#same woman who blurts out '[family member] died' every time a family member dies and she has to call me about it

[bedcorpse]

my mother is sooo good at tact. i just spent like 20 minutes talking about how unstable i am and then you drop a new diagnosis for my childhood cat who i miss all the fucking time. thanks.

[always-against-the-grain]

farewell

Summary: You meet someone from Negan’s life. Continuation of thirds

Pairing: AU Negan x reader ((female, named Eddie) and others)

Tags: AU Negan, Negan smut, Negan x reader, rough-ish smut

A/N: no proof read. we die like men. also hella long

Your farewell party was towards its end. Only a few of your friends and family members remained.

You were hanging out by the bonfire sipping on your seltzer.

You glanced over at Negan who was congregating with other adults. He was preoccupied with his phone. He typed a messaged and slide it back into his front pocket before saying goodbye to your dad.

“Hey, Klaus, I’m gonna head out” he said giving him a hand shake and half a hug

“We’ll see you” your dad said

“Bye Frankie, thank you” he gently shook your moms hand with both hands

“Anytime” your mom said gracefully

Negan then approached you across the yard, “Eddie. Good luck out there”

He gave you a very appropriate hug, contradicted by what he whispered in your ear, “Come for your gift later. Back door is unlocked”

You had to have a another piece of him before you left for another semester.

—————————

Once the party died down and your folks slipped into bed, you hopped the fence to Negan’s yard.

You came through the back door. Trying to be quiet, knowing the night hours amplified every sound.

After you slid the glass door shut you turned to face the room and noticed a woman standing in his kitchen fixing a drink.

You locked eyes with her. Your heart dropped to your belly.

“I- uh- I’m sorr-“ you began explaining, stepping backwards, your arm blindly searching behind for the door handle.

“Relax Eddie. Negan said you’d be stopping by” her voice surprisingly calming.  

She walked around the corner of the island, two glasses in hand. Your heart pumped harder with every click of her heels. You couldn’t help but notice how her navy blue pant suit hugged her lower half perfectly. Her white blouse teasingly revealing her chest.  

As the distance closed between you you admired her facial features. Sharp jaw, crisp eyebrows, and an average nose on warm ivory skin.

You watch her full long lips move in slow motion “Whisky or wine?”

“Uh- Whiskey” you said softly after the words registered.

“Good, cause I’m Italian” she laughed and handed you your drink.

I can’t be sober right now you advised yourself, and immediately took a swig, keeping a stoic expression as the alcohol burned your throat.

“Whoa! Didn’t even flinch!” she commented.

“Comn lets have a seat” she said as a gentle hand pushed you towards the living room couch.

You sat anxiously. Elbows on your knees, sweaty palms clutching your glass tumbler.

She sat more comfortably, leaned back, her outside leg crossed over her other, and torso rotated to face you.

Before she started any conversation you blurted out, “who are you?”

“You probably should have asked the sooner. Stranger danger, y’know” she joked.

“But who you do you think I am?” She asked curiously. Taking a sip of her wine.

“Uh, I think you’re the main lady, and I’m a home wrecker and I shouldn’t be here” you took another gulp of your drink, trying to dilute your fear.

“Well, I am the other lady-“

Oh god. You immediately brought the drink back to your mouth, but her hand tapped yours, keeping you from drinking too quickly.

“But I know who you are. And you’re not a home wrecker. Negan is my partner and I’m his, and we’re open”

Relief washed over you.

“You know you could’ve have led with that. Not this ‘I am the main lady’ shit” you mocked her, your defenses quickly falling with the new information.

“I know, but you just seemed fun to play with” she giggled.

“I’m Diana”

“So, Diana, Negan has told you about me huh” you were a bit embarassed. Not knowing what negan shared exactly.

Did he tell her you just had sex or did he provide details? Did he tell her how he fucked you in your bathroom with company right outside? Or how he held you down and came on your face?

“Yes. He has”

There was a short streak of silence before you spoke again, “How do you do that?”

She finished her sip, softly smacking her tongue on the roof of her mouth to savor her wine, before clarifying your question, “Do what hon?”

“Be with other people?” You sought guidance on your own relationship

“Well for one, we trust and respect each other. And we’re honest. So it’s not cheating.”

“When one of us sleeps with someone else we tell each other, get tested. And teach other new tricks” She smiled mischievously before taking another sip of her wine.

“But it’s not for everyone” she added when she saw your not so eager expression

You nodded, really listening to what she had to say.

“So how’d you meet?” You asked leaning back.

“I’ve known Negan for years actually. But we didn’t start a relationship until a year and some months ago.”

“I’m a physical therapist and I was working with one of his athletes after ACL reconstruction. And he stopped by well into her rehab program - with her parents of course - to clarify what she could and couldn’t do during practice. So I met negan then, that was about 8 years go”

“I’ve worked with a couple other of his athletes since then. He joins an appointment once in a while to check in on restrictions”

“But the first time we dated was after we ran into each other at a bar. He had just lost his wife and I was fresh off a divorce. We were there for eachother, emotionally... physically.”

“Though we didn’t last the first time. We were on and off again for like a year. We couldn’t stay loyal. We eventually found our way back, when we realized we couldn’t stay loyal to other people either.” She laughed.

“And here we are. Together, happy, understood.”

You nodded, getting a bigger picture of the situation.

“Where is Negan by the way?” You looked over the couch thinking he was hiding somewhere

“He went out to get some wine” she swirled her empty glass before setting it on the table

“Told him to re-stock before I got here. But he didn’t listen. Tells me he was a little busy.”

You knew that comment was a shot at you

Before you could respond you both heard the open and looked over the back of the couch to see negan walk in with a brown bag.

“Hey Eddie! You’re here!” He said excitedly un-phased by his girlfriend sitting next to you.

He walked over to you both

“Hey Dee” greeting her with a soft kiss

It looked so natural.

“Got your favorite,” he gestured at the wrapped bottle, lifting it slightly.

Negan walked into his kitchen and began prepping his glass.

“I’ll get you a refill” Diana tapped your thigh as she stood up and walked with both glasses to Negan.

You heard a quiet conversation between them and thought it best to leave.

“Hey, so I’m gonna head out” you stood up, “nice meeting you,” you gestured awkwardly.

“What! Eddie no, you gotta open your gift first” Negan said while pouring wine into the the two glasses.

“Ah, thanks negan, I’m sure it can wait—“

“Eddie.” Diana interjected.

She walked toward to you, until she was mere inches away. She was shorter than Negan but taller than you. Even without the heels you were sure she’d still have 3-4 inches on you.

“Are you sure you wanna leave?” She lightly put her hands on your hips.

You looked toward Negan. He just casually took a sip of his wine. Then It clicked.

She was your gift.

Your silence was enough for her. She slowly leaned in, giving you an opportunity to pull away.

Your soft lips met hers.

God it felt different. You wouldn’t say better than Negan or other men, but something about kissing this beautiful, grown woman was quenching something you didn’t know you were thirsty for.

Your alcohol infused tongues exchanges flavors but it didn’t stop you from continuing.

Diana pulled away. Too soon for your liking.

“Can I take this off?” She toyed with zipper of your hoodie.

You were completely underdressed but you didn’t expect an encounter with a professional woman. You expected a quick, hard farewell fuck.

You swallowed audibly.

“Yes,” your voice cracked slightly.

You weren’t wearing a bra. Your breasts immediately shifted outside your clothing as your zipper opened up. Her hands dragged up along your ribs, her touch trigged goosebumps causing your nipples to perk up.

“I like these,” she said kissing you again as her fingers pinched your pierced buds. Harder than you expected, not painful, but her force caused your mouth fall open breaking the contact with your lips.

She laughed, proud but not surprised that she was making you act like this. She brought her lips back to continue kissing you.

With your eyes closed, tongue busy, your hands reached to untuck her blouse. Her hands stopped their mannerisms on your nipples and gripped your wrists and pushed them away

“Nuh-uh” she rejected your actions.

Her hands till wrapped around your wrists, she walked you backwards to the couch you were just sitting on. Diana went down to her knees. She leaned to kiss your navel, simultaneously undoing your jean button. She kissed up your abdomen, between your breast. As more of her body made contact with you, your hips began grinding up.

She took a nipple into her mouth. Sucking on it before lightly biting it.

“Ahh” you moaned as she hooked her teeth on your horizontal jewelry and pulled  up - how negan had done the first time.

They definitely exchanged notes. She switched to the other nipple and did the same.

“Take these off” she gripped the hem of your pants.

You lifted your hips of the couch and she helped pull them through your legs. Exposing your wet pussy to her.

“Look at that” she brought her fingers to your womanhood and spread your juices.

You looked down the middle of your chest, Diana between your legs.

Without warning Diana sucked on you clit. Swirling her toungue around it at the same time.

“Oh god!” You whined “fuck!”

She started softly and quickly increased her suction causing you to squirm. Diana swooped her hands under your knees to pin your lower half open to her. Her force spreading your legs was comfortable, enough to limit your movements but not stretching you to your limits as most men would do.

She stopped completely. Pissing you off a little.

“You wanna come?” She asked, already knowing your answer

You nodded.

She returned her mouth to your center. Sticking her tongue out, her eyes locked on yours. She barely flicked your nerve bundle with just the tip.

“Ughhh” escaped you wantonly, your pelvis pushing towards her mouth.

She flicked it little more roughly every subsequent time until she had your whole clit back between her lips. Her tongue working harder than before.

“Mmmhhh!” You groaned intensely. Biting some of the fabric of your hoodie that you were still wearing.

“Oh god- Oh god” you moaned louder and squirmed harder.

Diana’s had to force you down more. “Ugh! Fu- fu- I’m gon—“

“Motheerfuckker!” Both hands pulled downward on the open waistband of your hoodie while your back extended - so much thought it was gonna snap

You rode out your orgasm, instinctively grinding your pussy on Diana’s mouth.

Your eyes closed as your chest continued to rise and fall heavily. Diana gave one of your inner thigh light pecks before releasing your knees from her grasp. She came up to your lips, her hands using the back of the couch as leverage, then you tasted yourself on her tongue.

“You’re beautiful Eddie” she whispered to you.

“Does she always come that hard?” She asked Negan, who you had forgotten was in the room.

“Hardest I’ve seen her” Negan said.

“Though, she’s always sensitive afterwards, which you know I like” he smiled

Diana looked at your eyes, and unexpectedly brought her soft fingers back down to your clit.

You automatically crossed your legs and tried to flip over under Diane.

Both Negan and Diana giggled. You followed suit, really having enjoyed your present.

“That’s cute Eddie” Diana commented on your reaction, sucking on your neck before getting up to walk over to Negan.

Negan handed her a second glass of wine and your whiskey glass.

Diana passed the drink on to you. You took a small swig and set it down on the table and reached for your pants on the floor.

Negan and Diane began kissing each other passionately, not minding your taste between them.

The smacking of their tongues and lips echoed softly.

You pulled your jeans up your thighs with your hoodie remaining unzipped.

Diana noticed you prepared to exit and stopped her kiss with Negan, and tilted her head towards you.

Negan turned to you, “What do you think you’re doing?”

You had a blank stare as your hands froze with your hoodie zipped halfway.

“We’re not done with you sweetheart” Diana added

“She means, there’s more to your present” Negan smiled

“Grab your drink” Diana said as she walked over and pulled on the strings of your hoodie, leading you towards the stairs.

You finished your whiskey as you walked up the stairs, before entering the familiar room.

Diana grabbed the empty glass from you hand and set it on Negan’s dresser along with her half full glass.

Diana led you the bed, “sit.”

she began undressing you from your two garments until you laid completely naked under her. She kissed you and rubbed her clothed body against yours.

Your hands were on her hips encouraging her movements. You attempted to untuck her blouse ignoring your failed attempt downstairs. She didn’t restrict you this time. You pulled her shirt from her waist band and unbuckled her thin belt. Diana stopped her actions to unbotton her blouse and tossed it to the side before resuming to kiss you.

“Dirty girls” you heard Negan enter the room. You could swear you felt your pussy release more fluids at the sound of his voice.

You propped yourself on your elbows and witnessed Negan remove his black shirt and kick off his boots. Diana hopped off you to remove her pants, leaving her in a lacey, beige bra and underwear set.

Negan stepped to kiss Diane, and unclipped her bra. He gripped her breast and eventually her ass and pushed her front against his.

“Mmhhh” Negan groaned when Diana broke the kiss and sucked on his neck down his chest, while a free hand rubbed him through his black Levi’s.

It turned you on, and you did something you never thought you would do.

You brought your hand to your womanhood and began touching yourself, feeing how wet your really were.

“Enjoying the view?” Negan commented.  

Embarrassment coursed through your blood, and you removed your hand.

“Don’t stop” Negan said, “keep playing with yourself darling.”

“Let go” Diana added, kissing down Negan’s abdomen

You brought your hand back to pleasure yourself. Circling your clit with alternating pressure.

Negan unbuckled his belt, and let his member free, pulling his pants to mid-glute.

Diana sensually sucked the head of his cock, Negan tossed his head back. She dragged her tongue from the underside of his base back to the tip. Eventually, taking him entirely into her mouth.

“Agh!” Negan reacted to the deep throat, “that’s it baby. Fuck!”

The sounds of gargling and slobber coming from her pleasuring him brought you closer to the edge. You began rubbing her clit faster, building up release.

Negan caught you getting close.

“Don’t come Eddie.” He said in between breathes, “wait for us”

You were so close but figured that what they would give you would bring more pleasure than what you could give yourself. You willed yourself to stop.

Diana popped off Negan’s dick and came to kneel next to your torso, head opposite of yours. Negan removed his pants and dragged you closer to edge of the mattress.

His long middle finger pushed easily into your wet entrance

“Mmhhh” escaped you.

He pumped his digit in and out while Diana rubbed your clit.

Negan removed his finger and brought his member to your center.He dragged it through your folds, teasing you. Your eyes alternating between Negan’s facial expressions and his cock.

“Fuck” you dropped your head back, desperate to feel him inside you.

“You’re right, Negs, not very patient” Diana laughed, lightly smacking your clit a few times, causing you to jolt in spontaneous directions.

“That’s what makes her fun” Negan explained, continuing to tease you with his manhood.

“Cause she’ll eventually-” one more drag of cock against you...

“Give in!” He pushed himself entirely into you.

“Ughhhh!” you moaned

Negan stilled inside you, you walls beating against him. He leaned down to kiss you, his hips making zero movements.

With his mouth still on yours he pulled out halfway and gave you one hard and fast pump, causing you jaw to open and break the kiss

“What did I tell you about punching above your weight class?” He said rhetorically

“And tonight, there’s two of us” He laughed

He stood back up and began pushing in and out of you at a moderate pace. Diana continued to rubbed your nerve bundle.

“Harder, please” you asked

“Patience” Diana reminded you

“Oh, shell learn patient after this” Negan warned.

He picked up the pace and your release was closer than ever. Especially with Diana working your clit perfectly.

“She’s close” Negan announced.

Diana brought her lips to yours. Negan fucked your harder and faster, you could feel his balls push against you, and the slapping sounds confirmed it.

Your moans were captured by Diana’s mouth.

“She’s gonna come” Negan said through his gritted teeth.

“Fuck!” You yelled into Diana’s kiss, you felt yourself come undone.

You tried to pull your lips away but Diana held you head in place to continue kissing you.

Negan slowed down his pace slightly after your orgasm but didn’t stop. Neither did Diana’s hand.

“Oh god! Fuck! Fuck! Ne— ple—“ You werent able to escape her kiss.

You tried to remove Diana’s hand from your pussy but she pinned it down. So you tried to pushed away from Negan further up the bed, but he pulled your hips closer to his.

You tightly closed your eyes, a few more seconds went by and you felt a second release. You heard gushing sounds matching Negan’s thrusts and felt your thighs becoming wet.

Negan slowed down and remained inside you, as your lower body twitched and squirmed.

“I knew wed get her to squirt” Negan said before celebrating with a kiss from Diana.

“You okay Eddie?” Negan asked still slowly pumping himself into you.

You nodded, your face covered by your crossed forearms.

“Good”

He flipped your over, legs hanging off the edge, and he picked up the pace once more.

You tried to use the sheets to get gain some distance between your sensitive pussy and negans thick cock.

“No, you don’t” he pulled you back.

You felt wetness over your puckered hole, followed by a finger. Your glutes contracted involuntary.

“Relax” Diana tried to soothe you, “relax for me”

Negan slowed down. You a deep breathe in between thrusts and we’re able to relax a bit more.

Diana inserted one of her fingers in your anus and wiggled it inside you, Negan picked up speed again.

“Oh, already?” Negan exclaimed.

“I know you’re there honey” Negan knowing your were close, “Let us have it!”

“Oh fuckkkk” another orgasm hitting you Followed by a small release of extra fluids.

Negan leaned over your back and sucked on your shoulder and neck before congratulating you “Good job baby, you just might be able to go the rounds”

“Aghhh” you moaned into the bed as he pushed slowly and deeper a few more times.

Negan pulled entirely out of you, your walls pulsating every so often recovering from your intense orgasms.

“Aghhh” you let out softly as you felt Diana’s finger exit your picked hole.

Negan stepped into his bathroom to dry off a bit.

During this intermission, you brought your legs onto the bed, to lay on your side, facing Diana.  

You reached between your tighs to inspect your wetness. Maybe it was all in your head.

“Was that your first time?” Diana asked

“Um, yeah...”

“I’m sor—“ you were caught of guard when she brought your fingers into her mouth to suck on them.

You were mesmerized by her actions

She finished, chuckled, and smiled at you, “What were you sorry for?”

“Um, the—“ You stuttered pointing at the wet stains on the comforter “-the sheets”

“Don’t be sorry. I expect messes from dirty girls” Negan said returning.

“And you’re a dirty girl” he spanked you ass and firmly rubbed it after.

Diana positioned you face up and straddled you. She leaned to kiss you as Negan gripped Diana’s hips and entered her.

He pushed inside her more delicately than he’d ever done with you. You saw Diana’s eye lids flutter with pleasure at her lovers intrusion.

“Ah, Fuck” she moaned into your neck.

Negan fucked Diana on top you. He alternated speed, building up her climax while holding back his own.

While pumping into her, Diana whispered to you, “Touch me”

Frozen by her request you did nothing.

“Touch me” she repeated, reaching for one of your hands that rested on the outside of her thighs.

She brought your hand to her center. You hesitantly began rubbing her.

“That’s it Eddie” she encouraged you “just like that”

Your fingers occasionally bumped into Negan’s dick that was entering and exiting Diana.

Negan leaned over and whispered to Diana, “I need to come now”

Diana turned her neck over to give him a kiss of approval.

Negan snaked his hand in Diana’s hair and pulled harshly, followed by a playful yelp from Diana.

Negan began jackmhammering into her, making growling sounds that never left his throat.

“Ughh” both moaned, coming at the same time, on top of you.

Negan let go of Diana’s hair, and her body weight rested on you. Negan continued to slowly pumping himself in Diana as he softened.

He eventually exited her and flopped himself on the bed next you and Diana, catching his breath.

As Diana reached between her legs, you felt Negan’s cum drip from Diana’s pussy onto yours.

Diana collected some of Negan’s release on her fingers and brought them to your mouth.

You opened and sucked on them. Not breaking eye contact.

“Do you like the taste of me and my boyfriend?”

You nodded, her fingers still in your mouth.

Diana slid off you, to sandwich you between herself and Negan.

“So when are you back from school?” Diana asked.

“Christmas” you said through a yawn.

“We’ll have to get you another presents then”

Your stomach fluttered at her words as the three of you drifted to sleep, limbs stacked upon each other.

[emmettblack]

He’s home alone when he gets the call. Vida’s out running errands as Emmett waits for her, watching TV with Bart and Gilly resting beside him. He doesn’t answer the first call, the screen showing his uncle's name. It’s probably nothing he thinks to himself until the second call. From his father. Something is wrong and they need him.

He answers but doesn’t get the chance to say anything. His father’s words stopped him from doing so. The phone call lasts for only thirty seconds before his father hangs up, leaving Emmett to just sit there with a tight jaw and expressionless eyes. Even with his two cats meowing and trying to get his attention, he doesn’t hear a single thing. All he can hear is his father’s words.

“We need you, Ji-Hun. It’s time for you to leave.”

tw: death (ish), violence, kashia’s bullshit

Emmett and Vida do live peacefully together! Okay, they do have their ups and downs every once in a while but they’re strong and continue dating. He’s happy, they’re both happy.

Unfortunately Polo dies in December of 2021. Emmett is heartbroken and doesn’t get another fish afterwards. No one can replace his favorite fishboy.

Treats Bart and Gilly as his actual children, probably loves them more than he loves Vida ( which is saying a lot ).

Three years into being a spy and Emmett finds himself no longer loving the job as much. It’s nice and all but it doesn’t… feel right. The only person to know of this is his grandfather who visits alongside Emmett’s grandmother. The two go out for lunch to talk about life and Emmett reveals this to the older man. His grandfather asks him the question “ are you sure this is what you want to do? “ Emmett is unable to answer him, his grandfather doesn’t push him. They move on from the topic and it’s never brought up again.

If you don’t think Emmett is considering proposing to Vida then you’re dead wrong! It’s on his mind but he just doesn’t have the courage to ask her. He’s waiting for the perfect moment to ask her, he just doesn’t know when.

So that phone call? Yeah, he gets it on August 24th, 2027. After that his entire vibe is just off. He doesn’t tell Vida about it, he can’t even though he wants to. Everything within him wants to tell her but he can’t do that.

It takes him a month to get everything ready. He puts in his two weeks notice with MI6 and asks them to keep it a secret. He doesn’t pack any clothes, leaves behind all electronics and cards as he disappears when Vida isn’t home. He has to cover all of his tracks so that no one is able to track him, mainly his girlfriend. His family gives him a new phone with a new number, a plane ticket, and a new identity. Emmett Blackthorne is gone.

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE READING!!!! This part of Emmett’s life will be roleplayed ( idk where aigaojgao ) so it might not be exactly like this rip. But either way, here’s a basic summary of what I want to happen. So please enjoy!!

He moves to South Korea and goes by a new name Yoon Woo-Jin. His parents suggested that he goes by his Korean name and mother’s maiden name, Cho Ji-Hun. However, he goes against it only because he knew that Vida would find him like that. He gets a place to himself and immediately starts working.

His mission? To help an old family friend destroy a new gang from the inside out. While new, the group is stronger than others and growing at a rapid rate. Said gang has been starting problems, doing everything in their power to take control of everyone within their vicinity. Emmett is to not only take down this gang by creating a rapport with them but to put the group into their place. Remind them to stay in their lanes and not to disrespect those older than them.

It’s not too bad, the mission. The worst part is the lack of communication. He’s not allowed to reach out to any of his friends, only his parents, his mother’s family, and those within the gang. He knows Vida’s number better than he knows his own. Almost texts and calls her throughout his entire stay. Drunk him can’t be trusted, he legit almost called her to confess everything. Stops himself every single time.

On Vida’s end, she’s going crazy. Ever since his disappearance, she’s been trying to find him. From asking around at work, reaching out to their friends, and even his family. The Blackthornes say nothing despite knowing where he is. No matter what she does or tries to look for, she can’t find him. For six months, she tries to find him, using every single one of her resources until there’s nothing left. It’s when she comes to a stop still that someone does reach out to her, Sunbin Blackthorne. Emmett’s mother.

During those six months, Emmett has risen in his ranks. He makes himself a useful and valuable asset. He poses as a dedicated member who will do anything for the leader, a man without a family, that’s Yoon Woo-Jin. The complete opposite of the family originated and fun loving Emmett Blackthorne. This new persona is quiet, keeps to himself, and does what he’s told. The leader likes that a lot about him, Woo-Jin is the man for him.

The only problem with him climbing the ranks so quickly is that people grow suspicious of him. They try to look into him, they watch him closely, and follow him wherever he goes. Emmett is forced to be even more careful and cautious of what he does and where he goes. Besides, at this rate, the gang will be destroyed within a few more months. He just has to hold off until then.

But not everything goes like he wants it to when Vida Torres arrives. He gets back to his apartment after a fight with another group where he sees her. Still as beautiful as ever, even as she glares at him with red eyes. He doesn’t give her a chance to talk before he pulls her in for a hug. He cries, she cries, they go inside his apartment. Unknown to the two are the peering eyes that watch the pair walk into the apartment.

Comes to find out that it was his mother who told Vida everything, the older woman giving in because she felt bad. To be left out of the loop about your partner’s whereabouts and mission, it was unfair and she didn’t deserve that. Apologies and a lot of yelling later, he tells her everything. “Just a month or two and I’ll be done. I’ll go back to you, I promise,” is what he tells her as he holds onto her tight. He only needed one more month and he’ll be fine.

Word about him having a girl got out, the other members teasing him about it. He can take petty and dumb teasing but he does not tolerate disgusting comments about the love of his life. One guy tries it, another member at the same ranking as Emmett. He doesn’t appreciate it, he attacks the guy. The two come out of the fight with bruises, a busted lip, and a black eye on the other guy. To the gang, Woo-Jin is always calm and doesn’t bother listening to any of them. Yet here he is, attacking one of them because of something they said about his girl. It’s called he’s in love you fuckers! This doesn’t go well, the other guy is pissed and he’s holding a grudge. Remember him everyone.

As for Emmett and Vida, well, he doesn’t tell her to leave. Honestly, he loves her company. Nor does he tell her to be careful, she’s a spy. If anyone tries to come for her, she’ll take care of them. He takes Vida to meet his mother’s side of the family. The Cho’s own a small restaurant, it’s really cute and homey. They’re a bunch of civilians who aren’t aware of the Blackthorne's true profession but they do know that the family is rich. It’s nice, the two feel normal being with them.

Unknown to the couple, the man that Emmett attacked is known as Lee Sang-Woo is already planning his revenge. He’s not a fan of this newbie climbing the rankings so quickly. Instead of attacking Emmett directly, he tries to find out who he is. By that, he wants to know where he came from and if he’s actually loyal to the group. Ends up finding a trace to the man that Emmett is really working for. Nam Do-Hun, the leader of a well established mafia with ties in the political world in South Korea and minor influences in the entertainment business. The Nam family are a group that had issues with this gang constantly entering their terrority. Using Emmett to destroy them from the inside is just a lot easier and cleaner to do than having them all killed.

But because of this small trace, it gets bad for Emmett and now Vida who’s staying with him. Instead of attacking the two, Sang-Woo and the gang leader set up a plan. The plan is to give Emmett a reason to contact the Nam family and have them meet him somewhere. Probably has him escort or watch over the gang leader. He falls for the bait because he’s been waiting for this moment.

The Nam family arrives but waiting for them is the gang. Big bad, a fight breaks out. Emmett, who is usually a king when fighting, is getting JUMPED by the gang leadr and Sang-Woo. But guess who comes to his rescue? You guessed it, the love of his life Vida <3. They’re literally kicking ass together because they’re SOULMATES.

During the middle of this big ol’ fight, Emmett sees Vida just kicking ass and he just blurts how much he loves her. And asks her to marry him. While people are fighting around them. While gunshots are being fired. She says yes. They kiss, they then go back to fighting.

The mission successfully ends but with casualties. Many were injured, some to the point where they were to be hospitalized. But either way, Emmett’s mission to destroy said gang comes to an end and he’s able to return home with Vida.

They get married :) It’s really cute, they’re both so happy, everyone is happy for them.

Emmett stops being a spy and goes down the route of assassination. Years later he becomes the new Blackthorne head. He loves it here <3

I KNOW THAT DEANNA AND HECATE WANT SATOMI AND TOMMY TO REOPEN BLACKTHORNE AND I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW!!!! EMMETT AGREES AND HELPS WITH REBUILDING THE SCHOOL. I can’t say much about it because I don’t know anything <3 Just know that he’s happy

Him and Vida have a lot kids! Most are children that they adopt, idk how many pls ask strud. The torthorne kids get to decide on if they want to become spies, assassins, or just civilians.

Very happy with his wife and children. Simply refuses to die and leave them behind so he works extra hard during each mission ( sometimes he comes back a mess but who cares <3 He’s alive )

Dies of old age <3

I love my son.

[deberiaestarescribiendo]

Bloody is the path for revenge. An Oberyn Martell x GN!reader. Game of thrones Space AU.

#Writer Wednesday 05/05/2021

Thanks again to @autumnleaves1991-blog for this, I’ve never being this prolific in writing in my life and actually have been more consistent in it thanks to this

Summary: King’s Landing is a ruthless place, a big mass of a planet city where the less fortunate tries to survive in the lower levels and the rich thrives on the top playing their dangerous games. Many years ago, the Lannisters claimed the power from the Targaryens killing everyone in their way men, woman and children even if they were innocent of their family’s crimes; Ellia Martell and her children were amongst them, and since then his brother has tried to bring to justice those who ordered her killing. But you know there’s no justice in this world and if Oberyn tries to do anything to the Lannisters they will respond in violence and threatening his life. The life of the one you love the most

Word count: 4,4 k (One day I’ll write something short for Writer Wednesday but today it’s not that day)

Warning: Cannon divergence from the show and the books, violence, mentions of blood, shots, and explosions. +18 SMUT light descriptive sex (mention of penetration, orgasms and kissing but nothing too explicit)

A/N: What the fuck is this? You may ask, well I don’t know what to tell you, my friend. I swear I didn’t smoke anything writing this just thought how to twist a little the image we got for this week. I decided to change Ellia’s murder by the way, she’s shot dead, plain and simple, I’ve always been left with a terrible sensation every time I read/watched the show or books and they mentioned how she died. If you feel the same just know there’s no mention of rape in this or any kind of sexual violence. This is my first time writing for a gender neutral reader PLEASE PLEASE, let me know if there’s some mentions of the readers gender or something I have not seen. The only detail is that Oberyn is bigger and taller than you, the rest is pretty vague.

“Don’t leave me alone in this world”

“Never”

He says that but he kisses you as if it is his last day on earth. His plump lips force yours open until he’s caressing your mouth with his tongue. A moan resounds in his chest over yours and you feel you heart beating fast, he always ignites a fire inside of you as the blazing core of the earth burns and moves creating earthquakes and changing the shape of the earth. And he has change you, shape you into a different person, you’re wilder, more sure of yourself, passionate and freer, embracing all of you without shame. His love has burn you new as a phoenix. So because of it all, you cannot possible let him leave your bed, you cannot let him die or even come close to it. There’s no way.

You open your eyes when he separates himself from you and you see a sweet smile shining on his face, his eyes still close lingering in the pleasure of having kissed you, of being held in your arms, locking your hands on his strong and broad shoulders with the remaining heat between your bodies. You woke up crying, dreaming of blood and violence and before you opened your eyes, he was hugging you so tightly that all you could think and feel was him and his warm skin.

“My love” he whispered in your ear and then you turned desperate to kiss him to feel that he was still there with you

“I had a nightmare that you left me before I woke up” you cried and brought his weight over your body

“Shh, shh” he hushed and kissed your forehead “I’m still here and...” your lips cut whatever he was about to say and you held his handsome face in your arms and then you let your hands wander over his body: his tense muscles, his scars on his tanned skin, he tried to stop you feeling how your tears still rolled over your cheeks but you begged and plead “Love me please, please I need you in me” and he can’t refuse. You made love slowly, deep and precise thrusts, mouth over mouth murmuring sweet nothings and praises. You fell asleep as soon as he finished, feeling so full of him, so relaxed and warm, relishing in the heat he has left in you.

Hours later, you felt how he moved and that he was about to get up, but you reached for his arm and now here you both are, your nails pressing deep on his arms.

“Let it go, please. You can stay with me, find another way. I don’t want you to die”

“Today it’s not the day I die” he smiles at you fondly brushing his knuckles over your face

“You don’t know that” you shake your head, your voice sound squeaky “Those bastards don’t know what honor is, Oberyn, you keep thinking you will find justice. There’s no justice in this dreadful place”

“I will make my own and please, my love, don’t underestimate me. I know my enemy, I’ve known them since they decided to kill my sister and his children, observed them patiently and now it’s time for them to pay for their crimes” when he mentions his family his jaw clenches and his deep eyes somehow become darker glowing with sorrow and anger.

“We could think of other way...”

“There’s no other way”

King’s landing is a massive chunk of metal, of buildings that top one another until the city raises kilometers away from the ground, leaving a clear distinction between the lower levels where the poor people survive and the highest part where the elite look upwards always climbing to the sky above and the stars crushing and stomping on the less fortunate. You’re somehow in the middle of it. You live in a beautiful needle like tower, a golden palace called Sunspear, in the south part of the town from your apartment balcony the impressive domes of the Red Keep shine from afar and your stomach turns.

The gigantic castle is the center of all, a bleeding heart in the middle of the immense planet city and it harbors the Government, the Power, the Judge and Punisher of this terrible place: the Lannisters. A criminal family wrapped up in golden clothes, golden hair and melted gold in their jewels. But criminals nonetheless, just rose in the right moment and killed the right people; one of them your lover’s dear sister, Ellia and her children.

The late rulers of the city, the ones that conquered and settle on this earth on the first place, the Targaryens, ruled with an iron fist with their Dragons technology, metallic robotic beasts that surveyed, killed and control the city without the need of any man and soon only their shadow over the sky made people tremble and any thought of protest, criminal plans or illegal activities remained on the lower slums where they could not reach as freely.

But crime grows like an infection and soon enough there was a Targaryen king that thought that the end justifies the means and that there’s only one way to get rid of a putrid member; amputating it. So the Dragons did control the slums, burning them down to the ground. Those drastic measures had consequences and of course soon the protests against their cruelty grew stronger, and the protests leaded to insurrection and the Lannisters presented themselves as the golden saviors only to be even crueler than those they had usurped.

And those who were related in any way to the Targaryens were killed without a trial, like Ellia, trapped in the Red Keep by an unsatisfactory marriage to one member of the family. And Oberyn tried, ran to the castle to beg mercy for her innocent sister when the Coup succeeded but ended just collecting her corpse. “She was caught in cross fire” they said but her wounds were clearly a mark of an execution, and seeing himself alone in a chaotic world without allies and without enough power, Oberyn waited, observed and mourned, let his rage grow stronger and deep, a pain like thorns in his chest that even though it hurt, it didn’t compromised his kindness.

He found you in that state, a broken man with a warm smile like the sun, and you were a street rat, a slum orphan kid that lost everything even before you were aware of what family, love or possessions meant. You survived however you could, you were not proud of your beginnings, you were not proud of how you met him: trying to rob him.

“I don’t have much, love” he had said, not threaten at all of your weapon pointed at his chest

“You’re one of those top bastards, of course you have. Give me your rings” you blurted. He complied with a smile and tossed the golden rings to you; but the one on his thumb. “All of them” you spat

“This one, if you please, I’d like to keep. It was a gift from somebody that it’s not longer with me” he said and something in your chest moved after years and years of creating a hard armor over your feelings.

“Alright, now empty your pockets” you said bending down to gather his rings and in that he moved faster than you had seen anybody react and in a swift movement he got you cornered on the wall and disarmed.

“You have to always choose your opponents wisely, my sweet” he said really close to your face. You moaned, tried to think that the sound coming from your mouth was out of fear and his bigger and heavy body over yours, but deep down you knew that his amber perfume, his deep voice and those eyes had awaken something else in you. “You look positively famish and neglected of many things, my sweet. Come with me” And you did and you will always follow him since that day. But today he has chosen a path that you cannot keep. Today your fears had come true, you have always think that your love could cure him, that it could be stronger and enough to calm his need for vengeance. But it is not.

History tends to repeat itself and now the Lannisters are suffering the same fate they created for their predecessors. They’re in their lowest point and they’re destroying themselves from within, betraying their own family members, and when Oberyn saw this as his perfect chance to finally plot his vengeance, you saw that dark pain eating the light, the love, the passion and the kindness, dominating everything else that was in his heart. Now he only sees vengeance and the cold blade of justice cutting their throats.

The sun pierces the pollution and the clouds in an orange and pink palette announcing the beginning of a new day and the trial starts at midday. They’re accusing Tyrion, the youngest of the Lannisters’ siblings, and demanding the death penalty for killing the heir to the throne. And Oberyn in a surprising turns of events has accorded to represent him on the trial or that’s what everybody thinks. The oldest law in the planet, one settled since Aegon Targaryen, the conqueror, is that a defendant can have a final statement before his sentence and everything he says in that moment must be taken in to account if he, by any chance, confesses other crimes or accomplices in the crime being judged.

Oberyn could never bring Ellia’s murder to justice but if Tyrion confesses that he heard his father give the order to kill Ellia and her children then he cannot be killed until that crime is investigated and judged thus saving, for the time being, his life and giving Oberyn the chance of presenting his case against those who killed his family. In a fair world, that could work. But you know his honor and idealism clouds his judgment, they will never let Tyrion confess in public how they ordered to kill innocent children in cold blood, they will never let Oberyn win. They’re desperate now, less concern about their public image and much more drastic in their measures; another thing they have now in common with the past rulers. They’ll do anything to remain in power, and those little legal tricks won’t be enough to stop them. They will take any means necessary to remain in power. Anything.

“We should be going, sir” the security guard announces from the digital pad on the door

“My love” Oberyn adjusts his tunic, an old gold fabric that resembles the million sun panels that covers Sunspear and he looks as the sun, he warms your life, gives you the energy to wake up and you wish this sun, your sun, never sets and leaves you in the dark “If you don’t want to come, I’ll understand”

You run to him and grab his forearms “I will never leave you. I’ll be there as long as you need me”

Weeks before the trial

Even though you’ve climbed on the social ladder and also in a literal way, you are and you will always be a street rat, a lower scum and in that you know many like you. And they’re useful, you know people that could do anything, that know how to find anything or anyone. The lower levels are a wild jungle of metallic junk, holograms screens selling whatever you wish for and dangerous people. But you know your way there and navigated the streets until you found what you wanted.

“So it’s pretty damaged, I had to reprogram everything and search for parts anywhere and those I didn’t find I had to customize” Chips explained uncovering the thing inside his garage. Chips is your friend, shared the same dirty full of lice bed in the orphanage, he didn’t have a name and was given one by the caretakers but preferred the nickname you gave them. He was always since he was a little kid playing with some wires, chips and computers parts and now he had created a place in the slums, mainly because of what he did it’s not really legal. He hacks technology, can get himself inside any web, any software and devastate any system he wants. He does it all in this dirty garage, lighted in neon lights that you don’t know you he stands it, every wall is covered in screens, old technology and devices you don’t understand.

“You know anything you need I will pay double, Chips. I need this working properly, it’s extremely important” you said

“Thank you, Chips” you nodded

“And it will, you will have complete control over it on your holo bracelet” he assured and gave you the small black device that you tied around your wrist “When it is time, you just have to activate it” and he showed you the control app on the floating screen over your hand

“Do you really want to do this? You can’t control the consequences once you active it” he asked eyeing the thing with a worried look

“The consequences if I don’t use it will be far worse”

The trial

“Father, I wish to confess” the short blond man says on the stand, he’s secured inside a protection field that is otherwise invisible except when the neon lights from the ceiling hit it and it shines with a bluish light.

The hundred something audience member gasp in unison and you know the whole city has had the same reaction whilst watching in it live stream in the millions of holoscreens around King’s Landing.

“I didn’t kill Joffrey, but I wish that I had” he spats and the people present scream and insult him. Oberyn stands by his side and you cannot see his face from your seat in the grandstand but his fists are clenched and his posture is tense. “He was a vicious demon, a murderer and sadist as every member of this family”

“Tyrion if you do not wish to confess this is useless” Tywin Lannister, the patriarch, moves in his seat uncomfortable.

“As I was saying, father, he was a murderer like his family, like you” people rise from their seats now, you stay in your little corner while the crowd waits for the rest of the confession with their mouths wide open “You ordered, years ago, to kill in cold blood innocent people, you ordered your beast” he points to the corner of the big throne room where the tallest man you’ve ever seen stands among other guards “to kill every woman, children or baby that was related to the Targaryens, servants or noble; like Ellia Martell and her children”

“Silence!” Tywin raises from his seat, his pale skin is red, a sharp contrast to his all black tunic “Take the prisoner back to his chamber until a sentence has been declared”

“Wait!” Oberyn walks towards the center of the scene with his hand raised “The defendant has confessed being witness to a crime, by the old law of Aegon, the conqueror; he cannot be put to sentence until that crime has been judged. And you, Lord Tywin, will have to address those accusation in a proper trial” You see from the corner he has a smirk on his face while the older man glares at him with his eyes full of hate.

“Isn’t it that convenient for you?” Cersei Lannister cries from her seat, the mourning mother has been quite the whole trial but her eyes red and weeping had been fixed on her brother and now Oberyn with the same anger. “You’ve spreading those lies and accusations for years and now you conspire with my murderer brother to hurt my family” her voice break and the audience gasps again clearly entertain with this turning of events

“Accusations that now have to be clarified in a trial as it was always dismissed by your authority” Oberyn responds pointing with his finger to the whole Lannister court

“It was a time of war, an unfortunate accident” Tywin hisses

“Well now you could prove it and end those accusations, don’t you?” Oberyn smiles wildly but it feels like more like a viper openning its mouth to show you its weapons before biting.”I demand that the defendant is released from your custody and it will remain with me until trial”

“That’s surprising, are you accusing us of plotting to hurt him in anyway?” Tywin tilts his head to Oberyn, challenging him, and you know he has something in mind. You’re so tense that you don’t realize you were not breathing until your chest hurts. You activate your holobracelet looking at the small bottom waiting for the perfect moment.

“I’m saying he’s accused of a heinous crime and clearly has gained the hatred of the people, being here could make it really easy for anybody to hurt him while on custody. So I suggest a secured and secret location for the moment”

“Tyrion has the means to escape and leave the planet; we could not possibly let him go” says an old man from the Council

“He will remain in the Red Keep” Tywin states

“I think I still have my right to testify, father” Cersei raises from her seat with a coy smirk

“You can give a final statement, yes” he agrees

“Oberyn Martell has agreed to defend my brother from this terrible murder, has been seeing with him before in very dubious places and now he accuses us of murder and plot to kill a prisoner in custody in order to keep Tyrion on his care. I think it’s fair to think that he could have some interest in this, maybe even be part of a larger plot against us, he has always hate our family for a crime we didn’t commit”

The uproar in the room is way stronger this time, some assistants can’t even be kept on their seats, and the guards form a line between the grandstand and the platform were the trail is taken place. You move, your heart beats are loud in your ear, as you go down the stand closer to where Oberyn stands.

“I firmly believe we should have a line of investigation on this, so you, Oberyn and your client should stay on the Red Keep until everything is clarified” Tywin doesn’t hide his pride. You knew that this will happen; they have neither honor nor a care for justice. And you knew they will find a way to hurt him if he ever became bolder in his way to get justice for his sister.

Oberyn is screaming something but you cannot hear him with all the crossed accusations and the audience, but the guards had walked towards him, they’re moving Tyrion from his stand and cornering your lover.

“Raise your hands, sir” they scream at him “Calm down”

You know their tactics, you know that any movement he will do can justify that they shot him down or hurt him. If he raises his hands they can say he was about to punch them, if he doesn’t he didn’t comply. Anyway Oberyn’s life is threatened. So you know it’s time.

You open the hologram screen on your bracelet and tap on the small logo with trembling fingers, until the screen shows an ACTIVITED sign in green.

You were a small child, probably a baby when you were met with one of those things, so you don’t remember how silent they are. It was made like that so they could strike any possible threats without given them the chance to escape. So the dust hits you first, before you or anyone could hear it. The right wall of the throne room collapses and you see the screens and the wires and the metal breaking and the ancient brick walls inside of them. A blazing sun hits second, a red and orange light until you feel the heat. That’s not the sun. It’s fire.

The beast enters and now you can hear it, its motors propel it inside the room and in doing so completely destroy the west side of the Keep. It actually looks like a dragon; a fearsome large metallic face spitting fire but the rest of its body is a triangular black shape more like the commercial flight transports but way bigger.

The clouds of dust makes it impossible for you to find Oberyn, you just hope he hasn’t been hit by the debris in the explosion.

“Oberyn” you scream and cough

You find some guards on the ground some of them evidently dead others are just knockout, and in the middle of it you find him, he had protected his head with his arms, his golden attire is dusty but you don’t see signs of bleeding. You bend down and try to get him up, but he’s heavy

“Come on, my love, we have to go!” he doesn’t respond and your heart skips a beat what if you killed him trying to save him?

But he coughs softly at first and then louder and raises his face confused and wander his eyes until he finds you “We have to go Oberyn, come on” he moves slowly but you gather strength and get his arm over yours and push him towards the abyss on the west wall. And you jump.

Being a slum rat you had always fear being on the top of the buildings, never actually looking from the border of the balcony when you moved with Oberyn, but now you jumped with your eyes closed, holding his body, the body of your lover, your whole life tightly against yours. For a moment you feel the emptiness of space and air until your body hits something hard.

“We have to fly faster; I think the whole building is going to collapse” Chips helps you take a seat on the flying car and you secure Oberyn on the seat beside you. He’s still dazed so he doesn’t say a thing; clearly he doesn’t understand what’s going on. You hope that you hadn’t inflicted some brain damaged. Chips speeds up the vehicle going in a sharp line downwards making the rest of the traffic move to let you pass and avoid a crash.

“We will have to hide on the slums for a moment” he screams over the speed breaking the air

No brain damage, his eardrums are broken but they will heal fast with the drugs Chips has bought in the dark market. He has a great concussion on his back and some scratches on his face, legs and arms. But he’s alive and well. You wait on a very uncomfortable chair looking at him, his tall and broad body doesn’t fit in that small cheap bed but for the moment it will have to do. He has been sleeping for a few hours now and when you’re about to doze off, he coughs trying to call your name.

“Sh, sh, calm down my love” you say when he tries to get up “Drink some water” you serve him in a plastic cup and approach the bed

“What?” he screams and contorts his face once he feels the pain

“Your ears” you pronounce every syllable so he can read your lips “Rest now, it will heal in a few hours”

He drinks looking at you confused over the cup and lies down again but he looks at you intently “what have you done?” he murmurs

You sleep a few hours, Chips keeps doing his thing drinking too much of those energy drinks. At least twenty screens shows different news reports, the images of the trial and the “terrorist attack” as they’re calling it thereafter.

“What have you done with it?” you ask

“I programmed it to self destroy after you deactivated it. Too dangerous on the wrong hands” he explains

“And who are you referring to with “wrong hands?” a deep and husky voice says behind you.

You see the horror in his eyes when he watches the images of the Dragon entering the throne room and burning and destroying everything on its way.

“Oberyn” you whisper

“What have you done?” he asks again, his brown eyes glow in tears

“I did what I have to do” you simply shrug “I couldn’t let you get yourself killed, those people were about to lock you on the Red Keep and next thing I know they will give me your dead body back as they did with your sister” your voice cracks once you try to approach him and he recoils in fear

“You’ve killed innocent people” Oberyn lets his body hit the wall and you see his legs shake still too weak to stand

“They were enjoying that mockery of a trial seeing a poor man being sentence to death” you defend

“And now they’re all dead”

“We’re still waiting for the reports but...”Chips adds but shuts it once you both look angrily at him

“Oberyn” you come close your hands open to him, begging to touch him but he shakes his head

“Oberyn please” you say again

“No” he refuses and now you see he’s crying, his shoulders shake and he covers his face on his hands

“Then listen to me” you face him still letting him have his space “I couldn’t live in a world where you’re not with me. I knew they will try to kill you and I felt powerless, I had to do something, I have to save you as you saved me years ago. I love you, Oberyn, more than my own life, more than my heart, my eyes and my soul and if I have to burn empires to the ground for you, I will and I did”

[kunikiiida-kuuun]

A Promise in the Moonlight (Kunikida x Reader)

In a world that went pitch dark, I hear a voice.

Kunikida was seeing them again.

Those detectives and their bereaved families.

Rokuzo.

Sasaki.

Those little children.

That little girl who died before his eyes. Her tiny hands pulling the string, eyes full of a single, undeniable emotion; fear.

They asked him repeatedly, why didn't he save them? Why?

In the dream, he shot them down with his own hands. And then he screamed until his voice was hoarse.

He woke with a jostle; his body was sweating all over, his own breath coming out in heavy pants and blankets strewn apart. It was just a dream. Or was it? No, it was the reality. He had failed to save them. They had died, right in front of him. He had been responsible for their all their deaths. His ideal, everything- It was his own fault.

His body felt heavy and paralyzed as if he was being tied down. No, no-

His attention was drawn to a soft knock on his door.

You stood hesitantly outside the door to Kunikida's room, drawing your shrug close to you. You had heard someone scream. No, you were sure it was him.

A whole minute passes, and there is no sound or movement from his room. You wait for a few seconds more, and then sigh. Perhaps it had been your imagination, or maybe you were dreaming.  

Before you can go back to your room, the door slides open, and Kunikida's tired form is revealed in front of you. He was sweating, and his hair was in disarray. But there was an unmistakable pain in his eye. With a slight jolt, you realize he had been dreaming.

"Kunikida... I heard someone scream..." You start with uncertainty, as you didn't want to do anything that would upset him more. "Is everything oka-"

Kunikida draws you into a tight hug. His form is shaking slightly, shoulders quivering, so you pull him closer, understanding his pain.

The frightful rain that doesn’t seem to stop, stops.

You fill a glass of water and hand it to Kunikida, who sits at the dining table, lost in his thoughts. He thanks you curtly and takes a sip.

A whirlwind of thoughts swirl around in his head and every thought seems to threaten his ideals, the foundation of his life. They threaten to knock him down, and he is afraid and maybe, in the depths of his hearts, he deserves it. He deserves to be struck down because he let those innocent people suffer. How could he repent for those valuable lives?

He draws back as he feels you touch his shoulder, and he is immediately pained because he doesn't want to hurt you. He couldn't get you involved in this; you who remained untouched by any pain or misery. He was painfully aware of those worried glances you were sending his way. He doesn't want you to look at him like that. More than anything in the world, he couldn't bear to see you sad or worried because of him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you ask Kunikida softly.

He stiffens up a bit and doesn't reply. He was afraid that if he tried to speak, he would break. He doesn't want to scare you. He was a member of the Armed Detective Agency. He couldn't let himself be vulnerable like this. He had to be strong; for you, for everyone.

Besides, he couldn't let you carry his burdens. It was his alone to face.

After a few moments of silence, you speak up, "You know what you look like to me, Kunikida?"

This seems to pull him out of his thoughts, and he wonders why you were asking this out of the blue.

"A flower."

A myriad of strange expressions passes over Kunikida's face at once and you can't help but laugh. He looks at you incredulously, at how you could possibly associate a brusque, not to mention ideal man like him to a flower out of all things in the world.

"Kunikida, have you ever looked after a plant?" You smile at him innocently. Without waiting for an answer, you continue, "You need to water it sufficiently...provide it lots of sunlight...and you need to give a lot of love and patience..."

You drift off for a few moments and he looks unsure of where you were taking this conversation.

"Just like how you don't rip out it's leaves when a flower doesn't bloom according to your expectations, you can't keep punishing yourself for your failures.” He stares at you, absorbing the depth of what you said.

"It's okay to grieve. After all, tears are only water, and flowers cannot grow without water.” You give him a small smile, “But there must be sunlight too. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and feelings of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us." You steady your voice, pulling him out of the darkness of his thoughts before it absorbs him completely.

You take his hand in yours and grasp it firmly, "Until then, please let me be there for you."

I was hiding and trembling with fear, crying all alone.

But when I woke up, the sunlight that was welcoming me was,

Kunikida remains speechless, eyes clouded by the shine of his glasses. Slowly, he takes his glasses off and brings both your hands close to his face. Closing his eyes, with a soft smile on his face, he utters only two words, conveying the only thought reverberating the immense warmth in his heart.

"Thank you."

You.

You’re my sunshine.

-x

As Kunikida settles into his bed, you finally let go of his hand. You throw him a smile and adjust your shrug around your body, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, thanks." He replies, taking a deep breath.

Just as you turn to leave, Kunikida grabs your hand, "Y/N, will you stay with me?" he requests.

You purse your lips in surprise at this. To begin with, it was one of Kunikida's ideals as specified in his notebook, that unless married, even if they are in an established relationship, man and woman cannot stay in the same room. That was the reason you stayed in the same apartment but slept in different rooms.

You are silent for way too long and Kunikida quickly changes his mind, "No, sorry just forget-"

"Okay."

He is silent as you settle down beside him. You feel your heart pound too loudly in your heart as you look into his green-grey eyes and he stares into yours. Dim moonlight streams into the room and the night is tranquil. His messy blonde locks almost appear brown and you resist the urge to immediately weave your fingers through it. 

There is a tense silence as neither of you move, while you wait for your heart to calm down.

Strangely, you found yourself feeling a little nervous, and you felt clueless about this feeling. He was your boyfriend, you remind yourself and besides, he was the man you trusted the most. As a result of your heightened nerves, you blurt out weirdly, "I-I hope I don't snore tonight."

You want to punch yourself for saying such a stupid thing. Why were you such an expert at ruining good moments? Relief washes over you as Kunikida lets out a low chuckle.

"That's fine by me, so don't worry about it at all." He entwines your hands with his. With his other hand, he tenderly tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. You feel a blush creeping up your neck at his gentleness. Kunikida may be strict and focused at work, but his affection and tender attitude towards you behind closed doors never failed to surprise you. 

But tonight it was a little different. When he asked you to stay with him, it feels like he has broken away from his standard protocol; temporarily abandoned his outer shell and let you in. And it truly made you happy, because he was finally putting himself first and allowed you to be there for him.

You squeeze his hand back in reassurance. "Tonight, I will protect Kunikida!" you say with such sudden sureness, you surprise yourself.

"Since, Kunikida is always protecting me, tonight it's my turn. I'll protect you from those bad dreams. I'll make sure they don't come back to bother you." you say in an almost comical manner. You expect him to laugh it off or ridicule you for saying such a thing. After all, the mighty Kunikida requiring protection of a powerless non-ability user as you?

But he does no such thing.

Instead he closes his eyes and brings your entwined hands to his lips and kisses your knuckles, a peaceful smile gracing his face. "I'm sure you will."

Your heart skips a beat and you find tears gathering at the corner of your eyes. At that moment, you forget everything, and your head is clouded by a single thought; a wish for only his happiness.

You wrap your arms around him, finally closing the little distance between the two of you and bury your head in his chest.

Please, make all this man's pain disappear. Let him find happiness again. You wish in your mind to any existing divine power out there.  

He strokes your head softly, running his fingers along your hair, and it is the most soothing feeling in the world, steadily lulling you to sleep. You decide that this is now your favorite place in the world; wrapped in Kunikida's arms, safe and secure. You don't know how much time has passed when you manage to get out the words.

"Promise me, Kunikida. Promise me that you will forgive yourself."

You don't know how long it took for him to reply. You are barely aware of anything, aside from the warmth from being close to him. But after what feels like an eternity, he whispers back, "I promise."

[butterflies-dragons]

Do you have any theories/predictions/headcanons about post resurrection! Jon? Especially how he'll treat Sansa?

Hello Anon,

I have read some theories and predictions about post-resurrection!Jon but I’m not a fan of any of them.  I don’t think that “Jon will come back a bad boy to fit in Dany’s taste of men” for example.  And some other speculations sadden me because they say Jon will come back sterile or having lost his memory.

About Jon and Sansa reunion tho... I've thought about it a good deal.  Especially about these passages:

Robb took them all the way down to the end, past Grandfather and Brandon and Lyanna, to show them their own tombs. Sansa kept looking at the stubby little candle, anxious that it might go out. Old Nan had told her there were spiders down here, and rats as big as dogs. Robb smiled when she said that. “There are worse things than spiders and rats,” he whispered. “This is where the dead walk.” That was when they heard the sound, low and deep and shivery. Baby Bran had clutched at Arya’s hand.

When the spirit stepped out of the open tomb, pale white and moaning for blood, Sansa ran shrieking for the stairs, and Bran wrapped himself around Robb’s leg, sobbing. Arya stood her ground and gave the spirit a punch. It was only Jon, covered with flour. “You stupid,” she told him,“you scared the baby,” but Jon and Robb just laughed and laughed, and pretty soon Bran and Arya were laughing too.

The memory made Arya smile, and after that the darkness held no more terrors for her. The stableboy was dead, she’d killed him, and if he jumped out at her she’d kill him again. She was going home. Everything would be better once she was home again, safe behind Winterfell’s grey granite walls.

—A Game of Thrones - Arya IV

***

The noise receded as she moved deeper into the castle, never daring to look back for fear that Joffrey might be watching … or worse, following. The serpentine steps twisted ahead, striped by bars of flickering light from the narrow windows above. Sansa was panting by the time she reached the top. She ran down a shadowy colonnade and pressed herself against a wall to catch her breath. When something brushed against her leg, she almost jumped out of her skin, but it was only a cat, a ragged black tom with a chewed-off ear. The creature spit at her and leapt away.

—A Clash of Kings - Sansa II

***

Myranda gave her a shrewd little smile. "Yes, she was the very soul of wisdom, that good lady." She shifted her seat. "Why must mules be so bony and ill-tempered? Mya does not feed them enough. A nice fat mule would be more comfortable to ride. There's a new High Septon, did you know? Oh, and the Night's Watch has a boy commander, some bastard son of Eddard Stark's."

"Jon Snow?" she blurted out, surprised.

"Snow? Yes, it would be Snow, I suppose."

She had not thought of Jon in ages. He was only her half brother, but still . . . with Robb and Bran and Rickon dead, Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. But of course that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise.

"Our cousin Bronze Yohn had himself a mêlée at Runestone," Myranda Royce went on, oblivious, "a small one, just for squires. It was meant for Harry the Heir to win the honors, and so he did."

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne II

The first passage could be a foreshadowing of Sansa being the first Stark to meet post-resurrection!Jon:

“There are worse things than spiders and rats,” he whispered. “This is where the dead walk.” 

When the spirit stepped out of the open tomb, pale white and moaning for blood, Sansa ran shrieking for the stairs (...)  It was only Jon, covered with flour.

It happened the same with the second passage:

When something brushed against her leg, she almost jumped out of her skin, but it was only a cat, a ragged black tom with a chewed-off ear. The creature spit at her and leapt away.

In some sense the black tomcat of the Red Keep could be a representation of Jon, the cat is even called “black bastard”, and when the cat brushed Sansa’s leg, it scared Sansa in a similar fashion than Jon playing to be a Ghost back in the Winterfell Crypts.  We can even say that the black tomcat acts like a ghost wandering around the castle reminding some people of Rhaeny’s kitten Balerion.  

And in the third passage we see how the true Sansa Stark slipped out from the Alayne Stone persona at the mere mention of “some bastard son of Eddard Stark's.”  And at the mention of a member of her family safe and sound, Sansa thinks how sweet it would be to meet him again:    

She had not thought of Jon in ages. He was only her half brother, but still . . . with Robb and Bran and Rickon dead, Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. But of course that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise.

This is another hint that a first Stark reunion between Sansa and Jon is rather probable.

Another hint is that with Lady’s death and Jon’s death, Sansa and Jon could be each other missing part, since Sansa lost her direwolf and Ghost lost its master.  In summary:

Jon’s direwolf name is Ghost;

Jon literally died so he also is a ghost himself; and, 

Sansa’s direwolf was killed and is mentioned as a “shade”, which is a synonym of ghost:

Summer’s howls were long and sad, full of grief and longing. Shaggydog’s were more savage. Their voices echoed through the yards and halls until the castle rang and it seemed as though some great pack of direwolves haunted Winterfell, instead of only two … two where there had once been six. Do they miss their brothers and sisters too? Bran wondered. Are they calling to Grey Wind and Ghost, to Nymeria and Lady’s Shade? Do they want them to come home and be a pack together?

—A Clash of Kings - Bran I

This passage about “direwolves haunting Winterfell” is very telling, specially because haunting is what spirits do, and Ghost & Lady’s Shade stand out among the wolf pack.

So all of this could be also a hint of Jon and Sansa retaking Winterfell and start howling calling the rest of their siblings to come back home, to be a pack again.      

This imagery of “Ghost and Shade haunting” is repeated in a Victarion’s chapter, as it was pointed out in this post.  

Two sleek galleys sail from Meereen and Yunkai south toward New Ghis for supplies and legionary reinforcements, but encounter the Iron Fleet in Slaver's Bay. The galleys evade Woe and Forlorn Hope, but are captured by Iron Wing, Sparrowhawk, and Kraken's Kiss. Victarion Greyjoy beheads their captains because they said that Daenerys Targaryen is dead. Victarion kills their crew aside from the enslaved rowers, who are forced to join the Iron Fleet. Victarion renames the ships Ghost and Shade, believing they will return to haunt Yunkai.

[Source 1] [Source 2]

***

The galleys he renamed Ghost and Shade. "For I mean them to return and haunt these Yunkishmen," he told the dusky woman that night after he had taken his pleasure of her. They were close now, and growing closer every day. "We will fall upon them like a thunderbolt," he said, as he squeezed the woman's breast. He wondered if this was how his brother Aeron felt when the Drowned God spoke to him. He could almost hear the god's voice welling up from the depths of the sea. You shall serve me well, my captain, the waves seemed to say. It was for this I made you.

—A Dance with Dragons - Victarion I

And curiously enough, it is vastly speculated that Victarion may have died and came back to life thanks to the Red Priest Moqorro.  The same way it is vastly speculated that the Red Priestess Melisandre will perform some fire ritual to make Jon come back to life.  So we can say that Victarion is also a ghost.  And both Jon and Victarion have a hand burned.

So, I’m sure that Jon and Sansa will meet again and we have textual evidence that they will team up to retake Winterfell.  How will Jon come back to life?  It is not certain.  Some theories say that he will be more beast than man for a while, since his soul will inhabit inside Ghost until he resurrects.  And since Sansa has a long training in taming beasts, she will do well with post-resurrection!Jon.  There are also some theories about Sansa taming Beast!Jon with her singing and helping him heal and bringing back his humanity.  I agree with those theories. 

Good night.

Thanks for your message.

[ginger-bread-official]

She Was There for a Reason

A fanfic of the battle of Hogwarts from Tonks’ perspective.

-

She was dodging curses, jinxes and falling stone while navigating the castle. It was pure choas; students, teachers Order members all fighting against the death eaters, giants, and... was that a acromantula? Tonks fended off a pair of death eaters form some students who clearly didn’t have much dueling experience.

“Thanks.” one of them panted when she stunned and bound their attackers. she nodded and asked,

“What in Merlin’s name are you kids doing here?” they all ducked at the sound of a near by explosion. “You all need to get out of here now!” She scolded them and cringed at how quickly she’d adopted a motherly tone.

“No we’re of age and McGonagall told us we could fight.” She sighed, not in the frame of mind to argue.

“Fine, but stick together and find some high ground.” A jet of purple light collided with the stone wall behind them, sending shards of stone flying all over. She shielded the three teens out of instinct, and fired at the closest death eater who was dueling Kingsley Shackelbolt.

“Thank you!” the only girl of the three said.

“Get going!” she yelled over her shoulder throwing another jinx to assist her fellow auror. They turned to do as she instructed, but she remembered the reason she came. “Wait.” They looked back to her, “Have you seen Remus Lupin?” she asked desperately. 

“Professor Lupin?” The tall boy asked.

“Yes.” another jet of light narrowly missed the group.

“He was leading a group onto the grounds, but got caught up fighting Dolohov near the courtyard.” he responded. The ground shook and she ushered them away with thanks to Dean for the information.

Kingsley was loosing ground against Yaxley near by as the students headed for better position. Tonks hurtled over the rubble she was taking cover under to aid him. 

“Tonks!?” was all he could yell out in the heat of battle.

“Need help old man?” she hollered back shooting a barrage of jinxes at Yaxley. The death eater stuttered backwards for a moment giving Kingsley the time to right himself. The pair danced in the duel as their mentor had taught them. For a man who trusted no one Mad eye sure knew how to build a perfect team. Crabbe and Goyle appeared to help Yaxley against the duo. Kingsley in these settings tended to take on the role of defense while Tonks charged forward on attack, but in the face of three death eaters he stepped in front of the new mother; the woman he loved like a sister, and wildly blitzed the men. Tonks held the defense, shielding any jinxes and watched as her friend dealt a decisive blow, and cut down all three death eaters. 

“What the Hell are you doing here?” He yelled turning to her.

“Saving your sorry arse!” She responded defiantly

“I was doing fine, and what about Teddy?!”

“He’s with me mum.” A great rumble shook the castle causing them to grab each other for stability.

“You’re in danger.” He looked wildly around for cover, “We need to get you out of here. Why did you come?” He asked franticly. 

“I came for the same reason I joined the order, the same reason I became an auror.” She looked up at him, “I have to help, I need to help.” He understood. They all had the calling in them, you can’t ignore the the cries of those in need. 

“Fine.” he sighed. “But keep on high ground.” She rolled her eyes. He was treating her like she was a trainee again.

“Have you seen Remus?”

“He was down in the courtyard last I saw.” They began to run in that direction, “Took Dolohov off my hands leaving me just with Yaxley.” The pair split up at the great staircase, Tonks promising to look for Lupin from above and stay out of harms way. She was helping some students on the upper levels overlooking the courtyard, fending off any enemies that approached, while looking for her husband. It was all a haze and everything was exploding all around them. She was holding strong against some incoming dementors, and had a few students helping her when she saw something that twisted her insides painfully.

Bellatrix Lestrange was playing with her food.

Her aunt, the one that resembled he kind loving mother, was torturing Neville Longbottom at the base of the great staircase. His screams curdled her blood and pierced her heart. She was taunting him. 

“Ickle Longbottom screams just like his mommy did.” She was sick, demented. Tonks remembered the vile threats she made on Teddy’s life. That woman had caused enough pain. Her wolf patronus pushed back the last of the Dementors and rushed off towards Bellatrix with Tonks close behind. She thought of Teddy holding his beautiful face in her minds eye as she charged her aunt. Neville was Alice’s Teddy. “As fun as this is. Bloodtraitor, I’ll have to cut it short.” Neville was panting from the most recent bout of torture, sweat drenching his clothes and shimmering on his young face. The tip of her wand began to glow green, “Avad-”

“Bellatrix!” Tonks screamed. The older woman paused and turned to see her niece standing at the top of the staircase.

“You.” Her attention was completely on Tonks now, hatred and fury now emanating from the oldest Black sister.

“Neville,” Tonks looked to the young man, “Go help your friends I’ll handle her.” Neville began to protest, “Run! Now!” She shouted as she shot a jinx at her aunt. Bellatrix easily dodged it, but at least her attention was off of the boy now. Neville hurried to the aid of Ginny who was fighting Greyback nearby. The death eater and the auror trades a few curses with Tonks keeping the high ground and landing a some good hits on the older woman. Her aunt’s actions were wild and desperate. 

“After I kill you, I’m going to kill your mutt of a husband and then your precious pup.” She spat out before sending another few killing curses at Nymphadora. 

“If you keep talking like that Remus and I are going to take you off the Christmas card list.” she smirked taunting the woman. A few more curses wizzed passed her as the pair took their duel to the second level of the castle. Tonks was losing ground, but to be fair even the great Minerva McGonagall struggled against Bellatrix.

It was heated to say the least. Tonks felt satisfaction for her small hits and limited victories, but then immediately felt exhaustion from dodging, and shielding from the countless attacks. She had to win she needed to protect Teddy Bellatrix was the looming cloud over everything they did. They hid their marriage because of her, hid the pregnancy because of her. It needed to end. Tonks became more frantic, attacking with the smallest openings, resorting to dark curses and risky maneuvers. She was turning the tide, she could feel it she could land one last hit.... But she was too slow. Bellatrix blasted her back in one of her exposed blitz. She hit the wall hard knocking the wind from her and dropping her crumpled on the ground. Her aunt’s laugh was manic as she charged forward sending stunning, cutting and bruising jinxes at Tonks. She fended off one barely, but was hit by the others. She rushed in close to her niece, grabbing her spiked pink hair with one hand and pressing her wand into her throat with the other.

“I wish I had more time to enjoy this.” She hissed into Nymphadora’s bloodied and bruised face. “Like when I killed your mudblood father.” a pain ripped through Nymphadora. “I took time with his punishment. Days and days I spent breaking him.” She licked her lips at the memory. “But I suppose I’ll have that again with your husband and baby.” Tonks felt the hatred build in her to a breaking point. Her sweet father had died at the hands of this monster. Remus would suffer, Teddy..... no. She thought of everything Bellatrix had done. All the nights her mother spend crying over her sister. Neville’s parents, her father, every vile and heinous thing that boiled Tonks’ blood, and with the last of her strength she raised her wand and blurted out.

“Avada Kedavra.” A green jet shot out and sent Bellatrix flying backwards to the opposing wall. A mixture of horror and relief washed through her at what she just did. Her hatred and fear had taken control she was desperate to do anything to save her family. Her feelings hadn’t settled when the heap that was her aunt moved. She got to her feet with difficulty as her aunt rose seemingly from the dead. The Death Eater’s face was bloodied and her motions seemed pained, but yet she lived.

“That was a good first try.” She turned fully to Tonks with clear pain in her face. “But it’s more than just hate dear.” Tonks raised her wand while still leaning on the wall for support, “Its the joy of killing. Let me show you.” Tonks felt a single tear run down her face. Not for her, but for Teddy. it was his face she held in her mind as she heard her aunt give her demonstration.

-

I hate when people shit on Tonks for going to the battle. She is a good soul who couldn’t stand by when people needed her. I wanted to give a concrete reason why she needed to be there, why her sacrifice meant so much more than her leaving Teddy orphaned. She was a hero and people shit on her because of it. this is the only time you see me admit she died. But I believe she had to be there to save Neville. She would have been the only person short Harry that could have diverted Bellatrix’s attention. She sacrificed herself and Neville was able to aid Harry and the rest is history.

Also as badass as Molly Weasley is, the first time we see her Duel is against Bellatrix, and I think it would make more sense if Bellatrix was weakened when she died at Molly’s hand.

[musesofolive]

A Birthday Kiss

“Skál!”

The clinks of mugs rallied together reverberated in the air as well as the laughter and cheers that followed it. The bodies of Torin’s fellow tribe members, his family, were packed around him, making him warmer than he already felt as the alcohol went down his throat. He finished his with a wolfish grin, a drunken blush starting to spread across his cheeks, having already drunk a few mugs before this.

“My boy, slow down! Or the rest of us won’t have the chance to finish it off with you,” his father exclaimed good naturedly. A loud laugh was drawn from him, straight from his belly, as he clapped his son on the shoulder. He was joking of course, everyone had been drinking a lot, it was a night for celebration, after all.

Torin laughed with Bruinen, shaking his head. “Aw, what? Scared your son will beat you to the bottom of the barrel,” he challenged.

The old Tidebound tutted, wagging a webbed finger. “You’d be wise not to challenge someone with more experience than you.” His warning wasn’t at all serious and it was followed by a smirk as he poured himself another mug of mead.

“Please, try not to get too drunk this time. This is barely tolerable, but you’re all awful the morning after with your hangovers.” Rowan sighed with a shake of their head, the memories clearly flooding back. Their eyes went wide as green hands wrapped around their shoulders, Isla hanging over them.

She wore an absolutely plastered grin as she giggled. “Come on, Ro! We’re not that bad, you know you love us.” She sang off-key, almost falling with how much she was leaning on her sibling.

They helped steady her with another sigh. “How much I love you wasn’t the question, it was more how annoying you all become,” they muttered. The pout on their face couldn’t stay for long though as Isla began pulling them to an open dance space where their mother was swirling about with another woman of the tribe, her movements slightly more hazy than usual with the alcohol in her system.

“Have fun with our baby sister!” Torin called out mockingly with a wave, laughing as he saw the glare that they shot him. Birthday celebrations were always a great night for him, no matter who’s birthday it was. The warm air of the familiar bodies, the laughter, the pleasant buzz in his head. It was great.

It got better when a dark blue hand went on his shoulder, and he turned to see Dathan with a grin on his face. “You look like you’re having fun, birthday boy,” he teased.

“I am! And I’m having more fun now that you’re here.” He grinned back at his friend, hoping the heat on his face would be covered by the drunken flush he already had. He watched as Dathan took a step back, extending his hand as an invitation to dance. Torin took it, leaning his forearm against Dathan’s as the two circled each other. “I haven’t seen you a lot today, even on patrol. You trying to avoid me for some reason?”

“No! Well, not on purpose. Just getting my gift ready for you is all.”

The words made Torin’s ears perk and his eyes turned curious. “Gift?” His head tilted, his interest clearly piqued.

The look made him laugh. “Yes, you’re getting a gift from me, it is your birthday. Or was that mead magical enough to make you forget?” The teasing note was back as he twirled into Torin’s arms, poking his forehead playfully.

He rolled his eyes, the grin still on his face. “Oh shut up, I just didn’t think a gift would take you all day,” he retorted.

“It’s a special gift, though! One that won’t come with a bow wrapped on top, we can go see it now, if you’d like.” It was Dathan’s turn to twirl Torin into his arms now and he smirked mischievously down at him.

He looked away briefly, trying to gather his thoughts. Everyone was already having fun, they wouldn’t miss him if he was gone for a couple of minutes. His green eyes met the stony grey of Dathan’s and nodded, stumbling as he was pulled back to his feet and led to the water.

With a splash, the two of them had dived into the lake, the cold water already starting to clear the buzz from Torin’s head as he followed Dathan through one of the many tunnels in their lake. It was a while of swimming, and Torin began to jokingly ask if the plan was to just kidnap him instead. But eventually, they arrived at their destination, an underground cove. There was a shallow pool of water underneath a circle of open ground, revealing the starry sky overhead, reflecting in the pool below.

Torin’s jaw dropped as he looked at it, walking around. “This...how did you find this?” He asked incredulously, turning to Dathan.

The Tidebound shrugged with a sheepish smile. “I took a wrong turn and accidentally got lost on my way to Vera’s shop.”

That got a laugh out of him, of course Dathan would get lost in tunnels he grew up in. “It’s incredible, thanks for stealing me away to show me this.” He walked to the pool, sitting down and letting his legs float in the water.

Dathan joined him not much later. “Of course, I… I figured it could be our spot. You know, when the guard gets too messy or your family teases you too much, we can just agree to meet here.” He shrugged, and Torin could have sworn he saw a blush, only for it to vanish as he turned his head. “And, I managed to swipe some of your favorite~” Turning back around, he had an armful of Xadian oranges with him.

He grinned at the sight, taking one and grabbing his knife off his belt. “Damn you are good to me on my birthday. What are the odds I can always get you to spoil me like this?” He leaned against Dathan’s shoulder as he teased, laughing as he was adjusted to to lean into his side as his arm came to wrap around him instead.

The other man let out a hum, tapping his chin. “Let’s see...nothing.” He laughed seeing Torin’s pout. “Come on! If you got this treatment every day, it wouldn’t make your special day nearly as special, now would it?”

He only huffed in response. “Rowan is getting to be way too much of an influence on you.” He whined as his cheek was poked in, and poked him back in retaliation before popping an orange slice into his mouth.

The two spent hours playing around in their new spot, eventually settling down into the pool of water to gaze up at the stars. A sense of peace washed over Torin, as he realized he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. His gaze flicked over to Dathan who was beside him, fins splayed out in the water, the stars reflecting in his eyes, a bright grin on his face. He looked gorgeous. A more focused expression settled on his face, and he rubbed his thumb over his finger as he thought. Maybe...maybe it was time to tell him already. Oceans know how long he’d had these feelings. And, there wasn’t going to be another chance quite like this one.

“You alright, Torin?”

The question knocked him off his train of thought as he focused back on Dathan, eyes now holding concern as he looked over at him. He realized he’d been staring and his flush came back full force as he sat up a little straighter. “Y-yeah, yeah! Everything’s totally fine! I was just...just thinking is all.” He tried to shrug it off.

For once, there was no teasing remark or playful jab, just those lovely grey orbs focused solely on him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Torin’s words all but died in his throat as he looked away. “No, no it’s alright, really.” His hand came up to rub the back of his neck, maybe now wasn’t the best time after all.

All of his thinking went out the window when Dathan came closer, putting his hands on the other’s shoulders. “Hey, you know you can talk to me right? If you don’t want to say, I’m not gonna make you. But the last thing I want is for you to be scared of telling me something,” he told him gently.

“I...I’m not scared of telling you. I just don’t want it to change how we work. Because I like how we work,” he responded back.

Dathan raised an eyebrow. “Torin. I’ve watched you run straight into walls, knock yourself to the ground, and you told me you wet the bed for two years after hearing one scary story.” He chuckled a little seeing his face get darker. “I’ve seen and heard all of that, and here we are, still functioning together. I think we actually work better together because of those kinds of things. It’s going to take more than a couple words to throw us off our game, we’re stronger than that.”

The Tideblood still hesitated to talk, but that soon ended when Dathan put a hand on his cheek, cupping it to make him look directly at him. “I’m in love with you, can I kiss you,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. His jaw clenched tightly to reign in his panic, otherwise he would bolt right out of the cove. He remained steady, looking at the man who held his affection.

Said man blinked in surprise, taking a moment to process what he just heard. “Repeat that for me? Slower, I want to make sure I heard right.” There was a grin on his face that said he didn’t actually need it repeated.

But it wasn’t a negative reaction, and that encouragement stopped him from flustering. “I’m in love with you. So, so in love. Can I kiss you?” He asked again, slower as instructed. His hands circled around Dathan’s waist, eyes on his lips briefly before looking back into his eyes.

“Honestly, Torin? I was starting to get afraid that you’d never ask.” He responded, lightly teasing before leaning in close, letting the other fully close the distance between them. Lips moved together as they held each other tight.

That same peace washed over Torin again, and when they parted, breathless and leaning their foreheads against each other, holding each other like they’d disappear otherwise, he knew he’d only ever feel this peace with Dathan.

[cuthian]

Becoming a Memory, Becoming a Treasure Chapter One

Hi everyone

New to the fandom, so please, be kind :D

I aged up everyone by two years for plot related purposes. I wanted the boys just a little older, so they were nineteen when they died, Julie is now seventeen.

I have no idea when I'll have more chapters for you, but I'll try to get it out as soon as I can! :D

Lots of Love, Annaelle

Becoming a Memory, Becoming a Treasure

“When Someone You Love Becomes a Memory, the Memory Becomes a Treasure.” —unknown author

-------

ONE

“Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, For They Will Be Comforted.”

—Matthew 5:4

JULIE

“You sure you want me to do this?”

Julie glanced at Reggie, who was bouncing up and down on his toes beside her, looking at the apartment door in front of them with a mix of breathless excitement and trepidation.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah, I wanna see her, I wanna know.”

Julie smiled lightly and barely resisted the urge to pat him on the arm. The last thing they needed was Reggie becoming temporarily corporeal when she was about to knock on his little sister’s door. “Okay,” she nodded, turning back towards the door. “Okay.”

She’s rehearsed what to say a million times since they’d found out Reggie’s little sister still lived in L.A. from Luke’s mom, since Reggie had begged her to give her the same kind of closure she’d helped Luke and his parents find.

She’d always been a little weak for Luke’s puppy eyes, but she hadn’t been prepared for Reggie’s.

Especially when the other boys had backed him up—they’d all known and babysat Reggie’s little sister. They all wanted to know what she was like as an adult; she’d been only nine when the boys had died.

Reggie had no idea what’d happened to their parents, no idea how they’d have reacted to their estranged kid dying at seventeen, no idea if they’d transferred their aggression from him to Maggie, and he needed to know. He needed to know she was okay.

He’d insisted on coming alone with Julie—hadn’t even let Luke come along.

Julie was pretty sure Luke had been as surprised as she was, but neither of them had fought him on it. Probably because Alex had sworn he’d sit on Luke to keep him where he was.

“I’m gonna knock,” Reggie said breathlessly, holding his hand up to the door, freezing less than an inch before his knuckles made contact with the wood. “I am.”

“Go on,” Julie told him kindly. “You can do it.”

“Right,” Reggie breathed. “Right.”

The sound of his knuckles rapping on the wooden door echoed through the hallway, and she could hear footsteps on the other side of the door, and Julie felt almost as nervous as Reggie undoubtedly did.

She could hear Reggie suck in a breath he didn’t need and hold it when the door swung open.

The woman on the other side of the door didn’t look anything like Reggie, and it kind of threw her. “Uh,” she said, blinking at the tall, dark-skinned woman in surprise. “Hi. My name’s Julie; I’m looking for Maggie? Peters?”

“Oh, sure,” the woman said, stepping to the side and holding the door open. “Come on in, I’ll get her.” She walked inside without waiting for an answer and Julie and Reggie exchanged a wary look before following her inside. “You one of her new artists?” The woman called out over her shoulder as she walked further into the apartment.

“Uh, no, I—” Julie began, but before she could continue, a second woman walked into the room and Reggie gasped sharply beside her.

And this… this had to be Maggie.

She and Reggie didn’t look a lot alike, but there were definitely similarities. They had the same kind of glossy dark hair—although hers was much longer than Reggie’s—with light, green eyes, and when Maggie smiled at the other woman, Julie recognized the tilt of her lips, because she’d seen it on Reggie’s so many times before.

“I didn’t know we had company,” Maggie told the other woman, slipping her arm around her waist and leaning in to peck her cheek. Reggie gasped again, but Julie couldn’t risk looking at him now.

“This is Julie,” the other woman said. “She said she’s here to see you.”

Maggie turned to her, smiling the smile that made her look so much like Reggie it almost hurt, and said, “Well, what can I do for you, Julie?”

“Uh,” Julie said again. “I, uh… Did you used to have a brother named Reggie?”

That, evidently, took Maggie by surprise. “Yeah,” she nodded eventually. “I do—I did. How did you—”

“I live in the house where he and the band used to practice,” Julie said, repeating the same half-truth she had told Luke’s parents. “Some of their things were still there, so… I went through it, and I found…” she pulled the little bracelet with cheap plastic beads and several instrument charms from her pocket. “I found Luke’s parents pretty easily, and they told me about other family members, and I thought you might like to have it back.”

Maggie’s eyes were wide and filled with tears as she stared at the tiny bracelet—Reggie had told her he’d made it for Maggie’s ninth birthday, that they’d all made it, because she loved listening to them play, loved telling people that her big brother was in a band, and that Maggie had given it to him for their big performance at the Orpheum, as a good luck charm.

He’d forgotten it in the garage when they’d left for the Orpheum.

Reggie, now standing a few steps closer to his sister, was watching her eagerly, almost hungrily, his eyes red with unshed tears even as she stepped towards Julie, hand outstretched for the bracelet.

“I’d forgotten,” she whispered. “I forgot he had this.”

The bracelet looked tiny in her hand, clearly meant to fit a child’s wrist.

“Tell her I love her,” Reggie rasped, and when he turned to look at Julie, she saw that tears were running down his cheeks. “I don’t care how, just make it up, just please. Tell her I love her.”

Julie nodded jerkily, hoping the other two women in the room hadn’t noticed, and said quietly, “He must’ve loved you a lot. I mean,” she hesitated when Maggie looked up with eyes as teary as her brother’s, “I found a couple of songs too, and I could tell they were written for a kid, so I assumed…”

Before Maggie could respond, a high-pitched cry rang out from one of the rooms in the back of the apartment and both women turned to look at the door in sync.

“Babe,” Maggie said in a shaking voice. “Please go check on Reg, I need—”

“Yeah,” the other woman said immediately, running her hand down Maggie’s side in a tender, comforting gesture. “Yeah, of course.”  She glanced towards Julie with an unreadable look before turning and disappearing through one of the doors at the other end of the room. The cries—a baby’s cries, Julie realized belatedly—ceased a moment later, and she could vaguely hear humming.

“You named your baby Reggie?” she blurted without thinking, without really stopping to think that this was a woman she didn’t know at all.

She ignored Reggie’s stunned, “I’m an uncle?” and focused on Maggie, who still wasn’t looking at her.

“Regina,” Maggie replied without really taking her eyes off the bracelet in her hand. “Although we end up calling her Reggie more often than not, so I guess, yeah.” She snorted a rather wet laugh and added, “I don’t think he’d ever have forgiven me if I named my kid Reginald. He would have hated it.”

“I would’ve,” Reggie said wetly, wiping his hand across his face. “I really would’ve.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Julie whispered. “That you’re remembering him like this.”

Maggie looked up at her again, a little oddly, and now that Reggie was standing right next to her, Julie was struck for the first time just how much they did actually look alike. “I’m sorry,” Julie said, “I know that was—out of line, I just…” she shrugged. “I’ve spent so much time in that garage, in the same room that they did, sorting through their things… I feel like I know them.”

It wasn’t a lie, per se.

She did feel like she knew the boys—although the fact that she could talk to their ghosts did help.

Maggie’s expression softened a little. “I get that. Is there—is there a lot? I mean, is there more?”

“Uh,” Julie stuttered, “I mean, yeah. It’s mostly junk though. A bunch of clothes that I was gonna give to Goodwill, notebooks with songs… I gave those to Luke’s parents. Not much else.”

Maggie nodded shakily. “Okay. Well, if you… if you find anything else, can you—”

“Of course,” Julie nodded, pulling out her phone. “Do you want me to add your contact info?”

Maggie nodded and took Julie’s phone, tapping in her contact info while Reggie looked at her with wide eyes. “I don’t wanna go yet,” he pleaded, looking up at Julie desperately. “Keep talking to her. Please.”

Julie took her phone back from Maggie, desperately searching for something to say when her eye fell on a picture hanging in the middle of the wall. It was very clearly the boys, but they were younger than she knew them—younger than they’d been when they died.

It was just the three of them, with a little girl—who Julie assumed was a young Maggie—sitting in the middle, holding a guitar that was very nearly bigger than her. The three boys were clearly all helping her hold it up, and all four of them were grinning at the camera with wide, happy grins. She’d never seen them smile quite like that.

“Is that them?” She asked, gesturing towards the picture.

Maggie looked over her shoulder at the picture before she turned back to smile at Julie. “Yeah. Yeah, when they were... Fifteen, I think. I was five, so yeah. Fifteen.”

Four years before they’d died.

No wonder they looked so young.

They’d barely been more than kids themselves.

“Can you—would it—would it be okay if you told me a little more about them?” She asked quietly, still staring at the photo of her bandmates when they’d been younger.

She was, actually, so busy staring at the picture that she didn’t notice the puzzled look Maggie shot her before she stepped up beside her to look at the picture. Reggie was too busy glancing at every other picture in the room, trying to catch a glimpse of what his little sister’s life had become, to notice the look too.  “What do you want to know?” Maggie finally asked.

“Just…” Julie hesitated. “Anything. What were they like?”

Maggie smiled wistfully. “They were thick as thieves. I can’t remember a time that Luke and Alex weren’t there, so… I know they’d been friends since kindergarten. Well, Luke and Reggie at least. I think they met Alex later on, but that was before I was born.”

“We met Alex in third grade,” Reggie piped in. “He beat up a bully for me.”

Julie smiled despite herself.  

“They were always singing and making music,” Maggie continued. “Ever since I could remember. And when they formed the band, and Reggie had to babysit me, I’d usually just get to sit and watch them. I never minded.” When Julie looked at her, she saw that tears were running down Maggie’s cheeks again, but she was still smiling a small wistful smile. “I loved watching them practice.”

She suddenly laughed and said, “I had a crush on Alex when I was little. I even asked him to marry me when we were both grown-ups.”

“Awe,” Julie chuckled. “Did he say yes?”

“No,” Maggie smiled, shaking her head lightly. “No, he was really sweet about it though. Told me that he didn’t like girls all that much, but that if he was ever going to like one, it would definitely have been me.” She laughed wetly again and added, offhand, “I caught him and Reggie kissing a little after that, and then my father—” she cut off and shook her head with a sad smile before she whispered, “I definitely had to believe him after all that.”

“What?” Julie blurted, glancing towards Reggie, who looked both flushed and horrified.

“You saw that?” He squeaked, even though he knew his sister couldn’t hear him.

Maggie chuckled. “Yeah, I… it was surprising to me too. I always thought Reggie was a little sweet on Luke, the way they were together, but then…” she shrugged helplessly. “I guess Alex and Reggie spent so much time together that the idea of them makes sense too. It’s one of the things I guess I’ll never really know. I also distinctly remember being devastated to find out that not only did Alex not like girls, he liked my brother instead though.”

“It’s a cute story,” Julie choked, trying her hardest not to turn to Reggie and shout, because how did she not know about this yet?!

“I guess, yeah,” Maggie nodded. “He wrote country songs for me. Luke hated them, but he’d play the ones Reggie wrote for me anyway.”

“He didn’t hate them,” Reggie pouted.

They fell silent, staring at the photo for a minute before the other woman—Maggie’s wife, she assumed—walked into the room, cradling a swaddled baby in her arms. “She won’t settle,” she said, walking up to Maggie with an apologetic smile. “I’m thinking she wants her momma.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Julie said immediately, although Reggie pouted. “Thank you, for… answering my questions. I know you didn’t have to do that.”

“Thank you,” Maggie said. “For bringing me—just thank you.” She reached out to shake Julie’s hand, pausing in the middle of the handshake with a puzzled expression. “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was again?”

“Julie,” Julie replied. “Julie Molina.”

“Julie,” Maggie repeated. “Thank you, Julie.”

Julie nodded jerkily and smiled before turning and walking out the front door. Reggie followed her, although he could probably have stayed a little longer if he wanted to.

She waited until they were outside before she grabbed Reggie’s jacket and dragged him off into an alley. “What the hell, Reggie? You and Alex? What about Willie? What about Luke?”

Reggie gave her a wide eyed look and sputtered, “Wha—there’s nothing—what about Luke?”

Julie raised an eyebrow at him. “Reggie. You are about as subtle as a brick. I know you’re in love with him.”

“Wha—no–I’m not—” Reggie spluttered, before he heaved a sigh. “Does Luke know?”

“No,” Julie scoffed. “Only ‘cause he’s the only person who’s actually more oblivious than you are.” Reggie blinked at her and she heaved a sigh, letting him go and taking a step back.

“So you and Alex?” She prompted.

Reggie sighed. “It wasn’t… okay, so we didn’t start out as a real serious thing, you know? It was right after Luke and Alex broke up and we kind of just fooled around when we felt like it.” He wrapped his arms around himself and admitted, “We tried dating a few years after we first started fooling around but it didn’t—it didn’t work out.”

He shrugged a little helplessly. “It wasn’t a big deal. I was really happy for him when he met Willie.”

“Wait,” Julie shook her head, “Luke and Alex dated?”

“Oh,” Reggie frowned. “Yeah, for like a year when we were sixteen. It’s how his parents found out he was gay. Or,” he amended, “it’s why he decided to tell them in any case. They decided they were better off friends, but it still took Alex a while to get over it.”

Julie nodded slowly. “There’s so much I don’t know about you guys yet,” she finally said in a small voice.

Reggie presser forward and slung an arm around het shoulders. “That’s ‘cause we’ve known each other for fifteen years, Jules. It’s like we don’t know everything about you and Flynn and Carlos yet.”

He shook her playfully. “Give it some time.”

Julie laughed. “I guess.” They started walking again and she looked up at him, feeling a little apprehensive. “You happy we went to see her?”

“Yeah,” Reggie said slowly. “Definitely. Thanks, Molina.”

Julie grinned and pressed into his side. “No problem.”

This… this she was the least she could do.

-------

Or read it HERE on AO3 :D Find the next chapter HERE on Tumblr :)

[sturnioloshacker]

Wedding Hottie - A Joel Pimentel Imagine

Requested by anon

A/N: So I’m not sure if Ali (who works with cnco) is single or not but I’m going to use her name because she knows Joel. I’ve also chucked in a random name for the reader.

Prompt #1: You had an assigned seat next to them at a wedding for a mutual friend

Today is the day that my friend Ali getting married to the love of her life. She met her fiance at a party and the two have been inseparable since. It’s crazy to think how once you lock eyes with someone, you immediately fall in love. I wish I had that…

I quickly made myself something to eat so that my stomach doesn’t ache during the ceremony. After having a quick bite to eat, I rush to the bathroom to do my hair and makeup. I didn’t want to be too over the top with hair makeup. After all, I don’t want to outshine Georgia on her big day! I did some loose curls and some light makeup which is simple, but effective. I then walked to my bedroom and grabbed the dress that was hanging from the closet door. I put it on and straighten out any wrinkles and creases that were visible. I checked my mirror to make sure I didn’t ruin my hair or makeup and put my heels on. I grabbed my phone and purse and threw them in my handbag and walked out the door.

I arrive at the venue and inhale sharply. It’s absolutely gorgeous! The set-up is beautiful and all the flowers smell so nice! As I walk to the seating area, I notice that the seats have names on them. Interesting… I wonder who I’m sitting next to! I hope it’s someone I know! I head to my seat and notice that the people next to me haven’t arrived. I decide to sneak a peek at the two names. The one to my left doesn’t interest but the one to my right does. Joel is the name. I’m seated next to a guy?! I’m excited but also nervous. I haven’t had much luck with guys and relationships so we’ll see how this one goes. I hope he’s not a douche.

As time goes by, more and more people come and take their seats. This Joel guy still hasn’t turned up. I wonder if he knows that it’s today. Has he forgotten? Did he say yes to coming? The person to my left arrives and we both smile at each other as she sits down. A few minutes later, I hear someone sit down. I turn and come face to face with a guy who I swear was sculpted by the Greek gods. “Damn!” I mumbled under my breath. He has the prettiest eyes and such a structured jawline! We both smile at each other and I can feel my cheeks heating up. “Hi, I’m Joel!” he says and I’m taken aback. His voice is so husky and smooth. I feel butterflies in my stomach and my cheeks burning with fury. “Hi, I’m Angelina. Most people call me Angel”, I say. “I wonder why”, he smirks. Hot. Charming. What else is he packing?! “How do you know Ali?” he asks. “Oh! I’m, uh, we’re mutual friends. How do you know her?” I say, stumbling on my words. Fuck. Not even a few minutes in and I’m already finding it hard to talk. “We work together. I’m part of a boy band and she’s an assistant who helps us with everything we need”, he explains. A boy band? Oof. “Which boy band?” I ask. “You might know them, CNCO”. I do know about CNCO because of Ali. What I didn’t know was that CNCO were a boy band full of hot stuff!

The ceremony begins and everyone quietens down, except for a screaming child. The pair say their vows and every woman is in tears. As the ceremony comes to a close, I feel my hand being pulled into a grasp. I turn to see Joel examining my hand. “Ummm… what are you doing?” I whisper. “Can I not hold your hand?” he questions. “I, uh, if you want to”, I manage to blurt out. He holds my hand and we continue to listen to the ceremony. “You may now kiss your bride!” the officiant exclaims and the pair kiss as the people stand up and cheer and clap. The pair walk down the aisle covered in petals and confetti that had been thrown by certain family members.

RECEPTION

The whole night was spent eating, drinking, dancing, laughing and having fun. With a drink in my hand, I’m dancing away with Joel. The more I got to know him, the more comfortable I felt around him. I think he felt the same way. The music dies down and the MC gets on the mic. “Can we please have everyone off the dancefloor so the happy couple can have their first dance?” Everyone exits the dancefloor, leaving the newlyweds in each other’s embrace as they slowly sway and make their way around the floor.

Everyone is all smiling after the dance and the MC jumps back on the mic. “Those who want to join the happy couple in another slow dance are more than welcome!” All the couples hop on and join Ali and her husband. “Care to join me?” Joel asks as he extends his hand. I smile and take his hand. He leads me to the floor where he softly places my hands on his shoulders and his on my hips. “Is this okay?” he asks. I nod as we gently sway. Such a gentleman!

LATER THAT NIGHT

Joel and I walk back to the car park and noticed that our cars are next to each other. What a coincidence! “Thanks for the night. I’m glad to have met you”, he gushes. “Same here”, I agree. “Can I get your number?” We exchange numbers and goodnights and Joel hops into his car. “Wait! I forgot something!” he gasps. “Everything o- oh!” I gasp as he places a soft kiss on my cheek. “That’s what I forgot, he smirks before hopping into his car and exiting the reception venue. I hop into my car and just sit there in shock. I wonder what his lips would feel like on mine? Oh, don’t get so giddy over it! I’ll probably end up in the friendzone!

I walk through my front door and head to my bedroom to start getting ready for bed. After brushing my teeth and taking off my makeup, I put on my pyjamas and hop into bed. Just as I start to fall asleep, I hear my phone buzz.

J ❤️: Dinner next Friday at 7?

A: Of course xx

J ❤️: I’ll pick you up at 6:30 then x

A: Perfect! Night Joel 💕

J ❤️: Night gorgeous 😘

I place my phone back on my bedside table and fall asleep. Can’t wait for next Friday!

[wisdom-walks-alone]

maybe someday i’ll come back to you

Dick and Damian centric. Emotional hurt/comfort. Hurt Damian Wayne. Amnesiac Dick Grayson (Ric). Coming out. 3019 words.

Summary:

"Do you wanna come in?"

He wants to say no. But there's a pang in his chest, a desperate ache for someone who no longer exists, and he finds himself saying yes.

In which there's only one person that Damian would want to go to for comfort.

Shoutout to the AMAZING @darlinglissa for betaing this!

read it on ao3

The key feels familiar in Damian's hand, familiar like the pattern on the carpet and the musty smell of the hallway. He stares at it, feels it between his fingers and fidgets with it. His grip tightens as he feels his expression sour. If he wanted to, he could put the key in the doorknob, turn it, hear the lock click and push the door open. It would be so easy.

But he can't do that. Damian knows this, so he doesn't. Instead, he pockets the key, and he lifts his hand to knock. But all of his usual confidence and self-assuredness suddenly evaporates, and he hesitates, staring up at the numbers on the door and catching his lip between his teeth. Dropping his hand, Damian steps back to lean against the wall and lets himself slide to the floor, still staring up at the numbers on the apartment door.

This was a stupid idea, he tells himself. He shouldn't have come here.

Just as he's about to get up and leave, the door swings open. "Can I help you?" asks his brother. Except it's not his brother, Damian has to remind himself. His brother is dead.

"No, no," he replies, standing up quickly and dusting himself off. "I was just leaving. Sorry to bother you."

Before he can make it more than a few steps down the hallway, Dick's voice calls after him. "Kid, wait." Damian looks back and sees the man biting his lip as if contemplating something before shaking his head in resignation. "Do you wanna come in?"

Damian stares at him and blinks, not quite processing what he just said. The man just raises an eyebrow at him and tilts his head. Well?

He wants to say no. But there's a pang in his chest, a desperate ache for someone who no longer exists, and he finds himself saying yes.

For what it's worth, the apartment hasn't changed much. There's a few pieces of clothing he doesn't recognize draped over various pieces of furniture, but it's the same mess all the same. Some things just never change, Damian supposes. 

The pictures are gone, though. Dick always kept pictures around his apartment, dozens of them. Damian has a mental catalogue of every single one and where it hung or sat framed on a shelf. All that's there now are bare walls and the ghosts of a thousand memories.

"Do you want something to drink?" Dick's voice comes from the kitchen.

"If it is not too much trouble," Damian answers, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Thank you for your hospitality, Richard."

"Ric is fine."

"That is duly noted, Richard."

He can hear a deep sigh from the kitchen. "I've got coffee, coke, and… You're a kid so you probably don't drink, so, uh, do you want some apple juice? Orange juice?"

Damian scoffs. "I am fifteen years old, I am not a child."

"So, a coke then?"

"Do you have tea?"

"Uh." There's some shuffling sounds as Damian imagines him rummaging through the cabinets. "Yeah. I have earl gray or chamomile-"

"Do you have jasmine?" Damian asks, biting back a little bit of hope.

"Um, I don't think…" There's some more rummaging, then a surprised, "Oh, yeah, I do have jasmine."

Something tugs at his heart as a wry smile tugs at his lips. Dick hated jasmine tea, but he always kept a box of it for Damian. He knew it was his favorite. Memories of late night post patrol drinks as Batman and Robin come to mind, Dick telling Alfred to surprise him as they began to unwind in the cave. Dick never minded what beverage he had after patrol, but Damian always had jasmine tea.

His eye catches on something laying on the arm of the couch, and he picks it up to inspect it. The hockey jersey from the game Dick took him to for his fourteenth birthday. It was the poorly named Gotham City Penguins against the Star City Icewalkers. Gotham had won eight-to-two, and Dick had insisted they get matching jerseys of the player who scored the winning goal. Damian had scoffed and turned his nose at the idea then, but now he wishes with every inch of his body that he could go back.

There's a laundry basket at his feet next to the couch, and he's about to drop the jersey into it when he sees a woman's blouse laying inside.

A woman has been staying here.

Damian internally shivers at the thought and drops the jersey into the basket.

He wanders back to the small dining table and reaches for a chair that has a jacket draped over the back. It's one of Jason's jackets, Damian registers, that Dick borrowed and evidently never returned. He pulls the chair out and sits as Richard emerges from the kitchen with two cups, setting one in front of Damian before taking a seat across from him.

"It's Damian, isn't it?" Richard starts, and Damian pretends his insides don't twist a little at that.

"Yes," he answers, sniffing his cup of tea as he brings it to his lips and takes a sip. The warmth of it pools in his chest, the familiar taste dancing on his taste buds, and for a moment he can imagine he’s ten years old again, sitting at the table in the batcave after a night of patrol. Damian has to keep himself from chasing the euphoria of it before he chugs the whole thing in one go.

Richard takes a sip of his own drink. "So, what brings you here, Damian?" he asks, but he looks like he already knows the answer.

"I…" Damian licks his lip and bites down on it as he struggles with his words, blinking hard. He'd avoided voicing his feelings on the matter, had avoided the subject altogether for the last few months. He hadn't talked about it with anyone, not Father, not Tim or Barbara, not even Alfred. He hadn't even allowed himself much time to think about it as he spent countless nights in the cave training, trying to escape from his own thoughts. "I—I just miss him, I suppose." Richard just makes a humming noise.

"I'm sorry, and I know you've probably heard that a million times, but that's really all I can say." He looks at Damian sympathetically, but Damian looks away to stare into his drink. "I know it must be hard, and that it really sucks, but I need you to know that I'm not-"

"I am well aware that my brother died that night," Damian interrupts, his grip on his cup tightening. He takes a second to concentrate on his breathing, then lets the warmth of the cup on his hands ground him as he finally looks up.

The man in front of him doesn't look like Dick, not really. His hair is still short from when it had been shaved, which gives a perfect view of the ugly scar above his ear, and he carries himself in a way that Damian’s never seen with his brother, not even when undercover. But he's looking at Damian with the same kind, patient eyes that he knows so well, and Damian bursts into tears.

-

Ric isn't sure why he invited the kid in. Maybe it was how sad and dejected he looked, the way he seemed already so resigned. Maybe it was the way he hadn't barged in here insisting that he remember memories he doesn’t have and that he be someone he’s not. Maybe it was the fact that he was about to leave.

Whatever the reason was he’d done it. He didn't mean to, he’d just blurted it out. Something just told him he couldn't let the kid go. As soon as the offer had come out of his mouth Ric knew it was a mistake. Or, at least, he thought it would be.

This time is different, Ric can feel it. He’d expected another desperate “family” member begging him to come home to a place he doesn’t remember ever being to. For tears and pleas and mentions of moments he doesn’t recall in the hopes that there’s one that he will. But the kid just looked at him like a kicked puppy and tried to run away.

He couldn’t just kick a puppy to the curb.

The kid—Damian, if he remembered correctly—had defied all of Ric’s expectations. He was quiet and didn’t make any attempt at conversation, didn’t make any move to initiate the dance he’s done countless times with Bruce and Barbara. And for the first time since waking up in this mess Ric feels bad—really bad, not just the obligatory pity.

And now, fuck, now the kid was crying. It’s not like Ric hasn’t dealt with crying before, Barbara had cried plenty. But this is different, somehow.

“Shit, hey, kid, I—”

“Fuck, fuck,” Damian swears breathily, the sweatshirt sleeves that are too long for his arms covering the heels of his hands as he digs them into his eyes. He hunches into himself, his chair skidding back a few inches, still cursing and trying desperately to reign in his sobs. “Fuck, I—I’m sorry, I should go.”

He stands up abruptly and swiftly starts toward the door, ducking his head, but Ric reaches out and catches him by the arm. "Hey, shit, kid, wait a minute, just… Don't—don't go." Damian stares at him, that kicked puppy look mixing with deer in headlights, tears still prickling at his eyelashes. Ric doesn't take his hand away, just stares back pleadingly.

He's not sure why, but he just can't stand to let the kid leave in tears.

Damian stares at him for a long time, green eyes scrutinizing him, all the hurt written as plain as day on his face. When he finally speaks it’s sharp, barely above a whisper. “Why shouldn’t I?”

The question stumps him, it packs a punch he wasn’t expecting, and Ric is left with his mouth hanging open looking for words that don't come. “Look,” he finally manages to get out, “I just want to talk. You were there when I woke up, weren’t you? So you must’ve been important to me, right?”

The words feel wrong on his tongue, but they're all he could come up with to try and get the kid to stay, his efforts to separate himself from that guy be damned.

It must have been the wrong thing to say, though, because anger flares in the kid’s face, mouth contorting in a sneer. “You’re not him,” he spats, eyes like ice. “You’ll never be him, so you can stop trying.”

Ric doesn’t know what to say to that. Shocked, he lets go of Damian’s arm and slumps back in his chair. And that’s when it hits him that this is the first person who doesn’t expect him to be Dick Grayson, doesn’t want him to try to be. He laughs at the irony of it, which clearly startles Damian. “You're right,” Ric says, “I’m not him. And I don't want to be him. I don't know if I’ll ever be him again, I don't think he’s here anymore.” He taps himself on the head. “But you look like you need to talk. To him or about him, whatever you need to get off your chest, and I’m offering you a chance to do that in one way or another. So if you wanna sit back down and talk about it or get the hell out of here, that’s up to you, and it doesn't matter much to me either way.”

That's kind of a lie; he'll feel guilty as hell if the kid leaves now, leaves angry, but it doesn't look like he needs to worry about that as the kid sighs and slumps back into his seat. He looks tired.

“It’s stupid,” he says quietly, leaning forward on the table and rubbing a hand over his face. “It’s pathetic. I just…I miss him so much. Not that it matters to you, but Grayson—Dick was my most trusted confidant. There has been…a lot on my mind, recently. There is a lot I wish I could tell him.” 

This kid just looks so lost and alone, and Ric’s heart aches for him. Ric doesn't know how to say that it does matter to me, kid, just not in the same way it would matter to him.

The kid looks like he’s about to break down again, and for the first time Ric wishes for all the world that he could be Dick Grayson.

Instead, he settles for something else. “Look, kid, it’s not stupid and…and it’s not pathetic. It’s normal and understandable. You miss him, and…he was obviously important to you.” He sighs, runs a hand over his face roughly. “Listen, I’m not going to sit here and try to be anything close to what he was to you. But I’m offering something else.”

Damian smiles ruefully. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Ric smiles in a way he hopes is encouraging. “Well, why don't you start with what brought you here? Did anything happen or…were you just missing him?”

Damian ducks his head, and Ric thinks there’s something like a blush painting his cheeks. “Yes, well, that actually is stupid.”

“Come on, kid.”

“It is trivial,” Damian corrects. “It’s stupid that something like this is what brought me here.”

“Try me.”

Damian sucks in a breath and releases it through his nose, closing his eyes. “I kissed my best friend yesterday.”

Ric has to laugh out loud at that. “What, so you think just because you dress up in spandex at night and punch criminals you’re not allowed to have normal teenager problems? Those bat-freaks really did a number on you, huh.” Damian just scoffs.

“It’s trivial. It’s insignificant. In the grand scheme of things—”

“You’re allowed to be a teenager, dude. No matter what freaky night job you might have, you’re allowed to have feelings. Man, has no one really told you that? That’s—”

“Dick would have.”

And Ric stops in his tracks.

Damian’s gaze shifts down to his lap. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Oh.”

It’s quiet for a minute. Damian fidgets in his seat, and Ric tries to think of what to say next.

“Well…” He finally breaks the silence. “What happened after you kissed your friend? How did she react?”

Damian laughs sadly, humorlessly. Ric just tilts his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t stick around for his reaction.”

Oh.

“Oh, shit, kid, this is something Dick would’ve known about isn't it, I’m sorry.”

“No,” Damian shakes his head, “he didn’t—I mean, he knew Jon was my best friend, but he didn’t know—”

“Oh, kid.”

“Yeah.”

“Does anyone else…?”

The kid lets out a strangled sound. “I wanted him to be the first one I told.”

“I am so sorry, kid.”

“I know you are.”

It’s quiet again. The kid cries softly, and Ric waits for him to get a hold of himself again. “So you kissed your best friend,” he reiterates. “And you didn’t stay for his reaction. Is there anything that he’s done that makes you think he’d react badly?”

“No,” Damian answers instantly. “He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

“So what’s the worst that could happen?” Damian looks at him and gives him a look that begs him to understand. Ric huffs out a laugh. “You’re afraid of rejection.”

The kid looks away quickly, a scoff on his lips. 

“Everyone gets scared of rejection, kid. That’s normal.” Damian still won’t look at him. “I get it. You’re afraid of what this means for your friendship. You’re afraid things’ll be weird.”

Damian nods slowly. “Yes, to all of that, but…I am also afraid of what would happen if…if he…”

“If he reciprocates,” Ric finishes. Damian nods again, finally looking back up at him.

“I’ve never been in a relationship before,” he admits. “I think I am the worst person you could be in a relationship with.”

Ric’s heart stutters a little at that. “Listen, kid, everyone deserves to be happy. Don't let what you think of yourself get in the way of that.”

The kid tucks into himself again, rubbing his arm. “Jon is too good for me. I would just corrupt him.”

“Would Jon say that?”

“No—”

“Well there you go.” Ric grins at him. “Talk to him. If he’s as great as you say he is I’m sure only good things can come from it.”

Slowly, Damian nods. “Yes. You are right.” He looks up. “Thank you.” And Ric can tell he means it.

“Anytime,” Ric replies, and maybe he means it, too. He gives the kid a small smile, and he’s pleased when it’s returned.

“I should…I should get going.” Damian stands and pushes in his chair. He stops, as if suddenly remembering something. “You might want this back,” he says, digging something out of his pocket and holding it out. It’s a key.

Before he can think about it too much, Ric makes a decision. “Keep it,” he says easily. And then, before he can think too hard again, “I meant it when I said anytime.”

Damian doesn’t try to hide his surprise, just stares at Ric for a long moment before sticking the key back in his pocket. “Thank you,” he says softly. “Thank you, Ric.”

Ric smiles, nods genially. “Anytime, kid.” And as the kid makes his way to the door, Ric makes one more split second decision. “And kid?” Damian turns around in the doorway. “Call me Dick.”

The kid looks startled for a second, but then he smiles a little, huffs out a little laugh. He says one last thing before he turns around and leaves. “Thanks, Dick.”

-

When Damian leaves, he feels lighter. As if all the weight he’s been carrying around has finally dissipated. He still misses Dick, the real Dick, but this isn’t so bad. It’s not the same, but it’s not completely different, either.

[feistytkachuk]

Augury | Matthew Tkachuk

SNEAK PEEK: CHAPTER 1

Author's note: hii!! It's the first time I try to write a fic or something, i don't know what I intend to do with it, maybe smut or a series, I don't really know. Let me know if you liked It ir you want me to keep writing it plsss♥️♥️ pd: english is not my first language so i'm really sorry if there is something you don't understand.

Warnings: none

It was not a surprise, at least not for you. The Tkachuk family have the talent running through their veins when it came to hockey. their father Keith always supported and teached their children about the passion shared by all the members of the clan. So no, it was not a surprise that the older of the three siblings got into the nhl and how he would become a key player for the calgary flames.

Even though he's old enough to take care of himself, he did most certainly the contrary. His first years as an NHL player gave his family enough room to worry about the way he entretained himself outside of the rink. The partying and Matthew's short temper weren't of Keith's alike, and after various warnings, which didn't cause any effect on the twenty two year-old, he ended up here.

Here, right in front of you, with two overloaded suitcases and a black backpack, struggling to make it to the front door of your house,where you stoically standed. The sun was already going down, and you'll be lying if you said you didn't notice how the light make his curls look just a little blonder and a little softer.

"Enjoying the show, Y/N? Maybe you could help or something, just an idea" he blurted. There it is, his wit always came out of him a bit sharper everytime you saw him.

Your relationship with Matthew along the years has been, how to say it...like the weather. In constant change. And tiring, mostly for your sanity and your heart. It wasn't as if you hated his guts since the day you met him, almost the contrary.

Matthew's mother, Chantal, and yours could never lay down the story of how a 7 year old Y/N would follow Matthew everywhere, just to see him, talk to him, hear him, being in his presence.

While they revived those memories like they were sweetener, you could only try to forget every single time where Matthew was, in your eyes, the one that put the stars and the moon up in the sky. Along the years, your heart was still hung on the older Tkachuk, but you learnt to hide it from everyone, and eventually, the ones around you bought it.

Matthew never cared about it the way both your mothers did, not really. Despite growing older, he never treated you different from when you were kids, he was rough, relentless and sometimes insensitive. But it was better than being ignored by him, you thought at that time. Even though several times an insecure 16 year old Y/N tried to emulate the popular girls of your high school, which Matthew talked about like they were goddesses, you never got even a glimpse of his attention. His teenage years made him more sarcastic and more handsome. That last fact resulted in you not being the only one attracted to him, and for that reason, Matthew started dating a few gorgeous girls from St. Louis. You, on the other hand, rejected any guy, knowing deep down that they could never give you what you wanted, who you wanted.

Turning 18 was like being reborned, you decided to study a degree in Calgary, so you packed you bags and left St. Louis. The last 4 years changed you from a somewhat insecure 18 year old to an intelligent 22 year old woman with confidence and determination. Your romantic interest on Matthew died down when you moved to the canadian city, and even though the cruelty of destiny put Matthew in the Calgary Flames, you refused the proposal of your mother to call him or meet with him just to have a coffee.

Nevertheless, you couldn't say no to a worried and sad Chantal on the phone when she begged for you to take him into your house for the season. After graduating, you got a decent job in Calgary and decided to settle there for some time.

And what a bad move, because now you were invaded by Calgary's most troubled and, at the same time, loved hockey player.

"Enjoying the show, Y/N? Maybe you could help or something, just an idea", the phrase echoed in your mind, bringing you back to earth. You rolled your eyes and helped him out with one of the two suitcases, shaking the train of thought that revived so many contrary feelings inside of you.

"Weren't you a hockey player? I thought your kind had enough strenght to lift 200 pounds with just one pinky", you said while you entered trough the door of your small house, pretending as if the suitcase wasn't as heavy as a 12 year old.

"I rely on my skills,you know I have a few, Y/N", responded Matthew with a smirk that you didn't see, but surely was plastered on the face of the man behind you.

[spookyspaghettisundae]

It Was That Time of Year Again

Cold winter nights came early, even in the idyllic town of Greenwick. But unlike other, similar settlements throughout North America, this quaint little pocket of suburbia just shone all the brighter.

A picturesque coating of powdery snow reflected all the light, amplifying the glow of bright windows and Christmas lights and elaborate illuminated decorations, all gleaming from the perfect houses and their roofs and their lawns. The sun had barely set, leaving behind a sliver of bright orange glow on the horizon, complementing the kaleidoscope of warm and dazzling artificial lights.

It all brought a smile to Caroline’s face. She rode in her car down the wide and sleepy streets of her hometown. The comfort of her vehicle’s heating helped create a cozy cocoon of nostalgia. While the car rolled down the freshly-plowed road at a lazy pace, some friendly folks in the neighborhood who recognized her waved at her, replete with cheery smiles on their faces.

She basked in the glow of the serenity of this place where she had grown up, having returned here from the big city for the first time in a decade. Everything was perfect. More perfect than she ever remembered, or had envisioned when she packed her bags for the holiday season.

Too perfect.

Before Caroline reached the next turn to take, she spotted a familiar old face. Jacob Brooks—his face now a roadmap of wrinkles that portrayed the lines of a happy life lived, framed by a full head of salt and pepper hair—looked up just in time for their gazes to meet.

Both their faces lit up, beaming at each other in recognition and happy over the reunion. Caroline waved and stifled a giggle, then pulled her car over to stop at the curb by Jacob’s snow-covered lawn.

He ceased his toil of shoveling snow out of his driveway and sauntered over to her car, just in time for her to lower the passenger seat window and lean over.

“Now you’re a sight for sore eyes,” he said with a chuckle, shooting her a wink. “Looks to me like someone got bored with the big important city life. What in good God’s name brought you back to our humble little town?”

Her smile widened and her eyelids fluttered as she struggled to come up with an answer. Always that pressure for finding the proper amount of eloquence.

“The family keeps rotating where we meet up for the holiday season each year, and we finally agreed to come back here for one last time before talking about selling the old house.”

Jacob’s smile stayed on his face, but it twitched and masked the shadow of a frown.

Caroline hated disappointing anybody, though, and almost squealed when she blurted out, “But I’m going to buy out and renovate the place.”

Jacob nodded and the earnest air returned to mingle with his smile, making it honest again.

“Now, you see, that’s somethin’ I love to hear,” he said. “Bright mind and beautiful smile like yours? Always welcome, here in Greenwick. Yoz'odrhaxz.”

A shiver ran down Caroline’s spine and she tasted something metallic in her mouth. Something that reminded her of copper. She blinked and took a moment to process what he had just said, which all sounded great except for the final and unintelligible syllables.

“Sorry,” she said, face twisting to underline her apology. “What did you just say?”

Jacob blinked and his brow furrowed in confusion before he replied, “I said you’re always welcome, here in Greenwick. Yoz'odrhaxz.”

There it was again. Tying her innards up in a knot, driving her pulse to speed up, ever so slightly. Making the warmth of her car’s heating clash with the cold wintry air pouring in from the open window where Jacob peered inside. The cocoon stopped feeling as safe as it had, and something dark and inky started blending in with the soup of nostalgia that her mind had been swimming in.

Yoz'odrhaxz. Those sounds were all wrong. She had never heard them before, but hearing them twice left her feeling deeply unsettled. For a split second, she wondered if she was having a stroke. She didn’t want to hear that ever again. Then she realized how long and awkward this silence must have been growing between them, accentuated only by the thrum and soft vibrations of her car’s running motor.

She forced a smile onto her face and hoped it reached her eyes. The mask she had learned to wear, growing in Greenwick—the mask that had gotten her so far in the big city.

“Well, I gotta get going, I’m already running a little bit late,” she told him.

He smiled again. At least it looked genuine—it helped take off some of her edge.

“You are the last one I expected,” he said, wagging a finger at her. Another warm and fuzzy chuckle erupted from his throat.

Just before the edge had bid its final farewells, it bubbled back up, returning in full force. From the corner of her eye, Caroline saw the blood draining from her face. Realized with delay how her brain parsed the words after her gut did. Her gut, that was now tied up in a thick, heavy knot.

You are the last one.

I expected.

You are the last one.

She gave him an awkward wave and pushed a button on her console. The window began rolling back up to close. The smile stayed on his face, like a frozen mask. It looked authentic enough, but offered no chance of dispelling the dread that now took root inside the dark recesses of her mind.

The same place where nebulous memories lurked. She struggled to recall how she had gotten here. The blur of slapping that alarm clock to make it cease its annoying beeping, early that morning. How she packed—

Jacob knocked on the window just after it had shut completely.

Caroline swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and pushed the button again. Lowered the window till it was open again, but just a crack.

“Hey, um, why don’t you stop by? Y'know, like, whenever. I’d love to catch up, talk about old times, and such,” he said. “W-we, uh—we c-could go grab a coffee at the diner—it’s still there, hasn’t changed one bit since you, uh, rode outta town.”

His smile had transformed into something fiercely nervous. So innocent, so downright adorable that Caroline could not help but find it sweet.

She nodded and told him she’d love that, then hastily rolled up the window and drove off.

Still, she smiled at Jacob through her rear view mirror as she drove off, accelerating to a speed just slightly over the limit. She still used her signal light as she took her left turn on the deserted roads. He raised a hand for a motionless wave in parting, picking up his snow shovel but not returning to work on his driveway.

She expected him to return to shoveling snow but he continued standing there, watching her drive away until her course had put other houses in between them. Smiling all the while. Two masked people. Pretending nothing was wrong.

Caroline found no way to shake that feeling, unable to forget those ghastly syllables that had escaped his throat. Like someone choking on broken glass and shattered dreams.

Yoz'odrhaxz.

She had in no way merely imagined him saying that. Not twice.

But she also felt with a sense of certainty: he either did not realize it himself, or he knew very well and kept up a perfect guise of feigned ignorance. Either way only made her insides knot up even tighter.

Focusing on the road helped, though. Those streaks of tire treads that ripped through the thin sheen of snow on the asphalt. The ostentatious displays of Santas and cartoonish reindeer and fake snowmen, all decked out in clusters of brightly glowing lights.

The sun died beyond the horizon. That last sliver of natural orange light vanished with it. The one solace the sky still gave Caroline? She could now clearly see the twinkling stars, littering the dark void of the heavens. Tiny beacons, lonesome on their own, varying in their intensity, but brilliant and pretty as a whole. And comforting.

Her knuckles had turned white from gripping the steering wheel with such force that she could practically hear the faux leather crack under the sheer pressure. Taking a deep breath and pushing it out in a calming sigh accompanied her releasing some of that tension, loosening her hold and trying to clear her mind.

But the horrid syllables refused to go away.

They summoned something else from the darkest corners of her recollections. She remembered every highlight of the day, every dreary stretch of monotony that had constituted the hours of driving all the way out here.

The uncomfortable thing that haunted her thoughts was a dream she had suffered through last night. In it, she had returned to Greenwick but was another person entirely, a woman named Rita. And waking up to the alarm clock’s beeping, it had taken so many moments of disoriented stumbling around to realize that she was, in fact, Caroline, and not Rita.

She was, in fact, driving home to Greenwick to see her family. She was going to break the news to them about paying off all the outstanding debts on the house and fixing it back up. Maybe even moving back out here. Unlike Rita, who thought she was being chased by vampires, eventually hiding out in her old home from former neighbors and family members turned monsters.

The vampires in that dream wore masks fashioned out of strips of human skin, stitched together. They did not drink blood, they did not have super-powers. They just made you wear one of their hideous masks when they caught you. She spent most of her dream running, attempting to evade and avoid the vampires.

The circle of thoughts—cycling back and forth between the bizarre dream of Rita’s night of terror, and the reality of herself, Caroline, returning to her hometown—it occupied her mind to the point of complete absorption. It helped keep those syllables at bay.

When Gina, one of her best friends from growing up, flagged her from her brightly lit porch, Rita finally snapped out of it. Or rather, Caroline snapped out of Rita, and snapped out of the haze of last night’s dream invading her consciousness.

She pulled up to the curb of the sidewalk in front of Gina’s home. Cut the engine and got out. Gina’s expression kept alternating between happiness and something scrunched up, like she was about to break out into tears. Caroline slammed the door shut, and the two of them walked towards each other, eventually falling into a warm and loving embrace, with the fabric of their thick jackets rustling in the process.

“Oh my God,” Gina breathed, pushing away from her but maintaining a hold on Caroline’s arms. “Oh my. I’m so happy to see you.”

Their breath condensed in front of their mouths in tiny little clouds. Caroline fought back some tears.

“It has been way too long,” she told Gina. “I’m so sorry about—”

“No, listen. Don’t you apologize about nothing. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard things must have been, but I totally get it. Wouldn’t have minded a line or two, though.”

Caroline slid out of Gina’s hold till she found her old friend’s gloved hands and could tenderly grab hold of them. The Christmas lights all around them began to blur in the haze of tears as they welled up in the corners of her eyes. The tiny little twinkling stars in the sky stretched into bright streaks and crosses.

“We’re gonna make it right this time, I promise,” Gina said with a trembling voice, choking on first waves of an urge to start sobbing. “Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. Bhaor'mer.”

Chills ran down Caroline’s spine. She shivered, especially in reading something resembling fear in Gina’s face.

“Ovhaioct, Khithalak,” Gina said. “Bhaor'mer.”

She smiled through tearful eyes at Caroline. That smile carried not only elation over seeing her again after all these years—and all those circumstances behind them—but also a profound sense of sadness, twinkling in the reflection of the stars in the tears in her eyes.

Paralysis had seized Caroline, locked up her every limb. Those syllables, just as horrible as the ones that had come from Jacob’s mouth, though different one and all.

Sometimes, a vivid dream breaks just the right way with reality, allowing the dreamer to realize that the experience is but a fabrication of the sleeping mind.

This was not one of those times.

That taste of snow delivered by the fresh wintry air; that warm sweet breath of Gina’s, reaching and grazing over the exposed skin of Caroline’s face; those endearing displays of Christmas decorations surrounding them; everything imprinted her every waking second with so many vivid impressions that it could not be a mere dream.

Everything here in Greenwick was perfect. Too perfect, like it had been lifted right out of one of those sappy holiday movies. Everything except for those syllables, crunching through Caroline’s thoughts like heavy boots in snow, like tires on gravel. Grinding, and chewing, and chomping. Smacking. Something hungry.

Gina embraced her so quickly, so forcefully. It took Caroline by surprise. The embrace was still so warm—comforting, even. Still so loving. The fabric of their jackets rustled again as the embrace tightened. A gloved hand rested on the back of Caroline’s head.

A whisper in her ear, “Play along. Or else.”

Words nobody ever wants to hear. Especially not like this.

They boosted Caroline’s pulse to a racing thrum, the heartbeat pounding away in a crazed orchestration with the rushing of blood in her ears.

“Go,” Gina breathed, her lips brushing against Caroline’s ear, so close were they, sending a tingling sensation down her spine. This one pleasant. But not enough to override the growing horror of the words she spoke. “Pretend everything’s normal. Don’t say a thing.”

Gina pushed her away again, still smiling. Still teary-eyed. But it had all transformed into a mask. Hiding something else. Something that matched or even eclipsed the fear that Caroline now felt. In sync with her pounding heart, her fingers throbbed as Gina slipped completely from their embrace and backed away.

“Don’t be a stranger now,” Gina laughed. But the words and the laughter all felt forced. Staged. They were all theater kids back in the day, and none of them good. That much had not changed.

Gina silently mouthed a single word.

“Go.”

Caroline wanted to say something in return, but nothing fitting came to mind. And even if she could think of anything, fear had tightly gripped her throat.

All she managed to eke out, croaking it like a toad, was a feeble, “Bye.”

The moment she turned away and returned to her car with hasty steps, those syllables wanted to surface in her thoughts. She did not let them, pushed them down. Slamming the car door helped. The growl of the engine as she sped up while driving away also helped her stop thinking.

Right now, thinking was the enemy.

Caroline stepped on the gas, hoping to get back to the old family home as fast as possible without going over the speed limit. Snow be damned.

Even with nightfall, everything in town looked beautiful. A grotesque contrast to the nightmare she was living through now. The sea of artificial lights shed such perfect clarity on the shapes and outlines of all the perfect homes and yards and picket fences and mailboxes and gaudy Christmas ornaments.

And people stood outside. Caroline resolved to just wave and smile and pretend everything was normal and alright if they tried to flag her over like Jacob and Gina had. But none of them—neither familiar nor unfamiliar faces—none of them had eyes for her.

They were all looking at the sky. At some intangible spot.

That void between the stars.

The lights started going out. Streetlights went first, cascading from shedding bright light in her rear view mirror until they caught up and overtook her car, all switching off. Then all the decorative Christmas lights, house by house, street by street.

All the lights in the houses went out next. The whole town descended into darkness. The pit in Caroline’s stomach tightened.

What remained were the car’s headlights, casting blinding cones of wavering white onto the snowy road in front of her as she sped down it. Then even those lights went out. Then the tiny lights on her dashboard.

Caroline’s heart thundered, sounding like a whole horde of people pounding against the windows of her car. Drowned out every thought. Her palms grew slick with sweat, robbing her of her grip on the steering wheel.

Dread. That exploded into panic when finally, the stars winked out.

Caroline hit the brakes and almost threw up, feeling the force of inertia as the car skidded to a halt, combined with that very panic, that coppery taste in her mouth, now stronger than ever.

As she gazed into the darkness of the sky where stars once twinkled, daring not to breathe as if the sky itself might hear her, she thought of her dream. Thought she might be Rita, dreaming of being Caroline in this nightmare. Chased, hunted. Prey.

But this was no dream.

And that darkness, she began to understand, it grew. The stars did not just wink out all at once. They flickered—blinked. The sky parted, split in half somewhere. It opened to a void, darker than black. Hungry.

She got out of the car, thinking it would help wake her up. Instead, the chill of wintry air only made things more unpleasant.

People murmured those awful syllables. Or they spoke, or shouted them, and the distance reduced it to muttering in her ears.

The sky had stopped being a sky. It had texture. It moved. It yawned.

A breeze swept over her, but it had nothing in common with wintry air. It was warm and damp. Like breath. But like the breath of something huge, of something monolithic.

Like the sky exhaled upon her. A sigh of exhaustion.

Caroline laughed. Not the kind of laugh that explodes from one’s mouth as a consequence of amusement. The kind that clatters out like a bag of marbles clacking down, spilling out all over the floor. The kind that is shrill, like a knife being whisked over a whetstone.

The kind of laughter that people call crazy.

Though more than anything, Caroline understood now. She understood it all. The puzzle pieces had fallen neatly into place. The awful, unnatural words had wormed their way into her mind, setting root and seeding her thoughts with a clarity not meant for human brains.

Yoz'odhraxz awoke. It was time to feed.

It was that time of year again, and this year, Greenwick was on the menu. Nobody resisted because they had been groomed for this moment all their lives. Frozen behind their masks, nobody screamed.

Not even Caroline.

—Submitted by Wratts

[apprentice-nylah]

So initially I never bought into the idea that Juliette was ex-Optimus or is currently double agent-ing Optimus because they were playing that card with Renzi already but the more info that comes out about her in other routes, the more and more plausible it seems. 

I just wanted to write this to get my thoughts all in one place. Keep in mind I could be misremembering things because I rarely ever replay routes and there’s only so many screenshots on Tumblr of various interactions. There are also things I just plain forgot and may be missing here. There’s also a lot of assumptions and guessing in it too. I could be completely wrong but this is just a theory I’ve pieced together with some interactions Juliette has had with other Syndicate members in mainly Andi and Lorelei’s routes. 

I know we'll probably never get a Juliette route cuz the Lovestruck producers are cowards, but I can dream, right?

I really started to be on board with this in Lorelei’s route, to be honest. MC started out with mentioning how wealthy and put together Juliette was, (”long blonde hair that definitely costs a firstborn child to maintain”), also talking about an upscale coffee shop and saying “of course this is the type of high-class place she would frequent.” We know she’s wealthy and likely upper class, also from Dahlia telling MC to not worry about Juliette’s finances. There’s only so many places that Juliette could have gotten wealth like that. She could have hacked all her wealth, but that doesn’t really seem to be Juliette’s style. She’s more into espionage and meme’ing. Theft doesn’t seem to be her style, even from Optimus. Sure, she gets dirt and confidential info from them and leaks it on the web, but that is usually to further the Syndicate’s goals, not her own. But it isn’t an impossibility either. She could have been born into a wealthy family and have family wealth, but there’s absolutely no evidence of this anywhere and they’d be bringing in a whole new aspect of her character, which is possible since we know barely anything about her. I know there’s this theory that she’s the kid or just related to some Optimus higher up, possibly the CEO. Or she could be involved with a large corporation. The only ones we know of that would fit that bill are ChatSphere or Optimus. ChatSphere is a possibility since Duke and Zeke seemed to have founded the Syndicate and since Duke owns ChatSphere it’s possible he got her from his own company. But we know he’s not against recruiting ex-Optimus people as shown with Lorelei. I don’t think we know exactly when Lorelei or Juliette joined the Syndicate (we may and I’ve just forgotten though), but I think we have to assume it was relatively early since Duke, Zeke and Lorelei all knew Juliette’s identity, while Renzi and Andi (and MC) who we know joined later did not. 

Which goes into the first real solid piece of evidence I think.

How does Dahlia know anything about Juliette's finances? Juliette is super protective of her identity for unknown reasons at the moment. The most we get is that her life would be ruined if her identity got out, but at the same time, every single member of the Syndicate is in a similar position. Andi’s route is probably the prime example of that. What makes Juliette’s case so extreme? She goes so far as to never show her face, use voice modulation and parade around as a man instead of a woman. And if she’s so protective of it, again how does Dahlia know anything about Juliette’s finances? It could probably be seen as Dahlia basically telling MC, in general, she doesn’t need to worry about people’s finances, but that seems a little... weird. But Dahlia is also relatively high ranking at Optimus I believe, seemingly one or two steps below board members, somewhere in the realms of Sunny or Charles? So it makes sense she’d know board members, having what seems like some sort of working relationship with Scarlet and Karma. 

Also in either Lorelei or Andi’s route (I forgot who, to be honest), when she introduces herself to the rest of the Syndicate; MC, Renzi and Andi, Renzi has a look of recognition, MC says it looks like Renzi recognizes her from somewhere. If we take this at face value, we know that Renzi’s route job is working for Optimus (as well as the rest of the routes). And unless he’s just randomly seen her on the street, which if that was the case, I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t have just said so (like hey I recognize you from the boba shop), it seems like the only other place he could have recognized her from is Optimus. And it would explain why he wouldn’t just blurt that out since no one knows that he’s a double agent for Optimus (except perhaps Juliette herself, especially if she’s a board member). He’s rather high up in the security section of Optimus and if Juliette was a board member then it stands to reason he’d have at least brushed shoulders with her since in Andi’s route, it seems like he’s had extensive interactions with Scarlet and Karma who are also board members. Even if he hasn’t seen her face, as it seems looking back at the interaction, as soon as Juliette introduced herself, then he had a look of recognition. So at the very least, he recognizes her name, again, possibly from being a board member of Optimus and Renzi would certainly be in a position to know about most if not all of the board members by name as head of security. 

Juliette is a tech genius and from what I’ve gathered each of the named individuals at Optimus have their own specialties/departments. We haven’t seen a board member or even an underling like Sunny or Charles with a tech background (as far as I can tell, I haven’t played Duke or Renzi’s routes and only have second-hand knowledge). Scarlet is the “face” of the company as the superhero. Karma seems to be sort of a social media/socialite of sorts. Ajax is the security guy (I think?). It makes sense that Juliette could be a board member in their tech branch because as a massive company like that, especially with the social media presence, as well as security they have, they have to have a lot of tech ingrained in the company. It would also make sense as to why Juliette is so adept at hacking into Optimus, knowing exactly what their weaknesses are and how to combat them. Obviously, she could just be an awesome hacker and figure it out on her own, but it would give her edge if she helped design it all. Renzi does mention that security didn’t try to hard to keep her out. She could just have the best hacking skills or she could have had a hand in creating it. Again, Renzi should know about the security capabilities of Optimus pretty well. 

She also has a long history with Lorelei as we know from her route and if Lorelei was a founding member of Optimus that we know from Andi’s route, if Juliette was also one or even came on later, especially as a board member, she would certainly know Lorelei’s full history and we know Lorelei is not enthused about sharing her history with anyone. Or at least is very reluctant to do so. I’m not 100% sure if Duke and Zeke know her full history (they may but I’ve just forgotten), but Juliette seems to hint in Lorelei’s route that she does know a lot about Lorelei. And that they have a mutual history. Again, all we know about Lorelei’s past in any sort of detail is her history with Optimus. That could easily be the link between the two if Juliette was/is a board member. 

She seems to have a few good/reliable leads on where Optimus board members are hiding in Andi’s route, which again, could be just from good hacking skills. But equally, she could easily have insider information. And, to be honest, she’s also technically in hiding. As she has been since VN started, but if she’s a board member, she’s also hiding out as well. So that statement of Optimus board members hiding out until everything dies down does also apply to her. 

The one piece of evidence that I could find at the moment to contradict this is in Andi’s route when they’re forced to fight Optimus guards, she fights on the side of the Syndicate members, but to me, the way around this is that she’s kept her identity as a board member on the down low at Optimus so that only the higher up employees would know her and the average guard would not. That or she just didn’t have any other choices in the moment and figured she could clean up her identity at a later time through hacking. 

Anyways, just my theory about Juliette’s secret background. I know we’ll never fucking find out because I’m real skeptical at this point about getting a Juliette route since it seems like they’re just quickly wrapping up VN because of some backend producer/employees leaving? I don’t really keep a close eye on all of that drama, but I will say the ending of Duke and what seems to be getting to the end of Andi’s route seems really... unfulfilling. Which is unfortunate. Especially because Love and Legends have had a full 8 (possibly 9 if they do honeymoon season) seasons, and Gangsters in Love is on 9 as well. Whereas VN is only getting 5? Maybe 6. 

Again, there’s probably a lot I’ve missed, but these are just some pieces of fragmented evidence with some guessing/speculation that could point to a solid backstory for Juliette. 

[anonymouswriter2311]

Badge’s and Barmaid’s, Chapter 17

AO3 Link

Charity wasn't one for helping out others. In fact, she made a point to avoid it at all costs. But on the morning of the skills auction, the bumbling blonde found herself organizing paddles, allocating numbers and overseeing the food. It wasn’t cause she particularly cared about the auction - even though Leo was technically family – it was more that she just found the need to busy herself out of an uncharacteristic nervousness that had been plaguing her for the last few weeks. The cause was quite obvious, Vanessa. Ever since they started this little back and forth, Charity had been a haven of nervousness. Her palms would start to sweat at the thought of the blonde, and any time Charity would catch a small glimpse of her, her heart beat a mile-a-minute. These reactions, they were so new to Charity. Sure, she’d had crushes in the past, especially during her limited schoolgirl years. But after being thrust into adulthood, she couldn’t understand where these reactions were coming from; and more importantly, she didn’t know what they meant. She wanted Vanessa, this was much was obvious, but to what extent? Did she want a few glorious, hot, steamy nights together? Or something more…a relationship? Hand holding, goodbye kisses, cuddles on the sofa, ‘How was your day babe? Charity, like always didn’t have all the answers and she was afraid to even approach what the possible outcome of them being together would be. There was a lot at stake, her family, her reputation…and Vanessa. Either she’d lose out on an amazing, feisty woman that makes her heart race with a mere glance…or she’d become the black sheep of the family – once again – Charity didn’t know what to do, or where Vanessa stood on this whole situation. They needed to have a proper talk, the kind that Charity despised, but first, Charity had an auction to win.

 The pub was buzzing with excitement by lunchtime, and the turn out had shocked the blonde barmaid. Local business owners, a bunch of regulars, Vanessa Dad, some members of her own family, all scattered around the pub, ready to bid on the long line up skilled members of the community. But Charity couldn’t care less if Pete Barton was offering up his handy service, or if the new school principal was doing a spot of tutoring. She had her sights set on the cute blonde, with an unusual knitting talent, and she was going home empty-handed.

 “Pint?” Charity blurted out as soon as Vanessa was in earshot. The DI froze as the gravelly voice reached her ears, and slowly she turned to face the smiling blonde she had been avoiding for the last few days. “On the house, yeah?” Charity asked again, now that she had Vanessa’s attention and quickly began to pull a pint of her favourite larger before she could object.

 “Thank you…but I’m still on shift.” Vanessa smiled apologetically while moving her yellow raincoat to the side to reveal her gun and badge secured to her hip.

 “Rhona bringing in the big guns?” The blonde joked sadly as she put the fresh pint to one side.

 “Oh yes. Got the whole of Hotten police on standby and everything.” The smaller woman joked with ease, as she hopped onto the bar stool in front of Charity. “I’ll take an orange juice please.” She nodded sharply while playing with the bar mat and avoiding any eye contact with the blonde. The tension between the two was thick and suffocating. Vanessa wanted to talk about things, but she knew Charity well enough by now and guessed that all she would get is snappy, sarcastic remarks in response if she even dared to touch on the subject of their pending relationship.

 “How have you been? Johnny alright?” Charity asked nonchalantly as she poured, trying to create the illusion that she didn’t really care, in case anyone was listening in on their conversation.

 “He’s good. Made a new friend at nursery bless him.” Vanessa smiled softly, wondering how Charity would react to the interesting news her son filled her in on the night before. “Little boy called Moses.” She finished, studying the barmaid’s reaction carefully. Surprisingly so, Charity couldn’t fight the smile creeping onto her face when she heard that her son had finally made a new friend.

 “You’re kidding?” She gasped as she placed the orange juice in front of the blonde, before leaning on the beer tap as she waited to hear all the sordid details that she had missed out on with it being Ross’ night with Moses last night.

 “Nope. Came skipping in yesterday to tell me all about it.” The DI watched a wave of relief wash over the barmaid, and for once the blonde looked genuinely happy.

 “That’s a relief.” Charity let out a shaky sigh, before lowering her voice slightly and leaning towards Vanessa. “Moses, he’s a shy boy. Had a real hard time making friends, so I’m glad that him and Johnny are getting along.” She informed the smaller woman with a shy smile, her whole face lighting up as she talked about her son.

 “Me too.”

 “We should have a playdate, bring them to the park or something?” She suggested excitedly, seeing this newly found friendship between their son’s, as the perfect excuse to spend more time with Vanessa.

 “Yeah, we’ll set something up.” Vanessa nodded along, glad that Johnny was finally settling in. The two sat in silence, their hands lay mindlessly on the bar millimetres apart, longing to be joined once again, but neither willing to take the risk. The pub was full to the brim of nosey neighbours and even nosier relatives, making the scene much to public for Charity’s liking.

 “Ness, can you help me with something?” Rhona called out from her place on the make-shift stage, decorated simply by Charity. The shy smile plastered on the barmaid’s face was quick to vanish as Vanessa waved back to Rhona, telling her she’d be over in a second.

 “And that’s my cue to get back to work.” The DI sighed and jumped off the barstool. She had actually enjoyed her limited time with Charity, and a small part of her wished that she hadn’t let the blonde’s comment get to her.

 “Hey, umm.” Charity called out as Vanessa tried to walk away from the bar. “What do I get if I win?” She smirked playfully while biting her lip in anticipation.

 “I’m sorry?”

 “The auction DI Sunshine.” She rolled her eyes in amusement, completely infatuated by the shorter blonde. “What do I get if I win Hotten’s finest?”

 “The same thing as anyone else Charity. A knitting lesson.” The DI shot back a sad smile before turning on her heel and walking over to Rhona. She missed this part the most, their friendly banter and cheeky flirting. It had been the best part of her day for weeks, and now she couldn’t help but feel her heart sink as she thought back on all the cheeky winks and devious smirks. They could have been perfect together, or at least great. But now all they would ever be was meaningless flirting across the pub.

 “Ouch.” Chas’ voice cut through the barmaid like a knife. She knew that she had struck out with Vanessa once again, only this time she had a much larger audience.

 “How long have you been listening?” Charity cringed as she turned to face her smirking cousin.

 “Not long.” The younger woman smiled boldly as she strutted over to the mortified blonde. “Glad Moses has made a wee friend though.” She added with a wink and small hip bump. It had been quite the entertaining encounter, Chas not used to seeing her man-eating cousin strikeout.

 “How would you like it if I were to listen in on your conversations with Paddy?” The taller woman snapped, not in the mood for getting the mick taken out of her by anyone, especially her family.

 “Listen all you like.”

 “Nah, can’t afford the therapy sessions.” A shiver of discomfort and disgust ran through her body. The walls of the Woolpack were thin, and Charity had already heard more than enough to scar her for life.

 “So, you gonna bid on her then?” Chas asked through her own laughter as she watched Charity stare out into the pub crowd, her eyes firmly fixed on the blonde detective.

 “That’s the plan.” Charity nodded slowly as she bit down on her lip, her gaze never leaving Vanessa. “We need to talk, and every time I try, I always seem to put my foot in my mouth and make her angry.” She explained to the curious brunette, a slight sadness very present in her tone. This side of Charity was refreshing to the pub owner, she was so used to the sarcastic, vindictive and cruel blonde, but ever since Vanessa came into her life she’s been different. She’s nicer, more helpful, she doesn’t snap so easily, and she’s even trying to better herself as a Mother. Chas couldn’t help but smile as she watched the subtle changes come to play, and while she didn’t know if it was just Charity’s need to impress Vanessa driving the changes, she was still thankful for the blonde and hoped that things would work out between them for everyone’s sake.

 “How is winning an auction going to stop that from happening?” Chas quipped while watching Vanessa over Charity’s shoulder, she could definitely see what had drawn her cousin in, Vanessa is a very beautiful woman, in a plain-ish sort of way and from what Chas had seen, Vanessa could hold her own when it came to Charity, which was always a good thing.

 “It won’t. But, she also won’t be able to walk away so easily.” The blonde pointed out before turning and walking right into the brunette, who she didn’t know was behind her.

 “Gonna tie her up with her wool?” The pub owner joked as she found her footing once again, and shot a warning glance to any punters that may have been watching.

 “Why do I even bother?” Charity shook her head, before heading out back to see if Marlon had any food orders that needed to be served before the auction began.

 “Because you love me!” Chas shouted after her, nothing but supportive playfulness laced in her voice.

 “Yeah righ-” Charity shouted back before catching a glimpse of a certain teenager that was meant to be in school. “Noah! What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” She shouted at the young man whose arms were full of stolen crisps packets and a few bottles of lemonade from the cellar.

 “Half day.” Noah shrugged with a weak smile, hoping that his Mum would buy the pathetic excuse.

 “Oh really? And how about I go and ask your principal out there?” She smirked back, as she watched Noah turn as white as a ghost. “Back to school. Now!” She demanded while pushing him back into the living room, and throwing all but one packet of crisps and lemonade bottle onto the sofa.

 “I wanna watch the auction, please Mum,” Noah begged, but he knew that there was no hope as Charity continued to push him towards the back door of the small home.

 “Noah, school is important. You can’t keep bunking off all the time.” Charity warned as she draped a loving arm over the young boy's shoulder, hating the soft frown that played on his lips, but she knew that she was right on this occasion and no amount of frowning was going to change that.

 “You never went to school.” He shot back, his usual teenage angst seeping into every word as he avoided any eye contact with his Mum.

 “And I regret that so much Noah.” She snorted, the painful memories of her youth attacking her mind momentarily before she quickly locked them away once again. “I wish I had half of your brains.” She gently ruffled his short hair, laughing slightly as he tried and failed to escape her clutches.

 “Must come from the Tate side.” Charity froze as the sting of Joseph Tate’s voice danced through the air. The blonde quickly began to feel her blood start to boil, as she turned to lay her eyes on his disgusting rich boy smirk. “Hey, I’m Joe.” He looked right through Charity and directly at Noah, the predatory glare intensifying as he moved closer, followed by his two lap-dogs Graham and Ross.

 “Don’t you dare come near him, in fact, don’t even look at him.” Charity stood in front of her son, ready to pounce on the jerk in front of her if he so much as took one more step towards Noah.

 “Feisty, feisty.” Joe chuckled, his arrogant smirk fading slightly as he stopped a few feet away. “I just want to have a chat with Noah. Surely that’s not too much to ask for?”

 “Get to school Noah.” The blonde ignored the man and instead turned around to face her curious son, praying that he would listen to her for once.

 “But-” Noah tried to argue back, part of him wanting to get to know his brother and learn about his Dad’s side of the family.

 “Now Noah.” His Mother warned forcefully, effectively getting her point across to her son. “We’ll talk when you get home.” She nodded a little softer than before, as the grumpy teenager set off.

 “Sorry…” Noah whispered to his half-brother as he passed, not daring to stop out of fear for what his Mum might do.

 “See, he talked to me and the world didn’t end. Why are you fighting me on this?” Joe smirked once Noah was well out of earshot.  “He’s my little brother. I have a right to get to know him.” He added while taking a few steps towards the furious blonde.  

 “Over my dead body!” Charity spat at him, daring him to come closer so she could finish him off once and for all.

 “Name a time and a place. I can have that arranged for you.” He shot right back, the mutual feeling of hatred boiling over between them.

 “Is that a threat? Because there is a copper in there, that I’ll happily bring out here.” She smirked, her heart racing as she thought of Vanessa coming to her aid once again and wiping that smug look from his face.

 “Let me guess. Detective Inspector Woodfield?” Joe shot back at her, curious as to the hold Charity seemed to have over the new Detective. “I’m getting tired of her constant harassment. Maybe another call to her boss is in order.”

 “Leave her out of this. Do you not think that you’ve destroyed enough lives around here?” Charity warned almost instantly, her need to protect Vanessa seeping out.

 “No. Not yet.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth, before sending Ross and Graham a fleeting look, informing them that it was time to go. “See you around Charity.” He shouted over his shoulder, as the trio headed back to the car, Joe extremely happy with the progress he had made.

 Charity’s heart tightened as she watched Joe drive off down the road. She wished that she could whisk Noah away from all this, and especially from the Tate’s. He deserved better in life, and Charity knew that no good would come from Noah getting to know his half-brother, no matter how much he wanted too. He was a Dingle and had more than enough family already, he didn’t need anymore.

 Her head was reeling as she stalked back into the pub that was sizzling with excitement, the auction was well underway. Charity’s leisurely walk, quickly turned into a panicked run as she feared she was going to miss her chance to bid on Vanessa. “And that’s £50 for world-class knitting session, going once, twice, sold to Rishi.” Rhona’s voice declared Charity’s fear as she stepped back into the pub and watched Vanessa step down from the small stage. She was too late, and the £100 in her pocket - that she had collected from tips over the last few days - suddenly weighed down on her even more.

 “You have got to be kidding me.” Charity swore under her breathe, catching the attention of her cousin.

 “Where the hell did you go? I tried to bid, but I didn’t know what your limit was.” Chas quickly approached her, as she spoke in a hushed whisper.

 “I had to deal with Noah.” The blonde spoke defeatedly as she watched Vanessa chat to Marlon and Paddy happily, “Great…just great.” She muttered, mentally cursing herself for getting sucked into Joe’s trap and missing out on her chance to show Vanessa she cared.

 Charity sat at the bar defeatedly for the rest of the auction, not tempted once to put her hand in her pocket and bid on anyone else. She watched along as people drank and laughed together. She watched Vanessa be chatted up by randoms and wished she had the nerve to walk over and make it known to everyone that she was hers. By the time the usual lunch was over, the pub was slowly starting to empty, and Charity took this as her opportunity to try again with Vanessa.

 “Vanessa, wait a sec.” Charity called out, catching the blonde as she was about to exit the pub.

 “I have to get back to work Charity.” Vanessa rolled her eyes in annoyance, letting the fact that Charity was nowhere to be seen during her auction get to her.

 “I wanted to bid on you,” The taller woman tried to reassure her once she saw the look of hurt flash across Vanessa’s face.

 “Let me guess, knitting didn’t fit with your whole ‘bad girl’ thing you’ve got going on?” The DI snapped before giving Charity the chance to explain herself, afraid that she was going to be hurt by what she had to say. “I don’t have time for all this back and forth Charity.”

 “And I do?”

 “Seems like it.” Vanessa shrugged. “Look, I like you Charity…and I wanted to see where this could go. But I’m not hanging around for someone who is just looking for a good time. So once you’ve figured out what you want, let me know, until then…I’ve got to get back to work.” She forced a sweet smile onto her face, feeling slightly bad for avoiding all of Charity’s calls and texts over the last few days. She knew that avoiding the blonde wasn’t going to solve the festering problem that plagued Vanessa’s mind, but it did give her some time to think things over. And truthfully she missed the thrill that raced through her body when she was around Charity. Things with her were new and exciting, just what the DI craved in her life. She wanted things to work out between them, but she wasn’t in the business for playing whatever game Charity had her sights set on, no matter how much she craved her. So instead of waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and exited the pub.

 “I want Vanessa.” Charity stormed over to Rhona as soon as Vanessa left the pub. She was done with whatever messed up game was going on between them, and she was going to make Vanessa hear her out whether she liked it or not. But first, she needed a little bit of help.

 “I feel like this is the type of conversation that you should be having with Vanessa.” Rhona looked up from her clipboard worrisomely, not interested in getting in the middle of Charity and Vanessa’s relationship anymore, especially when she had much more pressing things to worry about.

 “I wanted to bid on her.” The blonde rolled her eyes, before shooting the brunette a pleading glance.

 “So why didn’t you?” The vet asked directly. She knew that Charity disappearing before the auction had bothered Vanessa.

 “I got called away by Noah. I’ll give you twice what Rishi paid.” Charity offered, hoping that Rhona would take her generous offer.

 “What’s your deal here Charity? Why are you going through this much effort just to blow it again?” Rhona asked bluntly, the barmaid seriously starting to get on her nerves when it came to Vanessa.

 “I don’t plan on doing that.” Charity promised, unsure of why Rhona was being so hard on her. “Please, Rhona. I really like Vanessa, and I know that sounds weird coming from me because truthfully I don’t like anyone…but I like her. And I want to show her that…that maybe I don’t want just a bit of fun.”

 “Fine.”

 “Really?”  

 “Yes, I’ll tell Rishi that there was an anonymous donation that was greater than his.” Rhona smiled slightly, content in Charity’s explanation.

 “Thank you.” The smile on the blonde’s face brightened as she pulled out the bundle of notes from her pocket and added an extra £20 on top of the £100 that was already there. “Oh and here’s a little extra for the kid. He is a Dingle after all.” Charity shot the brunette a wink, before strutting back to her job behind the bar, her confidence restored and mind flooded with hundreds of ideas. She finally had her chance to get things sorted out with Vanessa once and for all, but first, she had to decide on how to get the blonde back on her good side…again.

[cayastrife]

My Father

Star Wars - POST-ROTJ One Shot - Han & Luke friendship inspired by: 

http://delannoie.tumblr.com/post/180139399750/the-truth-the-night-when-luke-told-han-all-a also on https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775284

A soft cooing rang in his ears, murmurs of nocturnal wildlife native to the small forest moon. The night's air was alive with song, even long after the victorious drumming had rung out, the bonfires reluctantly simmered down to mere ash.

Despite all their joy and elation, the revelers had eventually succumbed to the peace of the victor's sleep. All but one.

Han Solo was no stranger to the hustle and bustle of celebration, and had, of course, done his own share. But still sleep would not come to him. He craned his neck toward the small opening functioning as a window, yet could spy nothing but the trees' dense canopy beyond it. Not a single speck of starlight penetrated the heavy foliage.

Unfortunately, there was no way in the seven hells that Han Solo would be able to find sleep without either a clear view of the sky or the low, always arrhythmic humming of his Falcon's engines.

So, with a sigh of defeat, he slowly lifted himself from the thin mattress, careful not to disturb the small woman sleeping next to him. Perhaps more so than everyone else, the Princess deserved her rest.

A cursory glance around revealed little else of interest, until his eyes came to rest on the empty cot next to the entrance. His brows furrowed with a dawning concern. It seemed he wasn't the only one having problems finding sleep that night.

Noiselessly, he stepped out of the hut and paused for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness. His feet took him toward a larger, more open area at the edge of the settlement. Just distant enough to afford both a certain level of privacy as well as clear view of the sky above Endor. The very same space which had, until very recently, been occupied by the Empire's Second Death Star. And there, hunched over and dwarfed by the open space, sat the small figure of the other insomniac. Tousled dark-blond bangs covered his face; in his hands - one exposed, the other clad in its customary black glove - he cradled a long, metallic tube, almost longingly, reverently.

"Can't get a wink of sleep in those stuffy huts either, huh?"

The other man started, his eyes jerking to the new arrival.

"Oh, Han." he acknowledged simply before continuing. "Yeah, something like that."

Although bothered by the remnants of a strangely haunted look in the boy's eyes, Han decided to ignore the nagging worry and instead leaned casually against the wooden railing. A feat impossible for all but those immune to vertigo. He glanced up at the stars, the ghost of the battle station's silhouette casting an imaginary but palpable shadow.

"You're a hero, you know? You of all people deserve some rest."

The reply came quiet, barely audible.

"I'm no hero." Luke's words were laced with an emotion Han felt hard to place. "I…"

The smuggler turned to face his companion and raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You defeated Vader andthe Emperor. You more or less singlehandedly brought down the Empire!"

Han would have expected bashfulness, modesty - stars, even joy - but not the obvious twinge of pain contorting Luke's features. And even less he would have expected the confession accompanying them.

"I didn't, though."

There was a moment of confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't defeat the Emperor, Han." The small voice returned. For the briefest of moments, their eyes met, and Han was sure that, had the contact lasted longer, he would not have been able to bear its intensity. There was a pain in those blue eyes - now glassy and haunted by crimson shadows at their edges - a sadness so profound it seemed beyond consolation, beyond restoration. Han could only speculate at the source of such emotions, and the subsequent images constricted his throat, lending his voice the raspiness of the debilitated.

"What are you saying?"

The blue eyes avoided his this time, but the answer came nevertheless.

"It wasn't me, Han." There was a moment of quiet, even the creatures of the forest seemed to wait with bated breath, aware of the importance of the revelation ahead. "It was my father."

"Your father?" Han couldn't help but blurt out before the words even properly registered in his brain. "You just lost me, kid. Care to explain?"

If it was at all possible, Luke's already small frame collapsed even further, becoming almost too slight to support the shaking head.

"I don't know if I should." he muttered hesitantly. "Stars, I don't even know if I can…"

There was fear in those words, Han recognized. A fear that, once the truth was spoken, there would be no going back. That things would forever be changed between them.

Han adjusted his position, giving Luke more space while making sure not to distance himself further.

"Come on, Luke. We're basically family. Brothers. You're like a broody, awkward - need I mention slightly less handsome? - cousin twice removed." When nothing else did, that small jab earned him a smile. The tiniest, saddest of smiles, but a smile nonetheless. "Whatever you say, it won't change what I think of you."

Luke's eyes sought his for a moment, testing the veracity of his claim.

"I'll remind you of that…" Both voice and eyes seemed to say, even though there was less certainty in the latter.

Again, there was silence when Luke began to gather himself and the courage needed to say what must be said. When he spoke, his voice was low but calm and steady. The voice of someone far beyond the young Jedi's years, of one accustomed to hardship and suffering.

"When I first went to face Vader, I… I thought I could turn him. Bring out the good I felt in him."

"Good? In Darth Vader?"Again, Han found it hard to control himself, his disbelief bypassing his mind-to-speech filter.

"Please, Han…" Luke pleaded, asking to be allowed to finish before he lost the courage to do so. Raising his hands in apology, Han conceded. It was a while before Luke continued.

"I thought I could, but it wasn't– Iwasn't enough. I guess it started sinking in when Vader brought me to the Emperor. That was it. That’s when I finally realized there was no way I was walking out of that alive. But it didn't matter. It was the will of the Force, and I knew what I had to do."

Hearing how lightly the boy spoke of sacrificing himself, it took all of Han's self-control to keep from berating him then and there. To remind him of just how important he was to all of them, and just what he thought of a shoddy, ancient religious cult that sent its members on obvious suicide missions.

If Luke had picked up on any of those thoughts, he didn't show it and eventually continued.

"I might have learned since Bespin, but Vader was strong, and we fought relentlessly. My anger spurred me on… and my fear, knowing that all of you were walking into a trap down here. It gave me strength and… I injured him. I brought him to his knees in my rage."

A sigh escaped from the young man's lips, but it brought no relief. Only made way for that which was still to come.

"I almost fell, Han." He pressed out against an audible lump in his throat, fear reducing his voice to little more than a whisper. "I almost fell to the dark side."

"But you didn't." Han felt the need to point out, unsure of how else to reassure his friend. Helpless in the face of such powers at work.

"No. I couldn't." Luke conceded, although taking no pride in the achievement. "Not knowing what I would become. Having it right in front of me. Needless to say, the Emperor wasn't pleased…" A miniscule tremor overcame his hands as he likely recalled - relived- the moment. "Have you ever been electrocuted? It kind of feels like someone is liquifying your bones, and your muscles, your tendons…"

The shivers intensified, spread to his arms, torso and legs. An involuntary movement he likely never even noticed, so far removed from the moment was he, so caught up in reliving the events of the past days. Although in other moments he would be loath to admit it, Han felt the almost instinctive need to embrace his friend. To show him that he was there, that Luke was safe now, that no more harm would come to him. Never again. Not as long as Han had any say in it. But he restrained himself. He knew there was more that needed to be said. That all he had to do was listen. And so he did.

Before long, Luke continued.

"I pleaded with Vader. I begged him to help me. I never thought he would turn against his master; not really. But he did. Injured as he was, knowingthe Force lightning would kill him, he took hold of the Emperor and… 'disposed' of him.”

Han had been following the words attentively, but felt he was no closer to the revelation he had been led to expect.

“But didn't you say your father–”

“Vader is– wasmy father.” Luke interrupted in the smallest of voices cracking terribly halfway through the sentence, stunning Han into a momentary silence. The boy couldn't be serious about this, could he? The smuggler tried to catch a look at his companion's face, but found it hidden behind his tousled hair, steeped in shadows, unreadable.

“To be fair, the man who becameDarth Vader - Anakin Skywalker - was my father.” He clarified, his voice becoming less steady with every syllable, every fateful name. Every fresh, raw wound disturbed anew, an impossibly long way from healing.

Anakin Skywalker. Kenobi. The Hero With No Fear. Remnants of old memories long forgotten welled up in Han's mind, filling the gaps in half-formed theories and suspicions he had never consciously entertained. Not until now. And it actually made sense.

"Holy S–" A curse died in his throat as the implications caught up with him, his mind evaluating the new information against the background of all he had been told in the past few minutes. And there truly was no going back, he had to admit, as his heart both broke and grew for the boy at the same time.

"He was redeemed in the end, you know?" The small voice pulled him from his thoughts. "In his last moments, I got to see him. Truly see him for the first time. Without the helmet and mask. Not as Vader, but as myfather. He– I…” A small sob, the first of many, ravaged the boy, momentarily stole his words. “I couldn't save him, Han. I was so close. So close… He died in my arms…”

Han wasn't entirely sure if the sob escaped from his throat or that of the boy - or perhaps even both - but found he did not care. He hardly recognized his own voice anyway and welcomed the anonymity. Slowly, carefully, he sat down next to the young Jedi and placed a steadying hand on his shaking one.

“Luke…”

But there was more yet. More weight to add to a burden already so heavy it seemed far too weighty for any one man to bear.

“I took him with me. Down here, to Endor. Burned what was left of him.”

Han gave the boy's arm a comforting squeeze, feeling more inadequate than ever before in all his tumultuous life. In the back of his mind, he vaguely registered the fact of the Princess' involvement, the parentage of which she was likely still ignorant. To his own surprise, he found he wasn't bothered at all. How valid were his concerns, his suffering, when his friend had to endure so much more? How could he feel anything but compassion and the need to alleviate his sorrow?

“You said he was redeemed.” Han ventured, working the words around the lump in his own throat. “You saved the galaxy – and your father.”

A clipped, desperate laugh escaped Luke.

“Stars, I know!” As his voice gained in volume, it cracked even further, thick with tears and heavy with desolation. “I know he became one with the Force, but… I never got to know him. There's so much I wanted to ask; so much only he could have taught me. If only we'd had a little more time. Just a littlemore… I never even told him–“

Another sob racked his body and his gloved right hand flew to his eyes, shielding them as if the mere act could push back at the tears and return them to their origin.

Han forced himself to breathe and brought his arm around Luke's shoulders. How small they were, he realized with a sting of pain in his chest, how slight. How could they even hope to carry the burden placed upon them? Before his inner eye danced images from years ago, ages it seemed, of an innocent, sunburnt farmboy with wide eyes hungry for the wonders of the galaxy, a heart wide enough to hold compassion for all of its beings. How much of that had been lost, he wondered as he looked down first at the child at his side and then swept his gaze back up to the stars.

“If I know anything about the Force,” he ventured tentatively, “then your old man understands. Wherever he is now.”

Had Han not been listening closely, he likely would have missed the next words, small as they were, their immense weight keeping them from ringing far.

“I know… I just really miss him…”

A sad smile tugged at the corners of Han's lips as he turned slightly and opened his arms. Luke finally accepted the unspoken offer, his hands clutching at the smuggler's jacket in desperate need for support, for any sort of hold in a galaxy that seemed bent on toppling him.

And so they sat, not speaking another word, merely seeking and lending strength, comfort. Once nothing but strangers. Now far more.

Cousins. Brothers.

Family.