#sorry I’m not getting rid of my cat that I’ve had for almost four years and who got rehomed TWICE before I got her

[lesbiansanemi]

And when I thought things were finally fine and had calmed down my roommate starts sending me shelters because he wants me to get rid of my cat 🙃🙃🙃

[isolemnlyswear]

ooo could i request a remus x fem! reader where both of them are very shy so it takes lily, james and sirius to push them together. and whenever they talk to each other they stutter a lot?

always have, always will.

a/n : guess what! i made this way too intense again. i can't help it; its so much easier for me to write a really fucking intense love rather than a crush IM SORRY !! the end is the only cute part the rest is shite

HAPPY (very belated bc i don't have any motivation) BIRTHDAY REMUS MY BEAUTIFUL BOY

taglist : @oldschoolkiddo @amourtentiaa @anchoeritic @faeinorbit @tomriddleswifey @inks-and-jinx @jxsperhxle @punkrific @the-gazette-of-tea @krasivayadarling @orifortheweeknd @fallin-4-ya @incxndio @daisyyy2516 @hoe4cedricdiggory

young!remus lupin x fem!reader

---

"Oh." you sigh, blinking when you see Remus inside. Your huff isn't one of discontent; rather, as you enter the common room, you're simply nervous, timid to deal with the boy. As soon as you want to speak in front of him, to tell him that you really, really like him, you start blushing, turning into a stammering mess.

Alas, you swallow your fear, sitting down on the plush maroon chair opposite him and Sirius; Lily is on the floor, flipping through a potions book, and James is sprawled across your coordinating chair. Remus is lying against the side of the couch, knees up with arms wrapped around his legs. He's smiling, laughing at a joke Sirius told prior to your arrival.

Your heart is aching in your chest, and you try to will it to stop yearning for this boy, but there's a voice inside your head. One that tells you that he's all you could ever need.

Such thoughts reduce you to mush when Lily notices your arrival.

"There she is! How are 'ya?" the redhead greets you happily, and such a simple question is blocked out by your tunnel vision; you can only focus on one thing at the moment, and it's Remus.

You don't speak for a moment, zoning out, but when your eyes meet those of Remus, you quickly snap out of your trance, shaking your head.

"'M fine. J-just tired, I think 'm gonna go upstairs-" you manage to say, but you're cut off by an incredulous Sirius.

"S'five in the afternoon!" he says with a laugh, and you nod.

"And?" you quip, focus now returned when you tear your eyes away from Remus.

"Y'gotta stay down here, dinner's soon!" Lily replies, and you glare at her. She knows exactly why you want to leave at the moment, rather, she knows about how in love you are with one of your best friends. She raises her hands in mock surrender, and you sigh.

It's almost painful, the next hour. You're trying so hard to not make it alarmingly obvious concerning your... issue, but it's proving to be quite difficult.

And then, finally, it's dinner. You're able to get away with not talking, as you pretend to be eating anytime you're asked a question, and Remus is silent as well.

You eventually can sneak away to your dorm, wanting to sleep to rid yourself of the thoughts that give you no reprieve during the day.

But, of course, your dreams are of Remus.

---

Unbeknownst to you, and Remus, the entire rest of the marauders (and about half your year) are painfully aware of your affection for the boy.

And his for you.

So they hatch a plan; it’s simple, but effective.

You're all lounging in the common room -a typical Saturday afternoon - when James poses an odd request.

“Hey, Y/N? D’you wanna go look at something for me?” he asks, fighting back the smile that threatens at his lips. You nod, eager to get away from the tension that you and Remus are swamped by.

“What is it?” you ask as he gets up, leading you up the stairs and to his dorm room. You're confused, eyebrows furrowing and hands wringing nervously.

“You'll see.” James grins at you as you enter the dorm room - which has four beds, three of which are littered with laundry and other teenage boy things, but one is impeccably neat, and you assume it to be Remus’s.

“James, what-” you begin, but he shushes you with a laugh.

“Lily’s cat won't get out of this closet, y’see, and I know you're good with animals and the like, so could you...get it? For Lily, f’course, ” he asks, pointing to a rather large closet in the corner of their dorm.

You raise your eyebrows, but nod, opening the doors and getting in, eyes searching for Lily’s feline friend.

But as soon as you drop to your knees, a soft thud reverberates through the closet. James had shut the doors, and the closet was big enough to where you weren't claustrophobic, thankfully. But there is no cat in sight. None.

Downstairs, however, James had strolled in nonchalantly, and Lily’s grinning.

“What did you do this time, Prongs?” Remus sighs, unaware that the others around him are all aware of their little plot.

“Maybe you should go upstairs and find out,” James says ominously, raising a dark eyebrow. Remus glares at him, sighing.

“Where’s Y/N?” he asks, still holding his gaze on the brunette. Lily giggles, and Remus shoots her an impatient glare. “What did you do to her?” The question is directed at no one in particular, but the irascible tone in the lycanthrope’s voice demands an answer.

“Once again, go upstairs and find out, mate.” James’s tone, however, is one of amusement.

Remus takes in a querulous breath, turning to stomp up the stairs.

Undivulged to him, James is sneakily creeping up the stairs behind the boy.

You're pounding at the mahogany of the closet door, and you've forgotten your wand downstairs, leaving you helpless in the space. You ponder why James would do such a thing, but you brush it off, figuring it was another prank, one of all too many.

“Y/N?” Remus questions hesitantly into the empty dorm, and your ears prick up at his voice.

“I'm in here!!” you shout, pounding at the closet door, and Remus rushes to open it for you.

But as soon as he's inside, helping you up, James, with a flick of his wand, shuts the door.

You're locked in.

With Remus.

And it's absurd, really, how quickly your heart is beating in your ribcage.

“Prongs I swear to Merlin-” Remus starts irritably, but stops himself with a tremulous inhale.

“Fuck,” you whisper, cowering to the back of the closet. Remus’s scent is surrounding you, the honey and chocolate and dark cologne enveloping you in a blanket of bliss. You’re thankful for the dim nature of the closet, for your cheeks are rouging with embarrassment.

Little known to you, Remus’s heart is pounding in his ears, and he’s even more entranced by your scent, what with his dog-like sense of smell. It's his favorite scent in the world, truly, one he could get lost in forever.

“Sorry,” the boy whispers, slumping down across the space from you, and you quirk a brow.

“W-what are you sorry for, Remus?” you ask quietly, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“I got us locked in here, didn't I?” You can hear the soft smile in his voice, a bittersweet one.

“But that isn't too bad, is it?” you say, courage surging through your bones as the darkness shields your nerves.

“Oh yeah?” he asks under his breath, laughing softly.

“What, am I that unbearable?” you tease, tucking a strand of fallen hair behind your ear.

“No,” Remus says remarkably quickly, and then he hesitates for a second. “Quite the opposite.” His voice is barely above a whisper, but his words ring in your ears like a mantra.

“That's quite cryptic,” you say, taking in a deep breath.

“Y’gonna make me spell it out for you?”

“If you mean what I think you do, fuck, either I'm being terribly idiotic right now or...” you trail off, noticing that Remus is closer to you, now.

“Or what?” he breathes, and you close your eyes slowly.

“Or...if you're, um, insinuating what I think you to be, and I get words out correctly enough to respond...” you leave the rest of the sentence unsaid, words trapped in your throat.

“What then?” Remus says ever-so-quietly, and you take in another breath, eyes still pressed closed.

“I'd be making the best decision of my life.”

You can hear the boy’s breath hitch in his throat. You open your eyes to see that he's next to you, now, and the soft light from under the door that illuminates you as the sun lowers is glimmering on his skin, bouncing off the scars in his skin and the gold flecks in his eyes.

“Perhaps... Perhaps it’d be right of you to make that assumption. That I'm saying what you think I am, that is.” He breathes slowly, and your eyes flick to him again.

“This conversation is the most cryptic thing I've ever heard,” you say quietly with a laugh, and Remus nods in agreement.

“We’re getting the point across, though, aren't we?” he jests, and you giggle. Your expression then turns serious, and you turn so that you're facing the boy.

“Could I... Could I take you up on that offer of spelling it out?” you say breathlessly, and Remus smiles gently.

“We could say it on three,” he suggests, and you laugh.

“Merlin, we're like toddlers. Fine, on your count, then,” you reply with a nod, heart a jackhammer in your chest.

“One... Two...” he pauses for a second, and you let out a breath.

He's fully facing you, as well, and you see a glint in his eyes that's so familiar yet so new.

“Fuck this,” he says before the last count, and your eyes widen. “I love you, Y/N. I'm- I'm in love with you.” he admits, shutting his eyes like he's ripping off a particularly menacing bandaid.

You don't respond for a moment, mouth open in shock. But as soon as you snap out of your trance, you notice the boy’s posture; he's nervous, recoiled as if he's worried you wouldn't say it back.

You place a delicate hand on the side of his face, thumbing over his cheek, and he relaxes at your touch, still not opening his eyes.

You softly press your lips to his, and he responds instantaneously, one hand reaching to pull you in by your waist, the other resting on your cheek.

There's a fire exploding inside you, and it’s glorious, golden sparks erupting after being kept inside for so long. Your lips are dancing in a delicate rhythm with his, like they were meant to. He tastes like chocolate and bliss, and his hand wraps in your hair, tongue swiping over your lips gently.

After what feels simultaneously like an eternity and no time at all, you break away for air, resting your forehead against his.

“Now it's my turn to infer from that,” he breathes after a moment, and you smile.

“Not quite as cryptic, you'll find.” You smile, kissing him again. “I love you, Remus Lupin. Always have, always will.”

[today-only-happens-once]

Boy Band AU is Romantic LAMP (eventually)

Or, I was thinking about the boy band au and was like, y’know what? Could be gayer.

warnings: cursing, kissing, some miscommunication and angst, mentions of/fear of resentment and divorce, running away from problems as an anxiety response, getting together, happy endgame romantic lamp stuff tho

This got so long I’m so sorry, y’all. It started as just “listing fun facts about it” and evolved into a bulletfic. Woops. 

It doesn’t happen right away. In fact, it’s... a very long, slow process for them all getting together. Years down the road, actually.

They all have moments of Gay Panic when it comes to the others throughout those years, but... especially at first, none of them are really feel like they’re in a good place to enter any kind of committed romantic relationship.

And since those feelings don’t really develop strongly and complexly until later on in their lives, they fortunately already know about polyam people--though at first, none of them know that the others are also that way.

So there’s several years of sort of figuring themselves out and learning about one another in a tight-knit-friendship kind of way, and then a few more years of romantic pining and uncertainty before they figure it out haha

It’s seven years into their band career that Grandma Foster places a bet against Remy on who confesses first. Grandma Foster’s money is on Roman. Remy’s money is on Patton. 

It’s ten years from meeting each other, within the month, that the ice finally breaks. And when it does, they’re both wrong. Logan confesses first. 

though the confession happens within, like, minutes of each other. Because well--

Logan had started acting weird. And weird like, distant? And it was bothering all of them, but any time one of them tried to talk to him about it, Logan just pretended like he didn’t understand where they were getting that from. 

And eventually, they all corner him (figuratively, but kind of literally too because Logan is chilling on the couch when they talk to him) and Virgil is like “cut the bullshit, Logan” 

And it’s a long, messy conversation between all of them. Because turns out, Logan does cut the bullshit, and confesses to feeling attracted to all three of them, and he doesn’t want to make them uncomfortable and he definitely doesn’t want to lose them. and if they don’t like him back, that’s fine, honestly, he’s sure the feelings will fade (which Logan thinks might be a lie, he’s not sure, but... the alternative is losing them, and Logan doesn’t think he could handle that)

Roman confesses next. It’s like opening the floodgates of his feelings and he waxes poetic about all of them but he says it so earnestly, how he’s known he’s loved them all for years, and think he’s loved them all for a lot longer than even he realizes--

Patton is next. How Logan couldn’t possibly get rid of him that easily, not when he loves them all too and yes, yes in that way, hadn’t it been obvious?

Virgil, though... Virgil freezes. 

Because yes, yes of course he has these feelings for them all. But suddenly it feels like everything is changing, all at once, and Virgil knows he should feel relieved and happy because they feel the same way about him that he feels about them but all he actually feels is fear. Because Virgil doesn’t do well with Big Sudden Change and this feels like a Very Big and Very Sudden Change. 

On top of that, in the back of his mind, is Virgil’s parents and how they used to talk about how in love they were with each other once upon a time and somehow, along the way, that dissolved into fighting and arguments and divorce and resentment--

So Virgil bolts. Not quite literally, but close to it. He stammers out a “I-I need some air” and grabs his keys and wallet and leaves and tries not to feel the weight of their gazes on his back. He pretends he doesn’t hear Roman say his name when he closes the door behind him.

Virgil drives. He doesn’t really know where he’s going, he’s just going. By the time he’s done, he’s at the coast. He leaves his shoes and socks in the car, trying to ignore the churning in his stomach. He does have enough wherewithal to text the other boys a quick message ( “sorry. went to the coast. just need to think”) and tosses his phone in the backseat before the sense of guilt crushes him completely. 

He walks to the shoreline. The sun is setting at this point and the feeling of the sand under his feet and between his toes, plus the cool waves lapping at his ankles, helps ground him enough that his breathing doesn’t feel quite so tight anymore. 

He’s not sure how long he’s standing there, looking out at the horizon line, but he figures it must be a couple hours because he hears footsteps stepping up behind him and when he looks over his shoulder (expecting maybe Patton or Logan or Roman or all three), he’s surprised to find it’s Remy.

It’s almost 8 in the evening, so Virgil arcs an eyebrow at the iced coffee in his hands, but says nothing about. Remy stands beside him, also without shoes/socks, and stares out at the horizon line with him for a long moment before he says anything.

when he does, all remy says is, “wanna talk about it?”

Virgil just shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “how much do you know?”

A sip of coffee. “Not much. They’re worried. Wanted me to check up on you. Logan said something about ‘respecting your need for space’ but Roman said something about ‘walking into the ocean’. He was hard to hear in the background.” 

Despite himself, Virgil snorts and glances down at the water lapping at his ankles. “Only a few feet.”

Remy’s mouth quirks. “So. Do you wanna talk about it, babe, or should I just tell the boys that you’re all right and you’ll go back when you’re ready?”

And Virgil takes a deep breath that shakes a lot on the exhale, and finds himself explaining everything. About how he feels about them, how they said they feel about him, about his parents, about how everything changes and he just wasn’t ready for it and he as much as the love is present he’s afraid--he’s so afraid--that will change down the road. 

And Remy just stands there and listens. When Virgil sits down, still talking, Remy stays standing for a moment before sitting beside him. Virgil talks until the sky is mostly dark. 

When he’s done, there’s a long stretch of silence. And then all Remy asks is “have you told this--any of it--to them?” 

Which, no. He hasn’t.

“Why?”

Virgil isn’t sure. At first, it had just been sudden and overwhelming and he needed a break from the suddenness of it all, so he left. It wasn’t until the drive and staring out into the ocean getting his breathing under control that Virgil was able to sift through the minefield of his fears and thoughts. 

Remy sighs, taking his sunglasses off now that the sky was practically nightfall--only the faintest traces of dusk still kiss the horizon line--and watches the waves roll in. “Free advice is worth what you pay for,” he begins.

“That’s what Gram always says.”

“Yeah, well. She’s a smart lady.” He takes another sip of mostly-melted iced coffee. “Look, Virgil. Are you your parents? Or, for that matter, are Roman, Logan, and Patton your parents?”

“No. Thank God.”

Remy gives him a pointed look. 

“Oh.”

Remy shrugs. “Look, your relationship to those boys is whatever you want it to be. I’ve known you all for the past ten years, and I’ve been watching the way you four care for and about one another evolve. It’s become an ingrained part of who you all are as a unit. I don’t think that’s liable to change, romantic relationship or not.” 

“But--”

“And,” Remy adds pointedly, “if you want a relationship with them, and you don’t go for it because you’re afraid it will end badly... well. It sounds like you’re ending it before it’s even given a chance.” 

And, well, Virgil finds that maybe Remy has a point. The two of them sit together a bit longer, and Virgil is pretty sure it’s just Remy’s way of making absolutely sure Virgil is really, actually okay, before he gets up and leaves. 

Virgil leaves only a minute or so after Remy does. He jumps in his car, checks his phone (and tries not to wince at the missed calls from all three of them) and sees a text from Logan sent through the group text that signals to Virgil it’s probably a message from all three of them. 

It’s relatively long--unusual for Logan texts--apologizing if they overwhelmed him, a heads up that they’ve sent Remy to check on him and they understand if he wants space, reassurance that he doesn’t have to be part of their romantic relationship if he doesn’t want to and that nothing has to change (that note about change is repeated a couple of times in the paragraph of text and Virgil is reminded of how well the boys know him at this point) for Virgil if he doesn’t want it to.

Virgil feels a little bad but he’d really rather have this conversation face-to-face (er... really, his anxiety would rather do it over text, but he feels like he owes it to the other three to talk about it in-person) so he just texts back “on my way back”. 

When he gets back, they’re all still awake. Patton is in his cat onesie, Roman in PJs (with his head in Patton’s lap, and if that doesn’t make Virgil’s chest warm with unexpected affection), and Logan still wearing what he had been when Virgil left, pacing in front of the TV. 

They all look up and freeze when Virgil steps through the door and Virgil closes it behind him, kind rubbing the back of his neck and is like “guys... I’m sorry for freaking out--”

which Logan immediately jumps in with “it’s completely understandable. A lot was happening in that conversation, a lot of things probably percieved to be changing--”

“I still shouldn’t have left,” Virgil says firmly. “That was unfair to you all. I was... It was a lot, yeah, but... I should have explained more before leaving. But... I... I can explain now, if you all... have a moment?” 

They all nod, and so Virgil stammers through his conversation with Remy, if slightly more coherent this time because he’d already spilled it all from his mind once today. And he ends with what Remy had said before he left, about how none of them are his parents, and while he’s still worried and afraid of what kind of end they could all conceivably reach, it’s also not fair to not give the four of them a chance. 

So... that’s how they all become official! Also, Logan kisses Virgil first. 

Boy Band AU Taglist: @virgil-is-the-moodiest-mood, @withspaces, @iampengwing, @thecatchat, @northern-borealis, @panicatthebiggestpartyofthefall, @trans-demon-king, @sapph-writes-sanders, @flamingfawkes, @andreaissy, @legalitiesiwthabiscuit, @h-m-t-w-n, @i-didnt-say-liar-i-said-lawyer, @hazbin-hotel-has-my-soul, @nerdleafeon, @wynniwirt, @creativenostalgiastuff

[ikilledamoth]

'How I thought my boyfriend was dead for three years straight.'

Hi.

So this post might be incoherent, a mess and also also might not be of interest to anyone but I want to write it down and let it out.

I am not a good writer so the timeline might be a mess especially since its been years after some events and my memory tends to fail me.

I'll try to document as much information as I can here but there might be gaps. The post might also be quite long.

Before I start, trigger warnings for:

depression, suicide mention, drug and alcohol abuse mention, abusive family mention.

1: Introduction to Past.

I used to be here on a different account however, I've lost access to it. (old email, no longer remember it, it's been years after all and I never thought I'll use this app again.)

My boyfriend's name on here was @slightly-depressed-niko-boy. Do excuse the content there as it's rather depressive, having been written in a quite bad period of time for him.

Niko is neurodivergent and at the time of using this app (2017) pretty mentally ill, and been in a rather abusive household for his whole life. His parents are physically and mentally abusive. They have always been extremely manipulative and controlled his life to the point where... Well... He had basically no autonomy. They were in control of his social media at many points, controlled his devices, forced him to stay at home at most times and cherrypicked who he was and was not allowed to speak to and hang out with. Whilst doing all that, they still managed to trick most people into thinking that they were a rather picture perfect family. Pretty nasty people.

As you may notice, I'm writing in a present tense.

2: Last Events.

In 2017, I was lead to believe that Niko died.

It was all almost too masterfully planned, really. I had no reason to believe that it was fake. I was at the scene when things happened, as well and had no reason to deny the claims made by Niko's family, combined with what I saw.

To anyone that I lead astray and made believe that Niko was gone: I am truly, truly and genuinely sorry.

I would never try to lie to anyone about something like this. I knew how much he meant to his friends and I would never try to hurt them by confirming he was gone. I believed that it was true and I was devastated at the time myself. I felt my whole world falling apart, I did. I had no reason to think that it might not be true.

I have never had any malicious intentions.

Niko had to go inpatient due to what I was informed was an OD. And what I was told was a su¡c¡d€ attempt. Later, I was informed by his parents it was a successful one.

At the time, I felt devastated. I was not thinking clearly, being too hurt to be rational. I did not notice all the red flags and the sketchy manner in which Niko's parents behaved. I did not realise that they might have had ulterior motives. I was dealing with grief, having lost a friend of many years and someone that I truly loved.

Given that it all happened about four years ago, I do not remember much details. I tried recalling things but due to the traumatic nature of those events, I was left grasping at the little bits that I can still remember. I can't remember many details, or who I spoke to at the time. In fact, couple of years ago I managed to forget about all of that, somewhat. To a degree.

I could never forget my boyfriend and years I've spent with him, of course, but with all happening in life, I managed to move on enough that details of those traumatic days turned into a blur.

However, that changed in September 2020. Three years after the events.

3: Introduction to Present.

At that point, I have moved out of my old house and no longer associated myself with the area where Niko and I used to live.

As I would like to keep some privacy, I'm not going to mention details of locations and institutions where I went, etc, however I will mention that I went to a university in a completely new town.

I did not know many people here, besides those that I met online during freshers events and whatnot. It was a fresh start, in a way.

In many ways, I am no longer the same person I was in 2017, and I'd like to ask people that knew me back then to try not to fully associate me with whoever I was back then. I'd like to also apologise if I've ever done anything that could have been of harm to anyone for I was just a kid, thinking that the world's a bit of a playground. I'd like to ask people to give me a chance to introduce myself properly as me, and not that person from the past, who functioned as nothing else but a romantic partner of someone online.

But I digress.

4: First Encounter.

Weeks past, and I began to meet new people, explore new areas, visit new places. One of friends from my course added me to a groupchat where we could get to know each other all a bit better. The group consisted of way too many people, so I wasn't the most active there, however it was a bit of a mix of different people. Not limited to my course, or even, as I'd soon find out uni.

And that's when I saw a familiar name that caught my attention.

You know, there are plenty of people sharing names and surnames. The world is so big after all. I didn't think much of it at first, because well... After all, Niko I knew was long gone.

Not.

Curiosity spiked, I started talking, wanting to double check if that person I saw in the groupchat was really a stranger.

I did a bit of digging and given it's almost five in the morning as I'm writing it, I'm not going to go into much detail, just yet. (might edit this post later, I just want to post it as soon as I can)

It's not that difficult in the digital age, really. Everything is kind of... Out here for you to take in.

That's when I found out, my boyfriend never died.

5: The Lies.

I know all of this sounds crazy, but I need you to listen. In a span of few weeks, I realised that past years of my life were a lie. That my grief was unnecessary. That my pain was created because someone tried to intimidate and scare me and anyone that Niko was ever close to.

At first, I felt cheated. I felt like my best friend faked his own death, but he did not. He did not, and I need people to know that he did nothing wrong, and in fact, after all these years needs more help than ever.

I want to reach out to people that were friends with him, ever spoke to him briefly. And also reach out to those who knew nothing about him and tell you : Niko is alive, but he is not safe and sound. And I am all alone in this mess, and I need some help. I need support from people that knew him. I need support from people that might care. Because I can't do it alone.

That's what the current situation looks like:

Niko's parents forcibly put him inpatient for longer than necessary to make his friends believe he was dead. They took his electronics and made him lose access to his old accounts by getting rid of his old phone number. They cut him off from the outside world. They threatened to hurt him and used intimidation tactics to make him cooperate and turn him into a doll in all of this.

I was told they put down his cat as a punishment for unknown reasons and after months of his hospitalisation, moved towns for again, unknown reasons. Niko was then homeschooled due to his, apparently, unwell mental state. He had no access to the outside world. No more social media, school friends, nothing. He was cut off in the world that made everyone else think he was dead. And they succeeded. Even I firmly believed that Niko was gone. And I feel deeply ashamed to admit it. I feel like I failed him and many of his friends by not investigating further, however I was still a kid at the time and there wasn't much I could do. I didn't think the situation was as messed up as it was.

After years of being under almost a complete supervision and a suicide watch even, Niko continues to be controlled by his parents, despite being an adult that deserves autonomy. I can explain the situation further in messages.

Even though I managed to speak to him again, after all these years of thinking he was gone, every time he seemed like there was someone listening, watching over his shoulder.

6: The Present.

I am currently formulating a plan to free Niko from the abuse that he is experiencing with his family. I need to get money to do so, therefore it's nothing I can do instantly, however I've been reaching out to various foundations to see what can be done. My current plan is to find a way to transport Niko out of his house into a temporary accommodation where he can stay away from his parents, ideally with someone who can help him stay safe. I need money for that, though, as accommodations, even emergency ones can be quite pricy if you're not on benefits.

As its very late right now, I'm ending this post right here. However I will edit and update it when I can and I just want to let it out into the world. Sorry for keeping it so long. If you read so far-thank you.

[my-arlington-academia]

Serandy and Olifael part 3: Nari’s horrible return

Hey I’m back! ... I’m sorry.

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

"S-Serena-senpai..."

Nari was looking away, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. No matter how many steps back she took, Serena kept on getting closer and closer until she slammed her hand on the wall, next to Nari’s ear.

”Kyah! S-senpai! What’s going on?? Why are you being so violent with me?”

From Serena’s point of view this wasn’t violence. This was love. Oh Nari... you and your unstoppable mouth. No matter how much someone would beg, Nari would never shut up. Serena was provoked by that, the fact that someone wouldn’t obey her orders. It was frustrating and yet so charming.

She leaned in and whispered into Nari’s ear.

"Nari-chan... you aren’t a gemini, are you?”

Nari was confused, that’s it? That’s all Serena wanted to ask? No scolding, no punishment like usual? She was disappointed. Nari loved getting yelled at by Serena.

”N-no. I’m not a gemini, I’m a scorpio Senpai. But what does that have to do with anyth-"

"Shut it.”

Serena passionately kissed Nari with her passionate lips, passionate love and passionate hate towards geminis. She was so relieved that Nari wasn’t one of them. Disgusting. That would be horrible.

Horrible.

Hor-

"AAAH! NOOOO PLEASE GOD NO!"

Serena woke up covered in sweat. What the fuck was that?? Nari? What was she doing in Serena’s dream and why were they calling eachother like characters in a Japanese cartoon? Serena looked around her, it was her room. Thank God everything was just a dream and nothing else. Next to her, lying in bed was Andy who snuck in last night to sleep next to her girlfriend. Like all nights, actually. She was really worried for Serena’s mental state, not only today but in general.

"Serena...? *yawn* Are you okay sweetie?”

Serena hugged Andy, almost in tears.

"N-no! I saw her again in my dreams. That chatterbox monster, Nari! But this time we were high schoolers in a shitty anime... Why? Oh, why would this happen to me?? What did I do wrong for her to come back to haunt me?"

Andy hugged Serena back, trying to be as supportive as she could. This situation was really strange. For the past few days, Serena always saw Nari in her dreams. Nari was that 2nd year student in Arlington who went missing a few months ago. But in actuality... it was all a ploy orchestrated by Serena. Serena had pulled some strings to make some trouble happen in Egypt so that Nari would go back there for a couple of months. A couple of months that were extremely peaceful... Well, Trashy burned the building a couple of times but it was cool. Thanks to that some classes were canceled and Serena secretly thanked Trashy for her interventions.

The only people who knew about this were Serena and Andy, Serena knew that if she told Olivier what she did in order to get rid of Nari, he would get mad at her and rightfully so.

”Calm down Serena sssshhh. It’s going to be alright. Um... you know I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but could it be that you have a guilty conscience? Maybe that’s why Nari appears in your dreams?”

Serena looked up at Andy, seriously taking in account what her girlfriend just told her. But no, that couldn’t be it. Serena? Feeling guilt for getting rid of Nari? Impossible. Nari was her arch-nemesis. It was absurd to think that after all these months Serena would suddenly start to feel guilty about her scheme.

”No... that can’t be it Andy. I would never feel bad for Nari. I think.”

”Aww come on, I know that you’re not as cold hearted as you pretend to be. Let’s just try to contact Nari, okay? Maybe you actually miss her a little bit.”

Did Serena miss Nari? Ridiculous but much more believable than feeling guilty.

"... Alright. Let’s do that."

Serena and Andy came down from the bed, they were changing into their school uniforms to get ready for class. That’s when someone barged in, looking extremely distraught. It was Rafael.

"Girls!!! Come quick! There’s 8 murde-"

Serena threw a pillow into Ralf’s face while Andy was covering herself with the blanket. Serena yelled at him in panic.

"What the hell Rafael? Can’t you knock first?? Turn around and explain yourself!”

Rafael turned around like instructed, facing the door. He was super gay for Olivier but he still covered his face with the pillow, just in case. He didn’t want Serena and Andy to feel uncomfortable.

"This is not important right now! There’s 8 murders in the Academy that ocurred this morning...”

Andy and Serena looked at eachother, horrified by the news. How was that possible? The security was so tight and the custodians always made rounds, even in the early mornings. Andy clenched her fists, still in disbelief.

”But... that’s impossible! One murder, sure. But 8 people have died?? There’s always guards in front of the entrance... and... and there’s at least one custodian on each floor to keep an eye on us!"

Rafael stood there, silent. Unable to explain the events. All he could say was...

”Oliver is waiting for us in the student council’s room. Come quick.”

There was no time to waste. Serena and Andy dashed out of their room and went out of the dormitory only to see a cruel scene unfold. A bunch of nurses were taking 8 people away into ambulance trucks. However, the 8 people were covered in white pieces of cloth. As if they were already dead. In the crowd, a blond girl with a pink flower in her braids was being retained by at least four people. They were trying to hold her still while she was screaming and shouting like a trapped animal.

"G-geez! How strong is this girl?! Someone call the remaining custodians to help us out! We can’t hold her forever!!!”

”Remaining custodians”? So, some of them had been killed as well? Or at least badly hurt. Andy and Serena tried to pass by the scene in a hurry but they couldn’t ignore the yells of the suffering young girl. Oh mother of god... It was the sweet and gentle Claire, trying to set herself free by punching and kicking.

"LET ME GO! I HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE OKAY!!! DON’T HOLD ME BACK!!! THIS CAN’T BE. THEY’RE NOT DEAD!!! THEY’RE NOT DEAD, OKAY?! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE I’M CRAZY!!! I... I...”

Suddenly all of her strength left her body and she fell down on her knees, seeing that she finally calmed down the 4 students that were holding her let go of their grip. Claire buried her face into her hands, crying.

"N-No... they’re not d-dead... the doctors will bring them back with a b-blood transfusion and... and... CPR will definitely work... if, if not then there’s also a defibrillator... it’ll work haha... ah... ah... ahh..."

She started hyperventilating, her eyes were bloodshot and her hair and clothes were all messy. She then covered her mouth, trying to stop what was coming, in vain.

”BLRGH.”

She threw up on the ground, still hyperventilating in between each spew. Because of that she was almost unable of breathing. Two custodians ran to her, scared of her reaction. What if she chokes up and dies because of her own vomit?

"P-please! Young miss calm down! Breath in... and out... in... and out... yes, slowly.”

Thank god her breathing became stable again, she could’ve lost consciousness from the lack of oxygen. After emptying up her stomach she started crying in the custodian’s arms.

"T-those people w-were my friends... *hic* R-raquel was right next to me... *hic* how did I fail to do anything?! ...U-useless! I’M USELESS. W-when it comes down to real danger... I’m unable to do a-anything. I couldn’t save anyone... I’ve never saved anyone! Not a single person!”

Andy didn’t even realize that she was crying at the heartbreaking scene until Serena covered her eyes and pulled her away from the crowd.

"Andy, don’t look...”

It was meaningless, Andy was unable to see anything anyway. Her eyes were filled up with tears, distorting her vision. However there was one thing she knew. Even though Serena was trying to hide it and act though, she was crying too.

In front of the student council’s room, they dried up their tears and snot with their sleeves, no time to find handkerchiefs. And they stepped in. Four people were in the room, Olivier shouting at Trashy, Trashy looking scared out of her mind but doing her best to deny whatever Olivier was stating, Rafael trying to calm Olivier down and... Tadashi, sat on one of the chairs. Looking down, emotionless. It’s as if all trace of life had left his body.

Serena tried to ignore that for now and put her hand on Olivier’s shoulder, he turned away from Trashy and looked at Serena, annoyed and angry.

"Ugh. You’re finally here?! What took you so lo-"

Before he could finish, Serena slapped the shit out of him, knowing that he wouldn’t calm down anytime soon if this went on.

"Calm down! I can see that Tadashi isn’t capable of handling anything right now so you should try to stay calm and take over as the student council president! It won’t help if you lose yourself like this...”

She then looked at Rafael, who was frozen in panic.

"Ralf, next time something like this happens just hit the shit outta him without hesitation. Got it?”

”Y-yes, sorry. I’ll do so.”

Olivier looked at his reflexion in the window and sighed a few times. He still wore that stupid cat mask. Then with a clear mind, he went back to business.

"Trashy. Please be honest with me. You’re the one who committed those murders, aren’t you?”

Trashy was shaking, teary eyed and visibly afraid by not only Olivier but also the stressful situation she was in.

"N-no! I’m telling you I would never kill people in cold blood! I only do harmless pranks...”

Olivier clenched his jaw. ”Harmless pranks” she says. He opened a folder and took out a document from it.

"Trashy. So far you have committed: arson, fraud, larceny and forgery. So tell me what could POSSIBLY lead me to believe that you aren’t the culprit behind this... this... inhumane incident?”

Trashy stood up, slamming her hand unto the table.

”I’m telling you: I’m innocent! I would never kill E-Ellie, Alistair or any other person of this school!"

At those words, Tadashi who was silent this whole time started sobbing and holding his arms, as if he was hugging himself.

”N-no... Ellie... Alistair... Raquel... *sob* Please c-come back. I-I’m scared... *hic* I-I’ll be good so p-please don’t abandon me *hic* A-Axel I-I won’t give you detention ever again... and... and I-I’ll help you guys with your homework... *hic*"

Rafael, Serena and Andy rushed in to hug him, seeing that he was in despair. Olivier sighed and glared at Trashy.

"I told you not to mention their names. He gets like that whenever he hears it.”

”I’m so sorry...”

Trashy looked extremely apologetic. As Serena was holding Tadashi in her arms, she shot a quick side-glance towards Trashy, it’s true that she was very chaotic but... logic aside, proof aside, was Trashy really capable of doing such things? Serena wanted to believe in her so badly but it is true that she was quite suspicious. As she was asking herself hundreds of questions, two people barged in.

"Excuse us.”

A weird man dressed in all black, carrying a katana and... a normal woman were standing before them. Olivier walked towards them, as if he knew who they were.

”Are you... who I think you are?”

The man and woman smiled at eachother.

”That’s right, I’m Nadir. The detective.”

”And I’m Gen, the coroner. Nice to meet you.”

Nadir had a Maryland accent... whatever that was supposed to mean. He didn’t look like a detective at all though, why was he carrying a katana? And why was there a coroner with him? All the dead bodies were brought to the hospital already. Well, they might get resurrected somehow. It’s not like hope was completely lost. Or at least Andy hoped so.

”Um. Excuse me uh. Gen? I don’t understand why you’re here and not at the hospital, I mean your job is to check wounds and find the cause of death, right?”

Gen smiled innocently.

”Oh I’ve already done my job, it was all stab wounds from a kitchen knife. Now I’m here in any case we find other dead bodies or if someone else dies.”

”Uh... okay.”

Tadashi suddenly stopped crying, awakened from his miserable state by Gen’s comment.

"DON’T SAY THAT! How... How DARE you just call them ”dead bodies”?! They were my friends! And... and they might be saved!!!”

Gen looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. As if it was too late. Thankfully Tadashi was so angry that he didn’t notice that. She had a look that said ”it’s hopeless kid.” Serena tried to change the subject, knowing that Tadashi would blow up like Claire if he knew that they were already dead.

”Soooo... Anyway, who are the people that got hurt?”

Olivier gave her the list with the names of all the victims, knowing that if he said their names aloud, Tadashi would lose it again. As expected, all of Tadashi’s and Claire’s friends were on it. Neha Rao, Tyler Williams, the Novakova siblings and so on and so forth. They were all so close and yet the only people left were Tadashi and Claire... but why did only those 2 survive?

”You’re all thinking ”why did those 2 survive”, aren’t you?”

Nadir smirked at them with a know-it-all epxression that everyone hated. It seems like he had already made some research before coming.

”Well, we’re thinking that it must be because... either one of those 2 is the culprit or... the person who attacked their friends didn’t manage to finish their job and he’s after them.”

Everyone was frightened by the thought... Claire, where was she? Hopefully she wasn’t left alone, however, just in case they should go find her and stay by her side. What if the culprit took advantage of her mental state to strike? The only person in the room who didn’t think about that possibility was Tadashi, he was too blinded by anger and fright.

”You’re saying that either me or Claire could be the culprits? That’s total BULLSHIT! We would never even THINK about doing something like this! How could I... How could I ever do something like this to my best friend and boyfriend?!!”

That’s right, Tadashi’s best friend: Alistair. And his boyfriend... Axel. A really weird couple indeed, they hated eachother’s guts until really recently so why did they suddenly start dating? It was a complete mystery. It all started on april fool’s so everyone just assumed that they would end the joke pretty soon... 3 weeks later and the joke still wasn’t over.

Gen raised her voice, desperately trying to stop him from punching them in the face.

”Please calm down kid! We’re only stating the possibilities! Not saying that they’re true... but while it might not be you nor your friend, there is a high chance that the kill- um, culprit is a student. Even though some custodians were... hurt, no guards were harmed.”

Nadir nodded, strongly agreeing with his colleague’s words.

”That’s right. But first let’s go find that Claire girl, she might be in great danger at this rate. Do you know where she is?”

Tadashi shook his head, having no idea where the only friend he had left was. Luckily, Andy and Serena knew where she might be. They all ran to the nurse’s office, thinking that they would find an unconscious Claire who had probably collapsed from shock and stress. But she wasn’t there. Only the nurse remained, saying that Claire wanted to rest in her room. Serena grabbed the nurse by the shoulders and shook him violently.

”Are you kidding?! How could you let her alone in a situation like this?! Are you not aware of what’s happening right now?! And besides... isn’t Claire’s room... tainted in blood right now?!!”

The nurse pushed Serena away, slightly upset by her outburst.

”Who do you think we are? The room had been investigated and cleaned the moment the body was discovered. Also, she wasn’t alone. There was another student with her who promised me to follow her no matter where she went.”

Serena’s eyes widened. Oh god. Oh no. What if this student is the killer?! Catching on what she was thinking, Nadir grabbed the nurse by his shoulders and shook him just like Serena did earlier.

”Who was it?! Who was that student?”

”Ugh. Could you all stop grabbing and shaking me?! I don’t know what her name was but it was a girl with really messy hair. To the point where I would guess that she doesn’t even own a hairbrush.”

They all started running towards the dormitory while the nurse was cursing them under his breath. On their way there, they saw two students in the courtyard, on the ground. One covered in blood and the other one holding her in her arms while crying. It was Reckless and AJ.

”AJ!! Please wake up! Come on you gotta live... You still haven’t paid me for the tarot reading I did for you the other day!!”

AJ was still half-conscious, holding on to dear life.

”God... shut the fuck up...”

”No, don’t say that AJ!! What if those are your last words?! You can’t let your last words be something so vulgar! What am I gonna say to your parents...”

”I don’t... give a shit...”

Gen pushed Reckless away, looking closely at the young girl’s wounds all over her stomach. Reckless wiped a tear away, relieved.

”Oh thank God, thank you doctor! Please save my cash-cow- I mean... my dear classmate!”

Gen then immediately got up, wiping her bloody hands on her jeans.

”Oh no kid, I’m not a doctor, I’m a coroner. All I can say is that she has most likely 5 minutes left to live or so. Sorry but to be saved, she would need to be a billionaire or something. Y’know how it is in America.”

Reckless started crying again.

”God I fucking hate capitalism. Can we all just die from a nuclear bomb, please? Someone nuke us, anyone. Even North Korea is fine...”

Andy took out her phone, calling the ambulance in a hurry. Serena had never seen her girlfriend look so livid.

”Are you all crazy?! We should at least call the ambulance in situations like these! Reckless, why didn’t you call 911 sooner?!”

Reckless kneeled in front of AJ, looking apologetic while still bawling her eyes out.

”You’re right Andy... I’m so sorry AJ, if only I wasn’t a dumbass... Come on, don’t lose consciousness! Or at least tell me your blood type before you do! Maybe we can still save you...”

”B... positive...”

”*sniff* I’m trying AJ but you’re losing a lot of blood...”

”That’s not... *cough* what I meant... you fucking dumbass *cough*"

This all looked like a comedy skit to be honest. AJ’s blood type wasn’t even B, it was O. Was she so out of it that she made a mistake? Serena went through 8 stages of whiplash before the ambulance finally showed their asses on the murder scene. Unfortunately, AJ hadn’t seen her attacker and same thing for Reckless. In any case it was useless to stay there, the group rushed back to the dorms like they were supposed to a long time ago before they found AJ dying. Hopefully Claire was still okay... It was like running a marathon. Arlington was way too big than it needed to be.

[havenesa-sera-fina]

Hidden Marks [3: What are you Hiding?]

Summary: Wrapping his own arms around her shoulders, Namjoon pulled her in, resting his head on the crown of her head, his heart beating steadily, which Sera heard and smiled to herself. Even with his odd lengthy limbs, they fit together perfectly, "Sera, I'm falling in love with you, that I want to convince you not to go, but I trust you. I just want you to be happy, to never cry over us again. I can't promise you that if you choose to stay with us, everything will be rainbows and sunshine, but I promise you that we won't give up on you, on this relationship. We're not perfect like everyone thinks we are, we're not the perfect bunch of soulmates, we have problems as a group and individuals, secrets that we all keep, burdens that we try to carry on our own. Though we all have each other, to fall back on when things get brought, and that includes you now. We're soulmates, so if anything happens, don't be scared to tell us. 

(Poly BTS/OT7 x Reader/OC)

College Au / Soulmate Au

Disclaimer: Bts isn't my or any real life people (obviously.) Any other characters are my though. This is my story so do not republish this anywhere or I will report.

There maybe some triggers, but I will address them within the chapters.

Sources: Wattpad

Word count: 2281

Monday night I emailed my professors to let them know I wouldn't attend classes for Tuesday, and exhaustion finally caught up to me that night as I went to sleep, with several needles in my arm, an oxygen mask around my mouth, with the beeping of the monitor. I woke up like that Tuesday afternoon.

Groggily, I removed the annoying mask from my face and pushed my hair away from my face as I glared weakly at the open curtain, as the sunlight was the one to interrupt me from my sleep. The temptation to just knock down the beeping monitor next to me was strong, but I just shifted in the bed, my sore muscles tensed slightly when I shifted to my side a bit. A groan escaped my mouth, wanting to fall back to sleep, but I couldn't.

Reaching for my phone in my bedside table, I winced slightly at the dozens of missed calls and text I received, mainly from Lilia, Kimie and Baekhyun.

Feeling slightly guilty, but not knowing what to say, I sent them a mass message that said I was fine, before putting my phone on mute, so I didn't have to deal with their endless questions of where I was at.

However, I sent Baekhyun a private text:

Can you come to the hospital whenever you have time? Please don't tell anyone I'm here.

I felt like absolute garbage, but at least the burning from my marks ceased, and the headache was gone.

Soon the same nurse from last night came, with her usual bright smile, "Miss. Han, how was your sleep?"

"My whole body is sore," My voice was scratchy, as I gratefully took the water that the nurse offered, "When can I leave?"

The nurse checked my vitals and told me everything seemed to be normal and would inform the doctor before giving me an estimate of when I'll be discharged. She left me alone to my own thoughts, as I settled back into my bed, my eyes heavy, but refusing to sleep. While I may be physically better, it didn't mean I was mentally better. It didn't stop that aching feeling I felt in my chest, the loneliness and emptiness I felt.

After a bit the nurse came back with the doctor, who went over my vitals and charts again, before asking me how I was feeling and replied that I was much better.

"There's this procedure in America," The doctor suddenly spoke, as she was typing away from the computer, looking away from me, "That gets rid of the soulmate mark, and terminates the soulmate bond. It hasn't been approved in Korea, but in America, it has an 80% success rate."

I didn't reply, but I unconsciously shifted the covers to hide the marks, which I knew would be black instead of gray now, as the therapy worked it's magic to repair the bond and in the end my soul. However, there was only so much it could fix, especially when I've been doing the same treatment for nearly four years.

"I assumed you already called someone to pick you up, I'll have your paper works prepared. You can leave in about two hours."

*****

"What is going to be your excuse to Kimie and Lilia? They've been worried about you all day," Baekhyun asked, breaking the silence in his car. The radio was on low, nothing more than a buzz in the background.

Shifting my eyes to glance slightly at the pick haired guy, I turned my body farther away from him, "Just tell them I went a male strip club and I had some fun," I snorted out, not wanting to think about how to deal with my two friends. That was also the reason why we were currently heading towards Baekhyun's apartment, so I can rest more before I return to my dorms and most likely to an awaiting Kimie with a Lilia by her side.

"You're getting worst Sera," he spoke once more, this time his voice more serious causing me to stiffen up a little, "The treatments been getting less and less effective. Give or take a couple of months before those don't even work. Then what?"

"Then I head to America."

"For what?"

"To get rid of the soulmate bond, and probably go to medical school there."

*****

I was mentally and physically exhausted as I walked up the stairs. Nearly falling several times, and I just wished some unknown being would just come, sweep me off my feet and to my bed. Then I wouldn't have to face Lilia and Kimie, after facing Baekhyun.

All we did for a straight hour was scream at each other, yell, fight, and insult one another.

After my announcement of going to America and for what reason, Baekhyun exploded, calling my decision stupid. I of course argued back and tried to defend my decision. We hurled insults after insults at each other, both angry for completely different reasons, and I was the first to break. After our hour of fighting, I spent an hour crying with Baekhyun trying to comfort me, both of us apologizing, before I decided it was time to go back to my dorm.

I wished I accepted the offer to stay at his place for the night, as I pushed my key into the door and pushed it open.

Along with Kimie and Lilia, were two other people that I just wasn't mentally prepared to deal with. Even so, my heart skipped a beat when I saw them.

Sitting on one of the couches in the living room was some would say, the perfect man to exist. With his broad shoulders and slim waist, every girls dream body for their boyfriend. Well-defined facial features with slight cat-like eyes, which were a rich brown color, with a pair of plump lips. His dark black hair stood out against her perfect skin, and he really was a worldwide handsome guy.

Sitting next to him was another breathtakingly beautiful person, large brown doe eyes could make any girl swoon, especially his double eyelids that many people in Korea dreamed to have. He was still well-defined but had almost like a child aspect to him, and whenever he smiled he looked like a bunny. He was Mr. Heartthrob.

"Where the hell have you been!" It was Lilia to speak of more yell once I closed the door, "Do you know how worried we all were! And all you offered was a lame-ass, 'I'm fine, don't worry about me."

I didn't respond, didn't even think as I just stood there, blankly staring back at Lilia who looked furious.

"You didn't even come back last night and came back late today! What in the hell is going on with you Sera?"

What is going on with me?

Is there something wrong with me?

The answer is most certainly.

"I've been trying to be a supportive friend, but it's getting hard when all you do is push us all away! Did I do something wrong? I'm your fucking friend, just talk to me!"

I watched as Jin stood up, and walked behind Lilia and placed comforting hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down. It caused an immense pain within me and it took everything in me to not double over in pain.

Of course, it didn't calm Lilia down, as she only pushed Jin's hands away, and took a step closer to me.

"Do you even consider me a friend? All you ever talk to now is Baekhyun, is he your soulmate? Just tell me something, anything because I have no idea what's going on with you anymore."

There's the odd word again; soulmate. The very word I used to swoon over in middle school, to dream about finding my own. Now it's the bane of my existence.

"Let alone how mean you've been acting to my boyfriends! They've done nothing but try to befriend you, but all you do is push them away!"

Because it hurts to be around them.

"And you're moving universities and you didn't even tell me. Did you even plan on telling me?"

Without thinking, I opened up the white paper bag I was holding the whole time, and pulled out a clear orange bottle, with paper around it. The prescription my doctor gave me.

Overwhelming anger came over me, as I suddenly raised my hands and threw it harshly against the wooden floor, causing the lid to fly open. Several small white pills scattered across the floor, as the loud sound caused the room to go silence. The only thing that can be heard was my heavy breathing.

Bringing up a hand to run over my temples, to try to comfort myself, I didn't dare to look at Lilia, "I'm tired Lilia," I spoke quietly. My voice was raspy as I tugged at the collar of my shirt. It was becoming hard to breathe.

Kimie finally stood up from the couch, and with a concerned expression, she walked towards me. Instinctively I brought my left arm to my chest, and backed away, and lowered my gaze

She seemed taken aback from this, as she stopped in her track and frowned, "Sera, we were just concerned about you, ignore Lilia."

"I just..." I stuttered as my voice shook and I hated it, "I'm just tired. I'll pick up my stuff and head to Baekhyun's. Sorry for bothering you."

When I made an attempt to move around Kimie and to escape my room, Lilia roughly grabbed my left arm, stopping me. However, her stopping me wasn't the problem, it was the fact that her hands were on my marks. Without even realizing it, I began to tremble, as I tried to yank my arm out of her grasp, but she had an iron grip on it.

"You're always covering your mark, what the hell do you have to hide? Do you even see us as your friends?" I watched as her other hand reached up to my left arm, towards the ends of the bandages, with intent to take it off.

Panic overcame me, as with my free hand I roughly pushed her away, causing her to bump into Jungkook. The sight of Lilia in his arms only caused everything to be worst. Backing away, I bumped into Kimie who was yelling at Lilia.

I couldn't think straight, my mind was everywhere, and I was having a panic attack. With my breathing heavy, I wrapped my arms around myself, and closed my eyes. The feeling of Kimie's arms around me, trying to comfort me, only made the pain and anxiety worst, my left arm burning so painfully as I chocked out a sob.

"Please-" I wheezed out, unable to say anything else as I crouched down, trying to wrap myself into a ball. All I wanted to do was disappear and be alone, "It hurts," groaning out, I hissed out in pain, almost tempting to tear away at my own bandages. But that would only ruin everything, "I'm sorry."

"Sera," Kimie spoke worriedly, crouching in front of me, but I refused to look at her, "you're having a panic attack, you need to breathe slower.

It was easier said than done, as it felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest. Especially when I heard the two men in the room whispering comforting words to Lilia. There was unbearable pain, something that I haven't felt before as I forced my eyes open and met Jungkook's concerned brown eyes staring back at me.

Breaking away the eye contact, I forced a reminder that he was only concerned for as a friend. Nothing more.

I don't know how long we all stayed like that, Lilia staring at me with uncertainty written on her face, Kimie standing slightly in front of me as if protecting me from Lilia. Jin kept his hands on his girlfriend, to calm her down as Jungkook stared at me with an unreadable expression.

Swallowing hard, with shaky legs, I stood up, and pushed Kimie to the side slightly, just wanting to go to my room.

No one made a move, but their eyes were on me as I moved past them, with every intent to just disappear until I was forced to go back to class.

However, when I passed Jungkook, I don't know what force overcame him, but suddenly he raised his arm to grip my left wrist. So dangerously close to my marks.

When I snapped my head to look at him, he had a concerned expression, and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but just closed it.

There was a familiar spark where our skin touched, and any other time it would make me feel much lighter, the mark to hurt just slightly less. This was different though, as my heart constricted, the mark on my left arm flaring up once more.

Without thinking, I harshly yanked my arm out of his grip, "Just leave me the fuck alone!" I all but screamed out, not caring when he flinched away from me, "You and all your stupid soulmates, just leave me the fuck alone!"

I didn't wait for a reply, as I stormed into my room, making a note to lock it behind me.

Throwing myself onto my bed, I was breathing heavy, and waited for the tears to come as I stared at the empty ceiling. It never came though, instead of overwhelming emotions, all that come was numbing and emotionless feeling. I knew exactly why I was feeling this, a dry laugh leaving my dry lips.

I basically just rejected my soulmates. 

[2281]

[watermelon-pxpsicle]

ℙ𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥| ℍ𝕒𝕨𝕜𝕤 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕆𝕟𝕖||𝔻𝕠𝕨𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕒𝕕

𝕏𝕏𝕏

{•N/N•}=nickname

{•M/L/N•}=mother's last name

𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 ℙ𝕆𝕍

I wait patiently in my chair checking my notes on this week's modeling session. In pure boredom I start to do that leg thing that people do when they need to get out extra energy. Before I look up though I can feel warm calloused hands covering my eyes. "Guess who?" I chuckle and say "Hm, well I suppose my only guess would a certain man with wings who is late to his modeling session" he laughs and says "aw come on, I'm not late you're just always early!" He takes his hands off my eyes and says "I'd never be late for a modeling gig with you" he gives one of his famous smug smirks and I roll my eyes.

I lead him back to the hair washing chair and continue to wash his hair. "So how’s hero work?” He sighs and says “Stressful, I guess but it’s nothing I can’t handle” he says it with a cocky smirk but I can’t help but feel sad for him. Hero work certainly does look stressful and it’s a shame that the hero commission can’t give the heroes just a little bit more free time. Although I guess it’s not like villains are just going to give them some days off to chill and just relax. His wings make it a bit difficult for him to lay down in the chair so he usually just sheds all his feather into a pile and just leaves them there, until he uses them again. It’s kind of weird to just have hawks feathers all over the place, but I’ve gotten used to it.

Once I'm done with washing Hawks's hair I blow dry and brush it. After I'm done with perfectly brushing it though he just has to run his hands through it. "H-hey! What are you doing that for!" I rush over and he chuckles. "Aw come on, I was itchy! It's not my fault that you buy high-class shampoo. Besides I like having you brush my hair" I sweat drop and go back to styling his hair until it's back to its fluffy, clean, and neat self.

Next is makeup. I don't have to add too much makeup to Hawks since he already has flawless skin, but fixing his bird eyeliner usually helps the aesthetic. It wasn't until the first time I tried wiping the little triangles under his eyes that I found out that that was part of him. We laughed it off anyways, but I still felt embarrassed inside and curios on how he just happened to be born with eyeliner on. When applying the eyeliner I have to be careful to not to touch Hawks too much, since he's ticklish and last time I did that his wings ruffled and spread and knocked over the chairs.

I can almost hear his breathing when I'm applying the makeup, maybe scared of getting ticklish again or just from staying still for a period of time. After I'm done he relaxes again and he follows me to his changing room. When he's in the changing room I check my phone to see any text notifications from the date I had last night. Although it seems as though I'm cursed to be forced alone, forever.

When Hawks comes out he notices my slightly saddened expression. "Hey chickadee, whats got you down?" I look up at him surprised and try to put a smile back on. "Oh nothing, just was spacing out that's all" He nods but I can tell he doesn't believe me. When we're around less people he asks again. "Seriously though, are you okay?" I sigh "I don't know, I guess right now my love life is slowly dying, although not like it was strong in the first place" Hawks looks a little taken a back by what I just said and a little sad too.

"I mean, all my friends have boyfriends. I'm just a twenty two year old who hasn't had one in what feels like forever" I exhale and look back up at him. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be talking to you like this. Super unprofessional of me let's do the photo shoot now" he was hesitant to move or talk back first but Hawks eventually followed me to the shoot. "So anyway I was thinking about matching the tones of your outfits to compliment the backdrops to really get a whole aesthetic going. And anyway I was also thinking about- Hawks?" I snap once trying to regain his attention. "Hawks?" Snapping gains got his attention and he turned to me.

"Hm? Oh! Sorry spaced out there for a bit" we continued the shoot without any further problems with him and his tendencies. We actually got it down fairly quick. "Anyway we'll reschedule for next time?" He nodded "yup just as usual" I go to exit and then I hear him mumble "look forward to seeing you again" I turn around making sure I heard him correctly. "Hm?" He looked a bit a flustered and just said "ah, I meant- I mean, um Bye!"

"Uh, yeah sure. Bye!" I exit the building a bit confused but eventually shrugged it off. "Just bird stuff right?" No matter the cause I go back to my cozy studio loft and sigh. "It's only Four O clock, but I still feel tired" maybe I should make something to eat. After I made something to eat I sat down on my couch and started sketching new ideas for different fashion and jewelry lines. I also brought a bag of popcorn with me. Eventually I put my hand in the bag and nothing was left in there except kernels. Looking around I realize the sun has already started to set. "Did I really just spend three hours non-stop drawing?" I shrug and decide to get to bed.

𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕡 𝕥𝕠 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪'𝕤 𝕃𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕓

"Aw come on {•Y/N•}! You need to put yourself out there. Here it's a free app, just get it" I sigh listening to my friend, Alex's lecture about why I should get a dating app. "Listen here you've been single for way to long girl friend. It's time you go get yourself a man!" "Alex I'm honestly fine, it's sweet that you're doing this for me, but maybe I'm just not destined to meet someone" I take a sip of my drink and look down at my purse.

"Hey can I borrow your phone I want to know what the weather is tomorrow"

"don't you have your's?"

"Yeah but I left it in the car"

I reluctantly gave her my phone and before I knew it she was giggling. "What?" I look over and realize she already downloaded the app!

"A-Alex!" She puts her hand up just to drop and give me one of those "Oh please" looks and showed me my phone back. "Look hun you already got a match" I look down at my phone and notice that I did get a match. "Hold on, really?" I scroll though the person's name and it read 'Keigo Takahiro' he didn't have a picture but it seemed like none of these profiles did. "Hey why aren't their any photos here?"

"This app is made so people don't focus on looks and focus more on the person. "But then you could be talking to a creepy old man!" She just shrugs "you could be doing that too on any other app". Wait so you put my name as {•N/N•} {•M/L/N•}?" She nodded. "I mean you're kind of well known. Since your always around Hawks it's probably better if people don't read your profile and just say 'omg it's that one girl who always around hawks'"."I suppose" although I wasn't really listening I was scrolling through his profile. I didn't find anything that really stood out to me. "Hm his favourite food is chicken, he likes heights, he has a stable job. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all" alex smiles "see? I told you so, soon enough you'll be out here with kids" I roll my eyes and laugh "oh please no let's talk about marriage before that"

ℍ𝕒𝕨𝕜𝕤'𝕤 ℙ𝕆𝕍

𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪

"I don't know Miruko, I just want a girlfriend" she looks at me weirdly and says "don't look at me I already got myself a girlfriend, and trust me I don't think I'm going to be needing no man anytime soon" We're lying in a parking lot because apparently I crash landed there and Miruko came because she thought there were carrots involved. I sigh "I didn't say you, Although you know {•L/N•}?" she jumps up and says "you mean your fashion designer?" I nod "I think I like her" after a few minutes of silence she says "dude, I know. You tell me this everyday" Then it looks like she gotan idea "hey! You should get a dating app!" I blink "what why?" "To get your mind off {•L/N•}! Since your obviously not going to make a move anytime soon" I think for a while "but what if I don't want to get the app?" She shrugs and says "then have fun complaining to me that you want a girlfriend everyday even though you found a girl but are too scared to make a move. You should just put your self out there. You'll be surprised" I look down "I don't know Miruko I think I'll pass" she then goes off to leave "suit yourself with loneliness!"

"Wait!" I shout back already regretting what I’m about to say. She turns back "yeah?" Defeatedly I pull my phone out of my pocket and hold it towards her. "Can you at least help me set up the account" she laughs and grabs my phone. "But wait, what if people only like me because I'm a pro hero and the publicity they would gain?" She looks up at me "just change your last name, and this app doesn't allow you to add a photo" I lean over "why?" She chomps into a carrot and says "something to do with love isn't about how you look or whatever, but I made your account, just fill out some of the other stuff"

"Hold on, am I going to be cat fishing people?"

"Course not! Just change your last name to your mom's last name!"

"Oh, okay"

Once we get my profile ready I hit done and wait a while. Then my phone buzzes "hey look you got a match!" I look on my phone to see '{•N/N•} {•M/L/N•}' I scroll through her profile and think to myself what's the worst that could happen right? “Hey, I gotta go, but have fun with your online dating!” I wave goodbye and check my phone again. It’s not my ideal way to finding a partner, but besides, this is only to get my mind off of {•L/N•}. It’s unprofessional of me to have feelings towards my employee, I mean I’m technically her boss and yet I have these, these.... feelings! That I can’t get rid of, and I just, I just want to.. I don’t know what I want to do with my feelings.

Miruko was right, I really do need to get my mind off her. She is just my fashion designer. That’s it, nothing else. Just my really attractive, kind, and nice employee. If there is some god out there,I hope they will at least send me a sign! Then my phone pinged.

||{•L/N•}||

Hey you free in two weeks? I was thinking maybe Wednesday at 9am

||Hawks||

Yeah why? Taking me out on a date lol

Could this be it? A sign from the gods? Maybe a push that {•L/N•} and I are meant to be?

||{•L/N•}||

To discuss your next fashion line silly :)

||Hawks||

Oh Okay

This girl is going to be the death of me, and hopefully {•M/L/N•} will be able to breathe me back to life.

𝕏𝕏𝕏

[theworldthatneverwas]

Sound of the Sunset

Chapters: 1/28 Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ephemer & Player Character (Kingdom Hearts), Player Character & Skuld (Kingdom Hearts) Summary:

What if you and Ephemer had spent a year getting to know each other before he disappeared? What if you and Skuld had had more time to become friends before the Keyblade War? A slightly canon-divergent AU with an overdose of fluff, friendship, and found family. Note: This fic is already written, and will update every Tuesday until completely uploaded.

(Subscribe to this fic on AO3! No links in this post so hopefully Tumblr shows it in the tag)

***

I've been having these weird thoughts lately

Like, is any of this for real? Or not? 

 “We… we need to get them away from the battlefield. To the rest of the Dandelions.” Ephemer's voice shakes a little. He’s still holding your hand even though you passed out from exhaustion several moments ago. The gauntlets of your keyblade armour are scratched and caked in mud, proof of the battle that took place here so recently. 

Beside him, Skuld nods. She crouches down and picks up the helmet next to you, the symbol of a snake upon the top gleaming faintly in the dim light. The metal is cold and slick from the thunderstorm that had ravaged this area just moments ago. “And…” she begins, looking unsure, “I guess we’ll need to get rid of the armour. So they don’t remember.” It’s been so long since Skuld has seen Ephemer, but now that they’re here together there doesn’t seem to be anything to say. Or perhaps there are so many things to say that it’s impossible to organize them in a coherent manner.

Setting down your hand at last, Ephemer stands and summons his Starlight keyblade to open a portal behind you, casting soft white light onto the scene.

Skuld reaches down to pat your Chirithy, who’s still lingering at your side. “You did really good, Chirithy,” she says, looking fondly at the cat-like creature. “We might not have made it in time without your help.”

Chirithy’s eyes crinkle with happiness at the praise. “What’s gonna happen now?” they ask.

“It’s your job next,” Ephemer says to Chirithy, kneeling down and positioning one arm under your back and one under your knees. With an audible grunt of effort, he manages to pick you up. The keyblade armour you’re wearing digs into his arms and chest, weighing you down, and he already looks a little strained with the effort. Skuld hurriedly moves to try to help but he shakes his head at her. “Just go,” he says, motioning with his chin to the portal. She tucks your helmet under her arm and picks up your Chirithy before stepping through, Ephemer right behind her.

The trio emerge onto a grassy cliffside, the speckled purple rooftops of the town below visible clustered in the distance. It’s just after dusk, and the grey sky overhead threatens more rain. Ephemer sets you down carefully onto the grass. 

“Is this outside Daybreak Town?” Skuld asks, setting Chirithy down as well. 

“Yeah,” Ephemer pants, his fingers feeling along the edge of your gauntlet for a clasp so he can take it off. “Just outside the meeting place. We should be able to get to the other worldline again from here.”

Skuld kneels down beside you as well and helps remove the keyblade armour pieces. Usually a wielder can simply dismiss the armour themselves, but circumstances mean that this is the only option. Skuld gazes at the armour pieces once they finish, a frown tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Will they remember?” she asks quietly, looking over at Chirithy. 

Chirithy’s ears are flat against their head and their expression is determined. “I'm doing my best,” they say. “The Dandelions need to forget the war so they can start over, right?”

Skuld gives a small smile and nods at the tiny Dream Eater. She turns to Ephemer. “Let’s get them through to the other Daybreak Town as soon as we can. You have somewhere to be, don’t you? We shouldn’t linger so Chirithy can do their job.” She has a feeling she knows where he needs to go.

Ephemer seems surprised at her perceptiveness. “I do, but…” he begins, and his hand closes around something hidden underneath his red scarf. There's exhaustion and worry and deep affection on his face as he looks at your unconscious figure on the grass. 

She'd expected something like this when she first learned about you, discovered the reason her fellow party member never seemed to be around after missions. But there will be time for reunions later. There's too much to be done right now. 

“It’s okay, Ephemer,” she says gently. “We’ll make sure they’re all right first.”

Skuld moves aside your Keyblade armour and helps Ephemer pick you up once again, then summons her own Keyblade. Chirithy braces themself, holding onto Skuld’s boot, and after ensuring she has a grip on both you and Ephemer, Skuld opens a keyhole, transporting the four of you away into the light.

The fountain plaza they arrive in looks identical to the one they left behind, nestled in the heart of Daybreak Town, only this time the sky is a clear, cloudless blue-grey with a hint of orange streaking the horizon. Dawn – or perhaps it would be more fitting to call this time of day daybreak. Ephemer shifts his grip on you and they begin climbing up the stairs that lead away from the plaza, towards the rows of purple-roofed houses that line the cobblestone streets. Skuld, the more skilled of the two of them with magic, casts a tricky Zero Gravity spell on you to help reduce the weight on Ephemer. With her help, he manages to carry you all the way to your residence, setting you down on top of your bed. Chirithy jumps up onto the covers beside you, hopping this way and that.

“You’ll take care of them, won’t you Chirithy?” Ephemer studies your Dream Eater carefully.

“Of course!" Chirithy lays a tiny paw on your arm. 

"Good," Ephemer says, nodding. "We're counting on you." He looks up at Skuld, pressing his lips together. "Maybe we could…" 

She puts a hand on his shoulder. "They'll be all right. Trust me. We've done everything we can."

He seems to see something in Skuld's gaze that makes him trust her words, and he nods. "Make sure…" His eyes study your face, eyebrows pushed together, worry lining his forehead beneath his silver-white curls. "...Take care of them," he finishes. 

Skuld glances down at your Chirithy. "How much will they remember?" she asks. 

"With time, none of it," Chirithy says, bouncing from one foot to the other. They approach you and lay a tiny paw on your shoulder. "Anything relating to the war will be gone, like a forgotten dream." 

"They won't…" Ephemer begins, and a strange look comes across his face as though he feels foolish for voicing his thoughts but is unable to help the words from slipping out, "they won't forget meeting me, right? Or meeting Skuld?" 

"Of course not!" Chirithy insists, turning to him. "Memories with friends are powerful. I can leave those in."

His shoulders relax a little at the Dream Eater's words. "Thank you, Chirithy. I don't know what we'd do without you." 

Chirithy beams up at him, then all their gazes are drawn to your resting form as you furrow your eyebrows slightly. "You should go," Chirithy says to them, gesturing at you. "I'll be here when they wake up. I can explain things better if it's just me."

Skuld and Ephemer exchange a look and nod, then step out into the hallway outside your bedroom. Skuld turns back to your Chirithy. "See you again soon," she says, and follows Ephemer down the stairs to stand on your front step. 

"We'll see them again before long," Skuld reassures Ephemer, noting the way he gazes back at your house, like he regrets leaving. 

He sighs and turns to her. "I know. It's just been such an exhausting day and I wish…I wish I could do things over again differently. Not just today. Leaving without telling you anything, too. It was selfish of me. I should have trusted you more." He looks wearier than she's ever seen him while he was still in her party, his normally bright and happy expression gloomy and tired. "I'm really sorry, Skuld." 

She tries to force a smile. "Hey, don't get all sentimental on me now," she says lightly. "There's a lot of work to be done. You can make it up to me later." 

One corner of his mouth twitches upward in an almost-smile. "You're right. I need to go, but I'll see you again soon. Thanks, Skuld." 

"Of course." She watches as he summons his keyblade and vanishes into the light, then walks down to the fountain plaza to clear her head. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours it's hard to wrap her head around it. She sits for a moment on the fountain wall, watching as the sky slowly brightens to a pastel pink. What she wouldn't give to be able to sit here a little longer, to enjoy the beginning of a new day and forget about the tragedy they'd so narrowly escaped. But she's lingered here long enough. She summons her keyblade to take her back to the other Daybreak Town and finds that Ephemer has already cleared away your keyblade armour, which they'd left on the grass earlier. She raises her keyblade once more to summon another portal. There's somewhere she needs to be, and she has a pretty good idea of at least one person she'll find waiting there. The portal opens before her, bright and welcoming - a stark contrast to the place she'll be returning to. She steps into the light, vanishing just as a rumble of thunder echoes threateningly overhead. 

 *** 

Ephemer… Skuld…

Memories swirl through your mind, jumbling together, seeming to trickle through your grasp as you reach out to them. A horrible, gut-wrenching sadness takes hold of you and you can’t recall where it came from. Images flash across your closed eyelids -- keyblades, other wielders, the Foretellers’ masks, a crystal heart floating towards the heavens. Your friends, their faces lined with concern. A memory disentangles itself from the fog, a memory of a sunny day and a chance encounter… 

[spunky-89]

A Very Merry Christmas

A/N: Hellloooo, so I know it’s not the weekend, but in my defense, I lost a day. I thought today was Sunday but I have been informed I was wrong. Anywho, this will be a two-parter as I wrote soooo much it felt like I needed to snip it a bit. So without further ado, here is the next part (not in story timeline) of “Domestic(ish) Life”!!!!!

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 3100

The second Thanksgiving ended, you were all in on Christmas. This was not new information to Steve and Bucky. Though Bucky only had a year under his belt where Steve had five. But they knew how much you loved the holiday so even when they weren’t really in the mood, they put on the Santa hats and smiled because it made you happy. And there was nothing they loved more than seeing you happy. ---------

“Come on, come on, come ooonnn,” You whined as you tried to drag the two super soldiers into the tent.

“We’re coming,” Steve laughed.

“Not fast enough.” you groaned and ditched them to head into the tent in front of them.

“I don’t understand why we don’t do this-”

“If you say the old fashion way I swear Bucky, I will murder you.” You glared as he came up behind you.

He put his hands up and laughed, “All right, message received.”

“Good, now put these muscles to use and pull that tree out for me.” You asked as you patted his chest and pointed to a tree towards the back.

You knew that you could actually go to a tree farm in New York, but your family had always gotten them from the tents at Home Depot, Lowes, or just a stand off the main road. It was one of the traditions you couldn’t let go of. That and needing to get a real tree, even when you were alone and had to drag it up to your apartment by yourself. 

Steve came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder. The two of you shared a quiet laugh as you watched Bucky fight to get the tree you wanted from the pile. 

“Thank you for doing this with me. I know it’s kind of silly, but-”

“Hey, it’s not silly. It’s something you love and something that means a lot to you. You know we’re there if it means making you happy.” He said. Bucky then let out a string of curses under his breath as he finally got the tree out. “And I can’t say I don’t enjoy myself.”

You giggled and moved forward to evaluate the tree.

Two hours and three Tree Tents later, you had found your perfect tree. The boys helped bring it up and set it in its base. You smiled, clapped, and did a little dance once it was in place. 

“I’m glad you’re happy, but I am never doing that again,” Bucky grumbled.

“Aw come on, don’t be like that.” Steve teased.

“There is sap all in the groves of my hand. That shit is never coming out.” 

“Le gasp! We do not use that kind of language sir!” You exclaimed in fake shock.

“God I hate you guys.” 

“But seriously,” You giggled as you pecked Steve on the cheek in apology, “I told you to wear gloves. It is not my fault you didn’t listen.” 

“I didn’t think they were necessary!”

“Well, you should know that I’m always right and you should really listen to me more.” You smiled.

“Whatever, let’s just decorate it.”

“Sorry hunny, but we can’t decorate quite yet. We need to give it a day or two to make sure it’s all puffed out.”

“I have no idea what you just said or why that’s a thing,” Bucky stated as he plopped next to you on the couch. 

“It meeaanns, the trees from tents are usually all wrapped up, so it takes them some time to flatten out. So if we put lights and ornaments on it now, they are liable to just fall off once the branches have adjusted.” You explained.

“I see. I still think it’s stupid and next year we’re taking you to a tree farm.”

“Oh, so you’re already planning for next year huh?” You teased.

“You can’t get rid of me princess.” He said as he grabbed you and pulled you into his lap as he hugged you tight and layed kisses all over you while you giggled.

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

The boys were extremely unhappy when a mission popped up two weeks before Christmas. They were so excited to do all the fun Christmas things with you for your first official Christmas as a couple. You assured them it was fine, as it was just a day after all. You firmly held the belief that the day you celebrated didn’t matter, as long as you were celebrating with the ones you love. So off they went.

You were almost kind of glad they were gone. It gave you plenty of time to get their gifts done. You firstly picked up some of the gifts you and Bucky had discussed for Steve and the same with Bucky’s. You had all made the decision to include each other in the gift-giving process to make sure no one got the same things. It was working out pretty good. You did decide to do something extra for both the boys. You wanted to spoil them and it was something you’d been planning for a while anyway. So you got to work. Though you loved buying gifts, you also loved making them. It made you feel like it was just a touch more personal. Luckily you had some time off and were able to put it to use. You actually made it a girls’ night. Nat and Wanda weren’t needed for the mission, so you invited them and Pepper over. You all had a ball, mixing wine and crafts. Though they were all crafty in their own right, they always said your assistance and expertise made it way easier and the product much prettier. Some of the creations were just for fun, or in Pepper’s case, a fun gift to give the man who had pretty much everything.

“So what’s the deal with that?” Nat asked as she was laser-focused on her wine glass, not the one that was full, the one she was painting.

“Well, I’ve been working on this for months, bullying Tony and even enlisting Maria’s help to gather some relics from their past and- I don’t know. I thought it would be cute.” You said with a shrug.

“Oh it’s adorable, I just wasn’t sure what it was from or where you got the idea.” She assured you.

“Oh, it’s from one of my favorite movies.” You explained.

“I see,”

“Hey (Y/N/N), how do you use this thing again?” Wanda asked, staring at the Cricut with hatred in her eyes. You laughed as you put down what you were working on and went over to show her.

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

When the boys returned only five days later, they were thrilled. There was a minor concern that their mission would mess up the holidays, but luck was on your side for this one. But they were faced with a new problem. Christmas was coming fast, and they were stumped at what to get their girl. They knew very well she wasn’t super materialistic and cared more for small gestures then grand ones. But they were just so unsure of what to do. This was the first official Christmas as a triad, and they were panicking. 

“I feel like you gotta go jewelry, my man, it’s a classic,” Sam suggested when the boys brought their fears and worries to him.

“But that’s just it, it’s classic. She deserves more than that.” Bucky said with a groan.

“I don’t know, jewelry is pretty romantic. And it can be kind of personalized for her.”

“Still not what we’re looking for though,” Bucky argued.

“Hey, you asked for my help!”

“No Steve asked you. For some reason,”

“Stop it, both you.” Steve sighed, pinching his nose between his fingers and shaking his head.

“I’m just saying, I mean, how many successful relationships has he had?” Bucky asked,

“I’ve had relationships!”

“Name two that have lasted longer than 2 months.”

“Listen here-”

“Enough.”

The three men sat in silence for a while after that.

“What about a companion?” Asked a female voice. Steve and Sam jumped a bit at the sudden appearance of Natasha. 

“What?”

“Like a pet or something. I mean she’s always sad when she’s left alone when you guys go on missions.”

“No no, that part I got.” Bucky said, “But how the hell did you know what we were talking about?”

“You guys have been struggling for a week. It’s getting really close to Christmas, I gave an educated guess.”

“You scare me,” Sam said, completely straight-faced.

“Oh, I know that.” She said, smiling innocently at him.

“I don’t know Nat, an animal is so much work.” Steve said, “And they usually end up destroying a lot.” 

“Yeah, but (Y/N) is great with animals.” She argued.

“I don’t know,”

“I kinda like the idea.” Bucky chimed in.

“Of course you would. You want a pet just as much as she does.”

“All the more reason. It’s a two-for-one gift.” Bucky said a bright smile on his face.

“I hate you.”

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

An hour later the two men were at a local animal shelter asking the kind workers for help. The receptionist freaked out for a minute but was able to get over her shock and help them. They took a picture with her but made her promise not to post it anywhere until after Christmas as to not ruin the surprise. She willingly agreed.

“So, are you looking for a dog or a cat? Or something else?” She asked as she led them to a back office to talk so they wouldn’t be seen by others out in the main area. 

“Uh, we’re not really sure actually,” Steve admitted.

The woman laughed and had them sit down to chat.

“Okay, so this is for your mystery girlfriend I assume?”

“Yeah, we want to get her a companion for when we’re gone, but we’re not sure what would be best,” Bucky explained.

“Alright, does she have a preference for one type of animal?”

The two boys snorted. 

“Anything that has fur and four legs.” Bucky laughed, 

“Well, that’s not true, she also loves birds and bats.”

“Oh true, can’t forget the bats.” 

The woman looked at the two icons in front of her, fond smiles on their faces as they spoke of their lover. She hoped she could one day find someone who would look like that when they talked about her. “I feel that I'm the same way.” She laughed, “Unfortunately, we don’t rescue bats here but we have lots of furry friends.”

“Do have any animals that have been here for a while? Or any animals that you guys don’t think anyone is going to take?”

“Well, we have quite a few that have been here for a year or more, a few senior animals which are less popular, and then animals who have some form of illness or disability.”

“Not one with an illness or disability. Though I’m sure she would love it unconditionally, I think a healthy animal would be better.” Steve said.

“So judgmental Steve,” 

“Shut it punk,” Steve said as he glared. He turned back to the woman who was smiling as she watched the two men.

“Come on, I’ll show you a few different critters and you can see what you think will complete your family.”

She led them out the door and down a hallway. Immediately they could hear the barking. 

“So, these are some of the dogs who need special attention or are small enough we can fit them in the kennel. We have bigger dogs and healthy ones outside in big pens so they have room to roam.” The woman explained. 

She led them to a cage with a small shaggy terrier. It started yapping as soon as the boys walked up.

“So this is Nancy, she’s 3 years old and she’s been here for 8 months. She had some heartworms but she is finally done with treatment and is ready to find her forever home.”

The two boys shared a look.

“She’s cute but I don’t think we want a tiny dog,” Steve said.

“Specifically no yappers,” Bucky added.

The woman laughed and nodded, “I don’t blame you. But that will help our search a little bit.”

She then led them outside where they could see a number of fenced-in areas with dogs of all kinds running, sleeping, or playing with their toys.

“So, first we have Pluto, he’s a 6-year-old Lab/Pit mix. He’s a sweetheart but people get scared with him being part pitbull. He’s active but not so much that he’s too much to handle. He does enjoy going for walks and playing with his ball. He also loves tug-of-war, but I usually warn people about hurting their shoulders due to his strength, but I get the feeling you two won’t need to worry about that.” She smiled as she crouched down to call over the dog.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got that covered.” Steve laughed.

Bucky got down right next to the worker and started petting him through the fence.

“Oh, aren’t you a cutie. Oooh, you’re so sweet.” Bucky cooed.

“I’m gonna live to regret having you here aren’t I?”

“Listen, these cuties need someone to love them. Let me live my life.” Bucky snapped playfully defensive.

Steve laughed and they all moved on to the next dog, then onto cats, and finally the birds and small critters like hamsters and ferrets.

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

Their next stop was the pet store. They talked to the woman at the shelter about what supplies they would need and she gave them a detailed list with some things that weren’t necessary, but might be good to have.

They never realized how many toys you could get for animals. Needless to say, they were extra glad for the instructions as they would have been lost without them. They had put their new family member on hold to be picked up on Christmas Eve and somehow figure out how they were going to smuggle it into the apartment. But they would worry about that later. Right now they were arguing over colors.

“We should get the pink or purple, they’re girl colors,” Steve argued.

“Did you really just say that? Do you know what (Y/N) would say if she heard that?” Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Steve nodded, realizing his mistake.

“Obviously,”

“Don’t get smart with me punk.”

“Whatever, we still need to pick a color.”

“What about (F/C)?”

“No, that’s a weird shade. She would hate that.” 

“What about this one?” Steve asked, holding up a sparkly red/orange one with little brown flecks in it.

Bucky tilted his head. “It’s very fall, but I think she’ll love it.” 

“My thoughts exactly.”

“One thing down, a hundred to go.” Bucky sighed looking at the list.

“I don’t want to hear it, this is all on you pal. You wanted to do this.” Steve said.

“Oh I know, I have no regrets.”

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

Once they had all of the stuff, they made a quick stop to get bags, boxes, and wrapping paper. They knew they would have to wait until tomorrow to wrap their gifts as by now you were bound to be home from work and they had too much stuff to hide effectively. 

They were so glad they had figured this out because they were down to the wire. It was only five days till Christmas.

With it being so close to Christmas you were practically glowing and floating on air. There was constantly a Christmas candle burning and music playing. After all the stress of the year between missions and dealing with telling people about your relationship, the boys were glad to see you let loose and be happy. You were only minorly stressed out because you had offered to host a small Christmas Eve get together with a few of the team who didn’t already have plans. Though you would all be gathering at the Tower for Christmas dinner. But on Christmas Eve it was just going to be Sam, Wanda, Vision, Natasha, and Bruce.

You had grand plans of making all sorts of delicious baked goods for both meals, but on top of it, you had to make an actual dinner for Christmas Eve. But you were thrilled. You loved hosting events and you were ready to hold a holiday in your own space. The boys helped you clean everything and make sure all the presents for the team were wrapped, as well as the presents for each other. You managed to wrangle Steve into assisting you with some of the cooking and decorating of the desserts. Bucky had long been banned from the kitchen because he infamously ate everything and you would end up having to make more. So he was stuck on cleaning duty and doing other minor jobs for you. 

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

After a whirlwind of activity leading up to the big night, it was here. You all had discussed it and decided to get a bit dressed up, especially since Tony had decided that it was going to be a pajama dinner. So while the food was finished cooking, you got all dressed up in a dark red, sparkly, knee-length dress. You did your make-up and put on some jewelry before topping the look off with heels you knew you would take off within half an hour. Each of the boys stuck with a nice pair of jeans and a button-up. Both looked absolutely delicious. Not long after you all finished getting ready, you heard the first knock at the door.

As everyone arrived, wine and mixed drinks were served and you all gathered at the table for the meal. As they all sat, you stayed standing.

"Before we all enjoy this meal, I just wanted to say, thank you. This has been a rough year between missions gone wrong and huge fallouts. I want to say thank you for being my family when my family was being dicks. I firmly believe that family isn’t defined by blood but by love. I feel so incredibly lucky to have wonderful people like you surrounding me and trying to keep my dumbasses safe." Everyone laughed a bit, but your eyes had started tearing. "I love you guys. Thank you for accepting me into your family and for understanding that love comes in many forms. Merry Christmas." You finished, raising your glass, tears trickling down your cheeks. 

Everyone chorused a 'Merry Christmas' and you sat between your boys, who both squeezed your hands and kissed your cheeks. 

[hitchell-mope]

(Third film. After “I’ve gotta be me”. Uma looks around nervously)

Uma: I really hope nobody in there heard that

Ben: nah, don’t worry, I shielded and soundproofed is from them

Uma: surprisingly thoughtful, uhhhh, aheh, at this point I usually call you derogatorily by your last name

Ben: Le Roi. Well legally it’s Bach. But officially it’s Le Roi

Uma: Benjamin. Florian. Le Roi. Do you have any idea how fucking ridiculous that sounds?

Ben: and your last name would be

Uma: Facillier. She doesn’t have a last name

Ben: ah.

Uma: oh. Oh my.

Ben: what’s up? Oh. Yeah he does that.

Uma: s’clever.

Ben: that’s Doug for you

Uma: why am I interested by that

Ben: we’re eighteen. And therefore weak to his power.

(They’re watching Doug eat a bowl of peanuts with just his tongue. Ben snaps out of the stupor first)

Ben: moving swiftly onwards. Hit me

Uma: heh?

Ben: hit me, sock me one, deck me, gimme a knuckle sandwich. Any variations the phrase retains the same meaning. Punch me in the face.

Uma: why?

Ben: I’ve got a theory I wanna test out.

Uma: but aren’t you...

Ben: ...more powerful then you? Yes. So make sure to give it you’re all then. C’mon, cahmon. C’mon, cahmon. HitmehitmehitmehitmehitmeWOOOO

(Uma slogs him around the face do hard he flips horizontally in midair and lands flat on his back right next to where the gazebo was. A full three feet away)

Uma: Z’that what you wanted?

Ben (utterly jubilant): as a matter of fact. Yes

Uma: so now what? Gonna Tell the missus?

Ben: nope. I’m gonna offer you a job.

Uma: ahahah that’s funny. I thought you said you were offering me a job?

Ben: I figure. If you put that much effort punching me. You’ll put the same effort into protecting me.

Uma: n-no, no, you’re not supposed to do that. You’re supposed to hate me. I had you kidnapped. I almost had you thrown to sharks. I hypnotised you. I almost capsized your stinking yacht. And you wanna give me the job of protecting you? Who the fuck does that?!?! For all you know I could do that again?

Ben: now why would you do that when our interests align? Besides the fact that I forgive you. I want to get kids off the island. You want to get kids off the island. What better way to do that then by working together? And yeah. You could probably do that again. But I’m willing to take that chance.

Uma (as Ben’s saying all this, and devolving into tears): no, no, shut up I your forgiveness that’s not how it’s supposed to go you’re supposed to hate just like I hate her will you SHUT UP

Ben: ooh. (Through a Cheshire Cat grin) Finally

(She’s skewered Ben in the stomach with her sword. He smiles, bends the blade in half, pulls it out of him and throws it upwards. He leaps up ten foot in the air and gives it a flying kick, shattering it into a chunky powder. He lands next to Uma, conjures an umbrella, pulls her close and lifts the umbrella over them just as the powder lands on their heads. In response she blasts him away with magic. What follows is a very violent, very acrobatic duel that trashes the garden, obliterates what’s left of the gazebo and Harry, gives Uma a broken arm, Ben a broken nose and leaves both of them missing a foot each. As a form of foreshadowing, throughout the entire fight the instrumental for “superhero” plays)

Uma: god I hope you’re happy

Ben: I am actually. Cause now I know I’m right

Uma: what?

Ben: we are both almost perfectly evenly matched. My twelve months of sheer power with your eighteen years of practice and look what we managed to do?

Uma: give your future sister in law a coronary?

Ben: fight to a stalemate. Please? For six months. You’ll get paid to yell at people and beat them up if necessary

Uma:...no

(This is when “superhero” happens. After the song Ben starts fixing the garden)

Uma: ok then. Let’s say I did take the job? Wouldn’t one of your own be more trustworthy?

Ben: Jane’s still in school. Lonnie’s going off to college with Gil next year and she was only filling in for the summer anyway. And Doug’s my major-domo. So can’t choose them even if I wanted to.

Uma: and the other three?

Ben: conflict of interest. Carlos is legally my son and he’s also still in school. Mals my fiancé and Evie’s her sister. So again. No go.

Uma: couldn’t you...

Ben: duplicate myself and have him as my bodyguard? I could. But then I’d be breaking my promise to my mother

Uma: huh?

Ben: she was ok with me having magic so long as I legitimately practiced it, didn’t use it for schoolwork, didn’t use it for paperwork, didn’t use it for personal gain, and it didn’t give my subjects cause to worry. For a year at least

Uma: personal gains the best part of magic though

Ben: last time a king used the power he’d been afforded for personal gain...well. You grew up in the result so telling you wouldn’t achieve anything

Uma: oh. But...

Ben: I could use my magic to quicken the relocation? Like I said. Paperwork, personal gain, worrying the subjects. It’s definitely something that needs to happen. But I’m not taking shortcuts because it needs to be done properly and through the correct channels.

Uma: well that’s bullshit. Wait. What was all that fighting singy thing for then?

Ben: loophole

Uma (snickering): oh beasty boy you are perfect

Ben: why thank you kindly captain

Uma (flatly): Don’t push it

Ben: ok, ok

Uma: I’m serious though. The best part about magic is that you can do anything you want

(This is when “everything is not what it seems” happens. After the song they go back into the house to find it in chaos. Doug has Cj in a full Nelson with her head near the lit stove. Elsa’s downing an entire bottle of sambuca. Evie’s preventing Harriet and Hades from trying to patch up Harry. Mal has stuck Hadie to the sofa so he can’t help Harry. Jane’s drunkenly yelling about how much she loves her friends. Carlos is on Jay’s back, Celia and Dizzy are hanging off Jay’s arms and all four are chanting “kill her” at Doug. Lonnie’s eating a sloppy joe omelette and watching the events unfold intently. Gil is swirling round a smoothie. He notices them first)

Gil: oh you’re back. Finally. D’you wanna...?

Ben: yeah. Um...ooh. Yes that’s it. Uma. Take half of this sceptre and follow my lead

(He snaps his own, collapsible sceptre in half, hands one of those halves to Uma, jumps onto the kitchen island, helps Uma up and together they spin each half until they make a high pitched screeching sound that makes the chaos stop)

Ben: could all my friends please come over to my side

Uma: alright you useless fuckers, SIDDOWN!!!!

Ben: now, what happened

Uma: yeah ceej, what did you do?

Cj: why do you assume I did anything when it was clearly this heterosexual imbecile

Uma: cause I know you kid, since you were five in fact, so I know it was probably your doing

Ben: what happened Doug?

Doug: she insulted Evie and I in our own house, belittled our relationship and tried to stab me in the head with a rotisserie blade. And I f that wasn’t bad enough

Evie: she called me a traitor and slapped me around the face

Doug: and that is how the situation you walked in on transpired.

Cj: bald faced lies

Uma: eh I believe it. What about you beasty boy?

Ben: sounds airtight

Cj: I cannot and refuse to believe that

Uma: that I believe him over you? Well get used to kiddo. Ya just like Harry, no matter how much ya try to deny it

Ben: one question tbough. How are you a traitor

Mal: oooh yeah, you dunno do you? It’s ugly. Just like every Hook in existence

Evie: if everyone must know. When I was fourteen she flirted with me. And I turned her down

Cj: her mother braINWASHED HER

Everyone except for her siblings: shut up!

Evie: I turned her down. Because. A. I’m straight. And. B. Even if I wasn’t, I have higher standards then filthy pirates

Ben: were you rude?

Evie: pardon?

Ben: were you rude? Sometimes you can be a little bit rude.

Evie: if I remember correctly my exact words were “I’m very sorry but my gang sent me on a mission so I must go”

Ben: that was very polite

Evie: thank you. Plus. I even withheld the information from Grimhilde cause I know she wouldn’t take it well.

Cj: What has that got to do with anything?

Evie: Quinn Harts

(The room seems to grow colder as hades and the Vks, including the hooks, all look at each other uneasily)

Cj: oh. So it’s not because you’re

Evie: homophobic? God no. It was incompatible orientation pure and simple.

Cj (chuckling nervously now because the eggs on her face): but you see I thought

Doug: all straight people are jackasses? Quite a few are. But Evie and I aren’t. If we’re being wholly honest. Your sexuality is literally the only thing I respect about you. If you weren’t a pirate I might’ve even introduced you to my cousin Sadie. But you’re an asshole. So I won’t

Ben: good to hear that’s all cleared up

Evie: we are as well. Now. You three. Get the fuck out of my house. You stray bitches have been here too long. I’m sure there’s a nice posture ruining rock outside for you to sleep on

Harriet: we’re family

Hadie: actually. No. You and straw girl aren’t our family. Harry is. But not you.

Evie: nah. He can piss off too. I’m still waiting for a dna test. Until then. He can rot from the inside for all I care.

Mal: even when the test is confirmed he can still rot. (Uma scowls at her) What? It’ll be funny

Elsa: Jay. C’mere. Would it be completely out of the question for you to replicate your previous spell.

Jay: uhhhh....No. But I’d need a living conduit. Like a performer.

Hadie: I’ll do it. The party’s dying and that won’t do. What? I’m a disciple of Dionysus. Partying is literally my job description.

Elsa: as well as loose morals.

Hadie: harsh much?

Jay: she means you sleeping around with any dude that looks at you nicely. Ready

Hadie: fire away

Jay: To get rid of these ants in their pants/I command thee all to get up and dance. Again

(This is when “shut up and raise your glass” happens. After the song everyone but Hadie, Jayand Elsa looks very disgruntled)

Mal: seriously? Again? That’s like twice in one hour

Jay: had to be done. And it’s of my professional opinion that every time you guys get uppity I’m gonna help instigate an impromptu rave

Ben: well it worked. And it was funny. So two birds one stone. Now. I believe Doug and Evie asked you three to leave

Harriet: ya cannae do that man. Ya don’t have the authority

Doug: ok then. Get out of our house. NOW!

Harry: no I. I don’t think we will.

Celia: get out. Or I’ll throw you out.

Cj: you and what army?

Celia: this one

(Here is glow fuchsia and the wall is washed down in shadows)

Harriet: d’ya really think I’m scared of a little girl like you?

Ben: to hell with this. May I?

Doug: please

Ben: thank you. (He jumps off the kitchen island, lifts Harriet off the ground by her coat collar with one hand, morphs his face into that of a beast and screams in her face) GET OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!

(There’s a moment of deathly quiet. Harriet whimpers. There’s a sound like a leaky faucet. And Ben morphs back to his human face which now bears a look of disgust)

Ben: did you just...?

Harriet: it’s been a really stressful day with no let up

Ben: uh-huh. (He drops Harriet on the floor and turns to his brother) Gil, buddy, uh

Gil (stony faced): burn the shoes then burn them again then throw them out.

Ben: on it

(He poofs out. Celia turn to Doug and Evie)

Celia: my turn?

Evie: yup. But don’t break the glass

Celia: perfect (she grabs Harriet by the back of her coat) out ya go rummy. (She throws her towards the window making her dissipate into shadow before contact). I’ve wanted to do this for years (she slaps Harry around the face, he too turns into shadow) buh bye you fatuous egotist (she pulls Cj’s hair and the final pirate disappears into smoke) that felt good

Uma: where did you put them?

Celia: eh don’t worry. I put them in the nautilus. Now. Shall we crack on with the party?

Everyone but Uma: HEAR HEAR

(Mal inches over to Jane and Lonnie)

Mal: what do you say we get some air for a while

(They nod and two minutes later they’re all on the bench laughing their asses off about certain unsavoury topics)

Lonnie (crying due to laughter but still trying to speak): all I’m saying is going to my grans seventieth in my ROAR uniform is nothing compared to you and Ben and his you know what

Mal (in the same state as Lonnie): its still pretty damn funny though

Jane: my mother should be here

(The other two stop laughing)

Mal: I know hon

Jane: but if she were here she’d complain. “Leave room for Jesus”. “Time for the lobster quadrille”. “I know you can now but you shouldn’t drink when you have guests”. The only ones I wanted to invite are here. Plus the four stooges. And she didn’t even show up to the party she made me have!

Lonnie: oooh please can I call the squid a stooge M? Pretty please with merlot on top?

Mal: you shouldn’t really be calling her a squid or a stooge. But if you do. Ok not responsible for what happens to ya.

Lonnie: fine.

Mal: now Janey. What say you we try and get all these annoyances out huh?

Jane: errrr...I’m game if you are.

Mal: perfect. (She gets up, goes to the midpoint between the bench and the gazebo and magically constructs a model version of Verna) now. What do you wanna say to her?

Jane: I ha...I can’t. I can’t. I’m sorry.

Mal: it’s ok bud.

Lonnie: could uh could music help? Possibly?

Jane: it might. I dunno.

Mal: shall we try it?

Jane: yes. And uh. You can vent too, I mean, if you want.

Lonnie and Mal: well alright then

(Mal clicks her fingers, a copy of Maleficent and Fa Li appear and music starts up. This is when “you don’t own me happens”. After the song they look and feel better. That’s when they hear Evie scream a profanity and a slap rings out from the kitchen)

Mal (heaving a heavy sigh): and once again. Chaos reigns supreme.

Lonnie: I’ll stay with Jane. You go.

Mal: I’ll send Hadie out to keep you company

(She goes back inside just in time for Evie to stalk past her. Hades is on the floor with a slightly shocked expression, a handprint on his face and he’s apologising profusely to Doug)

Mal: you got it down here? (Doug nods). Good. I’ll go kick her head into gear.

(She heads upstairs. Doug turns to back to Hades)

Hades: I’m so sorry my boy, I was just trying to help, if I caused——

Doug: yeah, no, my opinion of you doesn’t matter. Only Evie’s does. I want to ask you a question.

Ben: uh. Doug. Can I eat what’s left in the freezer? Only I can smell somethings about to go out of date

Doug: yeah sure. There only meat products in it. Go crazy. But please please mute the chewing.

Ben (brightly): thank you!

Hades: what is it you want to know

Doug: Maleficent

(Up in the guest room. Evie enters in a huff and slams the door to show Mal hiding behind it)

Mal (sardonically imitating a British accent): hello Harold (Evie screams in surprise) we need to talk

Evie (fed up): what? What now? What could we possibly have to talk about?

Mal: what I thought you got over earlier toady

Evie (cackles hollowly): THAT? That! Was a fluke. And then he tried to “help” me by getting in my way

Mal: has it maybe occurred to you that he actually WAS trying to help?

Evie: if he really wanted to help then he wouldn’t have abandoned me with Grimhilde sixteen years ago

Mal: oh Christ. You know why he did that

Evie: I know why he did it but it still hurt though. He could’ve taken me with him. He could’ve taken us with him

Mal: they wouldve hunted us down and made him watch as they killed us. Or worse

Evie: that doesn’t make me feel any better

Mal (in what she hopes is a comforting voice): look on the bright side. You got me as a sister. That’s gotta count for something, right?

Evie: no, not really.

Mal: urrrrgh. Would me making a fool of myself help you feel less of a loser?

Evie:...mayhaps

Mal: fine. Remember back before graduation we got paired up for the senior class showcase because verna wouldn’t let you and Doug dirty dance?

Evie: yeah

Mal: Bea Arthur or Bette Midler?

Evie (chuckling slightly): surprise me

(Mal clicks her fingers, they’re transported to a music hall stage with an invisible audience and the song starts up. This is when “sisters” happens. After the song Evie looks briefly empowered. Then deflates and flops onto the bed face first. Mal chuckles at this)

Mal: uh. Sis. Your remember that apart from being the guest room, this is Lonnie and Gil’s room as well, right?

Evie (in a muffled tone of voice): what’s your point?

Mal: well besides both being very sweet they’re also a pair of incorrigible gym rats who always forget to clean up the bed before they leave for home. So it wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility that there’s still a certain amount of used up gym wear under the covers you’re currently laying on...

(Evie’s eyes snap open cartoonishly, she screams, jumps up from the bed, makes claw hands at Mal in an attempt to throttle her, flails at the window, then looks down at her clothes and screams again. Throughout all this Mal is calmly amused, silently watching her sister crisis. When she’s had enough she grabs Evie by the arm and hurls her into the en-suite. Evie re-emerges two seconds later in new clothes and a cloudy expression)

Mal: lemme guess. Doug make that sweater?.

Evie: of course. I can sew. Doug can knit.

Mal: mmkay. Now are you going to get over yourself and let go of this ridiculous grudge you have against our father?

Evie: you just don’t get it do you?

Mal: probably not so enlighten me

Evie: this isn’t something I’m gonna get over in a day. This isn’t mamma Mia. I found out who my father was in the middle of a crappy day with even more crappy events piled on it. The man I love was put in a coma. My daughter was missing for most of the day. Ive had to fight for my life at least twice. I’ve had no time to process any of this. And you’re expecting me to get over this massive family reveal instantaneously? No. Something like this will take a lot longer then a day to get over. He abandoned me. I understand why he did it. But it still hurts. And as much as you say that you’re not like me. You have to understand that I’m not like you either. I’m angry. I’m angry he could’ve been there for me and wasn’t. And that anger’s not gonna go away any time soon. Either accept that or get out of my face

Mal: ahhhh. Ok. Now I understand. Katara

Evie: what?

Mal: you’re acting like katara. She was mad that her dad went off to war because she was a kid who needed him but felt like she couldn’t be because the reason for him leaving was noble. Dad let us go to save our lives. So you feel pissed that he left us. But you also feel like you can’t be cause of the REASON he left. It’s ahh, it’s a dilemma for sure

Evie: that’s not a dilemma. A dilemma is deciding between chicken and fish at your wedding. This is an impasse

Mal: mhmm, mhmm, uh huh. You know what would help.

Evie: what?

Mal: talking to him. And I mean not just calling him a rat bastard abandoner. Actually talk to him.

Evie: it’s not that easy M. Not when you were raised by Grimhilde. Not when every time you try to talk something out your met with scorn.

Mal: ohhhh. So that’s where “when in doubt, don’t” came from.

Evie: yup.

Mal: you were the good child. The golden daughter. You never misbehaved and you never spoke up for yourself. And now it come back to use your posterior as an entree.

Evie: yup. So you understand why it’s difficult for me. I can’t. I just can’t. Not after how my upbringing went.

(This is when “here I am” happens. After the song Evie confronts Hades in the kitchen just as he’s finishing his talk with Doug)

Hade:...I’m sorry my boy that’s all I know. Hello dear

Evie: I’m mad at you. I’m always gonna be mad at you. But. I don’t hate you. If I’m being honest, to protect Dizzy, I would’ve done the same. But it’s going to take time for me to...accept you.

Hades: I understand

Hadie: per...perhaps it would help if she saw it. The uh...incident in question, pops, maybe she’d understand a bit more if she saw what happened?

Evie: what, what incident

Mal (who’s been listening in): when he made the decision to stop contacting us.

Hades: I’m going to need a wand. And...A hat.

(Mal takes the sceptre, shrinks it down so it resembles a wand, ignores Uma’s incensed expression and hands it to her father while Hadie hands him his top hat. Hades sticks the wand handle in his right ear up to the emitter, to the teenagers collective disgust, roots around for a minute, then pulls out what looks like ash grey smoke tinged with midnight blue and pours it all into the top hat)

Hades: there you go. Just put the hat on the floor and spin

Doug (taking the hat): thanks. I think.

Mal: that looks worse then the hair ball Dude coughed up at his birthday party last month

Doug: how can...

Mal: don’t ask

Doug: ready

Evie: I guess

(In devies room. They’re sitting in the footlocker at the bottom of they’re bed)

Doug: now remember. No ones pressuring you into anything. You can stop any time

Evie: you’re very sweet. But I need to do this.

Doug: well ok then

(He sets the hat on the floor and spins. It goes faster and faster until it’s a blur. Light fills the room and replaces it with an alleyway on the island. They see Hades in his John Barrowman guise arguing with Grimhilde. He obviously loses since he gets a horrified expression on his face and leaves as Grimhilde smirks. There’s no sign of Evie. In Hades’s lair)

Anastasia: it couldn’t have been that bad

Hades (now Sebastian Stan): they both said the same thing. Iris and Hestia will be imperilled if I remain in contact. I have no choice. Please Antoine. For me

Facilier (wearily): only if you’re sure

Hades: yes. It doesn’t matter about me. Do it. Now.

(In the foyer)

Doug: are you ok?

Evie: no. But I want to keep watching

Doug: as you wish

(Anastasia pours Hades a drink and Facillier gets started. This is when “losing your memory” happens)

[bang-and-a-blintz]

Through the Darkness

CHAPTER FOUR - THE DEAL

Fandom: Dracula (2020)  

Relationship: Dracula/Roxana(OFC)  

Rating: Mature  

Warnings: None  

Word Count: 3,037

The night had a bitter chill in the air, the humidity making the cold seep into one's bones and no matter how many layers, it still would find a way under the skin. Eric stood close to the outdoor heater, rubbing his hands together frantically and blowing on his digits in an attempt to keep them warm.

It wasn't often that the temperature would drop this low in the South, but cruel when it did and most of the city's infrastructure was not built to deal with it. The people were not bred to survive in such frigid conditions; they were used to the scorching sun and a constant sweat. It sent a shock through the city's inhabitants and nearly crippled them.

The young valet was professional as ever, though, and battled through the unwelcome climate. He had the last car, the fancy half a million-dollar machine, all ready and warmed up for the customer. Now was just the waiting game. Except he wasn't looking forward to seeing that particular man again, there was just something about him that made Eric feel uneasy.

"Quite a crisp evening, wouldn't you say?" The sudden closeness of the dark figure made Eric nearly jump out of his skin and grasp at his chest in fright. "Did I frighten you? Terribly sorry."

He didn't sound sorry at all.

The young man laughed shakily, "Not a problem, sir, I should've been paying more attention. Your car is all warmed up, I hope you enjoyed everything this evening!"

Dracula plucked the keys from the valet's hand, who took notice of his talons and his eyes widened. The count stepped closer and tilted his head down towards the boy, "It is unnecessary, though appreciated. Do try and stay warm tonight, this kind of weather can be rather penetrating."

Eric gulped audibly. "Y-yes, sir."

With a grin, Dracula straightened to his full height and clicked a button on the key fob to turn the car off. "No need to waste gas. I'll be waiting for a bit."

The kid just stood there awkwardly and shuffled his feet a bit before it dawned on Dracula, "Ah, yes, you would like a tip, hm?"

Without bothering for a response, he retrieved a folded hundred dollar bill from his breast pocket and held it out for the young man. Eric went to take it but found that the count would not let go and he glanced up with nervous eyes. Dracula inhaled deeply and leaned even closer, "Run along now, Eric, there are dangerous creatures out and about. We wouldn't want anything unsavory to happen."

The valet nodded frantically, his head bobbing up and down like a muppet, and once Dracula let go of the bill, the kid took off into the building without a second glance.

—

Roxana's hands shook as she returned to the kitchen, the vampire's presence was a little overwhelming, to say the least, but something inside her itched with incorrigible curiosity. Yes, she was terrified, because she knew that man was most likely going to kill her. The Harker Foundation alluded as much. They told her he was a bloodthirsty beast with no remorse or self-control. He had killed her blood relatives, doppelgängers, whatever the fuck, and was now there to do it again. She probably shouldn't have tossed their business card in the trash.

But there was something that caught her off guard and made her wonder. Why did he look so surprised to see her if he had already been searching for her? But then she remembered how he then had the smugness of a cat catching the mouse. Maybe he was just going to toy with her before he went it for the kill.

She was damn near thrown off her balance as someone knocked into her side in a rush. "Eric? What's the matter with you?"

"I'm so sorry, Miss Rox, I wasn't paying attention." He seemed a little tense and she figured he had a run-in with the vampire. Her eyes quickly searched his neck for any open wounds and once she was satisfied that he was unharmed, Roxana patted him on the shoulder.

"No harm, no foul," She smiled kindly and his tension eased, "It's late, y'all should head home. I'll see you next week."

"Thanks, ma'am, have a great night!" Eric turned and shouted towards the freezer, "Oi, that creepy dude gave me a hundo - drinks on me tonight!"

Al shot out of the walk-in and nearly stumbled over his own feet, "Bitch, what! Let's go!"

The two grabbed their things and made their way towards the back door. Angeline was walking in after clocking out and threw on her jacket, "What do you mean 'creepy'? He was pretty damn fine, for like an older guy."

Al let out a whistle, "Oh girl, I feel you, I was just telling Rox that her mans is a daddy I'd like to know."

"He is not my-" Roxana started but it was too late, the other two whipped their heads around and gawked at their boss.

"Oh my god!" Angeline squealed and Eric looked slightly mortified.

"He's terrifying!"

"You've got a boyfriend?!"

"Lord knows baby girl needed to get her some of dat good lovin'."

"Holy shit, stop, please!" Roxana couldn't help but laugh as she tried to quell the three people hollering over one another. "Mr. Balaur and I are not doing anything of the sort, I can assure you. Now go on, the bars are calling."

The trio finally acquiesced and traded turns giving her a hug, making their departure for their after-work shenanigans, but as they were leaving Eric turned back once more, "Just to let you know, Mr. James-Bond-Villain is waiting for you out front."

Roxana rolled her eyes and waved back at the kid, "Thanks for the heads up, y'all be safe."

"You too, baby," She could hear Al's voice carry in from the alley, "Don't forget to use protection!"

Her employees' cackles could still be heard after the door finally shut and Roxana dropped her head onto the counter with a long-suffering sigh. She really hoped that wouldn't be the last time she saw them.

Shaking her head to try and rid the terrible thoughts from her brain, she set out to finish scrubbing down the kitchen and closing for the night. The busywork helped take her mind off the fact that she was about to face off with a fucking vampire afterward.

It took about another hour for her to be completely satisfied with the level of cleanliness and she finally took off her white chef jacket. Her eyes caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and her hand moved to pull a necklace out from under her shirt. The small golden cross flashed as she tilted it under the lights, her gaze focused sincerely on the little piece of jewelry.

"If there was ever a chance you might want to work, now would be a good time." She murmured, dragging her thumb across the shiny surface before she let it drop back down to hang against her collarbone and looked back at her own eyes. "Oh, who am I kidding?"

Roxana slid on her jacket and turned off the lights as she walked out the front doors of Sanguine. She had the strangest feeling almost like she was walking into battle.

—

Sure enough, Dracula was waiting for her out front of the restaurant, just casually leaning against the side of his car and swiping on his phone. By the way he was flicking his finger to the right or left and the sly little smirk he was sporting, she assumed he was on Tinder. The thought of matching with a five-hundred-year-old vampire gave her a laugh and she caught Dracula's attention with her soft chuckle.

He grinned and tucked his phone into the breast pocket of his suavely fitted trench coat. "Hello, Roxana."

Out of pure habit from her Southern hospitality, she gave a smile and a small wave back, "Hey there…Count Dracula."

His head tilted slightly as he regarded her curiously, "So you know who I am?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "And what you are."

"Oh?" There was a pause. "Well good, that sorts out all that awkwardness then."

He pushed himself off the car and she was momentarily distracted as the full vehicle came into view, "Are you serious - a Rolls Royce? That's what you drive?"

His eyebrows rose almost innocently. "What? Did you expect a hearse?"

She shrugged. It wasn't something that really crossed her mind but it didn't sound unreasonable.

"I'm undead, not unfashionable." He winked, "Besides, I found a killer deal."

Dracula opened the passenger door and looked at her expectantly, "Care for a lift home?"

"Are you going to kill me?" Roxana blurted out, as she tugged her jacket closer in an attempt to fight the chill. "Just like you killed Zoe and Agatha?"

Something flashed in his dark eyes but she couldn't tell what it was before it disappeared and his gaze hardened, "I see that the foundation got to you."

"They told me about you." She corrected him.

"Clearly," His jaw ticked, "However, you have me at a disadvantage, as I've no idea who exactly you are and that doesn't seem fair, now does it?"

She stared at him in disbelief, "A disadvantage? You're a vampire."

Dracula studied her face for a moment and then heaved a sigh, "It is not my current inclination to kill you, Roxana, but I cannot promise as much for the future. Though it does seem to be a reoccurring trend with you Van Helsings."

Roxana weighed her limited options. If she could even truly fool herself into believing she had any. On the one hand, Dracula had not harmed her yet when he had plenty of opportunities given that they were very alone on the street, at a later hour, and on a Sunday night. Everyone in the city was either at home or the bar; either way they were staying inside and away from the cold. Not a witness to be found. On the other hand, her own car was currently in the shop and she imagined her chance of something bad happening was just as likely if she chose to walk or take an Uber.

"Sure, I'll take a ride." She slid past him and into the seat, all the while trying to ignore his cheeky little grin. He closed the door gently and then went around to get in the driver's side, turning on the vehicle and looking at her expectantly. "Just head towards the river and then take a right on Tchoup."

Soft jazz was the only sound heard for a moment as he pulled away from her restaurant and followed her directions. She watched from the corner of her eye how he tapped his nails against the steering wheel, the claws creating a dull thud every time they connected with the leather.

She decided to be the one to break the silence and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly so she could gather herself before speaking. "They said you might come looking for me and they showed me photos and videos. That's how I recognized you."

"You look just like them." He glanced over, his eyes meeting hers briefly before focusing back on the road. "But I honestly had no idea you even existed. Tonight was merely a pleasant surprise, nothing more."

Not very convinced, Roxana crossed her arms and looked out the window at the passing houses, "So this is just a funny coincidence?"

"Oh I don't believe in those," He breathed a laugh, "After five hundred years, I think I know a pattern when I see it."

"If you continued that pattern, my death would be inevitable."

"You're mortal." He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Your death is inevitable whether I have anything to do with it or not."

"I saw the photo of Zoe's corpse. Do you expect me to believe you're not going to do the same thing to me?"

Dracula's hand tightened on the wheel. "That was a mercy."

"I'm sorry?" She turned towards him with an affronted look on her face, "Please tell me how that is supposed to be comforting."

He stopped at a light and met her gaze, "She was already on the verge of dying. Cancer. I simply assisted the parting guest."

As he spoke, his eyes looked beyond Roxana for a moment as if he was viewing the memory, and then the light turned green. She quietly told him the make the next turn.

"Why the name change? von Hels isn't very different than Van Helsing." He switched the subject, not wanting to completely divulge what had actually happened in London. One mustn't show their cards all at once.

"Theatrics, I suppose. Plus, my family has a bit of a reputation around here and I'd rather that be a separate entity than my restaurant." She said, "I'm probably the only Van Helsing left in the city and after some years passed, people don't make the connection anymore."

"Except me."

"Yeah, well, you have a bit of an advantage."

He couldn't help himself, "Some would say I have a bite of an advantage."

Roxana laughed and he decided he liked the sound; he couldn't remember ever hearing Zoe or Agatha laugh. The former was nothing but science and skepticism, the latter was smugly studious; this one, however, was calm and curious and almost cheerful - no matter how much her heartbeat told him otherwise, he had to admit her poker face was spectacular.

"It's up here on the left."

He pulled the car over in front of the row of mismatched colored shotgun houses. An equally disheveled looking calico cat was perched on the stoop, its eyes reflected back brightly and its tail flicked as the vehicle slowed to a stop.

"If you're not here to kill me, then what is it you want?" She asked seriously, looking over to the vampire as he put the car in park and turned towards her once more.

"The usual; some company and something to eat."

She couldn't stop another chuckle, "Don't we all?"

Dracula watched her for a moment before leaning closer, enjoying the way her eyes widened as he backed her into the corner of her seat and the door. "I want to find out everything there is to know about you, Roxana Van Helsing."

She was paralyzed as his hand came up around her neck, holding her gently and firmly still. His thumb traced her pulse point and she watched with rapt attention as his tongue slowly wetted his lips. Eyes so dark that even the glow of the street lamps disappeared into their depths.

"There is a reason we crossed paths and we're going to find out why," She went to speak but his long finger halted her lips before the words could form, "After all, we will be working together for this upcoming soirée. Might as well kill two birds with one stone, hm?"

Roxana's brows rose skeptically but she said nothing. She had nearly forgotten about that whole fiasco. 

A quick flash of gold caught Dracula's eye and his attention was diverted to the small cross hanging around her neck. She watched as his jaw clenched and his head moved back minutely, but instead of being deterred, like the foundation said he would, Dracula merely let go of her neck and tapped the tiny piece of metal with his claw.

"Oh, you haven't heard those don't work anymore? Sorry to disappoint." He shrugged innocently and then leaned back. Despite his words, she could tell he clearly still held some distaste for the holy symbol.

"I'll agree to help you, with both the dinner and whatever this is, on one condition."

He smirked, "And what would that be?"

"You're not allowed to have my blood." His face dropped and he glowered as she continued, "I know you could just take it whether I'd like it or not, but if you actually want my cooperation, it is off-limits."

Dracula studied her for a minute before smiling again, "Of course. I've been on a consent-first diet as of late anyway. Helps sort through the drunks as well. Let me tell you, I've had some nasty hangovers from these people. I swear, this city runs on liquor."

Shaking her head, she gave another laugh and opened the car door. As she stepped out, she leaned back to look at him once more, "This has all been really weird, but I guess have a good night?"

"I shall need your telephone number." He held out his mobile and watched her put in her digits before handing it back. He quickly typed out a message, she heard her phone go off in her purse, and he grinned toothily. "See you around, Miss von Hels."

She closed the door, walked up to her stoop, and went straight for the lock without looking back. The cat meowed loudly as she passed by. "Come on, Fifolet."

It stretched up in an arch and set its sights back on the idling car, seemingly narrowing its eyes toward the vampire. With a sassy swish of the tail, it turned and followed her into the house.

Dracula watched intently until the door finally closed shut, he could see the lights flick on through the windows but nothing more past all the curtains. He chuckled to himself as he put the vehicle into gear again. What a silly thing to demand…of course he was going to get her blood. Time was eternal, he could be patient, and once he got her…he was going to enjoy every last drop.

Taglist:

@festering-queen​ @vissidarte213​ @moony691​

[flourchildwrites]

While I still have to read Bound By(sooon) how about a fictober prompt? If you dont have anything planned yet, either "fight" or "trapped" for royai? Thanks! Im loving what Ive read so far!

Witch, Please!  Fictober 2019  (13/31)

A multi-fandom Fictober prompt compilation.  Your wish is my command, but be careful what you ask for.  You just might get it.

For @dvltgr

Prompt:   “Fight” from Writetober 2019 Prompt List

Fandom:  Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types

Relationship/Pairing:  Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang

Genre:  Pre-Canon, Young!Royai

Rating:  Teen And Up Audiences

Word Count:  1,726 words

Read on AO3

Dinner at Hawkeye Manor was a pleasant affair for those who were accustomed to long stretches of loaded silence. After three years of dining in a conversation vacuum, Roy Mustang had gotten used to it.

Berthold Hawkeye took his meals with his nose pressed between the pages of the newspaper while his daughter balanced the checkbook. Clinking silverware and chiming glass accompanied the pungent smell of printer’s ink as the tip of Riza’s pencil scratched against the household’s ledger. The set of the fourteen-year old’s blonde brow spoke volumes about the solvency of the Hawkeye estate, and judging from recent observations, Roy braced himself for another hard winter. He wrote home to his Aunt Chris, asking for sweet treats, a thick pair of gloves and extra blankets to see him through, intending to put the letter to post the next morning before his lessons.

“What are you doing?”

Riza’s voice was not entirely jarring, but the sudden urgency of the question caught Roy off guard. He flinched, nearly jumped out of his skin and pivoted in his chair, staring back at the knock-kneed tomboy as if he had seen a ghost. Admittedly, she had been looking paler lately; the threadbare quality of her clothes emphasized that fact.

“Writing a letter to my Aunt. Why?”

“The one who lives in Central?”

“Yes.” Roy supposed he hadn’t quite explained that he only had one aunt, that he knew of at least, but wasn’t about to start now. “Why?” Roy’s voice carried an edge that he hadn’t quite anticipated.

“Sorry,” he added, apologetically, “I’ve got a lot to do here, and you startled me. Is there something you need, Riza?”

Reluctance was not an emotion that Riza wore all that often or all that well. She fiddled with the frayed end of her baby blue sweater, refusing to meet his eyes as she spoke. “You should go into town to mail that letter this evening so it’ll go out on the morning train,” she said. “I’ll set aside some dinner for you. I’ll even give you an extra slice of dessert. It’s peach cobbler.”

“That will take almost an hour, and I don’t want an extra slice of dessert,” Roy retorted. “I can just give the letter to the postman tomorrow morning. One day won’t make a difference.”

Still stroking the hem of her clothing, Riza’s tone became impassioned. She looked up to meet the gaze of her father’s apprentice. “It might freeze tomorrow night, and the mail to Central could be delayed for weeks. Could you please, Roy? I- I need to talk to my father, and I think it’d be best if you were out.”

Roy opened his mouth to argue but stopped as the puzzle pieces fit together, forming a more precise picture in his mind. Riza needed to speak with her father, which she never did. She’d made Professor Hawkeye’s favorite food, peach cobbler, which they rarely could afford. Riza was offering Roy an extra slice of dessert - possible her own - because it was the only bargaining chip she had to offer.

He’d be an ass to refuse her request at this point. Aunt Chris had taught him better than that.

“Fine,” he hissed through gritted teeth. Roy glanced out the window as the wind gusted through the trees, knocking burnish yellow, brown and orange leaves from the branches. He shivered at the thought of a long, lonely walk down the dusty country road.

…

Roy returned later than intended with frozen toes and cheeks red and raw from the cold. As he stepped into the entryway and stamped his boots against the mat, Roy heard raised voices coming from their small kitchen, the place he usually ate dinner.

“I give you food. I give you shelter. I provide for a first-rate education, and what has that school imposed on us! The clothes on your back are fine as they are, and I should write that school an impassioned letter to protest non-academic endeavors. End of discussion.” Berthold’s raised voice loomed through the wooden walls of the dilapidated country home.

“All the other girls enjoy the cotillion,” Riza stressed. Her tone was high and shrill. “I don’t want to ruin it for everyone, but the nice dress I have doesn’t fit. I asked my teacher if I could help prepare and serve the food again with the lower grades, but she said no. I’m to be judged on table etiquette this year and dancing next year. The cotillion is one-sixth of my overall grade, Father!”

“Table etiquette and dancing!” Berthold scoffed. “I’m not going to allow you to spend a quarter of our monthly budget on frivolities such as shoes and dresses that you’ll wear once. What you have is sufficient.”

“Please, Father. I already tried letting out the seams. See? The hem is too far above my knees, and my chest-”

Roy crept close to the doorframe. He walked softly to muffle the sound of his footsteps against the hardwood and pressed his back against the wall. The apprentice stilled his breath to hear his master’s low, cruel utterance.

“Maybe you should eat less. It fit your mother fine when she was your age.”

There was a beat of silence as the weight of his words settled and wreaked their havoc. Roy’s fists tightened. His teeth clenched, and he heard the soft shuffling of fabric and shoes against the kitchen’s checkerboard floor as Riza darted into the hall.

He caught sight of her as she passed and was surprised to find Riza wearing a lacey white dress gone yellow with age. The delicate layers sat too high on her hips, and the button-up back was taut.  The effect strained the natural curves of her figure in places where the garment should have comfortably fallen. In the split-second their eyes met, she turned away and darted up the stairs toward her room.

As Roy followed in Riza’s footsteps, he stopped off at the small apprentice dormitory to discard his jacket, boots and scarf but caught sight of the dinner on his desk before he could peel the layers from his skin. As promised, there sat an extra serving a peach cobbler and a note thanking him for his discretion. The sight hurt Roy’s heart just as much as the soft sobs coming from the other side of the hallway.

He sat down to write another letter to his Aunt Chris and told himself that he didn’t mind two brisk walks through the bitter cold on the same evening.

…

If the crates stacked in the entryway of Hawkeye Manor bothered Berthold, he paid them little mind. The postman begrudgingly lugged them in from his wagon with sideways remarks about the size and weight that Roy pretended not to hear. It took the young man four trips to carry the wooden boxes to his second-story dormitory and twenty minutes more to recover from his exertions. But the content of crates far surpassed any expectations he might have had when he asked his Aunt if his sisters had a nice dress to spare.

Chris Mustang’s note was, as she, straightforward and to the point.

Roy-boy,

A dress is useless without shoes, coats and accessories. Your sisters have no need of these as they are from last year. See that they find a good home.

Aunt Chris

All that was left was to wait for Riza to return home from school.

…

“Oh, Riza,” Roy called out, pleased as a preening peacock, “could you come here a moment. I have a favor to ask.”

Roy waited with growing impatience for her to turn the corner and smiled like the Cheshire cat when her indignant scowl fell, quickly replaced by a look of wonder. At least a dozen dresses and coats of all colors and styles were laid over the two vacant beds in the dormitory. An entire jewelry box of ornate rings, bejeweled earnings and long strands of pearls sat casually on Roy’s nightstand. And in the corner of the room, a large crate of purses and high-heeled shoes sat, still waiting to be unpacked.

“My silly sisters thought you might be interested in some of their old dresses,” he started. “And I told them that, of course, you wouldn’t want last year’s styles, but they insisted, and here we are. Might you consider taking these off my hands? I’d hate to send them back.”

Riza approached the dresses with equal parts hesitation and fascination, running the back of her hand along the frilly sleeve of a shimmering, soft pink dress and burying her fingers in a fur-lined coat that, Roy realized, once belonged to his own Aunt. Then, suddenly, her awe turned sour as she shook her head to rid her eyes of the marvels before them.

“I can’t accept these, Roy,” she said sadly. “We can’t afford-”

“Oh, please,” Roy interrupted. He’d prepared himself for this particular argument. “No one would be caught dead in these clothes in Central City. And I realize it will be a hassle to take them in, but I’d hate to have to haul these to the post office. It’s so far away, and the weather is absolutely terrible this time of year.”

Roy hoped against hope that, just this once, she wouldn’t be so stubborn, and he was rewarded by a teary-eyes gaze that caught the reflection of the many metallic bobbles glinting in her new jewelry box. Riza gathered the clothing in her arms and looked at Roy with a heartbreaking grin that stretched the corners of her heart-shaped face.

“Thank you,” was all she said in reply.

Through the lump in his throat, Roy grumbled his own response. “Don’t mention it.”

He couldn’t go to the dance with her and probably would not spend another winter under Berthold’s tutelage. Neither could Roy change his master’s mind once it had been made up nor lessen the burden of her lonely life. But if he could play some small part in a brief moment of happiness, the young man decided he would take that chance, if not for altruistic reasons then selfish ones. If only so that when Riza would smile, all decked out in her finery as she departed for the cotillion, Roy would know he was responsible for it.

He would fight for her well-being, even after she herself had surrendered.

A/N:  Thank you so much for the prompt. I hope you like it even though I took royai and made it young!royai.  Today, I woke up thinking about my grandmother and a particular conversation she had with my father about a prom dress.  So, I guess this one it a little for her as well.  Feel free to send me pairing requests for particular prompts (Fictober or original) via my tumblr, and if you read something you like, don’t hesitate to let me know. Your kudos, bookmarks, subscriptions, comments, likes and reblogs make my day!

[callsignbaphomet]

Just an excuse to introduce a creature and writing practice. 4 pages and 1,763 words. Personally I don’t think it was graphic enough to warrant the warning but just in case trigger warning for body horror.

Norway Sunday, April 22, 869 C.E.

    They set out at first light, Sanaa, Grete, and Eli at the front. Ingvarr and Jørgen behind the women, concern and concentration adorning their faces; swords at the ready. In front of the group, Agnarr, leading them to the very curious finding that made its way into his property only to collapse and die from wounds sustained in battle.

The old man had heard tales of the phenomenon since he was a small boy almost a century ago. He’d heard stories of creatures with no form of their own but could steal the form of others with just one glance. They could become perfect copies that looked, behaved, and even smelled just like that which they mirrored. The only tell was the way they spoke. They couldn’t control their voices; they’d speak in broken sentences that made little to no sense. They spoke like an infant who was first learning to speak but there was no emotion behind their words. Only a monotone echo of words they heard from those they mimicked. Thus, the name stuck, mimics. It was worse when they managed to copy the shape of an animal since they had perfected the look and the sound. Once a mimic took on the shape of an animal it was impossible to tell the difference.

There were dozens even hundreds of theories as to where these creatures came from and what their original shapes were. The most common theory was that they came from another realm and that they are incorporeal creatures with no shape to call their own. Mirroring others was how they hunted and hid from predators and hunters alike.

“Caught between a deer and a wild boar.”

“For how long?” Grete asked.

“I’m not sure. I woke up this morn’ and found it. My guess is it was near death when it dropped on my doorstep. Had large slashes all over its body and big bite marks. Now I know why my dogs were barking all night long. Animals can tell, you know.”

“I was under the impression that it was impossible to tell.” Sanaa observed. She was fascinated and eager to see the creature. Ever since she found herself in this land she’d heard of the mimic, how it moved amongst people, how it used speech or what passed as speech to lure victims, how it could shift into animals to escape pursuers, how no one had ever seen what they actually look like. It seemed intelligent and some of the people even debated if it was sentient though most doubted it. It was fascinating and it reminded Sanaa of her home. Her people dealt with all manner of oddities from the small to the celestial and beyond.

“There’s the thing.” Agnarr announced as they reached his home.

Out in the front lay a massive carcass with equally massive injuries. Grete walked past Sanaa and Eli and slowly circled the creature to examine it. She was bewildered by the specimen at her feet, she slowly crouched down to get a closer look.

“Be careful, Grete.” Jørgen said as he squared up. His brother followed suit and both siblings braced themselves in case the creature was merely feigning death.

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s dead all right. Poked it a few times with a stick to check.”

“This is…incredible.” Grete whispered as her eyes darted over the body. The torso was that of the common wild boar seen in the wilds, the tail of a boar but much shorter, all but the left hindleg was of the deer, the hindleg resembled a boar’s. Clearly it ran on the other three legs seeing as the other was shorter. Grete then turned her attention to the hooves. They were horrible fusion of boar and deer, she guessed walking was uncomfortable and running was out of the question. Her eyes moved along the neck, long like a deer’s but wide as a boar. The head was a sickly mix of a deer and a boar, both seemed to fight for dominance but neither won. Snout as wide as a boar with no teeth and half a tongue, the one side of the skull facing upwards was a deer’s. The deer side had a tusk protruding from the eye socket and on the other side was a single horn, the surface cracked like dry tree bark and broken in several places. Missing an ear on the deer side, most likely torn off by whatever attacked the thing. She carefully lifted the head to see the other side. Just as she suspected, the other side resembled a boar but to her shock the ear on that side was shaped like a human’s. It was covered in thick brown fur, but it had the shape and flexibility of a human ear.

“Have you been hearing strange sounds around here?” Grete finally spoke up.

“None whatsoever. Everything’s been real quiet.”

“This mimic was trying to take a human form but died before it could continue. Left ear is in the shape of a human’s. Most likely to try and get help from you.”

“How? It was twisted.” Agnarr asked as he pointed to the mimic.

“I’m sorry, twisted?” Sanaa asked.

“Mimics can…well…mimic people and animals. Usually they shift quickly, almost in the blink of an eye if they have to.” Eli said. “Sometimes though, something goes wrong and while they shift to a different form, they can become confused in the process leading to what you see before you. A mix of two, three, four or maybe more animals. The twisted mimic cannot untwist itself and every time it tries to shift it just deforms further until it’s deformed it can’t move. Eventually it dies of hunger or thirst or something else kills it.”

“Is it always twisted with animal features?”

Sanaa looked at the group as it fell into an uneasy silence. Apparently, she asked a delicate question. Eli cleared her throat as she recalled a tale her great grandfather had told her once.

“When I was a young girl there was a family that had recently lost their eldest son to a fever. He’d gone off to explore the wilds and lost his way. He was found a few days later with a bad cough and a burning fever. They tried to save the boy, but the fever took him. That year the winter was especially brutal and unforgiving, so much so that animals risked hide and limb just to be closer to the village as it was warmer due to the fires. The bolder ones took shelter in our homes. Then one night the entire village awoke to the sound of horrible screaming. It sounded painful and agonizing. Several people took weapons and torches and ran into the wilds following the loud screams. They called out but only the screams answered so they followed them. Crawling on the ground was a twisted mimic. Torso and head of a human, the boy who died, it was pulling itself by it’s one good arm because the other had shifted backwards and was missing all fingers. From the hip down it was a mess like it had been a cat at some point. The patches that weren’t covered in fur you could see skin broken by bones protruding in the wrong direction. The screaming was the worst part, it was mixed with crying, but it didn’t have any feeling behind it. As if the only time it heard a person they were crying and that was all it could imitate. Obviously, it was put out of its misery and the body was disposed of. It tried to mimic the boy but became twisted.”

“It’s a rare occurrence though.” Agnarr reassured. “We figured the damn was freezing and starving, so it tried to imitate a human to seek shelter from the elements. Most likely saw the boy when he was lost and remembered his shape.”

“Are they violent?” Sanaa asked, more fascinated than worried.

“It depends but they have been known to lure people out into the forests. We sometimes don’t find more than blood on the ground.” Ingvarr said.

“Hmm,” Sanaa exclaimed while reaching into her bag and pulling out a small but sharp blade and an old piece of cloth and crouched down beside Grete, “Are they loners or do they roam in packs or pairs?”

“They never attack each other but they stay as far away from one another as possible. I’ve tried to study them from afar and I can’t even tell you if they mate and reproduce. They mark their territories so whenever we kill one, we take their bladders and coat the outside of the village to keep them away. Which reminds me, Agnarr, you should think about spreading some of it around your home before you get rid of the carcass.”

“Aye, will do.”

“Is there a tell?” Sanaa scrapped some of the fur off the creature’s hide and placed it neatly in the cloth and carefully put it back in her bag. “You know, is there a way to tell if one perfectly imitates a human? A mark? Some kind of sound they emit?”

“Well, they can mimic animal sounds perfectly so it’s impossible to tell when they take the shape of an animal. But if they imitate a person, they talk weird.” The group turned to look at Ingvarr and then at Jørgen when he elaborated on Ingvarr’s answer.

“Yeah, they can’t seem to form sentences correctly. It’s sort of like when a very small child is trying to learn to talk but it sounds false. Whatever they say has no feeling behind it, they don’t even respond correctly to anything you say or ask. They just say anything they might have heard before.”

“Animals can tell.” Eli said as she turned to Agnarr. “Animals out in the wild give them a wide berth or sometimes run away from them. Agnarr said his dogs were barking all night long.”

“That’s right. First one of these things to show itself around here in twenty years.”

“Yes, but there’s been a decline in their numbers in the last ten years that I’ve noticed.”

“That’s interesting.” Sanaa pulled out a small glass container from her bag and filled it with the creature’s blood and held it in her hands to observe it as it swished around in the container.

“What’ll you do with that?”

“Well, Ingvarr, I don’t trust these for medicinal purposes, but something tells me I can unlock some secrets that could benefit us.”

[a-bear-at-hogwarts]

Mc Interview

Tagged by @phyl-the-gryffinclaw and @ravenclaw-craftsgirl !! Ty ^-^

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What’s your Name? ➔ “Like... my full name? Well I dinnae use it often but m’middle name’s Ursa Minor. Dahlia ‘Ursa minor’ Goldman. M’told my father picked it out.”

 Are you single? ➔ For a second the blank expression wavers, her eyes going a little wide as she just blinks. “I... I don’t think that’s relevant? But I guess...” She pauses, her gaze dropping to the ground. “Since fifth year or so, no.”

 Are you happy? ➔  “Happy or no, it’s not that important. I’m alive aren’t I?”

 Are you angry? ➔ She seems to withdraw a little, sitting back as though to move herself further away. Arms fold over her chest. “...yeah. I’ve got a lid on it though.”

 Are your parents still married? ➔ “Well. M’dad’s been dead for years now so I’d hazard a guess at no. Not like she ever remarried but...”

- NINE FACTS 

birthplace ➔ “Scotland. Family owned parcel of land, home birth.”

hair color ➔ “Really? Brown.”

eye color ➔ “Also brown. Green in... some lights I guess but it’s just brown.”

birthday ➔ “I dinnae get why this is such a big deal for folks but it’s the 22nd of December.”

mood ➔ She gestures to her face, which frankly doesn’t clarify anything. “Take a guess.”

gender ➔ “M’a girl.”

summer or winter ➔ “Ehhh... gotta pick winter here. Feelin drowsy all the time sucks sure, but the glittering and cold is just real nice. Summer’s just way too hot for me, always feel like crap.”

morning or afternoon ➔ “Morning. Early, EARLY morning. Before everyone else is awake yet, it’s nice feelin like the only person in the world. Just you and the sunrise...”

- EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE 

are you in love ➔ She presses her lips together, shifting a little; it’s a small tell but she seems uncomfortable. “I... don’t know. I think so. But I-” She cuts off, shaking her head. “Next question. Please.”

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “No. Attraction maybe, but appearance is deceiving. You can’t trust even the people you hold dearest, let alone a perfect stranger and I... I still don’t know if you can love without trust.”

who ended your last relationship ➔ “We both did. M’first lover wasn’t meant to last forever, we were both just kinda usin’ one another t’figure out what way was up when it came to loving. Eventually we just figured it wasn’t goin anywhere anymore and talked it out. Mad’s still close... aye, Mads. Maddy. I dinnae call her Madeline she’s no keen on it.”

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔  She blinks again, brow furrowing. “Well I... no in terms of romantic love, no.”

are you afraid of commitments ➔ She seems uncomfortable again. Her ankles cross, leaning back again and folding her arms tighter. “Look. Trust’s hard aight? Lets just... move on.”

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Now at least she unwinds a little, taking a breath as a fond look flitters across her eyes. “Used to be I wouldn’t be able to tell ye the last time I hugged someone. I’m getting better with it. Sammy hugged me just the other day, Lau too... Jason still pretends to trick me into it by doin something reckless and waiting for me to scoop him up. They’ve been good for me.”

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ Now for the first time, a tint of colour crawls across her face as she fiddles with her fingers. “Well I uh... yeah actually. I thought they were just kinda... watching me train? But the kids kept gettin tongue tied and runnin off when I asked about it, all red faced. Took me a wee while to realise what was up with that.”

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ She breathes a quiet sigh, toying with her fingers again. “Aye. Aye I have. No I dinnae want to go into that, next question.”

- SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ “Ah Merlin... Lust hurts less, in the short run? Easier to deal with, get rid of if needs be, doesn’t control you nearly as much if you’re no an idiot...”

lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Lemonade. I’m no keen on tea I’ve a caffeine allergy.”

cats or dogs ➔ “Yes”

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “I dinnae think I have anyone I could call a best friend? I let anyone in and they’d count most likely, I’m nae exactly the social type...”

wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “I like a night in. Gotta plan for a night out, gotta have someone watching my back or I feel on edge all the time. Nice night in with one person, just talkin or watching something... nice, peaceful.”

day or night ➔ She wrinkles her nose, brow furrowing as she turns it over. “... I think I’d have to say night. Wouldn’t always have said so but now... aye. Night.”

- FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ She snorts briefly, shaking her head. “Sorry but- aye. Aye once or twice, not often but I’ve made foolish decisions. M’good at gettin away with it at least.”

fallen down/up the stairs ➔  “Ach... aye. Forgot it was winter and slid on stairs at some point of most winters I’ve weathered. Almost a tradition at this point.”

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “Aye... aye I’d say so. Ironically usually I want like that when I need something to stop hurting.” A grim smile spreads across her face for a moment, before she shrugs. “Tad dramatic sorry, but aye, yeah.”

wanted to disappear ➔ The discomfort is back with a vengeance. Her jaw tenses and she seems to withdraw completely, an invisible wall rising that shuts her off completely. “Not your concern. Move on.”

- FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ “Eyes. Harder to lie with than your smile... admittedly from experience.”

shorter or taller ➔ She looks almost sheepish for a moment. “Admittedly... I’d like to be taller. I’m 6′5 last I checked, but I’m no actually that tall for my lot. Can thank my dad for that, he was 5′2 to the day he died.”

intelligence or attraction ➔ “Like... on myself?” Receiving no answer she assumes this is the case. “Intelligence. Pretty garners attention, I’m no too keen on that.”

hook-up or relationship ➔ Her brows furrow again as she considers it. “I think... now? I’d pick my current relationship over anything else like it.”

- FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ She’s tense now. It’s noticeable in every visible line of her body, though she takes a breath and tries to pull it out. “That’s a... complicated question. Most part aye. Sometimes... sometimes things fall apart in a big way. But that’s our business, no yours.”

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ The sharp bark of laughter seems to have been drawn unwillingly, bitter. Like boiling steam forced out by pressure. ”Ye could say that. Couldn’t we all?”

have you ever run away from home ➔ “Merlin, no. I... I used to sneak out. That’s not worked out for me. Dinnae have to anymore, ma’s... busy.”

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ “No. Mam’s too protective to ever consider it.”

- FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “No? They wildnae be my friend if I did, and I dinnae hate many folk anyways.”

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Aye. I’m not that sociable in the first place, the folks with me today understand an worked through that. Took time, and I’ll admit I got... real attached. They’ve been good for me too. Sammy, Lau, Jason ‘specially when it come to m’touch sensitivity. Talbott listens when I just need to talk, Corbyn understands a lot of the stuff I can’t explain well, Diego’s fun to goof with I just... I’m real lucky y’know?”

who is your best friend ➔ “Really couldn’t say, but I guess Talbott’s my closest confidant? Or Chiara... Rowan’s always gonna have a special place in my heart though. They read me years ago when I was still more closed off than a gringotts bank, and they took those steps that made all this... possible.”

who knows everything about you ➔ The ghost of a smile crosses her face. “Nobody. Not a soul in this world.”

-----

aaa idk who to tag but this was super fun!! if you wanna do it consider yourself tagged!!

[always-the-cleric]

Cordelia x Reader - Why Would you? Part 3 -THE FINAL ONE-

finally gonna finish this fic, sorry for not doing it sooner, the inspiration just didnt strike me as much, but then I got a request to continue, so I’m gonna :)) also be ready for a really long chapter my dudes

links to the previous parts: 

PART ONE: https://mattie-hawkins.tumblr.com/post/183650829502/cordelia-x-reader-why-would-you-part-1

PART TWO:  https://mattie-hawkins.tumblr.com/post/183921585657/cordelia-x-reader-why-would-you-part-2

You leg burned like hell and your eyes watered as the adrenaline of the moment wore off and the pain properly settled in. Fuck him. Fuck Hank and his little witch hunter buddies. Fuck all of them. And finally, fuck this entire fucking world.

The silver in the cuffs made you unable to do anything about them, and the burn wound from the acid was starting to infect ever so slowly. Of course, they left it out in the open as they laughed at you and taunted you with questions about the academy and about Cordelia.

Cordelia... Would she be missing you by now? Or would she just, you know, forget about you. She had done that for seven years. That’s what it had felt like at least. With these men talking into you whilst you were hurting, whilst you felt scared and naked without any magic to keep you safe. You didn’t even have the simple pleasure of having your cat close to you. You missed all simple comforts and your mind turned dark.

She could live without you for seven years and only looked for you once she needed it. Not because she just wanted to see you again, but because she had needed help. Was that all you were good for? Helping her when she needed it, and after that you went back to being as bad as trash ready to be thrown out.

“Nobody’s coming to save you are they? They’ve all forgotten about the little wicked witch of the woods haven’t they?” Hank said. He had returned to the little prison cell they had locked you in. You didn’t even remember how long he had been gone for. 

It had felt like ages, but also just like a few short minutes. You knew how your mind could wander to dark places, and you hated the fact that they were using this against you. It was working though. You hadn’t even felt this low when your heart was breaking as you watched the love of your life get married to the piece of trash standing in front of you.

Instead of verbally replying to him though, you just spit on his shoes and lookes away from him. Not giving him the satisfaction to see you breaking from the inside. Crumbling to dust.

He let out a growl and reached for something a man had come to hand him. Before you could even be afraid of what he was handed there was a scorching pain on your shoulder and it dripped down your arm. You made a sound that was so inhumane, even you doubted where it came from.

The pain was searing and you were trembling. How long had you been here for? The wound on your leg was infected now. Hank was laughing, so were some other people. You mind was becoming a jumble. You couldn’t really make out much through the pain.

Were you getting delirious? It felt like the room was slowly spinning, it was thankfully empty now though. That, or your equilibrium was severely off-kilter at the moment. Maybe it was from the fever. Your leg was definitely and properly infected now. Somehow you heard familiar voices near. They sounded so near that they must be whispering in your ear, but when you looked around, no one was there.

It felt like an eternity down here. you felt sweat dripping down your neck and your face. Some antibiotics was what you desperately needed, but of course no help was granted. 

Hank came in again. His laughter seemed faint. You squinted your eyes at the figures that entered behind him. They looked like Cordelia and maybe some other witches. But, the voices were laughing at you. Was Cordelia cruel enough to do this? No. She made mistakes and wasn’t perfect, but heartless wasn’t something you could ever describe Cordelia as.

You struggled to keep your eyes open at all. The fever and pain were really getting to you.

They were murmuring something. Was it Hank? Was it someone else? you couldn’t make out the voice anymore. How long had it been now? Weeks? or maybe just a few days and you were really losing it.

You woke up to the sounds of violence. You heard gunshots, you were sure of it. Then you heard a panicked Hank enter your prison cell. You opened your eyes and looked him in the eye. “They’re coming for me, aren’t they? Cordelia choose me over you. And you fucking lost. She’s mine.”

You didn’t know where that confidence suddenly came from. Perhaps because freedom was close enough that you could taste it on your lips. You would finally see your Cordelia again. She was coming for you with a vengeance by the sound of it. 

“But will she still want you when she sees what you’ve become?” He sneered at you and then trows that last bit of acid he had in store for your torture at your eyes and your whole world becomes pain.

The freedom that felt so close had now evaporated and pain had taken its place. Pain and an immense darkness that would be there forever. Your eyes burnt by the acid.

Cordelia broke into the cell to find you screaming in pain, with Hank laughing like a maniac. Madison made quick work of him. The only sound coming from him was his dead body hitting the floor.

Cordelia tried to talk to you, but all you could register was the pain that felt it was still eating away at your face. 

Cordelia, Madison, Zoe, Queenie and Mallory looked at each other in horror at you. You leg and arm swollen with infections, and your face freshly eaten away at by the acid. 

After that it became a blur for you. You felt Cordelia lifting you in her arms, but you missed the worried glances at the amount of weight you had lost. You felt yourself being transported to some other place, but you didn’t notice it was the academy. 

All the girls that had been busy around the academy had frozen at the sight of their Supreme in tears with you, beaten and battered, in her arms. The other witches that had helped in your rescue had taken in upon themselves to calm all the girls and explain the situation, whilst Mallory and Misty followed Cordelia up the stairs and to the master bedroom, Cordelia’s room.

Misty had brought her special mud and slathered it unto the wounds on your leg and arm. Your eyes were more difficult. The spells Mallory and Cordelia were trying weren’t working. There still seemed to be traces of silver inside of you that prevented any magic from helping you.

When you woke up and opened your eyes, the world was still dark. panic flooded your system, as you feared you were still held captive. You wildly felt around you to become familiar with where you were and hit something soft and warm.

Cordelia gasped as she felt your hand hit her thigh as she had been sitting next to you, watching over you.

“You’re up!” She said happily and she carefully went to hold your hand.

“We had feared you might not wake up.” She softly whispered, her voice seemed filled with sorrow and pain. And perhaps a little guilt as well. Guilt because of the fact that she could have prevented this if she had been more careful. 

“Where am I?” You asked tentatively. You still didn’t trust this. It could be possible that the fever was feeding you this as an elaborate fever dream.

“You’re at the academy. You’re safe now, I promise.”

“Just like you promised we’d be best friends and that we’d be there for each other?” You shot back before you could think it through. You were hurt and bitter and you didn’t know if you could trust anyone anymore.

“I know I made mistakes, and I know that it will take a long while before I can ever have your trust again, but we could start here. With you letting me help you through this.” Cordelia sounded defeated. her tone made you frown and even though you couldn’t see you eyes looked in her direction, always searching, but never finding.

It broke Cordelia’s heart to see your once stunning eyes, turned milky white.

“If you were really trying to help me, you would help me see again. You’re the supreme, right? Shouldn’t you have already come up with a fix for this?” You know you sounded petty and hurt. It was just, you were hurting. You didn’t feel at home here anymore. Cordelia didn’t feel like home right now.

“We are trying our bests. I know it all sounds like a lot of empty promises, but we are going to fix this. For now, I hope this helps a little at least.” She said and then you felt to warm familiar touch of Pandora against you. Her ugly little paws pressing down on your stomach as she settled herself there.

A small smile tugged at your lips. At least now you had something that reminded you of home. She still smelled like all the spices of your little cabin. Your hands trembled as you held her close to you.

It took a total of six whole weeks before they figured out you still had traces of silver in you which had halted you from healing. When Cordelia had gotten rid of it, the wounds on your leg and arm had healed amazingly well with the help of Misty’s mud. 

You and Cordelia had discussed a lot in those weeks. She had told you about the terror she had felt for the two weeks that she couldn’t find you. You had told her about the torture. About your own doubts that had flared up and the taunts of those men that didnt help.

She still didn’t have your complete trust, but she was slowly but surely winning it back.

Another four weeks passed when Cordelia enthusiastically burst into the room you two had now been sharing, since you still weren’t very mobile. 

“I’ve got it!” She almost yelled and sat down next to you as she grabbed your hand. A move that was now familiar again to the both of you. 

Pandora looked a bit annoyed at the disturbance of being jostled awake when she was calmly sleeping on your stomach, but she soon settled back onto your stomach again. 

“Got what, Delia?” You asked softly, scared of the answer. Was she going to give you false hope or was she actually going to deliver on her promise to finally make this all all right?

instead of an answer, she smeared something the smelt awful on your face, ad confidently said a spell. She repeated it multiple times, all the while ignoring the questions you were asking her.

After a little while of chanting, she wiped the stuff away with a wet cloth and told you to open your eyes. You held them tightly shut and shook your head. What if you couldn’t see and your hopes would just be crushed?

Then you felt Cordelia softly caress your cheek with her thumb.

“Please, trust me. This will work. Just open those beautiful eyes for me.” She whispered in your ear, and she pressed a soft kiss just under it. It sent shivers down your spine, and ever so carefully you opened your eyes.

It took a few blinks to adjust to the sudden stream of light and colours, but when you realised you could see the massive smile Cordelia had on her face, you finally, after all those weeks, properly smiled back at her.

“It worked. It actually worked!” You cried out. You were so overcome with happiness and you pulled Cordelia in for a celebratory kiss before you knew what you were doing.

Before you could pull away out of embarrassment however, she held you close and kissed you back.

“I told you, you can trust me. I will always have your back.” She said breathlessly when she broke the kiss. 

“I trust you.”

[jace-the-writer-guy]

The Stray of Atlas (Part Two)

Word count: 3,335

“Jace, my friend! I hope you’re doing well!”

When Jace and his team walked out of the amphitheater after being dismissed, they soon met with two of Jace’s closest friends in Atlas, the speaker’s name being Tyr Alexander. He was six feet and three inches tall with well built muscles, which went well with his fighting style of using his claymore. His eyes were a light olive color and his short hair was a deep red color. His prosthetic right hand and forearm were fully black in color with studs on the knuckles in case he needed to punch anything that got close to him. Right now, he was wearing the uniform of Atlas Academy and not his combat outfit. Like Jace’s prosthetic, it had the technology to let him feel with the finger tips and all around the outsides of the hand and wrist, and a coil inside the wrist itself could generate his body heat throughout the metal.

The girl that was with Tyr was Ashe Crane, who was also one of Raine’s closest friends and fellow apprentice Ranger. She stood at five feet and seven inches tall, and her body was slender and athletic to match her own fighting style, which involved her running and dancing around enemies with her dual pistols, and striking them with kicks when they get close. Along with the shortsword her pistols could turn into. She had dark hazel colored eyes and medium length, jade colored hair with both sides cascading down either side of her face.

Jace nodded to them both and smiled a bit. “I’m surviving, being back here and all… It feels weird, and honestly I’m scared of losing control of my emotions. I almost did earlier but Alyss and everyone helped me out.”

“Ah, I am sorry to hear that. But I know that you are strong, and you will be okay.”

Ashe nodded in agreement. “We know you, Jace. You’re stronger than you know.”

“It’s just the memories of everything getting to me, but… with everyone here with me, I know I’ll manage.”

Tyr grinned. “You have a warrior’s heart. We know you will. I apologize, but we have to go find Terra and Paige.”

Raine gave a smirk. “Making sure they aren’t having fun in a closet?”

Ashe laughed at that and nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll catch up later, Raine.”

“I think I’m actually gonna go find Shy an’ Holly,” Auron said and gave a smile, “Gods I really wanna spend more time with ‘em before classes start.”

Jace nodded to him. “Go ahead, man. We’ll text you directions to the dorm when we find it.”

“Alright then. Talk to y'all later.” Auron said and patted Jace on the shoulder before walking off, pulling his scroll out to message Shyla.

“You know, I’ll come with you guys too,” Raine spoke up towards Tyr and Ashe, “I’d like to catch up with you guys.”

Alyss let out a small giggle. “I guess our group is shrinking. Good luck finding Terra and Paige. Is his eye still doing okay?”

“It is. He’s still had no complications with it,” Tyr answered, and he gave her a smile, “You healed it completely four years ago after that match in the tournament. You know you don’t have to ask about it.”

“I know, but I still like to ask how my old patients are doing.”

Tyr chuckled. That is very fair. Farewell, you two. We’ll speak later.“

"Talk to you later, Tyr.” Jace said to his friend, and then they all separated. Jace and Alyss went further into the school while Tyr, Ashe, and Raine went outside.

Jace and Alyss continued on down the halls after Tyr and the others left. A few moments passed by and soon the two were left nearly alone in the halls as most everyone else were going outside after Ironwood addressed them. A few moments longer than that, Jace squeezed Alyss’ hand a bit.

“Thank you for everything, Alyss…” He murmured to his mate.

Alyss looked up at him. “Hmm? What are you thanking me for?”

“Just… everything. Being with me, helping me on the nights I can’t sleep because of everything that happened… healing all those burns on my arm when we first met, just… walking into my life like you did. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me.”

Alyss kissed him on the cheek and smiled. “You don’t have to thank me for any of that, sweetie. Thank you for coming into my life too.”

Jace began to smile and he placed a soft, light kiss on her lips. “I’m really happy we met. I thank Light every day for it.”

They walked hand in hand like they have been through the halls of Atlas, and Jace was slowly beginning to put back together memories of where everything was. It was still hazy for him, but he was remembering. One thing he always remembered though was that all of Atlas’ dorm rooms had small kitchens in them, but he or Genesis had never really gotten a chance to use the one in their dorm before they were ambushed and kidnapped. They even had video casters in them too, so students didn’t have to buy any to bring in for themselves. Students were always encouraged to cook their own meals after classes, but the cafeteria was of course always open for breakfast and lunch.

Jace wondered if anything changed with the dorms in the last few years.

He was soon broken out of his thoughts when he caught sight of two people approaching them, two very familiar people. They were his old teammates, Michael Slater and Liza Flair. Michael stood at the same height as Jace but was a bit thinner in terms of muscle, and he had completely black hair and deep blue eyes. Liza was five feet and six inches tall with a skinnier build than most but it helped her move around the battlefield well, and she had long silver hair with streaks of light-blue dyed throughout it. And not only were they once Jace and Genesis’ teammates, but they were both once their bullies as well, something the two still regretted immensely after learning everything about what the two had been through.

“Oh, hey,” Jace greeted them both, “You got rid of the green in your hair?” He said to Michael.

“Umm, hey. And yeah, I did,” Michael replied rather nervously. They were both always like that around Jace now, “Kind of grew out of it, y'know.”

“Are you both doing okay?”

Liza nodded a bit. “We’re getting by. Not dragging our team down at least, hahaha…”

“Come on, you guys can’t seriously still think that, can you?” Jace said to them both, shaking his head slightly, “I don’t think that anyone that did what you did can drag their teams down. You came to help us all retake Beacon when we needed it the most and I saw even then that you both got a lot better with your fighting styles. You’re not even close to holding your team down.”

“How… can you still not hate us?” Liza asked Jace, “We made life hell for you and Genesis. We were complete assholes to you two, We called you trash, we just let you both do all the work, and we accused you of running away from Atlas…”

“And back then, you know we would have said a lot of… bad things about you dating Alyss, and definitely about you growing cat ears and a tail.” Michael continued.

Jace could definitely hear the guilt in their voices, the same as it had been every time they spoke after the battle to reclaim Beacon. “Michael, Liza… the reason I don’t hate you both is really simple. You changed. You got better with your attitudes, you apologized to me, and then most of all you helped me take this back,” He reached up and put his hand on the hilt of Standoff over his shoulder, “You helped us retake our home. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I forgive you both, but I really do. You deserve that. And thank you both.”

“We just… feel so bad…” Liza said after a moment of silence, “We didn’t know…”

Alyss had stayed silent for the entire time the three talked, and she finally let out a sigh. “What matters is that you two realized what you did was really, really wrong, and you owned up to it, apologized, and improved yourselves. Jace forgives you both for it. I think what you two really need is to be able to forgive yourselves.”

Liza shook her head. “It’s not easy to do that.”

“I know, but you need to try and move on so you can be even better,” Alyss replied, and she glanced up to Jace and grinned a bit, “Don’t stare too long into the sun that you forget the rest of the sky.”

Jace grinned at hearing her say his family saying. “You can’t move forward when you’re stuck in the past. I’ve moved on, and I know Genesis has too. I think it’s time you both did.”

Michael gulped a bit and let out a slow breath. “This… is always gonna be weird, just talking to you normally like this.”

“I can imagine,” Jace replied, and he chuckled, “We’re gonna go find our dorm now if you guys don’t mind. Don’t hold yourselves down anymore, please.”

“Right… Bye Jace. Talk to you later.” Liza said to him and she and Michael walked on by them.

Jace shook his head. “It’s probably gonna take a lot longer for them to move forward.”

“There’s no doubt about that,” Alyss said, “I wish they could.”

“Yeah, I do too. They really feel horrible about that.”

A moment later, Jace felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket and he took it out to see he had received a message from General Ironwood. “Jace, after you get yourself acquainted with your dorm room and its location, please meet with me in my office. I have something to tell you.”

“Huh… Ironwood wants to talk to me.” Jace said to Alyss.

“Oh? What do you think he needs?” Alyss asked.

“I’m not sure, but after we find our dorm then we should go meet with him.”

___________

Later

___________

After Jace and Alyss located their dorm and dropped their belongings off, the two made their way towards the office of James Ironwood. While Jace had left Legacy in the dorm, he kept Standoff in its place on his back. Alyss had sent messages to Auron and Raine with directions to their dorm, and their replies were those of confirmation. Eventually the two had arrived at the doors of Ironwood’s office. Standing outside were two guards with standard equipment of the Atlesian military. They made to block off their entry, but then recognized who they were and stood to the side. Jace nodded slightly to them both before he stepped up to the doors and knocked on the heavy wood.

“Come in.” The muffled voice of the General said from inside.

Jace opened the door and, despite knowing that it was one of the safest places to be, gently pulled Alyss behind him as they entered. He hated that his instincts made him distrustful of his surroundings most of the time. After nearly losing Alyss because he wasn’t there with her, those instincts always made him want to keep her behind him when walking into any place, even classrooms. The only place Jace’s instincts let him fully relax was in their dorm room at Beacon.

Ironwood turned from the large window as the door opened and noticed Jace place himself in front of Alyss defensively, and he smiled a bit. “It isn’t any easier, is it?”

Jace sadly shook his head. “No… it isn’t. I don’t mean to seem distrustful, sir.”

“I take no offense by it, Jace. And please,” Ironwood walked from behind his desk as Jace closed the door, “Just call me James. After all you’ve been through, I won’t ask you to be formal with me.”

Jace let out a sigh. “I hope I can finally relax someday.”

“You can take all the time you need, sweetie.” Alyss told him and lifted his hand up to softly kiss the top of.

Jace felt himself relax a bit. “Why did you want to talk with me, sir… James.” He corrected himself.

James turned back to the window and walked over, and he beckoned Jace over. Jace did so with Alyss of course, and James went to speak. “I know rumor has gotten out about our plans to take Atlas to the skies. I assume you’ve heard of that.”

Jace and Alyss both nodded. “Right. It was the talk of Beacon for a few weeks straight.” Jace replied.

“I could guess as much. I’m not sure how that information was leaked, but we can’t focus on that. What we keep even more of a secret from as many people as we can is exactly how we’ll do it.”

“Should I leave or anything?” Alyss asked James, “This is probably really classified information.”

James chuckled at that. “It is very classified information, but I know Jace wouldn’t be comfortable if you weren’t by his side even if I were to give the Ace Ops orders to protect her. It would be best if you were here.”

“Thank you for that, James. I really appreciate it,” Jace said in relief, and he gently squeezed Alyss’ hand, “How are you going to take Atlas into the air? And why do you want to tell me this?”

“The reason I want to tell you is that out of anyone I’ve ever met, I consider you a hero to the people of Remnant more than anyone,” James began to tell him, “You’re a symbol of hope to those that have lost their loved ones to kidnappings all over the world. They always have that hope that some day, their wives, husbands, sons or daughters are going to be found and rescued. You’re one of the people I respect the most, even out of those I’ve known the longest. You’ve fallen so low but you rose back up and rose higher than I ever imagined you would. I have complete trust that neither of you will use this knowledge for evil means.”

Jace felt himself shrink a bit at the praise he was given, and he looked down over Atlas Academy through the window. “I… wouldn’t have gotten to this point without so many people, James. If it wasn’t for you, Ozpin, Qrow, Oobleck, team RWBY, Alyss, or so many others then… I wouldn’t be here at all right now. I’m not sure if I deserve praise if no one that helped me gets the same.”

James let out a smile at hearing that. “You have a good, pure heart. You deserve all the praise in the world for your part in ending that string of kidnapping five years ago, for your part in helping reclaim Beacon and Vale, your part in destroying the Crimson Lance, and your part in putting a quick end to the White Fang’s attempts at forced recruitment after the reclamation. You’ve done so much for the world along with your entire team, and your friends. You’re a hero to so many people, Jace. Everyone knows your story from your speech at the reclamation ceremony.”

Jace remembered that day clearly. He never expected to give such a long speech, but he had a lot to get off his chest. He spilled his heart out about everything he had been through, and told the world what he had done to end the suffering of so many people that had been used in such horrendous experiments. He told them all about his darkest moment when he thought about ending it all for himself, and he told them all about the girl that saved his life and his soul.

And after that, he met the family members of a few of those people he had killed, and was thanked for ending their suffering.

In the few years following that speech, he had met with more families of those victims. While some had taken it harder than others, they all had thanked him for letting their loved ones rest in peace, and giving them closure. Even with all of them not holding anything against him, a part of himself always felt the guilt of ending so many innocent lives, but those people’s words had softened the blow of that guilt substantially.

“Now as for how we are raising Atlas into the sky…” James continued after a few moments of silence, “I know very well that you both know about the Maidens. Miss Rose… isn’t the best at keeping secrets to her friends it seems.”

Jace couldn’t help but give a choked laugh at that, barely able to hold his emotions down. “N-no, not really. None of us h-have told anyone outside our circles though.”

Ironwood nodded. “I’ve noticed that too. Thankfully Glynda was able to hear of it though and spoke with you all about it. Along with the Maidens, there are four relics. The Relic of Knowledge in Haven’s vault, the Relic of Choice in Beacon’s vault, the Relic of Destruction in Shade’s vault, and the Relic of Creation here in Atlas’ vault.”

“I feel like that going by the fact that Maidens are real, then those have a lot of power.” Alyss remarked curiously.

“They are immensely powerful,” Ironwood affirmed with a nod, “We know that the Relic of Choice was what Cinder Fall was truly after when she and her cohorts attacked Beacon, and thankfully Ozpin had it moved with a trusted ally that we won’t name here.”

Alyss rubbed Jace’s back soothingly, her hand moving in circles between his shoulder blades as she began to speak again. “You’re gonna use the Relic of Creation?”

Ironwood nodded once again. “Precisely. We plan to have the Winter Maiden open our vault here so we may use the relic to create enough air and gravity dust to make Atlas take to the skies. This is a very big plan we have set up, and we hope to have Atlas in the sky in the next fifteen years.”

Jace finally opened his mouth to speak again after he felt he could. “Th-that sounds amazing, James. You don’t think…”

“Absolutely not,” James interrupted with a shake of his head, knowing what he was going to ask, “Your home will be safe since it’s so far from the city limits. You should have a nice view if you’re home at the time.”

“I… can imagine,” Jace replied, “Thank you for trusting us with that knowledge, James.”

“It’s no trouble at all. To be honest, I think the Rangers knew of that plan before we even finalized it as what we wanted to do.”

Jace laughed at that. “I really don’t doubt that.”

Ironwood clasped his hand over Jace’s shoulder and looked into his eyes, and he gave him a small nod. “What I said before is true Jace, and I meant every word. I respected your father a great deal, and I respect you even more than that. Now, that’s all I wanted to tell you. You are free to return to the dorm you’re staying at and relax for the rest of the day. If you want to, you can tell your teammates and friends if you trust them enough, and I know you do.”

“Thank you, sir. We won’t tell too many people,” Alyss replied to him, and she turned her attention to Jace, “Are you ready to go?”

Jace nodded. “Yeah, I am,” He turned to Ironwood, “Thank you again for trusting us, and thank you again for everything you’ve done for me.”

“It’s no trouble, Jace. I hope you have a nice time here in Atlas again.”