doing there? But that question was far less important than the larger question that weighed on her mind as she asked, "W-Where's Marco?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ludo said with a casual shrug, before continuing cruelly, "He left you."

Star felt her heart stop, fear and grief clinging to her very being as she muttered out, "No." But remembering the boy's promise from earlier she added a bit more confidently, "No, Marco wouldn't do that! He promised he'd come back."

"Oh, but I'm afraid he lied to you," Ludo continued, the look of pure elation and greed in his eyes, clenching at Star's trouble heart. "Me and him have been working together all along. He just needed to earn your trust so we could get the crown back and it worked! You fell for it!" The small bird laughed viciously at that, Star feeling tears form at the corner of her eyes.

Still, she tried to stay strong, shaking her head and shouting, "No, your lying!"

"Am I?" Ludo said, before gesturing across the lake. Star turned in that direction and felt her heart stop at the sight of a boat cutting through the waves, a familiar figure, grasping the wheel of the ship, staring straight ahead.

"Marco," Star whispered, feeling her heart shatter into pieces.

"You see, Star, he never cared about you," Ludo continued, every word like a knife to Star's chest. "He probably said all kinds of things to you to get you to trust him, but it was all part of our scheme." Ludo smiled at the broken, defeated look on the girl's face as she watched her friend sailing away. This was going better than he hoped and now that she was distracted, it would be the perfect time to attack. He reached into his pocket, pulling out another ball of knock-out gas. He should really thank Eclipsa for all the help she had given him to capture Star. Not that she would ever know, Ludo planning on skipping town with his prize, find a nice safe place to hide out until things died down enough to sell her. I can't believe that old hag was actually dumb enough to trust me, Ludo thought to himself. And now I win!

The bird Monster continued help but rub in his victory to the girl, feeling a dark glee at the prospect of his victory, as he added cruelly, "However, there was a big change of plans when you made the stupid choice to tell him about your power. Boy, don't you feel dumb right now." Ludo paused to laugh, before continuing his hurtful rant. "So the two of us decided to split the profits. He gets the crown and I get you, the girl with magic golden hair."

Star tried to stay strong and keep the tears at bay, not wanting to give Ludo the satisfaction of seeing her break down, but she had to cover her hand with her mouth to stifle the sob that she felt rising in her chest. Her mother had been right all along. Everything she had said would happen came true. And now she was completely alone. Just like she had feared. The world wasn't beautiful or bright, it was dark and unforgiving, just like her mom had said it was. And that revelation rocked the blond right down to her core. She barely heard the small Monster as he continued his monologue, his voice faded in the background, watching helplessly as the one person she had believed in and trusted more than anything left her behind.

"And now, you lose!" Ludo screamed as he ended his speech, raising the ball high above his head, a dark smirk plastered on his face as he stared at the broken shell of his soon-to-be captive. A loud thunk rang out through the woods, finally drawing Star's attention away from the boat as she watched the form of Ludo crumple to the ground, unconscious, the panting form of her mother now standing over him, holding a tree branch tightly in her gloved hands. "Stay away from my daughter!" Eclipsa shouted, protectively.

"Mom?" Star whispered in surprise. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Oh Star, I was so worried about you," Eclipsa said, running over and pulling her daughter into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry I got upset. I felt simply awful, so I decided to follow you and make sure you were okay, and then I heard that nasty Monster saying all those terrible things to you and then he was about to attack you and I-" Eclipsa drew in a shaky breath. "Well, the important thing is you're okay." She placed a gentle kiss on Star's forehead.

The blond could only stand there numbly hearing her mother's words, she was sure she had been furious with her, she hadn't expected her to come back and yet she had. Her mom had come back for her, even after their fight. All the guilt came flooding back as she realized just how stupid she had been for the past few days. Putting her trust in a stranger, instead of her own mother. And look how well that had turned out. At that thought, a lump lodged itself in her throat as she looked helplessly across the lake again, her heart aching with sadness as the tears finally fell. Before she knew it, Star was crying and her mother pulled her into a warm hug, letting her sob into her chest while whispering words of comfort."Shhh, it's alright. Mother's here. Your mother's here now."

"I'm so sorry, mom," Star chocked out. "You were right, you were right about everything. I never should have left the tower. I never should have trusted him. I-I'm so stupid!"

"Shh, it's okay, dear," Eclipsa cooed. "Everything will be okay."

Star looked up brokenly into her mom's eyes, her vision blurry with tears as they continued streaming down her face. "Can we go home now?" she whimpered, her voice cracking on almost every word.

Eclipsa smiled and nodded, telling her daughter, "Of course, My Flower."

Star didn't fight as she was lead away by her mom, who kept a firm hand on her back, but she barely noticed it. Nor did she hear her mother's words of comfort, everything else drowning out into nothingness. She no longer cared about finding a new dream or about being bored or anything really. All she knew was that Marco had betrayed her and she would never see him again. And despite herself, despite how sad and empty she felt, she couldn't help but glance back one last time at the lake and the dozens of beautiful lights still floating around the kingdom, her heart weeping at the loss of what might have been.

And just like that, she turned away from the light, trying desperately not to think of two bright brown eyes and the promise that they had held. Instead, she pushed out all thoughts and allowed her mom to lead her away into the darkness of the night.

#Star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Star is a Disney Princess #Star is Rapunzel #Starco

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firebirdsdaughter · 5 years ago

Text

Random Writing Tidbit Still Tired…

… ‘Someone should write something about Amatsu threatening Fuwa to get to Aruto,’ I, a fanfiction writer, say, ‘I really wish someone would write that.’

Well…

I’m just love this concept, okay?

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

“One more thing.”

With a small groan, Aruto came to a stop, then turned to face Amatsu, forcing a polite smile on to his face. “… Yes?” He asked, doing his best to keep his voice as level as he could. “What is it?”

“Just one,” Amatsu held up his thumb and index finger so that they were practically touching, “Small rule. No asking Vulcan for help this time.”

Aruto sighed, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Or what?” He snapped sarcastically, irritation slipping into his tone, “You’ll ruin my company’s reputation?”

A horrid chuckle. “Of course not. You’re handling that just fine yourself,” Gai informed him cheerfully. “No…” Thouser crossed his legs, leaning back in his chair with one of those toothpaste commercial grins, “I’ll ruin him.”

Aruto froze.

Beside him, he felt Izu doing the same, her eyes actually widening. It felt like the air had just sucked out of the room, his irritation evaporating and being replaced by shock and horror. “… What.” He croaked, struggling to breathe.

“I keep close tabs on people I associate with. Background checks, research, the works. AIMS has been in my pocket from the beginning.” Gai tilted his head, clearly enjoying Aruto’s reaction. “I know everything there is to know about Fuwa Isamu. You think your situation is bad now?” Gai leaned sharply forward again, propping his elbows on his desk and linking his hands together. “I could take Vulcan’s life apart brick by brick until he is nothing,” Aruto’s hands clenched into fists at his sides as Thouser continued in the same casual tone, “Disciplinary actions that I swept under the rug, blatant disregard for the letter of the law…” The PR grin began to edge into a smug smirk. “I could have him in prison or worse with a mere snap of my fingers.”

Aruto was trembling with anger now, but he still couldn’t find his voice—it was Izu who replied. “If your claims are true,” She said, but even her usually calm voice was shaking slightly, “That would require admitting your own crimes.”

Another soft, cruel laugh. “If you’d prefer,” Thouser answered snidely, “I’d be more than happy to go another direction. When I say I know everything, I mean it.” He rose purposefully, pacing slowly around the desk toward them. “I know his psychological history, his deepest secrets, and his worst nightmares.” Amatsu came to a stop right in front of Aruto, not even trying to mask the fiendish delight on his face as Zero-One stared at him in horror. He leaned forward, so close Aruto would swear he could feel the other man’s breath. “I know exactly how to break him, make him question his own sanity until he puts a gun to his own head.”

Aruto’s nails were cutting into his palms, and it was a struggle to find air and unhinge his jaw to speak. “Leave Fuwa out of this.”

His voice broke partway through, and Amatsu grinned broadly, with not a shred of even false pleasantness. “No,” He hissed, “You leave him out of this.” Pulling away from Aruto’s face, he turned and walked back to his desk. “If I get so much as a hint that you’re running to him for help again…” He sat gracefully back in his chair as if it were a throne, “I will have his head on a platter so fast you won’t even get a chance to blink.”

Aruto glared at him for a moment longer, shoulders shaking, practically snarling. Finally, he couldn’t bear looking at Amatsu’s smug face any longer, and spun around, rushing for the door.

“Oh, and if you decide to try anything funny in some harebrained attempt to ‘outsmart’ me?” Thouser drawled as his hand closed around the door knob, and despite every fibre of his being screaming not to listen, Aruto found himself stopping again, frozen at the door. Amatsu’s tone was slipping back into faux affability, and he could practically hear that disgusting, television-perfect grin coming back. “I am fully prepared to go old school. After all…” Gai’s tone was almost as casual as if he was making polite conversation, but Aruto could hear the edge of steel in it, sharp as a knife, “… AIMS is a dangerous job. Accidents happen all the time.” The man’s voice dropped so low, Aruto almost didn’t hear the last part. “… Remember that, Hiden.”

Aruto didn’t wait to hear more, instead slamming the door open and sprinting out of the room. Shoving past multiple ZAIA employees in his race to get away, he didn’t bother to look if Izu was behind him, or if anyone else was following. He didn’t stop until he was several blocks away, ducking into an alley to sag against the wall, gasping for breath. He felt sick. It was like there was something stabbing him in the chest, wedged between his ribs, cutting deeper with each inhale.

His phone buzzed, and he practically jumped out of his skin, searching frantically for it—only for his blood to run cold again when he saw who it was. Fuwa’s name shone on the screen, next to a little picture of a wolf he’d pulled of the internet because it looked particularly angry. The phone was shaking violently in his hands as he struggled to calm his breathing. Faintly, he heard Izu come up beside him, though it sounded like she was very far away.

AIMS is a dangerous job. Accidents happen all the time. Remember that, Hiden.

Amatsu’s voice rang loudly in his head like a terrible gong, bouncing off his skull. Biting his lip so hard he tasted blood in his mouth, he felt tears stinging his eyes—mercifully, Izu was silent, just standing there, watching him. He stared at the name on the screen for a moment longer, fighting the urge to cry and failing, the tears overflowing, dripping down his cheeks.

Then, slowly, he raised a trembling hand, and rejected the call.

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Also… Might like making Aruto cry. Bc I’m an angst monster and Fumiya is baby.

#Random Writing Tidbit #Kamen Rider Zero-One #Kamen Rider Zero One #my precious angry wolf dad #who doesn't technically appear but you know #of course Gai is sort of bsing bc doing all that would mean he'd lose a hold on Yua #buuuuuut #I think he'd risk that to get to Aruto to stop him from getting help #bc he's had Yua under his thumb for a while #but I still wanted to write this #Binary Retro Rider

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mischiefandspirits · 5 years ago

Text

Iron Legion (23/?)

Never let it be said that Tony Stark ever does things by half. He might have grown up with little family, but he wasn’t about to keep it that way.

Tony Stark was seventeen when his first child was born, and that was just the beginning.

For Masterpost, Timeline, AO3, and Fanfiction

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Web-Warriors, Part 2

“Baby-Bro?” Ned asked, turning to Peter. “I thought Nebula was your only sister.”

F.R.I.D.A.Y. frowned. “Harley said he found out.”

“He found out about Spider-Man,” Ms. Potts said blankly.

“That’s it? Why’s everyone freaking out about that?”

“He found out that I’m Spider-Man,” Peter reiterated.

“So? It’s Ned.”

“Is that a compliment?” Ned whispered to Peter, who shrugged.

“You’re like Peter’s Col. Rhodes,” she elaborated.

“That is definitely a compliment,” Ned said, excited at the idea of being compared to War Machine.

“More like his Happy,” Nebula muttered.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. waved her off. “Either way, who cares if he knows Peter’s Spidey? I thought he found out about the good stuff.”

“Good stuff?” Ned asked, but she was stopped from answering by Nebula’s glare. “Who are you?”

She smiled and held out her hand. “I’m F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

Peter grabbed his hand before he could shake hers. “Don’t tease him, Fri.”

F.R.I.D.A.Y. winked and disappeared.

“She was a hologram,” Peter explained. “Fri is Mr. Stark’s P.A.”

“Why does she call you Baby-Bro?” Ned asked, looking around the group.

Ms. Potts’ expression was calm, but blank; Nebula was glaring off to the side; Peter had his I’m going to try to lie even though I’m terrible at it face on; Vittore was watching them all with an unsure frown.

“And you never explained why your uncle’s here.”

“Uncle,” Nebula snorted before asking Peter, “When did he even meet Vittore?”

“They met when he stayed over last month while you were away.”

“We had a movie night,” Vittore said with a nod. “It was quite fun. We watched -”

“They don’t need to know!” Peter and Ned said together.

Ms. Potts crossed her arms and got that Mom Look, which was weird. “Peter Edwin Parker.”

Wow, she even sounded like a mom.

Peter ducked his head and slapped on the kicked puppy look. “We didn’t watch anything bad. Just… some of the… Saw… movies.”

“That explains the nightmares,” Nebula growled.

“I-I didn’t have any nightmares!” Peter said in a high voice.

“Vittore,” Ms. Potts sighed, “next time you’re babysitting, check with one of us before letting the kids watch anything with a higher rating than PG-13.”

“I’m fifteen! I can watch a scary movie!”

“And check the rating, don’t just take him at his word,” Nebula added, ignoring Peter.

“Of course, apologies.”

“I don’t know if I should be more disappointed that you watched those movies or that you subjected Vis to them. He’s just a baby.”

Ned’s eyes widened as he turned to see Tony Stark walking out of the elevator.

“Fri got me caught up,” he said as he sat down next to Ms. Potts. He kissed her cheek then turned to Ned. “So, you’re Fred then?”

“It-it’s Ned, sir,” Ned breathed, “but you can call me whatever you want.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Nebula said as Tony Stark smirked. “He knows your name, he’s just being annoying.”

“Alright,” Tony Stark chuckled, waving her off. “Let’s get down to business."

When he leaned in, looking at Ned over the top of his sunglasses, it suddenly hit him that he was not only sitting across from Tony Stark, but also from Iron Man. An Iron Man who was probably really mad that Ned had found out about something he was trying to keep secret.

Ned shrunk down into the couch cushions.

“So Zed, you know who Spidey is now.”

“Um, yessir.”

“And I’m guessing you know enough about what Spidey does to realize that if anyone found out who he was, he would be in a lot of trouble.”

“I-”

“And if anything ever happened to my protégé because someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut…”

Ned went pale. “Mr. Tony Stark, sir, I swear, I would never do anything that would put Peter in danger! He’s my best friend!”

“Good,” he hummed, staring Ned down for a moment before leaning back with a smile. “Well, now that that’s taken care of, Pete, I’m sure you’re excited to show your friend some of the projects you’ve been working on. Why don’t you head down to your lab until dinner gets here.”

Ned blinked.

“Wait, that’s it?” Peter said.

“Tony?”

Tony Stark shrugged. “What do you want me to do, Pep? It’s not like we can slap him with an NDA. He’s twelve.”

“I’m act-”

“He knows,” Peter said, standing up and pulling Ned to his feet. “Come on, before he changes his mind, or Pepper does it for him.”

“I still don’t get why his PA calls you Baby-Bro and why your uncle is here,” Ned said as he followed Peter towards the elevator.

“Inside joke,” Tony Stark said. “Considering Pete’s age, he’s like a little brother to some of those in the know. Fri just likes taking it a step further. We’d planned on not letting you in on how close Peter was to everyone, but apparently, no one thought to update F.R.I.D.A.Y.

“As for his uncle, that’s simple. He isn’t Pete’s uncle. That’s just the excuse they use for babysitting. Easier to say he’s an uncle than a fellow superhero.”

“Tony!” Ms. Potts admonished as Nebula placed her hand on her neck with a pinched expression. Vittore stared at him with wide eyes and Peter made a squawking sound.

Tony Stark rolled his eyes. “Vis?”

Vittore glanced between the other three adults before his skin began to change to -

No way! Vittore is Vision! Ned had a movie night with Vision!

Peter was babysat by Vision!

“Dude, what is your life?” Ned asked, not even caring that he was openly gaping.

“Come on,” Peter groaned, shoving him out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What were you thinking?” Pepper tisked as soon as the kids were gone.

“Like I said, the kid’s fourteen.”

“Why did you tell him about Vision?” Nebula groaned.

“He’s a nosy teenager. If we didn’t give him something he would have kept asking questions, which means he’d find out the truth eventually because either Peter’s horrible lies would give it away or he’d give in to the guilt of keeping secrets from his best friend. Like Fri said, he’s Pete’s Rhodey.”

“I still don’t understand why we can’t just tell him,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. said as her hologram form appeared next to Nebula on the couch.

“Let’s just see how he does with the Spidey secret first,” Tony suggested, wrapping an arm around Pepper’s waist. “Now, what should we do until dinner?”

F.R.I.D.A.Y. immediately disappeared and Nebula stood up and left.

Pepper snorted and got up as Vision made to follow. “I have paperwork and you have Baby Monitor footage to study.”

Tony pouted as she walked away. “Yeah, the protocol’s name sounds weird when you say it like that.”

“Next time don’t choose names for your protocols specifically to tease your kids,” Pepper hummed, slipping into the elevator.

“It’s his punishment for the lies!” Tony called before the doors could close.

“Would you like some assistance going over the footage?” Vision asked from where he was hovering halfway through the wall.

“Sure, the more the merrier.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dinner’s here, kids,” Tony called as he walked into the lab to see the two teens hovering over Dron-E Mark III.

Apparently, the drone wasn’t spider-like enough if he couldn’t walk like one so Peter was working on an upgrade.

“Sweet,” Ned said, hopping off his stool.

“You could have just had Fri tell us,” Peter said, looking suspicious.

“You and I need to have a word real quick,” Tony said. He gestured towards the door with his thumb. “Go on, Red. Fri will show you the way.”

Ned gave his friend a concerned look, but headed out the door. Tony got a brief glimpse of him being startled by F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s sudden appearance before the door shut behind him.

“What’s up?” Peter asked, fidgeting with a stylus.

“Vis and I watched the video of the atm robbery,” Tony said, walking over to sit on the counter next to his son. He held up his hand before Peter could say anything. “I’m not mad, but you should have called in for backup as soon as you realized the kinds of weapons they had.”

Peter nodded with a bowed head. “Sorry. It just all happened so fast.”

“I know, kiddo. That’s why I think you need to have someone watching your back from now on.”

Peter frowned. “You mean having Uncle Rhodey or Vis following me around during patrol.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of an AI sidekick.”

“I’ve got Jay with me.”

Tony shook his head. “Jay’s already got enough on his plate: running my suit, the Tower’s security, and working with Fri in keeping an eye on the SI servers. Besides, he’s used to me. You need someone a little more… personalized.”

“So what, Fri or one of the triplets then?” Peter asked, confused, then his eyes widened. “Wait…”

Tony smiled and opened a program on a holo-screen. “Say hello to your new baby sister.”

“Hello?” Peter near whispered, staring excitedly at the screen.

“Good evening, Peter.”

Tony smiled as he started to bounce in his seat. “Hi!”

“This is S.I.L.K., the Spider Interactive Learning Keeper,” Tony explained. “She’s going to help you out during patrol. I actually finished her about two months ago and was just waiting for you to get a little further in your training before activating her.”

“Nice to meet you, S.I.L.K.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well.”

“This is so cool!” Peter said, throwing his arms around Tony. “Thanks, dad!”

“Yeah, yeah, just be more careful, please. S.I.L.K.’s programmed to call up Rhodey, Vis, or I if something happens, but I’d rather it not get to that point. You see guys with those kinds of weapons again, you back off. Okay?”

“But what about stopping those guys?” Peter asked, pulling back. “We can’t just let them go!”

“I’ve already contacted the FBI and they’ve set up a team to track down whoever is selling those weapons. If you see some more, let me know and I can pass on the message, but otherwise leave it to the professionals. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, remember?”

“Yeah, okay,” Peter sighed.

“Hey,” Tony set his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “I know you want to do more, but you need to take it a step at a time. Get used to S.I.L.K. and focus on your training and schoolwork.”

“Then I can be an Avenger?” Peter asked, brightening up.

Tony snorted and hopped down. He ruffled his son’s hair as he passed. “We’ll talk about that when you aren’t accidentally revealing your secret to random teenagers.”

“He’s not a random teenager!”

“And when you’re not handing out spare keys without permission,” Tony added, pausing at the door.

“I was kind of hoping you forgot about that,” Peter muttered as he joined him.

Tony shook his head and wrapped his arm around the kid’s shoulders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Peter knows Spider-Man!”

Well, being alive was nice while it lasted, Peter thought as everyone turned to look at him and his best friend. Hopefully, Nebula will make it quick.

He sent Ned a look, then climbed to his feet. “Uh, no, I don’t. No, I-I-I mean…”

“They’re friends.”

Ned, shut up.

“Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends,” Flash shouted.

“I-I’ve met him,” Peter stuttered, scrambling for an explanation. “Yeah, a couple of times. But it’s, um, at my sister’s security job. Mm-hmm, yeah, well,” he turned to Ned and growled, “I’m not really supposed to talk about it!”

“Well, that’s awesome,” Flash said sarcastically. “Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz’s party. Right?”

“Yeah,” Liz said, caught off guard. “Um, I’m having people over tonight. You’re more than welcome to come.”

“Having a party?” Peter breathed.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be dope. You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man.”

Peter was shaking his head immediately. Nope, he’d heard way too many stories that started like this from Uncle Rhodey and Dad and they all ended badly. At best. “I-Sorry, Liz, but I’m grounded this weekend.” He shot Ned another look because it wasn’t entirely a lie. No one actually said the word grounded, but Mom had heavily hinted at it with a telling comment about Peter spending the weekend training with Vis.

“How unfortunate,” Flash snorted disbelievingly.

The bell rang and everyone started leaving.

Peter spun on Ned. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you out,” he whispered back. “Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you.”

“No, she has a crush on Spider-Man, who no one can know is me.”

“Dude, you’re an Avenger, kind of! If one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it’s you!”

Peter shook his head. “I don’t want her to like me because I’m Spider-Man. I want her to like me because I’m Peter. If they don’t like the real you, then they’re not worth your time. Family motto.”

“But you are Spider-Man!” Ned whispered, bemused.

Peter didn’t know what to say. How could he explain growing up hearing horror stories about his dad being used for his money and-or power all his life, about him being betrayed or tossed aside time after time once they’d gotten what they wanted?

“It’s not happening.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you think I made the right choice?”

“Your logic seems sound, but if you love her, shouldn’t you try everything to get her?” S.I.L.K. asked.

Peter blushed and rolled off the edge of the building he’d been taking a break on. “I didn’t say I love her! I just… She’s really smart and nice and pretty and -” He cut off when he felt something.

“Is something wrong?” S.I.L.K. asked as he landed on a fire escape railing and looked around.

“I don’t know,” he said, frowning. “Something’s setting off my danger sense, except… it doesn’t feel dangerous, exactly. But it does, kind of. Does that make sense?”

“Not at all.”

Peter bit his lip and tried to focus.

Twitch.

He jumped off the railing a second before he heard someone drop onto the fire escape. He landed on a passing bus and spun around just in time to see them spring off the platform onto the other end of the bus.

It was a woman with dark hair wearing a red and black leather jacket, form-fitting black pants, and red boots. More eye-catching, though, was the yellow and black spider design on her chest and her red and yellow face mask.

“How many of you has Stark made?” the woman demanded.

“Mr. Stark? What are you talking about?”

“How many super soldiers like you has Stark made?” she said slowly. “And are all of you children?”

Peter scowled and crossed his arms. “First of all, I’m not a child. Second, Mr. Stark hasn’t created any super soldiers.”

“Sure Parker,” she snorted.

Peter’s eyes widened. “Parker? Who’s that?”

“Should I alert Vision that you require assistance?”

The woman smirked and walked towards him. “Nice try, kid, but I’ve been watching you for weeks now. I know who you are, where you live, and how often you’re brought in to Stark.”

“I’m contacting Vision.”

“Now, how many of you has Stark made?”

Peter glanced around for a building to swing to and frowned when he saw the bus heading into the suburbs. He aimed for the closest building and she jumped at him. He dodged, but had to release his web as a result.

“Can’t you take whatever this is up with Mr. Stark? I don’t even know who you are!” Peter quipped as he dodged another grab.

“Oh, I’ll deal with Stark soon enough.” She ducked to the right, but it was a feint and she kicked Peter’s feet out from under him. She pinned him against the roof on his stomach, saying, “But first, you’re going to tell me what you know.”

“Look, Spider… Woman? I told you already. Mr. Stark didn’t do anything!”

“You think I don’t recognize his tech on you? Or know he was the one to bring you into the fight in Germany?”

“For the record, I wasn’t actually supposed to fight. I was just supposed to stay back and web them up, so please don’t remind Mr. Stark about that. I don’t want to get in trouble again. Also, I was already Spider-Man before Mr. Stark found out about me during Rogers’ temper tantrum. So, again, Mr. Stark didn’t do anything!”

Spider-Woman flipped him over and tore off his mask.

“Hey!” Peter froze as their eyes met. “You-you’re like me,” he whispered. He wasn’t sure how he knew, he just knew. It was like his danger sense, but different. “You really are Spider-Woman!”

“If Stark didn’t do this to you, who did?” she growled, glaring down at him through the yellow-tinted glass.

“No one. I mean, technically a spider did, but he probably didn’t mean to turn me into Spider-Man when he bit me,” he rambled, still caught up in the idea of another spider-person.

She looked unimpressed, but before she could say anything the sound of an explosion reached them and they both turned to see a plume of blue fire fading away.

“That didn’t look good,” Peter said.

“I’m calling someone in,” Spider-Woman said, frowning.

“That will not be necessary.”

Peter smiled and tilted his head to look over her shoulder. “Hey Vis!”

“Spider-Man,” the android acknowledged with a nod. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“He’s fine,” Spider-Woman said at the same time. She stepped away and turned to Vis, gesturing towards Peter. “Maybe you can tell me why Stark is making child super soldiers.”

“Mr. Stark has done no such thing, Ms…”

“I’ve been calling her Spider-Woman,” Peter supplied when she didn’t immediately answer. “Hey, can you two deal with this while I figure out what that explosion was?”

“P.L.A.T.O. is already investigating,” Vision said.

“Plate’s back in town!”

“Their armor required repairs. They should be here until Monday.”

“Cool.”

Spider-Woman cleared her throat. “You’re as distractible as Stark.

“Apologies,” Vision said as Peter said, “Thanks!”

“Not a compliment, kid,” she snorted before focusing back on Vision. “If Stark didn’t make him, who did?”

“That information is classified.”

“By whose authority? The Accords Panel doesn’t know.”

“Are you with the Accords Panel?”

The woman studied him for a moment before bringing her hand to her face mask. With a press of a button, it folded away until it appeared to be nothing more than a pair of yellow-tinted sunglasses. “Not exactly, Mr. Shade.”

Peter’s eyes widened as her English accent was replaced by an Irish one, though Vision didn’t seem surprised.

“Agent Drew, would you mind explaining why you felt the need to attack Spider-Man instead of bringing your questions to Mr. Stark?”

“Wait, Agent Drew? The Europol agent? Oh man! Is this why you called yourself Arachne? Mr. Stark said you were enhanced, but he didn’t say you have spider-powers!”

“He didn’t know,” she said. “No one did.”

“Did you get bit by a spider too?”

Agent Drew sent Vision a look. “Am I really supposed to believe the kid got his powers from a bug bite?”

“It is admittedly a little more complicated than that, but that is the basics of what happened,” Vision replied. “Perhaps we should take this conversation to the tower? I’m sure Mr. Stark would be happy to answer all your questions once you explain yourself.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded. “Fine, but the kid stays with me until I’m sure your boss hasn’t turned him into a lab rat.”

“Technically it’d be lab spider. ”

They both ignored Peter.

Rude.

“I need to get my car, so we’ll meet you there.”

“We can both accompany you on your trip to the tower,” Vision offered instead.

She shrugged and reengaged her mask.

#sm: homecoming #peter parker #jessica drew #ned leeds #iron family

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allyvampirelass29 · 5 years ago

Text

Chapter 9: The Saviour and The Slayer

A HEROES Fanfiction Angel Before the Fall Series By: Allyssa J. Watkins

"Keep your eye on the time, Beautiful. I'm coming, and it's going to be....... killer."

Ally caressed the cracked crystal of the broken watch on her wrist, as she stood half in shadow, trembling with the thrill of those teasing words and one malicious little laugh. A long, slow chill eased its way down her spine, with the same salacious sensation as if Sylar were there, touching her with his mind.

"Don't torture me, Sy," She sighed blissful to the darkness, half expecting him to emerge in all his malevolent, smouldering glory. "Take me now......."

"Patience...... Sweetheart. Patience."

She'd been hearing his sinister, silky voice in her mind all night, clinging to it in the darkness, her one solace in this shadowy, eerie place. But this time felt different from all the others....... this wasn't a poor girl's drug addled mind conjuring her heart's forbidden desire. Not even the most powerful hallucinogenic could do this. Sound like THIS. Mimic him with such startling, heart fluttering prowess. The effect on her body never lied. He had to be close.......

She touched the steel bars in front of her with one hand, the coldness spreading through her fingers. The fleeting, wonderstruck excitement of finding Sy's watch snug around her wrist, had been immediately replaced by flooding dread. For the first time, she'd noticed the way the light fell in lines across the concrete floor, which could only mean one thing. Bars. She was a dove caught in a cage. Imprisoned. She reached her other hand in-between the bars out into the dark, sifting the shadows through her fingers like water. She shivered, stunned and confused, stumbling backward as she felt the warmth of another hand reaching forward to touch hers.

She cried out in pained surprise as two square emergency lights came on full blast from the opposite wall, turning everything white, blinding her eyes, and she snapped them closed, instinctively raising her arm in front of her face.

"So this is where they keep the really dangerous ones, huh.......? Tell me, Love, do they all look like you?"

Ally squinted her eyes in the harsh, unforgiving light, lowering her arm, trying to make out the silhouette of the man that stood in front of her, the owner of the flirtatious voice that did not belong to Sylar.......

British? Since when did Noah's precious company start recruiting from MI6? He was tall, at least six feet, with short, platinum blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and a small cut on his bottom lip. He had an athletic build, with broad shoulders, lean muscular arms, and pale white skin. He was dressed in full body armor, covered head to boot, complete with a top of the line, military issue Kevlar bullet proof vest, and he had a sniper rifle slung over his back. He smiled warmly, but she only stared back, unmoving. In her old, austen-esque, romantic college days she would have thought this stranger terribly handsome, but now she only had eyes for Sylar Gray. His dark, enigmatic, intensity had no rival, his beautiful danger defying what was possible in the natural world. Disney Prince Darcy never stood a chance.

"If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask...... Or were you reaching for someone else? Your phantom lover, perhaps?"

Phantom Lover. She liked that.

"Let me guess, Prince William, you say that to all the girls with powers, right before you lock them up and throw away the key?"

He smiled even more charming, edging closer. "My, feisty aren't we? I'm starting to feel glad we've got these bars between us. For all I know, you could be desperate to set me on fire."

"Smart guy...... Don't think I don't know you KILL Specials just like me."

"I bag and tag with the best of them, Darling, but I have much different plans for you........ There's a big fuss going on over you tonight. Everybody wants you, and now I know why."

"No, you really don't."

"Oooh now you're getting me hot to see your little magic trick. None of the boys know what your power is, but it HAS to be truly lethal for you to end up here. Boss says you're Need to Know, Level One Classified. I'll make a deal with you. He leaned in closer, and Ally felt jittery as his blue eyes pierced right through her, the cut marring his lip magically gone. Perhaps it had been a shadow after all.

"Kiss me, and I'll set you free. You see, I've never kissed a Special before, hell, I've never even kissed an American before, and you've got to be the most fetching Yank I've ever seen. I'm ready to commit a little treason."

Ally shrank back in her cell, affronted, arms crossed. "Strike your colours, Blondie. Not interested."

"Do you want out, or don't you? Scathing little thing. Kiss me now, before I make the price of your freedom two kisses. I'm risking a lot, y'know. My life, my job, I should get something as a thank you."

"Never."

"Go on, don't be shy," he chuckled, reaching for her hand again. She was starting to WISH she could set him on fire. If Sy was here, he'd tear this guy apart. She smiled. Nobody touched his girl.

"Stay away from me, I mean it! You don't know who you're dealing with........" She warned him, raising both hands like she'd seen Sylar do when he was about to throw somebody through a window. Oh yeah, she thought sarcastically, I'll put my protective powers on you like a curse. Thank God, he didn't know who he was dealing with.

"Why? What's the cheeky little girl going to do to me? I love your fighting spirit! I bloody know what I'm going to do to you, " He said with a suggestive wink, searching his pockets for the keys.

Ally glared, disgusted, hurriedly forcing herself backwards, ramming into the cot, trying to look menacing instead of completely freaked out. Oh God, what WAS she going to do?

"I-I have a BOYFRIEND!!!!!" She threatened, watching the Indelicate Brit warily, once more imagining Sylar emerge from the darkness, murder in his eyes. Okay, so they hadn't actually specified that, but it felt so good to say out loud. Boyfriend. My Sexy Psychotic Boyfriend.

To Ally's great, horrified confusion, the Brit flung his gloved hand up in one jarring motion, tearing the heavy, barred cell door clean off, and it hurtled down the hallway in a cartwheeling clangor. Ally moved to run, eyes impossibly wide, but before she could so much as bat an eyelash, the man was already inside, forcing her back, trapping her against the wall.

He towered over her, and she froze, petrified with fear, sickened by the hungry look in his eye. Then....... something........ impossible happened. His face began to bubble all over like boiling water, and he grunted painfully, jerking his head to the side, anguished. Ally pushed herself all the way back into the wall, aghast at the sight, almost not breathing. She watched in terror as his stark white face boiled even more rapidly, distorted, and the effect spread down his neck. All at once, he began to transform before her very eyes. The platinum blonde hair turned jet black, growing a little longer, looking much shinier as it fell wildly in his face. His sharp blue eyes darkened like ink spilled into a pool, and the pale skin tanned, light stubble cropping up on his formally clean shaven cheek. Maybe the drugs were stronger than she'd thought, or maybe it was all one awful nightmare, and she'd wake up, just like last time, shaking from where she'd fallen asleep on the cold, concrete floor. The pale, perfectly manicured eyebrows blackened too, growing thicker, longer, slanting forward in a dangerous way, and Ally's heart swelled, her eyes filling with tears. Or maybe this was the dream that she'd never have to wake up from. Hello Boyfriend.

"DAMN right you, do!!!"

Sylar rasped, one hand seizing the back of her silky head, the other curling possessively around her side, as he leaned down from his great height and took her lips ravenously, pulling her body flush to his. His hand shook in her curls, his nostrils flaring with the force of his passion, and she kissed him back with a fierceness that rivaled his own, hugging his neck with one arm, clutching his cheek with her other hand, pressing her lips more firmly into his. He hugged her closer to his body, feeling like he was kissing her for the first time, swearing to himself that there would never be a last as he felt her blissful tears wet against his cheek. He'd missed it...... God NO, he'd craved it, addicted. That sweet taste, that gentle, willing softness against his lips, those shy fingers, that were now scrunching his hair so tightly, the tremulous feel of her surrender. To hell with everything else........ this was true power.

He brushed his tongue lightly against hers, as his lips continued to eclipse her lips, and then pressed their fullness into her bottom one, before gathering her tighter into his arms, cradling the back of her head more tenderly. His other palm pressed into her back, drawing her forward, and he buried his face deep into her curls, inhaling, intoxicated.

You smell so good........ Did you always smell THIS good? He wondered with an eyebrow raised, nostrils flaring into her silky hair, feeling it sinfully soft against his lips as he breathed in, and she giggled, his escaped breath catching in her luxurious tresses. Mmm, she smelled like coconut and vanilla, warm and sweet, his Ally, and he closed his eyes, savoring the scent, holding her still, stroking the back of her head, focusing, wanting it to linger in his mind.

"You- You came back for me." She said tearfully, her eyes glistening, overwhelmed, and he touched her face, wiping her tears with his thumb, trying not to sound as giddy as he felt.

"I always come back for what's mine......... No one's been able to shake me yet. I'm the Saviour and the Slayer." He smiled slyly with a wicked little wink.

"How-? How did you do that, Sy, turn into that other man? Are you a...... a shapeshifter!?" She looked at him incredulous, her delighted eyes sparkling.

"You're not the only one that's been keeping secrets, Ally......." He smirked knowingly, smoothing the dark hair out of her eyes, his curled fingers grazing up and down her flushed cheek, his touch feather-light. "I wanted to surprise you. You know how I love a little roleplay. I was good, wasn't I? Too damn good. I made myself jealous. Lecherous Brit. I heard you liked them, and I know all about your weakness for blue eyes. You were perfect. You are...... perfect, and now I can finally be what you deserve. I can be everything you've ever craved in a man, all of your secret fantasies at once, your wildest dreams......." He leaned forward, brushing his lip against her ear. I can be the embodiment of your deepest desires."

Ally felt a longing sigh escape, kissing him with such tenderness and ache, reveling in the moment, and he grinned slyly against her lips. The Beauty could have her Beast or her prince anytime she pleased.

"You already are...... Gabriel," She whispered, out of breath from the effect of him, with a shy little laugh. You ARE my every dancing fantasy, all of my most intimate thoughts, and dizzying desires. What I'm positively weak for are your dark, laughing eyes and their treacherous intensity. My GOD, You outdo entirely everything I have ever dreamed, you physically enthrall me, just by being Gabriel Gray. I want you. I want you just as you are, as dazzled as I am by your clever trick, I wouldn't change you, not one sleek black strand of hair on your head. You're the allure of a perilous place. You are the danger that makes me feel safe. You undo me.

Oh hell........ He couldn't help it. He grinned like an idiot, in a very boyish, Un-Sylar way, showing off all of his teeth, his dark eyes, looking light brown and unusually gentle, his brow soft as he looked at her. "Really? You sure you want me just as I am? The Serial Killer? The Predator prowling in the darkness? The Villain?"

"You may be their Villain........ but you're My Hero."

Ally smiled at him, flirtatiously her green meadow eyes bright, adoring, and he felt his lip twitch with his devilish smirk. He'd never told anyone....... not her, not even his mother, but all he'd ever wanted in the beginning was to be someone's hero.

"I'll be your hero, if you want. But believe me...... Villains have more fun.......You'll learn to love the distress, Sweet Damsel, along with my killer personality." He snickered, brushing his glossy dark hair slowly back with one hand, his eyes drawing and dangerous.

"Oh, Sy........ I-I already do. I am powerless against you, Handsome. Especially when you slick back your hair in that rakish way," She giggled, twirling a curl around her finger, looking at him enchanted, and his chest hurt. She was both the shield on his arm, and the bull's-eye on his back. You get to me........ Beautiful. You undo me too........

He looked her over with sultry, wandering eyes, lingering in certain places. Had she been wearing that when they'd left? That sexy little rose-coloured tank top with the dark red velvet roses and the lacey neckline that was actually pretty low for his shy good girl. Go Ally. Damn. How had he missed that? He stepped closer, gently rubbing his thumb over one of the roses on her side, feeling the velvet, fighting the urge to slip his hand under the sumptuous fabric and tickle her bare back. She giggled and squirmed, and he loved that she was so sensitive to his touch, and somehow, in spite of the terror he was, there was no fear.

"God, you're gorgeous....... You know that, right? I mean it, I went out of my mind thinking I'd never see you again. That was actual murder. Did you get my present?"

"Saviour, Slayer, and some kind of MAD genius, you clever boy!" She gushed, showing him her wrist. That's how you found me, isn't it!!! I KNEW it, you put a tracker in your watch!!!

He smirked especially smug, admiring his favourite watch on his favourite girl. He liked it, her wearing something of his. He knew she'd notice. A promise to find her, to get her back.

"I want to be stupid and romantic and say I put it in when we got...... involved." He said silkily, kissing her hand, and she blushed, feeling the tickle of his facial hair. "But the truth is, I'm overly fond of this one........ It gave me a name. It made me who I am. Sylar.

He held both of her hands in his, practically purring, leaning down to kiss her cheek, slowly, pleasurably, his voice a whisper. "Do you remember........The diner? Our first kiss?

Ally looked at him with that aching tenderness that just terrified and exhilarated him, and another tear escaped down her cheek, Her eyes sweet and sincere. "How could I ever forget, Sy? It was the greatest day of my entire life........"

**********

The jail cell melted away and the white emergency lights bloomed into sunlight streaming through a diner window. They'd been having coffee, on the run from Danko's men, figuring out their next move. She couldn't take her eyes off him, just waiting for the next time he needed her power, and she'd get to touch that strong, beautiful chest again. She couldn't believe he'd collected her, and he couldn't believe she'd let him.

"Why don't you fix it, Sy?" Ally asked, her voice soft, running her fingers delicately over the cracked crystal. "It's your favourite watch, I can tell how much you love it, and you deserve to have it look perfect! I know you could fix it! You're only THE most talented watchmaker in the world!"

Her fingers strayed over the broken timepiece, and brushed against the back of his quick, magic hand, while he watched the shy trail of her fingers, and then half smiled as her thumb rubbed over his, again and again.

"I could fix it. I can fix anything I want, just like I can break anything I want....... but I'll never fix this one."

Sylar angled his wrist gently, careful not to disturb her fingers against his hand, and he smiled a bit more, satisfied, as they stayed right where he wanted them, like placed hands on a watch, and the face of his own beloved Sylar Field Edition glinted in the streaming white sunlight of the diner window, each crack catching and filling with light, the refraction of the crystal positively glistening.

"That's why. I like that," he whispered, as she stared down in breathless awe, the fractured light reflecting off her pretty face. "Ally.........." He took her hand in his watch hand, grasping it, staring deep into her green meadow eyes, with such intensity and tenderness, he could almost feel her soul. "Just because something's broken......... doesn't mean it's not beautiful."

**********

Fresh tears flooded Ally's eyes, as she drifted back and nestled her face into his shoulder, holding his hands tighter, entwining their fingers, holding now what she had once died to touch, never dreaming he'd want her too. "You saw me, all the cracks in my flawed crystal, and still kept me. We were broken by life, Sy, and yet we're still beautiful....... My Darling Watchmaker........ Who could have ever known these careful, talented hands had such a knack for fixing woefully broken hearts, once thought beyond repair."

Sylar smiled, still lost in the memory. He still couldn't believe she'd kissed him like that. Like he was some kind of hero. Like he'd saved her. Here he was, a kidnapper, a murderer, a fugitive, and he'd done the opposite. He'd stolen her. He would've taken her whether she'd come willingly or not. Ripped her away from her whole life, her friends, her family, just to have that power. And she'd KISSED him for it. Anytime he'd ever kissed a woman, as Sylar, took her to bed, it was usually for two reasons. Manipulation or Distraction. He didn't care about them, any of them, apart from what he could get. He never saw this one coming, this girl...... this sweet, innocent, beautiful brunette, the only good, pure thing to wander into his gray world. She chose to come, looked at him like he was someone....... special, left everything behind to be his. He knew she thought he found her broken and was the one to fix her. But she didn't know, and he could never tell her, just how much she'd fixed him.

"Broken hearts are a lot like broken watches. You just have to find out what makes them tick........" He whispered, placing a single finger against the lace of her neckline, over her heart, shameless, hoping it was dark enough that she couldn't see the tears in his eyes. Usually it was Gabriel that got so emotional. This time it was Sylar alone.

Ally blushed and shivered with his cleverness, too smitten to notice the crystal trail on his cheek before he hastily wiped it away. His whole body froze as she kissed under his jaw, down his neck, and he bit his lip hard, relishing in the feel of her.

Don't stop. His mind ordered soundlessly, and although he wasn't a telepath, she obeyed, her lips petal soft against his scratchy facial hair. He felt her hand caress its way up his chest, and fumblingly unbutton the collar of his shirt, slipping just a little bit beneath it. He watched her shy fingers, amused, toying with the idea of unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way with his mind. He glanced behind him, over his shoulder, at the cot, his own hand finally giving in to its first instinct, slipping up the back of her shirt.

"This place is really creepy......... even for me. Did you check for monsters under your bed? Or.........maybe in your bed?" He whispered breathily, feeling drunk with the warmth of her bare skin, his imagination scandalous, about to lose control with her for a much more sinister reason.

Thanks for the accommodations, Bennet, he thought with a leisurely, evil smirk. Sadly, there wasn't nearly enough time........ Ally giggled against his neck, a little out of breath, herself, and he subtly lifted the fingers of his other hand, his mind moving quick to feel her pulse beneath her sensitive skin. Her heart beat dizzyingly fast, fluttering, euphoric, proof of his powerful effect on both her mind and her body. He felt her flinch as he touched her heart with his mind, felt the sudden erratic uptake, the vibrations like butterfly wings beneath his fingertips. His eyebrows slanted forward, lethal, as another smug smile spread deliciously across his lips. She wanted him. But even more thrilling...... She wanted him to have her. You have no idea how BAD I want to be a complete scoundrel right now, Beautiful. But a lady deserves her gentleman. Decisions, decisions........

She blushed even more as she reached up to kiss the corner of his deadly smile as if she could hear his naughty thoughts, and relenting to behave himself, he lazily took hold of her wrist.

"It looks nice on you," He whispered as she rested her cheek against his. "You have such lovely, delicate wrists. I should make you watch, one of my very own originals. Something elegant, a bracelet watch maybe, white gold band, pearl face, diamond accents. A wrist like yours should never be unadorned."

"Oh Sy, that sounds absolutely beautiful."

He tightened his hold on her wrist, and then bristled, his purr becoming a growl, as his thumb flitted over a bandage.

What the hell? He felt her move to pull away, and he seized both of her wrists, one in each hand, yanking them up to better see what he knew he'd felt, his blood, running ice cold.

"Did they hurt you?" He hissed, furious.

"No! Well, I don't know..... I was-" Ally hesitated, gritting her teeth, watching the anger rise in his flashing eyes.

"Drugged," he finished for her, his hand shaking, all of it coming back, his anger, his maniacal plot, his ultimate revenge.

"Yeah."

"They took your blood........ Now it's my turn to take theirs, every last drop."

"Sy, no, it's okay! I'm okay! We're together now, that's what matters!" She pleaded, feeling his hold loosen, and she ran her fingers down his palm to calm him, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"I NEVER should have let them take you!" He seethed, pulling away from her, scratching the back of his head, incensed, sending his sleek dark hair askew.

"It wasn't your fault!"

"DAMN it, Ally, yes it was!" He yelled out, raking his fingers through his hair, his voice echoing through the cell and down the hall, his chest hurting. He got really quiet then, rubbing his forehead, before looking at her with guilty eyes. "We need to talk about what happened in that alley. How I almost killed you."

"But you didn't......"

"I could have! I've never felt it that strong and not killed someone. You could have died....... and then I would have died. I told you to run......"

"I know, I'm so sorry."

Sylar looked at her, his expression grave, and her eyes pleaded forgiveness. Unbelievable. He almost kills her, and she wanted HIS forgiveness? He knew how close he'd been, he felt sick every time he thought about it. He'd never gone that far, and been able to come back. He didn't know how he'd stopped it. That's what scared him the most. That it was a mistake he was doomed to repeat. One raised finger, and he would have murdered his whole world, slashed it to pieces, killing himself, as he took her life, finishing what Gabriel had started four years ago.

You're going to get angry........... she's going to be standing too close.

Shut up, Bennet. You don't know what the hell you're talking about, his mind snapped, his lip curling, annoyed. What is this? Do you really think I'm haunted by your threats, that I'm going to fixate on them, and let you get to me? Please. He gritted his teeth as his vision started to shake, the tingle spreading through his body. Yeah, alright that was a lie. Yeah, yeah, I get it, enough already, his irritated mind spoke to his lie detecting power, shrugging it off. Bennet had been right about a lot of things lately, and it was downright disturbing. He was used to getting into people's heads, not having someone invade his.

"I'M sorry........" he said much softer, turning his face away from her, ashamed, long strands of raven hair veiling his eyes, "About what Bennet said in the alley, his neat little theory on why I'd decided not to kill you when we first met........."

"Sy, don't give that another thought," she coaxed, reaching out for him, to pull him away from his internal turmoil, and he flinched as she stroked his arm, her sincerity making him feel even more guilty. "It's just like you said, I don't believe him! I never did, not for one second!"

So trusting....... She always saw the best in him, the hero in him, even when there was none there. He didn't want to tell her this, but she had to know, before she found out later, and it hurt her even more.

"You should have........"

"Sy, what do you mean? You told him-"

"I KNOW what I said," he snarled. "I know what I did....... Why do you think it pissed me off so much? He struck a nerve. He said everything, every damn word I thought when I first met you, when I sensed you had an ability, that you were like me, and you were clever enough to save yourself, by showing me what you could do.

Ally let her hand fall away from his arm, stunned, shaking her head. "No...... No, Sy, those are his words, not yours. He's messing with your mind, can't you see that!?"

"Here you were, this girl, easy on the eyes, brunette just like I like, not the slightest bit afraid, even after I had you in my sights, with this delicious electricity running through your veins. You were the cure to my Company Ills, the answer to Noah's hell-bent vendetta. No matter what Special he dug up to stop me, take me down, as his elusive kill, it wouldn't work, not as long as I had you. I couldn't take your powers by force, so I took them by stealth. All I had to do was make you fall in love with me, then you'd want to do it. I just had to keep you interested long enough to steal your heart, charm you, trick you into becoming my willing prisoner. Then I could use you all I wanted. I could feel you were drawn to me, that irresistible attraction between us, and I fed the addiction, escalated it, and made you belong to me. I'd meant to wear you like a watch, show you off to my greatest enemies, look at my beautiful assistant, and then throw you away when you got broken, an inevitable casualty of my dangerous lifestyle.

Sylar's words were cruel, razor sharp, cutting deeper than his finger ever could, and he hated each one Noah had forced him to reveal, hated the heartless sound of them as he said them all out loud to the woman he loved, horrible things that she was never supposed to know. He felt his heart crack as he watched the tears well in her stricken eyes.

He stepped towards her, fully expecting her to shudder, and step back, or slap him across the face, shaking, giving in to her tears. She didn't do either. She didn't so much as flinch, and he took her hand with all the grace and tenderness Gabriel would have, touching her as if she would break, running his thumb across the back of her fingers. "I don't need to tell you...... just how much things have changed since that fateful day, since those first despicable thoughts. It didn't happen at all like I'd planned. I didn't force you to fall in love with me....... I fell in love with you, with the goodness that you were, the innocence, the way you laughed, the aching gentleness. I didn't have a whole lot of that in my life, so I wasn't ready for what it did to me. What you did to me...... I've been waiting so long for someone to look at me the way you did when I first saw you. You're beautiful and fragile, but so brave, Allyssa. You protected me, and became the only thing I ever wanted to protect."

Ally looked at him with more tears in her eyes, but these were the blissful ones he'd come to prize over any power he could lust after. She smiled, squeezing his hand, and he felt a much different kind of electricity, "We fell together," she smiled shyly at him, green eyes glistening, forgiving him yet again for the unforgivable. He'd been so wrong........ He could turn into all the most striking men in the world, become the most powerful Special of them all, give her the stars, shower her with every glittering possession, and still he could never deserve her.

"You were so brave today, Ally........ Hell, you're being brave right now...... Fearless Girl. You should hate me. Why don't you HATE me? You should tremble at my touch, be terrified of what I am, how laughingly careless and opportunistic I looked at you in the beginning. But I'm glad you're...... you. Beautiful, vulnerable you, so open and gracious because I couldn't take it if you despised me like you should. I don't want to lose you, not the way I lost her........

Ally looked at him with big sad green eyes and saw the scared little boy, who had accidently killed his mother. Gabriel cried, and Sylar let him.

"I couldn't live with myself if you were frightened of me and looked at me the way she did, the way she always will, in my very last memory of her, like I was a monster. A coldblooded killer. She feared for her life, and I-I took it from her."

"Gabriel.........." Sylar felt more tears escape, as that sweet, soothing voice said his real name. "It was a horrific, heart-wrenching accident. You did NOT go there to kill your own mother, Baby. You went there because you missed her, because you loved her, and wanted to give her a present."

"I hate that damn snow globe......." Sylar snarled fighting Gabriel's broken sobs. "If I'd never given it to her, she'd still be alive. I was supposed to be a good son, protect her, protect you........ I tried to dazzle her....... I tried to make her happy. So stupid."

"She loved it, Gabriel! She was SO happy, so proud of you, what you could do. She always told you, you were special, and she was right. You never meant for it to happen...... You didn't know the snow globe would break, and cut her cheek. You didn't know she'd grab those scissors to defend herself........" Ally's heartbroken tears streamed down her cheek, as he looked at her ashamed through his own blurry eyes. He felt his staggering step as she pulled him into her gentle arms, and Gabriel Gray shattered like the snow globe had, leaning down, crying silently into her shoulder.

"I was just trying to take them away from her, convince her she didn't need them, didn't have to be scared of me, it all happened so fast....... My own mother, the only person in the whole world that loved me, was so shaken out of her mind, that she tried to kill me....... What if it wasn't an accident? What if I unknowingly led him to her, the killer within, coaxed her to trust me only to let him kill her? The darkest thing that ever happened in a life of gray misery...... and I almost let it happen again, just as before. Led my lamb to slaughter. Nearly killing the only woman I ever loved, and finally gave her a real reason to fear me."

Ally hugged him close to her body, and he relented to her affection, as she held him like this fine, precious thing, instead of casting him away like the murderer he was. Beauty and her monstrous Beast. He hugged her tighter, his thoughts chilling, as he addressed the sleeping killer within. You can't have her. Not this one...... She's too special to be another victim of your bloodlust. She's mine. Not yours. She dies, we die. Hands off. He pulled away, lifting his head up to cup her cheek, saying again the words he almost never meant. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ally."

Ally shook her head, hands on his chest. "It's okay, Sy, really....... You don't have to apologize, I wasn't even that scared."

Sylar gave her a knowing half smile as his vision shook, and he felt the tingle of her lie. Funny, it was the first and only time she'd ever lied to him.

Ally looked horrified, her eyes impossibly wide. "No! No oh sorry, oh my gosh, that was a lie, and you already know that because of your powers!!!"

He nodded softly, looking at her in playful reprimand, his eyes returning swiftly to their dark flirtation, all Sylar. "Naughty girl. Lying's bad. Do I have to punish you? He chuckled, his breath hot on her neck, gently biting her earlobe as her cheeks burned red. "I'll let it slip this time........"

Well, aren't we all hot and bothered? He thought with delectable ease, resting his chin on her shoulder, caressing her spine. He wondered if she'd figured out that it was him earlier, touching her with his mind, teasing her from his place in the shadows. The moment he'd passed the air-locked, bomb shelter looking, blast-proof, retina scanning, titanium door, he could feel her inside, that quiet desperation. Luckily he'd had a detached retina handy, along with a Level One Clearance security badge. Thanks, Adrian. I'll bet you were a swell guy, before I made you kill all of your buddies on the roof. Occupational hazard. Be careful who you work for.........

He lifted his sleek head, resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. She was amazing, so worth this fun little excursion and all the smoke and mirrors. Anyone else would have took off running earlier, but no matter what awful things he did, how villainous he behaved, she stayed. He didn't know a damn thing about love, but this had to be what it felt like.

"I know you were afraid, and it's okay. I was scared too...... But you still didn't run. I'm proud of you, and I'll never scare you like that again, okay? You never have to fear me, Ally. Today proved that. Never again."

"It wasn't all bad.... there were certain parts I wouldn't mind repeated." She grinned coquettishly, and he felt that other, much more pleasing hunger emerge.

"That was pretty hot huh, when I pulled you down on top of me? I think I can arrange an encore." He raised one of his eyebrows with a diabolical smile.

"Naughty Boy, you better!" She blushed, covering her mouth, and he admired how she was feeling brave in more ways than one.

"Hmm maybe you should have run. WHY didn't you run, you beautiful, INSANE girl? You're crazy. Probably crazier than I am."

"Because I know you, Gabriel, and because I wanted to be the one person in your life that you never had to watch walk away from you."

Gabriel shook his head, his chest seizing, the air caught in his lungs, another nerve struck. He'd waited twenty-nine years for someone to run toward him instead of away. How did she know....... how did she ALWAYS know what to say!? Hell...... was she even real?

He kissed her again, his whole body trembling, but this time Gabriel kissed her, in his nervous, tentative way. He kissed her so delicately, barely touching her face, brushing his lips faintly against hers in a whisper, and she kissed him back with her own blushing tenderness, slipping his watch off her wrist and putting it back on his. He didn't need to track her anymore, she was never going to leave his sight again.

He smirked, looking down at his wrist, and then at her, who apparently liked Gabriel's kisses as much as Sylar's. Her and Sylar had had their first kiss a week ago, but Gabriel had just had his first kiss ever. He shivered.

"Thanks, Doll." He smiled at her and braced himself as she kissed him again, hands scrambling under his shirt."

Mmm there's my brave girl, he thought amused as he trapped her top lip between both of his. There was such a certainty in her fingers now, getting him hot. You know what you want, Beautiful. Touch me. He felt his mind slowly undo a few buttons on his black dress shirt, wondering how she'd feel if he'd slipped off that sexy little tank top too. Calm down, Sylar, don't ruin it by being your greedy self, Gabriel scolded. You have to take it slow, don't rush her. Would you just yank off the crystal of a broken watch? No, he answered his former self in a sigh, his mind reluctantly, doing up one of his buttons. You'd detach it delicately with tweezers, to avoid damaging the face. Exactly.

His heart paused, mid-kiss, his eyes focusing hard as he realized what she'd meant to do all along, and he grabbed her hand through his shirt, in a panic to stop her.

"Ally, no, wait!"

"Sy, what's wrong? It's okay, I want to......."

She went to press down on the center his chest over his heart, to use her power, but he yanked her hand out quickly, just in time, breathing in, holding it fast. Whew. That was too close. He'd gotten distracted, he couldn't let that happen again.

"As much as I....... appreciate your generosity, Ally, I'm going to need you to hold onto that for me a little while longer," he purred, kissing her palm, and closing her fingers around the kiss into a fist, his hand forming tight around hers, holding it shut. "At least until we make our dramatic exit. We're going to knock 'em dead." Sylar chuckled slyly at his own dark wit, his tongue lingering in the corner of his mouth and Ally tugged at his sleeve, frenzied, her face manic.

"What do you mean, Sy!? We have to get out of here NOW!" She glanced anxiously over her shoulder at the hallway. "Oh GOD they could already be waiting outside the door! Can you shapeshift back into the guard? Pretend you're moving me? Do you have any handcuffs?"

Hmmm handcuffs........ He smirked to himself, and Gabriel blushed at Sylar's wicked thoughts, getting distracted again.

"Sy? Sylar? Can you get me out? Take me away? Take me to your apartment in Queens, or back to the diner? Sy please....... Take me anywhere but here?"

She started to walk to the giant hole in her cell where the door used to be, shaking him out of his handcuffing ecstasy.

"Ally, wait!" He pushed one hand out in front of him smoothly, using his Telekinesis to stop her cold. His mind held her still, and he sauntered over to her, brushing her cheek with his knuckle. "Where do you think you're going, Beautiful? You don't want to miss the show, do you? Ooooh they're in for a hell of one, and guess what? I hear, you're going to have the best seat in the house."

"Sy, no! We've got to get out of here!! You don't know what Noah's got planned, and that's one show I don't plan on catching the end of........ Let's skip to the credits while we're both still breathing."

"Ally, we can't bail yet, okay? I need you...... Will you do something for me?"

"Of course! Anything for you, Sy!"

"It's going to get crazy as hell in there, Noah's going to have you strapped down, during my little performance and when things........ let's just say go screaming off the rails, he's going to inject you with an extremely powerful sedative. Don't worry, it's not going to work, but I need my girl to pretend it did. No matter what you hear, no matter what you think is going to happen, DO NOT open your eyes, or make one move after Noah injects you. Not until I give you my signal, and then I want you to find me with your eyes. I'll set you free, but it has to be at the exact moment I give you the signal, got it?

Ally nodded, still looking baffled, wishing Sy would forget his planned theatrical revenge, and save Noah and Company for later. She knew what she'd seen in that nightmare earlier, it was seared in her brain, and she did NOT want an encore of THAT. "I'll do it, Baby, everything you want, but what's the signal? How can you possibly know what Bennet's going to do?

Sylar snickered, rubbing a hanging curl between his thumb and forefinger with his other hand, liking the way it felt to hold her with his mind, like a pretty little puppet on strings. "Because he's pathetically predictable. Because he's arrogant enough to actually think he's in control. He's going to use you to distract me, dangle you like something shiny, just out of my reach. But he's a fool, because this is MY show. I wrote the script, and I know everything that's going to happen on my stage. He thinks this is a solo act, that I've run out of tricks, but I've already got you back. All that's left is a little scarring psychological torture, ending in your big reveal. Close your eyes.

Ally lightly closed her eyes, quick to obey, and Sylar's mind released its hold, as he raised his hand higher, curling his long fingers just slightly. He smiled satisfied, as the sensation of his fingertips brushing against her warm, trembling lip fluttered through his mind, and he saw her flinch with the surprise.

"I felt it! I felt the signal! Okay, now what do I do after I open my eyes, and see you Sy?"

Sylar smirked, his lips tugging pleasingly with a secret, pressing his thumb forward, feeling the chills race down her spine.

"Oh believe me, Beautiful. You'll know exactly what to do next. You won't even hesitate."

She opened her eyes, and he sensed something, as he took her jaw with his mind, his thumb and forefinger outstretched, her body like a book he could always read, and he felt it.......something in her nerves, something palpable, that he could taste in the air between them, a scent he knew all too well, though usually not from her. One that foreshadowed the acquisition of a new power....... Fear. He didn't have to be a telepath to read her mind.

"You're scared."

The lie was already in her eyes, before it ever touched her lips, and the more he searched them, penetrated their emerald light, the weaker her resolve became before she finally relented to the truth he already knew.

"Yes," she managed in a single breath, looking away from him, as she felt his mind's hold melt away again. He stepped closer to her, moving silently through the space between them, one hand reaching around to find the bare part of her upper back, the other stroking the curls on the side of her head, slow and sensual.

"Do you trust me, Ally?"

"With my life," she answered quickly, not even the slightest hesitation, and he smirked to himself, his vision steady, already knowing there would be no tingle, no lie. Good answer, he thought silkily, gently rubbing her bare back, his hands quick to convince not only her mind, but her body, that she'd made the right choice.

Ally relaxed with his touch at first, feeling its eloquence, but then shook her head, frightened, tensing beneath his hand, looking up at him with crazed eyes.

"But Sy, you don't understand! They're setting the trap, as we speak, I've heard them, they're planning something, something awful......... I even had a dream where they........ where you were...... dea-"

Sylar brought his finger swiftly to her lips. Oh this was too good. Damn she was cute, look at the way her lip quivered, fighting back tears, desperate to warn him of his apparent impending demise. He tilted his head just slightly, with the sudden realization. How sweet...... She wasn't worried for herself, about what they'd do to her, she didn't care, she was scared for him, the Girl Scout afraid for the Big Bad Wolf.

He slowly lowered his finger, looking amused, trying not to laugh. "Trust me. I'm not scared of Noah Bennet and his Hapless Heroes. I'm definitely going to be the scariest thing in THAT room. Whatever vanilla murder plot they have planned, is sure to disappoint."

"But what if they do it, Sy? What if they rewrite the script, and this time....... they........ they kill you? I can't-"

"Hey," he whispered much softer, curling his fingers gently around the side of her neck, thumb against her cheek. "You can't kill a killer. Not a good one. I know how this is going to end. We leave now, and we're just delaying the inevitable. Bennet will come back after you, to get to me, and to use your blood for his crusade against Nathan. I can't have that....... But you let me finish this like I want........ Let me unravel him, thread by thread, help me make his worst fears his only hellish reality, live the nightmares he's fought against all these years, and I promise you....... Noah Bennet will be so damaged and disturbed, his sanity so far gone, that he'll never lay one finger on you again."

Ally hugged his neck and he felt her heart pounding against his chest. "The curtain rises........." She whispered, and he reached behind her, turning his wrist, curling his fingers inward, the white emergency lights instantly killed, flooding them both again in darkness, the air screaming with sirens. He grabbed both of her bare shoulders, whirling her around to face the hallway, slipping a phone secretly from his back pocket, and Ally jumped, his voice echoing throughout the whole building as he spoke into it.

"The lights dim...... Lady and Gentlemen. The show's about to begin."

He chuckled sadistically into the phone, and then whispered into Ally's ear before disappearing like a lithe shadow into the darkness.

"Run, Baby. Run."

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

#sylar x oc #gabriel gray #heroes #sylar #primatech #telekinesis #shapeshifting #angel before the fall

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