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wardenswateringhole · 7 months ago

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Shadowed Cross - Chapter 3

(This is an AU worked on by @peachypede and myself. Inspired by @bluebellowl's 50's AU.)

CW:

-none

Cut for length. Enjoy.

Ilona stared out the window, watching the world pass by as she rode in the backseat of the car. Buddy had said it was Mercedes Benz and then rattled of numbers and terms that swiftly flew over Ilona’s head. She ran her hand over the red leather seat. Her human hand.

It felt strange. Cross drilled a spell quickly into her head before he even let her step foot out the front door. The spell worked thus far. She was human again. But it was temporary. Cross said it would last however long she could hold it. He made her promise to start finding a safe place as soon as she felt even a hint of the spell fading. Promise wasn’t entirely accurate. It was more that he held her by the nape of the neck and hissed how badly things would go if she was caught. She gulped as she remembered the feeling of his hot breath against her ear, saying she’d be left to her fate and he would deny all knowledge of her as people who did not care about her well-being captured her and did gods knew what to her.

“You okay, kid?”

Buddy’s voice from the driver’s seat pulled her out of her mind. He still wore the shades but she could see his eyes glance at her in the rear view mirror as he drove. She nodded.

“Yeah. I’m okay…”

Her eyes drifted around the interior. It was all red. A dull boring red that didn’t assault the eyes but didn’t beg for the attention of such either. Ilona felt small. She could stretch her legs out completely. The tips of the white pumps still didn’t even reach the back of the front seat. Buddy could be heard laughing softly.

“Enjoying yourself?”

“Who in the world could need this much room?”

“You mean other than Mr.’I’m too tall for my own good’ Cross?”

“Oh yeah… I guess he would be a little squished in a regular car...”

She rubbed her arm. The conflicting feelings of right and wrong returned. The skin felt alien without the fur. But she knew it was how it should be. She could still feel Buddy’s eyes on her.

“Without all that fur… I think I recognize you now.”

Ilona looked up at him. “I don’t think I ever made a delivery to Mr. Cross’s mansion…”

Buddy shook his head. “Nah… Somewhere else… Were you ever a waitress or something?”

Ilona’s mind traveled back to a much less content time in her life. Her first job. She was a soda jerk. One of the few female ones. It showed in how the guests treated her. When she wasn’t being treated as completely incompetent for things beyond her control, she was getting harassed for the short skirt she was made to wear. The owner had definitely believed in the adage ‘sex sells’.

“Uh. Yeah… I was the soda jerk for a diner on the other side of town. Uh, Lenny’s Eats.”

“That was you!?” Buddy sounded like he was ready to wreck the car. “You’re the one who broke that dessert dish over that guy’s head!”

“You were there for that!?”

Buddy howled in laughter. “Boy Howdy! I was there with some other drivers while Joe-- I mean, Mr. Cross was at some function. The fellas and I were about to get up and get the guy after he yanked on your skirt but you beat us to it.”

Ilona’s cheeks still burned with how angry that had made her. She was also written up and had her pay docked for the incident. The owner was obligated to tell the guy to take a hike but he also made sure that Ilona couldn’t assault the customers in return, no matter what they had done. It didn’t dawn on her that she was the only one to actually put up with that treatment until she had decided to quit. The boss flipped between begging her to stay and verbally assaulting her as she put in her notice. In the end, she didn’t even finish the two weeks. The man was left short staffed for eleven of the fourteen days she had said she’d remain. Last she had seen the place, there was a for sale sign on the window and the doors were boarded shut.

Served the asshole right, she had thought.

“You got moxie, kid. Tons of it. Whatever happens, you’ll be okay. I know you will.”

Ilona thought for a moment before nodding. Buddy’s words seemed to almost magically dispel the anxiety that gnawed on her nerves.

“Thanks, Buddy.”

She saw the trademark red striped walls of Jerry’s diner out the corner of her eye. Buddy drove past and parked into another parking space for a business next door. He put the car in park and turned in his seat to look at her.

“You remember the plan?”

Ilona nodded. “I’ve got it. I’ll be okay.”

“Good luck. Kid. I’m routing for ya.”

“Thanks again, Buddy.”

The door clicked as Ilona opened the door.

Everett’s reflection in the face of his wristwatch glowered back at him as he tapped his fingers against the table. It had been twenty minutes. Twenty minutes since he and Pecha had arrived and sat down. They had a normal meet up time. 10am. Each time. It wasn’t unheard of for Ilona to be a few minutes late but she always made it close to time. She was never this late.

Everett’s eyes drifted up to Pecha sucking down her soda. His eyes watched the liquid disappear rapidly. The ice clinked against the glass as it no longer had it’s bubbly cushion to keep it a float. A loud slurping sound signaled the soda’s demise as she stopped and looked back at him.

“What?”

“That never ceases to amaze me. Where does it go?” Everett replied flatly. Pecha shrugged as she dabbed daintily at the corners of her mouth.

“In my stomach, I would assume.”

Everett sighed. “As Ilona would say, ‘you’re going to hate yourself later’… of course she’s not here to say that…”

Everett propped his head on his hand and looked around the diner. It was a bit of a slow day. Some older diners chatted and the sounds of the cook working away could be heard. His voice yelling order names that sounded like some made up language would pierce the quiet from time to time. Without fail, the waitress would gather the order and deliver it where it needed to go despite the words that came out the cooks mouth making no sense at all. What the hell even was “Adam and Eve on a raft and two blowout patches and axle grease”?

Ilona would know. Ilona would have been the one to translate when either he or Pecha was curious. Ilona was not here.

Everett huffed once more before staring at his watch like it would magically bid Ilona to appear.

“She’ll be here, Everett.” Pecha stirred the ice around in soda-less glass absentmindedly. “She probably just got caught up in a delivery.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of…” Everett sat up straight. His hands waved in front of him as he spoke, “She’s always caught up in something since she left that diner job. That delivery job seems to hold all her time lately.”

Everett had been surprised when she had called him up to join her for a celebration. He had arrived at Pecha’s house and later stood in Pecha’s backyard with a watering hose as Ilona set fire to the uniform she had loathed so deeply. It was the night she vowed to never return to that place. She then proceeded to explain she was getting paid very well for her delivery job. It had made Everett scratch his head. He didn’t know of many delivery jobs that paid that well. He was happy for her nonetheless. That was before he got a good look at her new lifestyle.

“Haven’t you noticed how she’s been since taking up that delivery job? Her clothes at gotten at least three new patches in the past month and that was a brand new pair of pants! Her shirt is going ragged as well! And the injuries! She’s had bruises and scrapes for days!”

Pecha listened to Everett’s rant while still playing with the straw in her ice. He named off several instances he felt that Ilona had not taken her safety seriously. Several more were counted off on his fingers where he wondered about her hygiene as she was covered in dirt and debris from unknown sources.

“Is she still eating? Drinking water?” Pecha asked suddenly causing Everett to stop his complaining mid sentence. He looked at her blankly.

“Yeah? Seems so. She didn’t look thinner or anything…”

“And taking her medicine?”

“Well, yeah, she hasn’t had any episodes and still looks healthy all things considered.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Pecha assured him, looking down at her cup once more and watching the ice swirl with the motion of her straw.

“Ilona has always been a bit aloof. She’s rough around the edges and active. She doesn’t mean to get hurt, but she seems to know what to do when it happens. She may not have done anything with it, but that degree in medicine seems to have given her some knowledge when it comes to taking care of herself in those situations. I really don’t think you should worry so much about her. She can take care of herself… Don’t you think so, Everett?”

Silence.

“Everett?”

Pecha looked back up at Everett to see him staring at something behind her. His eyes were wide and his mouth was dropped open. She turned and saw the subject of Everett’s astonishment.

Walking toward them was Ilona. A green and white gingham dress flowed around her as she moved. Pecha couldn’t help but let her own jaw drop.

“I-Ilona!?”

Everett was already clamoring to his feet to pull out a chair for her. His mouth had still not closed. Ilona sat and gave Everett a small thank you as he sat back down with eyes still glued to her.

“What? Is it too much?”

Pecha shook her head as if trying to set her ability to speak back in motion. “N-no! It’s great! I just… I thought you didn’t like dresses…”

It was true. Ilona had made a big deal about never wearing anything dress like ever again after the harassment she had suffered at her previous job. It had pained Pecha so very much. Pecha loved to dress up in pretty clothes, especially when Ilona was there to do it with her.

Ilona shrugged. “Those clothes I was wearing to do my deliveries were getting really worn and it’s hot. I’ll have to be dressy until I can get a new shirt and trousers.”

Everett found his voice finally. “I didn’t know you owned something so nice…”

“I…” Ilona rubbed at her arm once more. “It… was… well, it was buried deep in my closet. I didn’t want to have to wear it unless I absolutely had to.”

Everett opened his mouth to speak only to be excitedly grabbed by Pecha. “Here they come!”

The waitress came over and sat three plates down. Each had a serving of stuffed french toast with different flavors. One strawberry, one blueberry, and one chocolate. Each were drizzled in warm syrup and a dollop of whipped cream sat pertly atop it all but was quickly melting from the heat of the meal. The sugary substance slowly dripped down the sides of the bread and mixed into the cream cheese, flavoring, and powered sugar.

The scent assaulted Ilona’s senses. She could feel the familiar ferality rising as she stared at the three plates. Her jaw clenched hard as she held herself back. Despite her earlier meal, her stomach still growled loudly. Pecha laughed as she retrieved her cutlery from the rolled napkin.

“Wow Ilona, I can hear your stomach from here!”

Ilona forced a grin as she dug the heel of her shoe into the toes of the other foot. The pain was enough to push away the urge to plunge her face into the food. “Y-yeah! I didn’t realize how hungry I am. Uh, who’s is who’s?”

“Well…” Everett began, holding a fork at the ready. “We couldn’t decide which ones we wanted and didn’t know what flavor you’d like either so we figured we’d try all three together.” He cut a piece from the chocolate one and quickly scooped it into his mouth, taking care to not let the syrup and whipped cream drip everywhere. His eyes widened as he held a hand over his mouth. Pecha and Ilona stared at him.

“Well?” Pecha asked.

“This might have been a mistake… I don’t want to share.” Everett replied behind his hand.

Pecha and Ilona glanced to one another before digging into the other two flavors. Their reactions were much the same but all three managed to control themselves enough to urge one another to try what they themselves enjoyed.

The table descended into giggles and playful banter as they enjoyed the meal. Ilona had long forget about her earlier encounter, losing herself to sweet treats and the company of friends. The memory of her promise to Cross came back to her as she saw Buddy out the window. He threw her a thumbs up. She gave him a slight nod before he turned and left.

Good. He found my bike.

“So Ilona…”

Ilona turned to Everett with her fork still in her mouth. She grunted at him as she continued to lick the sweetness from it’s prongs.

“You know why we agreed to meet…”

Oh no, here we go, Ilona thought to herself. She pulled the fork from her mouth and set it back on the plate in front of her, long empty from their feasting. “Okay… You got me here. Let’s get on with it. What do you have to say?”

Everett gave her a sidelong look. “The same thing I said yesterday… Your new job is a bit too dangerous in my opinion.”

Ilona nodded. “You did say that, and I understand. I’ll try not to get hurt so much in the future.”

“Not good enough.” Everett grunted. “You keep saying that and I keep seeing new wounds and patches on your clothes.”

“What do you want form me, Everett? I’m not stopping being a delivery biker because you can’t stop being a worry wart.”

“And you don’t worry enough!”

“WHOA! Hey! Hey… let’s calm down now…” Pecha held her hands up at both her friends as they both huffed and looked away from one another. “Look, I get where Everett is coming from. You have been kinda… well…” Ilona’s eyes drifted over to Pecha as she struggled to find the right words. “… Raggedy…”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Ilona asked, crossing her arms. “So because I’m not dressed up prim and proper and reeking of flowers and perfume I’m suddenly a danger to myself!?”

“No! That’s not—”

“Dammit Ilona, can you stop being stubborn! You know you can’t keep going like this with your illness! What if you really get yourself one time and bleed out!? No one is going to be able to help you! What if those dogs really did get a hold of you!? You would have been killed!”

Pecha’s head swung toward Everett. “Dogs!? What dogs!?”

Everett scoffed. “Oh yeah, didn’t tell you about that part. The ever adventurous but oh-so-responsible Ilona Vincent decided it would be a good idea to cut through Mr. Carlson’s yard and take a chance that his dog’s wouldn’t chew her to bits.”

“ILONA!”

“Hey! I made it didn’t I!? I’m still here!”

“Yeah but you still got hurt! Your arm! ...Wait…”

Ilona looked to where Everett’s eyes laid on her. Her arm. Her bare arm. Her bare and uninjured arm.

Shit.

“You… your arm… it was… it was all scraped and bloody yesterday…”

Ilona could feel her heart beat faster. She didn’t think of this. She should have insisted on getting her regular clothes from her apartment but she was so panicked about being late that it didn’t dawn on her.

“What? N-no it wasn’t. You must have dreamed that…”

“No. I swear it was. I would bet my entire inheritance on it. Ilona…”

Ilona looked away quickly. She could feel something wavering. Like a thin membrane threatening to snap. Pecha’s hands guided her gaze to Pecha’s. Pecha looked worried.

“Ilona? Your eyes. Are you feeling okay?”

“My eyes!?”

Ilona pulled her face away. She rubbed her cheeks, trying to calm down. A glance down at her feet saw the barest hint of black fuzz beginning to sprout around her ankles.

“I need to go!”

Ilona stood. Everett and Pecha stood with her. “Wait! Ilona! What’s wrong!?”

“I’m fine! I-- I just remembered I have an important delivery to make!”

She pushed away from the chair and rushed toward the door. She yelled back to her companions without looking back. “Thanks for the meal! I’ll call you both later!”

“Dammit! Ilona! Wait!”

Everett’s words were lost as she almost sprinted out the door. Everett grumbled as she dug money out of his pocket and threw it all the table before running toward the door himself. Pecha followed awkwardly. They both exited the diner just in time to see Ilona blazing down the street and into the distance. Everett grabbed his bike angrily.

“Everett!? What are you doing!?”

“If she thinks she can just blow us off like that after all that, she’s got another thing coming!”

Everett sped off leaving Pecha to scramble onto her own bike and attempt to catch up. Whatever Ilona was hiding, the pair were determined to confront her about it.

#wardenwrites #shadowed cross au #Oc Ilona #Oc Everett #Friend's Oc Pecha #Friend's Oc Buddy #Joseph Cross #Brawlhalla

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bellafragolina · 1 year ago

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Heart Healthy

Fitness was not something Emmet ever really kept up with. Sure, he took the Pokémon to the park, ran around with them, and stalked the tunnels of the subway daily, but he didn’t actively work out. Not until Ingo returned with audacity to have tits.

“I am working out.” Emmet announces to Pecha, pacing around the small circular dining table. Pecha looks up from the designs strewn across the table, watching him huff as he kept going and going. “I am working out.”

“You are?” Pecha asks, a soft cock to her head. Emmet pauses to nuzzle his nose into her cheek, making her giggle. “Emmet!”

“I am Emmet.” Emmet confirms, continuing his pacing. “And I am too small. Ingo is beefy. I will be beefy too. Yep.”

Pecha shakes her head. So that’s what all the sudden interest in exercise was about. “Emmet. You’re very handsome.”

“Thank you!” Emmet chirps.

“You don’t have to be beefy, you know?”

“Ah,” Emmet says, shaking a finger like he’s lecturing a confused student, “but Ingo is beefy now.”

“And you’re not Ingo.” Pecha replies. “You don’t have to look exactly like him.”

Emmet merely shrugs, stopping his march once more to show Pecha his xtransceiver. “Look. Workout app.” The small screens do display a heart monitor and a tracker of how long Emmet has been walking. It seems there are other symbols for other workouts to the side. Pecha almost wants to let Emmet be to see if he can manage the one that looks like yoga. “I need my heart to beat fast. It’s healthy.”

“You’ll need to walk faster.” Pecha says with a sigh. Emmet is as stubborn as they come, and this is something healthy. She’ll make sure he doesn’t overdo it too. “Your heartbeat isn’t fast enough.”

Emmet huffs. He sits, seemingly deciding to take a break, and pokes at the veggies he got out from the fridge for a “healthy snack.” Pecha snickers to herself, and looks back at her own work. Briefly, she wonders about designing some workout clothes for Emmet. What would look best? It would also need to be functional. . .

squeeeeaaaaak

“Pechaaaaa.” Emmet whines, head pressing to her shoulder. Pecha, used to his attention whoring, starts a new sketch for the new ideas she has. “Pechaaaaaa I want kisssesssss.”

Pecha just hums.

“So mean!” Emmet cries, hands up to his eyes as he fakes tears. “No kisses for the hard worker!”

Laughing, Pecha finally sets her pencil down. Emmet, immediately eager, scoots his chair even closer. He starts by peppering Pecha’s smile in kisses, then tilts his head to properly seal their lips together.

It’s warm, soft, nice, just like Pecha is. Emmet leans further into the kiss, happiness fluttering through his veins as he revels in the beautiful life he lives.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

The couple jump apart, both looking down to the incessant beeping noise. Emmet’s xtransceiver flashes, showing that Emmet has a concerningly high heart rate.

Flushing bright pink, Emmet slaps the xtransceiver shut, burying his face back in Pecha’s shoulder as she starts to laugh.

“So cute.” Pecha sighs, running her hands through Emmet’s hair. Hopefully he can feel her pulse too, just as quick as his.

“You’re healthy for me.” Emmet grumbles in response, as their heartbeats sync. “Healthy for my heart.”

Pecha kisses his head. Emmet kisses her collar. And they both recover from the runner’s high together.

#pecha x emmet #oc pecha #I love her!

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