#she's already trying to formulate a plan to get her mama to take her to the store

[ofgravitation-moved]

she looked in the peanut cabinet, and there are NO PEANUT BAGS in her peanut cabinet! “ ... papa’s gonna take away ALL my crunchy goodness! ” 

[min-arya]

Change of Mind

Pairing: jimin x reader

Genre: Fluff

Note: this was my very first work last November 2020. I tried to give it an ending but, I genuinely cannot think of a good ending for this story. it sucks but whatever. pls send me your ideas aaa i would love to read them. thank you for supporting me!! i adore y'all! :) <3

You hate children.

Everyone who knows you knows that. They really can’t convince you to pick up their baby, or coo at them. They didn’t even try to hide the disappointment in their eyes when they saw you roll your eyes when their children copy you. They keep pestering you about how you hate children when one day you’re going to have one. The thought made you smirk, as if. It’s easy to say that you won’t have one because you don’t have time as a single busy woman. And also, they’re pretty loud and dumb. They’re always so dependent; can’t do things on their own.

“I think you’re being too hard,” your brother, Namjoon, said. He was a married man for 4 years now. You can see the dark bags in his eyes as he looked at you in concern. You rolled your eyes as you already know where this is going. “They’re just kids,” he added.

“We’ve had this conversation for a long time, can’t we drop it already?” you said a little loud out of frustration. Namjoon shushed you, scared to wake up his cranky daughter. By the way, you were at their house because it was your pregnant sister-in-law’s birthday. They invited you this morning, and you decided to drop by for a little greetings and told her that your gift will be a little late, which she didn’t mind. “ughh! It’s getting late. I’m going home.” You said irritatedly.

“Okay, so you see, I have a very important meeting tomorrow,” he began. You know something was off, and you’re not going to like it because of the way he slowly and carefully stated his words. You don’t want to hear it, honestly. But you didn’t and can’t cut him off because first, it’s disrespectful; after all, he is the oldest, and second is that, he beat you to it. “I need you to attend the family day in Miyoung’s school.”

You were bewildered, maybe beyond that but, you were. He knows that you hate children, why would he do that? Is it because you’re the only one who is free on Fridays? That’s not even an acceptable excuse. You hated children! You expressed countless times of how irritating they are, how can your niece be any different? Is it because he raised her? You looked away for a second, not knowing what to say. You brought your gaze up, about to protest until you caught a glimpse of his tired pleading eyes, you had no choice but to comply. “Fine, but you owe me 50 dollars,” you agreed with a groan.

Namjoon smiled weakly, knowing his pregnant wife doesn’t have to stress herself up for this school activity and get all the rest she needs. “I’ll double it if Miyoung comes home with a smile.” He said, playing along with his sister’s antics. “By the way, it starts at 8:00am. Don’t be late.”

“Fine,” was all you said standing up to reach your bag. “I’ll be here tomorrow, 7:00am sharp. Thank you for the meal, Oppa. I’ll be going now.” You stated, from you professional voice to a surprisingly calm voice after the news of babysitting your niece.

Tomorrow is going to be a long, long day.

You finished your morning routine with a groan and a pep talk. This is only for today. This is only going to last a few hours. After that you’ll have the peace away from children. After that pep talk, you left your garage to go to your brother’s house to fetch your niece. You internally wished she’s not as annoying as any other kids her age.

You arrived 15 minutes later. Seeing how your niece is crying in front of a kneeling Namjoon made you realize that she hates this idea, too. She’s scared of you, that’s for sure. But, what can you do? Imagine your babysitter hates children. Damn.

“Why can’t you go instead, Daddy? She hates me, I know it!” your niece said as she started to sob louder, not stopping any sooner no matter how much your brother is trying to convince him.

“She doesn’t hate you, baby. She’s just jealous because she’s old and lonely.” He said as if he didn't know you'd already arrived. You scoffed loudly at that. It was almost funny. You…jealous of a kid? Pleaaaaase. “It’s only for today, Miyoungie. I promise I’ll make it up to you. We’ll get ice cream after this event is finished.” He ended, knowing his daughter is a weakling for ice cream.

“Fine.” She stubbornly said. Angrily stomping to the shotgun seat of your car.

Namjoon walked towards you with a paper bag in his hands. “Here’s her costume, by the way. I think the event ends at 3pm. It’s only 7:15, have you had your breakfast?” he rambled. Even though he was annoying most of the time in your childhood, he was, no doubt, caring.

“I’m fine. Has she had her breakfast or do I need to drive her to McDonald’s?” you smirked victoriously, proud at your comeback sass. It didn’t last long though after Namjoon playfully smacked your head with the word pabo leaving his mouth. “Anyway, we’ll be going now. Don’t worry, she’ll be safe.

Namjoon handed you the paper bag filled with clothes and lunch box for two before walking towards his daughter, kneeling to her height and hugging her. He whispered something to her tiny ear before she nodded. He wiped her tears away. He opened the door to the passenger’s seat of your car, making sure he fastened the seatbelt as he closed the door gently, not wanting to startle his daughter.

You went to the driver’s side to finally start the car. You badly want to end this day. You glanced at your niece who was sulking beside you. I mean, who could blame her tho? This was so unplanned. She already informed her dad about this last week. And now, he’s telling her that he won’t be able to attend so he needed you as a substitute guardian. Isn’t that a little heartbreaking? But, anyway, your niece just wants to get close to you.

“Are you ready to go, kiddo?” you asked in a surprisingly calm manner. You saw how she nodded cutely. So you reached for the clutch and got ready to go.

The silence between you was pleasant, it surprised you. Everything about today surprised you.

You feel the stares Miyoung was giving you. They weren’t out of hatred or adoration. It was out of curiosity. Maybe something about you fascinated the toddler’s tiny mind. ‘What did Daddy mean when he said that she is lonely? Is she sad? Is that really why she hates me? Is she going to eat me?’

“What is it?” you asked, growing frustrated by the curious glares she gave you. She looked away, and shrugged.

“Daddy said to not cause you any trouble. If I do, you’re going to eat me. Is that true, Aunty?” she said with a slightly shaky voice. So that’s how he raises his kids huh. “Please don’t eat me, Aunty.” She faced her body towards you with her hands clasped together, practically begging.

It was cute, no doubt. Is that what Namjoon whispered to this baby? You laughed at the thought. For the first time in, like, your whole life, a child has made you laugh. Your niece’s eyes widened at your laugh. The tiny toddler is overthinking too much for her tiny mind to handle. She now thinks you’re really going to eat the sweet sweet child.

“What?! AHAHA. NO! Of course not. Why would I eat you? I don’t eat children, that’s gross.” You said between your laughs. Feeling the atmosphere between you lighten up. This day was going better than you thought it would be.

Maybe kids aren’t so bad after all.

After a few hours of meeting (more like seminar or something) with the parents and this really charming teacher, accompanying Miyoung to eat her sandwich and her meal but she offered you her sandwich because you don’t have anything to eat even though you have money but she insisted so you accepted, and phone calls from your work, it is time for the little performance the toddlers from this said kindergarten prepared for their ‘parents’. So that’s the costume for, now I get it. You thought as Miyoung came up to you and handed you the video camera that you didn’t know that she had. Maybe Namjoon packed it since he couldn’t go.

The performance was good, entertaining even. You felt like a proud mama cheering for her baby while holding the camera. It surprises you on how you reacted, you seemed really fond of the child, and you were though.

After the performance was done, the crowd dispersed into sections, making the columns and rows you all formed a while ago a mess. Miyoung rushed into you and held your hand. And suddenly, your phone rang. You let go of your niece’s hand to reach for the phone in your right pocket.

It was no surprise that it’s your boss. “It’s me, Sir Kim. What seems to be the problem?” you said. What could be the problem? Mr. Kim always bothered you, like he was really annoying. And now, you’ve filed your one-week leave and yet, he’s still bothering you and bombarding you with work. Man, he’s the worst.

“Nothing, I was just saying you got the promotion. Have fun on your leave.” With that, he hung up. Maybe he’s not so bad after all, pfft. That was amazing news, so amazing that you decided to take Miyoung to an ice cream parlor yourself and treat her with her favorite ice cream that you had no idea of.

You were happy, so happy that when you put it back to your pocket and reached for your niece’s hand, she wasn’t there.

Oh no. I’m doomed. Namjoon’s going to kill me. You thought as you started formulating a plan on searching for Miyoung. Internally panicking. What to do? You scanned the whole area to see if someone found Miyoung. Unfortunately, the messy crowd started to disperse slowly.

The pounding of your chest, beads of sweat start forming on your forehead as you spin around trying to look for a familiar small girl with a yellow humongous ribbon on her head. You were out of luck. Stupid phone call. Stupid promotion. Stupid boss. Stupid life!

You approached a middle-aged woman who looked like a principal in this kindergarten, thinking it would help you search for your niece. But then, an unknown number called you. Anxiety filled your stomach, a slight ringing in the background was heard, then silence.

Oh no, is Miyoung kidnapped? Are they going to ask me for ransom? Why is this happening? You thought as your shaky hands answered the phone.

“Hello? Hello, Miss?” a sweet honey-voiced man talked through the phone. He didn’t sound like a mysterious criminal, did he?

“Hello? Who is this?” you cringed at how shaky your voice was, you should’ve sounded tough not like some scared girl.

“Oh, where are my manners! I’m Park Jimin, Miss. Kim Miyoung’s teacher. I found your business card on the child’s ID. Don’t worry she’s in good hands but, be sure to pick her up though. We’re at the teacher’s faculty. I’ll hang up now.” He started, sounding so sure and professional.

You have finally arrived at your destination, the teacher’s faculty. You see Miyoung, sitting on a chair with a chocolate in her hand, eating happily while she swings her feet.

A man approached you, just as you reached to Miyoung. The man smiled down at you. “You must be Y/N. Miyoung’s this way.” With that, he led you to the faculty room that your niece was staying on.

“Aunty!” she shouted as she jumped off the chair, ran to you and hugged you as if you were the one who got lost. “Jiminie told me that he’ll buy me ice cream if I behave until you arrive.” She said, giggling. “Now that you’ve arrived, I can finally have my ice cream!”

“Jiminie?” you asked, curiously. “I thought he was your teacher?” you added.

“Yeah, but he’s daddy’s best friend so it’s fine.” Huh, that explains it. “Come on, Jiminie. You still have to get me ice cream.” She said as she skidded away from you and closer to the teacher who happened to be your brother’s best friend.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to you, almost stumbling at how much height difference they have. “Woah, easy Miyoung.” The teacher said between his laughs. He genuinely seemed to be enjoying kids his whole life. Heck, why would he even be a teacher if he doesn’t?

You didn’t think you could handle being in the same room with someone the total opposite of you yet, here you are. Everything about this day seemed to surprise you. “Wait, are you even done with your work? We don’t want to cause you any trouble.” You said. Well, that came out wrong. It sounded like you didn’t want to be with him. Wait, no…not really. It's nice having him around, maybe cudd—NO Y/N, you just met hi—

“Y/N? Y/N, right? I was just telling you that my shift was done half an hour ago.” He said, interrupting your internal rumbling. You looked away from the scene of trees swaying with the wind to glance at the handsome guy looking at you in concern. “Uhm, shall we take your car or mine?” he asked, fidgeting the keys latched to the belt loop of his pants.

“Uhm, I’m not sure. Huh, I guess I haven’t thought about that. Miyoung?” you looked away from the stunning man to look at your side thinking that your niece might be by your side. But sadly, she was long gone to her teacher’s side, trying to pull his weight away from the direction of your car.

“Let’s go to Jiminie’s car! His car smells like vanilla and strawberries!! C’mon c’mon!” She squealed to you while pulling on her teacher.

You shrugged. So much for an ice cream, you thought as you followed the two.

The whole ride was surprisingly pleasing. Miyoung was right, his car smells good. Strawberries and vanilla.

You glanced to your left, looking at his hand at the clutch lever. By the way, you were on the passenger’s seat since Miyoung insisted that she needed space. You became silent, staring at your niece. What did she mean when she said she needed space? Is she trying to sell you out? You thought as you continued to watch her looking around, trying to find something. And then, she pulled a blanket from the back of the car. She happily hugged it before spreading it to cover her tiny body. She sat up again, reaching for a certain purple pillow.

To say that you were confused was an understatement. You reached for the door handle of the passenger’s seat before boarding. You finally noticed that Jimin was watching the whole scene. He explained that he was the one who Namjoon asked to drive her daughter. And that today was different since he had to assist and entertain parents so he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Miyoung. You nodded in understanding.

“We’re here,” you snapped out of your daze when you heard his sweet honey voice rang throughout the car. You turned your body to look at your niece, you noticed that she’s still in her mini dreamland. You unbuckle your seatbelt before going around the car to wake Miyoung up. You opened the car that was facing the top of her head, noticing the slow but calm pace of her breathing while she sleeps. Just as you lifted your hand to shake her shoulder awake, a hand grabbed your wrist. “She gets cranky if you shake her awake. Let me do it,” he said before letting you go slowly.

You step aside to give him a way to Miyoung’s head. You tilted your head to the side to watch what he was doing. He was stroking her head gently as he whispers into her ear. It freaking worked. She sat up while rubbing her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her off his car. She looked at you before waving her hands enthusiastically before yelling, “Hi Aunty.” You waved back before walking to Jimin’s side.

You leaned towards him to give him a compliment, “You’re really good with children.” He looked down at you before facing forward, smiling adorably. He mumbled a small ‘thank you’ as he led the way.

You finally reached to Miyoung’s favorite ice cream park in front of a park. The place was spacious yet, simple. Groomed trees around it, benches and a playground. It’s the perfect destination to couples, and couples with children. That’s probably why this is Miyoung’s favorite place.

Jimin sets Miyoung down as he goes to the counter to place an order. You saw how Miyoung immediately ran towards the playground, communicating with some kids her age. You turned your head towards Jimin who was looking at you, “Yes? Is there something wrong?” you asked him.

“Uhm what flavor do you want? My treat,” he said, pulling out his wallet. you held out your hand, about to tell him that he didn’t need to buy you an ice cream, He was persistent as he said, “don’t worry, it’s on me.”

“Cookies n’ cream,” you mumbled while looking down. He nodded then faced the cashier attendant. You unknowingly pouted when you noticed they were close to each other, whispering something between themselves. You saw him moved away, shaking his head as if he was denying something. You turned away towards the playground, just to forget the scene and also, to keep an eye on Miyoung. She seemed to be enjoying her life as a kid. Lucky.

Jimin shyly cleared his throat, snapping you out of your daze. You noticed he was holding two cones. He handed you the cookies n’ cream flavor, before turning back to get Miyoung’s favorite ice cream. “Thank you, though you didn’t have to,” you said, as you gave him a genuine smile.

“Nah, I wanted to,” he said as he giggled slightly. You two walked side by side towards the playground. You sat on a bench while munching on your ice cream. He called your niece to give her her ice cream. She ran towards him immediately before going back to the playground. Jimin sat beside you as he started to devour his ice cream. “So, Namjoon-hyung’s sister?” he started, facing you.

You snorted lightly at how awkward he sounded when the question left his mouth. He looked at you, amused. “Yeah, and you’re his best friend?” you said with just right amount of sass while you raised your eyebrow at him. “How come I’ve never heard of you before?” you asked with genuine curiosity as you faced the scene before you.

“Hmm, probably Namjoon-hyung forgot again. You know how he forgets stuff like that.” he said facing the same directions you’re looking at. It’s hard not to notice how the air around you is claiming, and the getting-to-know conversation the two of you are having feels like two best friends catching up with each other. It was nice. “I heard that you hated children. Why is that?” he suddenly asked, catching you off guard.

You shrugged. You were about to answer but a detail on his sentence stopped you. “Hated? What do you mean? I still hate them.” you said, calmly. You inhaled before talking, contemplating what to say. “Well, I just don’t like how high-maintenance they are. They always demand attention and can’t do things on their own. But, I can stand children; just don’t let them copy me. I hate how they do things I do.” You finished your rant with a sigh. You turned your head to Jimin who nodded in understanding, he looked amused. Fuck, I sound like a child.

He let out a short laugh as he leaned towards you. “Same, but I find it adorable though,” He said, trying to ease himself. “To answer your first question, you seem too fond of Miyoung, so I assumed that you have changed your mind,” he ended before proceeding to continue his ice cream.

“what? I mean, she’s a great kid...she doesn’t annoy the hell out of me,” you replied with a shrug. “Well, what about you? What’s something about children that fascinates you that you chose to be a teacher other than every other career that you can have?” you questioned him. You were grateful that he didn’t hate you for hating something he finds adorable.

Jimin looked towards the playground, thinking deeply for a wonderful example. “I love how innocent they are. They don’t have to worry about anything. All they want and need to do is to be happy and enjoy their childhood. And, I want to be a part of that wonderful memory.” He said as his eyes glowed in adoration of the kids playing with your niece. Laughter was heard as you two talked. “And then, there’s just the hint of pride whenever they achieve something. Even the tiniest victories, they’re so happy,” he added. He was shaking his fist adorably as if trying to contain his excitement.

“I think you’re going to be a great dad in the future,” you complimented, giving him a sweet smile.

“Thanks, I think you’re going to be a great mom too. Someday, he said.

An unfamiliar warmth swells up to your chest as you took in his words. “Yeah. Someday.”

[smarchit]

How Lucky We Are pt 2

Summary: A continuation of Look Around, Look Around. Mando and Reader continue their adventures with their young children.

Word count: 2.7k

Warnings: I don’t think there’s any warnings... Violence, maybe a little blood?

The Crest shut down in a docking bay on a bustling planet just before dusk. 

Already, you could hear shouting and trading still going on even as the light disappeared from the horizon. 

"Welcome to Coruscant," Mando said as you leaned over his shoulder to look out the window as he sat the cockpit. 

"What a skughole!" you lamented.

"Filled with the exact people you'd expect too," Mando said evenly. "Just... Keep your opinion about the planet to yourself if you know what's good for you."

"Y'know, I liked you better when you took me to planets with waterfalls," you teased, leaning up as you he powered down the engine.

Mando grunted as he stood up and for a moment, you were worried you might have offended him. But he turned to look at you and for a brief moment in the bright light of the hangar, you saw the outline of his chin and jaw - if you imagined hard enough, you swore he was smiling.

"Coruscant is fun, provided you don't have a planet attached to your stomach," he replied, playfully bumping his arm against your shoulder as he passed by to check on the sleeping babies.

"You took all that time to come up with a reply?" you chuckled, reaching for your sling bag.

Mando shrugged. "Does it help if I say I'm rolling my eyes?"

You snorted and shook your head.

"Not by much."

He hummed and closed up the Child's pod and then moved to open Trin's. Both children were sound asleep, undisturbed by the light filtering in from the window.

You gently picked her up and kissed her forehead before placing her in her swaddle.

Mando picked up the tracking puck and made sure you were ahead of him as he left the ship, the Child snuggly tucked into the crook of his elbow. 

As you walked through the streets, Mando kept an eye on the people around the four of you for any sign of trouble. More often than not, the people here didn't mean harm, but with two babies, he didn't want to risk it and have something happen.

"Where are we going?" you whispered, pulling Trin a little closer as you neared an alley, sectioned off by a hanging piece of cloth.

"Just stay quiet and follow me," he murmured, keeping his hand your shoulder. "Try to keep Trin quiet."

You bit your lip and hesitated for a second as Mando urged you to step into the pitch black alleyway. 

As if sensing your discomfort, Trin began to fuss, her little face screwing up as she began to cry.

"Oh no," you soothed, "It's okay, my moon. Mama is here."

"Keep her quiet," Mando whispered, a little harsher than normal. He had a firm grip on your shoulder as he guided you through the darkness.

You stuck a finger in Trin's mouth, hoping it would keep her quiet long enough to get you through this alley.

The air smelled foul. Stale urine and sweat hung heavy in the air, the heady sent of sex stinging your nose as you passed a tent. Two or three alien women were gathered around the entrance and cooed to you and Mando as you walked by. 

He tightened his grip on your arm and guided you towards what was clearly a cantina, lively music and the tell-tale sound of a fight coming from the inside. 

"Who are we here for again?" you asked, trying to turn your head towards Mando as he all but shoved you through the streets. 

"The smuggler," Mando said gruffly as you approached the cantina. A woman with lavender-colored skin and nearly as tall as she was wide stood at the door. It took nearly all your courage to not shove Mando down and take off running in the opposite direction. 

She took one look at you and the Mandalorian and scowled, her massive arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't think so," she scoffed. 

Mando stayed quiet. You knew him well enough to know he was trying to form a plan under that helmet of his and you knew from experience that it usually ended up with him on his ass in the dirt. 

You decided to take control like you had back on Nevarro. 

"Please," you said, trying to make yourself as weak-looking as possible. "I'm looking for my little brother - I've looked everywhere! Can I please take a look inside?"

"You, fine. Not him," she spat.

Mando grumbled something under his breath. 

The bouncer grabbed him by a pauldron and lifted him off the ground all before you had time to even react. Her massive hand could completely cover his helmet and you didn't want to find out what she could do to him. 

"What did you say, tin can?" she growled, bringing him close enough that her breath fogged up his visor.

You held up a hand to try and stop her before things got out of hand. Already you could see Mando trying to reach for the flamethrower at his wrist. 

"He's my bodyguard!" you shouted. "My father hired him to accompany me while I searched for my brother! Let him go!"

The bouncer grunted and let Mando fall to the dirt where he, as you figured would happen, landed on his ass.

Once inside, Mando gestured to a booth next to the kitchen and lead you across the floor to it. You knew you were being watched from the moment you stepped inside. You were sure it wasn't often a Mandalorian graced this cantina with their presence.

You checked on the Child and on Trin while Mando surveyed the room. Both, thank the stars, were sound asleep, undisturbed by the chaos around them. Mando faced the door so he could watch all activity and not be caught off guard. Vaguely, you remembered him saying something about that while stopped on a random planet while you were about six months pregnant. 

"It's easier this way. I'm never caught off guard when I sit this way," he had said.

"That thing have a sensor in the back?" you asked, your hands curled around a cup of soup. 

"No. I didn't get that upgrade." There was a slight hint of a smile in his voice.

"Seems dangerous."

Mando shrugged and glanced off towards a group playing a game in the corner. 

You raised your hand to try and fling a piece of potato at him when he spoke. 

"Don't even think about it. I can still see you."

Now, Mando's attention was focused on a group of women playing Sabbac, the whole scene so reminiscent of the one where you attempted to toss your lunch at him. 

"Any of those our bounty?"

"Our bounty?" Mando drawled sarcastically, his helmet lazily moving in your direction. "No. Though I do think I recognize a few of them. No -- we're looking for a bald woman with a tattoo on her face."

You quickly glanced around. "So we just wait?"

"Yes." There was a pause and then, "She'll be here later."

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes."

You sighed and ordered yourself a small plate of food while you waited. You knew sometimes Mando could be gone for days at a time while tracking a bounty. Only accompanied him once or twice before on an actual mission. But that had been long before you actually were hindered by your... Delicate position. You weren't sure if you could call your own capture being on a job with him, but the memory if it made you smile anyway.

"What?" Mando asked, turning his head an imperceptible fraction towards you.

"Just wondering how many of your bounties you find in cantinas," you hummed, bouncing Trin in your arms. The Child still slept beside you in his blankets.

Mando hissed a laugh through his vocoder amd shook his head. "Enough of them where it's usually the first place I look. You didn't exactly make it a challenge for me," he said.

"Nah, I just gave you a moral dilemma."

"You wouldn't be the first," he said softly. 

As the evening wore on with no sign of the bounty, conversation between you both dwindled down to nothing after a while and you leaned back against the booth, Trin and the Child still asleep in your lap. You had gotten up early to feed Trin and play with her - coupled with you chasing the Child around for the better part of the morning, you were exhausted.

Just as your eyes drifted shut, Mando nudged your foot with his boot to get your attention.

"She's here," he said softly, nodding in the direction of the bar.

You followed the gaze of Mando's visor to the newcomer. 

A broad shouldered woman in a thick canvas jacket had slid between two patrons and barked her order at the droid behind the counter. Her head was shaved, and when she turned her head slightly, you could see part of a tattoo on her cheek.

"What are you going to do?" you asked, leaning forward.

"She spotted me on her way in. She's biding her time," he replied. "Probably formulating a plan. I want you to wait outside."

"What? Why!"

"Please," he said softly. There was something in his voice that made you automatically reach for the babies. Urgency. You'd only heard it a few times before. He was nervous. "Please wait outside."

You bit your lip and took Trin and the Child - still sleeping, and side-stepped through the crowd. 

If Mando wanted you to take your chances out on the streets of Coruscant instead of inside a bar, it was probably about to get ugly.

You turned away from the yellow light of the cantina and tried to find a small spot to hide out in until he was finished.

Doing your best to ignore the noise coming from the cantina, in addition to the bustling street around you, you found a spot under a street lamp by a closed vendor stall. It was near an alley, and you hoped no one would sneak up on you as you waited.

It felt silly, just sitting here. You wanted to help him. He had done so much to help you in the past year.

Maybe he would train me to fight. I've felt helpless for far too long. I'm ready.

Trin began to stir and fuss in your arms. It had been a long time since you had changed her and she was probably hungry as well. The Child, hearing her cries, woke up and started tugging at your sleeve. 

You cast a glance at the cantina and then behind you at the alley. 

I'll only be a few seconds. 

Picking up both babies, you ducked into the alley, trying as best you could to keep an eye on the streets for Mando in case he came out.

You got Trin changed and cleaned and untied your dress to feed her. The Child held tight to your leg as he stared into the darkness of the alley.

"What's wrong, little one?" you asked, bending down to pat his head.

He made a soft noise, almost like a whine and stared up at you before he pointed to the back of the alley.

"You shouldn't be here," came a deep voice from the shadows. "It isn't safe."

"I'm sorry," you said, trying to shield yourself from the voice. "I'll be out of here in a few minutes."

"You need to get off this planet," came the voice again. It sounded closer, though you still couldn't see anything.

"I'm waiting for someone!" you replied, glancing nervously towards the street. You bent down again to scoop up the Child, but he was gone. You felt your heart stop and you yanked Trin away from your breast; you felt her little teeth dig in to your nipple as you pulled her away. She gave a sharp scream as you quickly covered yourself. "You stay away from me! I'm... I'm armed!"

"If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already," the voice said calmly. "I want answers."

"What do you want?" you asked, kicking yourself for how afraid you sounded.

"Where did you find the Child?"

"She's --- she's mine!"

The man huffed. "No. Not that one. Him."

"Please don't hurt him," you said firmly. "His father--"

"Where is his father?" he asked sharply.

You took a deep breath to steady yourself. "He's working."

"Where?"

"Around."

"Then I'll just keep this little one."

"He's at the cantina!" you shouted. 

The man stepped into the dim light of the alley. You swallowed thickly - the man was a beast. At least a foot taller than Mando and twice as wide. He was appeared much, much bigger than he was by the heavy, deep green armor he wore, and his face was concealed by a helmet with a familiar visor. 

"Are you a Mandalorian?" you asked, holding an irate Trin close to your chest. 

"Maybe."

"Why are you--"

"Where is he?" this new Mandalorian asked. He had the Child in the crook of his arm, much like how you had seen Mando hold him. The Child was smiling and cooing, relaxed in this stranger's arms.

"Across the street."

The new Mandalorian jerked his head in the direction of the cantina. "In that one?"

You nodded meekly and watched as this giant stalked past you and into the street. The crowd parted around him with ease. It seemed everyone wanted to give him a wide berth. 

You followed him, not wanting them to get away if he took off with the Child. At least this way, you could have a clear shot of following him. Stars, if this man didn't kill you, you knew Mando would if he found out you lost the Child.

"Kriff!" you swore under your breath. Mando was waiting outside the cantina, one hand clutching his shoulder. The body of the smuggler lay at his feet. You could tell by his body language that he was scanning the crowd, searching for you.

He straightened up when he spotted the mountain of a Mandalorian carrying the Child.

You made it to Mando long after the larger man did, thanks to the crowd jostling you and shoving their way past you in their attempts to scurry to their destinations.

Both men turned to face you when you finally made it through the throngs of people in the streets.

Mando called your name to get your attention. 

"You're bleeding," he said softly. His voice sounded strained and tight. He sounded hurt.

You glanced down and saw a deep red stain where Trin must have tried to latch on when you pulled her away. 

"Oh, it's-- I'm fine."

Mando grunted and took the Child from the large man's arms.

"This is Sherruk," he said, nodding at the man. "He is a--" Mando hesitated -- "A friend. He helped me protect the child on Nevarro."

"She is the one we heard about then?" Sherruk asked, nodding at you.

Mando nodded and adjusted the child in his good arm. "She is. I trust her with the Child."

"She doesn't look like much," Sherruk grunted.

"She is quite capable," Mando replied, sounding irritated. "And far stronger than you or I."

Sherruk snorted and turned to you. He nodded in your direction. "Not even my riduur could do what you have done." He turned back to Mando then. "Need some help with that shoulder, vod?"

Mando made a soft grunt of pain, barely audible through the visor. "Please."

You took the Child from Mando and stepped back to give him some room to turn and face Sherruk.

The huge man took Mando's shoulder in one massive hand and pressed his other hand against his back plate of armor. There was a sickening crack and a pop after Sherruk jerked Mando's shoulder back into place. Mando grunted in pain and staggered forward after Sherruk let him go. 

"See you around, vod," Sherruk said. He gently touched the Child on the top of his head, nodded at you once again, and disappeared into the crowd.

"Let's go," Mando said tightly. He reached down and grabbed the smuggler around her middle and hoisted her over his shoulder.

Not wanting to cause a delay, you followed behind, saving all your questions for when you got back to the ship.

TAGLIST (let me know if you want added or removed): My tags didn’t work so I’m sorry if anyone got tagged twice or already read this chapter and got tagged. I’m just working off my list!!!

@miscellaneous-mando @lestrange2703 @someplace-darker @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @poeticparker @blackbird337 @the-last-twin-of-krypton @divineangelix @c1996 @mell-bell @qhbr2013 @bookszazzy @marvelbros-oneshots @cuteboyking @boomtownboy @connor-challoner @fandom-lover-4 @itsmysticalmystery @love-struck-aries @lifeisapitch15 @cosmicwhisper @hybrid-huntress @whatismylife00 @remmyswritings @yodaboo @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mcrmarvelloki @lcandothisallday @ry0t @ravenclawbitch426 @keichainn

[bo-bo-bean]

Jingle Bell Rock and Roll

Mayday woke up with a grunt, her body feeling lazy and stiff. It usually did in the cold weather since she’s curled up in her blankets. However, Zuke was always an early bird in the winter, making them both cups of hot coffee to get started on the day. She stretched on her bed, not wanting to make it. She didn’t usually, but what was the point? It would get messy again and she loved messy beds. It’s like little caves and entrances.

She leaned over the edge and looked at the bottom bunk upside down. Zuke was already up, as she theorized, and had his bed made neatly. However… this morning seemed different.

She jumped to the bottom, landing on her hands and feet, then scuttled to the kitchen, sniffing the air. She smelled… ham? And some sort of vegetable dish, possibly regular steamed vegetables. She also smelled peppermint brownies, mashed potatoes… what was going on?

She got to the living room, Zuke dressed up in a Christmas sweater that had two drumsticks on it as a design, the sweater itself being green with red sleeves. He looked up, nose and ears red from being in the hot kitchen. Some sweat glistened on his forehead, to which he wiped a cloth on his face and stretched.

“Coffee’s on the table,” he announced to her.

She looked at him and made her way to the table, stumbling over Ellie once and then grabbed her cup. She drank it, the coffee filled with cream and doused with sugar and a hint of vanilla; just the way she liked it. But it also had a peppermint, mocha taste to it. Before she could question, Zuke noted her confused look and gestured to the calendar. She stared at it, almost dropping her drink.

“It’s Christmas Eve!?!?”

With that shock awakening her, she noticed the sewers were decorated. Gingerbread men and cups of cocoa paper cut outs were strung up with red and green lights around the walls, near the ceiling. There was a wreath where the table was, the table itself lined with a red table cloth, a holly centerpiece with nutmeg candles, making the sewers smelling just a bit better. The tree had all sorts of decorations with golden tinsel, white lights, red and green ornaments, and a lovely golden star on top. On TV, which Zuke had recently purchased from tips for his drumming, were some Christmas Classics of all sorts. She blinked and downed her coffee in one swoop. She had been waiting for this day! “Yes!!” she cheered out, running back into the bedroom. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yeeesss!!”

Zuke chuckled and checked on his ham. This year, they both decided to have the artists come over for Christmas. Some were reluctant, but with Tatiana’s encouragement, they all decided, ‘Why not?’ and went with the plan. Mayday was excited since it would be the first year everyone would be together! She felt like she was about to burst…!

She got in the closet and donned on a Santa dress, putting reindeer horns on her head and even adding red make up to her nose, then knee high boots that glistened black like coal. With a hop of joy and a spring in her step, she ran out to Zuke, thinking she could help, but didn’t know the first idea of cooking.

“Wanna set the gifts out?” he suggested. She nodded eagerly, acting like Santa’s little helper and putting the perfectly wrapped gifts under the tree, organizing them neatly. She looked at the stuffed stockings on the wall above a heater that looked like a fireplace. All were filled to the brim with toys, sweets, and all sorts of goodies. Her stocking was the most excitable to see. Zuke was Santa this year, as he always was since Mayday would be too eager to keep secrets and already she saw a little guitar candy dispenser. As if she didn’t need enough sugar. Zuke’s stocking was also full, but he let Mayday fill his and give him presents since he couldn’t do that for himself. She went all out this year for his buddy!

“When will they be here?” she wondered, jumping a bit in place.

“We agreed at two,” he laughed. Mayday whipped her head to see the clock. 9:43!?

“That’s…!” she stopped and counted her fingers. “Seven hours from now!”

“More than enough time to get this dinner ready and do any last minute Christmas shopping.”

She huffed and plopped herself on the couch. Zuke may be patient, but she wasn’t! All those presents needed to be dug into! The candy needed to be devoured! Feasts needed to be in her belly! Although… this did give her an idea. She was saving money and if she could earn a little extra more… she could get this gift for Zuke she’s been wanting to give him. So, sneakily and quietly, she devised a plan.

“Zuke, can I have fifty dollars?”

“Sorry, broke at the moment,” he told her.

Okay, plan A didn’t work. Still, she wouldn’t give up! She quickly grabbed her guitar and whipped it on her back.

“I’m going out!” she announced. Zuke gave a nod and up she went. Not only would she get the perfect gift, but it would be a time waster! She’ll be back and everything would be ready!!

Going through the plaza, it was truly magical. She stopped to take in the moment of the snowflakes drifting down from the skies, the snow piled up high around her knees, just below, and lights strung all about. Even though it was early, it was also dark enough to see them. People were out already, getting gifts and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas as they passed. This was perfect!

She set up in front of the fountain, readying her guitar. She sat down and played, some people coming over and watching. She played some Christmas classics; Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, Silver Bells. As more people gathered, she looked up. “Tips are welcome…!” she beamed. With that, coins and dollar bills were put into a hat a man offered. She happily took requests anyone asked for bigger tips.

As she played, Yinu saw her with her mama, smiling and going over.

“Hi, Mayday!”

The orange girl still played lightly as she looked down at the blonde, then up at the red figure approaching. Yinu was dressed in a lovely silver coat and little boots, her waist in the snow. Her mother wore a golden long coat, smiling at the guitarist.

“Merry Christmas,” she spoke softly.

“Thanks!” she beamed right back.

“Why are you out here playing?” Yinu wondered.

“Just for tips! I have this awesome gift for my buddy and I only need just a bit more!”

The mother gave a smile. Sure, Mayday was a hassle, but so was Yinu. If anything, she saw Mayday as a second child almost. Almost. She dug in her wallet and pulled out a five.

“Hope you get what you need,” she told her. Mayday offered a large smile as the two left, Yinu jumping up and down in the snow in order to get anywhere.

As soon as blisters opened up in her fingers, she stopped playing and bowed. They were cracking under the cold. With a wince she hid well, she bowed before everyone, who offered more tips and left. Mayday emptied the hat, returned it to the man, and sat on the side of the fountain to count the change and bills.

“13.43.. 13.48… 14.50… okay, lots of dollars short but I can’t keep playing…” she huffed. She stuffed the money in her pocket, as well as her hands after swinging her guitar over her back. After double checking to see if she left any change, she found nothing and tried to formulate another plan. “I can’t give up. This is the perfect gift!”

Fifty dollars, that’s all she needed! She glanced at the clock near the center of the plaza, seeing it was at 10:21. She still had time! And she had another plan!

Christmas in Akusuka was always pretty. Pastel sweets, gentle lighting, enchanting vibes all around. And the people here were so nice! Sure, she couldn’t play, but no one said anything about singing!

… okay so she wasn’t a singer. Never was, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try. Going to the center, she shook off her nervousness. People were already crowding around to see what was going on. They could tell already there was a performance.

‘Well if I don’t sing well, I might get pity or comedy money,’ she thought to herself, trying to make herself more comfortable.

With a chilled breath in… she sang. Meanwhile, Zuke got on the couch, watching the movie as he let some food either chill, set, or cook. He had a mental timer in his head. As he watched, Ellie scampered up on the couch and onto his lap. He had put her in a sweater and had a tail stocking so she wouldn’t get cold. He tried mittens, but she kept walking backwards in fear, so he took them off.

He stroked Ellie’s back and began to drum his fingers on it to the tune of Christmas tunes. Ellie appreciated the drumming, it felt like. Although Zuke seemed cool headed at the moment, inside… he was freaking out.

“... you think the food will be okay?” he asked Ellie, not expecting an answer. “I mean… I know the food shouldn’t be a big concern, but I’ve never cooked for so many people. I know they’re bringing food as well, but what if the ham is dry or what if the mashed potatoes aren’t good? What about the gravy? What if-”

“Mraaa!” Ellie squeaked out. Zuke looked down at her and chuckled.

“You’re right, you’re right… I need to chill,” he nodded. He took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee, it being bitter, just the way he liked it. But no one said he couldn’t add some peppermint spice to it.

With coffee in hand and a reptile on his lap, it was impossible to not calm down. He continued to drum his fingertips along her scales, then looked at the clock.

“May’s been out for a while…” he noted. “Think she’s okay?”

Ellie gave a happy look to him, thumping her tail on the couch. He chuckled and booped her snout lightly. “I just want to make this perfect, you know? I’ve never had Christmas with anyone but Mayday… having this would be like the good old times… before college… where… everyone was happy.”

While Mayday looked to the future, Zuke longed for the past. When he had a smile everyday, still admired his brother, not having the huge fight, not fighting a revolution to bring equality to the system… but no one said he regretted it. As long as Mayday was here, how bad could it be for his future?

Mayday finished singing, knowing for sure she squeaked more than a chihuahua with a toy bone on a sugar high. Some people laughed, thinking it was an act and tossed some money. Others left with disgusted faces, some gave pity money. When they left, she counted it up and checked to see if there was any leftover in the snow. Drat… 25.23…

“Oh come on…!” she whined out. “... no it’s okay! I’m halfway there!”

“Oh my! Mayday!” she heard an unforgettable voice pipe up behind her. Sayu, looking as cheerful as ever with the costume of a gingerbread man, as sweet as her.

“Heeeey, Sayu…!” she waved. “What’s happening?”

“Well, I heard a cat crying for help, like it was injured and I wanted to see if it was okay! Have you seen it anywhere?”

Mayday turned a shade of red and looked away.

“U-Um well… you’re staring at her…”

“Huh? Oh. Oooh! Ooh…” Sayu put a finger through her chin as she went through four different emotions at once. “Well you’ll get better, I’m sure of it!”

“It doesn’t matter,” she grunted. “I’m trying to earn money for a great gift for Zuke, but I don’t-”

“For Zuke!?” she gasped. “Did you two finally-!?”

“Noooo! No no, not like that, as buddies!”

“Ehek! Okay, okay! Well, just in case…!”

Sayu offered some money of her own, it being sound seven dollars and… a mistletoe?

“... Sayuuuu…”

“Oh my! How did that get in there?” she giggled. “Well you can keep it! I better go! Bye bye!”

Mayday looked at the money, thankful anyway. … maybe she could sell the mistletoe. Well, time for plan D.

Turns out, you can’t sell mistletoe, so she just tied it to her antlers. Her legs were getting weak and her fingers cold and sore. Not to mention she was red after that embarrassment. So, what do people love on Christmas? Hot drinks! Sure, she’d have to spend SOME money she earned, but she could make a quick buck offering a styrofoam cup of hot chocolate!

She already had her station set up at Metro Division, people swarming for the Christmas merchandise. She found a suitable spot near a popular 1010 shop and got a box, setting up her stands with hot cocoa powder, a powered kettle, cups, and whipped cream. This set her back to 10.23, but it would be worth it! … she thinks.

“Hot cocoa!” she announced. “Enjoy the snowy day of Christmas Eve with a warm, inviting, delectable cup of hot chocolate!”

People were already interested. She charged a dollar a cup, two if they wanted whipped cream. It was all going well until she needed more water, a line forming. “Uuuh just a second folks! I need some water!”

She ran into the store, looking for the bathroom when she saw 1010 gathered at the front. They all looked amazing, dressed as Nut Crackers. So handsome… gentlemanly… No no, get it out of your head!

She rushed to the bathroom, filled the kettle, and then rushed back out, bumping into Rin.

“Ah! White! Rin! Hot! Um, water is hot! Uh, going to be hot! Um, hi!” she stuttered over her words like gravel. Rin chuckled lightly.

“What elegance such as yourself doing alone on a cold day like today?” he raised an eyebrow. Mayday could feel herself melt, forgetting the cold.

“A-aaah um just… you… no I mean, me. Uh, no, I am just… selling hot 1010, CHOCOLATE!! Hot chocolate! Uh, need to! Um, money and…”

Rin couldn’t help but giggle at her flusteredness. It was honestly adorable. His giggle drove Mayday’s pink face to a full on red.

“I’d love to try some, seeing it would be made by your amazing hands, but alas, I cannot have liquids…”

She nodded respectfully, or tried to without going into a puddle of swoon. “But perhaps I can help…”

He went to his brothers and then came back with what seemed to be a twenty dollar bill. May’s heart sky-rocketed. All of the money she lost, it was now paid back. She gleefully took the bill and hugged Rin, her up a foot off the ground.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank yooouuuuuu!!!”

Rin laughed and let her hug him for a bit more before hoisting her by the waist and putting her on the ground.

“Can’t wait to see you at the party…~” he lifted her chin before walking off. She sighed out in a shakily manner, but slapped herself silly and got right back to work!

The line was long and some people were leaving, so she had no time to lose. As she poured cups, everyone was making a hassle.

“Hey, I asked for whipped cream…!”

“Uh, that isn’t nearly enough powder…”

“Excuse me, is this gluten free?”

“Hey, too much powder!”

“I didn’t ask for whipped cream!”

In the struggle, she poured a cup too quickly, hot water making contact with her hand. She yelped and held it, feeling it already blistering up. With some breaths and a few tears in her eyes, she quickly finished up and ran to an alleyway, putting snow on her burn and then looking at it. It looked bad… really bad… Maybe Zuke would know what to do, but she had to focus!

Back at the money, she counted. 34.23! She was getting close!! So it was off to Dream Fever!!

Zuke finished checking the ham, his heart racing a little. 11:43… Where was Mayday? Why was she out for so long…? He would check on her, but that would be a risk of burning the place down. He grabbed his phone and shot a message.

‘hey, mayday this is zuke. get back to me when you can.’

He sent it, staring at the phone for five minutes until it buzzed. He snatched it up and looked.

“I’m good, buddy! Almost done and then I’ll be home! Hey, can you make those gingerbread men that look like instruments?”

He chuckled and texted back an agreed answer, thankful she was okay, at least… Still, he couldn’t help but worry about her. They’ve been buddies for a long time. Without her, it was like there was no fire to help his waters warm up. And her without him, who would douse her out? Still, if she was doing well, giving her some time was the least he could do. He turned his attention to the pie dough he was rolling and got right back to it. “... just please be home soon…” he sighed.

The Dream Fever district. A land of confusion and puzzlement to Mayday. She had to think of another plan… She can’t strum, her fingers were aching, freezing the wounds. She couldn’t sing, she couldn’t make cocoa… what else could she do…? She looked down with a thought and then perked up. Dancing!! She loved to dance, no matter how goofy! Her and Zuke danced and waltz around all of the time in the sewers before collapsing on the ground, laughing. He brought her so many laughs… so much joy. She needed this gift...

Walking her way through, she couldn’t tell the difference of the decorations since everything was so… artsy. Since she couldn’t make cocoa anymore, a bright idea of selling the kettle popped in her head. After going into an antique shop and warming up, she sold it and took the time to look at her hands. A blister the size of a ping pong ball rested on her left hand, her fingertips covered in dried blood. She shoved her hands in her pockets, feeling the money. She forgot the pain for a few seconds and got five dollars back for the kettle.

Now it was time to bust a move!! … although she had no idea what music was playing. It was so… off. Sure, it had some jingle bells and little sparks, but that’s all she could hear. Nonetheless, she did her best to dance! She stepped left… then right. ‘Good start, good start.’ She stepped back and took a jump forward, matching her moves to the beats as much as she could. She swayed her hips a bit to make it look like she was dancing and make people crowd around with confusion.

With a grin, she beamed at them all and did little dances, rolling her arms with each other, moonwalking, all she could think of in a moment’s panic. Some offered some coins, rarely bills, then left. Whatever, she just needed enough! As she attempted to skid across the ‘stage’, she yelped as her leg gave out. Something hurt. Her ankle, it must’ve popped. Watchers winced and offered hands, but she was in a lot of pain. She didn’t show it through sadness, but frustration.

“Stupid snow!!” she shouted at it, punching it. “Stupid ice!!” She punched a nearby ice puddle, it crackling. “Stupid, stupid, stupi-”

“Mayday!”

Eve and Tatiana both rushed over. They helped her to a bench and sat with her.

“What is going on?” Tatiana demanded to know.

“I’m… trying to get money,” she sheepishly admitted to Kul Fy-er Tatiana.

“Money? From that monkey circus act you did?”

“Hey, no need to rub it in!” she snapped at Eve. “I’ve been doing all sorts of things to try and get Zuke a perfect gift! I’m earning money, too! So that’s something.”

“You’ve earned 5.25 from that dance.”

“It’s something!”

“Mayday, you need to relax,” Tatiana offered. Mayday looked at the clock, seeing the time was now 12:37.

“No! No, time!” she stumbled to her feet. Her ankle was shooting with pain, but she trudged along. Eve looked at Tatiana, who sighed.

“I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Mayday sat down after a while, breathing heavily. She counted the money…

“Okay, 34.23 plus… 10.25… five and three make eight… two plus two is four… eighty four cents and… 44…! 44. 84! Yes, so close!!”

She took a break and tried to think of another plan… she just had to think of something. Her mind was running on fumes. It hurt… Her head hurts so much… “... for Zuke…” she told herself, struggling to stand again. “For Zuke… For Zuke… For Zuke… what would he do…?”

… she knew what he would do. Go back home to her and relax… but she can’t do that! She has to get more money! She was so close!! Something, something… anything…

She found herself in front of the planetarium an hour later, panting and wheezing. She was cold… in pain… but this was the last resort. She opened the doors, DJ Subatomic Supernova taking a glance.

“Mayday?” he tipped his head.

“Please…!” she got on her knees. “I-I need some money…! Just some…! Enough…!”

“... I didn’t think begging would be something you would do,” he admitted with a chuckle. But when he saw her wounds, he quickly got up from his seat and went to her side. “What on Earth…?”

“Just some…! Any…!”

“Mayday, this begging seems preposterous. You are injured, you need to go back home. The party is-”

“Don’t remind me!!” she snapped. “I know about the party! I cracked my fingers open, I have a boil on my hand, I twisted my ankle, humiliated  myself in front of an entire district! Two of them!! I know about the party, I’m trying to get a present for Zuke! I’m so close! I need… I need…”

She couldn’t think of the amount, she felt so tired. DJSS quickly grabbed his jacket and wrapped it around her.

“Take this,” he told her. “You simpletons are always so fragile.” He tried to crack a joke, but saw it wasn’t the time. “Apologies.”

“Wh-whatever… just… I need… I need… money…”

He could only look at her and then got up. He got a bill and offered it. Mayday took it, seeing it was ten dollars. This… this was it. It was enough! She beamed and hugged it, tearing up.

“Perhaps you want to rest before you-”

“Thank you!!!”

She sprang to her feet, clutching the jacket and wincing before running out with a limp. He held out a hand… but then put it down.

“... my jacket…”

Getting close. Getting close. That’s what she repeated to herself as she ran to the store. There was the poster. Electronic drumsticks! That would make the perfect beats, never break, had grips! She saw Zuke eyeing them, talking about them, and they were only $250.00, which she had! Her leg felt like it was about to give out. Faster, faster, faster!!

Before she could take another step, she slipped down onto the ice. Her head hit the ground, ice cracking under. Her vision blurred as the clock chimed 2:00. Coins rolled out to some sewer grates that weren’t fully frozen over yet and her bills fluttered out and into the wind. With a squeak, she passed out on the ground.

“Mayday?” Zuke looked in the bedroom. Almost everyone was here except for her… he had texted, but no response. When the other artists told him they’ve seen her, it brought him some relief.

DJ Sub quickly clattered down the ladder. She opened the door, panting.

“DJ?” Zuke looked up at him.

“Fashionably late, as al-”

“May’s in trouble!” he sputtered out, interrupting Eve’s comment. They all went silent, Zuke going pale.

“... trouble…?”

2:50. Mayday had curled up in an alleyway, head throbbing and sniffling. She messed up… she messed it all up… how could she? How could she not get this very special gift for her buddy?

People stopped and asked if she was okay, but she ignored them. The streets were already plucked clean of the dollar bills by lucky passerbyers. She didn’t care. She messed up Christmas. She let her friend down… and she was cold…

She curled up in the jacket, wanting to search the pockets, but she wouldn’t stoop that low.

“... I just want to hear Zuke…” she wobbled out a sob. “... just… please…”

He must hate her, she thought. What kind of friend was she? She just let down her bestest buddy…

“Mayday!!”

“And that’s how it would start…” she shrugged. “Shouting my name in anger…”

“Mayday! Hey!”

“I would get the lecture… the hate…”

“Mayday!! Over here!!!”

“And he wouldn’t want to see me…”

“Mayday!!!!!”

The louder shout made her look weakly, seeing Zuke, looking worried as hell.

“Zuke…” she blinked, more tears falling out. The artists were behind him, looking worried as well. She looked up at him… then sobbed. “I’m sorreeheeheee!!!” she wailed, hugging his legs. They were so warm. “I didn’t mean toohoohoo! I didn’t!! I wanted to-wanted to make this-this the best Christmas for you!” She stopped only by her hiccups and coughs, hugging his legs tighter. The artists could only watch in sadness and awkwardness. “You wanted those drumsticks! I know you did! B-but I did everything I could! I sang, I sold cocoa, played songs, danced, begged! I had it all! And then I fell from my ankle and it’s gone! It’s all gohohone!!”

“... May…” he bent down to her, wiping away her cheeks. Mayday sniffled in, covered in tears and snot. “I don’t need those drumsticks…”

“B-but you wanted them!” she wailed. He stopped her by putting his hands on her cheeks, warming them up.

“Wanted. But Christmas… this Christmas, what I NEEDED was you… my best buddy…”

“... Zuke…” she wiped her eyes. He offered a gentle smile and scooped her up. She put her head against his chest, whimpering. She was so cold. She just wanted to go home now…

An hour later, Mayday opened her eyes, seeing Ellie on her belly and Eve next to her. She looked up at her, Eve smiling. She looked down, her ankle wrapped, fingers bandaged and her head having a warm damp cloth on it.

“... did I pass out…?” she weakly asked. Eve gave a nod and offered some hot chocolate. She took it and drank it down. Zuke rushed over, breathing a sigh of relief as he offered her a plate of dinner.

“... Mayday… you doing okay?”

“... I still feel horrible… emotionally and physically…”

“... May…” he sighed a bit. “You had me worried sick…” With shame, she averted his gaze until he propped something on her lap. She looked down, it being a present. “Open it.”

She was about to argue that presents were after dinner, but seeing his face, she couldn’t refuse. A little painfully, she took off the wrapping until Zuke helped, there being a box. She opened it, looking inside. Guitar picks… no… not just guitar picks.

Specially made picks with pictures on her, Zuke, Ellie, Tatiana, everyone on them all specially made. There were so many, even memories she almost forgot. Their first Christmas party, when they first met, Zuke doing Mayday’s hair, Mayday messing up Zuke’s hair, when they got Ellie… she couldn’t help but tear up for the second time that day.

“... these are… these…”

“Merry Christmas…” he smiled. She looked up at him, lip quivering. Tatiana secretly had a camera ready, set up to take a shot. Mayday put the box aside, quickly jumping on Zuke, hugging him, sobbing.

“I love you, Zuke!” she wailed in his shoulder. “Th-thank you! Th-thank yoohoohoouu!!”

He smiled and hugged her back, then lifted her up a bit. He saw the mistletoe in her antlers, giving a chuckle.

“Was that on purpose?” he wondered. Mayday was confused at what he meant, but when she felt her antlers, she blushed.

“I-... not really,” she chuckled. Zuke giggled and sat up, planting a platonic kiss on her forehead, the camera clicking right then.

“T-Tatiana!” Zuke scoffed.

“I got you kiddos and this picture is being saved,” she laughed. Mayday couldn’t help but giggle and hug Zuke again.

“... wish I couldn’t gotten you those drumsticks though… they were the perfect gift..”

“Mayday… you are the perfect gift for me…”

With that, they officially got the party started, but Zuke stayed with Mayday most of the party. Not only tending to her wounds, but making sure she was happy. And with Zuke and these artists who claimed her as family… how could she not be?

@nsr-simp

[solartranslations]

AF2 Luca Chapter 4 (12/28): Strong-Willed Silhouette

Even if they feel lost now, nothing will change. Map in hand, they take their first step…

~*Scene: Nordia Harbor*~

Luca: Ah Ojou-sama, not that way

Felicita: Huh? But the map says the bar is…

Luca: That route is the long way. So we’ll go this way

Felicita: How are you so familiar with Nordia, Luca?

Luca: Did I not mention it to you, Ojou-sama? I’ve been to Nordia many times before

Felicita: You didn’t

Luca: Regalo has diplomatic relations with Nordia, after all. I’ve met Sera before too

Felicita: Oh…?

Luca: Well, he might not remember though… I think he was 3 or 4 at the time

Felicita: Are you close with Agata too?

Luca: Yes. Besides Papa and Mama, Agata is an old friend to Debito, Pace, and Nova too

Luca: What was your impression of her, Ojou-sama?

Felicita: …She’s strong. I think I like her

Luca: She’s a wonderful woman. I think she’s someone you could learn a lot from, Ojou-sama

Felicita: …

Luca: ? Is something wrong, Ojou-sama?

Felicita: I was just thinking that you speak very highly of Agata

Luca: Yes…it’s good for you to have more role models aside from Mama, so of course I’d talk about her a lot

Felicita: Hm…

Felicita: It just makes me feel strange…

Luca: If it’s not jealousy…is it more a feeling of uneasiness?

Felicita: …… Yeah

Luca: Don’t look at me like that just because I guess right!

Felicita: It’s not fair that you can read me so easily…

Luca: I’ve always been with you, so of course I can tell

Felicita: But I can’t tell unless I use the Lovers…it’s frustrating

Luca: I guess you might have started relying on that without realizing it

Luca: You did train in using those powers since you needed them for the Arcana Duello

Luca: Rely on special powers like that causes you to neglect using your natural skills…I suppose

Felicita: Will I be able to understand you like you understand me someday?

Luca: Yes, I’m sure you will. So…

Luca: Please don’t look so sad, okay?

Felicita: …Okay

Luca: Besides, if there wasn’t one thing that I was better at than you, I might be seen as unworthy of you and we’d be forced apart

Felicita: ……

Luca: And if I heard you say that I didn’t understand a thing about you, I’d feel miserable

Felicita: ……You’re serious about that

Luca: Of course. It’s my way of trying my hardest to be loved by you!

Felicita: …Dummy…

Felicita: But Luca, I feel like you’ve always been popular with women

Luca: That, I think is because they see me more as a fellow housekeeper than a man per say

Felicita: *laugh*

Luca: Seeing that cheer you up is a little depressing for me though

(*growl) Felicita: Wha!

Luca: Food always helps when you’re sad, right?

>I want to check out the shops

(No Amore)

>I’m hungry

(+10 Amore)

Luca: That sounds nice too!

Luca: Alright. Let’s find a shop with lots of clothes that you’ll end up wanting!

Felicita: It’s not like I wanted to buy clothes…

Luca: You don’t have to buy them, trying things on is free!

Felicita: Isn’t it just that you want to dress me up?

Luca: See, Ojou-sama! You knew exactly what I was thinking without using the Lovers!

Felicita: I…guess

Luca: I’m kidding! During Natale, I wish we could have gone out together to buy presents

Luca: So we can make up for that now

Luca: Alright. Then we’ll head to the bar as planned. Trying some of Nordia’s specialties might be nice

Felicita: You know about Nordia food too?

Luca: Yes, of course. I know exactly the kind of food that you’ll like!

Felicita: I’m excited then

Luca: Not that it could beat my cooking though, right?

Luca: We’ll eat to make up for the time we couldn’t spend alone together

Luca: It’s my Natale gift to you

Felicita: Luca…

Luca: It doesn’t matter where we go, as long as it will make you smile…okay?

Felicita: Yeah, thank you

Luca: Ojou-sama!?

Felicita: It’s my gift to you. I did go shopping with Neve for one, but since I already gave you a ring for your birthday, I thought this would be better

Felicita: I needed courage to give you this one though

Luca: Ojou-sama…!

Felicita: Can we hold hands?

Luca: Yes!

~*Scene: VF Deck*~

Ash: …Why’d you suddenly want to see me? Weren’t you with Strawberry Head today?

Luca:,/b> It’s something I don’t want Ojou-sama to hear

Ash: Should you two really be keeping secrets from each other?

Luca: This isn’t the time for jokes, Ash. You know what this is about. You heard from Jolly, right?

Ash: …You mean Sumire’s bruise?

Luca: Yes. I believe only you, myself, and Jolly have noticed what’s happening with it…

Ash: A spotted bruise the same color as her stigmata…I have a bad feeling about it

Luca: I thought there might have been poison on the knife Neve used, but there’s no evidence to support that theory

Ash: I think we can assume that bruise was unrelated to what happened

Luca: …It would have been better if it was…

Ash: Huh?

Luca: It’s nothing. But then we have to assume that the Tarocco is related to it in some way

Luca: …Ever since Mama came back from her trip with Papa, she hasn’t been feeling well

Ash: Why didn’t you say something?

Luca: Mama said not to since she didn’t want anyone to worry

Luca: And her symptoms were getting better, so I never did say. It was my misjudgment

Luca: She said she was just feeling tired all the time, so I tried formulating some herbal medicine but…

Luca: If it was actually weakness from her life force being drained, it would make sense

Ash: So…there’s nothing wrong with Strawberry Head?

Luca: With Ojou-sama? Not that I’ve heard…why?

Ash: She’s Sumire’s daughter. If the mother is showing symptoms…then it’s natural to think her daughter might too

Luca: …I’ll check discreetly

Ash: You’re not telling her about Sumire?

Luca: Nothing’s certain yet

Luca: I just don’t want to worry her too much

Ash: Sure, right. Not my problem if you two get into a fight again

Luca: …Are you jealous?

Ash: Don’t be dumb

Luca: Besides that, Jolly said that we should keep this between us in the meantime, right?

Ash: Yeah, he did

Luca: Then please keep him updated

Ash: …Yeah, I will

Luca: [It seems unlikely that the Tarocco isn’t the cause of this…]

Luca: [And if it is the Tarocco, then someday Ojou-sama will also…]

~*End of Scene*~

(Continue to Common Event)

(Back to Directory)

[ragingbookdragon]

Forging Paths PT. 4

Batsis Story!

A/N: Y’all I’ve reached peak cringe here. Someone send help because I’m sure I’m gonna combust. -Thorne <3

For as long as (Y/N) could remember, her father never spoke more than he had to; even at parties surrounded by the best of the best, Bruce kept his conversations small. Back when she still stayed at home, it used to drive her up the wall to try and get more out of the man when she would speak to him, but she never could. Eventually realizing, that trying to have a meaningful heart-to-heart conversation was absolutely impossible with the man, she gave up. No use trying when he obviously doesn't care. She used to think, and staring at the man now, she still thinks it.

Bruce took his eyes off (Y/N) and barely glanced around the room before turning and heading out the door and back towards the direction of the cave. "We're wasting time. Everyone to the cave. Now." Damian, Tim, and Alfred were the first to follow after him, leaving behind (Y/N), Dick, and Jason. Dick started towards the door and stopped just as he reached the doorway. He turned and looked at (Y/N) before nodding at Jason, who did the same in return, and left the kitchen. (Y/N) let go of the breath she'd been holding and lowered her head onto the granite bar top. Jason leaned over and draped himself across her back, his chin resting where her skull met her spine. They stayed silent before Jason mumbled out,

"You alright sis?"

"Not overly little brother. I don't know what I was expecting, but whatever it was, I feel sorely displeased it wasn't met." Jason huffed a laugh at her.

"Yeah, the first time I came back and met Bruce again, face to face, I wasn't all too happy with the reaction either." (Y/N) threw her head up, causing Jason's face to get scrunched up until he pulled back and looked at her. Mad did not even begin to describe what she looked like.

"He's always so damn stoic and unfeeling! How the fuck does a man like... like him, have children?! Last time I checked, in order to be a good parent, you actually have to give a damn about your kids, and make sure their needs are being met, and then go beyond that for them! Does he just not care about anything?!" Jason sat and stared at (Y/N); her eyes searching for something in his. Recognition, perhaps? Jason placed a hand on the top of her head and smoothed out the hair that had gotten out of place.

"You're preaching to the choir sis." She closed her eyes and sighed heavily before removing Jason's hand from her head, and squeezing it. Jason understood (Y/N) better than anyone alive, even Dick. Dick, the older brother who she could always depend on; and as close as they were, he connected more with Bruce than her. But Jason? Kid whose entire life has been unnoticed and uncared for? Oh yeah, she connected with Jason best. The two of them were practically conjoined at the hip; where one went, the other one followed. She knew that Jason felt the same way she did, probably more than she did, and as much as she would love to sit and talk about their anger, she knew they had business to take care of. Letting go of his hand she rose to her feet and straightened out her clothes, before turning to Jason and giving him a smirk

"Wanna go raise some hell kid-brother?" Jason's grin turned almost maniacal as he rose up beside her. Craning her neck up to look at him, she never really noticed, but even at her height, Jason towered a good foot over her.

"Hell. Yeah." They laughed as they made their way to the study. Stopping in front of the bookshelf, Jason reached for the book to open the passage. He stopped on the book and turned towards (Y/N). She nodded her head in confirmation and the bookshelf swung open. Jason motioned her, "After you." She mumbled a quiet 'thank you' and began the descent into the cave. Each step only served to darken her already gloomy mood. Eventually they reached the bottom of the steps and crossed over to where the others had gathered. Damian glanced back and scoffed.

"It took you two long enough." Jason reached over to cuff Damian but stopped when (Y/N) grabbed his arm.

"Both of you quit. Now." Damian rolled his eyes and let out a 'hmpf' and Jason just crossed his arms and grumbled quietly. (Y/N) moved to stand in front of the bat-computer, taking in all the information on the screen. Gang and League movements galore right here. She thought. Barbara, who'd been sitting in front of the computer, turned and looked at her.

"Hey, (Y/N). How's it going?" (Y/N) glanced back at her and smiled.

"Going pretty good Babs. Seems like we got a pretty big mission on our hands though." Barbara nodded and began typing back on the keyboard. Bruce stood on the other side of her and looked back at the group.

"Suit up and get ready to go." (Y/N) glanced over.

"What's the course of action?" Bruce didn't even look at her as he responded.

"Had you been here like I said, you would know." (Y/N) felt anger spread through her body and she couldn't help but bite back.

"Yeah well, some of us actually enjoy having conversations with family. Not that you'd know what that means." This got Bruce's attention as he turned and glared at her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" (Y/N) took a step forward, Bruce doing the same, until Dick stepped in between them. Here comes peacemaker. She thought.

"Enough. I get that you two aren't fond of each other but put away the attitudes and get a grip. Bruce, she kinda has some reason for not feeling overly excited about the team up. (Y/N), you should've been here when he said to. So you're both at fault." Both of them rolled their eyes at his observation but backed off. Tim took the silence as a means to speak.

"Bruce, I know that your plan is a good one, but L.A. sees a lot more gang war and violence than Gotham does. Perhaps it'd be good to let (Y/N) help formulate the plan of attack." Bruce glanced at him before turning to her and tipping his head to the screen. (Y/N) moved to stand in front of it and stared up.

"Alright. The main threat I see right now isn't the League, it's the gangs. You've got Penguin teaming up with... Two-face? Jesus, that's fantastic. Well, I don't see the Joker getting in on this, but we'll plan for it anyway; the man's unpredictable. It looks like Penguin's gunrunning is what's supplying all the arms. The majority of his operations are in Blüdhaven, so if we hit the warehouses where he's keeping the weapons, we can shut him down and stop the flow into Gotham. Two-Face on the other hand is probably in charge of funds, so he'll be focusing on the banks around the city. You stop him from robbing the bank, you stop the fund collection. Now what I don't understand is how the League is involved in all this. It's rare for the League to go out of their main missions and start wars. But these pictures of Talia on the screen mean that it's obviously pertaining to her." (Y/N) turned and looked at Bruce. "She's your baby-mama. Why is she here?" Bruce glared at the boys when they started snickering, before turning to her and responding.

"All I know is that two of her elite personal members were discovered infiltrating the gangs and were killed." (Y/N) stared back at him, confused.

"So what's the big deal? I thought that if they were discovered, it was their fault? Why is Talia so torn up about it?" Bruce went silent, as Damian spoke up behind them.

"It is not why they were killed or how they were killed. It is what they sent mother afterwards." (Y/N) looked at him, eyebrows drawn together, still not understanding.

"So what did they send her?" Damian walked over and pressed a button on the keyboard. Images appeared on the screen and everyone's faces and stomachs dropped. Jason and (Y/N) mumbling a quiet, 'Fucking hell'.

"She received their cut off faces in a box. It is one thing to kill someone…it is another thing to mutilate their body and send it places. Mother has gone against grandfather's wishes and decided to retaliate. She isn't sending big waves of people, but small strike teams. It may not seem like it’s doing much, but Penguin and Two-Face can only build up their numbers back so fast." (Y/N) looked back at the screen and observed it all. "So, what do we do?" She looked back at them and turned back to the screen.

"Dick, Jason, gunrunning and gang war are your best territories-the two of you need to hit the warehouses together and stop Penguin. Tim, you're the best at formulation and stealth-you need to stop Two-Face's money parties. Dick, Jason, when you two finish that, help Tim. Bruce, Damian, and I know the League better than anyone-we'll handle Talia and the rest. Barbara, keep an eye on the Joker and his goonies-we need to be prepared for if he decides to join in on the fun." Barbara nodded and began typing. (Y/N) turned back to the group. "Everybody understand the missions?" Nods went all around. "Then gear up. We have a war to stop." The boys went to go change, leaving behind Barbara, Bruce, and (Y/N). (Y/N) walked over to the table and began checking her gear, making sure her guns and knives were all in place. Securing the wrist blades into place she felt him stand beside her.

"I know what you do in L.A." She rolled her eyes.

"Good for you Bruce." She turned to walk away but his hand shot out and gripped her arm tightly. She glared murderously at him.

"While I can't stop what goes on over there, I will stop it here. This is my city (Y/N), and while you're here you follow my rules." She ripped her arm out of his grip and began walking away. "Do you hear me (Y/N)?" She kept walking. He called out again, this time his voice booking no room for arguments. "I said, do you hear me Sentinel?" She stopped and put on her mask, then looked over shoulder, face and voice icy.

"Loud and clear, Batman."

[allthyheart]

The prompt link wasn’t working but, I would like Lenny meeting Midge’s kids or Midge introducing Joel to Lenny and Joel being shocked and awed that Midge knows Lenny please and thank you

Honey, have I got some stuff written for you!

So this ended up being just a touch anti-Joel. Because like I’m sure many of you are, I am also just a little anti-Joel. This will also be posted on my A03 and Fanfiction accounts!

 It was always absolute chaos when the kids came home from a few days with Joel. The Weissman clan were just finishing up dinner, and considering a dessert when the knock came from the front door. Midge watched as Zelda rushed down the hallway towards the sound, her heels click-clacking against the carpet and hardwood.

“Mr. Maisel,” the disdain in her voice was obvious, and despite how long it had been, Midge still secretly appreciated that Zelda would never forgive Joel for what he’d done.

“I’m here to drop the kids off.” The two children in question had already run past the two adults and into the apartment. Ethan ran towards his bedroom while Esther, still so young, ran for her mother with news of the playground they’d gone to earlier that day. “Can I come in?”

Midge inwardly groaned at the frustrated tone he was using with Zelda. She got up from her seat at the dining table with Esther in her arms, nodding her head towards the kitchen. It would be quieter in there and Midge had news that she needed to share. Joel saw the movement and she heard him following her until they were face-to-face with the kitchen table between them.

“How were the kids?” She thought that it was best to start off slowly. You didn’t really have to know Joel to know that he wasn’t going to take her news well.

“Good, good,” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the ground. “Took them to the playground earlier. Esther wanted to see the ducks, but I had a meeting with some people for the club…” He knew that this would mean a trip to see ducks tomorrow for Midge, and she was happy to see that he seemed at least guilty for that, if not for disappointing their daughter.

“That’s fine, we um… we were planning to take her to the park tomorrow while Ethan is at his playdate with the Cohn’s son.”

“That’s… that’s good.”

Midge smiled through the awkward moment they were sharing. When there was another knock on the front door Esther wrestled her way down to the floor. Midge let her run out of the kitchen and supposedly to the front door to see who was knocking.

“Joel, I wanted to tell you something. I’m not sure how you’re going to take it, but considering what happened with Benjamin…”

“So, you’re dating someone?” He sounded put-out by the information; like he didn’t have time to be informed about something he’d specifically asked to be told about.

“Well, yes.” She tried to formulate the words in her head so that Joel would get what she was trying to say. “I have been for a while actually. We are… we just got engaged over the weekend.” She held up her left hand to show off the beautiful antique ring as if seeing something shiny would make him feel better about his ex-wife getting married.

“You’re getting married?” His voice was raised now and there was no doubt that her parents and their new guest had heard everything. “Has he met the kids? We talked about this, Midge. If you’re dating someone I want you to ask me before-”

“He’s met them, but it wasn’t when we were dating. He has a daughter, Kitty, she’s the same age as Ethan so I had her over for a playdate a few times.”

“So, he’s met my kids?”

“Only as a friend's parent. It is no different than Archie.”

“It’s plenty different, Midge!”

Her nostrils flared and the muscles in her legs tightened. Eyes closed for a moment, she listened to the familiar voice talking animatedly with her father in the other room. Esther’s soft mumbling likely occupied them both.

“I’m engaged to be married. Yes, he has met both Ethan and Esther. No, it was not while we were dating. I didn’t even know that we would ever start dating until a while later.”

“You still didn’t ask for my permission. They are my kids, Midge. My kids!”

She wanted to yell back, but their argument was interrupted by Abe entering the kitchen. Midge breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he’d heard their argument and was interrupting on purpose. He opened a couple drawers and a cupboard, before turning to his daughter and smiling.

“I’ve asked your fiance,” he looked deliberately at Midge like he was trying to tell her telepathically that he had her back. “If he wants to stay and have a drink. He was just dropping off that book I loaned him last week. Are you joining us?”

Midge jerked her head away from the staring contest she’d been winning against Joel and looked at her father. “Of course, Papa. We’ll be right out.”

“Have you met him yet, Joel?” Abe’s expression fit better in a fighting ring than the kitchen. “Fascinating man! He’s been practicing his shuffleboard skills before the family trip up to the Catskills this summer.” Joel’s full attention was on his ex-father-in-law now. He had turned red from his neck to the tips of his ears.

"Papa," she used her sweetest voice to interrupt the tirade before there was no going back. Once Abe got going, it was hard to convince him to stop. "Why don't you go stop Mama from talking his ear off. You know how she is with him lately." They shared a knowing look.

Abe nodded his head and huffed his way back out to the sitting room. Midge watched him until he was out of sight, then turned back to Joel. He remained standing in the middle of the kitchen in stunned silence. Abe had never shown that much interest in Joel, no matter how much the younger man tried.

“I found it!” Abe’s raised voice echoed back down the hall. Neither of the two in the kitchen knew what he was speaking of, but it was clearly part of the guise Abe had planned when he interrupted.

“I’m going to join them.” Midge walked back around the table and grabbed an empty glass from the counter, knowing that they were likely running low after dinner and now cocktails. “You’re welcome to join us if you want.”

She could feel Joel’s eyes on her as she walked away. He followed her to the living room, but stopped close to the entrance of the apartment. Obviously he was debating on whether he wanted to meet this new man that, by extension, would be in his life for the foreseeable future. Midge tried to ignore all that, and instead found herself smiling so broadly that her cheeks hurt.

“Miriam,” Rose was standing by the drink cart, just finishing handing over a mixed drink to Abe. “Leonard was just telling me that you guys are going to Rhode Island next week!”

She smiled over at Midge’s fiance with a smile. He was standing in the living room with Esther clutching at his chest. His arms were wrapped up around the small girl like a lifeline.

“I was also telling the Little Duck here that we could absolutely take her to the park tomorrow,” Lenny leaned over Midge like her own shadow. He pressed his lips against hers in the lightest of pecks and smiled as he pulled back. “Hi, honey.”

“Lenny,”  her voice was filled with warmth, and everyone in the room could see the soothing effect it had on the man. “This is Joel. Joel,” she turned towards her ex-husband who was still hovering near the door. This time, with a slack jaw. “This is my fiance, Lenny.”

She knew what meeting Lenny would do to Joel. They saw Lenny perform the night they got engaged. It was a memory that she’d safely packed away in a space filled with treasures until there was suddenly no use for them anymore.

“Joel, I’ve heard a lot,” Lenny tightened his grip on Esther and stuck out his arm for a handshake. “Nice to finally meet.”

“You’re Lenny Bruce.”

“That’s what the lawyers say.” Lenny was already distracted once again by Esther’s fingers grabbing at his chin. He took her hand in his and teasingly nibbled at her fingers. Loud, girlish giggles filled the room and put smiles on almost everyone’s faces.

“Midge,” Joel talked in almost a whisper. Midge thankfully accepted a martini from her mother and gave him her attention. “You��re marrying Lenny Bruce.”

“I’m aware.” She pretended to be unfazed by the concept. “The ceremony is in a couple months. Right before summer vacation.” He looked at her blankly and she imagined smoke coming out of his ears as the connections in his brain shorted out.

“I might be a little jealous.” His admission briefly caught Lenny’s attention, just enough for the man to glance over.

“Of Lenny,” Midge asked with false suspicion. “Or of me?”

“I’m not really sure.”

[zoxiqwritesstuff]

This short fic is based on the amazing Mamabear Au by @elisaphoenix13. Go check her out on here and AO3. She is a true master story teller!

Heroes don't always wear capes 

Summary: For the first time, Peter can save someone's life without Spiderman. 

Before Peter could step off the elevator,  Stephen was there with a worried expression on his face. FRIDAY had alerted him that Peter had seemed a bit distraught upon his arrival to the tower. 

"What's wrong cub?" Stephen asked as the teen shrugged his backpack off of his shoulders.

Brown eyes met the sorcerer's blue ones as he could see Peter trying to form the question in his head. Peter's face dropped as the question formed. The teen fidgeted a bit with the hem of his shirt before he looked up at the doctor.  

"How much do you know about the signs of depression?" Peter asked in a soft voice.

Stephen's eyes went wide as motherly panic began to fill him.

Was Peter depressed? And if he was,  by the Vishanti, why hadn't he seen it sooner? The sorcerer moves beside him, placing a hand on the teen's back as he guides him over to the couch. Once they are both settled, Stephen shifts his posture so he is fully focused on Peter. The teen however still kept his gaze low, as if he were still deep in thought.

"Peter, are you…" Stephen began to ask.

Beforehe could finish, it was if the metaphorical dam that was holding back Peter's thoughts burst.

"There's this girl at my school. We have Chemistry and Spanish together and she used to be on the Decathlon team too." Peter explained. "She's really smart and really nice to everybody, but then she quit the Decathlon team and I noticed that she wasn't as happy anymore. She used to try to answer every question in class but now she just sits in the back and looks so lost. She sits by herself at lunch and if someone sits at the table she's at she just leaves. I'm worried about her, mom. I just wanted to know the signs of depression so I could see if she is or if I'm just overanalyzing everything."

Peter finally took a breath after his word vomit explanation. Stephen let out a sigh of relief, the overwhelming dread that one of his cubs was hurting washed away. Peter was just curious to help another student.  He really was the best kid.

"While I may not be a psychologist, I was taught the basics to diagnose such mental disorders in patients to transfer them to the proper wing." Stephen stated. "And from what you've described, I do conclude that this girl is exhibiting signs of depression."

Peter's expression fell to one of deep concern.

"How can I help her?" The teen quickly asked.

"Have you told your school's counselor?" The doctor asked in return. 

Peter shook his head no. "I wanted to be sure first."

"I would start there,  maybe try and talk to her as well. She could just feel like she has no one to go to." The doctor suggested. 

Peter nodded in agreement before reaching out and hugging the sorcerer. Stephen smiled at the embrace, carding his shaky hand through the teen's unruly curls.

"Thank you mom." Peter's voice was muffled with his face being buried in Stephen's collarbone. 

"Your welcome cub."

***

The next day was supposed to be like every other day. Everything had been just like a normal day, but Peter couldn't help but feel like something was off. His spider sense wasn't going off, which only confused him more. The teen was so lost in his thoughts that he almost ran into a street lamp.

Almost.

Harley grabbed Peter by the back of his shirt, pulling out of the way of the potential collision. 

"Are you going for a record of how many times you can run into a pole?" Harley teased Peter.

"What? No!" Peter retorted, turning his attention to straight ahead. "I just can't shake the feeling that something is wr…"

The hairs on the back of Peter's neck stood up as they were about to their school. There was danger at the school. Harley was already around the corner before Peter rounded it. There was a large crowd gathered at the entrance to the school and several students had their phones out recording. Peter soon found Harley amongst the crowd. 

"What's going on?" Peter asked.

"You need to suit up Peter." Harley muttered to the teen, as he pointed up.

Peter followed where the older teen's finger pointed, his brown eyes widening in shock.  There was a person sitting on the edge of the roof but not just any person. It was the girl he had told Stephen about. The teen was formulating a plan as some teachers came out, one with a megaphone to talk to the girl. 

Peter looked at Harley before the two silently nodded to one another and the younger teen slipped away. 

Peter hurried around to the back of the building to an area he was sure there were no cameras. The teen took a deep breath before scaling the wall with his spider grip. Moments later, he climbed the side and was standing on the roof, his web shooters hidden but ready… just in case. He took slow steps toward the girl.

"Hey there. I'm Peter." Peter calmly announced.

The girl didn't even turn to face him nor was she startled. Silence hung in the air.

"Can I come sit by you?" Peter asked as stopped his movements.

Silence. His brown eyes glanced down, noticing how her fingers tensed. Maybe if he just kept talking he could get her away from the edge.

"We have Chemistry and Spanish together. That test last tuesday was pretty hard in Spanish." Peter just talked.

"Why are you doing this?" Sophie asked, her voice soft but trembling. 

The tone of her voice reminded Peter too much of how he was right after May had died. She sounded so broken, so alone. Peter had to help her.

"Because I'm your friend. We may not talk all the time but we had Decathlon together." Peter explained. "You're really great too."

Sophie scoffed. "I don't have friends so just stop… this is…"

Sophie stood up and Peter could hear the crowd gasp below them. She turned to face the teen behind her, her eyes red from crying.

"You feel like there's nothing left don't you?" Peter asked and for the first time, he saw the pleading look in Sophie's eyes. "The world feels really cold and you have this overwhelming feeling of nothingness that just consumes you."

"How…" Sophie croaked out as fresh tears threatened to spill.

"I felt that way when my Aunt May died." The teen explained as he inched a bit closer.

"B...but your so happy even when you're bullied… how did you make it stop?" Sophie cried, her trembling hands running through her hair. "My own mind tells me how worthless I am… how it would be better if I just… disappeared."

"It wouldn't be though. " Peter urged. "When you quit Decathlon we lost our only arts and literature person. You were the reason we won state that one year because we were all so clueless."

A laugh escaped Sophie's lips. So he was getting somewhere with her with these stories. Maybe a few more and he could coax her away from the edge. 

"Do you remember that time in Spanish when I fell asleep?" Peter inquired.

"You jolted awake and said some very odd sentence all in Spanish. You were so lost until I tossed that note at you with what was going on." Sophie smiled softly.

"I would have been so lost if you didn't help me." The teen chuckled, reaching a hand out to Sophie. "I want to help you now."

The girl just looked at his hand as tears ran down her cheeks. She reached out her trembling hand to take Peter's. Once her hand was close enough, the teen pulled the girl into a tight hug as his arms wrapped tightly around her. Sophie sobbed quietly as he hugged her, apologies flowing between hiccups. The two teens stayed like that until the paramedics came on the roof. The two men carefully guided Sophie through the school and into the ambulance waiting at the entrance. Peter followed closely behind them just so he could keep an eye on Sophie.

Once outside, Harley came rushing over to him just as he was waving to Sophie.

"Dude! Did you just do what I think you just did?" Harley asked the younger teen.

Peter just nods. "Yeah. I knew how she was feeling and I knew the only way I was saved was by mom and dad talking to me."

"Well, why don't we go out and celebrate my little brother being a hero." The older teen smiled and clapped Peter on the back. "School's been canceled for the rest of the day."

The two teens walk away from the school heading to the small cafe near the school. Harley's phone began to ring and the teen promptly answered it. 

"Hey dad." 

"Can you tell me why you two aren't at school?" Tony asked. "If you're playing hooky, I will get mama bear."

"There was an incident at school and classes got canceled." The older teen explained, looking at Peter. "If you turn on the news, you'll see Peter being a badass and saving the day."

"FRIDAY didn't alert me to spiderman being on the scene." The billionaire replied, confused as he turned on the news.

"Watch the news dad and you'll see. We'll be home soon dad. Love you." Harley ended the call.

Tony just stared at his phone before he turned the television on. As he took his seat on the couch, Stephen came out of the kitchen with a hot cup of tea and took a seat next to his husband. Both men were both in shock at the headline: "Not All Heroes Wear Capes". The news footage showed clips of Peter talking Sophie down as well as of her parents that were thanking Peter for saving their daughter. The two men just smile at the news story,  thankful that everyone was ok.

"Looks like our kid is two superheroes now." Tony smiled.

"Both equally strong and caring." Stephen included as he sipped his tea.

"Well I think this is cause for celebration! We can all go pick up Diana from school and then all go out for once." The billionaire suggested as he got up from his spot on the couch, scooping Valerie out of her playpen. "What do you think Val?"

Valerie just blinked up at her father before smiling widely. "Mama!"

Stephen stiffles his laugh as his husband playfully rolls his eyes, lips curled into a smile.

"I should have seen that coming." Tony snorted as he held Valerie. 

An hour later, Peter and Harley arrived to the family floor, both teens shrugging off their backpacks and slinging them onto the couch. Harley grabbed the remote as Peter walked to the kitchen to grab a soda for the older teen and himself. The whistling teapot alerted the teen that Stephen was also there, the sorcerer smiling as he saw the teen enter the kitchen. A look of knowing passed between the two before the sorcerer pulled the younger teen into a tight hug. Peter had his nose buried into Stephen's collarbone as the sorcerer kissed the top of the teen's head.

"We are so proud of you cub." Stephen muttered into brown curls.

"I just did what I thought you or dad would do." Peter replied.

"We're going out to celebrate your heroics after we all pick up Diana from school. She's going to definitely want to brag that her big brother is a hero." Stephen grinned as he pulled away to make his cup of tea. 

Peter grabbed the two sodas he had ventured in for and walks back to the couch, tossing Harley his soda. As Peter flopped next to his brother, the teen's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, seeing it was a text message as he opened his phone. The message came from an unknown number but upon reading the message, Peter knew exactly who it was from. The message was two words, the only words of praise he needed for his deed.

"Thank you."

[of-muppets-and-men]

Penumbra

Chapter 4: A Glimpse of the Sun

Children were few and far between in the Soul Society, at least in the Seireitei and especially amongst the noble families. The usual culprits being either widowed all too soon or being duty bound to create an heir, loving couple or not. A thing Rukia found to be rather tragic. Souls often lost track of how old they became; the insignificance of it after a few decades. Yet somehow, spending your life with your beloved was as rare as having a Bankai.

The misfortune of it all led her mind astray. She thought of her Sister and the void she’d left behind, the greatest of them in Byakuya’s heart. And of course, she thought of her own predicament; her decisions… and regrets. As charmed as her life was, what if she had stayed? Said something to him? Questions that lingered and tormented her ever since.

Then perhaps she wouldn’t have to formulate this ridiculous plan a visit to her own child.

A tug at her sleeve drew her gaze away from the monotone streets and to her pleasure, it was Ichika. Her second-born bore a concerned expression with eyes that mirrored her own.

“Mama? Are you okay?” the sweet child asked.

Rukia gave off a quick sigh and put on a brave face for her daughter, “I'm okay, pumpkin.”

In a moment’s notice, Ichika was swept up by her mother and held in her arms. The boisterous little girl giggled with glee as she nuzzled in her mother’s embrace. Outside her numerous regrets, Ichika was most definitely not one of them. But naturally, her husband had to spoil the moment. With a scoff and a scowl, Renji made his complaint abundantly clear.

“I don’t get why the hell we have to visit Yoruichi just because she adopted some kid.”

“Because...” His wife explained, trying to ignore his slight, “It would be rude to decline Yoruichi’s invitation and it would give Ichika a friend her age. Plus we haven’t seen her in months, so it wouldn’t kill us to get back in touch. Also, mind your language. I won’t have our daughter picking up your boorishness.”

Renji choked in offense at his wife’s backhanded comment while their daughter snickered at him. His famous scowl returned, prompting Ichika to raspberry at his defeat. Unfortunately for the lieutenant, he was outnumbered this time.

“Knock it off you two, we’re almost there.” Rukia reprimanded.

Her Husband begrudgingly fell in line as he took Ichika from Rukia’s arms and placed her on his shoulders. Renji was and still is far too proud to ever admit, but this was without a doubt his favorite thing to do outside of combat. Given his duties as a lieutenant and Rukia as acting Captain of Squad 13, it was a genuine difficulty for them to act as a family. By the Soul King, he hated when Rukia was right.

The Abarai family at last made it to the front gate of the Shihouin Manor; gaudy as always. Renji audibly groaned as he rolled his eyes at the lavish mansion. Several members of Yoruichi’s guard appeared before them, before bowing respectfully. Rukia, Renji and Ichika nodded in acknowledgement as the guards opened the gate, revealing their Mistress.

Yoruichi stood along the path, as informally as she could get away with. Just as they had prior, the many attendants of House Shihouin flanked the family on both sides, bowing in honour of their guests.

“Thank you for having us.” The Abarai family said in unison as they bowed before their host.

“Oh, come now. You guys should know I’m not big on formality.” Yoruichi chuckled.

With a quick snap of her fingers, the attendants and guards dispersed; allowing the old friends to greet each other without tradition snuffing the fun out of it. Rukia and Yoruichi shared a long overdue hug, the latter of whom towered over Rukia. As their embrace continued, Rukia felt the reiatsu of another person emanating from the rooftop. It was odd, like it was trying to mask itself. But even so; it was remarkably immense.

“You feel it too?” Renji piped up, sensing the same thing, “Who is that?”

A chuckle led both off their astounded faces back to Yoruichi, wearing a mischievous grin.

“You can come out now.”

And just like that, the culprit appeared before them. A little girl no bigger than Ichika sporting a uniquely tailored Shihakusho bowed politely before her elders. Rukia’s breath seemed stolen away; the girl’s violet eyes, practically identical to her own. And more distinctly, beautiful bright orange hair so reminiscent of him… it had to be her.

While Rukia silently marvelled out how breathtakingly beautiful her firstborn had become; her husband was more hard pressed to know how this seemingly random kid had such immense spiritual power. It had to be at least Captain level, given his arms still had goosebumps.

“Rukia. Renji. I’d like you to meet my daughter.”

“Katsumi Shihouin! Nice to meet you!” the little girl announced with pride.

“It’s my pleasure.” Renji remarked, “Yoruichi, where the hell did you find this kid?”

“I’ll tell you once we get inside, it’s starting to get hot.”

Nobody could disagree with that assessment, the blaring light of the afternoon had no mercy to spare. The shinigami made their way inside the expansive manor with Katsumi and Ichika already proving to be fast friends. Their parents could hardly make out a word of what they were on about but decided to let them be. Growing up in a noble household didn’t elicit a lot of time for friends. Not to mention it was frowned for upon for nobles to associate with the 'lower ranks', even if either party were children.

While the girls zipped down every hallway, the adults found themselves content to find a room to chat. And Yoruichi’s living room happened to be perfect. A brief warning for the kids not to break anything; a warning they probably didn't hear and the were off. Resting their zanpakuto upon a recently acquired stand, the shinigami let themselves melt into the couch. It was as encompassing as Renji remembered it to be, but this time, he neither complained nor cared. Yoruichi sprawled out like she normally did, letting out a sharp whistle that bounced off the walls. Not a moment after, another member of her court appeared, carrying her beloved pocky sticks and a fresh pot of tea.

“Seriously? Where do you keep getting these things from?” Renji whined.

Yoruichi smiled coyly as she placed one in her mouth, “Kisuke knows better than to let me run out.”

“Ah… so you two are…”

“Partners. In every way possible.” she purred in response.

Lovely. Imagery neither of them needed. Rukia rolled her eyes, elated her old friend would probably never change.

“Oh yeah, before if I forget. Where did you adopt Katsumi from?” Renji abruptly asked.

The princess of the shihouin clan sighed deeply, fixing her posture into something more dignified. At the same time, Rukia’s grip clenched tight around her tea. Lucky for them both, Renji wasn’t one to pick up on such subtleties.

“The South Rukongai, in Inuzuri. I found her swaddled up and alone while I was on patrol. My conscience wouldn’t let me just leave her there, so I took her in. Plain and simple.”

“Hmph… the Inuzuri District of all places.” the lieutenant recollected, “Kid was lucky you came by…”

A lull of silence fell over the shinigami. Whilst Renji bitterly re-lived his life as a street rat, Yoruichi breathed easier knowing her ploy had worked. Inuzuri held many memories for both Renji and Rukia; some good but most, not so much. Name dropping the seedy little district ensured he wouldn’t pry any deeper than necessary. The acting captain of squad 13 curled up, taking a slow and deliberate sip of her jasmine tea. She had partly fabricated that story, a bit of guilt nibbling away at her core. When the warm liquid settled, Rukia hardly recognized the woman staring back at her.

“Her spiritual pressure… it’s incredible.” Rukia randomly noted.

“You’re telling me.” Yoruichi breathed, “Some of my attendants can barely withstand it.”

It was true. A feat typically reserved for Captains, was similarly accomplished by a girl of seven. But even most of the current captains couldn't make lesser souls pass out entirely. Only Yamamoto himself could ever have claimed to. As troubled as her heart may have been, Rukia couldn't help but feel a sliver of pride. Her little one was bound to be a force of nature.

“MY LADY!” another voice said, piercing through the tranquility of the living room.

Three pairs of eyes panned towards the entrance of the adjacent hallway where a lone messenger now knelt.

“What is it?” interrogated the Shihouin princess.

“A messenger for Lieutenant Abarai.” the man spoke, quick and concise. “Captain Kuchiki has requested he return to the Squad 6 barracks.”

“Did he give a reason why?” Renji similarly questioned, sitting up from his spot on the sofa.

“No, sir. He only said it was urgent.”

The lieutenant rose from the couch, his legs taking a second to remember the weight of his frame. Damn thing was more effective than most Binding Kido. He reluctantly took Zabimaru from the sword stand, letting out a sigh that matched his annoyance.

“Damn… Looks like I’m gonna have to cut our little reunion short. Will you and Ichika be okay?”

“Yes, we’ll be here for a while longer so don’t worry about us.” His wife reassured him.

“Alright, see you soon.”

Renji planted a loving kiss on Rukia’s forehead before subsequently leaving. Rukia faked a smile the whole time until she was sure he’d exited the manor. Yoruichi slumped back down, enjoying herself as she greedily consumed her snacks. A deep sigh escaped the acting captain’s lungs, hard pressed to know more of the daughter she left behind. Her brave face waned as tears of joy formed in the corners of her eyes.

“She’s beautiful…” Rukia suddenly beamed, wiping away at her cheeks. “Tell me. Does she have a zanpakuto?”

“Indeed she does.” Yoruichi divulging, reaching under the couch to reveal a massive odachi.

She handed Rukia her daughter’s zanpakuto, staring in awe of the blade’s size. If the blade reflected the power of the shinigami, then there was no doubt Katsumi was Ichigo’s child. Rukia positioned the greatsword to inspect the guard. A four point star style guard with circular grooves between each point and a vague snowflake design atop it. A true zanpakuto at her age was unprecedented, let alone one of such size. The forlorn mother pressed the handle against her forehead, weeping softly on the milestone she missed. Without a sound, Yoruichi scooted beside her, hugging her for what it was worth.

“Does she know it’s name?” Rukia asked weakly, still clutching the blade.

“No, not yet. Though given her parents, I doubt that it will stay that way for long.” Yoruichi complemented.

A half-hearted laugh came from the both. But eventually, it was drowned out by the thrilled screamed of her daughters. Ichika and Katsumi came barreling through, after tormenting the manor for the past 30 minutes. Rukia’s heart felt more at ease when she them getting along; if only they knew they were sisters. Ichika’s eye flared with worry, however, when she noticed her mother’s anguish.

“Mama!” She bolted over, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I’m okay.” Rukia responded warmly. “Having fun?”

As Rukia spoke, Yoruichi tucked the zanpakuto back under the sofa, hoping they weren’t any the wiser.

Both girls shook their heads in excitement, “Mhmmm!”

“You two didn’t break anything, right?” Yoruichi chimed in, crossing her arms.

Neither of them said a word but the devious look in their eyes betrayed their words; a messy disaster more than likely in the cards. Neither of the elder shinigami were convinced, but decided to let it be. After all, that’s what servants were for. The unknowing sisters joined them on the sofa, intent on starting a pillow war.

A looming sense of dread filled Rukia’s heart. Innocent as they were now, one day her daughters would learn the truth. It scared her to think of the possibilities. What if that knowledge made them hate one another? Or if both of them came to resent her. Would it have been worth all the secrecy then? Her mind lingered and strayed. Only at another tug of her sleeve, did its tension cease. Rukia half expected it to be Ichika, but gasped when Katsumi stared back at her instead.

“Auntie Rukia… Will you visit us again?” Katsumi wondered.

Taken aback by the question, Rukia took a moment to answer, “Umm Yes sweetie. Why do you ask?”

“I like playing with Ichika… I don’t have many friends so...”

Rukia rested a hand on her firrstborn’s head and gave a reassuring smile.

“We’ll come back as many times as you want.”

“Really?!” the girl’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Of course.”

Without warning, Katsumi lunged into her for a hug. Ichika followed her half sister’s lead as they both screamed with joy. A sly smirk formed on Yoruichi’s face as Rukia was overwhelmed by her children's love. The small woman’s arms enveloped them both; her face home to her first genuine smile in months. The future was bound to be racked with hardship of her own making, but at least for now, she had this...

[singeramg]

Midnight: Chapter 4

A/n: I bet you thought I was going to make you wait. Honestly I couldn’t apparently I have the patience of a Gnat. I hate waiting and seeing as i’m ready for Clark to show up here it is. I will say this mostly follows Justice League, but of course with the addition of my OFC. As always you guys are awesome! 

Warnings: Mild Violence, Language, Slow Burn

Pairing: Clark Kent- Superman/ Metahuman! Black!OFC

Rating: Eventual M

In case you are behind: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Midnight: Chapter 4

*Flashback * Just about 4 years ago

I could hear people screaming, I was moving as fast as I could. 

Buildings and cars burned as people ran away screaming, crying as their lives crumbled in front of their eyes. I was doing my best to try and save the innocent people all needing my help. Lex Luther had created a monster. Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman were all fighting. It would make no sense for me to go up there yet, not when so many lives are held in the balance, not when Clark basically forbade me to go. 

 I was helping the last of the families in a 6 story building get out, when the energy in the atmosphere changed. More specifically, Clark’s energy had shifted. He normally radiated an enormous amount of power that I could feel from anywhere in the state, and it made my powers increase by proxy, but something was wrong, it was going down, and I could feel my own power decreasing. 

I took off, pushing myself to the limit, leaping from building to building trying to get to him. I landed on the building across the street just as Clark flew himself into the monster, pushing some sort of spear into himself. The glowing green tip clearly infected with the one type of element that would weaken him. I cried out feeling his energy fade as Batman and Lois surrounded him.

I pushed as much of the energy I could, but it did no good. I was getting ready to jump to the next building, but when I felt his energy die out, it was pointless.

I screamed in agony, the windows nearby shattering in distress, Batman took a look around at my voice, but wasted no time taking off, Woman in tow, leaving Lois to cry over Clark’s body. I leaped, landing on the roof. Lois looked at me, tears running down her face. I knew I had to look similar. I dropped to my knees next to him. Grasping his hand, pushing energy again, but it was not returned. 

He was gone. 

The realization just allowed for new flood or tears as I dropped my head to his still chest for the man I considered a friend. I cried for what we could have been. Openly sobbing for Clark leaving this world thinking I hated him. I was weeping for the loss of Clark Kent, the man I had fallen in love with despite knowing he would never love me back…

*End Flashback*

I wiped a few stray tears that had fallen down my cheek as I remembered the night Clark had passed. He never had any clue I was pregnant and neither did I. I had no clue that my son would also lose the opportunity to know how great his father was. If I were being honest with myself I didn’t know if I would have told him. If this plan of Bruce Wayne’s worked, and Clark didn’t come back as a shadow of himself, I still wanted to stay far away. I had been doing a great job of raising Kalen by myself. I wouldn’t run the risk of Superman deciding I wasn’t worthy and taking my son. 

No I wouldn’t tell him. I couldn’t...

Bruce agreed to let me come back to meet the team to revive Clark tomorrow, but only after Kalen woke up. Ms. Alphonse was more than okay with watching Kalen for me and while I didn’t tell her where I was going she understood. I didn’t expect to be gone more than a day at worst. I made Kalen breakfast, and when he woke up he seemed to feel much better.

 “Mommy I’m hungry!” He says excitedly. 

He is strong enough to get himself into the kitchen chair, where I sat his paw patrol place mat and eventually the matching  plate with his food on it. I let him get about halfway done, before he got too full and fidgety to listen.

 “Alright baby so when you are done eating I’m going to take you over to Ms. A’s house. Mama has to go away overnight, so you get to have a fun sleepover with her okay.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as the fork clanged on the plastic plate.

 “I wanna go, Plwease??”

  “You can’t come with mommy this time, but I promise when I get back tomorrow we will have a fun day together, just you and me.”

He begins to cry harder and I pull him into my arms. Even at three he was getting to big for me to hold, but I would hold him until I couldn’t anymore. 

  “I think Ms. A is gonna be really sad if you don’t go with her. I need you to be a big boy for me. Help protect her for me please?”

I said wiping tears off of his face he sniffs into my neck, and I grab a paper towel wiping his nose. 

He finally calms down enough for me to get him dressed and down the hall. I left my extra key with Ms. Alphonse. Dressed in a pair of jeans, a dark blue half shirt and black leather jacket with matching rider boots. My hair sat in a messy bun on the top of my head so I couldn’t have to bother with it if I needed to shift my outfit. I leaned down to his height, kissing his cheeks and hugging him, tickling him around his sides and stomach, making him laugh in glee. 

  “Kalen Joseph Smith I love you very much. You be good for Ms. A and if I get a good report I will take you for some ice cream when I get home.” Excited he began jumping around.

  “Kalen be good and strong and brave.” He says to me in a small voice.

I didn’t want to leave him even if I would only be gone that day. 

   “Mommy loves you. Gimme a hug!”

He jumps into my arms with the biggest hug he could manage.

I said my goodbyes and looked at my phone where Bruce texted me that he had sent a car for me and it was waiting downstairs...

*Later*

Man as if I wasn’t already in pain from leaving my son, I was about to lose my shit. I had serious reservations about this rag tag team Bruce Wayne put together. They could hate me and if things went south with Clark then I would be the next target, by affiliation. I sighed, and sat back as the driver navigated various turns until I found myself back in Metropolis. I was guided to Star Labs, a place I knew did phenomenal work in various fields. If life had planned out differently for me then I could have fancied myself as a scientist or something, but it was not in the cards for me. I came into the large chamber not truly prepared by the on-slot of eyes on me also that everyone would be in uniform. I waved my hand, my outfit melting into my suit and mask.

  “Bruce, who is this?” Asked Wonder Woman and everyone else was on the defensive ready to attack me. I rolled my eyes, then used them to glare at the man in the bat suit.

  “Damn it Bruce. If you are going to call a girl in at least make sure you tell folks. I prefer not to have my ass handed to me by Wonder Woman.”

I smiled at her and she seemed to relax some. Bruce came over to stand next to me handing me a comm, and watched me as I put it in.

  “She is here for backup only. A little insurance for those of us that are skeptical about Clark’s return to the world. This is Midnight.”

I smiled at everyone, and took a seat on some nearby steps of the craft, leaning back on the steps behind me. I had a shield up already if any of them tried anything. 

  “You seem really relaxed for the situation we are in.” Said a young boy in a red suit, clearly unsure of me, but not willing to go against the grain. He had a lot of nervous energy and as for everyone else it was much of the same and Aquaman had only relaxed a fraction since I showed up. He was very powerful as well. I shrugged in a nonchalant way which annoyed Aquaman and amused the half Cyborg and The Red-suit. 

   “I am only here to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone. More specifically, any of you. He wakes up and I’m gone like I was never here.”

   “Let’s get this show on the road.” Bruce says and the team seems to get on board. They explain the plan as it’s modified to where the boy in the suit says he can generate enough energy to start the machine. The plan went into action and I shifted the light fields around me to become invisible. A skill I picked up after Clark’s death. Honestly I thought it was a subconscious way to disappear because I wanted so badly to do so. Now it was a valuable defensive skill.

As the cube touches the water, time seems to slow down for me but in reality it doesn’t. Seconds later Clark shoots out of the water, busting a hole through the alien spacecraft. The sudden return of his energy to my immediate vicinity caught me completely off guard. It had been a long time since I felt energy like this course though me. I dropped to my knees, coughing a  fit, trying to adjust was painful. Batman came over to me, knowing where I was due to the heat signature in his mask.

  “Are you okay Midnight?”

  “I am *cough* fine. Clark just has an enormous amount of energy. I will be fine in a few moments, just go make sure he is okay. I’ll join you guys soon.”

We heard the sounds of a fight starting above and Batman left me. I coughed again and scrambled to my feet. A quick scan told me Clark’s energy was all over the place and he was confused. I knew it would not turn out good for anyone the longer I stayed down. I leaped out the same hole Clark had created with my newfound energy, and if I were being honest with myself it was like breathing again. Actually with all of them in the same area as me, I had never felt more powerful. 

I landed just as Clark hovered over Wonder Woman, ready to actually hurt her. I tossed up a shield just as Batman appeared.

  “I know you.” Clark says leaving from in front of her to fly to Bruce before I could toss a shield. He had him lifted in the air by his face after kicking his ass. 

                    “You won’t let me live, you won’t let me die.”

He growls and I could feel Bruce panicking although he wouldn’t outwardly admit it. I tried to formulate a shield between the two of them. It would be the equivalent of standing between them and pushing at Clark’s chest. 

It got Clark's attention but not in the way I wanted. He tossed Batman like a rag doll, I tossed some sort of shield his way to soften the blow of the ground, but because it was so hasty I was sure I would hurt. Meanwhile I had no time to prepare myself for Clark slamming into me, then reach up and grab me by the neck. 

  “I may not be able to see you, but it won’t stop me from killing you.”

He growled in my face and I grasped at my neck, trying to pull him off of me. I could have blasted him back, I was strong enough to do that, but that would hurt him, maybe even irreparably. I couldn’t hurt this man even if I tried.

      “Clark Please Don't.”

I choked out and recognition in his eyes as The Clark we all knew returned and I could feel my visibility returning as my oxygen levels depleted.

  “CLARK!”

We both heard and his head whipped behind him. He didn’t toss me as he had done to Batman. He sat me down gently as I coughed and he ran to Lois, it was always her. It would always be her. 

It didn’t hurt any less for him to fly away with her in his arms. 

I wiped the blood from my nosebleed caused by the choking. I shifted back into full visibility as Bruce groaned from where he landed behind me.

               “Oh something is definitely bleeding.”

I don’t know why but that was hilarious to me and I started laughing even though it hurt my throat.

    “Yeah I told you Clark was gonna beat your ass on sight.”

He actually laughed with me as the team came over. The joy of laughter quickly ended as a major shift of energy happened and suddenly this horned figure appeared. Taking the cube looking thing, I shot a blast of electric type energy it it’s direction but it still managed to get away.

     “Steppenwolf has the third box.”

I dropped my head back on the grass in frustration...

A/n: So here is Clark... I once again I am excited about this story!

[atths--twice]

Okay! As promised, I am back and ready to post more of the Family Life Series. 

I have a friend, who I met through her incredibly sweet comments on my stories. We have been friends for nearly two years now and if I had never answered her comments to me... I seriously cannot imagine how different my life would be. 

A few days before her birthday last year, I decided to write her a story for her gift and I was writing like a madwoman to finish in time. It is a story that includes most of her favorite episodes, shared through the eyes of a more mature Mulder. I hope you enjoy it. <3

Faith for the Future 

Chapter One 

You Are Not Alone 

Mulder is woken by Faith, needing an extra bit of time with her daddy. He rocks her and tells her a story to calm her and get her back to sleep.

7a/15

March 2019

Mulder startled awake, Faith’s sharp cries sounding from the other room. He felt Scully stir beside him, groaning as she stretched. Her feet brushed against his shins, and he smiled.

“I got her, Scully,” he said, turning toward her, and nuzzling into her neck. “You sleep.” He kissed her on her head, before pulling back from her, and rising from the bed. He shivered as he pulled on a sweatshirt, stopping to kiss her cheek.

“Thank you, Mulder,” she breathed, burying deeper into her pillow. He smiled and left the room, heading to see what the fuss was about.

Pushing Faith’s door all the way open, he walked over to her crib and looked down at her. “Hey now, none of that,” he said quietly, reaching to touch her chest. As soon as she felt his touch, and heard his voice, she quieted. “What is it, my love? Are you hungry? I don’t think so, so let’s see what’s going on.”

Picking her up, he held her close and kissed her soft cheeks. Breathing in her baby smell, he smiled and hummed to her, as he began to rock her slowly. Her cries subsided, as she yawned and sighed.

“So what is it, my girl? Did you just need to know you weren’t all alone in the world? Needed to feel safe?” He moved her to his shoulder, rubbing her back, and patting her diapered bottom. “You ever feel that way, that you need to feel loved, to know you’re not alone in this big big world, you give a shout like you just did, and I’ll come running. Every time. Deal?” She sighed again and he smiled.

Walking with her for a couple of minutes, he could smell she needed a fresh diaper. Laying her on the changing table, he undressed her and changed her diaper. He kissed her warm belly and she grabbed at his hair. Laughing softly, he moved her fingers and redressed her. Lifting her, he kissed her cheeks again, marveling for the millionth time, in the past five months, at how beautiful she was, how perfect.

“So, little one,” he said, turning to walk over to the rocking chair, grabbing a blanket on the way. “I don’t think you’re hungry. Mama fed you just a couple of hours ago. Maybe you just need a little cuddle? And perhaps a story?” Sitting down in the rocker, he put her on his chest and covered her with the blanket. He began to rock and she settled into him.

“Let’s see now, where did we leave off? I’ve told you about Puerto Rico, the Flukeman, and how terrible it smelled down in that water. It was truly awful, my girl. I’ve told you about Darren Peter Oswald and how horrible he was as a person, aside from his powers. You need to stay away from boys like him. Shifty and troubled,” he said, rubbing her back and listening to her breathing.

“Oh, I’ve got it, baby girl. One I can’t believe I haven’t told you of yet, considering it’s the beginning. But, I suppose it fits with how all stories seem to go, the origin one coming later, instead of first. Let’s settle in, little one, this is a good one,” he said softly, kissing her head. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes, remembering back so long ago, when he first met Scully.

“Years ago, Daddy was working for the FBI. I  was working in a different department before I found the one that fit for me. Mama was there too, but I hadn’t met her yet. One day, I was told I was getting a new partner and I was not happy about it. Partners always slowed Daddy down, with their silly questions, and inability to follow what was happening. I wasn’t looking forward to having a new person who would poke about and get in my way,” he said, thinking of how he felt when he was informed about a new partner. He smiled at how stupid he had been.

“I was told I was being paired with your Mama, so I checked into her background. Well, my love, I can’t tell you the surprise I felt when I read your Mama’s words in her thesis statement. She was smart, Faith, truly so smart. I was intrigued, but … still not happy to have a partner." He paused and listened, moving her a bit, finding her eyes still open. He smiled and took it as a sign she was enjoying the story.

“When my office door opened and I saw her, well, I was at a loss for words. She was so beautiful. So young too …” He paused again as he visualized it, smiling before continuing. “She walked right up to me and shook my hand. Cool as could be, while I fought to keep mine. Faith, as much as I tried to deny it, I started to fall love with her the second she smiled at me.” He thought of decades of Scully’s smiles- happy, sad, annoyed, joking, every one of them were beautiful.

“I’ve told you the story of Evaline. Who she was and how your Grandma and Auntie repeatedly drew her pictures. They are hanging on your wall in here, and one day you will see in them what I see: your Warrior Mama. A woman destined to find your Daddy, so she could save his sorry ass over and over. Whoops, I mean butt.” He laughed softly and she whined. Patting her, he rocked in silence for a minute.

“Well, after our first meeting, we set off for our first case, and your Mama was wonderful in the field. She was inquisitive, engaging, and didn’t put up with any of my bullsh- … nonsense. She kept me on my toes, letting me loose and then pulling me back when I had drifted too far. It was her first introduction into an extraterrestrial case and while she didn’t believe in it, she listened and didn’t laugh, not too hard anyway, and she was eager to find closure for the people affected.” He paused, remembering her trying to stop Teresa’s bloody nose, the look on her face when she realized Billy had indeed been out of his bed, and her raised voice telling him it was crazy that this was happening.

“Your Mama,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “She was sent to shut me down, my love. Our superiors didn’t like your Daddy much. No, I was an annoyance they wanted to be rid of, and they had sent your Mama to do it. They underestimated her though, and her ability to see the good in someone, to see their worth, and stick with them. Even if she didn’t always agree or believe in the same things I did, she respected the journey. She was there because she believed in me and saw my worth. For that, my sweet, we both have her to thank for our existence.”

He closed his eyes again and rocked in silence, an idea forming as he held his girl, the world dark and quiet around them. Shifting her to lay in his arms, he watched her sleep, her cheeks rosy and mouth open. He looked at her chest rising and falling and shook his head. So much beauty in such a small package.

Standing up, he carefully laid her down in her crib, watching her settle into sleep. He covered her with her light blanket and headed back to bed, closing her door halfway.

He walked back to their bedroom, pulled the covers back, and laid down beside Scully. She turned over and snuggled into him, her head on his shoulder, an arm wrapping around his middle. He kissed her head as she sighed, and pulled him closer.

“She’s okay?” she asked breathily. “She didn’t need to eat?”

“No, she was okay,” he said, running his fingers up and down her arm laying on his stomach. “Think she just needed to know she wasn’t alone in that big room and wanted some extra snuggle time.”

“Hmm, a girl after my own heart,” she said sleepily, snuggling closer to him. “She’s a smart girl. Already has you completely wrapped around those little fingers of hers.”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “As if any other outcome would have been possible.” She laughed softly, and within minutes was sleeping once again, her breathing slow and steady.

He lay there, his mind racing with plans. Smiling at the idea he was secretly formulating, he held her closer and joined her in slumber.

[sarcastic-sunshines]

Letters for my Love - Chapter 4

A/N: I just wanted to wish everyone a happy school year! I officially start this week as well. I wish all of us nothing but growth in knowledge and 4.0 GPAs

Pairing: T’Challa x Black Reader

Chapter 1 I Chapter 2 I Chapter 3

My Love,

I do not know where the time has gone, but somehow, our daughter is graduating from kindergarten. It seems like just yesterday I was nervous about her beginning school, now Nono is off to Year 1 in a few months. Sometimes it feels as though she is growing up too fast for me to soak in all the memories. I am blessed to have a child who sees me as her best friend and lets me experience all her happy moments with her, though I am not sure how long that will last. Everyday it seems her friend Fatou gets closer to stealing my spot. Perhaps Nobomi is more independent than I would like to admit. Perhaps admitting my daughter is growing into her own little person will also force me to admit that I am still struggling to formulate my own life outside of her.

I have tried to take baby steps, just like the therapist suggested, but evidently my progress is slow. Having Erik home more has been helpful, his presence always pushes me to explore myself outside of being King and a father. His teasing however, is not always appreciated when it comes to the fact that I have made no actual attempt in befriending Akina. After how things ending with Ayesha, I was sure it wasn’t the right time, but now I am not sure. It is as though Bast is playing a trick on me. I went from never seeing her to suddenly bumping into her almost everywhere I go. I am hoping to get to talk to her more at Nobomi’s graduation.

The little girl has invited almost everyone that she knows for her special day. And it is hard to say no when I see the excitement on her face. You should have seen how big her smile was at the seamstress as she took her measurements for her graduation dress. It reminded me so much of you, I still find myself longing for your presence in these special moments. For you to get to experience how much our daughter holds your spirit. How much it brings me comfort to see you glimmering through her. Though I know my morning glory is always with me, I still long for the love that we once shared. Some days it feels like the void your death brought will never be filled, and I am not sure how I feel about it. It helps no one to dwell too much in what could have been, instead I will focus my energy on planning a ‘super duper fantastic’ graduation party for Wakanda’s graduating princess. I am not sure what exactly counts as ‘super duper’ to a six year old but I am excited to find out.

Yours Forever,

T’Challa

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T’Challa sat with his cousin on the couch, as they waited for Nobomi to try on her dress for her graduation. He hadn’t thought too much about the whole event, until realizing how excited his daughter was for reaching her first educational milestone. She couldn’t stop talking about the day, making her excitement contagious. So when she asked for a new dress, he had no choice but to say yes. Somewhere along the planning, he had been persuaded into hosting 20 six year olds for a party to celebrate the end of their kindergarten years. Planning had not been easy, considering event planning was not his forte, but again Nobomi’s excitement was worth it.

T’Challa nudged Erik awake once he heard little shuffles coming towards them. They both turned their heads to look at Nono as she strolled in like the princess she was. Her smile went passed her eyes, which held a twinkle that reminded T’Challa so much of her mother, it felt like a constant reminder that she was always there. T’Challa felt himself getting emotional watching his daughter twirl in her dress wishing his wife was here to see the beautiful strong willed child they had brought into the world. He cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes before speaking.

“You look so pretty Nono, and your smile makes your dress even better.” he said opening his arms to allow her to hug him, though she didn’t stay for long, quickly going  back to twirling.

“Yeah baby girl, you sure you're not heading to a runway and not graduation.”

“No uncle Erik! You are so silly” she said still giggling at his comment, her four missing front teeth open to the world to see.

“ I didn’t know serving looks was a requirement to graduate from kindergarten” he replied tickling her while littering her face with kisses.

“Baba said I get to wear Mama’s hair pin so I get to look extra pretty and have my good luck charm” The pin had belonged to his wife’s grandmother. She had always planned on giving it to her child, so T’Challa did just that when he found it again. Nono somehow understood the importance of the gift and only asked to wear  it during special events.

The seamstress came from the back quickly with a needle and thread in hand  “ Nobomi sweetie, I have one more adjustment to do at the sleeve please. You were supposed to go and come back” she bent down to the little girl’s level as she used some pins from her pincushion to have the sleeve fit as perfectly as she wanted.

“Imani, you really outdid yourself this time. She looks amazing”

“Oh I cannot take credit Kumkani, your mother had been working with a local designer named Akina,  she owns a dress shop closer to end of the city. Nobomi had insisted on having one of her dresses.  She entrusted in me in doing the final fitting” Imani stood back up leading Nobomi to the back to carefully take off the dress without the pins hurting Nobomi.

This was all new information to T’Challa. He had left every detail of the dress to his mother who had gone to every fitting prior to this one. He would always ask Nobomi how the fitting went but she insisted she wanted it to be a surprise. He only ever got a ‘good’ or a ‘fine’. He hadn’t even known that Akina was a designer. It just proved how little he hadn’t gotten to know her.

Erik turned to make sure that Nobomi and Imani had gone to the back.

“I didn’t know your lady was a designer”

“I didn’t know either, and she is not my lady” he said with a little nervous stammer

“ That’s shocking, you shoulda seen the way your eyes lit up just by her name” T’Challa frowned as Erik laughed. “ Man, it has been literal months, if you don’t ask her out soon I’m gonna have to.”

T’Challa’s expression became a glare that even Erik felt a cold chill from  “Chill, it was a joke. But seriously, you need to step up , because home girl is definitely crazy about you. Look at the dress she made for  your daughter, she really didn’t have to. And the added bonus is baby girl already likes her so there is no sign of there being an Ayesha situation.  Just use Nono’s party as an excuse to casually talk to her. ”

T’Challa thought about Erik’s words for the rest of the day. For a while he had been sure that his feelings were not reciprocated, if anything,  he was sure he was imagining the connection he felt between them. Every interaction he had with her had been a stuttering mess that was either interrupted by Nono needing his attention or her having to leave. He was convinced Akina was being polite because of how much she liked Nono and the fact he was still the King.

Erik was right though, she didn’t have to make Nono a dress, and it was strange she never mentioned it. Maybe this was actually a gift from Bast, seeing as now he had something to talk to her about at the party. He just hoped he wouldn’t get lost in her eyes as he always did. He prayed her beauty wouldn’t distract his brain from the words that he was supposed to form.

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T’Challa looked around the auditorium, waving at some of the parents he recognized. There were all smiling faces as the crowd prepared to see their young ones walk across the stage for the first time. Erik looked at his cousin trying to hide his laugh. It may not have been obvious to the passing eye, but Erik could see that T’Challa was waiting for Akina to slip in. Adanna had explained her sister may be running late, but that didn’t stop T’Challa from looking at the door every time he heard it open. The lighting in the auditorium suddenly dimmed, leaving a spotlight on the stage, where the headmistress stood, welcoming friends and family to the joyous moment. Just as the headmistress walked to her seat on the side of the stage, Akina snuck in taking the empty seat next to her sister. Her eyes connected to T’Challa’s as they both smiled at each other, only looking away when the name of the first graduating pupil was called. T’Challa’s smile however, did not fade, he was ashamed to admit, but he was sure Akina gave him butterflies. He hadn’t felt anything close to this since his wife, it scared him a little that another could make his heart so vulnerable.

His mind cleared as he heard Nobomi’s name called, there was his princess with her big smile, walking so her dress could sway as she made her way across the stage. Her hairpin glistened in the light. The pin really did match her outfit, he was just proud that Nono wanted a piece of her mother with her on this special day. Despite the fact the headmistress had asked for applause to be kept until the end, T’Challa and Erik shot up from their chairs clapping loudly, T’Challa let a tear slip as he watched his little girl grow up before his very eyes. Akina watched from the end of the row, completely mesmerized by the dedication the man had towards his child. It made her heart yearn for him, the feeling seemed so foreign, it had  been so long since she truly felt this way. And for the King, it felt so wrong, yet whenever she caught him looking at her, she knew it was right.

Erik’s whistling and yelling of “Okay baby girl! Show them you didn’t come to play!” broke Akina  out her thoughts. She watched as Queen Mother reached over to pinch her nephew harshly, urging him to sit down, while he brought T’Challa down with him. She let out a giggle, much louder than she thought, T’Challa’s head turned to her again, before they both watched as Nobomi joined her class. She was the second last, so not long after, the auditorium rose to applaud the graduating class. T’Challa smiled at Nobomi as they mouthed ‘I love you’ to one another. He caught the kiss she blew at him making sure to hold it to his chest for her to see. What would he do without the gift that was his daughter. He thanked Bast for the moment, hoping to bask in it for a moment longer.

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Shrieking, that was all T’Challa could hear. The shrieking matched the scene of twenty tiny humans running around the palace garden engaging in a variety of games. He sat by Erik and Shuri, not listening to a word either was saying. His concentration went on Nobomi, making sure the little girl was having fun. And she appeared to be, she had gotten her face painted, just like she wanted. He had watched her jump in the bouncy castle with Fatou, letting their screams and giggles ring through the party. They had just had her favourite chocolate cake, made by her maternal grandmother and she was allowed to eat as much as she wanted. Nobomi was on cloud nine, he could tell, by watching her on the dancefloor with Fatou. They seem to be recreating a dance they had done at their recital. He watched them with a slight smile on his face, her growing personality was always so fun for him to see.

He looked away for a second, surveying the grounds, his eyes landed on Akina talking to one of the parents. Their eyes met for a moment before T’Challa looked away shoving cake into his mouth. Erik noticed and kissed his teeth.

“What happened to talking to her today, or are y’all just gonna keep staring for the rest of your lives”

“Brother is scared” Shuri chimed in steal icing from T’Challa’s cake “I have seen him this nervous since he was proposing to Nono’s mama”

“I am not nervous, or scared. “

“If you not scared go up and talk to her once she’s alone. We all know she is waiting for you” Erik said cocking his head towards Akina before downing his drink. He turned to his cousin and lowered his voice before switching to Spanish so only T’Challa could here.

“Plus I bet your sister 500 dollars you could do it and I don’t plan on losing” T’Challa rolled his eyes before passing the rest of his cake to Shuri.

“That’s not fair Erik! You cheated!” Erik smirked patting T’Challa’s back as he nervously stood, he watched as the mother left Akina to tend to her child. Their eyes connected again, T’Challa took the opportunity to head to the tree Akina was standing under, his eyes never leaving hers. He made it to the tree, but didn’t say anything, it was happening again, he was too mesmerized to speak.

Akina saved him, letting out a breathy “Hi”

“Hello” he said, his voice an octave higher than he would have liked. He cleared his throat before trying to speak again.

“I just wanted to thank you for the dress you made Nobomi. I had no idea you were the one working on it this whole time.” he said with a smile, he pocketed his hands to stop fidgeting.  He watched her own smile grow with every word he said.

“Oh that wasn’t an issue Kumkani, I was honoured Nono wanted me that bad. And she wanted to surprise you so it was our little secret” he nodded

“Well considering she hasn’t stained it yet, I know she really does love it” they shared a laugh “So thank you anyway, I really do appreciate”

“Then you are welcome Kumkani”

“I thought I said we could drop the formality?” He said with his charming smile. Akina could feel her face heating up as she nodded acknowledging his words.

They kept talking, conversation flowing naturally like they had known each other for a long time. T’Challa learned Akina was quite sarcastic, her humour fit so naturally into the conversation, he found himself having to stop to laugh every time. Without even trying, the distance between the two of them began to disappear. Both of them forgetting there was a whole party going on around them  “By the way, what is the name of your shop, I don’t think I know it”

“Do you know every store in Birnin Zana? I didn’t realise that was part of your job” She said with a smirk, T’Challa was surprised by her sarcasm but appreciated it, letting out a chuckle to go with it.

“Funny, well I would love to see it some time, especially considering how much Nono loves it”

“That would be nice, I rarely do men’s clothing but I think I could make an exception for you” her eyes looked at him longingly, they lingered on his lips before going back to his eyes.

“I would love that, a king can never have too many Kaftans”

“Especially if he hasn’t had one of Akina’s yet” He smiled, taking a large breath before saying what he wanted to say. Akina could sense he had something else to say, she waited with her heart beating fast, hoping he would say what she wanted him to.

“Perhaps, after we could- “

“Baba!” instantaneously, the moment was gone, and both of their attention was turned to Nobomi who came running towards him. She slowed down when she noticed Akina was also standing by the tree. “Are you busy Baba?” she asked meekly smiling at the both of them

“ I am never too busy for you Nobomi wam. What can I do for you darling?” he asked, squatting to her eye level. Akina watched admiringly, the father daughter duo always warmed her heart to see.

“I want to jump in the castle with you?” T’Challa put on a shocked expression making Nobomi laugh.

“Me?! Are you sure? Where is Fatou?”

“Fatou is playing, but I don’t want her I want my Baba” she said with a pout to match her big brown eyes. Just like her mother, T’Challa thought to himself. He turned to Akina, apologizing with his eyes and a nod towards Nobomi. She smiled shrugging the moment off.

“We can talk a different time, but bouncy castles are very important issues that should be handled with urgency, right Nono?” Nono nodded her head excitingly at Akina. The simple interaction warmed T’Challa’s heart. He stood up, apologising once more to Akina before running after Nono.

The pair spent the rest of the party running around the bouncy castle. Nobomi’s laughter took away his disappointment of not getting to ask Akina out on a date. It was her day, so saying no to his little girl was not an option. He didn’t mind though, these moments of just the two of them were becoming more rare as time went on. She was not going to be this little forever, so maybe it was okay if he decided to create more of his own life outside of her. As always, he took in every moment of them jumping the castle, both their boisterous laughs ringing through the garden. It might have been his favourite part of the day, things always seemed simpler when it was just them.

Guest had started to leave, but the two of them laid in the castle, taking a break from jumping. Nobomi cuddled into her Baba’s side. He could tell her sugar rush was dying down, and soon she would be ready for bedtime.

“Did you have fun today Nono”

“It was the best day ever” her hands shooting into the sky to emphasize her point. T’Challa felt accomplished. His only goal for the party was for her to be happy.

“I am glad, that was all I wanted to hear” he closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them again when he felt Nobomi’s little hands on his face. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on each of his cheeks. She snuggled back into his side and whispered. “I love you Baba”

He wrapped his arm around her and whispered back “I love you more Nobomi”

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The streets of Birnin Zana were busy, it was the end of the working day and traffic began to pick up leaving and entering the Golden City. All that could be heard was the sound of hover car engines as people hurried to get back to their families. T’Challa had chosen to walk, not telling anyone other than Erik where he was going. He entered the shop quietly, but was let down by the bell that sat on top of the door.

“We’re closed!” Akina yelled from the back, she was packing up ready to end her own workday. She did not have time to deal with any new customers, and quite frankly she was starving.

“Really? Even for special order kaftans?” T’Challa yelled back. Akina stopped what she was doing to peak to make sure she wasn’t hearing things. She patted down her Afro to even it out, she made sure her dress was smooth before emerging from the back. Her smile gave away the excitement that she was feeling, which was fine seeing as T’Challa’s matched hers. She moved slowly towards him.

“I think we have time for measurements.”

“Great, but that isn’t the only reason I am here. This is a bit overdue, but I think my heart is pointing me to the right place.” he ended reaching for her hand, her fingers closed around his so perfectly. He kissed their entangled hands moving them closer to each other.

Barely above a whisper he asked “ Would you like to come to dinner with me?”

“I was waiting for you ask me.” She let out a giggle which T’Challa found himself falling in love with. “And you came at the right time, I am starving”

They turned towards the door, their hands still entangled. T’Challa led them down a path to his favourite restaurant that hid them from passersbys. It felt instinctive to be this close to her at all times. He never thought he would feel anything close to this again, but now that he was, he was glad it didn’t feel forced, and overall, it was something that he really wanted to work. He was excited to see what the future held for him and Akina.

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My Love,

What a busy week it has been. I got to see our little girl walk across the stage and she did so with so much swag. It reminded me of you my  love. How I wished you had been there to see the excitement on her face. But as always, I know you were there and Nono does too. Her insisting to wear your pin made it clear to me that she understood the importance that you hold in her life and that is all I can really ask of her. It makes me feel like I am doing a good job.

I must be if our little girl is ready to move on to Year 1 and start ‘big girl school’, as she calls it. I am just focused on keeping her busy through the summer. Speaking of summer, this may be an interesting one for  me as well. Things with Akina have progressed even more than I had hoped. It was hard not to really. I am not sure if it will ever be like the love that we once shared, and I am not even sure if I want to replicate that. But whatever I feel for her now makes me excited for what the future holds. I am ready to give this a try, and what a perfect time. This summer may lead to self growth, not just for Nobomi, but for myself. I am ready to let love back in my life, and knowing it is with someone who gets along with Nobomi calms my heart.  She may be my first thought always, but I am ready to start making decisions that keep me happy as well, just as you would have wanted. As always, I ask that you guide us as we venture into new territory. I know with my morning glory as my guardian angel everything will be fine.

Yours Forever,

T’Challa

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Taglist: @writingmarvellousimagines @chaneajoyyy @ghostfacekill-monger @abrunettefangirlnerd @ashanti-notthesinger @mellowjellow6 @fonville-designs @royallyprincesslilly

[fox-mother]

Kushina has two roads that her path as an Edo Tensei could follow. She could be summoned by the allies but severely restricted due to their limited knowledge of the jutsu or she could be summoned by Kabuto in cahoots with Madara and Obito, granting her all but full use of her abilities again. It depends on the circumstances surrounding her summoning. Before I go more in-depth with that, I would like to discuss her abilities as a whole so we can get an idea of what she gets back as an Edo Tensei.

Abilities:

Sealing

Kushina boasts many tantalising abilities for both sides. The most obvious is her prowess with sealing. She has more knowledge than the entire Sealing Corps of the Allied Shinobi Forces (hereby known as the ASF) combined. She can neutralise pretty much every single seal they could possibly formulate, she can remove Minato's hiraishin seals and, thanks to her research, she can remove or alter Tobirama's hiraishin seals.

Taijutsu

She has some of the best taijutsu skills outside of those who use the Eight Inner Gates. Kushina could go mano a mano against a fully-powered Gai and come out victorious. Of course, she also has the advantage of being exceptionally strong and quick of her own volition. She could- potentially- take on the ASF on her own or with maybe the help of a clone. This would be a useful tool for either side.

Kurama (Yin Half Only)

If Kushina's death was due to the Kyūbi after she sealed him within herself and her son- upon Minato's request- she would be reanimated with the ability to form the chakra cloak like is observed with Minato in canon. However, due to her intimate knowledge of the fox and how he worked, Kushina would be able to use his abilities far easier than Minato and with more success. 

Sage Mode

One of the few abilities that go unknown by the ASF and Madara, Obito and Kabuto, Kushina would be able to use her Sage Mode to enhance her already powerful abilities. Activating this again for the first time in 17 years would also reactivate her summoning contract with the toads. This would allow her to summon Gamaton- her toad summon- for the first time in that same period. The number of unique abilities that Kushina displays would also ensure that she's a hard opponent to predict.

Chakra Chains

The last major ability I will focus on, her chakra chains could prove to be a help to either side. Considering that they can seal, defend, attack and neutralise without ever really needing to change forms. Strong enough to withstand a full-strength Tailed Beast Bomb from even the Ten-Tails, she could use them to protect the ASF or protect Madara and Obito on the battlefield from the ASF and their attacks. With her infinite chakra reserves, Kushina could have these active indefinitely and she could have as many as she wanted to have active due to there being no real risk to her if she did so.

Now, with that out of the way, let us move on to discussing the two paths I mentioned earlier. 

Path 1

A pawn of the ASF, Kushina is revived by Orochimaru after being cut from the stomach of the shinigami alongside the First, Second and Third Hokages. After questioning Orochimaru, Kushina and the Hokage all depart to the battlefield, Kushina utilising her husbands hiraishin network as she does. She arrives first and observes the battlefield from afar before making an entrance alongside the other Hokage, who have caught up at this point. Kushina is the one who protects the allies with her chakra chains, rebounding the Tailed Beast Bomb back at the Ten-Tails. Upon reuniting with her husband and son, Kushina is immediately thrust into the role of protector once more as she single-handedly forms the Four Red Yang Formation using pre-placed seals. 

Using her chakra chains, Kushina helps Hashirama pin down the Ten-Tails. She also manages to neutralise the Truth-Seeking Balls, being the one to jump in the way of Gai to protect him. She was able to bypass the Truth-Seeking Orbs by pumping herself full of Sage Chakra beforehand. Pretty much everything plays out the same, except Minato is taken with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Obito and Kakashi when they dimension hop while Kushina stays with the other Hokage. Kushina helps resummon them back to the planet again and is allowed to finally have a proper talk with them.

Hagoromo takes her aside and tells her that- while he cannot restore her to life- he can allow her to stick around if she wants to. She takes him up on this offer and is allowed to remain behind with Minato and Naruto, preventing Minato from following Naruto and Sasuke when their fight breaks out. She also protects the Yin half of Kurama that she was still holding onto- having prevented the extraction of the Yang half from Naruto. They reunite with their son again after the battle and continue to stay with him until Minato steps down and they go travelling.  

This is the ideal path that is taken but it isn't the only one. 

Path 2

The second path sees her being summoned by Kabuto before Itachi and Sasuke visit him. She is promptly thrust onto the battlefield, armed with one of the many Uzumaki Fūinjutsu scrolls that could be salvaged from the Uzumaki Storage Temples. At this time, she is under mostly Kabuto's control with a lot of her abilities being ignored or just not used, instead, he uses her to release the seals that are placed on his other Edo Tensei pawns. She just accepts this because what good is it going to do to fight back? It isn't like she could even if she wanted to. 

Meanwhile, Madara is engaging in combat with the Kage. Kabuto sends her to back him up, even if the Uchiha tells him that backup is not needed. Kabuto manages to force Kushina into activating her chakra chains to stop Tsunade from breaking Madara's Susanoo ribcage. The chains wrap around the Susanoo just in time to prevent it from breaking and then retreat when there is no more threat, alerting the Kage to her presence. Madara swiftly deals with them while they're distracted by Kushina. 

When Kabuto is forced into releasing the Edo Tensei, Madara forces Kushina to release herself from his control- much like Madara does- so that she can continue being of use to him. An Uzumaki is a good ally to have, especially one who seems to be especially talented with Fūinjutsu. They continue onto the main battlefield, facing off against the ASF with little trouble. Meeting up with Obito, who Kushina punches in the face almost at once, they continue with their plan. However, the plan changes drastically when Kushina senses her husband and son on the battlefield. She knows that Minato has probably sensed her by now and the fox would have given Naruto a heads up about her as well. Kushinas immediate reaction is to stiffen up in surprise before staring right at them from where she is atop the Ten-Tails. Taking note of this, the two Uchiha try eliminating the threat of them both but Kushina- being a devoted wife and mother first and foremost- stops them. She decides to join the ASF after much deliberation but not after severely wounding the Ten-Tails with a well-aimed landing on its head. 

(For context: Kushina would leap from the Ten-Tails into the air before rocketing back to the ground fast enough to slam into the Ten-Tails. This causes it to hit the ground with enough force to shatter the land for miles around it. This would have temporarily disabled the Ten-Tails long enough for the ASF to mobilise and contain it. They are not able to seal it away but they can put their plan into action while Madara and Obito are getting the Ten-Tails back in working order.)

No matter what they do, they're unsuccessful and Project Tsuki no Me is put into full effect. The only difference is that Kushina joins them and saves Obitos life. A bit of Talk no Jutsu from everyone's favourite fox mama would help convince Obito and Kakashi to join forces, allowing them to use the Susanoo in a similar way Kakashi does in canon. Everything with Kaguya plays out pretty much the same way from there, except Sakura plays a slightly bigger role in her defeat than she does in canon. They're brought back to the normal world and Kushina gets to speak with Minato and Naruto. They both stick around and Kushina helps reinstate Minatos regenerative abilities while Naruto goes off to fight Sasuke. 

So, as you can see, Kushina ends up following a similar path towards the end no matter what. However, the experiences of being on both sides have changes and consequences on the story as a whole. This is especially true in the case of Path 2, in which the most changes occur.

[talix18]

November 22

Today I learned what a Japanese tuxedo is (in terms of tattoos) and that David Lee Roth at 65 has more energy in one hour than I’ve had in my entire life put together. I started listening to his appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF? and spent most of that time laughing or with my jaw hanging open. I lost track of Diamond Dave after his stint as an EMT. Now he’s an entrepreneur with a line of skin products formulated for tattooed skin. Gods bless.

Listening to Dave describe his formal music education made me wonder if that’s not what I ought to go back to school for. Music is the thing I love the most but have little actual education in. I took a beginning theory class in college and some sort of classical music appreciation course in grad school; I even played viola for two years in junior high. I guess by the time I got to college I’d ruled music out as a thing one could start studying. One of my high school friends had been playing cello for her entire life and I remember her missing various activities because she was practicing. She’s now making a living with her cello and I guess her example made me assume it was already too late.

Katelyn and I were talking about going back to school the other night. She’s learning young just how hard it is to make new friends once you’re out of school and I think she’d enjoy it, but we’re both looking at our wallets wondering how to pay for it.

School is one of my happy places. I loved learning, I loved feeling my brain work, I hated studying for exams but loved the feeling of understanding the material. I loved explaining to the class what the teacher meant when they couldn’t parse it and I loved making outline after outline of my study notes until I’d whittled the course down to bullet points. I love having conversations with people who are smarter than I am.

I briefly considered pursuing a Certificate of Higher Learning from Oxford because how cool would it be to be able to say I’m an Oxford alum? The majority of classes can be attended virtually, which is where I admit that I don’t just want to be taking classes by myself. I have a wealth of Great Courses available anytime I want to go ahead and start taking them. I want to Go To School. I want to meet smart people. I want to be surrounded by that energy and excitement again.

Now I’m looking up Eddie Van Halen and learning that he’s been in radiation therapy for his cancer for five years and was just in the hospital after a bad reaction to the drugs. Getting older, as my Gram used to say, ain’t for sissies. Love died for me when Eddie and Val got divorced but I’m glad they’re still friends and I’m thrilled he’s been sober for eleven years. I’m not sure I would have survived a rock and roll lifestyle, but then again, I’d rarely be driving.

(Speaking of the brothers Van Halen, how did I never know their mom was Indonesian? Now I understand why Alex’s eyes have looked vaguely Asian to me for all these years. Apparently Valerie has a cooking show and shared Mama VH’s recipe for something that grabbed Mom’s fancy so I can look forward to that!) (Don’t tell her that I’m a little meh on ham for Thanksgiving. She’s finally cooking Brussels sprouts a new way and I am calling that a win.)

(Mom found a recipe YEARS ago that uses Guinness and had faithfully made her “Relapse Brussels sprouts” every year since. They are fine, but they are mushy, and having seen the way, truth, and light of fresh Brussels sprouts roasted with salt and olive oil, I don’t have the heart to tell her that the Relapse BS just aren’t my favorite.)

This is my fourth day in a row of feeling pretty good, and that’s on less sleep than I normally get. I really hope this is because the medication is working. It’s hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other when you feel like you’re doing it in three feet of water. But I’ve been productive at work and at home and actually considered taking on a work training challenge today. I even started my Christmas shopping! (I hate much of what Jeff Bezos stands for, but goddamn if Amazon doesn’t alleviate most of the Christmas crazy.)

The increased meds are not helping the words come out! I have rare free time in front of a keyboard and nothing to say? Maybe that *is* a sign of increased mental health.

December is flat out insane in my family. Thank goodness my aunt moved away with her 12/4 birthday! There were birthday dinners with Mom (12/2), my aunt, me (12/20), and my dad (12/26). My brother’s birthday is also on the 20th and he’s continued the tradition in the latest generation – my niece will be five on 12/1. Her Aunt Lindsay has decided it’s time we start taking her out for birthday dinners. Basically, the fulcrum of the year tips at Thanksgiving and is just a steep slide into New Year’s. (Which I actually have plans for!)

Christmas shopping is so anxiety-laden for me that I have bad dreams about it all year long. (It’s always the same: December 23rd, I’ve purchased nothing, and the only place open in Walgreen’s.) I can’t enjoy the holiday season until I’m relatively sure what everyone’s getting and honestly, I don’t need any more stuff. Just being together and enjoying yummy food is enough for me. The holidays also mean the Hebert Christmas punch tradition from which I’ve been excluded for this will be the 24th time (I can drink anything I want! I choose not to!). My family are all wine and spirit drinkers and most of the time I look around it, but the holidays really make me miss that fuzzy festive feeling.

So how does one achieve that without using? I need to get back on a meditation routine and I need to make upside-down yoga part of my weekly life. Upside-down yoga always made me a little giddy and we rarely invert in the class I take now. I also need to try on my New Year’s Dress and assess how vigilant I have to be between now and then to make it work. I was having some success with an intermediate fasting routine where I’d restrict my calories for two (non-consecutive) days per week. The beauty of that schedule is that I can maintain it through the holidays. I should have just started this week after the colonoscopy.

But I also had a pretty severe mood crash last year and fasting is not for the unstable. Yes, I’m an emotional eater but you know, I’d rather eat my feelings than wish I could opt out of life. I know how to lose weight; necromancy is above my spell level.

Did I ever mention I was a witch and practiced in a coven for a decade? I’ve just gotten to the 20K word mark and it’s likely I’ll start repeating myself any time now. The coven was made of some amazing people but the actual business of witching just felt too much like work. I went in looking for a spiritual experience and what I got was a delightful social experience. That required a lot of time and 40-mile drives and the stagnation of my 12-Step recovery in that decade was not a coincidence.

Yesterday I got to whip out one of my favorite recovery slogans on a friend: “Religion is for people trying to stay out of hell. Spirituality is for people who’ve already been there.” It doesn’t hold up once you consider religions that don’t have conceptions of hell, but it’s catchy.

(The NaNoWriMo website helpfully breaks down how many words one has to produce per day to get to 50K by next Sunday and it is a little overwhelming. I only need 2235 more today to stay on target! [I am not staying on target.])

Somebody give me a topic! (Give me a beat!) Oh! Yesterday I emptied out one of my spare room dressers, which is something that’s been on my project list for, oh, a long time. All I have to do is patch the hole and that room will be ready to paint, which will let me do the floors in that room and the front. With that done I’ll have my closet annex and yoga station all set up and I will finally live in my entire house. And it should inspire me to do the last three rooms.

I’m excited to set up these last two rooms as functional spaces. I can’t tell you what’s taken me so long to surrender to the idea that I need a room-sized closet extension but look…I have to grab joy wherever I can find it. Waiting for the big stuff to fall into place just takes too long and this bizarre timeline provides plenty of reasons to despair. I don’t understand how people can spend eight hours a day in cubes that aren’t decorated and I am not going to limit myself to one of my life’s compulsions if I have room to store it all. (Vanessa is in Tennessee shouting “You’ll never have room for another person in your house that way!” and I’m shouting back “You and your person bought a new house!”)

I do love my house, though, and getting me out of it is going to take some extraordinary conditions. With any luck I’ll meet a life partner who also loves their house and we can commute and share. I still won’t have enough wall space to hang everything I want to; perhaps a rotating gallery space is required. Says the girl who can’t manage to swap the screens out for storm windows and vice versa every year.

[inlovewiththefictionalcharacters]

Part - 3 : Mr. Ax Everybody wants some!! (Glen McReynolds X Reader)

Warnings : Language.

The next day, Glen was in a sour mood, staring at some soap on the T.V. along with his teammates, downstairs, in the living room. Though he was staring at the television, his mind was entirely somewhere else, thinking about why (Y/N) just silently sneaked out of the house, when she woke up. That’s exactly what she does every time they slept together. He sighed and looked at the television from his position, sprawled out on a couch with a bottle of beer in his hand.

“God, Erica’s such a bitch” he remarked, looking at a female character talking dramatically to someone, on phone.

Roper shook his head, looking at the girl on T.V., shaking his head and said “She’s definitely cheated on him”, making Glen look at him and ask “What?”

Just then, a movement by the stairs caught Roper’s eye, making him look at the stairs.

Billy Autrey, whom the whole team call as Beuter Perkins was coming down the stairs, with a backpack slung on his shoulder.

“Hey! Beuter! You leaving us already?” Roper asked, making everyone to look at him.

Plummer chuckled and asked “Running home to mama, Perkins?”

Billy looked at him and said “C’Mon ya’ll, my name ain’t Beuter. Okay guys? It’s Billy Autrey.”

“Bullshit” Glen said pointing at Billy, making him to look at him.

“It’s Beuter Perkins until we tell you otherwise. Now where are you going B.P.? You running back to that corn fed girlfriend of yours, already? Hmm?” Glen asked and took a sip from his bottle of beer.

“No, sir. I’ll be back Sunday for practice” Billy said.

“Well, well, well. Looks like Beuter Perkins is getting laid this weekend, huh?” Douglas taunted.

“You’re finally trading in that phone for the real thing?” he asked, making everyone laugh, except for Billy, who just sighed in exasperation.

“Shoot y’all…” Billy said, dropping his bag.

“Man….Guys… I don’t… She says she might be pregnant” Billy said, making everyone stop their laughter and look at him in shock.

“No sir….” Jake said and everyone else had pretty much, the same reaction.

“Yeah… Man… That’s what she says” Billy told him.

“How late is she?” Jake asked him.

“She’s a day late” Billy said and everyone groaned because that sounded pretty silly to them.

“Oh man!” Glen chuckled.

“You gotta be shitting me, Beuter! She’s one day late, she’s giving you shit for it?” Roper chuckled.

“She’s testing you. She’s trying to gauge your response. Are you the guy that says “Don’t worry, I’m gonna pay for the abortion” or are you talking about marriage, which is what she’s hoping for. Either way, you’re fucked” Finn told Billy.

“Give it up, Beuter Perkins” Finn added.

“No trust me, man. She’s not fucking pregnant, alright? We’ve all been through shit like this, except for Nez of course, ‘cause he’s still a virgin” Glen told Billy, while thinking about the time when (Y/N) once gave him a mini heart attack two years ago, telling him that she might be pregnant. Turned out she wasn’t.

Their relationship was complicated back then, too and she always gave him a hard time and he wasn’t any less. Both of them still continue their antics. Nothing changed. Things are still the same between them, if only they got even more intense and heated.

“Look, she’s just taking your little chicken-fried nuts and she’s running them through the wringer, okay?” Glen added.

“She’s just giving you shit for it because you left her back on the farm with all the other little pigs you used to fuck” Roper said making everyone laugh, except for Billy who said “I ain’t ever put it in a pig!”

“They speaketh  the truth, young Beuter Perkins” Douglas said and added “Man, we’re just worried about you, alright?”

“Yeah, man. I mean school hasn’t even started yet and guys, correct me if I’m wrong, but you are the official front runner for the Freshman numb-nut of the year award, right guys?” Glen said.

“The- the what award?” Billy asked.

“It’s the annual award. We give it out to the most clueless freshman” Finn said and looked at Roper and other guys and said “ I think we already started engraving his name on the plaque” and then looked at Billy and asked “How do you spell Beuter, by the way?”

“My name is not Beuter! It’s-“ Billy was saying, but got cut off by Nez, who said “Uh Beuter, we also got a bet going on whether your share of phone bill is gonna be under or over $300.”

“We gotta pay the phone bill here?” Billy asked, looking at Nez, clearly looking clueless.

“I’ve already done the calculations based on its usage thus far, way over $300” Finn told him.

Plummer laughed hearing it and said “$300 and a kid? Man, your life’s gonna fucking suck.”

“Fine. Fine” Billy said, taking his bag from the ground and made his way to the door while the remaining boys said “Later Beuter!”

Later that day, the boys decided to hangout in the backyard of the baseball houses. A few of them were playing basketball, a few of them were just relaxing, a few of them were getting high and a few of them were playing some other sport of their own choice.

Glen on the other hand was talking to Nez who was placing a bet on him. While Nez only got a beer bottle in his hand, Glen got a beer bottle in one hand and an ax in another.

“I'll bet you 10 bucks” Nez told him.

“Ten bucks?” Glen asked smugly while sipping from his bottle of beer.

“Yeah. Ten bucks” Nez said.

“You wanna go... That's steep for you” Glen said, slowly stepping backwards with a grin on his face.

“ Best out of three” Nez told him.

“So, I gotta get two?” Glen asked.

“Yeah, Mac, two” Nez replied.

“ Okay. You feel like losing 10 bucks?” Glen said with a smirk on his face and placed his bottle on a nearby table, only after taking a huge sip from it. 

“You're just excited to hit off me for once, huh?” Nez asked.

“ Oh, man. I mean, this is gonna be fun. This is gonna be very fun, Nesbit” Glen said, holding his ax as if it’s a baseball bat.

“ Man, let me get a little stretch in” he added, doing some stretches, the crop top he’s wearing riding up when he’s stretching.

“Come on. Come on, Mr. Ax. Strong Man” Nez mocked him.

“ Anytime” Glen said and stood, holding his ax like a baseball bat.

 Nez threw a baseball at Glen who immediately made a strike at it with the ax,effectively splitting the ball into two halves- each flew in different direction. 

“Fuck” Brumley muttered, collecting one half of the the ball that fell nearby him.

“I don't believe what I just fucking saw” Plummer said while Roper and Douglas walked towards them.

 “You know how strong you'd have to be to do that?” Brumley asked Plummer.

“ And the eyes!” Plummer was saying, but got cut off by Roper who said “Let me see that” snatching the half of the ball from Brumley’s hand.

 “You know how well you'd have to see the ball to hit it with an ax? Fucking crazy” Plummer said and Roper made a sign of the cross while looking at Glen.

 “You just wouldn't listen, Nez. You wanna go half price? We can stop now. We can call it five bucks” Glen offered looking very smug.

“No, no, no” Nez said while Glen said “Double or nothing.”

“No. No, no. Triple or nothing. Huh? Yeah, you feeling lucky? I am” Nez said.

“ I feel great with those odds. Triple or nothing sounds fantastic. Maybe one of the best days of my life here, Nez. You know, until tomorrow” Glen said, and went back to take his position, standing like a batter.

 Nez threw another ball at Glen which Glen successfully split into two halves again.

“If (Y/N)’s here, it would have saved Glen some effort to impress her” Plummer said, making Roper and Douglas to give him a look.

“I don’t think so” Douglas told him.

“What?” Brumley asked.

“I don’t think that’s how their relationship works. It’s a lot more complicated than that” Douglas said.

“I still don’t get it” Plummer said.

“Well, the two of them already knew what the other one is capable of. She doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction that he managed to impress her. That’s how they kinda get on each other’s nerves” Roper explained.

Later that day, the guys went to a club to hangout. Glen was playing foosball with Finn, Coma and Willoughby when (Y/N) entered the club along with a few more of her friends, including Emily, of course. Glen smirked when he spotted her, but immediately went back to playing the game, with the wheels in head already turning, formulating a plan to confront her.

(Y/N) gazed around the room and saw that Emily’s already attached to Roper who was standing by the pool with a cue in his hand, by her hip. Nez was also with them. Then she frowned seeing that the baseball guys, well, most of them were here and she huffed when she spotted Glen, playing foosball.

She walked towards Emily and smiled at Roper when he saw her and greeted her. 

“Hey (Y/N)!” Roper said.

“Hello Roper. Nez” she greeted them.

“Hi (Y/N)” Nez said.

“Wanna join us? We’re about to get started” Roper asked, motioning to the pool table.

“Sure. Why not? But, hold on a moment. I need to have a word with Emily” (Y/N) said and literally dragged Emily a few feet away from there.

“What is it?” Emily asked with a huge grin on her face.

“When you told me that we’re gonna hangout, I thought it’s just gonna be us” (Y/N) told her.

“Well, I did tell you that Kenny’s gonna be here too..... Along with a few of his friends” Emily said.

“Yeah! But you didn’t tell me that he’s gonna be here!” (Y/N) whisper yelled at Emily, widening her eyes dramatically, while casting a glance at Glen.

Emily rolled her eyes and said “Well, Mac is one of Kenny’s friends.”

That earned Emily a look from (Y/N).

“Yeah... Fine... I might have forgot to tell you that he’s gonna be here.....” Emily said.

Well, it might be a part of hers and Roper’s plan to bring their friends together.

“ But, wait a second. Hold on! Why are you being so bothered about his presence?” Emily asked.

“I um.....” (Y/N) trailed off.

Emily’s eyes widened in realization.

“You slept with him again, didn’t you. Yesterday, isn’t it?” Emily asked.

“What? No! I- I didn’t!” (Y/N) lied.

“Oh, shut up! You always act like this when he’s around, after you slept with him. I know you too well. Stop trying to lie” Emily said, making (Y/N) roll her eyes.

“But, seriously (Y/N/N). He likes you. A lot! And even though you wouldn’t admit it, I know that you like him.... A lot! And you two are insanely attracted to each other. Not to mention the sexual tension between you guys is making the people around you to choke. Cut the guy some slack. Why don’t you give him a chance?” Emily asked.

“Because I don’t want to add it to his already boasted ego” (Y/N) said and started walking towards the pool table, where Roper and Nez were standing, wondering what the girls were talking about.

Emily started walking along with her and said “But you like it!”

“Whatever” (Y/N) said and gave Emily a look to stop that topic, which clearly meant to cease discussion about the topic.

Roper passed the cues to the girls and said “Ladies first.”

Everything was already set on the pool table.

Emily looked at (Y/N) and said “You first.”

“Okay” (Y/N) said with a shrug and bent down to make  shot.

She shot the cue ball and effectively managed to break straight on. All the pool balls except for the cue ball sunk into the pockets, making Nez to gape at the table and then at her. Even Roper looked quite surprised.

“Are you psychic or something?” Nez asked (Y/N), making Emily to giggle.

(Y/N) shrugged and said “I’m something”, her eyes held humor.

“You’re something indeed” an all too familiar voice said from behind her, making (Y/N) to turn around to look at the source.

“(Y/N)” Glen greeted her with a smile that looked borderline smirk for (Y/N).

“McReynolds” (Y/N) acknowledged him.

“Hey, I need to talk to you, like right now, so-” Glen was telling her, but was cut off by Emily who said “Hey! Stop trying to steal my best friend away from me!”

Glen rolled his eyes and said “Yeah. Well, I’m only stealing her for a few minutes” and with that he grabbed the cue from (Y/N)’s hand, placed it on the pool table, grabbed her hand and walked away from there, leading her to a secluded area.

Glen remained silent for a few seconds, but kept staring at (Y/N). (Y/N) on the other hand started growing nervous under his gaze and kept shuffling her feet while gazing them. With every ticking seconds, she became more and more flustered under his gaze and finally sighed, looking up at him, meeting his gaze.

“You wanted to talk?” (Y/N) asked, mustering as much confidence as possible.

Glen slowly nodded his head, but remained silent.

“Okay. Talk” (Y/N) told him.

Glen just remained silent, yet again. (Y/N) waited for a few minutes, hoping that he’d talk and when he didn’t, she sighed and said “Look, if you want to talk or tell me something, just say it. Or else, I’m gonna go” and with that she turned around to leave, but stopped when Glen said “Go on a date, with me.”

(Y/N) froze in her step hearing those words. Maybe it’s the way how he down right ordered her to go on a date with him, not asking her, just telling her, more like ordering her or maybe because she never expected Glen McReynolds of all people to ask her to go on a date with him is what stunned her.

She turned around and muttered “What?” clearly looking stunned.

Clearly, she never pegged Glen to be a kind of guy to date. She always took him as the playboy type. Just flirt with the girls to fuck them. No dates. She didn’t even believe Roper’s words when he said that Glen’s only been with her, ever since he met her and he only flirted with other girls to make her jealous.

“I know I should have done this years ago and I’m an idiot for not realizing it anytime soon. I am done trying to annoy you and get on your nerves, but that’s the only way you’ve ever responded to me. I just want things to be more than what they are now, between us. You’re smart, funny, confident and incredibly sassy and i find that super hot, but that’s not it. I want to be more than being frenemies or being in a complicated situation with you. Go on a date with me” Glen said.

His little speech had effectively stunned her and when she finally came to her senses , she muttered “Uh... Yes.”

Glen grinned hearing her words and said “Cool. I’ll pick you up at 7, tonight” and walked towards her, kissed the corner of her mouth and walked away, saying “Be ready by that time!”

[dramaqueeenamby]

Rain On Me (T’Challa x Reader)

A/N: This is dark, like so so...so dark. I mean, it makes Outside Looking In look like child’s play. I literally teared up a couple times writing it. 

Erik lovers. I too sympathize with his character. I’ve literally never written him in such a manner. Anyone who’s read my stuff knows that I preferred redeemed Erik.

This is not redeemed Erik.

So please ya’ll.....don’t hurt me. :(

This is not for the faint of heart.

Ya’ll can fill in the blanks after you read...

Warnings: Sexual violence, Domestic Violence, Death, Angst, Just a really dark read...

MASTERLIST

Words: 4220 

TAGLIST: @onyour-right  @janellemonaenae @soulmates8 @msincognito67 @90sinspiredgirl

She woke up with a nagging feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

In fact, it was the same feeling she had when he told her that he, Nakia, and Okoye were going after Klaue. It wasn’t that she doubted their ability to capture the man. It was the spontaneous ease of it all. How was it a man who’d spent almost thirty years evading their radar suddenly made himself so visible?

It didn’t make sense to her.

She tried to casually suggest to him that perhaps he should let Captain America handle it. After all, the man owed him a favor, but of course, her husband would hear none of that. He’d made a promise to their mutual childhood friend and as long as she’d known him, he’d never forfeit on a vow.

But when he returned home and walked into their chambers, his eyes misted over with the burdens of disappointment and heartache, she knew that her gut hadn’t led her wrong.

He dragged her out of the palace, to the same secluded mountainous area where he’d proposed not even two years prior and told her his late father’s treacherous acts, the truth of his uncle’s demise, and the existence of a cousin that he didn’t even know about.

The same cousin who, hours later, exercised his birthright and challenged him for the mantles of King and Black Panther.

She’d never been so apprehensive about anything in her life. T’Challa was a great warrior indeed, but this man, this Killmonger, his heart was so full of hatred, and her husband was not someone who could easily kill.

Erik could, and he would.

“You cannot do this, T’Challa.” She pleaded after ordering all of the servants out of the bedroom, servants who were helping him prepare for the ceremony.

He looked down at her, his eyes hollow, his soul tortured with the heaviness of his pain. “Do you not think I am capable of defeating him?”

She vigorously shook her head. “It is not a question of capability, my love, but a question of will.” She placed her hands on his core, the portion of his body that hadn’t been adorned in the ceremonial combatant paint. “I am terrified that he will use your humanity against you because you and I both know that you have no desire to kill him, do you?”

He shut his eyes. “He is not to blame-“

“Listen to me.” She interrupted, her voice hardening with emotion. “Either you kill him, or he will kill you. There is no other outcome. Do you understand?”

He retracted and turned away, her hands dropping to her side as she unconsciously balled her fist. “I have sent Jamyah away to Black Warrior Creek.” Her head snapped up at that information. “And I wish for you to join her.”

“You did what?”

“W’Kabi’s allegiance with Erik is troubling, and it is unknown how much, if any, information about us, he has shared with him.” He elaborated after turning around, although she was still stuck on the part where he sent away their 9-month old daughter to her home tribe without even consulting her. “Should my cousin attempt to retaliate, I would like to ensure that you two are as far away as possible.”

She struggled to form a sentence that did not include her cursing him. “Let us not even focus on the fact that you made such a decision about our child without discussing it with me beforehand, are you honestly trying to tell me that you don’t want me at the challenge?”

“There is no reason-“

“There is every reason, T’Challa!” She snapped, not even caring if the Doras stationed outside their door heard her. “And how dare you even suggest that I not be there!”

“I need to focus, Y/N, and I cannot do that with you in attendance!”

“Attendance? This is not a show, T’Challa! This is a fight for the throne, for the title of Black Panther!”

“And it is a fight for you!”

She froze. “What?”

He shut his eyes. “If he….becomes king…then you…..being queen…”

“No.” She shook her head and wiped at the tear that spilled down her face. “I would soon rather die.”

“My love.....” He trailed off as her head dropped and the tears fell. “Please do not cry. You know it kills me to see you in pain.”

“Then please do not do this,” she begged as he gently pulled her into his warm embrace, no care for whether or not they smudged the paint. “Rescind your acceptance of the challenge.”

“You know that I cannot....” Her eyes shut and head dipped against his chest, her hands with an almost painful grip on his arms. “Love.” She continued to weep. “Y/N.” He said more firmly and brought his hand to her jaw to force her to meet his warm eyes. He waited a few seconds for her to calm herself before speaking. “I have no desire to kill him. This is correct, but make no mistake, I also have no desire to allow him to take the throne...or you.” She pulled her lips together and breathed steadily, slowly, meticulously. “And I will do whatever it takes, whatever, to return to you and our daughter.”

She stared at him, his eyes searing into hers, yearning for a sign that his words brought her some type of comfort. However, they didn’t because she could see that he was partially trying to convince himself as well as her.

He truly was having a hard time trying to come to terms to the fact that the fight would yield a winner who only came out victorious by killing the other man.

And Y/N prayed to Bast that T’Challa would be that man.

She moved her hands to his shoulders and slowly pressed her lips to his pectoral muscles. “How much time do you have?”

His eyes flashed with lust as he forced her hips against his, his hands gliding their way under the material under the fabrics of her dress. “I can show you better than I can tell you.”

•••••

Y/N stood by the large window that overlooked the bustling city of Birnin Djata where citizens continued to engage in trade, conversation, and their everyday lives as though it was just another ordinary day.

But that was far from the truth.

Because over on the outer perimeters of the land, at Warrior Falls, a battle was about to commence. One that would determine the future for all of Wakanda.

Y/N looked down as Jamyah stirred from her sleep, the nine-month-old resting peacefully in the comfort of her mother’s arms. The princess, with her chocolate eyes and cocoa complexion, moved her head around to look up at Y/N, smiling widely as brown met brown.

“Hello, my angel.” The queen mumbled and kissed the baby’s head, chuckling ever so quietly when Jamyah gurgled and waggled her arms. “Did mama wake you?”

Jamyah blinked and looked around. “Baba.”

Y/N stilled. “Baba’s not here, princess.”

At that, Jamyah glowered and tried to wiggle herself from her mother’s hold. Y/N sighed and bent down, carefully placing the baby on the ground, watching as she sat on her bottom only for a second before starting to crawl around the floor. “Baba! Baba! Baba!” With each word, the princess clapped her hands together and giggled as though her proclamations would make him appear.

The queen watched with watery eyes as her daughter eventually grabbed a nearby toy and started to use that to occupy her time, allowing her mother the opportunity to gather her thoughts.

She understood why T’Challa didn’t want their daughter there. Erik was…unstable, and if…when he failed to defeat the king, he would most likely try to lash out at the next best thing, which would be the next person in line for the throne.

Jamyah

However, it was that logic right there that bothered her. When had he made the decision to do so? Because it was a known fact that ritual combat only had two outcomes - yield or death, and Erik made it very obvious with his show earlier that day that he had no plans to yield. So what made T’Challa think that Erik planned on even having the opportunity to attack their daughter? If he yielded, he would be sent to the prison cells of Fort Hahn. If he died, well, that was a no-brainer.

Unless…way if he was considering a scenario where he did not win?

No. She immediately shook such a thought from her mind. She could see T’Challa was in great mental distress but not enough to cause her husband, a great warrior, to question his ability to best his cousin in battle.

The only plausible reason for him sending not only their daughter but herself away, and the one that her gut kept telling her to be true, was that he had no desire or even plans to kill his cousin.

He planned to try and get the man to yield, a strategy that she found to be ludicrous, a strategy that sounded borderline suicidal.

Erik would not yield. She could almost bet her life on that. Even as he dragged himself from their bed after a passionate lovemaking session before the challenge, she stressed to her husband that he must not hesitate. He could not go into the battle with the mindset that Erik would be willing to listen. His cousin wanted blood.

T’Challa’s blood.

And he could not give it to him

She also again tried to convince him to allow her to attend, but he would hear none of it.

And perhaps that was why he didn’t want her there because seeing her would interfere with whatever plan he’d already formulated. Or maybe it had something to do with the confrontation in the throne room where her husband had marched up to Erik and whispered something in his ear. Immediately following, the American-Wakandan looked directly at her, smirked and whispered something back to the king who seemingly appeared unaffected. However, Y/N could see the lift in his shoulders, the clenching of his jaw, and the pained effort it took for him not to strike the man.

She’d wanted to ask what was said but decided against it.

Perhaps she should have.

All of these thoughts, these ideas, these theories, they all contributed to the dire feeling she’d had since T’Challa first told her about this cousin of his.

This was not going to end well.

“Teela!” She called out for her personal Dora, the warrior coming in the room almost immediately after she summoned her. “Stay here with Jamyah.”

The Dora frowned. “My queen?”

“I am going to Warrior Falls.”

Teela stiffened. “The king ordered-“

“I said,” she interrupted, her voice increasing by an octave. “I am going to Warrior Falls.” She bent down to hug and kiss her daughter. “I shall be back, my love.” When she stood and went to walk past the guard, the warrior grabbed her by her wrist.

“Please, Y/N.” She whispered, dropping formalities, addressing the woman whom she’d known since they were young girls. “I….I do not have a good feeling about this.”

The queen pried her arm away as her eyes fell over to her daughter who was entertaining herself with a pink teddy bear.

“Neither do I.”

•••••

By the time she arrived, the battle had started and while she started to make her presence known, she decided to stay in the background, away from where the rest, including T’Challa could see.

It was intense, Erik and T’Challa going blow for blow, and she immediately detected that her husband was taking on a defensive strategy. He appeared to be doing more blocking than attacking, only doing the latter when necessary.

It was….discouraging.

However, her hopes were slightly lifted when T’Challa swiped Erik by his ankles, knocking him to the ground. Her heart leaped for joy as her husband pointed his sword at him, only for her stomach to drop when he yelled for him to yield.

“No…” She mouthed to herself as Erik jumped up and started to attack again. Why hadn’t T’Challa done it? He could have ended it all right then and there, but he didn’t.

She watched again, her anger starting to grow as T’Challa sliced Erik across his cheek, missing yet another opportunity to put Erik down.

He didn’t.

“What are you doing?” It was louder than she intended but not enough to cause for anyone to notice her. However, her anger started to dissipate when she noticed that it looked as though Erik was gaining the upper hand, his blade slicing her husband across the thigh, then his stomach, and then his arm. “Stop…” She breathed and unconsciously moved forward only to gasp loudly as Erik drove his spear into T’Challa’s core. “T’Challa!”

Y/N went to near closer only for arms to grab her as she looked behind to see Teela restraining her. “Let me go!”

“You mustn’t!” The Dora pleaded and shook her head.

“I will not stand here and watch-“ She stopped when she noticed that Teela’s eyes had landed on the fight and had widened in horror. Y/N snapped her head to see T’Challa, on the ground, with Zuri and Erik standing across from each other engaging in conversation. “What is going on?”

Teela held her grip but said nothing. “I…I don’t-“ Both women were silenced by Erik running his blade through Zuri as the spiritual leader fell to his knees, T’Challa’s screams of anguish reaching their ears.

Y/N felt her eyes begin to water. Zuri had not only been like a father to her but to T’Challa as well. His pain was hers, and it was blinding.

She watched helplessly as he stumbled to his feet with a spear in hand and attempted to strike Erik only to fall and be brutally struck by the man when he finally managed to gain his balance.

“Let me go, Teela!” Y/N cried as the tears started to flow, Erik’s loud taunts torturing her as she watched him viciously beat on T’Challa who could barely stand, let alone fight. “T’Challa!”

She didn’t know if he heard her or maybe he just found the inner strength but he stood and attempted to punch Erik who dodged his blow and grabbed him, using one arm to hold T’Challa’s and the other to support his leg, effectively supporting his entire body.

“No…..” Y/N murmured as Erik turned around and faced the edge of the Falls. “No!” She used her body weight to push back on Teela, forcing her into the rocks, allowing her a second to break away. As soon as she did, she started to descend toward the bottom. “Erik, please!”

She knew for a fact that he heard her because he turned around, that wild and untamed look in his eyes, T’Challa still on his back.

“My queen!” Okoye called for her as two of the Doras attempted to restrain her but she pushed them away and started to weep.

“Please don’t do this,” she shook her head, her vision hazy, her heart overcome with sorrow. “P-p-please.”

He said nothing, his crazed expression remaining the same for a few seconds before the corners of his mouth turned into a sinister smirk and his arms lifted, causing T’Challa to fall.

“NO!” Y/N screamed and once again broke free from the Doras as she ran through the water and toward the edge. “T’Challa!” She cried out, falling to her knees as she peered over the cliff. “Why….why….” Her stomach hurt, her head hurt, her heart felt as though it would explode. No words could accurately explain the extent of her pain.

“Naw, I’m the king now.” She heard him proclaim, loudly, boldly, with zero regrets for what he’d just done, with no consideration as she wept only a few feet away from him for the love of her life, the man who he’d just ruthlessly murdered.

She heard the sounds of spears hitting rocks and realized they’d just saluted him, this monster, this demon.

“Get up.” He directed but she couldn’t move, her eyes still fixed on the waters, the bodies that housed her love. “My queen.” Bile formed in her throat. “I don’t need you on your knees just yet.”

She wanted to vomit.

Her hiccups subsided slightly as she managed to croak out. “I will never be your queen.” Instantaneously, she was yanked to her feet by her hair as he jerked her against his body.

“You’ll be whatever the fuck I tell you to be, you understand me?” Her lip quivered as she avoided his eyes and remained quiet.

Wrong move

Erik growled and dropped his hand to the back of her neck, kicking her in the back of her knees as he pushed her face down in the water, depriving her of oxygen.

She struggled against his hold, arms flailing as she fought to breathe, the horrific faces of the council members and the Doras observing helplessly.

“Are we to just stand here?” Ayo hissed, her emotions all over the place, a surprising feeling for her as she was second-in-command.

Okoye said nothing and closed her eyes.

If Ayo was looking closely, she would have seen the teardrop.

•••••

Hours later, Y/N marched into the throne room where she learned from Ayo that Okoye and W’Kabi were currently talking.

“Y/N….” Okoye trailed off as she observed the scratches on her face from the pebbles in the water, not to mention the redness and puffiness surrounding her eyes. The hollowness in her eyes. “I am-“

“You murdered him!” Y/N snapped as she charged at W’Kabi, the general standing between them to stop the queen from striking her husband. “You killed him!”

“Y/N…” W’Kabi trailed off. “It was ritual combat-“

“Which never would have happened if you hadn’t brought that monster here to begin with!” Y/N screamed, the tears starting to flow again. “All because he killed Klaue?”

W’Kabi’s face hardened. “Eh, you wanted him dead just as badly as I did!”

It was true. W’Kabi and the queen both had personal vendettas against Klaue as his parents and hers had been killed in his attack almost 30 years ago. In a sad twist, the murder of their parents had been what cemented their friendship as his parents and her father all hailed from the Border Tribe while her mother was the daughter of Olaniyi, the current leader of the Merchant Tribe.

The then princess was not even supposed to the be there that day, only surprising her husband with the news that she was pregnant with their second child because she could not wait.

It was a devastating loss for all parties involved.

So yes, if anyone understood W’Kabi’s pain, it was Y/N. But what she could not understand was how easily he turned against T’Challa.

“Look at what it cost us, W’Kabi!” She yelled. “What it cost me!” She shook her head and weakly gestured to herself. “He was my husband, W’Kabi…..We had a child…I loved him.”

Okoye gently placed her hands on Y/N’s shoulders and rubbed up and down.

“I am sorry for your lo-“

The three were interrupted by Ayo who stood by the door with a worried expression.

“What is it?” Okoye spoke first.

“Er…The king has returned.” Her distaste at referring to Erik as king was painfully evident. “And he has requested an audience with the queen.”

Y/N froze, thinking back to the last time she’d seen Erik, the visible markings on her face a painful reminder.

“I will escort you,” Okoye assured but Ayo shook her head.

“He…ordered that she come alone.”

•••••

Y/N swallowed deeply as she stood in the corner of the room Erik had claimed as his own. It was large, the decor dark, brown and black in color, chilly, physically and emotionally.

She was unsure why he’d summoned her as she could hear the shower running, but something told her that it wouldn’t be anything good.

Nothing involving him was.

Her legs hurt, her body ached, and all she wanted was to be with her daughter, to hold her, to be with the only thing she had left that reminded her of him.

She’d been told Nakia had taken Queen Mother and Shuri immediately following the fight as a way to protect them, but no-one knew where and Y/N’s prayer to Bast was that they got as far away from Wakanda as possible.

There was no telling what Erik would do to them.

She couldn’t even allow herself to think about what he would do if he found out about Jamyah.

She was consumed with her thoughts that she didn’t notice him walk out of the bathroom until he was directly in front of her, staring down with that same arrogant smirk.

“Sup queen,” he mocked as he trailed his eyes over the thin, black Dashiki she wore. “Glad to see you learned your lesson earlier.”

She winced as he reached out and dragged his thumb across her cheek. “What do you want?”

He raked his eyes over her form once more as she nervously realized he was dressed in nothing but brown pajama pants. “You know Challa’ might have been a weak king and poor ass fighter,” she narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth at his mention of her love. “But he had good ass taste.” She jumped away from him when he took one hand and squeezed her butt.

“Don’t touch me!” She hissed as she back into the dresser, almost causing the contents to tumble onto the floor. “Don’t you ever touch me.”

He smiled wickedly. “How else am I supposed to put a baby in you?”

She could have fainted.

“W-w-h-hat?”

“There’s only a couple of things I need from you, really.” He shrugged and leaned against the nearest wall. “Stand by my side at public events, sit next to me in council meetings, ya know, eye candy and all that good shit.” His eyes went dark. “And give me an heir.”

She stared at him, her mind revolving around the word ‘heir.’ He couldn’t have been serious….could he?

However, as she watched him continue to undress her with his eyes, she realized he wasn’t jesting her.

She looked from him to the door that was a few feet away from him. It was stupid, idiotic, moronic, but she did it anyway.

Y/N sprinted for the door, barely making it past him when he grabbed her by her waist and lifted her into the air.

“Let me go!” She shouted and pounded on his arms.

“You sure do like to run, don’t you?” He chuckled darkly.

“Get off me!” She cried as she realized her hits were doing absolutely nothing to him because he’d taken the heart-shaped herb. “I don’t want this! I don’t want you!”

Something about what she’d said triggered him as he threw her on the bed and jumped on top of her, forcefully turning her on her back after she tried to turn on her stomach.

“So who you want then, huh?” He hissed as he pinned her wrists down with one hand. “T’Challa? Well, I hate to break it to you my queen, but that nigga ain’t coming back. Period.”

“Because you killed him,” she whimpered as he stared down at her, the queen finding a sudden burst of confidence. Her anger suddenly seeping through, intermingling with her pain. “All so you could become king and have people acknowledge you, recognize you, but your titles matter not because you will always be an outsider, a monster, and we will never see you as one of us.”

Erik’s eyes flashed with rage as he brought his fist down onto her face, the impact so hard that she immediately felt the blood starting to form. Y/N moaned as he grabbed her by her hips and switched her over so that she was on her stomach, coughing blood onto the pillow as she blinked a few times to try and shake the haziness from her vision.

Her heart stopped when she felt Erik rip her dress clean from her body, leaving her in only her bra and underwear.

“Erik, no!” She cried out it dawned on her what he was about to do. “Wait, no, please!” Her voice was muffled by his shoving her head into the pillow, her mouth filled with the silk pillowcase and her nostrils invaded by the scent of her own blood.

“A monster, huh?” He spat as he discarded his pants and then his boxers, Y/N screaming and thrashing against him. “That’s what you said, isn’t it?” She shouted as he shifted so that he could grab her and drag her by her ankles, stripping the remaining pieces of clothing from her body.

“Erik, stop! Please!” Her pleas were loud, desperate, heartfelt, but they all fell on deaf ears as she felt his weight on top of her, his hand wrapped around her throat and his hardened member against her opening.

“Then that’s exactly how I’m gon’ fuck you.” He sneered at the same time he rammed himself inside of her, his hand shifting upward to cover her mouth and silence the pained scream that erupted from the back of her throat. “Like a monster.”