#she wouldn't be caught dead with either of them i'll say that

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Private Affairs

Author's Note: This was just supposed to be a random thirst, but my hands wouldn't leave the keyboard 😵‍💫 Part 2 coming later today!

Pairings: Dan Heng x male reader

Warnings: Male!reader, dom/top!reader, sub/bottom!Dan Heng, breeding kink, Dan Heng's hole is referred to as "pussy, cunt, & boypussy", implied Caelus/Dan Heng/Reader at the end

For once, Dan Heng was thankful that the door to his room could be locked. While he normally had no problem with people visiting out of the blue, well… if anyone walked in at this very moment, they'd probably find themselves at the end of his spear.

So, of course, the usual occupants of the Astral Express would need his assistance. Every last one of them, to be more precise.

The first to stop by is March 7th. Her perky voice chirps just outside of the room; “Hey, Dan Heng, are you busy? I need your opinion on something!”

“Y-yeah– a little busy right now. Can it wait?”

There's a strain in his voice that's not normally present. March picks up on the change immediately, questioning in a suspicious tone. “Are you feeling ok? You sound funny…”

She can't see it, but she can almost feel Dan Heng roll his eyes. “I am… I'm just– unf~ mm~ just searching for something in the archives…” His chest bangs into the wall, and from his parted lips flows a noise that he prays his friend didn't hear. “AaAAaaHhhH~ Something deep in the archives… oh fuck–!”

She eventually leaves, though she has to be reassured a few times. What she also didn't see was her friend pressed up against the wall on the other side of the door, biting his sleeve and digging his fingers into the wall while you—Dan Heng's good ol' pal—breed his hole.

You're still holding onto his waist when Pom Pom rushes up to the door, shouting something about the lighting in the cars…?

“I-I'll be out there to look at it in a bit…” Dan Heng stutters, hoping the lop-eared conductor will take that as a sufficient answer.

Just as soon as you hear their little footsteps disappear, you're sliding back inside, dead set on emptying another load into your "friend's" boypussy.

In typical Dan Heng fashion, he's chastising you about "getting caught" or "someone hearing you" and "you're such a pervert". But as he's saying all of these things, he's still not stopping you from pounding his cunt — in fact, he's even giving you orders to "at least fuck me like you mean it".

As luck would have it, Himeko passes by next — who most likely hears the sickening slick noises of your dick as it breaches new territory, going even deeper into Dan Heng's fucked out hole.

“Dan Heng, is everything alright…?”

This time, you have to answer, because if your "good friend" dares to speak right now, something other than words would spill out. “Heeeyy Himeko! We're a little busy at the moment. Did you need something?”

The knowing smile on her lips comes through as she hums “Oh, it's nothing. Don't let me interrupt~”

Well…at least you can count on her not to rat either of you out…

Even with the countless interruptions, you've managed to keep a bruising pace — you even have Dan Heng on the cusp of becoming nonverbal. His perfect ass bounces with your rough thrusts, taking your cock like a perfect little angel.

You lift his leg up, and with this new angle you're able to slam into his prostate. The garbled sounds pushing their way out of him—as well as his cunt clenching down on your cock—drive you mad, and you end up breeding him again just as Welt stops by–

“Dan Heng, hello?” Everything comes to a halt — Dan Heng's cock slaps against his stomach as you shove your dick all the way inside, plugging him up and forcing him to stand on his tiptoes. His eyes cross, and before he can moan so loudly the entire train would be able to hear it, you cover his mouth.

“Yes?” you reply.

“Y/n? Is Dan Heng with you?”

You feel your cock throb, and you're sure Dan Heng does too. You can also feel the heavy amount of cum stuck inside of him—unable to drip out with your dick still inside. His hole grips your shaft tightly, and you suppress a groan before answering the man outside of the door; “Yeah, he's sorta focused on looking up something.”

No indication that Welt suspects anything. “I see. If you could both find me later, there's something I wanted to show you. It's no rush.” His footsteps fade back to the parlor car.

Dan Heng gradually slumps against the wall, held up only by your tight grip in his hair and the other hand on his waist. Not even the energy to glare at you as he whines.

Another set of footsteps approaches — your last visitor is none other than Caelus. What absolute perfect timing.

Caelus knocks on the door, sounding surprised when your voice is the one that greets him. “Hey, trailblazer, need something?”

“Just looking for Dan Heng. Is he in there?”

“Sure is. You can come in.” you reach over and unlock the door with an audible clunk.

!!!!!!

“O-oh! I um…” the silver haired man stares at his two friends. Dan Heng — flushed and whining. His dick still dripping a bit of cum onto the floor. And you — a little worn out, but cocky as you remain buried inside of Mr. Cold Dragon Young, with a creamy ring around the base of your cock.

Caelus' hands shake as he fumbles for the door handle, but it's no use. You slide Dan Heng's door shut and lock it again, finally speaking in an expectant tone. “Well—gonna stand there like a deer in headlights, or do you wanna help me clean up?”

[lyrefromthesea]

hi! just read your post about accidentally deleting your inbox jsjsjs so sorry that happened to you. i must've been a hassle to you. uhm just in case mine got deleted as well, i'll send it again if it's alright with you haha if i remember correctly, i think it was a muzan request + male hashiras where their s/o (or someone who has feelings for them) intervened with their respective fights and their actions were the deciding factors of the fight's outcome that led them to victory (you could have their s/o either perish or survive) thank you again and wish you a good day/evening! 🙆🏻‍♀️💙

Male Hashira + Muzan x Reader - Make it Count

author's note: i finally managed to finish this post. truthfully, only Rengoku's part was missing, but my motivation was completely gone after i broke my hand. i hope you enjoy my thoughts on this and sorry for keeping you waiting.

pairing: Tengen x reader, Obanai x reader, Rengoku x reader, Sanemi x reader, Giyuu x reader, Gyomei x reader, Muzan x reader

content warning: descriptions of blood, death (Obanai, Gyomei)

Tengen:

• in this life, he didn't lose a hand fighting Gyutaro and Daki. instead of Obanai, you were the person called for help. luckily, you arrived earlier, but it changed the outcome of the whole fight

• Tengen nearly threw up when instead of his hand being chopped off, you received a deep cut from Gyutaro, making blood spill over your uniform.

• the only thing keeping him going was that you immediately held onto the demon, forcing him to stay dangerously still. while the demon trashed, he couldn't free himself against your grip.

• luck was on your side when Tengen dashed forward beheaded the green-haired demon. and if it hadn't been for the younger slayer beheading Daki, it could've turned out much worse.

• relaxation fell short, Tengen caught your body and started sprinting towards help, losing consciousness a moment later. he would've never forgiven himself without you by his side.

• happiest time in years when he woke up in a hospital bed, finding you asleep in the bed on his right. you looked better than before. healthier.

Obanai:

• he's blaming himself, somehow this all was his fault. he didn't know what demon the two of you would encounter, nor did he know you'd join this mission with him, but it was his fault.

• trauma caught up with him when a giant snake demon appeared in front of him. his body got tense, blood running cold through his veins. she looked exactly like the demon he had seen ears ago, but she was dead. right?

• you had screamed at him, told him to attack or run - do something. anything. realizing there was no other way, you leap at the demon, pushing Obanai to the side and start to attack.

• he gets thrown to the ground, watching you jump high, sword aimed at the beast calling herself a demon. luck isn't on your side when she opens her mouth, jaw dislocating uncannily.

• her fangs sink deep into your torso a moment later, body feeling an immense pain running through it. Obanai reacts when he sees your shocked eyes.

• if it hadn't been for the weird angle of his attacks, he wouldn't have been able to behead her. if only he had reacted fast enough, your body falling several feet until he catches you in his arms, demon vanishing with a low hiss.

• "Oba- nai.." he couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it, but the purple tint crawling it's way over your skin spoke to him. you had been poisoned. severely.

• the skin around the bite marks was already fully purple, the color already consuming half your neck. "i don't.. want to die.."

• he wanted to say it wouldn't happen, he wanted to assure you, but instead he only held you in his arms, pressing you close to him.

• 1 minute and 26 seconds. your heart stopped beating right after. yet he only moved hours after you were long gone, the exact time having gone lost in a sea of misery.

Rengoku:

• he was so tired, not wanting to fight anymore, but having to push through. the demon was strong, stronger than any demon he had ever encountered. he can't remember when the fight started, but the sun would rise soon and while the demon kept fighting, his exhaustion was increasing.

• his eyes snapped towards you when he saw you dart towards the demon. he hadn't seen you until then, meaning you had probably come from behind the demon.

• the following part had been his fault, shouting your name in the heat of the moment. it didn't only alarm you, but the demon as well, making it turn around and slash at you.

• you blacked out right after, only hearing the sound of Rengoku's sharp sword gliding through the air.

• when you awoke, you were in an unknown room. your environment was completely white - no, not everything. the warm and bright colors next to you were the most recognizable thing you've ever seen.

• with a bit of pain, you combed your fingers through Rengoku's hair, making the man relax into your touch.

• "i'm sorry." his words were quiet, he didn't have the energy to sound happy this time around. instead he looked at you with soft eyes and a hope of receiving forgiveness.

Sanemi:

• he wouldn't let you die, he wouldn't even think of it. however, it was only normal for demon slayers to get hurt, right? he had multiple scars of his own, he knew he couldn't protect you from everything.

• he just thought he could at least protect you from major wounds. that's why he couldn't believe his eyes when he not only saw the demon slash you, but nearly cut you in half.

• you were lucky enough to safe yourself from a fatal wound on your stomach, but the excruciating pain you felt in your left arm was nearly worse.

• waking up, you didn't remember ever seeing the surroundings you now saw. before you could panic and search for help, you heard a shoji slide open.

• "you.. you're awake." you nodded, watching the man walk towards you. he sat down next your futon, a small plate in hand.

• "eat. you need energy." the gravel tone in his voice made you hesitate, but you still listened to your friend and mentor. however, when you reached towards the plate with your left hand, your eyes widened.

• you watched your yukata slide down your arm, revealing the missing limb. bandages and ointment had been applied, at least that's what the scent told you.

• yet you couldn't stop the tears from forming. what kind of demon slayer would fight with only one hand. you were on the verge of hyperventilating when Sanemi grabbed your arm.

• his touch was never this soft, almost as if he feared causing even more damage. the coldness in his gaze told you the same story. what happened has not only altered you, but also him.

• he didn't talk, the room being shrouded in a deafening silence. when he finally moved again, he only let his hand sink, still holding onto you.

• the pain his eyes displayed were unmistakable. you knew a talk about your last mission would follow, but the change in his demeanour scared you more than the lack of your hand.

Giyuu:

• your eyes snapped open in seconds, body tensing. you had wanted to jump into a defensive position when you felt a painful ache throughout your whole body.

• you hissed in pain, arching your back away from the soft mattress under you. where was the demon? you had been facing him moments prior!

• your heart leaped when you felt a strong hand grabbing onto your arm, gently yet forcefully pushing you back down into a resting position.

• "i couldn't protect you." his voice was quiet, almost shaky. he didn't dare meet your gaze, instead letting his eyes rest on your hand.

• "what..?" you couldn't grasp the situation at first, looking around the room, which you soon identified as part of the butterfly mansion.

• then you looked down at yourself, seeing numerous bandages hide different parts of your body. the aching pain in your back suddenly made sense, remembering the demon you fought.

• your eyes widened in realization, forcing yourself to sit up. Giyuu reminded you to stay in bed, but his resolve slipped when he felt your arms wrap around him.

• "you saved me." the words made him tense. yes, the demon had been strong with a weapon that dealt multiple hits at once, but you were hurt-

• "i think i would've died." you stated, your voice having dropped in volume. he recognized the tone, you always sounded that way when something negatve played in your mind.

• "i'm glad you're alive." he answered, his voice even more quiet than yours. not wanting you to feel down amymore, he carefully put his arms around you.

• he was sure he failed, but if it would make you feel better, he could play your savior for now.

Gyomei:

• he had never cursed his blindness. it had been his way of living, a small obstacle he needed to face every day.

• he didn't know it would become his greatest fear after years of peace. he had already gone to numerous missions with you, nothing had every stopped you from winning. sure, an open wound or broken bone but nothing too bad.

• so why could he not spot you with any of his senses. he had known your exact location a moment prior, but now it wasn't there anymore. the demon was dead, how could this be?

• a bad feeling bubbled deep in his gut when he felt warmth radiating near him. it was barely there, but he had felt it. he kneeled down, his large hand reaching towards the source.

• he immediately recognized the uniform you were wearing, even when it was soaked in blood and ripped apart. yet his focus was barely there.

• he was searching for something, anything. your breathing had stilled, your warmth had drastically decreased. not a single sound was coming from your body.

• the tears that fell onto your body right after spoke of utter despair. he knew you were scared of death, he wasn't there when you bled out on the ground.

• he carefully wiped the long fallen tears away from your cheeks, closing your eyes in the most tender way he could muster. "i'm sorry."

• he picked your body up, making sure to cradle you in his arms. it was time to go home.

Muzan:

• he knew keeping a human by his side was a miserable idea. he had wanted to turn you into a demon right from the start, but you just had to deny.

• and those reasons you had, so humane, he almost threw up. family. friends. aging. feeling. didn't you understand the superiority of his perfect being?

• nevermind, he could keep you around for a while longer, until you learned how much better demons were.

• how come you would die before you even got the chance to experience such superiority? hit. by a simple demon slayer.

• those pesky animals had annoyed him right from the start. the moment he saw your body fall, he had already gotten rid of the slayer. the incompetence to mistake another human for a demon was disgusting to him.

• his mind was immediately back on you, watching you slump against a nearby tree and sob in agony. he didn't hesitate, the needle forming on the flesh appendage protruding his back shooting towards you.

• those damn emotions would keep you from becoming a demon, wanting to die human. he didn't care, in this matter your opinion was irrelevant.

• the loud cry you let out wasn't anything he would've liked to hear, but it was necessary to keep you alive. just a bit more of his blood and you would never face these problems again.

• he walked to your unconscious body, the sound of a biwa filling the back of his mind. you would learn to like your new existence. he wouldn't give you another choice, you were too important.

[e-nonsense]

MERCENARY pt. two

pairing. batfam x batsis!reader

warnings. languages death/murder, gun violence

summary. reader is bruce wayne’s unofficial daughter and a mercenary. she doesn’t frequent gotham until she gets paid to kill the joker. previous part

When you woke up you were in the Batcave. You were in big trouble, big big trouble. Why? Well...

The Joker was dead,

you family knows that you're The Knight,

and lastly you lied to Alfred

You could still walk, you only passed from exhaustion killing the Joker had been easier than you thought it would be, but getting away from the scene of the crime was very hard.

You slipped into Arkham thanks to Harley Quinn who pretended to be a guard and let you in through a secret tunnel, if she had stayed getting out would've been a lot easier but you couldn't risk her getting caught so you told her to leave, lying that you had an exit strategy.

You had made it out of Arkham successfully but when you were out all the Gotham Knights where there - it made you feel special if you weren't gonna lie - waiting for you, even Red Hood who looked like he didn't want to be there.

You took them down one by one - having known all there strengths and weaknesses, and weak spots - till eventually you were left with one.

And there he stood Batman, The Dark Knight something that contrasted your name the White Knight, you knew that you could take him down with some time but that was time you didn't have so you got in a fighting stance and when Bruce lunged you ran.

From roof to roof and Batman eventually accompanied by his birds and idiot sidekicks followed and when instead of jumping you dropped, they were all a little confused until they saw a speeding away. Damian was impressed. In the end they still got you and here you all where, every single pair of eyes on you.

"Sooo?" you smiled awkwardly "how's everyone feeling?"

"confused" came Duke's voice, everyone glared at him minus you who smiled at him gratefully.

"Mercenary?" Jason, he didn't sound pissed probably 'cause you just killed the Joker "What were there no other occupations available?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bruce asked and everyone was quiet once again. You sighed "If I told you what would you have said?"

"I-"

"No, Bruce you wouldn't have supported me. Not the way you do everyone else" you took a breath to control yourself "and that's understandable, y'know but you wouldn't have accepted me either, and don't lie about how you would."

"She has a point father"

"Damian-"

"Don't get angry at him"

"Don't tell me how to raise my son!"

"Your son! What about your daughter?!"

And that's when the argument flared, you were trying to avoid this but somethings just need to happen to resolve issues.

Everyone slowly started to back away from the heated argument, everyone but Damian and Jason who stood by your side the entire time.

"Where'd you even learn to fight like this?!"

Bruce looked at you expecting an answer, but you were far to ashamed to admit who had taught you to fight.

"Khoa" you mumbled in hopes that nobody would hear you over the water in the background, but they did. You knew this would happen one day, Bruce would finally tell you to piss off and never show your face unless he needed you to.

Bruce wasn't sure what to say. He didn't think Ghost-Maker of all people would take you in and train you, his old friend now rival. Why?

"Knight"

Everyone's heads snapped towards the entry of the batcave, and there he stood in all his idiotic glory, Khoa Khan. You didn't even know he was in Gotham.

"Ghost" you nodded at him

"You good?" a question that shocked Bruce and Dick

"Yup, just finishing off here" you ruffled Damian's hair with a promise to eventually come visit when things cooled down and squeezed Jason's hand in reassurance that you'd be safe.

You looked at Khoa "I'll be up" and he turned to leave

You walked up to Bruce and everyone else went on to do their own things in the cave pretending like they weren't listening.

"Bruce-"

"Stay safe, I'll uh reach out once I've had time to cool off and think about this" Bruce spoke softly.

You nodded hanging onto his words, "Don't do anything stupid, and please stay safe"

Bruce watched as you walked away from him, he wished he could stop you from following his once friend. You had still left him with so many unanswered questions, a part of him just wished he'd been a more present father than maybe this wouldn't be happening.

But he let you walk away, he knew you'd be safe that's all that mattered to him right now.

"Love you dad" and he smiled.

ᴛᴀɢ/ꜱ: @edgycatx @bbnny @magikhoodie @instantplaiddream @alecmores

© e-nonsense. do no copy/steal/translate. do it and I’ll bite your toes off

[ravennaortiz]

Two Worlds

Summary: How does Manny handle finding Juice in his sisters house. Sons/Mayans AU. 18+ Flashbacks/Time Jumps.

This was requested by @hatersaremymotivators using the prompts number 2. I'm not the right man for you and number 7. Stay away from my sister.

Neither man spoke for a moment as they stared at each other. "Go ahead and finish putting your shirt on." drawled Manny his face giving Juice no hint as to what he was thinking. Juice yanked his black tshirt down quickly and stepped to the table where the Mayan was sitting. "You must be Manny. Lupe has told me a lot about you" stated Juice as he extended his hand out to shake. "Odd she's not said a word about you" replied Manny as he leaned back in the chair letting his words fall between them like grenades.

Juice nodded as he withdrew his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. Angel and the others had warned him about Manny. That he wouldn't approve of Lupe dating a Son. "Listen man. I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot here. Finding a random guy in your" started Juice trying to make light of the awarknedness. "I'mma cut you off. Facts are I never wanna see you in my sisters house, around my sister, say her name ever again after this moment" stated Manny as he leaned forward on his elbows his eyes never leaving Juices.

"Are you asking me to break up with your sister?" questioned Juice taken aback. "No I'm telling you. You two should never have been together in the first place. I get my sister being a bit naïve on the danger but you? Your a grown man who knows the darker side of the leather we wear. Sons and Mayans might have an alliance now but what about when that gets broken? Mayans and SONs will both want her dead." snapped Manny his voice tight and low with anger. Juice was shocked at the venom in Mannys voice and couldn't speak for a moment. "I would never let anyone hurt Lupe. Your sister" started to reassure Juice before Manny sighed and stood up. " Look, I've been told your a good dude and that you are treating Lupe like she deserves. I appreciate that but I want you to stay away from my sister. This will be our only talk on the matter." stated Manny as he made his way out of the kitchen. "I don't repeat myself either by the way" called Manny over his shoulder.

Four Months Prior

"The regal Guadalupe is gracing us mere peasants with her presence tonight boys" greeted Angel as he kicked EZ out of the chair for her. "Eres un niño"(you such a child) stated Lupe as she rolled her eyes at Angel. "I love when you call me names mami" purred Angel as he leaned in to her space. "¿No recuerdas qué pasó con el último hombre que entró en mi espacio personal? (Do you not remember what happened to the last man who got in my personal space?). replied Lupe as she patted his cheek as she smiled at him. "Sí. Lo enterré. (Yes. I buried him) answered Angel with a chuckle.

"You two are so weird" muttered Coco as he took a drag off his cigarette as Gilly nodded in agreement. "Says the man who pretended to be his daughters brother for most of her life and now wonders why she wont listen to him" snipped Lupe making Gilly and Angel laugh. "You know you could be nicer" replied Coco as he rolled his eyes. "I'm letting your kid live with me. How much nicer do you want me to be" replied Lupe with a raised brow. "I have a list" replied Coco with a smirk as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "On that note I'm going to get another beer" replied Angel as he stood up while Coco and Lupe bickered away.

A couple hours later a guy with a mohawk and tribal tattoos on his head caught Lupes attention as he spoke to Bishop and a man named Chibs who was the President of the Sons. Lupe sipped her beer as she studied the well muscled man with a gorgeous smile. "I'll catch you guys later" stated Lupe as she stood up and made her way over to the bar where the men were now standing.

Juice had been casually scanning the crowd still not feeling quite at home in the Mayans clubhouse when a leggy brunette with curves he would love to travel stepped into his view. Juice felt his soul leave his body when there eyes met. He was so entranced in her aura that he didn't register she was speaking to him until he felt Chibs nudge him in the back.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you" half fibbed Juice as he felt himself start to sweat as she cocked her head to the side. "I said, hi I'm Guadalupe but you can call me Lupe. " repeated the gorgeous woman in front of him as she let her eyes drift over him. He's even hotter up close Lupe thought to herself. "Juice" replied Juice as he stook out his hand to shake. The feel of her soft skin against his roughened made sparks fly as she laughed. "Something tells me your momma didn't carry you for months on end and endure birth to just name you Juice" joked Lupe as she smiled at him. Juice chuckled as he nodded. "Real name is Juan Carlos" he explained as he took a sip of his beer to calm his nerves. "Juan Carlos. I like the sound of that" purred Lupe as she put her hand on his forearm. "I like how you say it" replied Juice as he shot her a wink.

Next Morning Lupe's House

Lupe had just stepped into her kitchen, where Letty sat drinking coffee and eating breakfast ,when she heard her front door open and Angel call out. "To what do I owe this early morning visit?" inquired Lupe as she walked into the living room yawning. "Did you bed a Son last night after you ditched your friends?" inquired Angel with arms folded as he shot her s sly look. "Hmm, I dont' think I understand your question" replied Lupe as she put on her best poker face.

"I'd say you gave him that good shit cause he was up before me and made us both food before that old man with scars picked him up just so you know. So like keep that up cause he cooks better than you" inserted Letty as she joined Angel and Lupe in the living room. "Letty" grumbled Lupe as her face warmed and Angel dropped to the floor laughing. "What? You deserve to have your back" started Letty making Angel howl louder with laughter as Lupe cut her off. "Enough! Room now please" snapped Lupe as she closed her eyes. "That kid is great" stated Angel as he wiped tears from his eyes after a couple minutes. "If you must know. Yes and we are going out to dinner next weekend" sighed Lupe as she made her way back to the kitchen with Angel hot on her heels.

Present Day

The clubhouse door slamming open and an angry tirade of Spanish mixed in with English had every Mayan in silence. Lupes eyes were ablaze and her mascara streaked cheeks were a sight as she scanned the room for her brother . Manny sighed as he slid out of a chair and made his way to her. "I'm a grown ass woman!" snapped Lupe as she jabbed her finger into her brothers chest. "Hell yeah she is. Look at that grown woman body" shouted Angel as he tried to diffuse the situation. "How dare you tell Juice to break up with me. Have him telling me " I'm not the right man for you?" continued Lupe each jab getting harder as her temper flared. "He's not Lupe. Being in two worlds is " started Manny as he stepped back slightly as his chest ached. "Screw you" interrupted Lupe as she stepped back into his personal space.

Want more Juice? Click here

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[magpie-come-east]

Also Hornsent grandam for the ask meme because she’s cute and deserves more love

favorite thing about them

Frankly I love everything about her. I love her design. I love her dialogue. I love that she is initially hostile but softens up as the story progresses. I love, even then, she never actually trusts the player wholly (she thinks you are a Sculpted Keeper, that's why she loosens up). Despite her sharp tongue and stinging condemnation, she shows over and over that there is a loving old grandma buried beneath the ash laid during the war. She's old. She's been watching her friends and family die all her life. She's watched her way of life slowly go extinct. But she faces the player with dignity. She makes soup with love. She tells the player to take a nap. She tells you to beat Messmer's ass.

least favorite thing about them

This is a petty detail, but it kinda bugs me that she says 'by the look of thee, another of Messmer's peons, methinks' about the player. Then later when the player wears the Divine Beast Dancing Lion mask, she mistakes them for a Sculpted Keeper because of their smell. I believe her horns made her blind, hence her recognition by scent later. But at the beginning they make it seem like she is still sighted. It feels like a minor oversight, but it bothered me haha.

But Gramma is perfect otherwise!

favorite line

"For what reason dost thou falter, villain? Enact thy sordid work with fullest pride. Else tuck away thy tail and leave for good. Loathsome issue of the rotten strumpet."

These lines are just so badass. She is an old woman 'looking' her would-be assassin in the eye and saying 'Do it, coward. You won't.' With a couple of lines we can see what a strong and proud woman she is. She fully expects to die, not understanding a Tarnished is not an agent of Messmer. But she refuses to be humiliated or cowed.

"I cannot presume thou didst not suffer... Please, I ask thee, allow thyself some rest. None of the tower would dare interfere. And if one should, I'll see to them myself!"

I also love this one. Once she lets her guard down she really is just a grandma. She is glad that Messmer is dead. But more than that, she is concerned about you. It's genuinely sweet.

brOTP

I think all the Horned Warriors love her. She bosses them around and they all crave her praise. Like I said, she's a Grandma.

I also feel like her and the Omen Twins would get along eventually. She'd bust their balls so hard, and they'd bite back just as hard.

OTP

I don't actively ship her with anyone. But since she grants the player the spirit of her own son to guard them, she probably had a partner at some point. Someone who likely isn't around anymore either ;;

nOTP

She wouldn't be caught DEAD with a non-hornsent lover lol

random headcanon

The Grandam is a respected leader in Belurat. Not because she was elected to or inherited any great position. But because she is one of the few elders of her clan that remembers the cultural practices that Messmer's armies are stomping out. Even the hornsent people call her Grandam because she's basically a grandmother to them all.

unpopular opinion

Hornsent Grandam isn't mean. If her 'rude' lines were given to Messmer to say ya'll (general) would be lapping it up. To be honest, I don't think most people dislike her, so this isn't really an 'unpopular' opinion. But all criticisms I see about her character are immensely bad faith. She's not 'fuckable' (ie, she's actually elderly) and a woman. So she must necessarily be dunked on to prop up the mediocre man that is her enemy.

song i associate with them

I dunno the Cult of the Lamb soundtrack.

Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club

[hurpdurpburps]

Otherside Picnic Manga Yuri Club Special Story 4 English Translation

SPOILER WARNING: This is an expansion of Toriko and Sorawo's first fight in File 4 - Time, Space and a Middle-aged Man in Vol 1 of the novels.

Written by: Miyazawa Iori

Translated by: @hurpdurpburps

-

Chapter 4: Ikebukuro, Cafe Meal For One

I sat there in a daze for a while, staring at all the food sitting on the table.

Taco rice. Chocolate and sour cherry cake. Matcha terrine. A “tart of the day” [1] topped with plenty of raspberries. A large cup of caffè latte. A pot of grape tea and a teacup.

The afternoon sunlight streaming in through the windows shone a spotlight on the seat across me. Toriko, who had been sitting there a moment ago, was no longer here. We had gotten into an argument and she’d ended up leaving the cafe.

"Phew…"

Slowly, I straightened up from the back of my chair which I’d been leaning against, then I picked up a spoon and plunged it into the plate of taco rice.

"Hargh…" a sigh of frustration escaped from my lips as I mixed the taco meat, lettuce and tomato.

Our messy conversation had begun just as the food arrived, which led to most of it being left untouched. I glared at the empty seat across me again. Toriko's habit of over-ordering without thinking about the consequences meant that I usually ended up overeating whenever we went out for a meal. I began eating the taco rice with a vengeance, as if to vent my anger at Toriko, who had abandoned her post and ran away.

I recalled my conversation with Toriko as I chewed on lettuce.

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything after all, about Satsuki-san being dead already…

… No, I was sure the topic would’ve come up eventually. Satsuki-san was Toriko’s sole reason for going to the Otherside. Things were bound to derail if they went on like this.

Which was why I didn’t regret saying what I said.

Or at least that was how it should’ve been.

I finished the taco rice in one go, put down my spoon, then rinsed my parched mouth with tea.

Three untouched desserts remained.

Seriously, what the hell is up with her way of ordering? At least eat one of them before you go.

I simply couldn’t bring myself to leave food unfinished on the table after it's been served, and Toriko seemed to find that amusing.

What a nasty piece of work. [2]

The tea I'd ordered was served in a pot, so there was still about two cups’ worth left. I poured myself a refill and started on the matcha terrine. I’d thought terrine was some kind of finely chopped vegetable or meat dish solidified with agar, but what was on the plate was much more chic than I had imagined. When I took a bite, the rich, bittersweet matcha melted in my mouth.

Hmm, this would pair better with coffee than tea…

Toriko's latte caught my eye just as the thought crossed my mind.

Did she touch her drink? [3] She did… But there's almost all of it left, what a waste…

… … … … … … … … [4]

Argh. Whatever. I'll take it.

I reached out, grabbed the cup of latte, and took a sip.

"Tsk."

It was still hot. I checked my lips with the pad of my middle finger for any burns. Then I brought the cup to my lips again [1] and took a cautious sip this time, making sure to blow on it. Just as I expected, the latte paired perfectly with the lingering sweetness in my mouth. It seemed Toriko hadn't added any sugar.

But even now, I was still troubled. I didn't know how to process my feelings.

This might’ve been the first time in my life that I'd gotten into a proper argument with someone in such a manner. And by that, I meant… in the sense that the other party wasn't an enemy. I wouldn't be fretting so much if it’d been an enemy. Or rather, there wouldn't have been an argument. I would’ve either left the place immediately, or thrown hands in a fit of rage.

Another thing that was frustrated me was the fact that I’d ended up getting scared. The Otherside was an important place to me as well, and I didn't mind exploring it with Toriko. Which was why I’d wanted to tell her to be more careful and not just play things by ear, but as I spoke, it'd dawned on me that I was afraid.

Strange. Have I always been this weak?

Here I was, more hesitant that I thought I’d be, in the face of the unknown world that I’d been pining for so long,

Though it’s true that the Otherside is a scary place…

My conversation with Toriko had shed some light on a few things.

The main reason for my reluctance was probably because I wasn’t going to the Otherside simply for exploration’s sake, but rather to look for Satsuki-san, who meant nothing to me.

I would’ve been fine if we were exploring together without any of that unnecessary baggage.

"… Ah."

Noticing that my hand had stopped, I picked up my fork. There was still half of the terrine left, along with an entirely untouched tart and cake. I had a long way to go.

Also, it just occurred to me that I was going to be paying for everything.

That woman…

I'll never forgive her.

My anger rekindling, I stabbed my fork into the terrine with renewed determination.

TL Notes

General note: I adopted a more 'literary' prose style to match the tone of the novels. Hence, the translation in this series will be significantly more liberal than my usual analytical posts. Feel free to ask me anything.

[1] In the official English localisation of the novel, this was mistranslated as "Japanese tart". The translator most likely misread 「本日のタルト」 as 本日 (today) is 日本 (Japan) flipped backwards.

[2] The phrase used here is 意地汚くて悪かったですね。Which is a bit vague as 意地汚い can refer to either mean or gluttonous behaviour, but there is no subject to determine who this adjective is describing... Based on the flow of the monologue I decided that Sorawo complaining about Toriko was more likely than making a self-deprecating joke. Suggestions / alternative interpretations are welcome...

[3] The Japanese expression used in both moments is 口つけ, which directly translates to "putting [one's] mouth on [it]". I dunno about you, but I'm choosing to interpret this as Miyazawa making a deliberate choice to insinuate that Sorawo was (sub?)consciously aware of the implications of her actions here.

[4] Usually I shorten excessive punctuation but Miyazawa specifically included 8 sets of ellipsis here so it seemed appropriate to preserve it lol.

List of Yuri Club's Otherside Picnic Short Stories [my translations]:

1. Shinjuku, The First Meet-Up (新宿、初めての待ち合わせ)

2. Hasshaku-sama Epilogue (八尺様エピローグ)

3. Ochanomizu, The First Afterparty (お茶の水、初めての打ち上げ)

4. Ikebukuro, Cafe Meal For One (池袋、ひとりカフェ飯)

5. Naha, After The Big Job (那覇、大仕事の後)

6. Ishigaki Island, A Dazed Vacation (石垣島、呆然のリゾート)

7. Mercedes AMG, The Backseat (メルセデスAMG、後部座席)

8. Otherworldly Elevator, On The Way Back (異世界エレベーター、帰路)

9. Kozakura Mansion, Pizza Party (小桜屋敷、ピザパーティー)

10. Ikebukuro Bookstore, Meet Up (池袋の書店、待ち合わせ)

11. Hannou, In The Car From The Station (飯能、駅からの車中)

12. TBD

[ficzhub]

Well Then…

Chapter 1

X

"Is there any particular reason that you can't stand spending any time with me?" I ask finally after an excruciatingly awkward and silent dinner over Zoom. Wondering why my father just couldn't be bothered to see me. Not when I got into Nevermore, not when I got my first award for my art, not when Tyler and his shithead friends assaulted me and I was in the hospital with internal bleeding after they vandalized my mural, not when I and everyone else at school almost died last month because a psychopathic herbology teacher decided to reanimate her bigot pilgrim great-grand daddy.

"Please Xavier, can I be spared the dramatics? I've been very busy, you know this." He says, not even bothering to look up at the camera.

"Clearly, for the last ten years or so." I don't know what I did wrong. My older sisters got time with him.

"Enough with the snide commentary. If all you wanted to do on this call was chide me, this could've been done over text. At the very least that wouldn't have pushed back rehearsals." He whines

"What do you even need rehearsals for, oh Great and Talented Vincent Thorpe?"

"Talent isn't perfection. I hope you take that to heart, winning a handful of trinkets passed off as awards isn't enough to prove any kind of prowess at anything."

I can't help but roll my eyes at that. He wouldn't know what awards I have or haven't gotten, he's never seen them.

"Speaking of lack of prowess, your grandfather will be taking you back to school after the break is done in a few days." His voice coated in derision.

"What?"

"Your mother's father, not mine."

Well no shit, he's dead. "How come?"

"If this is another tirade about how it's traumatizing that I'm not holding your hand at all times-".

"Jesus dad, I just mean how come he's coming around? He hasn't been around much since Mom...you know." He cringed at the sentence, my mother is one of his father's least favorite subjects.

"Oh, I'm not sure. I didn't ask."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome. Now, I can't push back production anymore. Your report card was fine, you've been keeping your nose clean at school as far as I know and you ended up being some kind of hero last semester. Good on you for that, son. Anything else I should know about?" He asks uninterestedly

"Nope, you're pretty much caught up."

"Alright. I'll be putting some money in your account for school supplies and whatnot. Don't over do it, like last year..." he says still remembering how much I spent on Bianca "Make sure to call your grandfather and iron out your plans with him. Have a good night." He says and hangs up.

"Good night dad..." I say to a blank screen. I close my laptop and sigh. What did I expect?

I take my plate to the kitchen and clean it off to put in the dish washer. Staying alone at the manor always feels lonely. My father got us a maid but it feels so uncomfortable to have a strange woman washing my underwear and replacing my bedsheets or anything else for me. I'd rather just do it myself. She can busy herself sweeping and mopping or something, it's not like she pays me any mind.

I'll call Grandpa Ron tomorrow, I don't feel like talking to anyone. Well, there's one person, I haven't talked to her since my last day at school.

I can't even begin to wrap my head around what I should feel about Wednesday. Obviously she's not an easy person to deal with, she's selfish, manipulative and abrasive, but she's never pretended she's not. It's not like I didn't know to expect that. She's also brave, loyal and apparently fiercely protective. I don't wanna push my luck with her and make her feel suffocated, I wonder if the phone was too much. I send her a single text the day I got back home. Just a simple "See you when term starts." It hadn't marked at delivered, so either she never turned on the phone or she let it die. I wish I could go to therapy about all this but Wednesday's ex boyfriend killed her so, I'm shit outta luck with that. I haven't found another one near enough to school or home. I can't imagine I'd have an easy time building trust with them if I did anyway. New one might just die on me like the last.

That was crass.

Obviously Kinbott's murder wasn't about me, and her dying was senseless. Like that dick just wanted another body under his belt or Thornhill just felt like killing someone that day. Who knows, but I couldn't ignore that her death while tragic, really sucked for me.

I should just get my supplies and toke up. It's not like my dad would ever know and the help doesn't care one way or the other cause I don't leave a mess. I ran up to the studio and took my stuff out. The stash was still fresh from when I bought some with Ajax from some townie.

Keeping the puff in my lungs for as long as I can, I starts prepping my canvas...

This was a good idea. It had been a while since I'd let myself take a break from my own thoughts.

I painted Bianca. Her bright eyes and dark skin popping from each other. I still had so many unanswered questions about her. Seems minor compared to all the other things that have happened, but it's not nothing. I can't remember much right after meeting her. Getting coffee at the Weathervane before that asshole had gotten a job there and she was there too. We'd gotten the same coffee order and I accidentally grabbed hers. We'd cracked a few jokes with each other and exchanged numbers. Then suddenly I'm in a total fog and she's admitted into Nevermore. I'm paying for all her school supplies, and I don't remember offering, or her asking. Then I'm back to normal, we're chatting, she's joining clubs, making friends, we're bonding over our shared experience in neglectful or abusive parents, then I'm in a fog again and she's Ms.Popularity and we're Nevermore's Power Couple. When Divina told me what had happened after her and Bianca got into an argument, things cleared up. I didn't enjoy breaking up with her, I did care about her. I didn't wanna get her in trouble or kicked out of school either, it's not like she didn't deserve to be there. But I couldn't stand that I'd been manipulated for months. Am I really that bad of a judge of character? I mean, I had Tyler pegged right, but that one was hard to miss considering I'd tasted his shoe and one of his friends almost made my testicles reascend. I never really told Wednesday the whole truth, maybe if I had she'd have gotten it sooner. Violence isn't an issue to her, but bigotry never seemed her style. I partly blame myself for not being entirely honest with her all because I didn't wanna seem like a pussy. Maybe I deserved what happened. The beating, Wednesday ignoring me, the imprisonment, all of it. I could've prevented so much of it.

I'm spiraling. Maybe I should go to bed but painting was supposed to get this off my chest. This? What do I mean this? I wanna talk about a million things, there is no this. Shit maybe I can just text Wednesday's phone number. Kinbott's got disconnected so I get back that error message. Or worse, it could be reassigned to someone new, then I'm just traumadumping on some poor stranger who's probably got their own shit going on. What if they get confused and think they did something to me? What if they actually end up being someone I know that coincidentally got assigned the old number? They could trace back the texts to me if they already have my number. I'd never live it down. I know Wednesday clearly isn't using the phone, so no harm no foul.

W

"I'm so glad to hear that Wednesday!" My mother said emphatically, gently clapping her hands together.

"We knew you'd love it at Nevermore, Tormentita." Gomez brags "The flesh never falls far from the bone." as he continues his chess match with Thing.

"Yes well, it's not as if any other school in the country would admit me or be able to instruct me of anything new or useful to me. Why waste anyone's time." Not relishing in proving my parents right, I start walking up towards my bedroom.

"Darling, I suppose now would be as good a time as any to inform you of some new developments if you're set in returning." Mother says with my back to her.
Turning around I see her looking at my father.
"Mon cher, this is more your news than it is mine. You should tell Wednesday."

My father checkmates Thing and smirks "You almost had me old man. Next time."
Thing shrugs and hops off to reach his magazine.
Facing me he rubs his hands together "Do you remember your Aunt Dolores?" He asks

"Vaguely. She's not much older than me, but she was always busy with school."

"That's right, she's 25." My mother adds "She got her master's degree in phytology. Of course that was basically a formality, she's always known everything she'd ever need about plants."

"I still don't understand how she came to be. Mama Esmeralda and Papa Pancho must've been in their 50s when they had her, at the earliest." I ponder out loud.

"Oh both sides of your family have had abnormally long periods of fertility, Wednesday. Your Great-Grandmama Margaret, had my aunt Celia at 56 years old. Completely baffled the local doctor." Mother adds gleefully.

"Anyway, I bring this up because we've been notified that your Aunt Dolores will be joining you at Nevermore."

"How did that happen?"

"Well, as you know she had that big spat with my parents and ran off when she turned 15. She never really got to experience much time at that school, and despite everything she did love it so there. It was truly a pity I couldn't convince her to keep going there and not disappear on us. Fester tried to nab her and get her to see why they did what they did but to no avail."

"Understandable."

"We thought you'd feel that way." Mother smirks

"I meant more so how did she manage to get hired. They haven't even said they've gotten a new Headmaster or Mistress."

"The board would have to be riddled with complete fools if they pass up on Dolores, even despite her...muddled record." Mother says. She's always had an inexplicable soft spot for her little sister-in-law.

"What was their disagreement about anyway? I've never gotten a whole answer about that." I ask

"It would probably be best for you to ask her directly. We wouldn't want to speak for her." Father explains, shakily.

"Right then, what position will she be taking?" Noting how my father looked away and down when he said that

"The new herbology teacher. Oh, and your new house mother."

"Makes sense, the last one was an incompetent murderer. At least this time the teacher will be adequate. Thank you for letting me know. Will Pugsley be joining me as well?" Would be nice to practice my aim while still at school. He'd have a new selection of road signs to steal from.

"His grades aren't quite up to par, unfortunately." Mother grims "Rather like his Uncle Fester, brilliant but not booksmart."

"Pity. Will I be sent to school with Lurch, or will you two be dropping me off again?" I ask, waiting to turn around to finally get to the solitude of my bedroom.

"Actually Wednesday, you'll be carpooling with your aunt. She's bringing her own car so to not rely on buses and whatnot. She'll actually be fetching you a day or two earlier as she'll need to get situated."

"I thought she had an aversion to driving." I said, remembering how my father had tried to teach her to drive but my grandparents had already embittered her to the idea.

"She eventually got over it, not without struggle." My father winces "She got herself an old, red beetle and she's been using that little thing since she was 18. My parents were furious when they heard, of course I didn't let her know I'd told them. She wanted to be taken as dead to them."

"Can't wait to hear why from the source. When will she be coming?"

"Could you call Dolores about that, Darling? I have to see something about your brother and your father has a meeting to go to."

"A meeting? About what?" My father doesn't work really, not necessary for us.

"Some charity nonsense, I'm not entirely sure if I'm being honest. All I usually have to do is sign a check." My father explains, poorly.

"Fine, could I get her phone number?"

My mother scribbles down on a sheet her ten digits and sends me off. I'll finally have a use for Xavier's gift.

I shut my bedroom door and start looking for my cell phone, Thing has been using it to make a "TikTok" and "IG". I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes every time Enid would send him some asinine little video. I'm sure it's dead now as neither of us remembers to charge it. I find it in the dresser next to my bed, on 5% battery and 27 new text messages from Xavier.

******

I can hear her before I've even seen her. She came in her red Volkswagen Beetle, blaring music from its speakers. I'd hope she doesn't plan on maintaining that obnoxious volume, I can feel the migraine coming on already as she gets out to say hello.


"Wednesday, looking as malcontent and gorgeous as always." with her ever present smirk on her lips.
"Should I come in and say hey to the folks?"

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that, Mother hasn't stopped fawning about you since she knew you'd be my new teacher."

"Ugh, I've missed Tishy. I guess you'll wanna wait out here?"

"I'd prefer it."

"Here then," she hands me the keys, takes off her circular sunglasses and puts them on the neckline of her shirt "roll down the windows and do whatcha want. I'll be out in a few."

"Thank you, I'll be waiting. Thing will also be coming, just so you know."

"Aw, sweet. He owes me the story about the safe," She says, walking inside "besides I'll need me a few minutes to talk to Gomey and Morts about your new therapist situation."

My blood pressure rises immensely as a hear her last little blip.

"What are you referring to?"

She turns around to face me and looks more bemused by my expression than I'd like for her to be.


"What? Did you think that just because you saved the outcast population of New England from a bigoted zombie, his inept however many 'greats' granddaughter and your ex-boyfriend that everyone would forget you almost killed that normie kid from your last school? Law still applies to ya, dollface. Even heroes need therapy." She says, with her hands on her hips.

"This is waste of time. It's not like therapy did much the first time around, besides get the therapist killed by one of her patients." I feel my grip around the keys start pinching into my fingers

"And shockingly that patient wasn't you." She quips, smirk still on her face before it relaxes slightly "Jesus kid, you're acting like therapy is an actual punishment. Your talking out your thoughts with someone for an hour, get over it." As she turns around to walk inside and Lurch comes out to put my bags in her car.

She waltzes out just as chipper 20 minutes later

"C'mon, we're going from Princeton to Killington, Vermont, with any luck we'll make good time and get there by this afternoon."

"Five hours isn't so bad."

"I'm not generally fond of being extended company."

"Oh please, this little ride along could end up being a nice time for you." She says, getting in the car and starting it "Did you already say bye to everyone?"

"Yes, and I doubt it."

"Dude are you always this much of a downer? Get in."

I get settled inside "This whole happy-go-lucky thing you're doing isn't making you any happier."

"Is that so?" We take off into the path by my home leading to the main road into town.

"Yes. Happiness, or at least satisfaction in my experience is an equation: reality - high expectations. If you expect people to disappoint you, experiences to be subpar and life in general to not excite you very much, then you're never really disappointed." I finish matter of factly.

"Is that really happiness then? Or even satisfaction, as you say?"

"Sure. Can't miss what I never thought I had."

"Spidey, a lot of life is what you make it. If you go to a party, or say, a long car ride, with the expectation or intention to have a bad time then you'll just go, be moody and have in fact, a bad time." She counters, putting her glasses back on to shield herself from the sun coming off the rear view mirror.

"So I'm either right or pleasantly surprised? Sounds good to me."

"It's bad vibes." She says flatly

"It's realistic vibes."

"Expecting everything to be bad all the time also isn't realistic, Wen. There are so many reasons to be optimistic."

"Are you serious?" I ask, knowing some of her past.

"Yes! Life can be a wonderful thing, especially when you're the one in control of how you're living it."

"I can't agree, the natural state of things is chaos. Violence, war, rape, murder, abuse. Eventually we all end up ashes or worm food, the sooner we contend with that fact the better it helps me linger in the good times." I say, diddling the charm on my bracelet with Nero's stinger.

"Wens how often do you think about death?"

"All the time."

"Your family's? Your friends?"

"Sometimes, and it upsets me."

"Christ."

"Oh deliberately his. You can't deny that most things just don't work out."

"The magic of pessimism." She says sarcastically

"Almost everyone is mediocre at almost everything they do. All relationships we have will end, in death or in life. The only way to feel satiated and move on is to lower your expectations and not let it get to you. Optimism is stupid."

"But the stupid, optimistic conviction that things can and will get better by making it so is what makes positive change possible in the first place. If everyone walked around being almost certain that everything's going to shit then what's the point of trying?"

"Trying to what?"

"Trying. Period. Just trying at anything. Trying to be cleaner, trying to be smarter, trying to be faster. There would be no clear point and everyone would just settle and progress would stall."

I can't deny this.

"Spidey, I get that pessimism can feel safer."

"It's not my personal well-being I'm concerned about."

"Isn't it? When was the last time you had real hope about anything? Not deterministic persistence, not stubbornness, not pettiness and not settling because hey this is as good as it's gonna get let's hope it doesn't get worse. Real, deep hope about something. Or, someone."

"I don't like how often you're turning your head to give me sideways glance."

"Wednesday."

"Isn't hope just blind faith in a nicer tone?" I ask

"Yes. Can you answer the question?"

"...I suppose I'd hoped that Eugene would recover despite the odds of surviving an explosion not being great."

"Eugene is the little beekeeper friend you made last term, right?"

"The entomopathist, yes."

"Okay, I guess that's a good example."

"I'm not hopeless, I'm just selective in where I put my energy or hope."

"So with the Hyde thing. We're you betting that Xavier Thorpe was the Hyde or we're you hoping he was so you could say you're a good judge of character."

"I didn't really think it had much to do with anyone's character at all. When I was under the impression that Xavier was the monster, I thought he was doing it without knowing it. Or that he was doing it unwillingly."

"Guess it was an ugly surprise when you found out Galpin relished in it."

It bothers me how well she can gage me despite not having spent much time with me recently.

Most of the information she has must be second hand and yet she's reaching accurate conclusions.
We're obviously related, we look enough alike where it's clear by just looking.
Not exactly of course but she's small, only two inches taller than me and wears big shoes to compensate for it. Her hair also helps. A big, curly inch of her skull. But still, black hair, black eyes, and her skin is the color mine would be if my vitamin D deficiency didn't leave me with the grey cast palor I like now. A warm tan brown like Father.

"It was unsettling. Albeit certainly made my first kiss memorable."

"I'm sure. Mine was a shit show."

"What? Did the guy have braces and they got caught in yours?" I ask sarcastically, knowing her attempt as sympathizing won't measure up.

"No. His teeth were perfectly straight and white. He'd long past the age where braces would look acceptable."

"Couldn't have been that bad." I shrug off

"He forced it on me."

"...and I'm assuming you broke his teeth in retribution." I add

"Not even close. In the position I was in at the time it would've completely fucked my life up, I showed some disgust and that was enough for me to get a stern 'talking to' from my parents."

"This has something to do with why you ran off."

"Yeah. Well, this and a ton of other shit I don't wanna get into, no use dwelling on what's done." She mutters that last part.

"I'm never having kids."

"Pfft, me neither kid. Pregnancy and childbirth alone sound like a Lovecraftian nightmare."

"Hm...well when you phrase it like that..."

We spent most of the ride in relative silence, her music making so that it's not completely quiet but clearly neither of us felt like speaking. She let me control the music for a few hours and surprisingly, she introduced me to new music I actually enjoyed. Genres I'd written off and artists I'd misjudged. I found that I can enjoy some pop, like Shakira's older sound. My aunt is also obviously angrier than she'd like to seem, given how taken away she got by She Wants Revenge. We stopped once for a bathroom break and coffee at a small coffee shop in New Paltz ironically called The Bakery. As eye-roll inducing as the name is the coffee was good and the bathrooms were clean, so we couldn't complain much. She was nice enough to pay. "I'm your aunt and the adult" and other such nonsense being the excuse. Around half way through the ride I pick up my cell phone and text two people to let them know I'm coming. Enid, as we're still rooming together and I wanted to
make sure she kept her My Little Pony adjacent decor on her side, and Xavier. Might give him a chance to get his explanation clear about these messages. Altogether the ride went by much quicker than I expected. We'd headed out at 5:04 am that morning and got to the school at 9:50 am. Of course she drives like a mad woman constantly surpassing the speed limit, only pausing for a second at stop signs and hardly getting any red lights helps. Impressive that her car hasn't been totaled.

"So when are the rest of us meeting your aunt?" Enid asks over FaceTime while I unpack, I hadn't realized she wouldn't be at the school for another two days.

"The day you get here, I suppose. Unless you've other plans. I'd introduce you to her now on this call but she's in her room working on the lesson plan, I believe."

"Than to hang out with my bestie and her super cool aunt? Never. Well, except maybe spend some quality time with Ajax."

"Good to know he's still doing well with you."

"Total gentleman, no complaints here. He's been a little worried about Xavier though. I know he's a little moody, tortured artist persona and all. But during the break he barely communicated with Jax, or anyone else as far as I know."

As far as you know is a good way to phrase it, Enid. She doesn't need to know about his messages to me, I'm not even sure how to take them myself. The only thing he responded to me after my text was "Oh, cool."

"I let him know I was on my way here this morning, I didn't get a very enthusiastic responce from. Figured that was just his nature over text." Not even close

"Really? That's surprising. I thought if anyone could get more outta him it'd be you."

"Why's that?"

"No one believes you're that oblivious, Wednesday. His not-so-subtle crush on you? Maybe that's why?"

"Maybe the events last year sobered him up and he got over it."

"Or he's just depressed."

"Also possible. Not necessarily our business though, is it?"

"I mean, it kinda is. We're his friends and all, and most of us know what it's like to not have a whole hell of a lot of support at home. He needs to get it from somewhere." She clarifies

"Wasn't his father with him during this break?"

"Ha, yeah. I'm sure he was a whole lotta help." She says sarcastically

"Wasn't he? Xavier could've died last term." I point out

"Hm, I'm not sure that's all that important to the all too busy Vincent Thorpe."

"Well, that's mildly upsetting."

"Yeah, you could say that. I know he and I aren't close but I know what it's like to feel like the family you were born into isn't the one you're supposed to be in. At least sometimes." I can empathize with that. My parents are the epitome of present, supportive parents. Almost to a fault, that's what makes it strange. In my eyes, they border on intrusive sometimes, and lacking physical boundaries most times.

"I understand. Do you know if he's an only child?"

"Good question. I'll ask Ajax, I'm not sure. I know his mom wasn't his first wife so it's a possibility he's not. Well, I have my flight at 1:00 am tonight so I gotta get going. See ya in the morning, Bestie."

"Goodbye Enid, have a safe flight.”

<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/50759830"><strong>Well Then</strong></a> (69569 words) by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliTerren"><strong>AliTerren</strong></a><br />Chapters: 13/20<br />Fandom: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Wednesday%20(TV%202022)">Wednesday (TV 2022)</a><br />Rating: Explicit<br />Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings<br />Relationships: Wednesday Addams & Xavier Thorpe, Wednesday Addams/Xavier Thorpe, Xavier Thorpe & Wednesday Addams, Xavier Thorpe/Wednesday Addams, Xavier Thorpe/Original Female Character(s), Xavier Thorpe and Original Female Character(s), Wednesday Addams/Original Female Character(s), Tyler Galpin/Original Female Character(s), Wednesday Addams & Enid Sinclair, Ajax Petropolus/Enid Sinclair, Ajax Petropolus & Xavier Thorpe, Wednesday Addams & Original Female Character<br />Characters: Xavier Thorpe, Wednesday Addams, Enid Sinclair, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Original Non-Human Character(s), Ajax Petropolus, Eugene Ottinger, Morticia Addams, Gomez Addams, Tyler Galpin, Donovan Galpin, Garrett Gates, Marilyn Thornhill | Laurel Gates, Vincent Thorpe<br />Additional Tags: Mildly Dubious Consent, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Wednesday is soft for Xavier, Xavier Thorpe is Whipped, POV Xavier Thorpe, POV Wednesday Addams, Possessive Behavior, Obsessive Behavior, Xavier Thorpe Needs a Hug, Xavier Thorpe switch, Jealous Wednesday Addams, Pining, Yearning, Lonely Xavier Thorpe, Smut, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, Masturbation, Fantasizing, Prophetic Visions, Sharing a Bed, Sharing Clothes, Xavier Thorpe Has Daddy Issues, Xavier Thorpe has Mommy Issues, Xavier Thorpe has a praise kink, Discussion of sexual assault, Discussion of rape kits, succubi, Demonic Possession, Demonic Sacrifice, soul eating, Bisexual Wednesday Addams, Creepy Tyler Galpin, wet dreams, Our season 2, Subby Xavier Thorpe, Sub Xavier Thorpe<br />Summary: <p>New term has started, with it comes new people, new feelings and new duties. Let’s hope the unresolved doesn’t get in the way.</p><p>(This might be a part one, might make sequels. Also, take this as season 2 if you also miss having Xavier in the show.)</p>

[lemony-snickers]

Kakashi/Obito + unintentional kisses?

Kakashi has grown into a lanky son of a bitch; arms and legs too long and spindly for the rest of him, which hasn't caught up yet.

It pisses Obito off to no end that they're the same height, now. The little pain in the ass should've stayed little, which Obito tells him all the time.

"Not my fault your height is as unimpressive as your ninjutsu."

"Oi!"

It's the same fight as usual, though it lacks the familiar bite. Something has been off about Kakashi lately. He's not as brusque, not as sarcastic. Rin often catches him staring off into space for long stretches of time between sparring bouts.

Of course, Kakashi changed plenty after he dragged Obito's half-dead body back to Konoha, tears streaming out of his implanted sharingan all the while. Who wouldn't?

Sometimes Obito wonders if it would have been better for Kakashi if he'd left him under that rock. Life had improved for Obito, of course. His clan welcomed him home as a war hero, even if they also chastised him for giving away one of his eyes. That he thought for sure he was going to die never seems a good enough excuse for the Clan Elders, but what are they going to do about it, anyway? It's been seven years since Kannabi. That eye belongs to Kakashi, Obito wouldn't take it back even if he could.

Not that that stops him from pretending he might when he's particularly frustrated by his genius teammate's skill.

"Then take it," Kakashi says petulantly, "what's stopping you?"

Obito frowns, shoots a look at Rin whose face is pinched with concern. She shrugs at Obito, obviously as confused about Kakashi's behavior as he is. They both watch him shove his hands in his pockets and wander off the training field, making some vague, lame excuses about having to run errands before going home.

It doesn't sit right with either of them, but there's not much they can do about it, and so they let him go.

It eats away at Obito the rest of the afternoon, and even Rin can see his heart isn't in it so they shuffle off early to grab dinnner at Ichiraku instead, neither of them quite willing to voice their concern for their third teammate, but unable to discuss anything else, either.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Rin says as they part ways and Obito shoots her a bright smile in return.

"You bet!" he promises as he jogs off in the opposite direction.

"And don't be late again!" she shouts at his back. Obito just chuckles because he knows she understands he will be. It's part of his charm, he tells her all the time, though he thinks she only half-believes him.

Obito doesn't know when he makes the decision to detour, but at some point, his feet carry him away from the Uchiha District toward the outskirts of Konoha. The sun is setting, casting the fields behind the Hatake compound in shades of rich orange and gold. There aren't any lights on in the house and Obito wonders if maybe Kakashi isn't home, after all.

But he's come all this way already, so Obito marches up to the front door and knocks, rocking back on his heels as he waits for it to open.

Nothing happens and Obito sighs loudly. "Come on, Bakashi! I know you're in there! Open up or I'm coming in a window!"

The door slides open with a snap and Obito is met with a ferocious glare. "What do you want?"

Kakashi's voice has always had this sharp element to it, like it could slice you if you weren't careful. But Obito knows how to navigate Kakashi's moods as well as anyone by this point, so he slides past him into the house without saying anything, kicking off his shoes as he meanders toward the ktichen.

"Do you have any leftovers?" he asks, "I'm starving."

He isn't, really, but getting Kakashi to talk about food is easier than most things. "Didn't you get ramen with Rin?"

Obito snaps his head around, eyes narrowing. "And how would you know that? You spying on us?"

Kakashi shrugs. "I told you, I had errands to run."

Obito snorts, disbelieving, as he turns on the kitchen light. "You could have just joined us, you know."

Kakashi doesn't answer. Instead, he walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out a storage container. Without a word, he opens it and dumps its contents into a pan on the stove, silently heating up his leftovers and plating them without a word.

"Eat," he says, sliding the plate toward Obito as he settles at the chabudai, "If you don't, I'll probably be taller than you in a few months."

Obito growls, but takes a bite of the food anyway. If there's one thing both he and Rin have learned, it's to never turn down food made by Kakashi Hatake. As much as it annoys Obito to admit, he really is a genius when it comes to cooking.

He curses as he takes his first bite, smothering a grateful sound my slamming his fist over his mouth. "This is good," he says, shoveling more down his throat as soon as he can.

Kakashi chuckles. "I'm glad you like it."

It's not the reponse Obito expects and he stops stuffing his face long enough to fix Kakashi with a glare, pointing his chopsticks at him. "What is up with you lately?" he asks, "You're so..." he doesn't know what Kakashi is exactly, only that it's worng, somehow.

Kakashi shrugs. "Maybe I'm just sick of training with you."

Obito shakes his head irritably. "Well, fine, then treat me like garbage, but don't be a jerk to Rin, too. She's worried about you."

"Is she? She seems fine."

"Shows how well you know her," Obito grumbles.

Kakashi shrugs again and the nonchalance of it is infuriating. He's always like this. Deflecting and obtuse and a complete pain in the ass. Obito doesn't know why he bothered coming here. It was always going to end in an argument, same as usual.

His food now finished, Obito slams a palm on the table to help him rise. "Fine. You wanna be a complete jackass, I'm not gonna stop you," he says, flinging his bowl into the sink, "But you should apologize to Rin for making her worry."

The derisive snort Kakashi emits makes Obito's hands curl into fists.

He doesn't mean to take a swing. He didn't come here to fight or aruge--at least, he doesn't think he did--but Kakashi's dismissiveness makes his blood boil.

"Why is it so hard to let us worry about you?" he shouts as Kakashi deflects a kick with ease. "What is the point of pushing us away all the time?!"

The spar is horridly one-sided. As much as Obito has improved over the years, Kakashi has too, and his spindly fucking limbs give him broader range than he's ever had before. Obito doesn't land a single punch, which only makes him angrier.

But then, he realizes, Kakashi hasn't landed any, either. In fact, he seems almost bored by the onslaught, not even trying to inflict any damage in return.

Obito growls, "It's not going to kill you to care about something again, you know!"

Kakashi's visible eye widens just the slightest bit as Obito activates his sharingan. Kakashi's is still covered by his hitai-ate, and the split second activation gives Obito the edge he needs to finally clock his opponent square in the jaw.

Kakashi stumbles from the impact, grabbing at the injured part of his face, and Obito takes the opportunity to land a sharp front snap kick to his solar plexus, sending him to the floor with a soft grunt.

Kakashi sits there, slumped against the wall with his head tilted back, working his jaw back and forth gingerly.

"I think you broke it," he says.

Obito bristles. "I did fucking not. Let me see."

He crouches down beside Kakashi and grips his jaw roughly between his fingers, reaching out to yank down the stupid mask and inspect the damage himself.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kakashi asks, eye widening as he reaches up to stop Obito as he pinches the fabric.

"Quit fighting me, Bakashi, or I really will break your stupid face--"

Kakashi wrenches Obito's arm away, but the other is still there and it switches from holding Kakashi's chin to fumbling with the edge of his mask. They wrestle a little awkwardly, Obito all but climbing into Kakashi's lap so he can gain the upper hand.

"Just. Let. Me. See. It. Ack--"

Obito falls forward just as he manages to loosen the mask from over Kakashi's nose. Kakashi smacks the back of his head on the wall and Obito pitches forward, nose bruising against Kakashi's as their faces collide.

He's too dazed to realize for a moment what exactly has happened, but when he blinks his eyes open, Kakashi's terrified expression is suddenly thrown into sharp relief.

As is the sensation of something warm and soft against Obito's mouth.

His heart hammers in his chest, thoughts racing faster than he can catch them. He pulls away slowly, feeling the soft tug of Kakashi's lips as they stick to his. Once they detach, he can finally focus on how red Kakashi's face is, how warm his breath feels as it fans over Obito's cheeks.

He isn't sure which one of them leans forward for another kiss, but when it happens, Obito sighs, one hand curling loosely into Kakashi's shirt to hold him in place. He feels Kakashi's hand do much the same, gripping the fabric over Obito's hip with trembling, unsure fingers.

Oh shit, he likes this. A lot. Too much.

Obito springs away, pressing his forearm to his mouth like that will erase the feeling of Kakashi's against it. His face feels like it's on fire, so he's comforted when he looks at Kakashi and finds his face stained a shade of crimson Obito has never seen before.

They're still holding onto each other, like neither of them is ready to release the final tether of this experience. Once they stand up, Obito wonders if Kakashi will pretend it never happened. If he'll make some snide comment about Obito resorting to seduction in order to win a fight to diminish the importance of what's just happened.

But then Kakashi leans forward and kisses Obito's cheek. It's so brief, so tentative, Obito has to really concentrate to make sure it happened.

He watches as Kakashi sinks back against the wall and tugs his mask back up, turning to look anywhere except at Obito. Obito grimaces when he notices the start of a bruise along his jaw just before it disapears beneath the fabric.

Kakashi clears his throat. "So," he says, "I guess you'll want to stay for tea now or something."

Obito, still a little dumbstruck, stutters out a response that sounds enough like, "Only if you want me to," to suffice as an answer.

Kakashi doesn't respond, just disentangles his too-long limbs from Obito's and moves into the kitchen to fill the kettle with water.

"I only have sencha so don't get all snobby about your preferences."

Obito bristles. "As if I'd be the one to be a snob, Bakashi."

The old rhythm helps Obito's hands stop trembling, saying the teasing words as if they mean them helps root them in the moment.

When he stands and turns to look at Kakashi, it's obvious he's smiling, even with the mask in place. Obito smiles, too, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck as he shuffles into the kitchen.

"Sorry about your jaw," he says.

"It's fine."

"Not sorry about the rest, though," he offers, hoping it isn't a mistake.

Kakashi ducks his head, but his smile widens beneath dark blue fabric and he whispers quietly, "Me neither."

prompt list for those interested. <3

[liketwoswansinbalance]

Round III of Excerpts from The One True School Master of Vault 41

Agatha turned to the Rafal. "Interesting,” she nodded. "I'm sure you don't remember the names of all the masses you've murdered, but tell me, whose face do you see in your nightmares?" she prompted expectantly.

“Rh—h-hACK,” said he, the Evil sorcerer.

“What? Come again?” Agatha prodded all too knowingly as she got to her feet.

Rafal seized up and started to convulse silently. Something was obstructing his airways.

Sophie hopped up from her seat. “Aggie! He’s choking, Aggie!” she squawked.

“Oh! Well, do something then! He’s yours to look after!” Agatha crossed her arms and stared Rafal dead in the eye as he suffocated, daring him to try anything.

“B-but, I don’t know how to—" Sophie’s voice died in her throat as she fluttered her hands in distress. She looked at Agatha in askance. "Would you revive or resuscitate..."

Agatha shook her head stubbornly. She was Sophie's savior and no one else's. On occasion, she would save Tedros, but he usually wouldn't let her save him. "If he dies now, there'll be no one to blame and it'll be of natural causes. And, I'll be doing Tedros a favor by sparing him a heart attack. He's been through so much already, I'm not sure his heart could take another shock, like the one in front of us."

Sophie exhaled, ready to blow up, flustered and red. She could barely get words out, and froze in place. Her ribcage throbbed with panic, like she’d swallowed her heart whole.

She turned to Kiko, next, to seek help, but found that Kiko was gone! Sophie hadn’t noticed that the Evergirl, the only one she could expect a scrap of human decency from had fled from the table!

Turning bluer by the second, Rafal stopped clutching his throat.

He stood up abruptly, chair scraping the glass floor as it skidded back with a screech. He motioned with his hands to signal to the girls that they didn’t have to intervene, dismissing them.

Gripping the table, he leaned on it, bent over its edge, and thrust his fists against his diaphragm hard, dislodging what had caught in his throat.

A saliva-coated coin of cucumber shot out of his windpipe and hit Agatha squarely in the eye.

Sophie sagged in relief.

The slice of cucumber slid down Agatha’s cheek leaving a trail of spittle. “Well, that’s settled,” she griped sullenly. She flumped down on her seat cushion again, long, rangy limbs askew. “Too bad you’re alive.”

“Too bad indeed. For you,” Rafal smirked, stretching his tensed jaw so it clicked.

Agatha winced. “After yet another run-in with death, you’re still here. Guess my luck’s run dry for good. Will Lady Fortune ever be on my side?”

“Not if you don’t cease with the complaining,” he taunted, “If only I could stretch you beneath her wheel, but alas… I’m beholden to your dear friend.”

“Enough,” Sophie boomed as she slammed her hands on the glass table. The table shuddered, and the filigree bone china jittered as several serving dishes clinked together.

Agatha and Rafal swiveled to look at her.

“That’s it,” Sophie fumed, “I’ll put up with none of this infantile bickering while I’m present. You two must learn to cooperate. I know you don’t trust him, Agatha, darling, and admittedly, I don’t either, but I think he’s trying, at the very least, to be helpful, so be civil. The same goes for you as well, Rafal. At least try to look contrite. And remember: my say is final.”

All three fell silent for a moment.

"If you actually were wondering,” Rafal told Agatha, "The answer is Rhian. His face has haunted my dreams every night since he died.”

⸻

[Note: A lot comes to pass between these two scenes, so don’t expect them to be perfectly chronological. I just thought the shift could be fun to see.

And, this second section takes place earlier on in the plot by the way. We're nowhere near the climax with these two excerpts.

Also, watch what you think, Agatha. Some dreadful irony will come back to bite you, and everyone to be fair.

Oh, and did anyone catch the Shakespeare reference?]

Good's glass walls beamed back the moonlight like searchlights spilling from the columns. The walls were truly a spectacular sight, the mazes of halls all illuminated in silver.

Yet beauty and brilliant lighting do not the optimum conditions for breaking and entering make.

Every polished facet contained Agatha’s reflection, exposing her in her black robes. And, she was well-aware of this disadvantage, but she would never be able to slip away during the day, so night it was.

She rounded the bend and her spine prickled with the familiar sensation of being watched.

After her run-in with Professor Anemone, she now roamed the halls with much less fear. This time, she encountered a different petrified faculty member. Pollux.

She reached up and knocked lightly at the space between his eyes. Nearly soundlessly, it echoed, muffled by his thick-skulled, furred brow.

Just what she’d thought, he had nothing but a load of fluff in there. Agatha laughed to herself.

The labyrinthine glass breezeways, went winding and overlapping every which way, breathtaking in their complexity, but Agatha had discovered that no matter which corridor she turned into, the swathes of friezes lining the walls would direct her, pointing her in the same direction, hopefully the right direction.

The pearlescent friezes were inlaid with nacre, and they cast ribboned, iridescent rainbows when it was day. Though now, they gleamed a dim silver.

There they were, the figures frozen in motion, a goose girl’s tresses, a farm lad’s cap blown in the wind, trees doubled over, all bowing to the same current.

Certainly, they had been revised, but by whom?

All in one, singular direction they went, one after another in a sundry procession: fairy godmothers’ crystalline wands, soldiers’ spears, kings’ scepters, shamans’ pipes and tapering beards, Seers’ gazes, wizards’ staffs, fair maidens’ dismembered, white fingers, birds’ beaks, mermens’ tridents, agrarians’ pitchforks, crowds’ pennants, jousters’ lances, heraldic banners fluttering aloft, sylphs’ wispy tails, cupids’ arrows, and quixotic princes’ swords.

Agatha could not make heads or tails of these strange alterations to the scenes acting as her guides. They were most probably leading her to her final destination, as if they were conspiring to help her. But her theft would be a far cry from a Good Deed. It breached the Rules.

It was as if the School itself were supporting her theft from it. Or, could it be?

She stopped short.

And a prideful voice projected from somewhere sounded, reverberating through the glass-enclosed tunnel. “Move,” it told her with marked disdain and thinly veiled impatience.

It was coming from the walls, she concluded. Agatha looked about uneasily, thoroughly unsettled, and spun on her heels to face them. The carvings.

She stared intently at the wall closest to her.

A lean, cloaked prince was posed in the midst of slaying a serpentine creature that curled in on itself, swallowing its own tail. It was circular, made of a writhing mass of things.

Agatha shuddered involuntarily as she studied it. The beast’s scales resembled Japeth’s Scims a great deal. All snakes reminded her of Japeth these days. A wyrm, was it? No, it was an ouroboros.

And the prince’s banner, it was a gloomier, storm-cloud grey, silver like the Wish Fish. And it had a swan gracing it, an odd, obsidian piece of glass set into the frieze, looking darker than the rest of the banners. Still, it held gleams of iridescence. It was just duller and darker in finish than the other coats of arms. Almost, just almost, Evil’s banner.

The prince turned to her from his carved position, pointed his sword ahead and glared right at her. His swan crest blinked and seemed to glare down at her as well.

“Move, you imbecile,” said a cold, villainous, not particularly princely voice from the carved figure. “We don't have all night.”

Agatha stared dumbfounded.

"Yes, it's me,” Rafal’s voice seethed. “And I can't hold them frozen forever. So, go.”

Agatha stepped away from the wall, and proceeded down the last few lengths of the hall.

No, impossible. Rafal helping her was impossible, she thought breathlessly. Laughable. She was tempted to scoff, but held herself back since she didn’t want to take this one-time occurrence for granted.

Rafal. Of course. Always had to represent his own side, she supposed. The depraved madcap. Couldn’t masquerade as Good for a day, could he? If he had to be Good, he’d croak. She was sure of it. There wasn’t a single thing in these green Woods he could do to repent, help or no help. Not a thing.

He always had to be so maddeningly obvious about his darker, murderous instincts. His cold voice had been a dead giveaway. Even Sophie was subtler. And Sophie, subtle? No chance of it! He was just worse by comparison, that was all.

All the doom and gloom and the no-nonsense demeanor, it got tiring after a while. Christ, had she been like that before?

Agatha had masqueraded as a witch her whole life and look where it had gotten her. Just once, she wished she could see him beaten down and forced to act a harder role. Imagine, him, dealt a harder role to play. Like hers.

Had he ever been oppressed in his life? He was an oppressor! Well, Evil had been oppressed, but that was his own doing. He’d brought the curse upon himself by slaughtering his own brother!

You could do anything while Evil. But Good came with restrictions. The Nevers were freer, truly. They didn’t chastise bad manners and loud chewing. Well, Rafal seemed to, for Sophie’s sake. But Agatha knew most Nevers wouldn’t care a jot about tea party etiquette.

So long Rafal and thanks for all the help. I hope you wind up dead.

She had the urge to look back, but nevertheless, she turned away from the carved prince as he took up his sword and animatedly resumed fighting his battle with the ouroboros, blade clashing against scales, as if he were fighting his own violent rebirth.

Agatha was certain that this robbery wasn’t exactly the sort of cooperation Sophie had in mind, but it would have to do. It was the most they could muster up. And what did it matter now?

She gripped the crystal knob to Professor Dovey's office and turned it. Locked. Drat!

Then, she heard a clink and something pin-like skidded across the floor. The carved prince’s tiny sword.

She inserted it into the lock, and silently thanked Rafal. Maybe, he wasn’t so corrupt after all.

She tucked the sword into her pocket, and tentatively entered Professor Dovey’s office. She didn’t look back at the frieze, now converted into an ivory scene of bloodshed instead of victory. Nor did she catch sight of the tiny prince being disemboweled by the ouroboros, gutted through the gaps of the plating in his armor, leaking entrails, and succumbing to a theatrical “death” without his tiny sword.

The miniature black swan banner finally tipped and sank with a metallic clank, fluttering up like a flag of surrender before it settled on the ground.

After he was “killed,” Rafal exited the wall. A decent practice session in dying, he thought. Though it wasn't quite right. And being eviscerated wasn't a pleasant way to go, he found. He mentally crossed that method off his list.

The frieze reverted back to a prince frozen in the motion of slaying the ouroboros once again, banner branded with a white swan, as if Rafal had never been there at all.

[noblest-roman-of-them-all]

Childhood Trauma

It's been seventeen years since Thomas last saw his uncle. Seventeen years since he fled home in the dead of night, carrying only what he could fit into a couple of bags and ran away. Seventeen years since he was fifteen and cowering under his uncle's hand. And yet. And yet it's been like no time at all when he sees him sitting at that table in the restaurant.

This comes from my Safe Haven AU in which Nico's family runs a bed and breakfast that his father built to help runaways get back on their feet.

Nico jumped out of the way as Thomas rushed passed him, wide eyed and shaking. "Are you okay?" He asked, worried and followed behind him.

"I'm fine," he replied curtly.

"Hey-"

He jerked away when Nico caught his hand. "I said, I'm fine! Just leave me alone!"

Nico raised his hands and took a step back, shocked by his husband's outburst. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry-"

But Thomas was already walking away.

Nico sighed and continued making his way to the front on the restaurant. He stopped by where Janus was greeting incoming guests at the podium.

"Hey, have you seen Thomas?"

"Not in the last few minutes, he was on the floor. Do you want me to tell him your looking for him?"

"No, I just ran into him. He was pretty upset, but wouldn't say why. I was wondering if you saw something."

Janus shook his head. "No, I don't-" he stopped suddenly and pulled out his map of the tables and pointed at one. "I seated a couple here a few minutes ago. The guy looked a little similar to Thomas, maybe..." he shrugged, not wanting to finish the thought.

Nico nodded. "Maybe it's someone he knows. Thanks, Jan. I'll go check it out." He slipped into the back for a moment to pick up at least a notebook and pen, if only to feel like he was vaguely armed in some way. Truth be told, he didn't want to be doing this.

He could easily recall the day Thomas had shown up to the bed'n breakfast, bruised, hungry, and terrified. It was the first time he'd seen for himself why his dad had built this place. He'd known from a young age that it was a place for people running from bad situations, but he hadn't actually seen how bad things could be for himself until that day.

It had scared him.

He'd known that abusive people existed, he wasn't that sheltered. He knew they existed and he knew his grandfather had been one of them, it was the whole reason his dad had run away, it was the reason Safe Haven existed. But he hadn't really seen it until Thomas had shown up ready to collapse from exhaustion and sporting fresh bruises from his uncle's latest rampage against him.

The idea that the man who had abused his fiancée was in the restaurant was nothing short of terrifying to Nico and he couldn't begin to imagine how it made Thomas feel.

His heart pounded as he neared the table, he couldn't stall forever with checking in for show at the tables of regulars.

"Hi, I'm Nico, one of the managers. How's going ovdr here?" Janus had been right about the man holding some resemblance to Thomas.

"Everything is wonderful," the woman answered with a smile. "I'm glad we noticed this place as we were passing through."

"Oh, you're traveling?"

She nodded. "We're headed upstate to see some family."

"Well, I hope you have a lovely time. Is there anything else I can bring you folks?"

"I don't think so," the man answered, "but I was wondering if you guys had a Tom on staff here?"

Nico's heart stopped. "Uh, no, I don't believe so," he lied, shocked at how calm his voice sounded.

"Huh. One of the waiter's looked almost exactly like my nephew."

"What a coincidence!" Nico laughed nervously.

"It certainly would be considering he ran away when he was a kid," he answered, something hard and cold in his voice made Nico wonderful if he'd been convincing enough in his lie. "We actually tracked his phone here when it first happened, but the owners said they didn't have any guests by his name then either."

"Oh. I- I'm sorry to hear that," Nico offered, unsure what else he could say.

The man waved him off. "We all make our own choices. I really thought that was him though. Wishful thinking, I suppose. Aaanyway, I think we're ready for the check and to head up to the room for the evening."

Nico gripped his notebook, trying to keep his hands from shaking. "Of course," he nodded. "I'll let your waiter know and then we can get you settled."

Nico walked back to Janus, pale and shaking.

"Oh no."

Nico glanced up and nodded. "They want their check and then they're going to check into their room," he explained. Nico rubbed his forehead and pushed his hands though his hair. "Of all the times for my parents to be on vacation..."

"We'll figure it out," Janus encouraged. "I'll take care of the table, you grab Logan and Elliot and find Thomas."

---

"Anything?" Logan asked as he met up with Nico in the corridor.

"No. He left his phone in our room too," Nico replied. "I don't think he'd take off completely without it, but... I don't know."

"What's going on?" Remus asked as he strode up to the pair with Elliot.

"Thomas's uncle is here," Nico told him, "the one he ran away from. We can't find him anywhere and it's starting to worry me."

"We'll find him," Remus assured. "Have you checked for missing keys? Maybe he ducked into one of the empty rooms."

"You're a genius," Nico declared as he rushed off.

---

Thomas jumped at the light tapping on the door, he stared wide-eyed and heart pounding, as if waiting for it to burst in of it's own accord.

"Room service," Nico's voice called softly from the other side as he had done so many years ago.

He pushed himself off the floor and marched stiffly to the door. "How did you find me?" he questioned.

"I checked the registry for booked rooms, then cut out reseverved rooms, and looked for the missing keys."

Thomas nodded and stepped aside, allowing Nico to push in the cart.

"Are you-"

"I saw my uncle. He was in the restaurant."

"I know-"

"He saw me too."

"I know. We told him you weren't here. He asked about you, we told him you weren't here. That there was no one here by that name. Just like we would for anyone else."

Thomas nodded and took a step back when Nico reached for him. Nico mirrored his action.

"You're always allowed to say 'no' to me," Nico reminded him. "Do you want me stay here with you tonight or do you need some space?"

Thomas swallowed and shook his head. "I just need some space," he mumbled.

Nico nodded. "Okay. That's okay. We're all here for you," he reminded gently. "Your aunt and uncle booked for the night, they're in 14 downstairs."

Thomas nodded, looking like he was about to burst into tears and it took everything Nico had not to pull him into his arms.

"I'll let you know when they leave, okay?"

Thomas just nodded this time.

"Are you okay?"

"I just...want to go to bed. I'll- I'll talk to you in the morning."

Nico nodded. "Okay. I love you."

"Love you too," Thomas replied stiffly.

Nico's chest ached as he walked from the room, leaving his fiancée behind. He wanted nothing more than to hold his love close, hidden away, till he felt safe again. Wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and sit in their room, locked and secure, and hold him till the threat passed.

He felt sick knowing that how ever scared he felt, Thomas was even more afraid. Felt guilty at leaving him behind, alone in that room, with no comfort. It may have been what Thomas said he wanted, but it still didn't sit right in Nico's heart to leave him like that.

But it was what he had asked for and Nico would respect that.

Thomas bolted the door behind Nico and almost immediately hit the ground, trying to stifle the sob buidling in his chest. In that moment, it felt like years of therapy and coping mechanisms fell away. Nothing would help, nothing would keep him safe expect to stay hidden from his uncle and to avoid Nico as much as possible.

It would be bad enough if his uncle found him, it would be far worse if he saw the two of them together.

It was only for the night. In the morning, he would be safe.

---

Thomas sneaked downstairs with practiced ease, taking great care to avoid the spots he knew would creak loudly under his feet and sticking close to the walls as possible.

He had to see for himself if they were gone. He could have just called to ask, but it wouldn't be enough. He needed to see the documentation that they were gone, needed to see the empty room, needed to make sure they were not hidden in the restaurant or any other common area of the inn.

He made it as far as the base of the stairs before he realized his mistake.

He was frozen, suddenly only fifteen again as his uncle stormed up to him, demanding to know what the hell was the matter with him, who he thought he was for abandoning his family.

"I'm sorry," he gasped around the tears that ran down his face.

"Oh, you're 'sorry'," he sneered, stepping forward.

Thomas stepped back. "I-" The words died in his throat, cut off by a strangled whimper that escaped him when a hand struck him across the face.

"You're a coward is what you are. Not even enough of man to look me in the eye and apologize properly. You always were an ungrateful brat, I guess something's never change, do they? Shame you ran away before I sent you off. I should'a dragged your ass out of here the first time I found you. Maybe then you'd be a real man."

Nico glanced up at the sudden commotion from across the common room. He cursed under his breath when he saw one of the guests had Thomas all but pinned to a wall.

He rushed forward and found Remus at his side.

"I'll take care of the clown, you get Thomas out of here," he spoke quietly to Nico. Before Nico could respond Remus grabbed the man by the shoulder and, in one fluid motion, spun him around and pinned him to the wall.

"Hi," he said with a faux cheeriness that boardered on scary, "I'm the manager on shift. Do you have a fucking problem with my staff?"

"That's my nephew-"

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Tell you what, why don't you go pack your bags and get the hell out."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, the only other thing I can offer is for you to leave without your shit and we can donate it a local charity for you."

"Get your hands off me and let me talk to my nephew!" He fumed.

Remus nodded, understandingly. "Out the door it is then." He dragged the man by the shoulder to the door and pushed him outside. "Have the rest of your day," he said politely and shut the door, quickly locking it as well.

He turned to find Remy standing there with Thomas's aunt.

"Do you feel safe going home with that man?" Remus asked, his tone now serious. "Do you need us to call anyone for you?"

She gaped at him. "Young man, what exactly are you trying to imply?"

"I'm not implying anything," Remus answered. "I know exactly what he did and why Thomas ran away when he was younger. So I'm asking you again, do you feel safe with him?"

"That is my husband! Of course he's safe and I don't appreciate the implication otherwise!"

Remus nodded. "Alright, then you can get the fuck out too."

"I beg your pardon?"

Remy turned to the woman and shoved the suitecases into her arms. "Welp! You heard my manager, out the door you go!"

Remus opened the door and ushered the woman out, his eerie cheerful smile coming back to his face. "Thanks for staying with us, don't ever come back again."

Remy waved from behind him. "G.T.F.O, Tata for good."

Remus locked the door once more then slumped forward against it with a heavy sigh.

"You good?"

Remus nodded, taking a slow breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

"Cool. That was actually hot as hell. But, uh, you look like you're gonna pass out, so let's get you sitting down, okay?"

Remus blinked then broke into laughter that quickly devolved into near hyperventilating. "Ohhh holy fuck what did I just do?"

Remy quickly took his arm, trying to support him enough to get him to a chair. "You threw out a couple of whackjobs like a total badass. Trust me, Josue is not gonna care. You were protecting Thomas. You did the right thing, Remus."

---

"I'm fine, I'm fine-" Thomas writhed away from Nico as the door closed behind them. "I said, I'm fine!"

"Alright." Nico raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I'm sorry." He stepped back and watched Thomas sink down one of the walls, burying his face in his hands. Nico sat beside him without actually touching him. "You're safe," he offered, but Thomas shook his head.

"He knows where I am."

"And he can't do anything about that," Nico reminded. "You're not sixteen anymore, babe. He can't make you go anywhere you don't want to."

Thomas laughed bitterly and pushed his hair back. "Yeah, try telling that to my anxiety."

Nico offered his hand, but Thomas shook his head, shrinking in on himself slightly, and he pulled away.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't think so," Thomas answered. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Nico soothed. "I want to help if I can, but...I understand if that's not possible."

"I just need time."

"I understand."

[lieutenanthowell]

ACT I, chapter i, STORY BEAT - Introductions

He wasn't late. Just arriving no earlier, at all, than was remotely acceptable. Because he didn't want to fucking be there. It was nothing more malicious than that. Guin could read a goddamn site map. Could keep himself fed, watered, laundered, caffeinated. When a need arose, he'd hunt down whatever was on the other end of it. Point was, given back the who-knows-how-long this whole affair turned out to be, he'd figure out some better way to spend the time. Wouldn't be hard.

Still, low as his expectations were, Chi-00 managed worse. Ankle-shattering, really. He'd swayed to a stop just inside the door, his scan of the small, settling crowd fixing once, twice. Christ. So. That's how it was. That's just how it was gonna be.

Well. Spared him figuring out a few texts, anyway. Didn't it? No. Not really. He'd never been one for silver linings. That shit was always thin as tinfoil, when you really looked at it.

So he sat. At the back. Nearest the door. Easy to see everything he might need to, from there. Easy to leave, first, after however these my-dumbass-callsign-is-s were done with. Not that it mattered too much, in his case; what the hell could a codename really do for him? Hardly any of his life at all was on record. At least, outside the Foundation itself. And the closest thing he had to connections, people to keep compartmentalized away from all this - if he'd been the kind of moron who figured he could pull that off, which he never was - were here. Or dead. Or gone.

The get-to-know-yous dragged on for a little longer, out there; Guin, he'd set his combat boots flat on the floor and closed his eyes. Against the simmering fluorescent lights, all these eyes he did and didn't know. Didn't do dick for the noise, of course, echoing off the glassy walls of this too-small room. Couldn't close them out, either. Both of them, the last two people he - Christ. Both of them. Vera, with that loved-thin green jacket slung over the chair next to her. Like she was waiting for someone. That someone they'd been waiting for, ever since that night in the snow. And Nadia, wound tighter than any steel trap. Could see that grip she had on herself working all the way up her arms, caught between her teeth, the lock of her jaw.

He'd seen them. They'd seen him. And they'd all have a goddamn year locked into this, to - do their jobs. Together. Again. Shit.

He could do that. Sure. He could do this, too. Wasn't even any microphone in hand, onstage crap. Guin stayed put as the first impressions kicked off, tracking the room's interest from person to person. His own ticked to each face in turn, then away, as he listened to everybody storm or stumble through their introductions. Then - then all that attention settled on his shoulders. He didn't stand. Just spread his hands. Present. Accounted for. "I'm, ah - Dying Breed. Apparently." Which was funny, seeing as... he had something like a laugh about it, anyway. Only vaguely like a laugh. "All you need to know is: I'll do whatever I can to get you out of any trouble you're in. That'll be the case even if I don't like you much. And if all you are is pieces, then - same goes. I'll get something of you home, if I can." He side-slid his jaw, feeling the tug of that still-newish scar, tight. His stare had found the analog clock tick-ticking on the wall; it glared back, like there was something else he was supposed to say, or do, but... God, there was always something. Wasn't there? That's what all that debriefing always came down to, right? That there was always something you should've done different. Would've, could've.

His cut-up cheek twitched - snarl-like, a glimpse of teeth to it - as he lipped a cigarette out of the pack he'd fished from his tac pants. "But chances are you won't hear shit from me until we're in the field in any kind of way. Or unless this place goes to hell." Guin scuffed the low knuckle of his thumb across and around the socket of his left eye, squinting as he considered his matchbook. "So - until then. Uh..." Another toss of his hands, a half-shake of his head. "Watch out." On that dead-flat note, he rocked out of his chair. "Taking a fifteen, boss," he rasped, flicking a loose salute in the general direction of their new commander, presumably. Then he did precisely that.

[chubfeather]

Fireheart x Morningflower AU Drabble

The old "what if I ship THIS rarepair as a joke?" but as per usual I get attached to said rarepair. Anyways. Here's some very scrambled `1 am thoughts.

I'll do something more concrete after I reread tpb again cause since Morningflower isn't a major character, somethings are blurry!

This is also a "Fireheart goes to Windclan" AU but its AFTER he's become a warrior of Thunderclan. Mostly because I thought it would be fun and also because I think it would be the most likely scenario for a Fire/Morning ship to work.

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

-In this AU, Fireheart fails to convince Bluestar that Tigerclaw is a threat. He's exiled, but finds refuge in Windclan [I think Jake tells Tallstar something about Fireheart at the end of Tallstar's revenge so that but its taken further]. Tallstar is more then happy to take in Fireheart when he both saved his clan and was talked about by his old mate [Tallstar/Jake is canon you can't tell me otherwise]. Tallstar almost sees Fireheart as a kit he never had.

-Kind of a take on what happens if one of starclan's prophecys fail cause they never do that and its lame [I'm only caught up to dawn of the clans so if they have done that afterwards my bad]. Since Bluestar doesn't end up trusting Fireheart's instincts "Fire alone can save our clan" doesn't pan out!!!

-Obviously this has a lot of implications when it comes to the main plot of tpb but I just like changing things to see where I would make them end up. Stuff like if Tigerclaw killed Bluestar, what happens to Yellowfang, what happens to Graystripe and Riverclan and Bloodclan, how Fireheart might be considered a traitor by other clans and how much Windclan would/wouldn't accept him. etc. lol. Big AU for tiny ship.

-Probably going to either fill in some windclan warriors or take a realllll close look at the allegiances between books because so few are actually listed in the first series.

-Not sure exactly when I want Fireheart's exile to take place- I think I would place it somewhere between Graystripe leaving for Riverclan and Tigerstar's murder attempt on Bluestar, but I'll think on that.

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

-Anyways onto the actual Fire/morning stuff.

-Other then talking at gatherings about how Gorsepaw is doing, the two don't really get romantic until after Fireheart joins Windclan. Originally on my main art blog I thought it would be funny if Fireheart was sneaking out to see Morningflower in the same vein Graystripe does with Silverstream, but I think that's too repetitive and a bit out of character for Fireheart [he's seen sneaking out and breaking the warrior code plenty sure, but he's also seen to be a complete goofball when it comes to romance]

-Fireheart acts as a sort of surrogate father for Gorsepaw [who lives in this au]. More father figures in Warriors please. [Pretty sure Morningflower's canon mate is Cloudrunner which is WILD becuase Cloudrunner was a moorunner warrior when Tallstar was a kit and Tallstar was Morningflower's mentor?????? What I'm saying is he's old as hell. I don't thin he's in TPB so I'm just assuming he's dead or generally ignoring his existence for now] Gorsepaw would absolutely adore having Fireheart in windclan

-Onestar and Fireheart being brother in laws is cute and they won't have the same kind of falling out if Fireheart is in windclan [Idk if Fireheart would ever become leader of windclan but hey. Question for another day]. Don't ask me about Ashfoot. I forgor what she's like

-I mostly like this ship because I like the thought of Fireheart being the one who comforted Morningflower in what was probably one of the darkest moments of her life!!! and also that Morningflower is such an underutilized character, with her retiring [rather early, i think she's brother's with Onewhisker?] to the elder's den after she feels like she avenged her son, but the way she fought so fiercely to do so always makes her stand out in my mind : (

-With how protective Fireheart is over Sandstorm in the last few books of tpb I think he would absolutely do the same for Morningflower and his adopted son.

-I have many doodles planned and will expand on this as I think of stuff haha. Will have to make some stuff up for Morningflower seeing as she doesn't appear in the books often.

[fakesmilesallaround]

𝐭𝐰𝐨

WILLOW SAT ON A PIPE ON THE ROOFTOP, cradling her baby. She took the cloth that she had used to secure the baby and covered her up along with the left side of her chest. As a first time mom, she still isn't quite comfortable breastfeeding in front of others, but it was about time her little one needed it.

Rick and the others stood, eyeing the streets and the large number of the dead that walked upon them.

"It's up to us to find a way out." Rick said, looking back at everyone.

Merle grunted. "Good luck with that. These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear. Ain't that right, sugar tits?" He grinned disgustingly at Willow. She scoffed and ignored his crude comment. "Hey, honey bunch, what say you get me out of these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies? We gonna die anyway."

She glanced over at him, pathetically on the ground and still cuffed to the metal bar. "I'd rather."

Glenn, who sat further down the pipe, let a subtle smirk play at his lips.

"What about under the streets, the sewers?" Rick asked Morales who's eyes lit up.

"Hey Glenn, check the alley. See any manhole covers?"

Glenn ran over to the back side of the building and quickly checked before returning. "No, must be all out on the street where the geeks are."

"Maybe not." Everyone's attention turned towards Jacqui. "Old building like this built in to '20s, big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding. Down in the subbasements."

"How do you know that?" Willow asked, Glenn nodding in agreement.

"It's my job-" Jacqui shook her head. "Was. I worked in the city zoning office."

"Let's go check it out then." Rick stated, heading towards the stairs, everyone following behind shortly after.

"Don't forget to come back for me darlin'." Merle winked at Willow as she covered up and wrapped her baby again.

"Wouldn't be at the top of my priority list." She scoffed, heading down the stairs.

-

The room they entered was dim and dusty and smelled of horrid mold. On the right side of the room, a massive hole with a ladder caught everyone's attention. The drainage tunnel that Jacqui was talking about.

"This is it? You sure?" Morales asked, shining his flashlight down into the tunnel.

"I really scoped this place out. This is the only thing in the building that goes down." Glenn responded, swallowing hard. "But I've never gone down it. Who'd want to, right?"

As he said that, everyone looked at him, as if they were all saying the same thing. From the look on his face, he received the message loud and clear.

"Oh. Great." His eyes fluttered back to the dark tunnel.

Willow felt bad for the group sending him down. "We'll be right behind you." She approached Glenn's side.

"No, you won't. Not you." His voice sounded frustrated. "You're carrying a baby around, and the last thing we need is a baby without a mother."

Willow eyed him for a minute but nodded.

"Look, until now I always came here by myself, in and out, grab a few things no problem." The group listened intently. "The first time I bring a group, everything goes to hell. No offense. If you want me to go down the gnarly hole, fine. But only if we do it my way."

Rick nodded.

"It's tight down there. If I run into something and have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one person."

Right as Rick was about to say something, Glenn beat him to it. "Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were out in that store watching those doors covering our ass. Andrea, you have the only other gun so you should go with him." He pointed to the blonde before pointing to Morales. "You be my wingman. Jacqui and Willow stays here. If something happens, yell down to us, get us back up here in a hurry." Glenn took a deep breath after rambling.

"Okay. Everybody knows their jobs." Rick patted Glenn on the back before he placed his flashlight in his mouth, descending the ladder with Morales. After the two of them had began walking the tunnel, Andrea and Rick retreated to the store, leaving Jacqui and Willow in the old room.

"What's her name?" Jacqui asked, eyeing Willow and her baby tenderly.

"Sienna." Willow responded, rocking her baby back and forth.

"May I?" Jacqui approached them, holding her arms out. Willow took a small step back, eyeing the woman. She still didn't know if she could trust them all yet. Being in a group wasn't exactly Willow's plan or intent, and it takes her a while to warm up to people, but that was then. The world has gone to shit, and running into any living being was a rarity now. She figured now more than ever she'd have to learn to trust others.

Willow nodded, gently placing Sienna into Jacqui's arms, the woman's face immediately lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Hi sweetie." She said gently to the baby she cradled. "She's got your eyes." Jacqui said, smiling up at Willow.

She did have her eyes. Warm, doe-like hazel eyes. She thanked God that she did. They made looking at that baby that much easier.

"Do you have any of your own?" Willow asked, trying to ease her way into getting to know these people.

The woman shook her head. "Wasn't able to have children."

Willow's face fell. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Jacqui shook it off. "Don't be. Never knew if motherhood would be right for me, anyways." She looked back down at Sienna who was now grabbing her index finger in her little hands and let out a small laugh. "Though this little one makes me think otherwise."

The grunts of the two that ventured to the drainage tunnel pulled them out of conversation as they climbed out of the hole. Before any questions could be asked, glass shattering could be heard from the room over, causing the four of them to run and follow it.

Upon entering the store, Rick and Andrea stood in front of the doors. The first set had been broken, the dead walking through and beginning their assault on the last set. Jacqui quickly handed Sienna back to Willow as they all stood in fear.

"What did you find down there?" Rick asked, pistol at the ready.

"Not a way out." Morales replied, out of breath.

"We need to find a way." Andrea said in desperation.

The pounding and growling grew louder as more of the dead began to pile at the doors.

The group made their way back to the rooftop to check the streets in hopes they had cleared, but the head count was just as high as before.

Rick looked through binoculars before passing them down to the others. "That construction site, those trucks- they always keep keys on hand.

"You'll never make it past the walkers." Morales responded immediately, eyeing the hundreds below them.

Rick took a step back, looking at Glenn. "You got me out of that tank."

"Yeah, but they were feeding. They were distracted." Glenn pulled away from the ledge.

"Can we distract them again?" Rick asked.

A voice from behind them chimed in. "Right. Listen to him, he's onto something'. A diversion, like on "Hogan's Heroes"

"God, give it a rest." Jacqui said towards Merle.

"Maybe we can send him down there as our distraction." Willow said in annoyance, pointing at Merle, earning a glare from him.

"They're drawn by sound, right?"

"Right, like dogs." Glenn answered Rick. "They hear a sound, they come."

"What else?" Rick pushed. Willow didn't know much about Rick, but it seemed that he was still acclimating to the new world.

"Aside from they hear you, they see you, they smell you, and if they catch you, they eat you."

"They can tell us by smell?" Rick asked, stirring up an idea in his head.

"Can't you? They smell dead, we don't." Willow glanced over the edge of the roof again. "It's pretty distinct."

With no more conversation, Rick let out a sigh.

-

"If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold." Glenn muttered, grabbing some rubber gloves.

"Just take some time to think this through." Morales pressed on towards Rick.

"How much time? They already got through one set of doors." Rick responded, still gathering gloves and jackets for everyone.

"He's right. Those glass doors won't hold forever." Willow said, eyeing the group.

Morales, Glenn and Rick went out the door and collected one of the dead walkers they had killed earlier to let them inside, dragging it into the room. The group stood around the body, the putrid smell burning their noses. Rick knelt down, patting the dead man's pockets, pulling out an old wallet that sat in them.

"Wayne Dunlap." He said, pulling out the man's ID. "Georgia license."

Willow felt a pang in her stomach. She, too, isn't acclimated to this new world. Seeing the once alive now dead but walking around the streets, she can't help but imagine who they were before the world went to shit. With each walker she killed, she still felt a slight sense of guilt, but she knew that in order to keep her and her daughter alive, eventually she would have to push that guilt to the side.

Rick grabbed the fire axe that was once encased in glass and raised it behind him, crashing it down into the man's abdomen. The group flinched back in disgust and horror as thick dark blood sprayed the room. He kept swinging more and more until the man's insides were easily accessible. Using their gloved hands, they gathered the mush that was left of the insides and began to spread it heavily on Glenn and Rick's jackets. Willow and Andrea stepped away for a second to gather themselves as the air in the room became tainted and foul.

"If we make it back, be ready." Rick said sternly to the group.

"What about Merle Dixon." T-Dog asked the question no one else wanted to ask. Rick slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out a small metal key, tossing it to T-Dog.

-

The rest of the group watched over the edge of the roof, Morales peering through the binoculars in hopes to spot Glenn and Rick. It took a while to spot them in a sea of walkers.

"There!" Morales exclaimed, pointing down to a street across from their building, but their attention was turned towards the sky as dark clouds moved and covered the sun with a loud grumble of thunder following it.

Willow felt a drop of rain splash onto her hand, before another and more. She ripped off her jacket and draped it over Sienna on her chest.

"Oh man." Morales said, as he too felt the rain that was coming.

Everyone glanced over the road, following Glenn and Rick. So far, the dead were still mindlessly walking, but as the rain came down harder and harder, they could see the walkers starting to become entertained by the two of them. Within a blink of an eye, Rick's axe was plunged into the head of a walker that showed too much interest in him, only to fuel the energy and hunger of the others surrounding them. The two took off into a sprint, smashing their weapons into the heads of anything that got in their way. They finally got to a chain linked fence, throwing their weapons over before climbing it, just barely getting over before the walkers were gripping the metal.

Willow let out a breath of relief, but Andrea shot it down fast. "Don't relax yet. The plan isn't over."

Sure enough, as the two climbed into the truck, the fence broke down, hundreds of walkers trampling over it and towards their vehicle.

"They're leaving us." Andrea said in shock.

"What?" Willow grabbed the binoculars from Morales, holding them up to her eyes. The Ferenc truck crashed down another fence, heading down a street beyond their view. She took a step back, handing the binoculars back to Morales. Her mind filled with worry and fear with an 'I told you so.' She felt foolish to put even an ounce of trust into those people.

But she was wrong.

"Those roll-up doors at the front of the store facing the street- meet us there and be ready." Glenn's voice spoke through the device Morales held.

They all stumbled back, desperately grabbing their bags and belongings.

"Come on, let's go, let's go!" Morales yelled, quickening his pace towards the steps.

Willow followed quickly, hearing Merle scream behind her. "Hey, you can't leave me here! I'm not fooling' man!"

The group was halfway down the stairs, everyone but T-Dog.

"T-Dog, come on!" Willow screamed up to him, hoping he could hear. Her feet didn't stop moving, carrying herself down with the rest of them to the doors Glenn had spoken about. More glass cracking and shattering was heard from the store, everyone's hearts beating a thousand beats a minute. Willow stood beside Andrea and Jacqui, bouncing Sienna as she began to cry.

"Come on T." Morales said impatiently.

The group grabbed the chains that would hoist open the door, listening to a car alarm blaring past the building.

"What is that?" Andrea questioned, hands still ready to pull.

Suddenly, more glass shattered, only this time the moans and groans of the walkers could be heard much clearer. Willow turned towards the entrance to the garage, T-Dog flying through it with his bags. "They're here, let's go!" He yelled, as walkers started to slowly pile through the door.

A loud bang was heard on the garage door, signaling the group to start raising it. Willow glanced behind her as everyone started throwing their bags into the truck, hopping in. She held her knife in front of her tightly, raising it and stabbing it into one of the dead's temples, allowing more time for the group to get in.

"Willow, come on!" Andrea yelled back at her.

Willow turned, throwing her things inside the truck as well, jumping in, just barely missing the hands of a walker. Morales quickly untied the ropes that held the truck door up, slamming it closed as Rick began to drive.

Everyone sat on the flat of the truck, gasping and sweating at how quick everything was before turning their attention to T-Dog. He sat against the passenger seat, holding his side, panting. "I dropped the damn key."

They stared at him in silence, not knowing what to say, but Andrea spoke to eliminate the silence.

"Where's Glenn?"

Rick wiped his forehead. "Got him a car to distract the walkers away from the garage. He'll be meeting us there."

"Where exactly is that?" Willow spoke out, untying Sienna's carrier.

"You'll see." Morales spoke before turning ahead to face the road.

-

Word count: 2,442

[bechloeislegit]

UNDERCOVER BELLA - Chapter 10

The detectives gathered around Chloe as she stood before Lily and Jessica.

"Detectives," Lily said, addressing the group. "The lab has completed DNA and fingerprint testing on most of the items we retrieved from Chicago Walp's apartment." Lily picked up one report and read from it. "Three of the knives we collected are definitely murder weapons. We even found some DNA from-"

"Chicago Walp?" Chloe asked.

"Let me finish," Lily said. "And then you can ask questions."

"Sorry," Chloe said.

"So, Walp's our killer?" Beca said.

"Yes and no," Lily said. "Let me fin-"

"What?" Chloe asked. "Either he is, or he isn't."

Lily sighed and said, "He is, but he had help." She then looked from Chloe to Beca. "May I continue without interruption now?" They both nodded. "Good. Where was I? Oh, right. We found Chicago Walp and Luke Daniels' DNA under the handle of one of the knives and both their fingerprints on the handles of all three."

"Sheesh, did this guy ever wash his knives?" Stacie mumbled.

"Luke did say that Chicago was his best friend," Beca said. "Wouldn't it stand to reason that Luke's prints would be found around Chicgo's apartment?"

"It would," Lily said. "But finding his blood under the knife handle would be harder to explain away."

"Holy shit!" Jesse exclaimed. "Are you saying we have two serial killers? Working together?"

"I'm not saying that," Lily said, "the evidence is. And since Walp is dead, Luke Daniels' DNA and fingerprints on the knives, along with his prints we found on the box of blouses, should be enough for the DA to charge him with murder. But this." Jessica handed Lily a folder. Lily held it out to Chloe. "This will put the final nail in Luke Daniels' coffin. These are copies, but the originals have both Walp's and Daniels' fingerprints on them."

Chloe took the folder and opened it to find several photos of the murder victims; some showed them alive, working the streets, shopping, and even driving down the street. In others, they were deceased.

"They stalked them before killing them?" Chloe asked, somewhat stunned.

"Yes, I believe they did," Lily said. "Near the bottom of the stack, you'll find selfies of them; I believe they each took a photo with the women they themselves killed."

Chloe grabbed some photos from the back and looked at them.

"Chicago Walp is in this one," Chloe said, showing the photo to Beca. "Looks like he killed Lori Junk, Emily's sister."

"This is going to kill her," Beca said. "I'll have to tell her about this."

"Yeah, but this time you can tell her we got the guy who killed her sister," Stacie said. "That should give her some solace over Walp being dead."

"Who knew that not only would we find Barden's first ever serial killer," Jesse said. "But there would be two of them."

"Lily, could we get a copy of everything you have?" Chloe said. "Since we already have Luke in custody, we need to get the DA to amend the charges against him to include murder and keep him in jail."

"We need to do it quickly," Jesse said, checking his watch. "Luke has a bail hearing in about an hour."

"No problem," Lily said, handing Chloe several folders. "Take these. It is a copy of everything we just showed you. We'll courier over the originals so the DA will have them for trial."

"Thank you!" Chloe said. "Come on, guys, I have to brief the Captain so she can call the DA before Luke's bail hearing."

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

As soon as they exited the elevator, Chloe went to the Captain's office while the rest of the team went to the bullpen. Bumper and Denise looked up from their desks when the others entered.

"Hey, Swanson," Bumper called out. "What's with all the messages about a missing murder witness?"

"We were going over all the incident reports on the murders that resembled ours," Jesse said. "On the one you and Denise caught, we found a notation about a witness but nothing else about it. We were wondering if one of you made a note of the witness's name in your personal notes."

"I didn't," Bumper said, shrugging. "I didn't believe it was relevant."

"How is a witness to a murder not relevant?" Stacie asked.

"Don't worry, Stacie," Denise said. "I wrote the name down and interviewed him."

Bumper glared at Denise. "I told you we didn't need to talk to him because he was spouting off nonsense."

"I disagreed with your assessment and interviewed him anyway," Denise said. "I also had that info in my report I gave to you. Why would you leave it out?"

"Because it wasn't relevant," Bumper said, getting agitated.

"That really wasn't your call to make," Beca said. "Was it?"

"Denise, can you send me your notes?" Jesse asked. "We already know who the killer, or should I say killers are, and your notes will go into the case file."

"I still have a copy of the original report I wrote up," Denise said. "Wait! Did you say killers? As in plural?"

Jesse smiled and nodded. "Yep."

"Wow," Denise said, typing on her computer. "There. I sent my report to your email."

"Thanks," Jesse said.

Seconds later, Jesse received the notification that he had a new email. He opened the report and started reading.

"Oh, my god," Jesse said. "The description this guy gave Denise is spot on for Luke Daniels."

Benji looked at Jesse, saying, "If there was ever any doubt before-"

"We have a problem!" Chloe called out as she rushed into the bullpen. "Luke Daniels has already made bail and is out."

"I thought he wasn't scheduled for a bail hearing for another hour," Jesse said.

"Somebody had other plans, and he was taken early," Chloe said. "And, even though he's charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer, a low bail was set for him."

"Who bailed him out?" Benji asked.

"My money is on his mother, Sheila Mitchell," Beca said.

"Mitchell?" Denise said, looking at Beca. "Is she related to you?"

"Stepmother," Beca said. "Which makes Luke my stepbrother."

"Beca's right," Chloe said. "It was Sheila Mitchell. And, since we have probable cause, the DA got us an arrest warrant for Luke Daniels. She also got a judge to sign off on a search warrant. So, we need to have someone go to Luke's apartment to execute the search warrant and arrest him."

"Benji and I will do it," Stacie said.

"Beca, I'd like you and Jesse to go with them," Chloe said. Beca scoffed, and Chloe added, "It was the captain's idea, and she gave approval for you to go help with the search. We need to get him back behind bars quickly so he can't hurt anyone else."

"I don't know, Chloe," Beca said quietly so only Chloe could hear. "After what he did to you last night, I can't promise he won't fall down some stairs or run into a wall if I'm there. He was most likely looking for me when he took you. I couldn't live with myself if he had really hurt you last night."

Chloe pulled Beca to her and whispered, "I love you for that, but I really need your help on this."

"Chloe," Beca said as she pulled back from Chloe.

Beca started to say something more but stopped when she saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Sheila?" Beca said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to turn myself in," Sheila said.

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

"I don't know, Dad," Beca said into the phone. "She showed up here and said she was turning herself in. We've been stalling as long as we can before someone starts interrogating her. You should get a lawyer and get down here as fast as you can before Sheila says anything."

Beca looked at Chloe and nodded.

"Okay, Dad," Beca said. "We'll see you in a bit."

Beca ended the call, and Chloe pulled her into her arms.

"My dad will be here with a lawyer as soon as he can," Beca whispered into Chloe's ear.

"Okay," Chloe said. "We have to start questioning Sheila soon, or the captain's going to take over. I'm going to have Stacie and Benji interrogate her."

"I understand," Beca said. "I'd rather she talk to you, but since Luke is charged with assault against you, that's not wise. Do you think I can have a minute to tell her my dad is on the way?"

"I think that will be fine," Chloe said. "Go do it now; I'll let Stacie know."

"Thank you," Beca said, pecking Chloe on the lips.

"Stacie," Chloe called out. "May I speak with you and Benji for a moment?"

Beca rushed off to where Sheila was waiting. She burst into the room, startling the older woman.

"Beca, you shouldn't be here," Sheila said.

"Neither should you," Beca said. "Detectives Conrad and Applebaum will be here in five minutes. I just wanted to tell you that Dad is on his way with a lawyer. Don't say anything until they get here, okay?"

"But I'm guilt-"

"No! Don't say anything to me about why you're here," Beca said forcefully. "I'll bring Dad to you when he gets here. Now, promise me you won't say anything until the lawyer gets here."

Sheila stares at Beca but doesn't say anything.

"Promise me!" Beca said.

"Okay," Sheila said as tears stung her eyes. "But first, I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"I'm the one who told Luke about you shooting Chicago Walp," Sheila said. "I told him what Chicago did and why you shot him. He grew irate and started yelling about you murdering him. He continued yelling about getting you back for murdering his best friend. After a few minutes, I thought I had him calmed down, and he understood what had happened. He left shortly after."

"You told him I shot him in self-defense, right?"

"Of course I did," Sheila said, wiping a tear from her eye. She sighed and shook her head. "I should have warned you he was coming."

"What you did is not a reason to turn yourself in," Beca said, chuckling lightly. "It's okay, Sheila."

"That's not why I'm turning myself in," Sheila said. "I'm doing it because I-"

"Stop," Beca said quickly. "Don't tell me; wait for your lawyer and tell Stacie and Benji."

"Okay," Sheila said.

"I have to go now," Beca said, pulling Sheila into a quick hug. "I'll help you with whatever it is you think you've done."

"Thank you," Sheila said as Beca pulled away and left the room.

Chloe, Stacie, and Benji were coming down the hall as Beca was closing the door.

"Is Sheila okay?" Chloe asked.

"She's a bit upset right now," Beca said. "She told Luke about me shooting Walp, and he didn't take it well. He also didn't believe her when she told him I did it in self-defense. She tried to tell me more, but I wouldn't let her. And, I, um, told her not to say anything to you until my dad got here with a lawyer."

Chloe smiled. "I wouldn't expect you to tell her anything less," she said. "Stacie, you two should get in there. I'll be watching from the observation room. Beca will bring Dr. Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell's lawyer back when they get here, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Stacie said, following Benji into the interrogation room.

"Beca, you should go wait out front for your dad," Chloe said before entering the observation room."

"Okay," Beca said and left Chloe.

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

Twenty minutes later, Beca was pacing in the lobby, waiting for her dad and Sheila's lawyer.

"Beca!" Warren Mitchell called out as soon as he saw her.

Beca rushed over to her father and hugged him.

"I told Sheila not to say anything until her lawyer got here," Beca mumbled into her father's chest.

"Excellent advice, Detective Mitchell," the woman standing off to her father's side said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gail McFadden, Sheila Mitchell's attorney. Would you know where we can find her?"

"Um, yeah," Beca said, pulling back from her father. "Follow me, and I'll take you to her."

"Lead the way," Warren said.

As the trio rounded the corner to the interrogation room, Stacie and Benji were leading Sheila out in handcuffs. Chloe exited the observation room and stopped.

"Chloe, what the hell?" Beca said.

"I'm sorry, Beca," Chloe said. "Sheila insisted we arrest her."

"She's right, Beca," Stacie said. "Despite us telling her to wait, Sheila insisted on confessing to helping Luke leave the country. I'm not sure what charges she'll face, but we had to do our due diligence and act on the confession."

Beca and her father were stunned.

"Sheila?" Warren said, pulling his wife into his arms.

Warren stood holding Sheila as she cried on his shoulder.

"Can I speak with Sheila and my dad before you take her for processing?" Beca asked. "Not as a detective, but as their daughter."

"If I may, I'd like to sit in on that," Miss McFadden said.

"I think that's a good idea," Chloe said, leading Sheila back toward the interrogation room. "You guys can talk in here. Stacie, you and Benji wait out here with me while Mrs. Mitchell is speaking with her lawyer."

The two detectives nodded and moved a few feet down the hall.

Warren and Gail entered the room behind Chloe and Sheila. As Beca moved to enter, Chloe grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door; she hugged Beca and then pulled back to look her in the eye.

"I am sorry we had to arrest Sheila," Chloe said. "Stacie tried to tell her to wait for her lawyer, but Sheila insisted on telling them how she helped Luke leave the country to avoid going to jail for the assault. Sheila didn't tell them where he went. Stacie told her that additional charges were being brought against Luke, but not what they were. I think you should tell her about that."

"I will," Beca said. "I love you."

"I know," Chloe said, smiling. "I love you, too."

Beca quickly kissed Chloe and slipped into the room.

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

After Beca told Sheila about the evidence they found and lodging additional murder charges against Luke, Sheila started crying and dropped her head in her hands.

"Oh, my God, what have I done?" Sheila cried. "I believed Luke when he said the whole thing with Chloe was a misunderstanding. And now you tell me he's a murderer?"

"Sheila, we know you didn't know about the murder charges when you agreed to help Luke leave the country," Beca said. "That should also go in your favor, shouldn't it, Ms. McFadden?"

"That depends on what judge we get," Gail said. "The murder charges against Luke just kicked this up a notch. Sheila will probably get a slap on the wrist unless the judge decides to make an example of her. He may hold her in contempt and put her in jail until she tells them where Luke went."

"Sheila, for what it's worth, I'll speak on your behalf before the judge; I think Chloe will do the same."

"Thank you," Sheila said, sobbing loudly now.

Warren held Sheila as she cried.

"Detective, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with my client privately," Gail said.

"Of course," Beca said, standing. "Sheila, I really am sorry about Luke."

Sheila nodded.

"Thank you, Beca," Warren said as Beca left the room.

"Okay," Gail said. "Let's talk about your defense."

Beca came out the door, and Stacie, Benji, and Chloe looked at her.

"Can you give them some time?" Beca asked. "Sheila's lawyer wanted to speak with her."

"I think we could all use some coffee," Chloe said, taking Beca's hand. "Come on, you guys, I'm buying."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Stacie said, following Beca and Chloe.

"Are you okay?" Chloe whispered to Beca as they walked out to the coffee cart.

"I'm okay," Beca said. "I just wish there was something I could do to help Sheila. She was devastated at hearing what we had against Luke on the murders. The lawyer said a judge could hold her in contempt and put her in jail if she didn't tell them where he went. I told her I would speak on her behalf if she needed me; I included you in that, too. I hope that wasn't out of line."

"It's fine," Chloe said. "I'll do whatever I can."

"I think I speak for all the Mitchells when I say we appreciate that," Beca said, smiling at Chloe.

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

Beca lightly knocked on the captain's door and entered when she heard, "Come in."

"You wanted to see me, captain?"

"Yes, Mitchell," Captain Adams said. "Release Mrs. Mitchell. The DA is not pressing charges."

"Seriously?" Beca asked.

"Seriously," Captain Adams said with a smile.

"May I tell her?" Beca asked, moving toward the door.

"Yes, but before you go," Captain Adams said. "Do you know where Luke Daniels flew off to?"

"No, ma'am," Beca said. "I guess Sheila knows, but she didn't tell me."

"Okay," Captain Adams said. "The DA is working with the Justice Department to put his name on a no-fly list. If he comes back to the U.S., he will be arrested. You should let his mother know that."

"I will," Beca said. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Dismissed, detective," Captain Adams said, smiling.

Beca nodded and rushed out the door. She ran into Chloe as she was hurrying to the interrogation room, where Sheila was speaking with her lawyer.

"Slow down, Beca," Chloe said, grabbing Beca's arm and chuckling. "What's going on?"

"Sheila is being released," Beca said, smiling. "The DA is not pressing charges against her."

Chloe pulled Beca to her and kissed her.

"That's great news, babe," Chloe said. "Would you mind if I went with you to tell her?"

"Let's go," Beca said, grabbing Chloe's hand.

Beca didn't bother knocking when they reached the room Sheila was in.

"Excuse me," Gail said when Beca burst through the door. "We're still-"

"You're free to go, Sheila," Beca blurted, smiling at Sheila. "The DA has declined to press charges against you."

"Seriously?" Warren asked.

"Yeah," Beca said, looking at her father and nodding.

Chloe moved past Beca and over to Sheila.

"I'll get those cuffs off you," Chloe said, holding up a key. "And then, as Beca said, you're free to go."

"Thank you," Sheila said, standing.

"Before you leave, I have to ask if you know where Luke went," Beca said.

"He said it would be best if I didn't know," Sheila said, shaking her head.

"You might want to let him know that if he returns to the U.S. for any reason, he will be arrested for murder," Beca said.

"I understand," Sheila said. "And I'm sorry for all the trouble he's caused."

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

A couple of hours later, everything had settled down at the station. Chloe and her team finished finalizing all the reports and made sure all their evidence had been logged in.

"I think we need to go out and celebrate solving our first-ever serial murder case," Stacie said to the group.

"That's a great idea," Jesse said. "Pizza and beers at Antonio's?"

"I'm in, " Stacie said.

"Me, too," Benji added.

"I'll buy the first round of beers," Chloe said. "How about you, Beca? You coming?"

"I'll meet you there in a bit," Beca said. "I want to talk to Emily Junk and her mother so I can tell them we know who killed Lori Junk."

"Did you want someone to go with you?" Chloe asked.

"No, I'm good," Beca said. "Save me a seat, and I'll join you in about forty minutes."

"Okay," Chloe said, quickly kissing Beca.

Beca left to go to the hospital. A few minutes later, the rest of the detectives left the station to go to Antonio's.

~~ Undercover Bella ~~

The team was sipping their beers and waiting for their pizzas when Beca came strolling in with Aubrey.

"Brey!" Chloe squealed as she jumped up and rushed over to greet her. "When did they let you out? Wait; the doctors released you, right? You didn't just leave on your own?"

"The doctor released me," Aubrey said, laughing. "Beca came in just as I was about to call you for a ride."

"Emily Junk had been released earlier today, so I went to see Posen," Beca said. "She said she had been given the okay to leave by the doctor, so I invited her to join us in celebrating."

Chloe took Beca and Aubrey's hands and led them to the table.

"Here, Sarge," Jesse called out. "This seat is empty. The pizzas should be here any minute."

"Thank you, Jesse," Aubrey said, sitting. "I hope someone ordered the Hawaiian."

"Chloe and I did," Stacie said.

"I hope someone ordered at least one pepperoni," Beca said, sitting next to Chloe.

"I made sure we did," Chloe said.

"Thank you," Beca said, kissing Chloe's cheek.

"So, Mitchell," Benji said, looking across the table at Beca. "What's your story?"

"My story?"

"Yeah," Benji said. "Why did you leave your old station? There are a number of rumors flying around about it, but I want to hear it from you."

"I've been waiting to hear your story, too," Chloe whispered to Beca. "But you don't have to say anything now if you don't want to."

"I know," Beca whispered, kissing Chloe's cheek again. She then cleared her throat and said, "I crossed the thin blue line and ratted out some officers for stealing money during a big drug bust. They wanted me to take a cut, and I wouldn't do it. When the guys whose money it was found out, they went after them. The bad cops figured no one could touch them because they had the support of everyone. I was called into IAD and accused of taking the money. They had no evidence to prove it, and they took the word of three of the officers who told them it happened. I insisted we watch the footage from all the body cams from that day, but they couldn't find any of the footage from me or anyone else. It had somehow been lost."

"Damn," Stacie said. "It sounds like they were really out to get you."

"That's not even the worst of it," Aubrey said. "The captain told me the official story, and Beca did exactly what any good cop should do; she helped get some bad cops off the streets."

"Yeah, but three of our guys died because of it," Beca said. "I should have just kept my mouth shut."

"No, you shouldn't have. You did the right thing, and none of what happened to any of them was your fault, Beca," Chloe said, rubbing Beca's back. "Those guys did that to themselves."

"Funny how nobody else sees it that way," Beca mumbled.

"Chloe's right, Beca," Aubrey said. "The captain also told me that when things quieted down a bit, most of those guys went back to their corrupt ways and became liabilities to the gang they were working for. Higher-ups at HQ had been investigating the cops and knew you were telling the truth. A secret operation was planned to catch them working with the gangs. When they went after them, there was a gunfight, and three of the bad cops were killed by the gang members. Afterward, one of the gang members told detectives that they had planned to get rid of the cops because they were afraid they were undercover and would tell everything about their operations. Nothing about that says those cops' deaths is on you."

"Sarge is right, Beca," Stacie said. "You did what others should have done. You should be proud of yourself."

Beca sighed and stood. "I need beer and lots of it."

Beca left the table in search of a waitress. Chloe jumped up and went after Beca. She caught up to her as Beca was telling their waitress, "Two more pitchers for our table, please."

"I'll bring those right over," the waitress said and walked away.

"Hey," Chloe said quietly, causing Beca to look at her.

"I know I shouldn't drink too much, but I feel-"

Beca sighed again; Chloe took Beca in her arms.

"Don't worry about it," Chloe said, pulling back and smiling at Beca. "I was just going to offer myself as your designated driver so you could drink however much you want."

"I love you," Beca said, kissing Chloe.

"I love you, too," Chloe mumbled against Beca's lips.

Chloe put her hand behind Beca's neck and held Beca to her as she deepened the kiss. Beca pulled back from the kiss, blushing as she heard their table yelling and cheering as they watched them. Chloe pulled Beca back into another kiss.

They pulled apart, smiling when Jesse called out, "Get over here, you two. Pizza's here."

Chloe gave Beca another quick peck on the lips. They walked hand-in-hand back to their table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: This is the last of the regular chapters. Epilogue coming soon.

I want to add a special thank you to @anotherbechloeshipper for being my Beta. She is awesome!

[shortandslytherin]

The Fake Gryffindor - Neville Longbottom x Y/N Malfoy (Part 1)

Summary: The reader finds herself caught up in a web of lies when she accidentally is mistaken for a Gryffindor. Soon she finds herself covering up lies for Draco and her family but she might just have a few secrets of her own.

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, light angst? (Probably more like hurt/comfort), Y/N lies a lot, and a curse word or two.

Notes: Y/N is Draco's twin. Y/N will have she/her pronouns. She's obviously going to look like Draco but occasionally will change that. In the occasions when she changes that I'll use (h/c) or (e/c). If you are blonde or have blue eyes just use whatever colors you'd like. I'll also use (Y/N/N) which means your nickname but that will make more sense later on.

I proofread this myself like four times but never asked anyone else to proofread. I'm sorry if this has any errors in it, just let me know and I'll fix them.

You were deeply madly in love....with Neville Longbottom. You knew your family would never approve. He was not only a Gryffindor but also a blood traitor. But probably the worst of it was he was the son of Alice and Frank Longbottom. But had you just broken his heart? You knew your family wouldn't accept him but after everything you thought he maybe he'd accept you. You often asked yourself how the tiny affair all began and the answer is quite simple really. It all began from an inopportune duel between Draco and Harry in the corridor.

September 1995

It was common knowledge that the Malfoy Twins could almost always be found together. Sure, you had different friends but you'd always be found together like two peas in a pod. However, this common knowledge seemed to be lost on Harry Potter. "MALFOY!!!" He screeched as he ran down the hall and you both turned around. "I know you sabotaged Neville." Before either of you could say anything a jinx was being thrown your brother's way. Draco pulled out his wand and shot a jinx. All you could think was. "Where were all the professors at time like this?!" You heard both boys shoot another spell and they bounced off each other. One staining your robes the sickly colors of Gryffindor and the other causing Ron Weasley to sneeze bats. You were angry until you saw Ron then you could only laugh. When the Golden Trio walked away, you looked to your twin. "How do I fix this?" He shrugged in response. "I'm not sure...I think a switching spell? I'm struggling with that one." You gave him an annoyed look. He continues. "We don't have time to find a professor to help. But you can't be caught dead in that." He pointed his wand to your hair. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Colovaria." He spoke the word that changed the color of your robes and now your hair was (h/c).

"Oh, do my eyes too. I kind of think the stormy-grey blue won't go good with anything but our platinum blonde." You rambled and your brother rolled his eyes then pointed his wand to your eyes. "Colovaria." Now your eyes were (e/c) but soon enough this would need to be fixed and you'd look like a Malfoy again.

So Draco Malfoy walked alongside his sister towards nearest stairwell so they could get to lunch. To the untrained eye he was spending time with a Gryffindor but there were some who would know the truth just by their interactions. Neville Longbottom wasn't one of those people. He was rushing out of the potions classroom after a long lecture from Snape about blowing up his cauldron. His eyes were filled with tears. How could they not be? Snape was literally his boggart and you were fully prepared yell him to watch where he was going. But two things stopped you. One, you were pretty sure he had no clue who you were. Two, he was already in a frenzy from whatever your godfather said. “I’m so so so sorry!” Neville quickly apologized and you found yourself dumbstruck. He continued speaking. “Are you okay??” Neville quickly scans his eyes over you just to make sure. Neville Longbottom actually for the first time seemed like a person. Had you just thought differently because of your twin's perception of the chubby teen? "Umm...I'm fine." You looked more at Draco than Neville as if saying that you could take care of it. Draco shrugged and left; which left you alone with Neville. "Oh. So you aren't hurt? Sorry! Sorry!" Neville's cheeks turned bright red. You gave him a reassuring smile. You were no fool. You knew how he actually felt about you and your brother. But still you felt the need to comfort him. "You should calm down a little. Are you doing okay? You look a little freaked out." You tilt head to the side in questioning of his well being. Neville let out a deep breath. "No, I'm not okay. I just had a terrible class with Professor Snape!" You nod in understanding. You were in that class and Draco did indeed sabotage Neville's potion. But in all honesty, it probably would have blown up anyway because his potions partner was Seamus Finnigan. You were well aware that both boys were forced to stay after class. You didn't really know much more than that; except that you bumped into a seemingly distraught Neville. He turned his face away out of embarrassment shook his head at situation. Clearly, he was embarrassed of his fear. You felt an overwhelming amount of pity for him but you wanted to comfort him anyways. "Don't fret, I've got thick skin. You didn't hurt me." You reassure him again before quickly thinking on your toes in what you should say. "Yeah I saw that...I mean kind of. I left class when he'd asked you and Finnigan to stay back. No point in sticking around to listen Snape yell longer than I have to." He looks at you oddly so you just keep talking. "I just mean I was in potions just now. I can't say I'm surprised since it happens all the time. He yells at everyone. You don't have to be embarrassed about it." There seems to be a little nod of agreement at this and you remember something you've always hated. "You could be like Draco or Y/N and only be his favorite student because you're his godchild. Or you could be yourself and know that all you can do is your best." The way Snape picked his favorites sounded like nepotism and that's the only reason you hated it. It wasn't nepotism. You were actually always getting Os in Potions but it just sounded as such. Neville, however, seemed to be upset by your words of comfort. "I always try my best but it's never enough! He hates me!" He shook his head as a few tears fell down his cheeks. "Why does he hate me? Why? Did I do something to him?"

You were taken back by the reaction. You were a Malfoy. Malfoys didn't really do well with emotions. They were usually packed up on a shelf and never heard of again. Isn't that why Draco dated Pansy though? So he could feel...something? You knew you had to say something. "You didn't do anything." You glanced around real quick to make sure no one is listening before continuing "Listen, I shouldn't really say anything bad about him because he's...well you know. But I can't stand here and see one of the few people I actually think deserve respect cry so I'll be honest with you." You paused at your own words. Since when did you think Neville Longbottom deserved respect? It didn't matter. Shelf it. You continued on. "You didn't do anything wrong, Professor Snape is just a bitter old man. Don't let him get you down. Prove him wrong." Neville's sad expression turns into a determined look. The tears running down his cheeks were quickly wiped away by himself. "Y-you're right. You're totally right. The next time he insults me, I'm not going to let it affect me! I'm going to prove him wrong!" Neville says, sounding much more confident than how he usually is. The boost in Neville's confidence makes you smile brightly. "That's the spirit. You should put the same spirit in for anyone who insults you. You shouldn't let the opinions of others hurt you so much. Especially when they aren't true." Neville chuckles in response. "Thanks, I'll try. It's always easier to give advice than to accept it." You know he's right so you just offer a tiny shrug. But you didn't know his next words would feel like acid on your skin until you heard them. "I always get picked on at school. People call me names, laugh at my mistakes, make fun of me. It's horrible. It's always easier to believe those things than to believe I'm worthy." You find yourself trying to fix the past four years mistakes in one speech. "Well then don't believe what's easiest. Believe what the sorting hat already knows. The sorting hat is never wrong, you know? So if the sorting hat is never wrong then I believe it's in you, you just gotta believe it too." You smile again before giving a light laugh. "Well I should head off to find my friends so we can go to lunch. Hey, I'm not saying that you have to but if you want to when everyone is in the Great Hall for dinner, wanna come watch the sunset with me? It's my favorite time of day." Neville can't help but smile. "Yeah for sure. I'd love to watch the sunset with you. I didn't catch your name though." Neville's confidence is back again. You grin at him. "Because I didn't throw it. If you actually show up tonight, I'll tell you it. Bye, Longbottom." He says goodbye as well and heads off to The Great Hall. As soon as he's out of sight, you rush off to Slytherin Common room where you'd planned to hide out until you get help fixing Harry Potter's mess.

When lunch was over, you found your godfather in his office and explained the situation. "You're both fools." He said monotonously. "It's a simple color changing spell. Same spell that caused the problem." He did the coloring changing spell to everything effected then sent you off to class. You looked like Y/N Malfoy again. But as for feeling like yourself, you didn't. You talked to Neville Longbottom without an hostility laced into your voice. It's a strange feeling. A feeling that had you dragging your feet through the halls of the castle. "Did anyone see the girl with Neville?" A voice asks from an empty classroom so you peak in. Dean Thomas must have asked because he has a curious look on his face. "Nah, Mate. But he seems to be in a much better mood since talking to her. He said she didn't give her name." Seamus confesses. "What house was she from? Because that narrows it down." Ron asks and your heartbeat picks up. They're talking about you. Neville told his friends about you. Hermione shrugs. "I think he'd told Harry she was a Gryffindor." Then the conversation shifts to 'Where is Harry anyways?' so you walk away. You just wanted to cheer Neville up. You invited him to watch the sunset with you because it's a nice thing to do. You didn't think he'd tell his friends about you. Oh, you were so screwed it wasn't funny. You have to talk to Draco during your next class. You just felt so lucky that your next class was Charms. You were pretty decent at Charms. You could half listen to Flitwick and still pass your O.W.L.s at the end of the school year.

You walked into class and dropped down aggressively next to your twin. You rolled your eyes at his confused cronies and even more confused girlfriend. "Crabbe...Goyle, get lost. Go sit with Nott or Zabini. I can't stand deal with any more idiots than I already have today." Goyle seems taken back by your tone. "Fuck, you're moody." Then the two rushed off before you could lash out at them. "Pansy, I'm sorry but I really need to talk to Draco about something private. Can you sit somewhere else? You can have him all to yourself the rest of the day. I swear I'll keep Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber away from you both." You negotiated like Draco wasn't sitting right there. "Deal." The other Slytherin girl replied; before she bounded off to sit and gossip with Daphne Greengrass. "Aren't you glad I sent her away?" You joked and Draco rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" You made a face. "Well....I made a snap decision and it may have been a bad one. And now I think I need your advice." Draco rolls his eyes. "Oh Merlin, what did you do?"

"That's the thing I felt an obligation to cheer up Longbottom."

"Why? It's just Longbottom. He can't even use his own wand right."

"Well for starters, I bumped into him and he apologized. He was already crying because of our Godfather. Our aunt drove his parents mad. Need I go on?" You give Draco an annoyed expression.

"No, continue."

"So I cheered him up...but then suddenly he was all upset again talking about how he's bullied all the time...it kinda made me feel bad."

"What did you do?'

"I invited him to watch the sunset with me. But I didn't tell him who I am."

"What were you going to do tell him when he showed up?" He chuckles and then suddenly stops. "Wait... seriously? That's a horrible plan." You nodded in agreement. "Especially now that I've heard all his friends talking about this Gryffindor girl that Neville mentioned and wouldn't you know he met her today, doesn't know her name, and she lifted his spirits." You relay to your brother and he raises an eyebrow at you. "So it's simple. Give him one night of whatever it is he needs from this little Gryffindor version of you then disappear off the face of the planet." You nod. "I can do that."

After all the classes for the day ended, there was free time which you spent on reading. Shortly before it was time for dinner, you've changed into a warm sweater and a pair of jeans so you can stand the cool night air. However, the coloring changing spell has been used on your eyes and on your hair. You walk through the corridors of the school and make your way out of the building and sit next to black lake. All that you can do now is look at the sky and hope for the best. You even find yourself mumbling. "I hope he gets here before it starts to set."

A couple minutes later, you hear someone walk up behind you and stop next to you. "Beautiful, isn't it?" The person, you recognize it to be Neville, asks softly. He's looking at the sun which has only just begun to set. "I've always loved sunsets, they always make you think of where you are and where you're going." You think about how insightful that is as to who he is as a person. Then you remember why you came to love sunsets, you and Draco would watch them when you were small kids. "Yeah I love sunsets...they remind me there's beauty even in a world plagued by darkness. I think my brother and I really needed that growing up." You confess without giving anything away. "I wish more people appreciated them or at least simple things like it." Neville gives a soft and warm smile. "Yeah I agree. People take the small things for granted. The sunsets, the little moments in life. Those are the things that are most special in life. It helps remind you to live in the moment." You turn and look at him with a soft smile. You suddenly wonder if it'll break his heart to do what Draco said. You sigh at that thought you can't break his heart after everything your family, yourself included, has already done to him. You can just date him until the spark dies, right? But then again he never claimed to be in love with you. And of course your mind settles on Draco's plan. You plant a kiss on his cheek and resting your head on his shoulder A soft, comfortable silence hangs over the two.

For a second, you don't even realize that silence is coming from the fact he's surprised at the affectionate gesture. But by the time you're ready to move away and apologize for your actions, he's smiling back at you and hugging you close. You feel guilty that you're lying to him but you have to give him your name at some point. "My name is (Y/N/N)....(L/N)." You mutter. "A beautiful sunset, with a beautiful person. What more can you ask for?" He asks, kissing the top of your head. The guilt in your chest grows "You're so sweet if either us is a beautiful person. It's you. I have to admit something embarrassing. I spent my whole day thinking about meeting you here because cheering you up made me feel.... different. But then when the time finally came I thought you wouldn't show up. I'm glad you did." Your face turns red in embarrassment that you actually cared if you were stood up by a Gryffindor's running punchline. Neville smiles at you with a blush on his face. "I can't lie, I was kinda the same I was worried you might not show either. You're super nice, pretty, smart and funny. You could obviously spend time with anyone. Why me?" He responded.

At that moment there was only two questions you asked yourself. Neither question had an answer. "Do I feel bad for Neville Longbottom? Why would I?" You finally found your voice after a long pause and laughed slightly. "Well I'm here and I'm not disappointed. I'm enjoying the company and the sunset." But you didn't feel the need to respond to all the attributes Neville claimed you had. It would just be hurtful to lie about how nice you were or what kind of humor you had. But you did feel terrible everytime you made him laugh. "I'm definitely not complaining about your company." Was he flirting? That should be a good thing, right? But it just made you want to trip him in the halls because where's that confidence when he needs to stand up himself? How could he flirt with a stranger but not stand up against his bullies? However, you'd never tripped him before and you wouldn't start now. In fact, you usually just repeated whatever nonsense Draco said.... often feeling guilty for it. Unless it was The Golden Trio, you never felt guilty about making fun of them. But just for today, you'd laugh along with him. Which is how you found yourself laughing and looking at him in shock. "I don't believe you are the same boy who just this morning was crying because Professor Snape was being a grade A twat. You sound so confident." You laugh some more. Neville smiles softly. "He just makes me so upset because I feel like people are always against me. I've just always been dealing with people making fun of me and being rude to me so I guess I just had to get it out." He lets out a small sigh and gives you a hug. You feel guilty when he gives you another reminder of how terrible you are to him. But even still, you offer a smile. "I'll never be against you especially if you continue to be this sweet. I think people treat you unfairly because you're a little clumsy and a little awkward. But being perfect is overrated. You're perfect by being yourself." You tell him but it's just you paraphrasing something your mother once told you. You continue on paraphrasing your mother. "And remember people like Snape don't define your worth. You do." It's honestly good advice that when you were thirteen you didn't want to hear. Who wants to hear that they are treated unfairly because of their own flaws? And then to make it worse told that they were perfect with the flaws everyone hated? You still thought it sounded silly but knew Narcissa Malfoy was rarely wrong. "And honestly I think you're worth more than Snape's opinion or anyone else's opinion. What's your opinion of yourself? And don't go with the easiest answer." You add with a bit of curiosity. Neville thinks deep about your question. He looks down at his shoes for a moment. He sighs. "Honestly, I don't have the best opinion of myself. People have always picked on me and put me down and I've gotten to the point where I just agree with their opinions of me. I know I should change that but it's hard sometimes. Do you really think I'm perfect by being myself?"

You mull over how to answer such a loaded question. No one was perfect. You knew that so the answer was no. But your Godfather, truth be told, terrified you. Maybe not as much as he scared Neville but certainly he did. You lived in a constant fear that the smallest slip up would mean direct owl to your parents and your fear of letting them down was all too real. So you decided maybe you should share another little piece of yourself with Neville. "Honestly, what I think is if the roles were reversed and I bumped into you this morning after being bullied by Snape I would have cried. Just bumping into you would have broke me. I wouldn't have held in whatever I was feeling in order to check if you were okay. But you checked on me, multiple times, before you let your own feelings out. Which makes you stronger and probably braver than I'll ever be." Neville's eyes light up, "I just always try to be kind to other people or at least not rude like some other people I know." His words stab you in the chest but he doesn't seem to notice as continues. "It's just a part of who I am, I guess." He looks back up at the sky. You seem to find yourself wanting to stay this pretend version of yourself and look at the sunset as well. "I hope this sunset never ends. You know....we could stay up just a little bit past curfew. It will be okay as long as no prefects or teachers catch us sneaking back in..." Neville's eyes light up with fear. "Are you sure that's not against the rules?" He asks with a his entire demeanor changing. You laugh a little. "Oh it's most definitely against the rules." You say; your eyes dancing with amusement at his fearful demeanor. Your Slytherin roots definitely showing as you continued. "But that doesn't mean it isn't worth the risk." You add but frown when you see he doesn't seem up for it. You decide to fix your mistake. "Well...maybe we shouldn't stay out too late. We still do have classes tomorrow. I don't want you falling asleep in Professor Snape's class and getting in trouble." He gets up and offers you a hand to help you up. "Just for that last comment, you get the honor of holding my hand while we walk back." He smiles sweetly at you. You feel something in you become disappointed as the last few minutes of the sunlight disappear behind the trees. You take his hand in yours as you get up. "Well then I'm honored to hold your hand. It's sad the sunset couldn't last forever." His hand feels is soft and warm; almost familiar. You also notice his hand is a little clammy, it seems he might be a little nervous. "Do you think we'd be able to be able to have a long term friendship?" You nervously bite your lip at your own question. His face grows into a huge smile and he looks you in the eyes. "Are you kidding me me? Of course!" He says, his voice being slightly shaky and quiet. He smiles nervously but he's obviously happy. You smile nervously, because of your very Slytherin secret, in return even though your tone of voice is happy. "I'm happy it's a yes. I don't know what I would have said if it was a no." He gives a soft laugh "Well, as long as you said something it'd be okay because it'd mean you're talking to me, which is something I would like." He says softly. "But let's not worry about that now. I feel like this is the start of great friendship."

Friends with Neville Longbottom....how bizarre... You sigh happily "Well, I guess you're ready to hear that I'm never comfortable with people so it's really weird and embarrassing for me to feel like I trust you." He frowns as you speak but by the end of your confession, he smiles. "I trust you, too. I mean, I can't believe I'm saying this. The most beautiful girl in Gryffindor wants to be my friend and now she says she feels comfortable around me? My jaw is literally on the floor." He laughs and the fact you're not actually a Gryffindor burns in your throat. "Only most beautiful in Gryffindor, huh? Who's the most beautiful in the school then? I'm not jealous, just curious." You raise your eyebrow. His eyes go wide at your question and he stammers in response. "How can there be someone more beautiful then you? That's impossible. It's you, it's you without a doubt." He blushes when he realizes he's rambling. "You're just... perfect." He whispers and you laugh a little at him. "I'm not perfect and I actually find enjoyment in knowing I'm not perfect." You notice that the two of suddenly fall into a rather comfortable silence as you walk back to the castle. You don't even mind when you two stop in the greenhouse so Neville could go in the greenhouse and check on a few plants he'd been helping Sprout maintain. Your mind is waterlogged with thoughts of how you can possibly approach him as yourself now...and the answer is you can't. You can't even bully him anymore. You'd made a promise that you would never be against him.

You don't even realize as the portrait of The Fat Lady opens. You've just been trying your best to ignore getting caught by Flinch or a prefect. You suppose it'd be terrible if a professor caught you but you knew that you weren't yourself so who would go to your detention? You actually weren't too stressed about a prefect either; unless it was Draco. Draco knew you'd been with Neville. But the other prefects would just take the points from Gryffindor. You feel the overwhelming need to say something. "Maybe I will see in classes tomorrow. I don't really know your class schedule." You squeeze his hand gently as a goodbye. He nods as he listens to you. "That would be awesome! If we have classes together, I'll be sure to say hello." You in a silent confirmation of the plans that can never come to pass. You feel happy that he enjoys your company but you know he'd feel different if he knew who you are. You look around the Gryffindor common room with mild interest. After a moment, you cringe at red that surrounds you and the window that looks out to the sky. It's too home-y. You're used to the home that is the Slytherin common room. You love green aesthetic and the desolate lake that you stare out into through the windows. "Wow...we made it back to the common room already." You mutter but it's more out of distaste than wonder. He nods. "Yeah, we did get back pretty fast. Do you wanna head on up the stairs or would you like to spend more time just talking a bit?" He tilts his head as he says it. You're anxious to get out of the Gryffindor common room. "We both should get to bed. It's getting late. I'll see you in the morning." He nods and then whispers. "Yeah, I'll see you in the morning." As soon as he's up the stairs and on his way to his dorm, you rush out of that godforsaken common room. Thankful everything can go back to normal. "Okay now I just have to make it back to the Slytherin common room without being caught..." You mumble with a little sigh. But even as you reversed the color changing charm, you knew things would never be normal. You wanted to be Y/N/N L/N because she could keep promises that Y/N Malfoy couldn't....

[vvyvernicus]

So now that Fionna and Cake has officially ended and possibly won't get a second season, I've decided I'll make a small post about a character that's lived in my mind for a while. This of course has major spoilers for OG Adventure Time, so read at your own risk.

It takes place way back, before the Mushroom War even began. There is a woman in her mid twenties who works a dead end job in a cafe. It's not the most exciting job in the world, but it pays the bills. Specifically the loans she took out so that her comatose young sister can stay in hospital care. She knows that she can never pay them back, but works hard regardless.

But her life is not entirely gloomy. After all, there's that regular who comes to the cafe. He's a little dorky, always wearing these round black glasses and a bowtie. But there was just something so captivating when he talked, like he could make the most complicated topic sound easy and fun to understand. It wouldn't be far fetched to say his visits made her day.

She finally decides to confess and... he's brought his fiancee. She didn't know he had a fiancee, but that's cool. Her name is Betty. They're very good for each other and she can see that since now they both come together. She's happy for them and moves on with her life. As best as she can, it's a little hard to tell your brain to just stop liking someone immediately.

Then they both just stop showing up to the cafe. At first she thinks that they must have gone on another expedition together, since they had told her stories of their previous endeavors. But it had been months now. Eventually she has to tell herself that they aren't coming back. The country is now in shambles and it's only a matter until— bombs fell.

The world gets swarmed with nuclear radiation that mutates whatever it touches. She is of course caught in the blast while taking shelter in the cafe. Her body starts to mutate while she's unconscious. However when she wakes up she still looks... normal. Unlike the world around her which looks like a zombie apocalypse. She sees other people's bodies which have turned into grotesque slime creatures.

Of course, she immediately gets the hell away from them as she makes her way to the hospital. Her little sister had to be alive still. After all, she was. Her little sister was too pure to turn into one of those creatures. Oh. The hospital was destroyed. Completely crushed by the rubble.

It's fine. She's probably still alive right? If the rubble was just removed. She'll be okay. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's not fine. Oh shit, they're coming this way.

The city she lived in was now swarming with those mutated slime monsters. She couldn't stay there anymore, it just wasn't safe. So she did what people do in those post apocalyptic shows and gathered as much supplies as she could into a backpack. Maybe she'd return to the city again once those monsters had dispersed or decreased in number. For now she just needed to get the hell out of there. Find somewhere safe, anywhere safe.

Weeks go by. This world seems to scare her out more and more as time goes by. Where is everyone else? She's not truly the last person alive, is she? Panic attacks become a more regular occurrence. The strange feelings in her body don't seem to help with them either.

While scavenging at the city's outskirts, she hears a child's scream. Not hearing a human sound in days, she rushes to the source. It's a girl with bluish skin—not human, but close to being attacked by those creatures. She cautiously approaches before the slime monster gets turned to ice.

She sees another blue skinned humanoid with long white hair and a beard. He's wearing this crown thing on his head. The girl immediately yells at him for putting it on and he takes it off and apologizes to her. For the first non slime mutants she had seen since this apocalypse began, she was intrigued. She got a little closer to observe them while keeping a safe distance.

No, she recognizes this outfit he's wearing. And those glasses he's wearing, but he's missing that little bowtie. Simon?! It's him, but different. Was he changed by the bombs too? She had to go over and see—

Shit. What's happening?! Why was her body changing all of a sudden? Why was she changing into this beast!?

Oh crap they see her now. Only now that she's transformed. God, they are terrified. She must look so scary to them. Run. That's all she can do. She can't let them see her like this.

She runs for what feels like weeks. Just running in that non human form. Sometimes she wants to change back, but it feels safer to be like this. Though, eventually she does when she reaches an area she wants to scavenge that is too small for that bestial form. But afterwards, she finds her body transforming right back.

Life goes on like this for months. She finds that she has control over this new power. But in a world that's become overwhelmed with danger, she finds security in that bigger, stronger body. She saw her reflection once in a pond. It reminded her of a nine tailed fox, but with many more eyes and much more terrifying.

She finally locates this elusive island of surviving humans. And she's sure that they are human since she's carefully observed them for a while. But she knows that she can't join them. After all, she's no longer a human herself. Even if she can morph her body to look like her old self, she can't say she's still human. And these humans are terrified of mutants. So she leaves to find her own place in this new world.

Years seem to be passing, but she never feels herself growing older. The mutants have become more sentient now and some even seem to be evolving. She still keeps her distance from them. She wasn't ready to trust anything yet. Her scavenging hobby still persisted as she kept looking for ways to hold onto the past.

Eventually she settled into this abandoned theme park. Using her beast form was easy to claim it as her lair and scare off anything that dared enter. Now she had a proper place to store her relics. With a few centuries of cleaning and polish, this place would turn into a real home. She even took a crack at this new magic stuff to set up a barrier to close it off to everyone else in the world.

Though there was something to be said about loneliness. She could never really connect with the less hostile variants that sprung up from the ashes of the world she once lived in. Her body could shapeshift into something of a mix between beast and her old human body shape. Especially since humans were apparently delicious, she couldn't walk around freely in her old body. But never once could she really connect with any of these new beings.

Her deep diving excavations of lost human technology eventually leads her to a snowy area. The ice and snow was a pain to dig through, even using her stronger body, but she was able to find a lot of good findings. At least until the self proclaimed ruler of these parts came over to complain to her. He calls himself the Ice King. Oh right, she's heard of him before. He's the weirdo who kidnaps the princesses of the lands.

Despite this, she remains respectful and offers to make a bargain. She'll continue digging stuff up, but allowing him to have whatever it is she finds and she takes the leftovers. Somehow he agrees with this. Huh, she didn't expect that. She was just going to keep digging regardless, but it was always nice to have permission.

Finding more human relics was always fun. Even if she already had dozens of old laptops, it was fun to keep building up her collection. The Ice King seemed unusually interested in her excavations to her surprise. Since she started digging, he'd frequently pop by to check on her. Sometimes it was like he forgot who she was, but once she reminded him the conversations would play out like normal.

Strange as he was, she found herself enjoying their little chats. Sure he was incredibly quirky and odd, but somehow she found it endearing. Having the penguins around was pleasant too. But it was him who made her days just a little more enjoyable. For the first time in centuries, she was really starting to feel genuine happiness again.

Of course there were things she didn't like. Like whenever a princess was captured. That was more annoying than anything. Since she had to quietly rescue them. Having them there seemed to lessen the chats she had with him after all.

Ah shit, she's got a crush on him. Somehow that happened. There were plenty of other weirdos she could have had crushes on. But no, her brain chose him. And she was perfect okay with this. Not like she could force herself to stop liking him, that's just not how crushes work.

There's just... something familiar about him. Specifically his voice. Oh shit, it's him. Like really him. The regular named Simon who she had a crush on decades ago when they were both still human. But like her, he's changed now, not only in appearance but in personality.

So she does a little research and she concludes that he is cursed. And the thing that cursed him is the crown that he wears. So of course she decides to see if there's anything she can do to break it. But when doing her research, she realizes something. If the curse is removed he becomes mortal again. Human. He'll age and die.

That's not what she wants. No. There has to be another way. A way to return him to normal and keep him at her side. Because like this he was suffering, she could see it. But she didn't want to watch him die. There just had to be another way...

I'll probably never write an actual story or plot surrounding this character. Not that I don't want to, but matching Adventure Time's tone and style in writing is a little bit tricky. But I hope you've enjoyed my little "what if" character. Now I should probably get back to writing that Winter King fic I said I'd write...

Anyways, thanks for reading my little brain dump!