#now they were only cured twelve hours

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

The sheer horror of having to wear shoes that are crumbling like a burnt cookie as you walk around for an eight hour workday. I felt as if I was the idol in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream with clay and iron feet— as if a giant meteor might just come by and break my shitty shoes apart for good.

[cranetreegang]

The Polyjuice Ploy - Ominis x FemReader

Well... this got out of hand. This was a request made by this lovely person -> @mentosanu and here is the original post/request

Hopefully I have not gone too crazy and this is somewhat what you wanted lol. if not... my b.

Shoutout again to @isolight for reading this over <3 you da best

Music to enjoy -> Flight of Dragons

Summary: Sebastian and Ominis, after reading through an old textbook, get the idea of Ominis drinking a Polyjuice Potion to enjoy a day of sight and surprise a certain special someone ;)

Word Count: ~7,8-, (checks word count again... omfg) ~7,800 words

Warnings: angst/hurt, slightly heated kissing, comfort/fluff

Credit to the Harry Potter website and JK where I basically stole *cough* rewrote the description of what a polyjuice potion does and the affects of the polyjuice when ominis transforms

Read my other Ominis Fics Here

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Ominis rests his head into his palm with a sigh. His quill writes out the last sentences he needs for his essay and he couldn’t be happier to be nearly done. Footsteps echoing on stone catch his attention, followed by the gate of the Undercroft rattling open. 

“Ah, was hoping to find you here.” Sebastian greets. 

“Looking for me, were you?” Ominis spares Sebastian a grin in greeting. “I’m busy at the moment, but if you don’t mind waiting-,”

Something heavy drops onto the table Ominis is using, sloshing his pot of ink. Ominis frowns as he feels over the object in front of him. 

“Why… what is this?” Ominis questions, tracing over the worn cover of a leather tome. He runs his other hand along the spine. The bindings of the book are exposed and he can feel the bumps of worn cords holding the loose pages together. Even the leather is peeling on the corners and edges. Whatever the title of the tome was, it’s long since faded as his wand can’t find a legible letter to decipher.

“Some light reading I need help with.” Sebastian states while he takes a seat next to Ominis.

Ominis sighs, “I don’t have time for this, Sebastian. I must finish this report for Profess-,”

“That can wait. This is far more pressing.” Sebastian shoves away all of Ominis’ writing utensils. 

“Sebastian!”

“Ominis, you were the one saying I needed to find other ways to cure Anne. Well, this could be it. Now, are you going to help me, or sit there and complain?” 

Ominis lets out a deep breath while he flips the book open, “Fine. But only for a little bit. Then I must finish my report.” Ominis stresses with a glare aimed towards Sebastian. 

“Thank you, my friend. I won’t soon forget this.” 

Ominis skims through the pages. Seems Sebastian procured an archaic textbook dated back to the first few years of Hogwarts - detailing the more illicit potions you could make. Elixirs ranging from the mundane boil remover to the far more deadly Eternal Sleep Draughts. Ominis doesn’t find much in the book to help Anne, not even a remedy to help with the pain. He flips to another page when he pauses. 

It enables the consumer to assume the physical appearance of another person, as long as they have first procured part of that individual’s body to add to the brew. The effects of the potion are only temporary, and, depending on how well it has been brewed, may last anywhere from ten minutes to twelve hours. You are able to change age, sex, and race by taking the Polyjuice Potion, but not species.

The more he reads, the more his thoughts stray from searching for a cure for Anne. To take on the physical appearance of someone else and to change… 

“Find something?” Sebastian questions, glancing over Ominis’ still wand digging into the page.

“No.” Ominis states and tries to turn to another section of the book, but Sebastian snatches the tome from Ominis’ grasp. He examines what has caught Ominis’ attention and Sebastian’s brows furrow at what he finds.

“Polyjuice Potion?” Sebastian looks over to Ominis. 

“I’m sorry. I got distracted. Can we please move on and go back to the task at hand?” Ominis reaches for the book, but Sebastian keeps it just out of his reach and chuckles.

“Why’re you so interested in a Polyjuice Potion, Ominis?” 

Ominis huffs with a shake of his head, “I’m not.”

Sebastian rolls his eyes, “You most definitely are.” 

Ominis crosses his arms with a snarl, “And if I am? What of it?”

Sebastian reads over the passage again, a smile forming on his lips, “I can see why you would be. If I’m thinking the same thing you are.” 

“It’s silly. I shouldn’t even entertain the thought.” Ominis dismisses. 

“Why not? Wouldn’t you want to spend the day being able to see?” 

Ominis frowns, “But, it wouldn’t be through my own eyes. It would have to be through someone else's. And I doubt anybody would be willing to give me a lock of hair for such a thing.” 

Sebastian puts his hand on Ominis’ shoulder with a slight grin, “It’s a good thing I am that somebody.” 

“What?”

“You heard me. I think we should make this potion and once it’s done, you can use my hair. It’ll be perfect!” Sebastian shakes Ominis in his excitement.

“Brewing a Polyjuice Potion takes time. And, far more importantly, skill. A skill I doubt either of us possesses.” 

Sebastian leans back in his chair with a hum, “That could pose a problem. Unless, we found someone to make us the potion.” 

Ominis cranes his head, “Who would be willing to-,” the words die in his mouth. His lips thin as he nods, “I know of someone. I’ll have to reach out to them though.” 

Sebastian claps his hands together with a grin, “Excellent. This may be one of your better ideas, Ominis.” 

Ominis snatches the book from Sebastain and goes back to researching, “We shall see, won’t we?”

===========================

Two weeks pass before Ominis receives word back from his contact. The letter is brief and Ominis is filled with excited trepidation as he heads to the Hog’s Head for the meeting. Ominis is relieved the transaction is quick, with few words exchanged. Ominis keeps the potion close to his chest as he heads to the Undercroft to stash it away until the right moment. 

Three days later, Sebastian finds Ominis pacing in the Undercroft. 

“Sorry I’m late.” Sebastian greets. “Ready for this?”

Ominis shakes his head, “I don’t know. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” 

“What’s the problem? You seemed sure yesterday.” 

Ominis stops, letting out a sigh, “Are you sure you’re okay with this? If you’re have any doubts, I-,” 

“I want to do this, Ominis.” Sebastian interjects. “Now, where is that potion before you change your mind.” 

Ominis reaches into his pocket and hands the potion over to Sebastian. Sebastain holds the palm-sized phial up to the fire’s light. He plucks out a few strands of his hair then he places them into the potion. A faint sizzling sound can be heard as Sebastian swirls the muddy liquid. Sebastian hands the potion back to Ominis.

“Drink up.” Sebastian grins. 

Ominis holds the potion in his hand - willing away his nerves. He raises the potion up with a slight smile, “Cheers.” 

He downs the thick liquid, refusing to allow himself to gag at the taste and consistency. 

Immediately, his insides start writhing and twisting. He doubles over, wondering if he’s going to throw up the concoction. A burning sensation spreads rapidly from his stomach to the tips of his fingers and toes. It’s enough to bring him gasping to all fours, whimpering and moaning as a horrible melting feeling begins to overtake him. His skin feels like it’s bubbling. His fingers stretch out, growing larger and longer. He hears the popping of his joints as they shift into their new positions over the rushing of blood in his ears. His shoulders stretch and he’s constricted in his own clothes. He rips off his robe, flinging it away, and his legs and feet are in agony. His shoes are now two sizes too small and he could feel his hair resting along his forehead instead of being neatly styled back. 

“Ominis! Ominis, are you alright? Answer me!” Sebastian demands, flipping Ominis over to his back.

Ominis spares him a nod, finding his tongue to be too heavy and thick in his mouth to speak. He no longer feels like he’s ripping apart and the nausea he felt has all but evaporated. 

Sebastian chuckles, “Wow. I… this is absolutely dotty.” 

Ominis’ brows pinch and Sebastian’s hands assist him into a sitting position. 

“Ominis. Open your eyes.” Sebastian urges. 

Ominis sucks in a sharp breath then slowly opens his eyes. A bright face grinning back at him is the first thing he sees. Ominis stares at the boy, taking in the sight. 

“Sebastian?” His voice is not his own and Sebastian’s eyes widen.

“Whoa! Oh, wow, Ominis. You can see.” Sebastian’s grin is contagious and Ominis matches his excitement. 

“I can see. I see you.” Ominis reaches up and touches Sebastian’s face, his eyes blurring with sharp tears burning his eyes and throat. Sebastian lets Ominis trace over his smiling face. It’s all so familiar. The bridge of Sebastian’s nose all the way down to the curve of his brows. Ominis didn’t expect his friend to have such dark eyes and dots all over his face. Sebastian’s hair is about how he pictured though - a thick mess on top of his head.

“Well? Am I what you envisioned, or have I disappointed?” Sebastian teases. 

Ominis shakes his head, “You’re nothing like I envisioned. Yet, it makes sense. I-,” he turns his attention to around them. He gets to his shaky legs and laughs as he looks around. 

The room is far less inviting than he imagined with the stone being a dull, dreary hue. The lights of the brazers and candles lures him closer. The warmth of their light takes his breath away and his hand reaches out to hover just over the flames. He turns his gaze to all the crates, boxes, and other items stored away down here. Some are covered in a fine layer of dust, while others are draped over with light colored sheets.

“This is the Undercroft.” Ominis mumbles to himself. 

“Indeed it is.” Sebastian grabs each of Ominis’ shoulders and drags him over to a cracked mirror. “And here you are.” 

Ominis stares at the two identical boys in the mirror. Ominis’ eyes widen and the boy across from him does the same. He tilts his head and so does the reflection. He touches over his cheek and drags his fingers down over the tanned, freckled skin. 

He looks over to Sebastian, “How odd indeed.” 

“I must say, this is probably the best you’ve ever looked, Ominis.” Sebastian smirks. 

Ominis laughs, “I’m sure.” 

Ominis stares at Sebastian, finding it unbelievable he can actually see his friend looking back at him with a devilish smile. He could always hear Sebastian’s smirks when he spoke, but to see how it affects his face, especially his eyes - illuminating them in a way Ominis doesn’t quite understand - makes him wonder if all people are this animated.

“Well, as exciting as being here is, there’s a whole bunch of things you ought to see before that potion wears off.” Sebastian states. 

Ominis nods, “Yes. Of course. Where should we begin?” 

Sebastian smirks while guiding Ominis towards the exit gate, “Sorry, my friend, but I’m afraid I can’t go with you.” 

“What?! Why not? This was practically your idea.” Ominis scowls. 

Sebastian raises a brow, “Oh? And tell me how good of an idea will it be for the both of us to be seen together right now? They know I’m a twin, but I doubt they’ll believe this.” He gestures over Ominis. 

“Besides,” Sebastian slips off his robe and tosses it to Ominis, “you already have plans today.” 

“I do?” Ominis shrugs on the robe, adjusting the sleeves and rolling his shoulders.

“Yep! You’re supposed to be meeting up with a certain special someone right about now.” Sebastian grins.

“What? You made plans with her?” Ominis crosses his arms with a frown. 

Sebastian rolls his eyes, “By I, I mean, you, Ominis.” 

Ominis’ brows furrow, “You mean to say you didn’t tell her what we’re doing.” 

“No. It’s better this way - trust me.” Sebastian opens the gate and motions for Ominis to go through, “Now, go to the North Exit. And have fun today. I’ll be here waiting until you come back.” 

Ominis wants to protest, but Sebastian slams the gate closed in his face and starts walking away. Ominis sighs, making his way out of the Undercroft. 

He’s met with a near blinding light once he emerges from the clock. His eyes roam all over, taking in the sights of students passing by. He grips his wand and follows the familiar vibrations towards the North Exit, but his stride is slow. The sounds he’s heard all start to merge together. The paintings, the statues, the students, the smells of certain plants - all of it forms the full picture before him. He stops several times in front of vibrant paintings of faraway places, suits of armor shining in the light, and when he takes a bridge outside, he’s completely entranced. 

The sky above is a color he finds the most pleasing. Blue. That must be the color blue, he realizes. With gentle clouds rolling by, he’s starting to understand how people can gaze up at the heavens for hours on end. Students zip by on their brooms and he laughs at how wonderful the sight is. The sun peeks out over the towering castle. He can’t believe how small the sun is - he always imagined it taking up half the sky considering how much the light reaches. He has to look away when his eyes begin to burn and dark spots blot his vision. He continues his journey to the North Exit, but as he gets closer and closer the more his nerves start to show themselves. 

Seeing Sebastian for the first time was surprising, so he can only imagine how he’ll react to seeing her. His heart won’t slow down - it keeps getting faster and faster with every step closer he gets. His hands clench and unclench themselves and he’s practically grinding his teeth into dust. He’s tempted to turn around, hide in the Undercroft until the potion wears off, just to cease this torture. He’s at the stairway gripping the cool railing as he descends. Just before he reaches the last step, the vibrations of his wand pick up a familiar aura of someone. His stomach twists. He looks over to find a girl standing by the door. 

She cranes her head and smiles with a light wave, “Sebastian! What’re you doing here?” 

Ominis freezes in place - his mind barely able to shove his wand into his robe’s pockets. His heart hammers in his chest and he can’t breathe. She walks towards him with confusion lacing her eyes. Her eyes. He can’t stop staring at them. They’re a beautiful color he’s not familiar with. They almost seem to sparkle. And how she moves is enchanting. It’s like she’s floating right over to him. Her perfume reaches his nose and a smile stretches across his face at the familiarity. 

“Sebastian? Everything alright? Do I have something on my face?” She laughs, but her brows pinch together with slight worry at the thought. 

“What? Um, no. I-, You look great. I-I mean, you’re-, It’s fine.” Ominis curses himself and decides shutting his mouth would be best for now until he regains control of his rattled mind. 

She nods with her eyes slightly narrowed, “Well, um, have you seen Ominis?” 

“Ominis?” 

She laughs, “Yes, Ominis. You know, our friend? You said he’d be meeting me here to go to Hogsmeade. But, it looks like he’s running late.” 

Damn Sebastian for telling her that. He probably thinks he’s so clever, Ominis seethes to himself. 

“Well, actually…,” Ominis takes in her awaiting features, noting how much her face speaks for her - much like Sebastian’s. If only he could recognize what emotion she’s currently conveying with her pinched brows and slight frown. Perhaps Sebastian had a point about not telling her. He turns his gaze to the ground, “He said he wouldn’t be able to make it.” 

“Oh.” Her frown fully forms and she looks away, “D-Did he say why?” 

He curses himself at lying, but he can’t back down now, “He said he wasn’t feeling like himself.”

She nods, slow and disappointed, “I see. I should probably go check on him if he’s not feeling well.” 

“No!” Ominis exclaims, making her eyes widen. “I mean, we could go to Hogsmeade together instead.” 

She cranes her head, her eyes scanning over him as her mouth parts and closes several times. 

“Ominis said I should take you.” He blurts out. “You know, as to not disappoint. He feels terrible about all of this.” 

She spares him a small smile, “Ever the gentleman. Alright, if you don’t mind, I suppose it’d be nice to get away from the castle for the afternoon.” 

He can’t stop his grin from forming and he holds out his arm for her, “Shall we?” 

She raises a brow at him and he realizes all too late how odd this gesture is for ‘Sebastian’ to be making. He quickly lowers his arm and takes the lead with a hurried gait. She doesn’t follow immediately and it takes her a few long strides to catch back up. He opens the door and he’s taken back by the sight which greets him.

The lawn is a vivid pigment in contrast to the stone which cuts through it. The grass is lush and inviting. He kneels down and rests his hand on it. The grass ripples from the wind and he’s beguiled by how peaceful the motion is. He’s felt it a hundred times, but to see it actually happen as it moves in waves across the field makes his smile widen. He remembers Sebastian saying that grass is normally green. He takes in the color of green and how it paints the trees as well in a different shade - a more richer, green. 

“Everything alright?” 

He whips his head over to her, who watches him with a worrying gaze. He quickly stands back up.

“Fine. I apologize - I thought I saw something.” He walks ahead and she keeps up with him. 

Ominis tries to keep himself from staring too long at the fountain as they pass. The water trickles and rings in his ears in a pleasant way, and he wouldn’t mind staring at the rippling water, but he forces himself to keep walking. They continue along the path and when they reach the bridge, he practically slams his chest against the railing to look at the river below.

The water rushes over the different colored rocks, taking various debris of leaves and twigs down stream. He follows the river until he sees the lake shimmering in the distance. He’s aware of her standing by him and her eyes are trained at where he was staring. 

“Something caught your eye again?” She wonders.

“Yes, but it was nothing.” He dismisses. 

She nods with a slight grin, “Are you sure you haven’t caught what currently plagues Ominis? You’re being quite odd today.” 

“I’m fine.” Ominis smiles at her and she nods, but the way her gaze seems to be piercing right through him makes him feel exposed. 

Despite doing his best to keep his eyes straight ahead instead of looking around, he can’t help himself. He can’t believe how beautiful the world is. He looks above them at the tree limbs overhanging the path. The sunlight filters through the canopy and he’s in awe at how such a simple thing could be so magnificent. He could actually see the rays of sunlight - he even reaches out to grab it. Little flying creatures flutter past them towards the bright flowers growing beside the path and he can’t quell his smile as he watches. The sound of the trumpet flowers makes him pause. While the flowers themselves were dazzling, their obnoxious noise masks any notes of admiration within him. 

“You’re quiet today.” She says, bringing his attention to her. The sun illuminates her skin and hair, making her glow. He’s taken back by how captivating she is. His heart picks back up again and his stomach flutters and twists. He likes watching how her voice and lips work in tandem to speak. Then he realizes she’s said something else.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” He mumbles. 

She stops walking, making him do the same, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” 

“Yes. I’m fine, I assure you.” 

She opens her mouth, but promptly shuts it. She scans over him again then resumes walking. There’s an emotion written upon her face, but he’s not sure what it is. He’s finding great difficulty in discerning anything she says, too. A task he had no trouble with before, but now his mind can’t piece together her face with what’s being said.

The path winds up the hill and as they reach the top, his breath escapes him at the sight of Hogwarts in the distance. He all but sprints towards the overlook and he lets out a slight laugh at the castle. It was grand. Truly, and utterly, grand. The lake surrounds the school - which seemingly emerged with the jagged rocks which encompasses it. The towering trees seem almost insignificant compared to the striking, massive castle. 

“Quite a sight.” She says with a sigh while she joins him at the railing. “It never fails to give me goosebumps.” 

A flock of birds fly in front of Hogwarts and Ominis nods, “Magnificent.” 

She watches him and her lips try tugging into a smile, but she refuses to let it form. She pats the railing then turns towards the path.

“Come along. We’re nearly there.” 

Ominis takes in Hogwarts for a moment longer before following after her. 

He’s looking up at a tree with leaves that were not green, but a light, almost soft color. He’s perplexed by the idea of trees being more than just green when his eyes widen at the entrance to the town. Hogsmeade is bustling with students and patrons alike - some rushing to get to where they need to be while others stroll about with not a care in the world.

She turns to him with a slight grin, “How about checking out Gladrags first? I’m in need of a new pair of gloves.” 

He nods, his eyes darting everywhere. So much is happening, it’s enough to spin his head. Hogsmeade has always been a bit overwhelming to his senses - so many smells, sounds, and people. It makes it hard for him to know what’s happening, or where he was at times. Now, he sees the chaos before him is just as he imagined. Cauldrons bubble over crackling fires, lively music plays in the distance, several conversations all happening at once - it makes him grin with how mad this whole place is.

A hand takes his and he doesn’t think twice about grasping it back, letting it tug him along as he looks around. His mind catches up to him after a few steps and he looks down to find her leading him. He’s about to take his hand back and come up with some excuse to his bewilderment, but she glances towards him with a soft smile. This smile is far different from the others she’s had. It reaches all the way to her eyes. For some reason, it makes his chest warm and his breathing choppy - he can’t possibly remove his hand now. Not if it means extinguishing this feeling.

Her pace is far easier than it was on the way here. It gives him plenty of time to take in the sights of the different shops as they pass by. He recognizes the scents of some, like Honeydukes and The Three Broomsticks, and others surprise him by their appearance, like Spintwitches. Birds fly overhead - which he figures out are owls due to the parcels they carry - and watering cans zip past to the different rows of blooming flowers. He notices the hanging lights overhead and he wonders what nighttime must look like. 

Honeydukes’ display of assorted, bright candy is what brings him to a full stop. The candy is vibrant and comes in so many designs and shapes. 

“Do you want to go inside?” She questions.

He slowly nods and she giggles - leading him into the candy shop. 

He can’t contain his smile at the vast array of colors before him. There’s more than he could ever imagine and he feels somewhat annoyed by how little everyone has told him - giving him only basic colors and denying him the plethora of shades they come in. It makes what he saw at Hogwarts seem almost muted in tone by comparison. 

They browse the vast selection of succulent candies, chocolates, and cakes until he finds his favorite - Peppermint Toad. He picks up the box with a grin. He’s always enjoyed the sharp mint taste and how the toad hops around in his stomach after. He finds the whole experience amusing - much to Anne and Sebastian’s confusion. 

“Is there anything you would like?” He asks, glancing towards her. 

She laughs, “You want to get me something?” 

He nods, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” 

She bites her lip with a slight shake of her head, “I wouldn’t mind a Chocolate Frog then. Since you’re offering.” 

He pays for their sweets and they head back out - making their way towards Gladrags. He stares at the toad-shaped treat, noting how the pattern swirls with two different colors which possess a slight shine, before he pops it into his mouth. He frowns for a moment at the peppermint taste not being nearly as predominant as he remembers. While the toad hops in his stomach, she’s already eaten her chocolate and is examining her card.

“Merlin’s Beard. I got Almeric Sawbridge. Again.” She huffs.

He laughs at her sour expression. Her frown melts away into a warm grin and she looks away.

“I didn’t know you liked Peppermint Toads.” She comments. “Thought only Ominis did.” 

Ominis curses himself for not thinking about such an oversight.

“I… normally don’t. I only wanted to see why Ominis enjoys them so.” He says.

“And?” She smiles. “What’s your verdict?” 

“They’re adequate.”

She giggles with a slight shake of her head.

They arrive at Gladrags and the smell of pigment and fabric greet them as they walk in. She wanders over to a dress on display. She skims over the fabric with a slight smile then looks over to him.

“What do you think of this orange?” She wonders. 

The dark, rich color is almost regal in appearance. He touches the dress, following the seam down the bodice and enjoying the stiff material. 

“It looks beautiful.” He says. 

Her eyes are aflame and a wide smile comes over her. She bites her lip then turns away towards the scarves. She looks over them until she finds one. She holds it out to inspect it before turning back to him.

“Do you think Ominis would like this?” She asks. 

The monotonous tone of the scarf doesn’t evoke anything in him until he feels the article of clothing. It’s soft and brings a smile to his face. 

“I like it.” He comments then shakes his head. “So, I’m sure Ominis would as well.” 

She laughs, wrapping the scarf around his neck, “I’m glad you think so. Mind holding on to it for me then?” 

“I-, of course.” He can feel his cheeks heating up as she smooths down the scarf on his chest. When her eyes meet his, a gasp escapes him. He feels encapsulated in a warmth he’s never experienced before. All from one single look. He’s slightly thankful he can’t see her all the time for he’s sure he would never be able to speak a coherent sentence to her otherwise. 

 She pays for the scarf then grabs his hand again, leading him outside. She turns to him with a grin. 

“What would you like to do today?”

The question takes him by surprise and he can’t form a single thought to reply back to her. 

“Well, if you have nothing in mind, then I may have something we can do.” 

He smiles, “Lead the way.” 

She squeezes his hand and his heart soars at the twinkle in her eyes. She’s up to something, but he can’t find it in himself to care. She leads him through Hogsmeade until they’re at the park. He’s heard the dragon’s rumbles from the topiary before, but he finds great amusement in seeing it. It’s far more animated than he imagined. And the dragon itself, while somewhat cute, gives him a slight shiver at how powerful of a beast they are. The colorful, flowered trees rain down their petals and he reaches out to grab one, but it slips right through his fingers. She takes them to the overlook and he can see the train station below them. Over in the distance, Hogwarts stands noblely. 

“Well,” he faces her, “what did you have in mind?” 

She has a sly smile as she gazes out over the scenery before them. The wind ruffles through her hair and he’s momentarily dizzy due to his lack of breathing. He needs to cease his staring, lest he die from self-induced asphyxiation, yet he's drawn to her and he’s unable to break away.

“It’s a fine day for some sightseeing.” She reaches into her robes and pulls out a worn, leather duffle bag. She glances around to ensure they’re still alone before she opens the bag. 

A whooshing noise, followed by a light, emits from the bag. Before his eyes, a giant beast emerges, followed by another similar beast with different colorings. The creatures chirp and scratch their sharp claws on the stone ground. His eyes widen and he’s quick to step away from them and be closer to her.

“Hippogriffs.” She states. 

“What do we need them for?” He questions - not bothering to mask his apprehension. 

She grins as she goes to one of the Hippogriffs that’s similar in coloring as the scarf she gave him. 

“This is Highwing. She’s quite spectacular, isn’t she?” She holds out her hand and Highwing bumps her beak against her palm. “And the other one is her mate. Dashmane.” 

“Dashmane?” 

She giggles, “Yes, because he’s so dashing.” 

The darker shade of the beast’s plumage shimmers in the sunlight. Ominis appreciates how stunning both of the creatures are. 

“First things first, you must introduce yourself to him - by giving a low bow.” She informs him.

Ominis glances between her and Dashmane before he does as she instructed. He bows, his back low and his head even lower. His eyes dart up to the creature as Dashmane bows back to him. 

“Excellent.” She grins as she goes to Highwing’s side then mounts the awaiting beast. She looks over to him expectantly. 

“But, I-I don’t know how to fly.” He protests. 

“You’ll be fine O-,” She pauses with a slight cough, “Sebastian. You’ll pick it right up.”

He gulps as he follows her movements and manages to jump then swing his leg over Dashmane. Ominis situates himself on the beast’s back. He looks over to her and she has a pleased smile. She appears relaxed - like this is natural for her to be on the back of a Hippogriff.

“Ready?” She wonders. 

He examines Dashmane, “Where do I hold on to?” 

She shrugs, “Anywhere you can.” 

He frowns, settling on grabbing a hold of a few tufts of feathers near the nape of Dashmane’s neck. Dashmane lets out a startled squawk, rearing up and nearly sending Ominis sliding off. Dashmane gallops forward and his wings unfurl as he vaults over the stone banister. With a few mighty flaps of his wings, Dashmane is soaring over the train tracks and towards the train station. Ominis’ heart is pounding in his chest and his eyes are blurring through the tears streaming past his temple. He feels like he’s close to falling off Dashmane’s back at any moment - or at the slightest movement.

A screech gets his attention as she flies in front of him. She looks over at Ominis with a wide smile. She’s truly a natural flier with how at ease she appears to be. Her and Highwing take the lead. Dashmane lets out a chirp of his own as he tries to catch up. Bystanders below, waiting for the Hogwarts Express, all stare up as they pass overhead. She curves off to the left towards a waterfall before banking back towards the arched bridge, diving below. Ominis clutches onto Dashmane as he follows, his stomach flipping and his breathing erratic. 

She turns Highwing away from the lake and over the tree line - following the lake’s shore. She spares him glances to ensure he’s still following as she takes them over the treetops. The tips shudder and move as they fly by they’re so close. She dives below the trees, with Dashmane doing the same, and they zip along the path until she takes them high above once more. His head turns every which way as he takes in the sight of the valley from above. The rivers cut through the growth of trees similar to the veins on his hands. He spots clusters of homes tucked away in the forest. 

They head towards an old castle or keep of some kind, with a blooming tree of the same vibrant, soft color from Hogsmeade, where they fly over as they turn back towards Hogwarts. He stares at the ruined estate in wonder at what it could’ve been. He turns his attention back to her and he adjusts himself on Dashmane. He lowers himself and, as if reading his thoughts, Dashmane flaps his wings harder than before.

Dashmane finally catches up to her and Highwing. She looks over to them and she laughs.

“You’re getting the hang of it!” She shouts. “Now, try to keep up!” 

Ominis’ eyes widen as she careens towards the river below. He tightens his grip then does the same. They soar across a river until they’re back over the Black Lake. He can’t stop his heart from beating wildly, but he’s finding the rush to be too thrilling to suppress. He leans himself over enough to catch his rippled reflection in the lake. He frowns at Sebastian being the face looking back at him. He focuses back on their flight.

She’s taking them towards Hogwarts, flying higher and higher as they near. Ominis can place what some of these areas are - like the boathouse where he arrived his very first year. Feels like only yesterday when he made the climb up all those steps and entered the Great Hall for the first time.

She takes them over the ramp and heads straight for the courtyard leading to the Great Hall. Ominis can make out the students below with some of them pointing up at them as they near. Highwing angles upwards before taking a dive right past the courtyard. Ominis’ eyes widen as Dashmane follows the route and dives after them. His heart is in his throat and his stomach drops. They’re heading right into a stone bridge and his whole body tenses up. Dashmane closes up his wings and zips through the archway. 

Ominis lets out a breath as Dashmane follows along the river, keeping his wingspan small enough to navigate the narrow crevice. Highwing zips through then banks sharply to the left at the divide. He emerges from the river just as she turns back towards a waterfall underneath the castle. As they turn out to trail along the embankment of the lake, she leads them towards another cascading river towards the old wooden long bridge. 

She flies them underneath and leads them up the waterfall, flying higher and higher over a stone bridge, until she turns to the left towards a plateau. She lands at a clearing with various rocks set up in a large circle around the area. He manages to bring Dashmane into a gentle landing, prancing up to be next to Highwing. 

“See. I knew you could fly.” She grins at him, her hair windblown and her face radiating. 

“I think you were trying to get us killed.” He retorts with a smile. 

She laughs, dismounting from Highwing then him dismounting as well. She brings out the strange leather bag again and opens it. The bag sucks both Highwing and Dashmane inside. She puts the bag away then motions with her head towards the edge of the plateau. She takes a seat on the rock, her legs draping over the edge. He sits next to her and he takes in the sight before them. 

The sun is beginning to set behind them, casting a pale, but brilliant, glow upon Hogwarts. Birds fly around a tower, which he realizes is the Owlery. 

“I’m glad we got here in time.” She whispers, her eyes set towards the sunset. “I wanted your first sunset to be special.” 

“It already is-,” the words die in his mouth as he pieces together what she just said. 

“I-I mean-, what do you mean my first sunset?” He tries to play off. 

Her eyes roll over to him with an amused grin playing on her lips.

“Do not play coy with me now, Ominis. I know it’s you.” 

His eyes widen and he can feel a burning heat overtake his face. She giggles, placing a warm hand on his.

“While I was irritated you did not tell me of your ploy at first, I figured you must have your reasons to keep me in the dark on this.” 

His head falls with a sigh, “No. Not a good reason by any sort of means.” 

She laughs again, “I assume Sebastian must be involved.” 

“This was his idea, if that’s what you’re implying.” He looks over to her, “When did you figure it out?” 

She hums, “I had a feeling something was wrong when you looked at the grass like you’ve never seen it before. Then again, when we got to Hogsmeade, you were completely taken away. And Sebastian most certainly doesn’t look at me the way you did today. But, what finally confirmed my suspicions, was when I asked what you thought of that orange dress. Which was very clearly purple, by the by.” 

He closes his eyes with a soft groan, “You are far too clever of a witch at times.” He looks over to her with raised brows. “Does that mean that harrowing flight was to get back at me?” 

She bites her bottom lip, “A bit. But, to also show you as much as possible before that Polyjuice Potion wears off.” She sighs, “I wish you would’ve told me. I could’ve made today special for you.” 

“It has been special.” He takes her hand in his with a smile. 

The look upon her face sends him spiraling once more. He’s not sure what it is, but he knows how it makes him feel. She’s the first to look away and she’s back to gazing at the sunset.

“You don’t want to miss this.” She says in a quiet voice. 

He looks off towards where the sun is setting behind the rolling mountains. The hills in the distance are draped in a fog and the colors begin to bloom across the landscape. 

“What colors are these?” He wonders. 

“Well, do you see there?” She points towards a large patch of a bright pigment which echoes across the sky. “That’s actually orange.” 

“Orange.” He laughs. “I see my mistake now.” 

She smiles as she points to another section of a softer color similar to some of the vibrant trees he saw, “That there, is pink.” 

His lips stretch into a smile, “Pink. I think I do like pink.” 

“And over there,” she points toward a darker color, far richer than the rest, “is purple. And there, where the sun is, is yellow, or actually, more accurately, gold.” 

He sucks in a deep breath, taking in this new knowledge. He wants to engrain this picture before him into his mind. The clouds hold a vast array of pigments like a field of flowers. And he can see so far - miles upon miles with no end in sight. It all evokes a well of emotion within him. And when he looks down at her, the sunset reflecting upon her soft features and in her eyes, he all but breaks. 

“I wish I could see this everyday.” His voice wavers. 

She looks over to him - her lips parted in concern and her smile fading. She wants to say something, the anguish is clear. His hand cups her cheek and her eyes close at the contact. 

“I don’t mean to cause you distress, love. I only mean to say - I envy Sebastian, and everyone else, that’s able to gaze upon you. I would love to do nothing more than to sing you ballads about your beauty.” He strokes her cheek, her eyes remaining close as she places her hand over his to press him closer to her face. 

“You don’t need to serenade me, Ominis.”

“I know.” He smiles. “Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to.” 

His other hand joins in and he feels over her face - an action he has done several times. But, to see what he’s felt, elates him. It’s almost terrifying how strong the notion is. Her eyes remain close as he traces over her cheeks and down her nose then all the way to her jawline and lips. 

“I hope I’m what you were expecting.” She whispers, her brows knitting together as she slowly opens her eyes.

He smiles as he tucks away the wild hairs framing her face, “More than I could’ve ever imagined.”

The light begins to fade away and they’re soon swathed in a darkness he’s all too familiar with. He’s amazed he’s still able to somewhat see. Hogwarts illuminates in a soft glow and a sense of coziness strikes him. She leans closer to him, resting her hand on his chest.

“Lay with me.” She whispers while she pushes him back towards the ground. 

He lets her push him, falling back onto the cold stone beneath them. He watches her as she tucks herself next to him and she faces up towards the sky. Her eyes shift towards him and she laughs.

“Look up.”

She stares at him as he obeys her command. The sky is no longer a bright blue, but a darker, far richer shade. But what catches his eyes are the shimmering dots which twinkle in various prismatic colors. A gasp leaves him and she giggles.

“Those are the stars. And over there is the moon.” She points in front of them and he follows her finger towards the most breathtaking thing. The moon, once described to him as silver, seems almost unreal as it hovers in the night sky. Its light is cold compared to the sun and he finds himself in awe at its majesty.

“It’s all so beautiful.” He whispers while he hugs her closer to him.

Something shifts within him. He lets out a gasp then looks at his hand. His fingers and knuckles are shifting before his very eyes. 

“No. No, not yet.” He curses. 

She’s about to question what’s wrong when her eyes widen, “Ominis. Your hair. It’s… the potion.” 

He sits up - her doing the same- and he looks around. He doesn’t want this to end, but already the darkness is beginning to cloud his vision. He looks to her, pulling her close to him. He cups both sides of her cheeks and she holds him closer. 

She smiles as she says, “I love you, Ominis.” 

Seeing her lips move, the genuineness in her expression, and the softness in her gaze sends him careening. He stares at her, taking in every little piece of her, while the darkness consumes more and more. 

Then, she’s gone. 

He lets out a shaky breath and a coldness seeps into him. He’s still - unable to move. 

When she presses her forehead to his, he can no longer contain himself. Tears stream down his cheeks and she’s quick to embrace him, holding his head into the crook of her neck as he sobs. She strokes down his back while her other hand soothes his hair. There’s a whirlwind of emotion raging through him and he doesn’t know how to calm himself down. He’s thankful she’s not chastising him for acting this way - so pathetic and broken. Her gentle movements ground him from fully sinking into the numbing coldness which threatens to drag him deeper into an endless abyss. 

She whispers soft words, but he’s so lost he doesn’t understand what she’s saying. All he can notice is how warm she is and how tightly she holds him. Never once letting him go.

The chaos slowly quells and he’s exhausted himself. 

“I’m sorry.” His voice is hoarse and quiet. “I-I should have better control over myself. I-I didn’t anticipate how-, how much I-,” 

“It’s okay, Ominis.” She kisses his temple. “It’s okay.” 

She kisses his tear-stained cheek then the corner of his lips. He’s practically ravenous as he hooks his fingers into her hair to guide her into a searing kiss. A whimper escapes him at the rawness of her lips against his. When she parts, he opens his eyes in hopes he would catch just a faint glimpse of her. 

But no… all he has left is the memory of today. The vibrancy of the world and the breathtaking beauty she possesses. 

He sighs, “There’s a part of me that wishes I could do this everyday.” He pauses, brushing the tip of his nose against hers and tangling his fingers further into her hair. “But, another part is glad to be back in my own skin.”

She lets out a soft hum of agreement, “I very much like you being back. It was quite odd having to hold Sebastian’s hand today.” 

He laughs, “I can imagine.” 

“I do love you, Ominis. All parts of you.” She says. 

His throat tightens, but he’s done shedding tears. He brings her into a much softer kiss this time then he whispers, “I love you, too.” 

The words feel lacking. They aren’t enough to convey the strong feelings he has for her. But, how else could he describe the way she makes him feel. How else could he even come close to explaining that she is so very precious and dear to him. So, he settles with what he can for now.

“We should head back. We’ll have to sneak into the kitchens if we’re to get any sort of dinner tonight.” 

“We should get Sebastian as well. I’m sure he’s dying to leave the confines of the Undercroft by now. Although, maybe it’s good for him to be locked away for a while.” Ominis muses with a slight smirk.

She giggles, “Certainly keeps him out of trouble.” 

They head back to the castle with her practically glued to his side as she explains all the questions he has about the things he saw today. His fingers occasionally twisting the soft fabric of the scarf draped across his neck. He smiles as he knows exactly what color it is.

==================================

It’s not until the next day when the rumors around the school finally reach Sebastian that he corners Ominis just before Charms class. 

“What’s this about ‘me’ flying a bloody Hippogriff over the school yesterday?” 

Ominis can only smirk in response. 

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

AN: Bruh i just can't help myself but add some flying INTO EVERYTHING!! I HAVE A PROBLEM! Like, when I saw the scene of Dany and Jon in GoT doing their dragon flight when i was searching for music, i just knew i had to do it here. LOL i even went flying around the world in game trying to find the best route as well.

You can find the plateau where this takes place below by the Merlin Trail:

and here's my horrible, low quality, sunset pic via the pic i took of my tv from my phone lollll.

Anyways, I really wanted to capture the thought of Ominis not having a clue what the heck colors are and most def not being able to understand certain more obscure facial expressions (like suspicion). And I really liked the idea of leaving the Fifth Year in the dark about the Polyjuice Potion... idk why. i just thought it was fun LOL.

Hopefully it wasn't too weird about her holding his hand as 'Sebastian' but I was going for the 'yeah she's figured out it's ominis' type vibe. idk hopefully that's conveyed

Thanks again for reading! Feedback always appreciated <3

[bitethedevil]

Living with The Devil You Know (Raphael x Tav): Chapter 1

Chapter: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen

Read this fic on AO3 (Link)

Fic Summary: Tav broke their agreement by handing the Crown of Karsus to Mystra instead of Raphael. Not only that, but she also robbed his house and killed his incubus. Raphael is patient and he is determined to get his revenge.

…Tav isn't too bothered. She will figure something out eventually. Until then she just has to find a way to live peacefully with a devil.

Chapter Summary: Tav gets kidnapped and is surprisingly calm about her new predicament. She spends her first night in the devil’s bed. Raphael is a pain in the ass to share a bed with.

(AN: A pretty self-indulgent fic that I am working on. It is a lot more light-hearted than what I have previously written. The plot also gives me an opportunity to explore a more private and less performative Raphael. There will be more chapters.)

Warning: NSFW

It was a couple of weeks after the defeat of the elderbrain. Tav had been out drinking with a few of her companions. She had gotten very drunk and at some point during the evening she had gotten lost from the rest.

A handsome young tiefling man had approached her and bought her drinks. He had red skin, yellow glowing eyes, and a disarming smile.

They talked for a couple of hours. He claimed to be a wizard like her. She should have known something was up when he seemed to be very unknowledgeable about even simple spells, but what could she say? The man was charming, and the alcohol made it hard for her to care about him potentially lying just to get her into bed.

When they got to his place, she was half-way out of her clothes when something hit her head.

Everything went black.  

When she woke up, she heard the faint sound of something...jingling? She felt a sharp poke to her ribs. She grumbled quietly, still not entirely awake. She received another poke to her ribs. She whined and mumbled in response. Then there was a full force kick that squeezed the air out of her and made her turn to her side.

She held onto the boot that had kicked her and opened her eyes. Black boots that went into a tip at the toes. She knew where she had seen those silly jingly boots before. She looked up. Familiar orange eyes looked down on her. He was in his cambion form.

“Oh shit,” she mumbled.

“Indeed,” Raphael said in a dangerously low tone.

Tav had signed his contract back then and used the Orphic Hammer to free Orpheus. She did intend to give the Crown of Karsus to Raphael, but her companions made her change her mind. The Crown of Karsus ended up in Mystra’s hands instead, in order to cure Gale of his orb.

“Thank you for bringing her here, Cassius,” Raphael said to someone else while his eyes were still locked on her. “Now leave us.”

Tav looked behind Raphael to see the young tiefling man that she had gone home with. So, he was a warlock… It suddenly made all the sense in the world why he did not know his ass from his elbow when it came to wizardry. The warlock smiled at her as he left them. Tav’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Ugh…” she groaned and looked up at Raphael. “He’s one of yours? You couldn’t have sent Korrilla or something?”

“You know Korrilla’s face, little mouse,” Raphael sighed. “You may not be the brightest person I have ever crossed, but I don’t expect you to be so dull that you would walk into my trap willingly…Then again, nothing would surprise me with you.”

Trap? Why couldn’t he just whisk her away like he did that first time they met if he wanted her there? Tav’s brow furrowed as she tried to understand. She lifted her head to look down her body. She wasn’t wearing a shirt. That was going to have to be a concern for a later time, because she noticed that she was wearing something around her wrists. They were tight metal cuffs with infernal letters inscribed in them.

Her brain was not her friend between the high levels of alcohol still in her blood and the fact that she had been hit on her head with a blunt object. She held the cuffs up to her face and studied them with all the concentration she could muster. She had seen something like these cuffs before…

“Help me out here…” she said and looked up at Raphael.

“They are constructs like those that held Prince Orpheus,” Raphael explained. “I’m aware that your mental capabilities leave something to be desired at the moment, so I will gladly explain it to you in simple terms: You won’t leave this house with those on, and you won’t get them off without the Orphic Hammer.”

“Is that what all this is about?” she sighed. “You could have just asked for it back. The damned thing has just been collecting dust at my house anyway.”

“No, Tav,” Raphael said in a darker tone. “This is about punishment. We had a deal, and you broke it. You snooped through my house, took things that did not belong to you, killed my incubus…I allowed it because I thought you still had the sense to go through with what we agreed upon.”

She winced. It had been a stupid decision to go to his house and one that did not even pay off. When Gale had been offered Mystra’s help, they went to the House of Hope to gauge their options. Everything seemed so tightly secured and locked down that they decided not to risk it in the end.

“Listen, I’m sorry about Haarlep…” she said.

“Don’t be,” Raphael replied smoothly. “I have half a mind to make you his replacement until your dear little friends bring me my hammer back…Then, I will make you watch as your friends die a cruel and slow death. After, I will take what is now rightfully mine: your soul.”

Well…fuck.

This wasn’t good. Her friends would without a doubt come to her rescue if Raphael told them that she was held captive in his home. She needed to keep them away and bide her time until she could figure out a solution.

“Say that they don’t come,” She said. “What then?”

“They will,” Raphael said. “You will be treated well until then since I need you alive and in one piece to lure them here. You will be granted free roam of the house, three meals a day, and a soft bed to sleep in. Consider yourself prized livestock that gets pampered in its final days before being sent to slaughter. Not that you deserve it…”

She took a deep breath. She had to somehow contact her friends and ask them to stay away. Then, she would have to find a way out of those damned cuffs so she could return home. How in the Hells she would manage to do that without the Orphic Hammer, she did not know, but it was not an option to gamble with her friends’ lives in order to bring it to her.

Tav had always found a way to be calm and relaxed, even in the worst of situations. She already had half a plan in her mind. All she needed was a moment of privacy to use a sending spell to alert her friends.

Raphael extended a hand to her, to help her up and off the floor. She took it and was pulled to her feet. She winced and held a hand to her head once the blood rushed to her injury from the blunt object hitting her.

“Come,” Raphael said and led her through the house.

They stepped through the barrier to the boudoir.

“I trust that you have already familiarized yourself with this room during your burglary, so I believe we can skip the tour,” Raphael said with no short amount of bitterness and then gestured to a wardrobe. “You will find clothes and essentials in there.”

Raphael turned around to face her. He looked her up and down. His gaze lingered at her bra and cleavage for just a second too long. Tav crossed her arms to cover herself.

“Bathe, rest, make yourself at home,” Raphael said with a smug smile.

Tav looked around the room and then at Raphael.

“Where will I sleep?” she asked.

Raphael’s smile widened and he gestured to his bed. Tav’s brow furrowed as her eyes went from him to the bed.

“Are you serious?” she asked.

“Deadly,” Raphael said calmly. “You killed my bed warmer. I believe it’s only fair that you take their place…Of course, I would never force you to do anything. If this little arrangement doesn’t suit you, I can have a cell in the dungeons cleared out for you. Its last visitor has been decomposing in there for a while now…”

“Alright, alright,” Tav said in defeat. “Fine. I get it…I won’t complain.”

“I thought not,” Raphael said smoothly. “I have business to attend to before retiring. Until then, Korrilla will be watching you.”

Tav sighed. She had hoped for a moment of alone time, but Raphael was not stupid. He was probably fully counting on her trying something, so he made sure to keep a close eye on her.

Korrilla entered the boudoir shortly after.

“Evening, boss,” Korrilla said with a smile, greeting Raphael before turning to Tav. “Tav.”

Tav smiled and waved casually at her. She had never minded Korrilla. After all, Tav did not know the circumstances of her pact, and she did not feel like judging her solely because her boss was a pain in the ass.

“Remember,” Raphael said addressing Korrilla. “Do not let her out of your sight.”

Korrilla nodded and Raphael gave Tav one last glance before leaving the boudoir.

Tav and Korrilla stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other. Tav was trying to figure out how she could divert Korrilla’s attention away from her.

“I think I’m going to take a bath,” Tav said casually and moved towards the restoration pool.

“Good idea,” Korrilla said, already following her. “I have to say, you look a mess. Cassius really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Surely, he could have used a spell to knock me out instead. Not too bright, is he?” Tav said and started slowly taking off her clothes, waiting for Korrilla to give her a moment of privacy. “He’s new, I presume?”

Korrilla seated herself on the other side of the pool, so she had a clear view of Tav.

“Correct,” Korrilla answered.

“'Correct' to which statement?” Tav asked with chuckle. “That he is not too bright, or that he is new?”

“He is new,” Korrilla said with a smile that signaled to Tav that she did not disagree with the other statement either.

Tav pulled off her pants, leaving her in her underwear. Korrilla was still watching her.

“Are you seriously going to keep staring at me while I bathe?” Tav asked.

“Oh, don’t be shy,” Korrilla said and gestured for her to continue taking off her clothes. “I promise you that no matter what, I have seen far worse within this room.”

Tav sighed quietly. She reluctantly took off the rest of her clothes and slipped into the warm water of the pool. She felt relief as the water instantly healed her head-injury and took the edge off her hangover. Tav leaned her head back on the pool’s edge and closed her eyes for a moment.

After a long bath, Tav dried herself off and wrapped herself in a towel. She walked to the wardrobe with Korrilla at her heels. She opened it and sifted through the clothes.

There was a bit of everything: dresses, shirts, pants…Tav looked at some of the underwear. She pulled out a strappy leather bra with matching panties and showed them to Korrilla.

“Is he serious?” Tav asked with a deadpan expression.

“Leftovers from Haarlep, if I should guess,” Korrilla said.

Made sense. Tav looked after any type of nightclothes. Most of it was very revealing, but she managed to find a long silk night-gown. It was still suggestive, but it was her best option out of the bunch. The neckline was quite revealing, but at least it covered more of her body than the other negligees she found.

“This will have to do,” Tav sighed and put it on.

Tav crawled into bed after. It might have been the most comfortable bed she had ever laid in. The mattress was neither too soft nor too firm, and the sheets were silk. She felt sleepy moments after she had laid down. Korrilla was watching her from a chair.

“You’re not sleepy?” Tav asked and looked at her. Was there even a small chance that Korrilla would fall asleep so that Tav had the chance to send message to her friends, she would fight her sleepiness and stay awake.

“I’m not going to cuddle with you, if that is what you are asking,” Korrilla answered, looking wide awake. “I don’t sleep on the job.”

“Oh, you flirt. Not what I meant. I was just asking,” Tav mumbled with a sigh. Her sleepiness won against her determination. She gave up on her hope to reach her friends that night and decided to try the day after as she drifted to sleep.

She stirred from her sleep when she heard Korrilla leave, and Raphael enter. She yawned quietly. She made sure her night-gown was adjusted so it covered as much as possible before closing her eyes again. She felt a dip in the mattress as Raphael laid down behind her.

She gave a surprised yelp as Raphael grabbed around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Her back was up against his chest, his arm held around her tightly, and he settled his chin on the top of her head. He placed his leg over hers, effectively making sure that she could not move during the night.

This was without a doubt the closest she had ever been to Raphael. His skin was unnaturally warm, like that of a person with a high fever. She knew that protesting would not get her anywhere, because there most likely was a reason as to why he held her like that: to make sure that she would not try anything during the night.

She tried making herself comfortable despite the restrictions to her movements. Raphael’s grip tightened slightly in response.

“Lie still,” he grumbled.

Tav felt the deep rumble of his voice through his chest, and she would have been lying if she said that it did not do things to her.

“You’re a really uncomfortable big spoon, do you know that?” she complained and squirmed again. “I’m just trying to make myself comfortable.”

She felt something through the fabric of her nightgown as she adjusted her position in his arms. It made her freeze for a moment.

“Are you naked?” she asked in disbelief.

“Mm,” he affirmed tiredly. “Sleep, mouse.”

“I can’t persuade you to put on some clothes?”

“You are very demanding for a woman in your position,” Raphael said. “No. I will sleep in my own bed as I please.”

She sighed and adjusted herself one last time before closing her eyes.

Sleeping in the arms of a devil was pure hell for a multitude of reasons. Tav had never sweated so much in her life.

With difficulty, Tav rolled over to her other side since her back was literally soaked with sweat. Raphael’s grip was so tight around her that she was almost forced to lean her head against his chest as she faced him. She refused to do so and leaned her head back and away from him. The awkward position made her snore softly in her sleep. She was rudely woken during the night by his tail hitting her thigh, as a hint for her to stop snoring.

She was rudely woken yet again, when he suddenly snaked his arm under her to grab her and move her with him like a ragdoll as he rolled over to his other side.

In the early morning, Tav opened her eyes as she felt something press up against her behind. She could hear on his breathing that he was still at least somewhat asleep.

He was rock-hard and his, what felt like, impressive size was resting against her ass.

He rolled his hips against her and groaned softly.

The arm that had been holding her tightly, moved down to her hip to push her back against him. Another soft groan.

Tav’s eyes widened, and she was suddenly very awake.

She was careful not to move, but she did feel a tinge of growing arousal despite herself.

He pushed her back against him once again and groaned slightly louder. It was followed by a sharp inhale and a stir, as he woke up entirely.

A few moments later he got up and off the bed.

Tav squeezed her eyes shut. They had both knew what just happened. Should she say something? Should she pretend that she was asleep the entire time? Pretend she was dead? The last option was honestly tempting but she decided to try her luck with option two.

She listened to his movements. After a short while, it got quiet. She waited a few moments to be sure that he had left, before opening her eyes.

This could be her opportunity to reach her friends.

She sat up quickly and looked around the boudoir. Her eyes fell on the young tiefling warlock who must have entered without her hearing a thing. He was sitting in the chair that Korrilla had sat in the day before.

“Morning,” Cassius said with a smile.

Tav groaned in frustration and slid back into bed.

[househrt]

Seeing as you have an amazing repertoire of house md fanfictions in your collection, would you happen to have any good ones where House is vulnerable or submissive? Asking for a friend.

YES here's a selection (I didn't know if you meant vulnerable or submissive in a sex way or a not-sex way so I gave you both, though turns out most of my fav vulnerable!House fics are hurt/comfort so that's the bigger list) below the cut bc this post is long

submissive/vulnerable in a Not Sex way:

Unintentional touches from Wilson made House realize just how touch-starved he was, but he’d be damned if he ever showed it. Wilson catches on and cares for House when he starts to spiral.

"You don't take personal da -" Wilson begins, scoffing, and then does the math. "Oh, shit. House." House spends the first anniversary of his father's death on Wilson’s couch.

House has a particularly bad pain day and hasn’t been able to move for over twelve hours. But just as he thought, his day would go like this, with cramps tormenting his leg and him laying helplessly in bed in his own pee and puke, Wilson suddenly appears at his apartment and helps him to get through. Because even if Wilson doesn’t have to take care of House, he wants to. And sometimes a comforting hug can be more effective than a large dose of morphine…

House finally registered two hands holding his face so softly it was like they were afraid he’d break. He wasn’t just staring at the bathroom tiles anymore, either. Now there was a body in front of him; rumpled shirt, slacks, dress shoes. A familiar tie he remembered hating. He hadn’t even heard the front door open. He held himself back from yelling. It’s not as if he didn’t want Wilson here. Christ, House thinks he’s the only person besides maybe Cuddy who he’d tolerate at that moment. But seeing him ached. — aka what if it was Wilson who showed up at the end of 6x22? and also what if there was even more pining and near missed kisses?

After the events of One Day One Room, House makes a drunken confession. Wilson turns to Chase for advice.

“What?” Wilson muttered with as much annoyance and exasperation as House expected at that hour. Briefly, he wished he could twirl around his cane to give his hands something to do. Too bad it was a whole two parking spaces away from him. “Come get me.” Wilson sighed deeply. “Where are you? It better be a ditch or something. Are you drunk right now? You sound sober enough to drive yourself home.” “I’m in the hospital parking lot.” A long moment of silence passed. Well, it would have been silent, but House heard Wilson shuffling around. Hopefully getting his ass out of bed and getting back to work. “House, I’m tired.” Or: Sometimes, accidents happen.

What happens after House tells Cuddy he's not okay.

A brain-eating amoeba has swept the halls of Princeton-Plainesboro, moving impossibly fast and striking seemingly at random. As House investigates, he realizes that this disease does not have a natural cause. There are two geniuses living in Princeton: one a cranky misanthrope with dubious morals in love with his best friend, and the other a mad genius who has developed an obsession with Gregory House. Wilson and House leap into action to find a cure, but the mysterious James always seems one step ahead... and he will stop at nothing to catch House's eye.

Unrelenting by l57371 [I hit the limit of links lol]

The pain is too much, Wilson tries to help.

submissive/vulnerable in a Sex way:

Maybe the reason Wilson lets House spend all his money is because he likes it.

^ this is tagged "Accidental (sugar) Baby Acquisition" and that's all you need to know

Gregory House had the bad luck to present as omega in a country where omegas had little rights. After his first heat ended, he was chemically sterilized. This is over thirty years later.

[siriustaylorsversion]

stop. you're losing me.

Regulus Black x reader

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't."

warnings- angst, you're losing me lyrics (they can break your heart)

author's note:- i wrote this listening to you're losing me and cried, so.. enjoy <3

You say, "I don't understand", and I say, "I know you don't" We thought a cure would come through in time, now I fear it won't Remember lookin' at this room, we loved it 'cause of the light Now, I just sit in the dark and wonder if it's time

In the dimly lit attic of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, you spent hours rummaging through a dusty old trunk, your fingers delicately tracing over aged parchment and forgotten relics.

The air was thick with the scent of history and neglect, but amidst the debris, you found a yellowed envelope, sealed with a wax stamp bearing the Black family crest. Intrigued, you carefully broke the seal and unfolded the letter within.

As you read the contents, your heart sank with each word. It was a letter from Regulus' parents, commanding their son to prove his loyalty to the family by entering into an arranged marriage. The reason was starkly clear: Regulus's elder brother, Sirius, had been disowned for defying the family's pure-blood ideology.

Consumed by a mix of anger, sorrow, and a burgeoning sense of determination, you sought out Regulus in the darkened corridors of the ancestral home. You found him standing by a window, the moon casting haunting shadows across his troubled face.

"Regulus," you began, your voice trembling with emotion, "is this true? Are you really going to marry someone you don't love, just to fulfill your family's twisted expectations?"

Regulus turned to face you, "Where did you find that?" his expression pained yet resigned. "You shouldn't be involved in this."

"You're getting married?" you ask. "I'm not sure right now." He replies. "You're not sure? You're not sure about leaving me?"

"I can't argue about this with you, how can I make this decision?"

"Shouldn't be involved in your marriage? Why can't it be me, Regulus?" you implored, tears brimming in your eyes. "Why can't I be the one to stand by your side?"

Every mornin', I glared at you with storms in my eyes How can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dyin'? I sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick My face was gray, but you wouldn't admit that we were sick

Regulus hesitated, his eyes betraying a conflict within. "You... There's already someone chosen for me. And besides, this marriage is important for the war against Voldemort. It's not about love, it's about survival."

Your heart shattered at his words, the realization crashing over you like a tidal wave. With a trembling voice, you whispered, "I can't do this, Regulus. I can't watch you marry someone else while I stand by and pretend it doesn't hurt."

He reached out to you, a plea in his eyes. "Please don't go. I'm sorry, truly I am. But there are things at play here that you can't understand."

"I wouldn't marry me either." You say, finally breaking his heart into a thousand pieces, just like he did to you.

But you couldn't bear to listen any longer. With a heavy heart, you turned and fled, leaving Regulus standing alone in the darkness.

How long could we be a sad song 'Til we were too far gone to bring back to life? I gave you all my best me's, my endless empathy And all I did was bleed as I tried to be the bravest soldier Fighting in only your army Frontlines, don't you ignore me

In the days that followed, you found yourself wrestling with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, there was the undeniable pain of witnessing the man you cared for sacrificing his happiness for the sake of duty. Conversely, you were going through the worst heartbreak of your life. You were the only one there who heard him out and stayed with him when he got the dark mark and now all you wanted to do was go up to him and shake him until he wakes up and realises what he's doing.

And so, with a heavy heart and a soul weighed down by the burden of unspoken truths, you made the painful decision to walk away. It was a choice born not out of weakness, but out of a deep-seated belief that some sacrifices were too great to bear, and some battles too futile to fight.

"Do something, babe, say something" (say something) "Lose something, babe, risk something" (you're losin' me) "Choose something, babe, I got nothing (got nothing) To believe Unless you're choosin' me"

As you watched from a distance, the days slipped by in a haze of regret and longing. You saw Regulus's forced smiles and hollow laughter, the facade of duty and honour masking the turmoil within. And with each passing day, a part of you mourned the loss of what could have been, the love that might have blossomed if only given the chance to take root and grow.

I can't find a pulse My heart won't start anymore.

finally wrote after a long time, let me know how it is <33

[lowkeyrobin]

can i pls have brenda(tmr) x fem reader pls🙏🙏 it could be anything i just want some brenda content😭😭

YES YWS YES YES YES OH MY FYCKING GOD YES PLEASE TELL ME J REACHED THE MAZE RUNNER FANDOM OMG ; also I only do gn readers but I don't think I mentioned any pronouns and kept it all relatively up to interpretation so 🙏 ; thank you so much for requesting, hope you enjoy!!!

BRENDA ; the last city

summary ; a little snippet of taking down WCKD with your friends

warnings ; language, stupid dad-milk joke, blood, knives, guns, & police brutality

word count ; 1.2k

masterlist

Storming WCKD was a tricky battle, consisting of hours of planning and waiting for the right time. If anything went wrong and you didn't act fast enough, you could've all been killed. Hell, even getting into the city was a trouble in itself, considering the Cranks in the tunnel nearly killed you all haven't Brenda and Jorge have followed you, Newt, Thomas, and Fry all the way there.

The mission was to save Minho, and all the kids they were torturing and killing in their hands for a cure that didn't exist. The sub-mission was also to destroy WCKD for good, kill Janson and Paige, and probably Teresa, too, considering she'd betrayed you all at the Right Arm and helped imprison your friends. You still felt bad for her. She just wanted to help, but she went the wrong way with doing so, she didn't really deserve to die like her peers.

You only had one sense of reassurance if you didn't get to return home and go to the Safe Haven, that Aris, Harriet, Sonya, and many other kids used and abused by WCKD, were currently safe. Thomas would make sure he and the others and the kids you retrieved would be okay as well. You just weren't sure about yourself being okay.

You stand down at the bus that you and Brenda had broken into, waiting for the guys to bring down a class sized amount of children to the lowest level of the parking garage. The plan was simple, get out into the city, get Fry's attention with a flare when in position, use the crane, and get back over the wall with the kids in one piece, the bus, however, that wasn't exactly known yet. No one was trying to test run dropping a bus from a hundred or so feet in the air with a crane, but Jorge reassured you'd be fine and to just hang on tight.

You finally see the mass of children headed your way, led by Gally, which Brenda directs into the bus while you get it started. Once Brenda sits down in the driver's seat, you standing next to her, she yells for everyone to duck, seeing two WCKD guards armed with guns headed your way, probably looking for you. You crouch down onto the floor as she slides down in the seat, hiding behind the wheel and dash.

She turns down to you, whispering. "Hang on"

You quickly grab onto the handle bar next to the stairs, and look back at the kids as she nods.

You whisper shout to them, sternness in your voice. "Hold on!"

Brenda slams on the gas, powering the bus towards the two armed men as she sits up. You hear two thumps against the metal vehicle and cringe a bit, feeling slightly bad for the guys she probably just killed.

She speeds out of the parking garage and onto the street, a few police cars now chasing the bus. You stand on your knees, looking up past the dash in front of you, acting as her eyes behind as she drives recklessly through the city. Tires screech and the kids yelp and gasp as Brenda drives like a psycho, like she was still driving a side by side back in the scorch.

You're eventually stopped and cornered, luckily in position. The two of you are ordered to step out with your hands up, and you comply, making sure to tell the kids, no older than twelve or thirteen, to stay put.

"Hands in the air! Drop your weapons"

You comply, dropping whatever knives and guns you had, except the flare gun, in Brenda's possession.

"I said drop your weapons!" One of the officers points their bulky gun at you, making you jump out of your skin. You had your fair share of being threatened with weapons, but you actually dropped your shit, there was no reason for this.

"I did?" You furrow your brows and look to Brenda, confused.

The next few moments are a blur, but you end up on the ground, pinned down by one of the men, a gun jammed into your back. You felt your skull bounce off the concrete beneath you, and your hands roughly being pulled behind your back. You try to fight back, maybe not the best of ideas, but this man was on top of you for no reason, and you felt dizzy and weak, unknowing to how hard you possibly hit your head.

Brenda yells before quickly kicking the officer in the face, serving him an uppercut with her boot. She pulls the flare gun out of the inside pocket in her jacket, and shoots the red light up into the dark sky, alerting Frypan.

You, in an act of panic, shoot back at the officers as Brenda hooks the grapple hook to the back bumper of the bus. She pulls you in with her, closing the doors, instructing the kids to duck down in case they shot at the windows. Then, the flight to Heaven began.

A very chaotic and painful ride to Heaven, and back down, that is.

Your head was bleeding a bit from the impact with the concrete, and your hands were clammy and you saw black dots all around. But, you'd endured worse, you'd live, it wasn't a major problem.

"Hold on tight!' Brenda shouts as the bus begins to soar through the air, sitting at a zero degree angle.

You sit in the front seat behind Brenda, feet tightly pushing against the seat, two kids around the age of ten hiding in your arms.

"Brenda, if we die, I'm going after Thomas. You take Jorge because he's your dad, not mine!" You shout, breathing heavily as you look out the window, the height off the ground scaring you worse than it was scaring the kids.

You hear a little chuckle escape her lips, though she comes in touch with Fry over the walkies, talking frantically considering the whole plan situation. This couldn't go any quicker, could it? It felt like you were sitting midair for tens of thousands of years, the milliseconds dragged on like hours.

You hear the bumper begin to creak and snap, signifying the weight couldn't be held up much longer.

"Brenda!" You yelp, feeling the slight push of the bus falling out of grip of the hook.

"Just hang on tight!" She shouts back, bracing for impact as the bus reaches outside the city's walls.

You pull the two kids under your arms a little closer, squeezing your eyes shut.

You feel the back bumper snap one last time, releasing the bus from the air, gravity pulling the 20-ton automobile back to the ground. The kids scream and yell out of fear as the bus plummets to the hard ground below, nose first.

You hear the front windshield crack and break, the engine crushing as well. The bus completely shuts down, then falls back with a bounce, standing on four wheels again. You feel yourself shaking a bit, eyes still shut tight as Brenda stands up.

You open your eyes carefully, releasing the two kids from your death-grip. You felt like you could puke at any moment, either between the stress of the bus flying through air or the concussion you probably just got two minutes ago.

Brenda leads the kids out of the bus, waiting for you as you hold the back of your head, feeling your brain pulse in your ears as blood smears onto your fingertips.

You look up at her as she looks down at you, still seated, with concern.

"I'm gonna be totally honest, that was pretty cool" You speak with a crooked smile.

She rolls her eyes with a light smile, stretching out a hand for you to grab. "Come on, dork, don't act like I didn't hear you screaming behind me"

You take her hand with a sly smile, following her out the bus.

"We're going to confront Dad about the milk, kiddos, let's go!"

[narrans]

My Borrowed Son | 12 | Snow Day

Chapter Twelve | Snow Day

The alarm didn’t need to wake him up. He was already awake. Parker was up and dressed reading his papers for class later that day. They were reading some fun books from Mr. Tamplin including “The Magic Treehouse,” “Charlotte’s Web,” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” All of them seemed a bit easy if Parker was being honest with himself, but Mr. Tamplin was already ahead of the curve.

He had recommended a few books specifically for Parker that were technically “above his reading level,” but assured Parker that they were well within his level of comprehension. Books like “Eragon,” “The Maze Runner,” and “A Wrinkle in Time,” now filled Parker’s entire room.

His mom had picked out the books on a tablet she gifted to him with his first perfect report card and now Parker couldn’t get enough. For hours, he stared at the screen and flipped through page after page as he devoured the books.

It wasn’t just Mr. Tamplin who was investing in more advanced options for Parker. His science teacher, Ms. Raegan Ocha, had recommended some fascinating biology books as well as some documentaries for Parker to watch. His math class felt fundamental, so Mrs. Cora Doorman-Knowell, supplied additional assignments that now placed Parker at a 7th grade level.

The only one who didn’t seem willing to provide additional studying material was Ms. Kain, who seemed adamant that history was best taught in person and that he could learn with the rest of his classmates. Thankfully, Parker’s mom found a tutor who was willing to help give him some additional assignments.

It made things easier that he could study on his own and had his mother’s help when he needed it. He also had additional tutoring sessions because, as his mom said, she didn’t want him to feel limited and wanted to give him the tools he needed to succeed.

What made everything so great was that his mom never forced him to do the extra assignments. Everything he did was because he wanted to do it – and he loved it. Parker loved learning, and it was only helping him understand the world more. He didn’t find anything else about his condition, sadly, but that was okay. Perhaps, one day, he would learn enough to be a leading scientist to cure and discover more about his own condition.

So, as Parker finished his reading and logged onto his account, a message flashed on the screen that made his heart sink.

“School Closed: Snow Day”

Snow? Wait! It snowed!

Parker quickly leapt up from his desk and ran across the table toward his ladder that led up to the window. He hurried up one hand hold after the next until he stood on the ledge. His heart fluttered nervously as he pushed the curtain off to the side ever so slightly and slipped between the fabric and glass.

The moment he did, he saw it – a winter wonderland.

The snow was already a few inches deep and covered the windowsill as well as part of the yard outside. Big, fluffy snowflakes drifted from the light gray sky that Parker could have sworn was a big as him. He pressed his palms against the frosty glass and watched as his breath fog up the scene in front of him.

Parker loved the snow. As disappointed as he was that school was closed for the day, he was equally as excited to go outside and play in the snow.

He remembered the first time he saw snow. It was late in the day, and he had just finished dinner with his mom when she hurried to the kitchen all excited. She scooped him up and spoke quickly before pulling the curtains and holding him up to the window. His sporadic memory filled in the gaps of him getting dressed in a few extra blankets as his mom brought him outside.

Parker remembered the frigid air hitting him and the pinch of snow his mom gave him as she placed it in her palm with him. He was six or so years old if he remembered correctly.

Parker remembered grabbing one of the snowflakes in his fingers and staring at it in awe. Seeing something so small and so beautiful was mesmerizing. It made him feel, in a weird way, complete. Like things this small were supposed to exist – like he was supposed to be there.

It was a weird, momentary sensation and something Parker would remember for the rest of his life.

“Parker?”

Hearing his name made him jump out of his skin. With his heart pounding, Parker realized he had been drawn into memories long since passed.

“Yes, momma?” he called back as he stepped out from behind the curtain. He saw his mom come into the bedroom with a cup of hot chocolate and a much smaller cup for him. He hurried down the ladder and waved to his mom to let her know where he was. She was bundled up in her stay-at-home robe, meaning that she was working from home today.

“There you are sweetie. I was trying not to wake you, but it looks like you were already up for school,” said his mom. She handed him the small mug once he was settled at his desk. “Sorry. The school called this morning saying school was cancelled. I turned off the alarms, but it seems like you were already up.”

“Yeah, I had to know what happened in the next chapter of Eragon,” said Parker as he sniffled the hot chocolate in his mug. He played with the top of the marshmallow as it blipped beneath the chocolate, leaving little lines on its white surface.

“Oh? Is it a good book?” asked his mom. Parker knew she had already read through the book once before, but she refused to talk about it in fear of spoiling anything for her son. It was frustrating for Parker. It was knowledge she had but wasn’t sharing.

“It’s so good! I just got to the part where Saphira took Eragon away. He rode her, momma! He’s a dragon rider! But what’s going to happen to his uncle? He’s going to be okay, right?” asked Parker. His mom hid behind her mug and smiled.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to read about it and tell me,” she said. Parker’s bottom lip stuck out as his brow furrowed.

“I don’t like that you do that. If you know, you should just tell me. I don’t like you knowing and me not knowing,” mumbled Parker. In frustration, he took a big bite out of his marshmallow and stared at his mug.

Because he was looking down and away, Parker missed the sudden pained look in his mom’s eyes.

Amanda heard that statement and could only think about the biggest secret she had ever kept in her life. Guilt weighed on her mind and on her soul. She wanted to tell Parker everything, and yet she wanted to keep these secrets for the rest of her life.

She wanted to tell him about the fake “condition” she gave him to keep him safe.

She wanted to tell him how he came into her life.

She wanted to tell him about the research she had done about the small people fictions she had found all those years ago when she first found him.

And yet she didn’t at the same time.

In a flash, all of these thoughts, worries, and desires were gone, and she was once again Amanda Silverstein sitting there with her son, Parker, drinking hot chocolate on his very first snow day.

“Momma?” Parker’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. She cleared her throat and looked down at her son.

“Yes, sweetie?” she asked.

“Um… would it be okay if I go outside and play in the snow? And then call Billy and Bailey?” asked Parker. Parker’s mom smiled as she considered her son’s request.

“Of course,” she smiled. “Which do you want to do first?”

“Play! It’s still snowing outside,” cheered Parker as he hurried into his room and pulled out as many layers as he could. He intended to make some fun things to show his friends, and the sooner the better.

Amanda helped get Parker dressed and quickly dressed herself before checking outside and scooping up the miniscule child. The way Parker was dressed reminded her of the kid from “A Christmas Story” when he couldn’t put down his arms. Despite his appearance, however, Parker was still agile and flexible.

The layers he picked kept him maneuverable and warm at the same time. He had never liked feeling too restrained or unable to move freely. It was weird. He was never claustrophobic and, if he was being honest, he enjoyed small and tight spaces. It was the thought of being restrained and unable to move or get away that made him uncomfortable.

Just another odd sensation that crept up in him from time to time.

The sudden rush of cold air from the outside world drew his attention to the present and, within minutes, Parker was outside in the snow making snow angels with his momma.

There were several clear spaces by the house, but slightly in the neighbor’s yard, that were free of footsteps and debris that Parker started his work.

He started by making a daisy chain of snow angels, which his mom took pictures of. Next, he started making the biggest snowboy family he could muster. His mom helped from time to time, but she mostly helped by snapping twigs and finding eyes and noses for Parker’s creations. This, too, was picture worthy.

It wasn’t until Parker walked up to the tree and started climbing the bark and jumping into the snow that he noticed something odd.

Parker’s mom had stepped away for a moment because a client called her and needed some information. So, in the meantime, Parker decided to try and climb around the tree by grasping onto the bark and shimmying from one side to the next.

When Parker made it to the opposite side of the tree, he noticed something that made his hair stand on end. It was so odd that he actually dropped to the ground and rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands.

Footprints.

At least, he thought they looked like footprints.

They were right by the base of the tree and, upon further investigation, led into the roots.

Parker was absolutely taken aback. Shaking all over, he stepped forward and pressed his shoes into the snow and saw that the prints were a little bigger than his, but about the same proportionally.

But… how?

Did this belong to an animal? Or did this belong to someone like him? Was there someone else like him out here in the cold?

His mind began to race and made him feel nauseous. He needed to know more. Carefully, he stepped forward under the tree roots and glanced around. Like a detective, he began combing over the snow covered leaves and along the dirt. Something about the place felt secure to him, and that odd sensation of being watched crept over him again.

Parker whipped around and nearly leapt out of his skin to see his mom leaning over by the roots peering in at him. There was something completely unnerving about seeing a giant, looming eye over him.

Again, why?

This was his mom.

“Parker? What are you doing in there?” asked his mom. He began to sputter over his words as he clambered out of the roots.

“Momma! Momma! I… I think there’s someone else out here!” Parker proclaimed. His mom’s features stiffened as she glanced from Parker to the tree roots.

“Someone else? That’s not possible,” she said. Not possible? How could she say something like that?

“It’s true! Look! There are footprints. They look like mine!” urged Parker as he ran over and pointed to the spots he saw before. At second look, they were filled partially with snow, meaning they had probably been there for a while.

His mom’s eyes narrowed as she knelt further and evaluated the area. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute. Was there someone else small like Parker out here in the snow? Did they leave because they came outside to play? Or were they gone? What would happen if whoever left these footprints found Parker? Would they have the answers he was looking for? Or would something else have happened?

To Amanda, the moment lasted a lifetime. She tried to compose herself as she gazed down into her son’s eagerly awaiting eyes.

What could she tell him?

Was now the time to talk about the truth?

She tried to look calm and confident, but the intuitive child may have seen her flash of fear moments earlier.

To Parker, on the other hand, she seemed a bit quiet and tense and not nearly half as excited as he felt. This was possibly his chance to meet someone his size! Ask them questions about their condition and if they knew anything else that he didn’t know.

“Parker.” Just the way she said his name made Parker feel defeated. “I think these might’ve just belonged to a small critter like a mouse or rat. Maybe even a squirrel? I just don’t know who would be out in cold like this.”

“But… momma…”

Parker looked back at the footprints and, much like the episode of that science show his mom liked, “Bones,” there was that weird reasonable doubt in his mind. Maybe it did belong to something else. Also, his condition was an extremely rare one. What were the chances of someone like him being out in a place like this in a snowstorm?

It was probably just feeling.

Parker sighed and nodded.

“Maybe.”

“Good. Now, I think we’ve had enough fun in the snow. Let’s get inside and get warm; and maybe, just maybe, you and I can read some of that ‘Eragon’ book together. Would you like that?” asked Amanda.

“Yes, momma,” said Parker, feeling a bit defeated. He climbed back onto his mom’s hand and stared at the scene in front of him. The little snowboys. The little snow angels.

Everything was so little.

Parker sighed and pulled his legs into his chest as his mom carried the both of them back into the house. The entire trip back, he couldn’t help but think that his mom might have been keeping something from him. There was something in her eyes that just made her waver.

What was it?

And why?

Parker shrugged it off.

Perhaps, one day, he would ask her about it. Until then, he let himself feel excited that he and his momma were going to spend some time reading on this beautiful, snowy day.

…..

Too bad he didn’t look up into the branches high above….

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

Previous

Beginning

[somber-sapphic]

35, 🥀, 🌷 with Maya x carina x reader where reader is really sick out of nowhere?? I’m so addicted to your fics atm haha

Better Tomorrow

My first Station 19 story!!

{may include unintentional spoilers}

Okay, wow, I got a little carried away. I had so much fun writing this but I figured that I could only fit so much into one post. I have more, I actually have probably two more parts of similar length, but I won't post it unless you guys want. - You loved your girlfriends and you loved your job. Unfortunately as a nurse, you were also on the front line during flu season. Lucky that you're dating a doctor and a firefighter. (marina x reader)

Word Count: 3810

-----

Perhaps being an ER Nurse wasn’t everyone's cup of tea, but you absolutely loved it. One of the best parts of your amazing job was that you got to work at Grey Sloan Memorial alongside some of the best doctors in the country and your beautiful girlfriend Carina Deluca. 

And then there was Maya. Sweet, beautiful, uptight Maya. You loved the stubborn firefighter with everything you had and both you and Carina showered her with affection at every chance you got. The poor woman had so much unprocessed trauma, all the two of you wanted was to make her feel important, like someone cared. 

Even still, there were days where it wasn’t great. She’d lash out, forget to eat and spend the whole day working out. The three of you had had a rough week. Maya was angry about station politics, Carina had lost a mother and you were on the receiving end of just about every flu case that came into the hospital. On top of dealing with all of the sick people, you also had to meditate at home.

Some people had shown up with minor colds, demanding treatment that they didn’t need. You’d seen several parents ordering you to give their children antibiotics, refusing to listen to you when you explained the difference between bacteria and viruses and why antibiotics won't cure their children's illness. 

Now, it was Sunday and you were almost done with your 48 hour shift. You were supposed to have tomorrow off, but with everyone falling victim to this monster of a flu there was a good chance that you would be working for at least another twelve hours. 

You were exhausted beyond belief and it was getting harder and harder to ignore the growing pressure in your sinuses and the dull ache in your bones. You were probably getting sick, well no, you were definitely getting sick, it was just a matter of how long you could keep it from affecting your work. 

You sighed and took two Tylenol, swallowing them dry. A rumbling cough forced its way through your lips and you glanced at yourself in the mirror, studying your pale complexion. To be fair, you didn’t look great. What with the bags under your eyes and the slight reddish tinge on your cheeks and around your nostrils. 

You grabbed a mask and slipped it on, just to be safe. You figured that you could probably get away with working for at least two more hours before someone noticed that you were too sick or you became a legitimate risk to the patients. Plus, since you were one of the few nurses left who could even hold a pen there was a good chance that as long as you sanitized and wore a mask that you would be allowed to work until you dropped.

When you reentered the ED you found a line of people, all waiting with impatient expressions. You sighed internally and forced a smile, pulling on a pair of gloves as you walked to the first bed. A woman sat there with her arms crossed over her chest, showing absolutely no signs of illness. 

“Hello Ms. Hanford, what brings you in?” You rasped, clearing your throat quietly in a vain attempt to bring back your voice. She sneered at you and huffed quietly, rolling her eyes. 

“I need a pregnancy test.” She demanded, giving you a thorough glare. You paused for a second, wondering if your seemingly cotton stuffed ears had heard her correctly. She came to the ER. For a pregnancy test. A pregnancy test that she could’ve purchased for less than ten dollars at any drugstore. 

“Ms, we’re in the midst of a very severe flu season, it may be safer for you to purchase one from the grocery store.” You said tiredly, fully prepared to get snapped at. She had come for a pregnancy test and there was no way that she was leaving without one. 

“I. Want. A. Test. Now. Don’t make me get your supervisor.” Ms. Hanford threatened, searching for someone who may be your superior. The nurse, Kayla, who had been running the ER had been sent home earlier, leaving one attending or another to check in on you every so often. 

“Okay.” You sighed, too tired to put up much of a fight. You went and grabbed a urine sample cup and walked back to her bedside, smiling so wide that you were sure that it would be seen in your eyes. 

“If you would just take this over to the bathroom and provide me with a urine sample we can get that pregnancy test done.” Ms. Hanford scoffed loudly and shook her head, checking her watch as if to make you upset. You were already upset, but it wasn’t something that you could show. It was your job to be stoic and professional. 

“Are you serious? I could have gotten that kind of test at the store and I wouldn't be in here among all of you sick people! No see, I want a blood test.” She was repeating your words from earlier, turning them on you to make you feel less than. You took a careful breath which spurred a fit of coughing. You whirled away from the woman and muffled coughs into your shoulder, your chest aching with each wheezing breath. 

When you turned back, your eyes watery and nose running freely in your mask, the woman was wearing an absolutely disgusted expression. 

“Get me someone different. I need a different nurse. Get out, get someone new.” She ordered, pointing towards the nurses station. The empty nurses station. Because everyone was busy. Because everyone was dealing with someone sick. Or hurt. Or otherwise miserable.

“Ms., I can't. If there were anyone else I would, but right now we’re very short staffed. Would you like the test or not?” You asked shortly. It was your job to be professional, not to be kind. Technically you didn’t even have to be polite, you just had to treat her. 

“Get a doctor then! Look, there’s one! Dr! Dr., you need to take over here, this nurse is absolutely incompetent.” You looked over to see Amelia walking towards the two of you, a concerned expression on her face. 

“What seems to be the issue over here?” She asked, giving the woman a little nod. You knew that as long as Ms. Hanford was polite to Amelia that she would get what she wanted. Being rude to you was however a pretty big mistake. The female neurosurgeon happened to really like you and often treated you like a sister. 

“This nurse,” She spat, using the most demeaning tone as she shot daggers at you, “came into work sick and thinks that she is going to take my blood! Would you please take my blood?” Her voice changed from hate to sweet and sugary, with an over exaggerated smile.

“Ah, so rather than going to purchase a test at, I don’t know, the Walgreens right down the street maybe, you decided to come into a hospital, which sometimes has sick people, and yell at one of my nurses?” Ameila returned the smile, her eyes filled with pointed anger. You ducked your head into your shoulder and sneezed quietly, only serving to make your mask even messier. 

The brunette turned back and gave you a sad smile, gesturing you over to a bed. 

“Go sit. Ms. Hanford is going to wait until someone else is ready.” She ordered, squeezing your shoulder gently. Ms. Hanford was trying to yell at Amelia, but she wasnt hearing any of it. She was literally just ignoring the angry woman. 

“I’ve got some paperwork to wrap up before my shift is over.” You mumbled, turning to shuffle away. 

“I’ll call Carina!” She threatened after you, earning a little shrug in return. Your girlfriend was busy, she was always busy with one birth or another. People just kept having babies. You slunk into an office and plopped yourself down into a chair, pulling out a patient file. 

After about five minutes the words on the page began to blur together, the sentences becoming totally unrecognizable. As you continued to struggle through the file your writing got more and more sloppy and your eyelids began to slip closed. Your head started to fall and you finally put it down, resigning yourself to sleep. 

==

“Y/n. Wake up bubba.” A voice spoke, pulling you out of your fever dazed sleep. Someone, the owner of the voice, shook your shoulder and you forced your eyes open so that you could glare up at Amelia, who had woken you up. You opened her mouth to complain and sneezed wetly, only then realizing that you had neglected to take your mask off before falling asleep. 

Shepard winced and wrinkled her nose at the sound, pulling away from you. You coughed freely, figuring that since it was still on, it didn’t really matter. The neurosurgeon gave you a sympathetic smile and grabbed some hand sanitizer. 

“Come on germ bag, sit up. I’m going to give you a quick exam before Carina finishes with the mom upstairs.” You lifted your head, forcing yourself up into a sitting position. That much movement made your head swim and you found yourself falling too far to the side. Amelia grabbed your shoulders and steadied you, her lips turning into a little frown. 

“Take your mask off.” She instructed, motioning to her face with blue latex gloved hands. You shook your head, embarrassment flooding through you. There was no way that you were taking it off, you knew that it would be gross and she didn't need to see that. The brunette dropped her shoulders and sighed, giving you a look. 

“Either you take it off, or I will. I promise you, I’ve seen worse.” Now it was deciding whether or not it was more embarrassing for her to take it off for you or for you to do it yourself. 

“I don’t need you to do this. It’s allergies.” She snorted and broke into a laugh, raising an eyebrow at you. 

“Wow, that was bad even for you. Take it off.” You slumped, but refused to take the mask off. It was both keeping her from getting sick and keeping you hidden. It was almost like you could pretend to be fine as long as it was there. 

Amelia rolled her eyes and leaned forward, very gently unhooking the mask from your ears. She pulled it away and made a soft sound of concern, shaking her head slightly. She grabbed a tissue and handed it to you, allowing you to clean yourself up before she continued. 

“You okay?” She asked, noticing the tears glittering in your eyes. You nodded silently and opened your mouth, allowing her to shine a light down your throat. “Ouch.” The brunette murmured, removing her stethoscope so that she could check your lungs. 

You did your best to take the deep breaths that she requested but every one led to a coughing fit that left you gasping and wheezing. It was just your luck that Carina burst into the office while you were in the midst of a particularly harsh fit, bent over with Amelia rubbing your back. 

“Cara,” She whispered sadly, coming to kneel in front of the chair. She rubbed your knuckles as you fought to catch your breath, offering much needed comfort. You finally got a deep breath and the spots cleared from your eyes, leaving you dizzy and utterly exhausted. 

“I want to give her a nebulizer treatment before you take her home, her lungs sound like crap.” Amelia explained, directing her words toward your worried girlfriend. She nodded, squeezing your hand as a sign of affection.

“I don’t want it.” You muttered, trying your best to keep the waver out of your voice. You really didn’t want the treatment, you didn't want any medicine. Cough syrup might be nice, but the nebulizer was famous for making people jittery and all you wanted to do was sleep. 

“You don’t get a say. If you had told Maya or I that you were sick maybe we could have avoided this.” Carina hissed, giving you a deadly glare. You knew that she loved you but she was also angry with your lack of self preservation. 

“Please.” You sniffled, sounding admittedly pathetic. Her expression softened and she leaned over to kiss your forehead, resting her lips there a moment longer than necessary. 

“How high is her fever?” The Italian woman asked, making a worried noise when you dropped your head down onto her shoulder. If you were going to give into being sick you would be given attention. You really just wanted to be held. 

“103.5, I’ll throw an IV in with fluids and we’ll see what we can do to get it down.” Carina nodded your approval but you whined quietly, slightly afraid of the idea of getting an IV. You had absolutely no problems administering them, you were actually amazing at giving them but you didn’t love needles. 

“Alright. Come on bella, I’ll call Maya okay?” You shook your head as Amelia helped you stand, leaning heavily on her for support. 

“No Maya, she’s working.” You mumbled, stumbling forward as you tried to take a step. Your body completely gave out and you crumpled into Carina’s arms, your head bouncing off of her chest as she caught you. Both women cursed, Amelia slightly louder than your girlfriend. 

“Amelia, get a wheelchair. Y/n, can you hear me?” Her words were filled with desperation and anxiety as she helped you back into the chair, cupping your cheeks in her incredibly soft, sturdy hands. 

“Mhm.” You weren’t unconscious, just weak and wondering how you had gone downhill so quickly. At least she was there, she was warm and made you feel fuzzy inside. You loved her so much. She carded her fingers through your hair and smiled warmly, her eyes full of remorse. 

You ducked away and coughed hard into your lap, finally managing to get some of the crap out of your lungs. Unfortunately it was now in your mouth which felt absolutely disgusting. Carina pressed a tissue against your lips and allowed you to spit it out, caressing your arm as you placed your head back on her shoulder. 

“Alright kid, hop in, you’ve got a ride.” Amelia announced, using that stupid nickname. You weren’t even sure why she called you that, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but since she discovered that you didn’t like it it had become one of her favorite things to call you. 

“Ready?” Carina asked softly, raising an eyebrow at you. You didn't answer, just shrugged and allowed her to help you into the chair. You leaned back as the neurosurgeon wheeled you out of the office and over to an open bed which you crawled into gratefully. It felt nice to lay down even if it was in an uncomfortable hospital bed with only a curtain separating you from other patients. 

“Okay Y/n, let's get you set up.” Amelia said, lifting up an oxygen mask that you knew would soon pump medicated air. Carian took it away from her and slid it over your face, carefully adjusting the strap behind your head. She didn't want anyone else to treat you, her protective urge flaring up. 

The other doctor didn't protest, knowing that she was probably frightened for you. The last time Meredith had gotten sick she had gone definitely overboard. She stuffed her sister with every medicine that she could think of and had quite literally forbade the woman from getting out of bed. Doctors would go to unnecessary extremes when it came to taking care of the people they loved. 

“Quick poke.” Before you could protest Amelia had slipped an IV into your hand. You glared at her and scooched closer to Carina, wishing that the mask wasn’t in the way. She wrapped an arm around your waist and hugged you to her chest, speaking to you in quiet Italian. You couldn’t understand the words but it didn’t matter. Her voice was soothing and the medications being pumped into your body were making you feel a little bit better. 

“Y/n!” You jolted out of your comfortable daze and looked up to see Maya walking over, her hair frizzy and piercing eyes full of worry. Carina shushed her as she rushed over, immediately grabbing your face so she could touch your forehead and the back of your neck. 

When she pulled away she was wearing the same look of disappointment that your other girlfriend had earlier, her eyebrows knit together and lips turned into a frown. 

“Damnit, every time. Do you need to do this every time?” As much as you hated to admit it, the blonde had a point. You tended to do this, work yourself to the brink of exhaustion and then require some sort of intervention whether it be from them or the obvious current situation. 

Tears filled your eyes and you looked away, not wanting her to see how guilty you felt. You had pulled both of your girlfriends away from work saving lives to sit by your side as you dealt with a stupid virus. 

Maya let out a slow breath as she realized how her words had come out and nudged your arm, pushing you just enough that she could sit on the bed. 

“Let's get this off.” She said softly, easing the mask off of your face. The round of aerosolized steroids was done and your chest didn’t hurt quite as much. The blonde glanced over at Carina, a puzzled expression on her face. 

“How bad is she?” Maya asked, clearly not trusting your judgment on the situation. The doctor shrugged, moving her hand in a so-so way. 

“She is bad. Hopefully the nebulizer will take care of her lungs for a while but it may not last. I will write her a prescription for an albuterol inhaler. Once the IV bag finishes we can bring her home.” Carina explained, seeming to know more about your medical information than you did. At least they weren’t taking any blood. 

“So about a half hour?” Maya looked down at her Apple watch, stroking your hair absently with one hand. 

“Si.” You looked back over at Carina who smiled and kissed your hairline. Tears filled your eyes and you sniffled pathetically, not really wanting to talk. Your throat hurt badly, so much that every breath grated against the raw flesh. 

“Scoot over for me.” Maya instructed, nudging you with her elbow. You didn't exactly understand what was happening or why she wanted you to move. All you wanted was to cry. The medicine had made it easier to breathe but your entire body still ached. 

“Oh Y/n, come here.” She lay down in the bed beside you, fitting herself nicely on the cot beside you. You tucked your head under her chin, trembling as you tried not to sob. It was humiliating, you were a nurse who was crying because of the flu. Carina tried to lay on your other side, but there wasn’t much room left. 

You whimpered into Maya’s shirt, shaking hard as the tears finally began to spill down your cheeks. The blonde carded her fingers through your hair, shushing you as you cried. Carina went back to speaking to you in Italian, both exchanging glances over your weak frame. 

You weren't sure how long it was when you felt the tell tale prickle reappearing in your sinuses. You tried to pull back from Maya, not wanting to sneeze on her, but the woman reacted a moment too late. Maybe she had thought that you were just shifting or she was just tired from what was probably a long shift and she was laying with you. 

You attempted to curl up as best as you could, intending to stifle the sneeze against your own chest, hoping that it wouldn’t be very wet. You sneezed quietly, but another, much louder one followed, sounding worse than the first one. Both of you froze for a second and Carina cooed softly, not seeming to entirely realize your distress. 

You pulled back and pressed your hands over your nose, sitting up quickly, fully expecting her to berate you for sneezing on her. She didn’t even glance at the wet spot on her shirt, just grabbed a tissue and tried to hand it to you. 

“I’m sorry!” You gasped, your words blurred by congestion. You sniffled hard, trying to fix the issue without accepting her help. 

“Oh baby, no, don’t apologize. You’re sick, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this sick. You get a pass.” Carina nodded her agreement and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Blow your nose bella, no more sniffling. Your IV is finished, once you blow your nose I will text Ameila and then we can go home. Does that not sound good?” The brunette coaxed, her voice full of love. You had made up your mind to take the tissue when you sneezed again, into your hands, and then sneezed twice more. Ugh. Damnit.

Maya wrinkled her nose in an apologetic manner, the lines on her forehead becoming more prominent. Carina rubbed your back and kissed your shoulder, both of them offering incredible loving sympathy. 

You took the fucking tissue from the blondes clutches and quickly lifted it to your face, blowing your nose quietly as you did. She handed you another one to clean your hands and then Carina gave you some hand sanitizer. 

“I wanna go home.” You rasped, finally speaking again. Both women smiled and each gave you a kiss on your head. Maya got up and held one of your hands, reaching for the other as you swung your legs over the bed and let your feet touch the floor. 

Carina grabbed your waist as you stood, holding you there until you were sure that you would pass out. Sure you were dizzy, but with some help you were sure that you could get out to the car. 

“All set?” Maya asked, shifting so that she had taken your Italian girlfriend's place with her arm around your waist, supporting you from the side. You nodded while Carina grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before draping your coat over your shoulders. 

“Come along Y/n/n. Let's get you into bed.” The brunette said softly, walking slightly in front of you. She had your bag too and you couldn’t help but wonder when she’d grabbed it. 

With the help of your girlfriends you shuffled out to the car, hoping that you would feel better tomorrow. Afterall, you were one of the last nurses standing. 

[facioleeknow]

Frat boy 1 • Choi Seungcheol

He fell first and hard. She thinks he hates her but he's actually emotionally constipated.

wc: 718 genre: humor(?), frat boy au

tw: hermit reader, bisexual and shameless Vernon, intimidating Seungcheol, not proofread, frat boys seventeen, nudity

an: hey guys this is the prologue of the series, let me know if you like it and if I should continue it

The entrance of the frat house looked menacing. SVT, short for Sigma Vau Theta, was the biggest frat in your university, counting a whopping twelve members, including your best friend, and a new pledge. Despite being friends for years you had never entered the house but Vernon, your friend, explained to you in detail where his room was “in case you needed a place to crash”.

A big and dramatic sigh escaped your lips, you didn't like being in a room with a couple of men let alone in a house with thirteen, but you had to bite the bullet for the sake of your best friend. Technically Vernon hadn't exactly invited you but he had always said that his door was open at all hours for you and he had been complaining non stop that morning about how donuts were the perfect hangover cure. You obviously took pity on him, got out of your dorm room (if something as big as a broom closet could be called a room) and bought him donuts and coffee.

So now you were stepping into a house that not only was full of men but also smelled like it was full of men.

I hate my life so much, you thought as you scanned your surroundings. 

The hall was empty, in fact the whole house seemed eerily quiet but you knew that a night of heavy drinking was basically the equivalent of having a near death experience so you weren't surprised.

You found the stairs easily and walked up with fast and silent steps. Nobody passed by you and nobody stopped you from roaming around the house, they were probably all sleeping.

“End of the hall, on the right, his name is on the door,” you whispered to yourself.

The hall looked neverending and for a second you thought you teleported in the shining’s hotel, the creepy one with the red carpet. When the name “VERNON” on a plain white door came into your line of vision you sighed, grateful. Without a second thought (and without knocking), you opened the door. An horrendous sight welcomed, your best friend was almost getting it on with a guy and they were both butt naked. 

“Vernon what the fuck!” you yelled. The two quickly got off of each other and pulled the sheets up to cover the family jewels.

“Don't be so dramatic, you've seen me naked,” nonchalantly replied Vernon while collapsing back into his pillow.

“Yes and that was a mistake that I didn't want to repeat,” you quipped back at him.

“Hi, I'm Alex,” the guy next to Vernon introduced himself and extended his hand to you, which you eyed suspiciously. Better not to shake that, you never know what it had touched.

“Hi,” you smiled back at him, “I brought you donuts.” The sweet treats were gently placed on his desk even if you wanted to throw them at him for making you witness that scene.

“I knew we were friends for a reason,” Vernon happily got out of bed, still naked, and walked to the door next to you. 

Ew.

“Right, I'm going to go, I need to bleach my eyeballs,” you scoffed.

“Bye drama queen.”

Getting out of the house was different than getting in, mostly because now you didn't care if you made noise, you just wanted to go back to your room and be alone. At the end of the stare your mood was changing, you felt somewhat proud of yourself. You had completed your mission without any major incident (seeing Vernon's dick was considered a minor incident), or so you thought. Because at the end of the stairs right when you were about to zoom across the hall to get the hell out of there, a hand grabbed your arm. 

“What are you doing here?” A guy with dyed blonde hair and very muscular arms was looking into your eyes with an intimidating stare.

“I’m Vernon's friend,” you were able to mutter out.

“I didn't hear you knock.”

“I didn't.”

If looks could kill you would've died a gruesome death.

“You should knock when you enter other people's houses,” he warned you. He slowly loosened the grip on your forearm and then let go of your arm completely. Like he appeared he disappeared, quickly.

Damn you hated frats.

[meetinginsamarra]

mayprompts2024, #32 determined

Chapters 1 to 8 here on AO3

If you like the tattoo AU give it some love on my AO3, please. It would mean a lot to me. TYSM!

The remaining chapters will be uploaded one every following day.

+++++

White Pony Tattoo - Part Twelve (determined)

Sherlock was completely stunned by John’s angry rant.

For once, witnessing the fierce side of John’s, the fearsome soldier, the way he was bristling with furious energy and righteous anger about Sherlock deriding and loathing himself was simply spectacular.

Also, because thinking about what John had actually said, Sherlock realized with growing surprise that firstly, he himself had never seen it this way and secondly, that John had made a brilliant deduction Sherlock had been so far uncapable of observing and thus, John was pretty damn smart, too.

Sherlock blinked rapidly, trying to compute the new point of view.

“I’ve never thought about it this way before.” Sherlock said in a small but not unhappy voice.

“Obviously.” John commented gruffly and sat down in the recliner chair again.

They were quiet for the next hour, the only sound to be heard was the whirring of the tattoo gun and Sherlock’s occasional instructions for John how to hold the arm.

It was a comfortable and contemplative silence as each of the two men pondered what had been said and what there was to be learned from it.

Sometime in the midst of the tattoo job, Sherlock began to speak.

“The tattooing helped a lot, with coping, I mean.”

Then the dam of keeping his past inside broke quickly and Sherlock told John everything. He had not been right out rejected by John after confessing his junkie past and the ongoing struggle of resististing to cure the itch. He hoped that John would still not reject him after confessing how stupid and gullible he had been.

“I’ve been studying chemistry at uni and apart from the equations and chemical reactions and experiments everything else bored me. I had no other hobbies and I especially had no friends. All of my peers thought I’m was weirdo and an asshole and shunned me for very good reasons because I was both.

I always wanted to be perfect, to fit in. Just be normal. But I am not a likeable person, I’m abrasive and obnoxious and I see things that people want to hide and I hurl these into their faces so that they’ll leave me alone.

One day I met Darren on campus, a drug dealer looking for new clients and he introduced me to cocaine.

It was heaven, John.

The cocaine softened all of this. I could concentrate better. I was happy, really truely happy with myself and my life for the first time since I was a teenager.

Shortly after, I fell in love with my now regular supplier and he became my first boyfriend. Darren might even have really loved me but that didn’t stop him from taking advantage of me.

He soon talked me into using my proficient chemistry skills for synthesising Ecstasy and I didn’t think a lot about it because he gave me free cocaine that I had quickly become addicted to.

I’ve been on a continuous high for over one year and have been able to hide it very well from everybody. In fact, my peers had become more friendly and open with me now that I apparently acted like what was generally perceived as “normal”. Which only confirmed my belief that without the drug I’d never be able to function adequately.

I had developed a severe drug addiction in the meantime. I was injecting cocaine several times a day and the veins in my left arm were utterly ruined.

The first time I tried to shoot up with my left hand using the good veins on my right arm I accidentally overdosed. It happened to be right here in the shop. Back then, the locality had still been a café. Mrs Hudson had run it, serving coffee and the best home-made bakeries. She found me unconscious on the toilet floor, barely breathing. She called the ambulance and I died on the way to the hospital due to cardiac arrest but they could reanimate me just in time.”

Sherlock was grateful that all the while he talked John merely listened without any judgemental comments. Being allowed to finally let go of at least some of the hurt was a huge relief.

“While I was in rehab, I made the acquaintance of another recovering addict who was a very skilful tattoo artist. When we were both clean, I asked her to put the white pony I had designed onto my back. Her art of painting with ink on skin intrigued me and she taught me all there was to know.”

“And now you are here.” John stated.

“And now I am here.” Sherlock confirmed. “And I’ll do everything to keep being here.”

“Including to keep everybody from eventually becoming part of your life?” John asked quietly. It sounded a bit defeated.

Sherlock sighed. “So far, yes.” He looked at John. “But that might change.”

“I’d be very happy if it would.” John gathered his courage. “If you would let me into your life.”

They watched each other silently for a minute, examining their feelings and what might be found in the depths of each others eyes. The seconds stretched out, trickling by agonizingly slow.

“I’ll make you a deal.” Sherlock said, fiddling with the tattoo gun. “We’ll finish your tattoo now. You will let it heal thoroughly for two weeks and I will think thoroughly about all that’s been said today. We both have to be sure.”

“That’s okay with me.”

“And then, we will go out on a date and have dinner, if you’re still interested in getting to know me by then.”

John had already opened his mouth to strongly object that he could ever lose interest in Sherlock but was shut off by Sherlock’s gesture to keep mum.

Sherlock smiled softly and pointed to his shop sign. “No arguing, John.”

“Okay, fine, good.” John nodded and swallowed. Somehow, a tiny tear of joy at the prospect to have a chance formed in his eye.

Sherlock smiled some more. “Also, no crying, John.”

++++++

Two weeks later, John arrived exactly on time at “Angelo’s Italian Restaurant” to have dinner with Sherlock.

This time, John did not hover in front of the door, he did not hesitate, or oscillate around on the pavement.

This time, John knew what he wanted and what he needed to do. Determined, he opened the door, entered and saw that Sherlock was waiting for him at a candle-decorated table for two.

+++++

(and they tattooed happily ever after)

Thank you all for reading, liking and commenting. It's been great to write this!

tagging some people @calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @peageetibbs

[holly-fixation]

Fallen Silver: Ch 4

Summary: Sephiroth is MIA. Second Class Rhapsodos and Third Class Hewley are tasked with locating and finding him. The public does not know of this disappearance. No one was prepared for the truth. 

No one knew SOLDIER hung on by a thread.

Chapter 4: Relief

Inspired by @altocat 's and @rottenpumpkin13 's posts.

Please enjoy.

The heart monitor beeped at the occasional fluctuation of vitals. Oxygen levels remained steady, blood pressure nearly constant, heartbeat a perfect pattern while the patient remained unconscious. Every attempt to waken the man scattered all regulation to complete chaos. For his own safety, Genesis was strapped down before any attempt at a test took place. Some tests purely examined the floating rods in the Crimson Soldier’s eyes. Others proved the lack of connection between actual vision and what he claimed to see. Even a pitch black room held the phantom he critically begged to escape from. 

Twelve hours had passed. The fourth experimental cure was ready. Angeal was the only person allowed in the room as the doctors added the cure to the IV and weaned off the sleep medication. They left as the old friend stood in silence at the side of the bed. 

All Angeal could do was wait, watching the slow progress. 

The small movements of damaged hands, the soft scrunch of eyelids, the adjusting breath. Once beautiful mako blue eyes opened to the stain of dark rods slowly swimming in both scleras. “Angeal…?” The voice was hesitant, careful. 

“Hey Genesis,” He couldn't help the small smile, the small hope, from entering his voice. It was the first time Genesis recognized anyone physically inside the room. “How are you feeling?”

The redhead glanced around the room, every exit, every window, every potential weapon fully taken note of. Then he noticed the restraints and looked up at Angeal desperately. The rods in his eyes jostled with the movement. “You need to run. Get out of here before he comes back.”

“No one's coming after you-”

“He’s going to kill me. You have to save yourself, Angeal. I'll distract him as long as I can-”

“Genesis.”

He stopped. 

Angeal couldn’t be more thankful that his friend could finally respond. “It’s not real. Sephiroth isn’t attacking you. It’s an illusion. It was all an illusion.”

Genesis tried to move. “But my injuries-”

“Weren’t caused by him.” Angeal couldn’t tell his friend the whole truth. Not now. “Wutaians attacked in your confusion. Sephiroth dragged you back to our base.”

Mako blues blinked once. Twice. Thrice. “...I-” the rods stirred again, obscuring both irises. His head snapped to the door and he tensed. “Don't come any closer!”

“Genesis!”

“Leave him out of this! He's done nothing!”

The Third was given no other option, reaching for the closed, unlocked IV. 

“Don't! Stop it! Angeal, don’t listen to him!” 

Drops slowly slipped through the tube. 

He bit his own cheek, drawing blood and whipping his head as if taking a blow. 

“Angeal, please, you know that’s not true! Don’t listen to him! Don’t do this! Please don’t do-... don’t…… please…….” Genesis fell limp, his eyes closing to trap him in quiet darkness once more. 

“I’m sorry.” 

The nurses and scientists returned. The Third Class SOLDIER was sent away. 

Angeal leaned against the wall and exhaled slowly. He was so close to getting through, but Hollander still had no reliable cure. He didn’t think keeping Genesis unconscious for this long was safe, let alone another few days or possibly weeks if no cure at least brought him back to sanity. He should probably update Sephiroth…

Wait. Sephiroth. His head snapped up. He hadn’t seen the First since Genesis was strapped down. Where could he possibly be?

Hojo’s lab, of course. However, all his attempts to enter the highly classified laboratory were completely shut down. 

* * * 

Why wasn’t it working? 

Unbeknownst to Sephiroth, the cure for the toxin hadn’t been touched since the head scientist received the broken gong. He first struck it without any repairs, but the Silver Soldier showed no reaction. Sephiroth was left locked in the exam room as Hojo entered the cold storage containing various cell cultures: bacteria, viruses, and even the preserved Leviathan scales removed from the Hero of Wutai himself. 

The first true attempt was filling the crack in the gong with the scales and the same Wutaian bronze as the rest of the instrument. No effect. Then, after calling in a team of engineers, they attempted to extend the rivets and curves on the surface, matching every wave with scientifically perfect accuracy. Again, no effect. Hojo even requested a proper musician to strike the instrument, and though the resultant sound was exponentially better, Sephiroth showed no reaction, not even a wince. 

What were they missing?

Despite the frustration, a hidden experiment was also taking place. Sephiroth did not speak a single word since the promise of helping his friend. Hojo kept a simple notification ready for if or when the man decided to speak, perhaps even give hints about who or what he was talking to. Yet this experiment was also a failure as Sephiroth never allowed his thoughts to leave his lips again. 

In the days since Rhapsodos’s emergency return, both sections of the lab were useless. 

“I have a task for you,” Hojo stated as he entered the room, the addressed man not even turning his eyes in response. “Return to Wutai and retrieve an undamaged gong.”

Slit pupils met black glasses in bewilderment. 

“This will continue your progress on the front as we continue developing a remedy for Rhapsodos. Though I understand you cannot accomplish this task alone.”

He looked down like a guilty child. A failure. A disappointment. 

“So what will you require?”

After a breath, the Silver Soldier hardened, his eyes flicking ever so slightly as ideas ran through his mind. After a few seconds of silence, he responded, “Four Second Classes with confidential or higher security clearance. And Angeal.”

Hojo nearly groaned. “Him? What can that inferior Third possibly accomplish?

“He is the only one I trust to carry out the mission. We share the same motivation. He is the only logical choice.”

“And if Hewley is captured or gassed, what will you do?”

Another moment of silence. A small shake of mercury. “...I’ll follow my instincts.”

* * * 

The flight back to Wutai was silent. The director of SOLDIER informed all personnel of the First’s immediate return, saying the orders were completely above his rank. Sephiroth was granted the extra reinforcements he required. He had yet to discuss the plan with Angeal who already had dreadful feels about this sudden decision. It was difficult enough to leave Genesis in that lab, especially since both Angeal and Genesis refused to return until Sephiroth recovered. 

On the dawn after arrival, Sephiroth requested Angeal’s presence on a hill half a mile away from the latest claimed fortress. 

“What are you thinking?” Angeal questioned immediately upon reaching the location. 

Sephiroth breathed deeply. “Hollander won’t find a cure. Hojo claimed to aid the effort in return for finding an uncracked gong.”

Mako blue eyes widened.

The head of silver turned away.

“We’re doing this to take one back? Does he know what it did to you last time?”

“For Genesis’s sake, it doesn’t matter. Loathe as it is, I’m confident Hojo will identify a cure when he recreates the compound in his lab. I must personally deliver the gong to him as soon as possible.”

“What does he want it for?”

Sephiroth winced.

The Second glared. “Sephiroth. What does he want it for?”

“He’ll run experiments to find the cause of the feeling. Either I grow a resistance to it or Hojo develops a countermeasure,” His words were cold, detached. He flinched, shaking off another thought. 

“And what about the toxin?” Angeal tried to back the First into a corner, to force him into abandoning this incredibly dangerous plan before allowing it to leave his lips. 

“I’m resistant to it.” His eyes still contained the rods. There was no hiding the simple truth. 

“Not immune.”

“...No.”

“Then with all due respect, you should be nowhere near this mission when it begins.”

“I already have a plan.”

“Sephiroth-”

“I will lead the team of Seconds to the next outpost. They are already aware of the secrecy of the matter. I will distract the Wutaians and tell the Seconds everything they see me do is an act.”

“Our troops know that’s a lie.”

“Which is exactly why the team is new.”

“What will you do if they confront you about it? Or if the cadets let it slip?”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.” Sephiroth’s expression hardened. “When I collapse, I want you and a team of scouts to infiltrate the outpost and retrieve the gong. Anything else you can accomplish will only be permitted if the gong is retrieved undamaged. We then claim the outpost if we can.”

“And what will you do when your ‘act’ ends with you losing consciousness?”

“I’ll tell them I must commit entirely. If Wutai in any way believes I am playing them, they will abandon the post and retreat with the payload.” He suddenly grabbed his head, trying to suppress a noise from escaping. He hunched, blocking his face with his bangs as he turned away.

Angeal’s frustration halted, reverting back to the kind hearted friend they both knew. “What’s happening? Sephiroth, is it the toxin?”

“I don’t care what happens,” He spoke through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what happens to me. This was my fault. I have to do this.” Slowly, hesitantly his posture returned. 

“I don’t like this…” 

“During my capture, how many times did you say that exact phrase to Genesis?”

“That’s different-”

“It’s exactly the same. We’ll make preparations now and leave at dusk. That’s the only way we can help him. It guarantees the payload is present and gives us a solid chance to claim it.”

“Taking risks on the field and torturing yourself are two different things.”

“It’s not that simple…”

“You keep saying that.”

“Angeal-” He cut himself off, turning away and curling in on himself, small, weak, afraid. He didn’t notice his friend whipping around to watch his face. “I have to do something right. I can do this, I swear.”

The Third softly pressed a hand to the black leather arm. He said nothing until Sephiroth relaxed into reality. “You’re not healed. How many times are we going to do this?”

“Until we’re all safe again!” Sephiroth’s snap silenced the discussion. Angeal hugged him, but it felt empty and cold. The silver soldier craved something the friend could never provide, but he did not know what. 

* * * 

The last orange glow of the sky dimmed as Sephiroth and the Second Classes approached the outpost. Though the Silver Soldier could feel the tension, confusion, and hesitation of the team following him, they dared not speak a word. He focused on forcing one foot in front of the other, despite his survival instincts screaming in protest against every wave of the toxin. 

He silently wished the Seconds would speak their mind. At least then something would distract him from the voice.

Even She failed to persuade him. 

Know that I am with you always. Cling to my words to spare yourself and your friends.

The moment the firelight of the outpost shimmered his silver hair, the gong rang and he collapsed instantly. The phantom strings of his heart pulled in every direction, desperately reaching for something to connect with even at the cost of agony. He curled on the ground, rocking and screaming without the comforting, fear awakened voice. His body grasped the needle like threads of desperation tightening around his heart like a noose.

No one remained to comfort his despair. 

Wutaian forces laughed, mocking the hero and raining down magic at the Seconds defending their fallen leader. 

After all, it was just an act, right? He’d get up soon? He’d save them if they were in danger?

On the other side of the outpost, Angeal and the small team of scouts slipped past the guards undetected. Inside, everyone seemed to be enjoying the show. They stayed low and quiet until the gong was in sight. 

The scouts claimed the gong and mallet while Angeal dispatched the enemy soldiers. At the muting of the dreadful instrument and the bright red target on all of their backs, the full force of Shinra’s troop attacked. 

All except the Silver Soldier who laid unmoving with Second Classes sworn to protect him. 

Hours passed before the highest ranking SOLDIER awoke. Only his Third Class friend waited for him. The cadets were scouring the outpost for resources while the scouts called in the payload back at the claimed fortress. 

Inhuman eyes opened, ebony rods finally flushed away. 

Angeal held out a hand. “You need to see this.”

Sephiroth took it and rose to his feet. “Lead the way.”

At the heart of the outpost stood a mausoleum. However, Wutaian culture would not allow a final resting place so far from any public gravesite, so perhaps it was only a front. Sephiroth’s assumption was proven correct as they opened the door, an ornate staircase descended, lined with patterns of silver scales, not a shred of gold in sight. He rushed down the stairs despite his instinct to run away. Stone and marble statues of the Wutaian water god constricted the room. Its scales surrounded them like a victorious snake. Altars, fountains, torches, candles, shackles, ritualistic weapons.

Beyond the silver, it was all the same 

“This was for Genesis…” Sephiroth’s words left breathlessly. 

“Two with one is unpredictable,” Angeal quoted. “They’re trying to take down the top three SOLDIERs.”

“Or all three of us.” Sephiroth met his eyes. “We promote SOLDIER. Even though you haven't made Second yet, if all three of us fall victim to capture or toxin, no one will enlist and the program will be deemed a failure.”

“And the Wutai’s war would finally end.”

Inhuman eyes fell. “Or Shinra creates a new weapon to destroy their entire country without a second thought. At least with the war, some of their people will survive...”

Something hid in that statement, but Angeal chose not to push. “Let’s head back to the fort. Get some real rest before transport arrives.”

Sephiroth nodded. “I’ll call in an excavation team.”

* * * 

The gong cured the toxin. That was what Sephiroth told both scientists when he arrived in HQ with the instrument in hand but lacking the black rods in his eyes. Hollander immediately attempted it without a second thought. Genesis did not react. However, neither did Sephiroth. Again the science department summoned a percussionist. Apparently the reaction required proper technique. 

Sephiroth watched through observation glass at the second attempt. In Genesis’s room, the musician rang the gong. The Silver Soldier fell to his knees, gloved hands clawing at the glass and uncontrollable groans leaving his lips. 

The Crimson Soldier remained perfectly still. One quick look from the scientists proved the instrument was a failure. Sephiroth was told to seal himself in an experimentation chamber before Hojo injected the lab-grown remedy. 

Of course, Hojo’s cure succeeded. Genesis finally came to, surrounded by scientists and nurses, not a single friendly face at his side. Sephiroth was long gone, and to Hojo, the less he knew the better. 

Within The Drum, Sephiroth paced, his arms crossed and his head down. Waiting. Preparing. Fortifying his emotions. Praying they could contain the resonant emotion. 

He glanced up at the observation chamber, some part of him attempting to see through the solid force field of indigo hexagons. He hopes the scientist would at very least reveal the instrument to him before the training began. 

Step by step he begged this to work. 

The chamber blocked out all natural light, adjustable fluorescent bulbs illuminating endless stasis. The pulse of the force field gave the illusion of measurement, subconsciously counted by the Silver Soldier. 

Mid step, the gong rang, and all attempts at resistance shattered as he clung to his own body, his shouts echoing off the walls. Any thought of progress and control collapsed. 

Hojo watched, fascinated and disgusted by the effectiveness. Sephiroth was stronger than some musical instrument. What occurred to cause such a reaction? Despite his desire to immediately take samples, he decided to indulge a different desire. He contacted his assistant and ordered them to find more musicians. 

How long could the First survive on his own?

.

.

.

.

To be continued…

Thanks for reading!

Chapter List

[sleetkissed]

𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚃 .  [𝙱𝙶3 — 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚄𝚛𝚐𝚎]

The albino babe

Esteri grew up as a milkman's child in the upper city of Baldur's Gate. Her parents   —   A married couple of influential figures who struggled to receive a child saw it as a blessing, when the knock on their pompous mansion's door revealed a babe draped in red velvet. Albeit it was mostly clear Esteri was not their biological child, ( She did not share many similarities to her adoptive parents   —   Both elves with dark features  &  rather small statures ) they truly loved the girl. Her father made himself a name as a renowned painter, even being commissioned by lords  &  ladies alike. Esteri naturally picked up on his creativity, learning from him  &  experiencing joy while pursuing art. She was eight years old when her parents tried for another child. And to her family's fortune, it worked out. And to Esteri's misfortune, it worked out. The girl wasn't happy with having to share the attention of her parents. She became quieter. Isolated herself more  &  more. Which naturally resulted in both father  &  mother spending more time with Esteri's little sister. Their biological child. Brushing it off as normal for the kid to act jealous, even more natural after being a single child for eight years, both elves did believe things would settle eventually.

Her 12th birthday.

It was the fourth year Jule was a member of her family. A leech, in Esteri's eyes. Her father began to teach her sibling how to paint. Just like when she herself was little. Took her with himself to smaller events just like when she was little. Silence was the only thing that kept that boiling anger inside her. And to make herself a gift, Esteri decided she wished for blood this very day. And it shall be Jule's. Her first murder. In her father's studio. The young woman not only figuratively painted the room with the four-year-old's blood  &  intestines. Everything was red. The walls, every painting which was still in progress, every brush every stool. Red red red. And how she basked in the scenery. It felt relieving. It felt so, so right. It couldn't possibly be wrong. It took her parents a few hours to notice their little darling babe was missing. Finding Esteri drawing with Jule's blood while her body was already cold, unrecognizable, the shock sat deep. It was horrifying. A sickening display. Their little treasure, their little golden girl which appeared at their doorstep years ago obviously was to blame. And Esteri wouldn't even deny it. She . . . was proud, excited even.

After her first masterpiece.

Safe to say, her parents were not sharing the human child's ecstasis. She must be possessed, thus, they tried their hardest to search for a cure. No church could help them, no exorcism had an effect. That child was pure evil. Turning their child over to the authorities was their last straw, but a wise one, so they thought. That twelve-year-old girl would be locked up in the city's dungeon system until they could figure out a date when to execute her, very sure she was just a vessel to something horrifying, something unspeakable. But somehow, the girl did not stay long behind bars. Vanished. From one night to the other. Not to be seen in the near future. Freed by bhaalists  &  ending up spending her remaining childhood in Bhaal's Temple, Esteri realized ( and more importantly, got taught very intensely ) she was Bhaal's flesh. His daughter. Not some elven snob's kid from the upper city. Something great.  And of course she came back to end her "parent's" life. The now 16-year-old made a great spectacle out of her once loved ones' bodies, similar to her first kill. And it felt almost as refreshing as Jule's. They held her down for a decade. She was not able to embrace her true purpose. They deserved nothing less.

[ This should suffice for a little insight of her past. If there is interest, I will write some more about how she grew up in the temple, how she met the Gort-man and stuff :9 ]

[wonderswritings]

Starless Lovers {10}

Summary: They fell from the sky. We roamed the earth. We were always meant to clash.  Warnings: The 100 Themes, Angst, Death, Blood, Unrequited Feelings, Slow Burn, Possibly more to come Pairings: Lexa x Sister!Reader, Bellamy Blake x Fem!Reader (eventual)

War has always been brewing. With twelve clans, each with different ideals, it was always going to happen. But tensions rise when they come, the people from the sky. We watched from a distance, learning. But then they attacked, and if there's one thing all the clans can agree on, Blood must have blood.

Starless Lovers Masterlist | Tags

There is only one more chapter left of Starless Lovers Season 2! I am so, so sorry for such a late update! Work has been kicking my ass and I've had zero motivation to write.

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Bellamy’s chest heaved as he ran into the room, taking a few deep breaths before he made his way to Echo’s cage, unlocking it.

“Get up. It’s time to go. I told you I’d come back for you. Come on out. Our people are marching on Mount Weather right now.”

Bellamy unlocked the next cage, helping the grounder out.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re getting you out.”

Echo shook her head, grabbing onto the grounder.

“Slow down. They just bled him.”

Bellamy shook his head, looking over at Echo. 

“Listen to me. There’s an army inside this room, and I need you to help me get them ready to fight. Can you do that?”

Echo nodded, clenching her jaw. 

“Good, start with him.”

The others still in the cages started to scream and yell, causing Bellamy to shake his head.

“Too much noise.”

With one look from Echo they all stopped, Echo looking over at Bellamy.

“Ok, how do we do this?”

“There’s an army outside going for the main door. When they get it open, all hell will break loose. That is the signal for my friends to come here and-”

Bellamy stopped talking when the speakers cut on, glancing up at them. 

“My fellow citizens, this is your president speaking. I have news to share with you that will change all of our lives forever. For ninety-seven years, Mount Weather has been our home. It’s kept us alive, but it has also held us captive. Most of us have made peace with what we’ve had to survive. We’ve done these things for one reason, so that our people could someday return to the ground. That day is today.”

Bellamy’s eyes widened as she scoffed slightly, shaking his head.

“He’s going public.”

“Before my friend Lorelei Tsing was murdered by the outsiders still at large in this mountain, she found a cure. It was in their bone marrow.” 

Bellamy turned, handing Echo the keys.

“Here, I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?”

“He’s trying to get his people to turn on each other. They’ll find my friends. I have to bring them here, now. I’ll send them in groups. You get your people ready to go, but you wait for me to come back, do you understand?”

Echo nodded, causing Bellamy to nod once before he turned, rushing towards the door when Echo called out to him.

“Wait! Thank you!”

Bellamy nodded, clenching his jaw.

“You free your people, protect mine when they get here. We can thank each other when we’re all outside.”

“This has been the dream of our people since the bombs, but to reach it now, I need your help. The forty-four criminals that irradiated level five, killing fifteen of our people, are now keeping us from that dream. Although we’ve repaired our home, we can never replace the lives that were so viciously taken from us, and, as hard as it is to believe, there are those among us who would help the people who did this, and I am speaking to you now. If you truly want to end the blood treatments once and for all, then the forty-four murderers you’re now hiding are the key to doing that. You have one hour to turn them in without punishment. After that, we’ll be forced to consider you enemies of the state. I’m asking you, please, do what’s right for your people, our people, so that we can all take our rightful place on the ground. We’re almost home.”

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Everything passed by you in a blur as the guards transported you and the doctor to one of the other floors. You couldn’t make out what they were saying, your ears ringing for some time as you looked around, the lights flashing above you. You turned your head to the side, heavily blinking when you saw someone at the corner of the hall, wearing what looked to be a guard's uniform. They ducked around the corner when your group passed them, sticking to the shadows. Your vision was blurry, but you couldn’t help but feel like you recognized the guard. The ceiling spun again as you were wheeled into a room, a bright light overhead as the doctor appeared in your vision.

“Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon. You won’t even feel a thing.”

A cold sensation spread throughout your body as your eyes involuntarily fell closed.

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“Welcome, Skaikru. Join us.”

Those in the guard who came, walked into the tent, eyeing the grounders as David walked towards Clarke.

“A package, from Raven. Hydrazine. She said it would do the job.” “Good.” “And uh, your mother wanted to be here, too.”

Clarke nodded slightly, a slight smile on her face.

“I know, but the wounded in Tondc need her more.”

Lexa stepped forward slightly, looking around the tent.

“Field commanders, today’s the day we get our people back. The enemy thinks it’s safe behind its doors, but it’s not. When it realizes that, it will fight back… Hard. We need to be ready.”

Lexa turned her head, looking at Clarke, nodding once.

“This is a rescue mission. We are not here to wipe them out. There are people inside that mountain that have helped us, children who have nothing to do with this war. We kill their soldiers, their leadership if we have to, but we are there to rescue our people. Is that clear?”

There was a small murmur of agreement.

“Then let's begin.”

Clarke walked towards the war table.

“There are 4 teams. Two of them... at the dam and in the mine... are moving into position already. The third... inside the mountain... is freeing the Grounder prisoners as we speak. It is our job as the fourth team to keep the eyes of the enemy off of them for as long as possible. To do that, we have to be in position here at the main door with our entire army. The mountain men believe the door can't be opened from the outside, so they leave it unguarded. Only it can be, and thanks to our source on the inside, now we know how. According to Maya, the electromagnetic locking system has one flaw. When the power goes out, it disengages. That's where Raven's team comes in. The mountain's electricity is generated at Philpott Dam. By now, they've taken the turbine room. It’s their job to blow the power. Once they do, we blow the lock. There is a catch, a backup generator inside the mountain. If the lock is still functioning when that backup power kicks in, we'll never get that door open, we'll never get our people back.”

“How much time do we have until the backup power kicks in?”

Clarke looked over at David.

“One minute. That’s the window.”

“Small window. Why don't we just take out the backup generator, too? Bellamy's inside. Have him do it.”

“Leaving them without power that long would kill them all, and as I said, that’s not the mission. Besides, we lost contact with Bellamy.”

Monroe stepped forward, looking at Clarke.

“What? We did? When?”

“After he took out the acid fog.”

“Bellamy’s a warrior.”

Clarke looked back at Lexa as she spoke.

“He’ll be fine.”

“As the commander said, once the door is open, the shooting will start, and they'll throw everything they have at us, but that's what we want. We want them looking at us because while we're fighting at the front door, Indra's team will be escorting the prisoners out the back, right through the reaper tunnels. Once all our people are free, they'll sound the retreat. We'll be back home before Mount Weather even knows they're gone, and that's it. That's the plan.”

Clarke walked back to where Lexa and Lincoln stood, Lexa looking at the reactions of those in the tent before she stepped forward.

“The mountain has cast a shadow over these woods for too long. They've hunted us, controlled us, turned us into monsters. That ends today. Thanks to our alliance with the Sky People, the mountain will fall. As Clarke said, we spare the innocent. As for the guilty... Jus dren jus daun.”

The grounders started to  cheer along, Clarke joining in.

“Jus dren jus daun!”

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When you came to, you were no longer tied to the bed. Looking around, you didn’t recognize the room, not in the same room they had moved you too earlier. Shakingly, you tried to stand, only to fall back down due to the size of the cage you were in. You growled, grabbing the bars of the cage, shaking them, trying to force them open. You glared when they didn’t open, only succeeding in rattling the cage. You kicked your leg out, groaning in pain as you kicked the door of the cage when you heard something, causing you to look around, trying to find something you could use as a weapon, though the room you were in was bare.

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Bellamy ran down the hall, a group of guards chasing after him. He came to a fork in the hall, choosing to run down the hall on the left. He ran into the first room, shutting the door, waiting. After a few minutes, he sighed, relaxing slightly as he looked around the room, his eyes widening.

“Riheda?”

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You tensed as the door to the room was flung open, watching as a guy ran in, shutting the door, tense. You moved back in the cage when he turned to you, his eyes widening.

“Riheda?”

You glared at him as he walked towards you, tilting your head to the side.

“Bellamy?”

He nodded, lowering the gun he held, stopping in front of the cage.

“What are you doing here?”

You watched him as he tried to open the cage.

“They took me, killed my guard on the way to Tondc. Is it true, they bombed Tondc?”

Bellamy looked at you, nodding slightly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. But your sister is still alive, and so is the army. The attack, it’s happening now.”

You nodded slightly, relieved that Lexa had survived.

“Will you get me out?”

Bellamy nodded, pulling harder on the cage door.

“I will.”

He looked over at you, nodding slightly.

“Get back, as far as you can go.”

Nodding, you moved to the corner of the cage. You jumped when he fired his gun, the sound echoing as he shot the lock.

“Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here, they’ll have heard the gunshot.”

Nodding, you crawled out of the cage, Bellamy helping you climb out. Your legs gave out as soon as you stood, Bellamy slightly making a face before he bent down, picking you up, carrying you out of the room.

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“Chil yo daun!” (stand down)

Clarke turned, watching as Lexa walked down the hill, Emerson behind her.

“What is this?”

“Hey, look! They’re coming out!”

Clarke turned, seeing the wounded coming out before she turned back towards Lexa.

“They’re surrendering?”

“Not quite.”

Clarke glanced at Emerson, seeing the grin on his face as he looked over at Lexa, Clarke looking back at Lexa.

“What did you do?”

“What you would have done. Saved my people.”

“Where are my people?”

“I’m sorry Clarke. They weren’t part of the deal.”

Emerson grinned as he stepped forward, Lexa cutting the rope around his wrists before he turned, walking towards the opened door.

“You made the right choice, Commander.”

Lincoln walked towards Clarke and Lexa, looking between them both.

“What is this?”

“Your Commander’s made a deal.”

“What about the prisoners from the Ark?”

“They’ll all be killed… But you don’t care about that, do you?”

“I do care, Clarke, but I made this choice with my head and not my heart. The duty to protect my people comes first.”

“And what about your sister? What about Esmeray?”

Emerson grinned as he stopped at the door, yelling out.

“The Dark Commander isn’t with us.”

Lexa looked back at Clarke, nodding slightly.

“She too, would understand. She would also choose our people.”

“Please, don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, Clarke.”

“Commander, not like this. Let us fight.”

“No. The deal is done.”

Lexa turned slightly, nodding.

“Teik oso rowenes laud.” (sound the retreat)

The grounder turned, blowing into the horn as Lexa looked up at Lincoln.

“You, too.”

The grounders turned, cheering as they started to leave.

“All our people withdraw. Those are the terms.”

“They’ll be slaughtered. Let me help them.”

“Teik em au.” (take him)

Grounders moved towards Lincoln, one grabbing his arm, Lincoln turning and fighting them when they knocked him out. Clarke watched, looking over at Lexa, tears in her eyes as Lexa spoke.

“We will meet again.”

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Starless Lovers Tags: @kloy344  @bxnnywatts @kibumslatina @smol-book-nerd @newbooksmell777 @bamboozledbooks

Everything Tags: @jedi-dreea  @sammysgirl1997 @scarlett-witchhh @cevans-winchester @rafecameronswhore @jennmurawski13-writes 

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[buriedwithit]

INTRODUCING: SANTIAGO CORTEZ

⸻ ( benjamin bratt/smaug, 160, man-adjacent, he/him/it/its ) — Look who it is! If you take a look at our database, you’ll find that SANTIAGO CORTEZ is a MINER that works in SECTOR 8. According to the file, they’re a mutant with the power of INNER BEAST. That must be why they’re PERSISTENT and FANATICAL. If you ask me, they remind me of resentment festering like an infected wound, silk sheets draped over every surface, and a throne made of bleached bones. They are the leader of THE DAMNED.

basic information:

character name: santiago cortez

alias (es): jawbone

face claim: benjamin bratt & smaug

mutation status: gen i mutant ( inner beast )

distinguishing mutation(s): double hook-clawed thumbs, golden eyes, golden blood, forked tongue, pointed ears

birthday: july 31st

sexuality: bisexual

moral alignment: lawful evil

occupation: miner

work sector: sector 8

affiliation: the damned

3 positive traits: visionary, romantic, disciplined

3 negative traits: authoritarian, dogmatic, intolerant

character summary:

the day the meteor struck, he lost everything—including himself. the mutant virus made him host to an insurmountable power. captured before the cure was created, he was one of the first to receive it, but now blames humanity for his fracturing instead of the x-virus. would give anything to go back to the simplicity of being part of the Swarm.

questionnaire:

how do they feel about living in sol city? have they always lived there or did they travel from another settlement?

he was originally born in america and forged his family there. when armageddon struck, he was cast to the winds as an agent of the x-virus' destruction and was only brought to sol city in order to help cure efforts.

do they trust the council's leadership? why or why not?

no, the only leadership he trusts is his own. nobody else knows how to fix the world like he does!

if they chose their sector and profession, why did they make that choice? if they didn't, why not? were they happy with their assignment or not?

he did not initially make his choice, but has settled into the role. originally he was assigned there to keep him from transforming, as his bestial form is too large for most mineshafts.

what's one object that they always keep on their person?

a nail filer. gotta keep those talons sharp!

what is your character's ability (or abilities)?

inner beast (/transcendent dragon form)

are they gen i or gen ii?

gen i.

what can your character do? what are their strengths?

as a massive and powerful creature, he is capable of great feats of destruction not just through his own body but by literally summoning the forces of destruction and causing disasters.

what can't they do? what are their weaknesses?

causing calamities takes so much energy that if he were to do so, he would fall into a centuries-long slumber. in fact, just to keep himself from collapsing in on himself he needs no less than twelve hours of sleep a day. if he gets less than that, it will catch up to him and he will end up sleeping for days. if he's in a compact space, he cannot release the beast (and is therefore vulnerable) because he would be squished to death.

is there anything else you'd like to specify about them?

he has an american accent. lol

possible connections:

other damned members: particularly older members! gen i mutants could even have been recruited before the cure and then again once he destabilized. <3

jaguars or syndicate members: he has struck deals with both organizations in the past for city-based services, as he spends most of his time in the underground away from sol's tracking tech.

sectormates: when he is in the city it's mostly for working purposes. you've gotta do something while you're working, right?

[riversimmone]

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

RiverOfTheSand

Summary:

NejiSaku one-shot. She was lost in memories and did not notice the pearl eyes that were watching her so intently. He was all she was thinking about, and he knew it.

Notes:

Cross-posting from fanfiction.net. Rated T. I hope you all enjoy. :)

.

She ran the back of her hand over the plush rug, enjoying the soft texture as it pleasured her skin. The room was bathed only in moonlight and in the reverie of her trance, Sakura Haruno had taken in every detail, no matter how the refracted light seemed to highlight every object in the room with a faint glow. Every crevasse and every item within the boundary of the room was subject to her intense scrutiny. She felt like she could sit in here forever, taking in the scent that pervaded her senses and the feel of Neji Hyuuga that lingered even when he wasn't in the room.

The stoic ANBU captain was so icy at first glance, but between missions and their occasional conversations, she'd been graced with the sensual version of the man, that would occasionally draw out the vowels when whispering her name into her ear. He would deliberately stand near her when the rest of the members of the leaf twelve were occupied in one of their bimonthly reunions. These little "get togethers" had technically started before Sasuke Uchiha had left the hidden leaf, but hadn't really taken off until his release from Konoha prison. Now it was tradition, and Sakura had yet to miss one, but not everyone would be there each time, which was understandable – missions didn't stop after all.

The rest of Konoha seemed to gossip about the leaf twelve a lot, according to Ino. They had been through so much together, clung to each other for solace during the war and come out of there without losing a single person. It had started with the problems surrounding Team Seven, and extended to the rookie nine, and then each team's Sensei had joined in… the number increased when Sai and Yamato were dragged into it. Finally, the coup d'état was Sasuke's return.

But it wouldn't be honest to say they'd come out complete; every time they met, they honoured Asuma Sarutobi.

The loss and stress aside, it was like some sort of fairytale, where some of them were even pairing off. Case in point: Sakura and Neji. They weren't shouting it to the high heavens, but everyone knew where they went when they disappeared in the middle of their outings. Everyone knew they were spending the majority of their downtime together and that after Naruto's proposal of marriage to the normally shy Hinata (she'd gone thoroughly verbal and hugged him so enthusiastically you'd have thought Naruto was proposing to a transformed clone of himself), it was only a matter of time before Neji popped the question as well.

But what no-one but Sakura and Neji knew was how they had found their way to each other.

– Dragonfly –

It was late into summer and the soft breeze of autumn was just beginning to drift through the Hyuuga complex. This was when he'd recovered from his infirmity enough so that his life was no longer in any danger. Now, he could move around unassisted and was even smiling again.

His name was Tonbo, the meaning of which wasn't lost on Sakura: it meant "dragonfly". This was a name that symbolized courage, and he certainly had a lot of that. Sakura had been his personal medic for six months after his recovery; struck down with an illness that had completely consumed his chakra in a matter of hours, the four year old boy had survived through sheer force of will. The former apprentice to the Godaime believed, that apart from her own tendency to cure otherwise inexplicable illnesses, that the speedy recovery of Tonbo Hyuuga under her care was more of his own doing.

But he'd been left blind in the wake of his physical maladies; the illness scorched the veins of his Byakugan and rendering all forms of sight useless. This was the defining point of his segregation from what passed as a normal life in the Hyuuga clan.

After all, if he couldn't use his Byakugan, this weakness would serve no future purpose to the clan.

The servants would bring him food and water and watch curiously from afar, but Sakura was alone in caring for him. His mother and father had died and his legal guardian had left him to his own devices.  This  was how the members of the side branch were treated when deemed weak. If Tonbo had been of the main branch, this kind of neglect wouldn't have happened.

Sakura's furious pleas to Hiashi Hyuuga had not gone unanswered: he searched out Neji as soon as the ANBU captain returned from his mission only to find that the prodigy had already heard about what had happened and found his nephew kneeling by Sakura's side, aiding in the little branch boy's physical therapy.

It was Neji's insistence that gave Sakura much needed time to sleep and rebuild her chakra after each healing session, and it was his trademark Hyuuga stubbornness that made her comfortable leaving Tonbo in his care as she slept. It wasn't like he didn't understand after all – his own childhood had been difficult due to being a branch member. But unlike the others,  he  was determined to do something about it. Sitting back and just accepting things wasn't going to change what needed changing.

Naruto had taught him this. But it was Sakura's lessons that would always remain at the forefront of his mind. She taught him that you didn't have to hide behind propriety. This lesson was learned sweetly as she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek one afternoon after Tonbo had fallen asleep, exhausted from his new training. It blossomed into a few minutes of heaven and once they'd come down from their high, they realised that the little brown haired boy under their care had just pretended to fall asleep, grinning happily as though he had known what they were doing, sight or no sight.

So that was when Neji had decided to play a little game with him. It was tradition in the Hyuuga clan: he was going to teach him how to catch dragonflies. Tonbo couldn't see them, but they'd been helping him through meditation and katas to extend his other senses and hear the fluttering of their wings as they hummed in the evening air. Tonbo could also sense them; a little like the Byakugan, he caught them as imperceptible shades of light blue in a sea of darkness.

Sakura found herself watching the game with interest, noting also that Neji and Tonbo had garnered attention from nearby, curious Hyuuga members. She watched as they tied hair to a small pebble at both ends and Neji's arms went around the excited boy to move with the motion as he threw the pebble into the air. The light from the tiki torches caught the spectacle of the dragonfly that mistook the pebble for prey, getting tangled in the hair.

Tonbo ran over to free the dragonfly as the pink haired medic let out a longing sigh, wishing she was good enough to capture this mood in a painting like Sai would've been. The sound drew pearl eyes to her form; Neji let a flicker of amusement cross his features at the sight of her enjoying herself and she smiled back at him.

That was the exact moment that Sakura had fallen in love with Neji Hyuuga… and he knew it.

– Dragonfly –

From then on, he would come to her upon every return from his missions. Instead of returning to his personal chambers in the Hyuuga estate, Neji slipped into Sakura's apartment and shared with her the love they had both found. They'd been dating for over a year now, but only those closest to them knew without having to be told.

As Sakura let the memory of that fateful drift away, Neji entered his bedroom, having watched her throughout the entire reverie which had been her trip down memory lane, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts. She was so beautiful, this precious gem: his cherry blossom. The moonlight streaming into his room only highlighted the delicate features of the woman he'd fallen in love with.

The ANBU captain knelt down in front of her, smirking lightly at the forming grin on her face, cupped her face in his hands, and silently pulled her toward him; into his kisses, his embrace. There was no way, after that day in the Hyuuga gardens that he was going to ever let this rare beauty slip between his fingers. Their kiss intensified and she let him gently push her back onto the plush rug she'd been absentmindedly admiring, his hands now moving to rob her of the simple yet elegant silver nightdress she was wearing.

She lifted her left hand to his face as he disrobed and leant further into her. In the corner of her eye, she hazily spotted in her growing lust, the object on her finger – the cause of their new temporary sleeping arrangement.

It was a pink diamond engagement ring, the pinnacle of which opened up like a flower bud, revealing the delicately carved image of a dragonfly within.

X X X

[j3zelle]

Summary: You, Jesse and Ellie's plans are immediately disrupted in the wake of a new enemy.

Warnings: blood, cursing, violence

Word Count: 4.1k

A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait for Part 7! The year after Part 6's release was very busy for me and I lost interest for a while but I got back to it again! I hope you guys enjoy!

Benevolence: Part 7

As you stare at the group in front of you, you feel your stomach begin to churn. You took too long, now they were right here in front of you. Ellie and Jesse were frozen in place, just as you were. All of this for nothing. Gun barrels were pointed towards you all, and without a second thought, you slowly placed your handgun on the floor, another hand in the air, surrendering. Even if you wanted to fight there was nothing you could've done. It was a group of twelve. Fighting would only be a death wish.

You heard Jesse and Ellie drop their weapons next to you, not taking your eyes off of the group. You scanned your eyes over all of them, making sure to remember everyones face and all the little details.

A blonde girl with a long braid was in front, muscles bigger than Jesse's and Ellie's combined. You couldn't take your eyes off her. You rarely saw buff women like her, but the sight of her amazed you. Even as you stood there, terrified of what she was thinking of doing to the three of you.

"Tie them up. And keep your eyes on them." The young blonde finally said, her voice sounding oddly familiar to your ears. A girl with very short black hair and a man with light brown hair took zip ties and tied all three of you up. As they tied you up, they also took your bags and any guns or knives you all had on you at that time. They placed you against the old boxes you were all just scrounging around in, the cool concrete against your jeans making you feel more uncomfortable than you already were. As the young man placed you on the dirty floor next to Ellie, he looked into the boxes.

“They stole some of our stuff.” He spoke, looking back to the blonde.

“Then find it in their things.” The blonde responds. You look over to Ellie, whose eyes were simply glued onto the young lady. You wondered what she was thinking in that deep and confusing mind of hers.

As the young man looks through your bag for your things, you watch him intently, hoping they didn’t take anything they knew wasn’t theirs. After all the thoughts you had for the past few hours about how bad this could’ve gone, you never would’ve guessed they would find you before you took ten steps out the door. It was scarier than you expected. A lot scarier.

“Nothing of use that isn’t ours, Abby.” The young man says. “Just a diary.”

The blonde, whose name is Abby, turns around and walks over to your bags. “You sure? Let me see it.” Abby asks, holding her hand out for the diary. The same diary you and Ellie found in that house a few months ago. 

Well, fuck.

“Crap.” You whisper under your breath, looking at Ellie. She looked into your eyes, shaking her head gently, as to not give away anything. “This is Ray’s diary Owen,” Abby whispers, looking at the diary intently. “I’d know it anywhere. He showed it to me before he left last year.”

Abby looks over to the three of you, her eyebrows furrowed. “Where did you get this?”

“Off a dead guy's body,” Ellie says sternly. “Why?”

“This was my friend's diary. What did you read in here?”

“Only that he used to be a firefly, and that your group is trying to find a girl who can give you the cure. A girl that’s immune. Interesting stuff, I have to say.” Ellie says. You widen your eyes at her tone. She did seem interested in a sense, but maybe that was just an act. Maybe she was trying to get on their good side, get out of the ties that held them hostage. 

“Oh really? Mentioning a girl that's immune to people either comes with a laugh or denial. Are you interested?” Abby kneels down to Ellie. You tried to read her expression, but you couldn’t tell. She seemed to be one of those people that only gave her emotions when she needed to.

“Very much. Because I’d love to know where the idea came from. Seems far-fetched…”

Abby gives Ellie a questioning glare, then she gives it to you and Jesse. You didn’t know what to think about the situation, as you were just as confused. If Ellie was telling the truth about her immunity, she’s likely trying to make it unknown.

“That conversation you three were having. Don’t act like we couldn’t hear it.” Abby finally says after a few moments of silence, standing up and handing the diary to Owen. “You got a secret you want to share with the whole class? Or do we have to beat it out of you?” She asks Ellie. You hear her breath hitch as she speaks, wondering what she was thinking to get out of the conversation. Her eyes, however, were blank. 

“Fine,” She sighs and looks at someone else in her group. “Get the other girl. Beat her until they say something.”

You widen your eyes as another woman with a bun walks up to you, grabbing you off the ground. 

“No, no! Let go of me!” You cry out, kicking and screaming as she drags you away.

“No! Don’t touch her! Let go!” Ellie yells out. Abby throws a punch at her, hitting her across the face. The impact was so loud, it was almost unreal. Abby was beyond strong.

“Stop! It doesn’t have to go this far! We will cooperate!” Jesse yells, looking down at Ellie as she groans in pain. 

“Teach them a lesson.” Abby tells the young woman holding onto you. You feel tears rolling down your eyes already, and yet no pain has come to you yet. Just the thought of knowing you will soon receive pain, for no reason, terrified you. And the fact that Ellie or Jesse cannot help you made it worse.

“Please don’t hurt them! We will tell you everything you want to know, just don’t-”

“Put her down!” A deep voice yells out. The young lady stops before she begins to hit, and looks up towards the entrance. Two figures stood there, guns raised at the group that took the three of you hostage.

It was Joel and Dina. Both suited up, looking like complete hero’s.

“What… How did you guys-“ Ellie begins to speak weakly, still laid on the floor. Before she can finish, the other group holds up their guns as well. Abby too. It was four versus two, and with you preoccupied and Ellie and Jesse tied up, it didn’t look good for your side. 

“Put them down now.” Joel says, gritting his teeth. If Joel was anything, he definitely wasn’t weak. If Abby and her group didn’t cooperate it would be a bloodbath, and there was no telling who would spill the most. Abby’s group had the numbers but Joel was smart. 

“There are four guns on you… And we have your three people. Why do you think we would ever let them go?”

“Because you’re fucking with the wrong people.”

“Oh yeah?” Abby smiles and shrugs. “You don’t look too tough.”

“You have no idea what I’m capable of.” Joel replies, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Wait.” Jesse speaks, looking up to Abby. He maneuvers himself so his body faces her. “We have information you might need. It’d be a shame to spill important blood.” Abby doesn’t look at Jesse as he speaks, keeping her eyes on Joel as she holds her gun on him.

“Like you all have any important information…” Abby says, scoffing. “You likely are a small group that is just getting by. You shot at my friends a few months ago and injured one so bad she had to amputate her leg. Then you follow us like puppies and want to get revenge, after you killed my friend and stole his things.” Abby holds up the diary, shaking her head. “You aren’t interested in anything in that diary, you're buying time.”

“He had important information you wanted?” Ellie whispers under her breath. Abby takes her eyes off Joel, glancing down at Ellie, whose nose was bleeding. “What about your dumb friend, huh? He was scouting for you? Trying to find that girl?”

Abby doesn’t answer, but her ears twitch as Ellie mentions an immune girl. You didn’t know what she was thinking, but you were hoping she didn’t go too far.

“We’re from Jackson, you piece of shit.” Ellie groans, unable to finish her sentence as she begins unable to continue speaking for a moment before sitting up. “You messed with us first!”

Abby hums, looking at you still being held by the young lady. She puts her gun down, then nods to the young lady, who finally lets go of you and cuts you free. She then walks over to Ellie and Jesse, freeing them as well. Joel and Dina still had their guns held up, but that didn’t stop you from running over to Ellie and grabbing her face.

“Are you okay?”

“Feel like I was hit with a rock.” She replies, groaning as she wipes her nose. The blood was down past her lips already and she was beginning to wipe it with her hands. You stopped her, waving to Jesse to give you a rag. He placed one in your hand and you quickly wiped away any blood you saw, but her lips and under her nose were stained red until she could wash her face. She took the rag from you and placed it under her nose.

“This is us being merciful. We will cooperate with you if you cooperate with us.” Abby tells you all. You look over to Dina and Joel, whose guns finally went down as Abby’s people disarmed themselves.

“Get over here you three.” Joel says, waving over the three of you. You help Ellie up to her feet, and Jesse follows behind you both as you walk over to Joel and Dina.

“Jesus. You all look like shit.” Dina says with a disgusted face.

“Thanks.” You tell her, smiling. 

“Not to be rude, sorry.” She responds. Ellie smiles in response.

“Enough talking. We’re doing you a favor by not shooting you. Stay in line and maybe we won’t have to anytime soon.” Abby tells your group, moving her hand towards the entrance of the subway. “Let’s go.”

You look over to Joel and Dina, both their expressions chilling. They didn’t seem to trust Abby one bit, and honestly, you didn’t either. If anything it terrified you how easily she would’ve ended all your lives right there in a heartbeat. 

You all began to walk out of the subway, almost defeated. The look on Joel's face as he looked at Ellie was something you saw many times before. That of a loving father worried about his daughter. You knew they had known each other for years and that they weren’t biological father and daughter, but from the stories Ellie told you, it was hard for you to believe it at times. He did so much for her and Ellie just hated his guts, for reasons she never told you.

“Has it stopped bleeding yet?” You asked Ellie, looking at the rag under her nose.

“I don’t know, I don’t feel anything. It just feels dry.” Ellie responds, grunting as she looks down at the bloody rag herself.

“Your nose will hurt for a while,” You tell her, then you smile. “No rigorous activities until it heals.”

“I can’t promise that.” She says quietly, nudging you playfully. You blush gently, nudging her back as you take the bloody rag from her hands. The darkness really rubbed you the wrong way, who knew where some infected were. Hiding in the darkness, waiting for whoever made the most noise to pounce on them and ruin their day.

“How did you get here?” Ellie asks Joel, looking over to him. 

“Found a map of this place in the radio station.” Joel says, smiling at her. “Can’t believe you forgot it.”

“Can't believe I did either.” She tells him, sighing. 

“It’s alright kiddo, we found you.”

“Yeah, he was determined to find you.” Dina says, smiling at Ellie as you walk. 

You look behind your group, Abby and her friends just behind you. They were leading you to where they lived, it seemed. The same place Jesse, Ellie and you were planning on going. Maybe it was better this way compared to the way you were going to do it. 

After what felt like hours, both groups managed to make it to the football stadium, walking up a gravel and dirt road  that led to a gate where there were at least six soldiers armed with assault style rifles. There were also two trucks that held some more ammunition. Barricades were set up so they weren’t taken by surprise, and there were ladders that led up to the gate so they could get a better view of the surrounding area. It reminded you a bit of Jackon’s gates. You missed home. You missed your comfortable bed. You missed your warm bedroom.

Your mind started to wonder. Where would you be if you didn’t go with Ellie to find Jesse? Would you be laid comfortably on your warm couch not worrying about either of them? You didn’t want to think about it. It felt wrong just to contemplate not helping Ellie. Even if a part of you was biased because it was Jesse, your best friend that went missing. Even if a part of you wanted to spend alone time with Ellie as well considering you two rarely got the opportunity unless you were on runs. But those were important. Those required most of your attention so you had little time to do anything fun with Ellie ever. Even if you were relatively close before all of this it was nothing like now.

You begin to think about last night, your first time with Ellie. She was such a dork but she had a way of making it comfortable for you. The way she held your waist as she kissed you. There was fire in the way she graced your lips. A greed that was unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. She was reserved and confusing when she wanted to be but last night changed something in the way you viewed her.

Even if she was walking beside you now with a nearly broken nose.

As you walked inside the football stadium, you passed tons of people. Tons. You hadn’t seen this many people since Jackson and even then it felt like there were more. If Abby’s group ever wanted to go to war with Jackson you knew now they had the manpower and weapons to do so if they wished. But maybe that wasn’t the point of all of this. Maybe there was a deeper reason for this. 

The ‘infected girl’ thing still worried you. Ellie was messing with Abby but what if they had heard the rest of the conversation her and Jesse were having with you? What if she did hear Ellie say she was immune and was only acting kind because she was messing with us, leading us into the lion's den for us to be devoured whole with no intention of letting us know we were walking into a trap? There was no turning back now of course but there were so many different things that could’ve happened.

As your group was led through the stadium you began to see the similarities the WLF had with Jackson. Though you would never mention the similarities to Ellie’s face, especially right now when her face was trained on Abby like she was a trained dog ready to pounce when someone says ‘go’. They had crops and farming, and they had children. The kids were probably just as scared and confused as you and Ellie were when you learned Jesse was missing. What did they think when Ray was missing? Are any of these children his? Was he loved by them?

Of course you had nothing to do with Ray’s death. You and Ellie stumbled upon his body in that old house when you first went looking for Jesse. But who would believe you two?

Abby’s group splits up, so now it was only Owen and her leading your group to where you all would be living.

“We have plenty of space. Boys get their own room, same as girls.” Abby explains, motioning to two doors in front of you all.

“I’d be more comfortable with all of us together.” Joel told Abby, looking over to her.

“Well that's not happening. You either take what we give you or you each get a cell. Your choice.” Abby looks over to the rest of you, as if she was waiting for one of you to say something. Seems you all had the same idea, so Abby nodded and motioned for you all to enter the rooms.

You, Ellie and Dina all entered one room together while Jesse and Joel took the room next to you. You felt a little better knowing you were all in close proximity at least. 

The room had an open floor plan before leading into two small rooms on each side. Must’ve been where the bedrooms were. It was clean mostly and looked like a large living room.

“You two can get a room alone if you want.” Dina tells you and Ellie. You nod to Dina, but Ellie seems more embarrassed than anything. Dina walks off to relax on the couch as you look over to Ellie.

“Is it obvious?” Ellie asks you.

“Obvious what?”

“That we are… you know…” Ellie rubs the back of her neck. Did being a couple bother her? Or did people knowing bother her?

“That we had sex?” You ask out loud, teasingly. Ellie blushes and bites her lower lip. You wanted nothing more than to bite her lip for her.

“Yeah…”

“I don’t think so. I mean we act like a couple but not like we had sex,” You laugh as Ellie visibly becomes less tense. “But we have been on the road alone for months… people naturally get closer to one another during such a long period of time.”

“That’s true.” Ellie replies, still holding a rag to her nose. You walk over and cup her face gently, removing the rag from her hands.

“Come. Let’s look at that nose…” You take her by the hand and lead her into one of the bedrooms that was off to the side. It was small and a little dark, but once you flipped the switch on the wall as you entered, it was quite cute. There was only one bed, a full sized one. Enough for both you and Ellie to sleep comfortably if you cuddled close to one another. You sat Ellie on the bed and kneeled in front of her, looking at her nose.

After inspecting it like an FBI agent for some time, you sighed. “It’s not broken but it’ll definitely hurt for a while.” You tell Ellie.

“Figured that.” Ellie replies, sighing as she holds the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe this happened.” She said after a moment of silence. You raised an eyebrow and sat beside her, willing to listen to anything she has to say.

“Can’t believe what happened?” You ask her, wanting confirmation on what you were thinking yourself.

“That we let ourselves get into this situation. You and Jesse were right. We should’ve gone home. We shouldn’t have let this happen.” Ellie sighs, and her breath hitches as if she were about to cry. “I’m sorry. I put you all in danger, I shouldn’t have asked you two to come with me. We may not have been captured if it were just me but if it did happen at least all of you wouldn’t be in danger.”

“Hey, I wasn’t going to let you do this alone…” You quickly tell Ellie, shaking your head. You take her left hand and place it on your chest, holding it close.

“I know. And that makes it worse.” She replies, finally turning towards you. Your eyes widen at the sight of Ellie’s tearful eyes. 

“What do you-”

“I know you would have come with me no matter what. Every single shit plan I’ve had, from since we left Jackson to yesterday you have followed to the letter. And I knew you would because that is just who you are. You would fight with and for your friends no matter what. And I used that to my advantage and put you in harm's way…” Ellie lets a tear fall from her eyes before she swats it away with her free hand. Embarrassed or ashamed. She turns away again and faces the floor, unable to look you in the eye. She wondered how much you hurt her. How much she broke your trust knowing you would do anything for her.

“Ellie.” You lean in close and pull her face towards your own. “The choice was mine at the end. I wanted to protect you, yes. And I would’ve done anything to do that. What matters is that we are together. Captured or not. We are together.”

“(Y/N), you’ve always been too optimistic.” Ellie tells you as she sniffles.

“That’s a lie…” You reply, nudging Ellie playfully. She cracks a smile but it falls again before you get the chance to poke at her more.

There was another question hanging on your tongue. When Joel and Dina had come to save you three, even then, when Ellie was glad they had come to save them, she still seemed angry seeing Joel. It always nagged you how the two of them were so close and suddenly that all changed one day. Ellie would never tell you what exactly happened and no one else seemed to know. At least from what you were told. You wanted to ask Ellie but even at the mention of Joel’s name or his presence she was standoffish and didn’t interact with anyone in the room. And Joel always seemed sad around her. Even then when the two of them were within a few feet of each other on the way here to the stadium, everyone walked in an uncomfortable silence.

“Ellie?”

“Hmm?”

“I know you may not want me to ask this… but considering our circumstances and us being together now, I think I have a right to know about Joel and yo-”

“You think you have a right?” Ellie’s expression immediately turns to that of anger. You flinched back when you saw her eyes flash with annoyance, but she calmed herself as soon as she noticed your frown at her reaction. She then mumbled out a soft ‘Sorry’ before looking down to the floor again.

You can tell this is eating at Ellie. Devouring her, even. And you can view the longing in what little of her green iris you can see from where you sat. She wants to tell you. 

“Ellie…”

“Joel was one of the first to know I was immune. When I was fourteen, a woman named Marleen told him to take me to the Fireflies so I can be used to make a vaccine. Joel learned I would die if they went forward with the plan to make the vaccine but he… stopped them.”

You widen your eyes as Ellie explains this all to you, but before you can put in your two cents she speaks again.

“I hate him for that. Hate him for taking my choice from me. I hate him for lying to me for years about it. I hate that… I try to forgive him but it's so damn hard. I was ready to die, (Y/N)... I was. And when he said he killed all those people and saved me I… I carried a guilt with me all along, thinking I was the reason why so many people died. Why so many people continue to die. But it was all him. Can you imagine that? Learning it was him all along?”

You wanted to apologize to Ellie. To hold her and listen to her continue to speak these words. You can tell a weight was lifted off her shoulders even now, being able to tell this all to someone after so long.

“If I could go back in time, knowing the vaccine would save the people I love. I would do it in a heartbeat. Remember that, (Y/N.)” Ellie told you, looking deep into your (Y/E/C) eyes. Her eyes bore into your soul unlike anything before. And you knew that she meant every single word.