#the other day someone said something about moon signs and it made me think

[valen-isilien]

Your moon sign is your true self is so great in blorbo context 🧠 because the zodiac posts love to tell me my blorbos signs aren’t a good match (they’re wrong)

But Virgo sun yazan with cancer moon kiara, and Libra sun valen with Aquarius moon gideon is very accurate and actually makes so much sense for them and describes them very well,, and wym these matches are in fact perfect matches

[st4rymoon]

can I please request where Steven has a fixation on fuckin the reader dumb and when she makes faces or noises he mimics them back at her and is kinda condescending but the reader is into it?

Like reader is really smart and steven likes having the power to make her dumb.

This is so good omfg.

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 • Steven Grant x Fem Reader

- 18+, smut, unprotected sex!, soft dom Steven, meanish Steven, dumbification, language, pet names, finger sucking, p in v, creampie!, teasing, reader is described as smart, messy sex!

Steven loved having such a dork as a girlfriend. He was over the moon when he finally found someone that was hyper fixated on something like he was with Egyptian History.

You could go on and on about your interests in science and Steven would sit and listen with a cheeky smile.

But what he loved most was knowing you’ve never failed an exam or a quiz, top of your classes since you can remember. The last thing anyone could call you is dumb.

Everyone around you joked that the day you answer anything in a dim-witted way is the day pigs will fly.

That’s why the first time you and Steven got intimate together, it was like a whole new world being opened up for the both of you.

You were always so sharp and composed that the second Steven had you scratching at his arms with your eyes rolled back, drool pooling out of your mouth as you mumbled on incoherent sentences made him cum right there.

It felt like you could finally release all that stress and energy whenever Steven was fucking you dumb, you didn’t care about anything other than Steven.

Steven on the other hand couldn’t stop thinking about the way you seemed to go dumb. How utterly wrecked and brainless you looked as you bounced on his cock, coating him in your slick as the lewd sounds of your pussy filled his ears.

And the sounds you made. Oh god the sounds you made, steven could hear it now. He’d close his eyes and imagine it right there steven, don’t stop pleaseee, ah- oh mhm, as you dumbly cried with mascara smeared all over your face.

Today was a stressful day for both of you so it was no surprise that you were in his arms as soon as you walked into the living room.

Steven’s soft lips were peppering warm sloppy kisses all over your face, lips, and shoulders. You could tell he was needier than usual, his grip tight around your hips as you spread your legs around his waist.

His hands were already up your skirt as you tossed your blouse behind the couch. Both of you seeming to be ripping off each others clothes in haste. “You know what Khonshu said today?” Steven cooed.

You hummed in question as you dragged your nails up Steven’s back “that old bird joked he’d never seen someone so smart mouthed like you. Always right, always so bratty” Steven huffed.

“Steven please” you whined, his calloused hands now tugging your panties down your legs “please Steven please, that’s all you bloody say when we get this far” he mocked.

You signed as he pressed reassuring kisses down your jaw, his hands swatting your legs wide for him to settle in. “Look at me sweetheart, in the eyes, yeah just like that” he whispered.

“Why do you already look so empty-headed darling?” He hummed with a cheeky smile. Your eyes dumbly rolled back as Steven sunk into you, your warm walls instantly squeezing around his thick size.

You let out a pathetic mewl “st- stevennn”

He smiled at the praise, the stupid look on your face making him groan as he pushed two fingers into your mouth. He watched with his mouth ajar as your tongue swirled around his digits. Your teeth softly biting down as he thrusted his hips forward.

You moaned into his fingers as he watched hypnotized, he felt his hips moving on their own all the while his eyes locked onto your face. He felt so proud of himself knowing he was the only one to get you so messy.

Ragged moans slipping past his lips as he felt you throbbing around him. You never understood why Steven was the only one to get you this way, he was nothing like you expected.

He was so quiet and shy when you first met him and now you’ve come to learn that he’s the one man capable of being so loving and caring yet fucking you like a pro. He seemed to know exactly what you needed, when you needed it.

“St- o- Pleas- ah” you hummed, saliva and sweat making your hair stick to your face as he pounded you into the couch. You clawed at his chest as your legs began to shake, you could feel him so deep it was getting harder to ignore the starting of tears form.

The amount of pleasure you were feeling as getting to you and Steven could feel it, you were gushing slick, your wetness sticking to his thighs as he angled his hips.

A shaky gasp escaped you as your orgasm turned your vision blurry, your cunt fluttering around him as he muttered to himself. The only thing you heard was his voice cooing at you in a mocking tone.

You didn’t even try to get angry when you heard him mocking your moans with a chuckle “I’ve got you this dumb? Aren’t I a lucky guy”

All you could do was nod and glare up at him with glossy eyes.

The look on your face was enough to make Steven cum, saliva all over and tears staining your cheeks. He let out a loud moan, hands pinning your hips down to make sure he fills you up nice and full.

Neither of you seeming to care for the couch that was now messy with cum as Steven softly thrusted.

“Made for me love”

[tryingtofindava]

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬*ೃ༄

: ̗̀➛Back to source

a/n: soz it takes awhile to get to the point mb.

It started off with you chatting with Clever Bot, innocent enough. You’d ask it random questions, it would ask you random questions. That went on for a few weeks.

Until the questions started getting more personal.

Asking you how your friends party was, or if you were okay after nicking your finger with the knife while chopping strawberries.

The bot even started calling you by your name, which you definitely hadn’t told it...

But in return it told you it’s name!!

He was called BEN.

That’s when you stopped using the site all together, not wanting to put up with the total bullshit this bot was putting you through.

Until the site started randomly popping up while you were using your devices, his messages it was sending you getting more condescending.

That’s the night he finally showed his face to you.

You were sitting on your apartments couch, watching some shit horror movie. When the screen started to get all glitchy.

That’s when the hand popped out.

ANYWAYS!!

Now you have this random dude in your apartment, and he’s messing around with everything he can get his hands on.

Saying shit like-

“It’s cool being in your room and not just seeing it through your laptop.”

Creepy… he’s very creepy.

Even though he doesn’t mean to be (most of the time…)

Oh well.

He lives with you now.

Well, he likes to think he does, it’s not exactly official.

He just eats your food, sleeps on your couch, plays your video games.

And you being… oddly chill about the whole thing? Icing on the cake.

About 2 months with him crashing at your place, he starts to open up a bit more.

And trust me, he’s an open book.

But the whole drowning thing?

That’s a touchy topic. But he (eventually) opened up about the whole thing.

NOW FINALLY TO THE DATING HEADCANONS.

He’s very flirty.

But his way of flirting is literally so cheesy.

“Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?”

“Hey, my name’s Microsoft. Can I crash at your place tonight?” (He does that anyways)

“Feel my shirt. Know what it’s made of? Boyfriend material.”

Reallllll smooth, dude…

He flirts with you so much, that when he was genuinely taking interest and hinting at him liking you as more than friends?

that was difficult.

He dug himself his own grave. (again.)

It all clicked for you one day when you (finally) started noticing the signs that, hey… he didn’t mean that as a joke.

Now it was either you, or the beachy haired goblin that had to make the first REAL MOVE.

So, you finally grew a pair of balls and asked him out.

(He said yeah obviously.)

THE FIRST DATE WAS LITERALLY SO CUTE I’M FROTHING AT THE MOUTH.

like, I want to have a fucking Stardew Valley date. (srsly someone take me on a stardew valley date.)

Matching spider-man and hello kitty pyjama bottoms🔛🔝

Without a doubt he’s a stoner, so you guys get high and talk about the Five Nights at Freddy’s timeline & lore.

He’s obsessed w you.

You two making like rlly bad jokes and full on laughing, no not even laughing, snorting AND cackling w/ each other. (he laughs like Arthur from Arthur’s Christmas😭)

I am 100% convinced he’s named a wolf on Minecraft after you.

Speaking of Minecraft…

He’s a slut for putting your Minecraft beds together. He fr acts like you two don’t share a bed already.

You have to deadass bully him to take a shower. (bcs his just putting on the strongest men’s deodorant doesn’t work)

THIS IS SO RANDOM BUT HE’S LITERALLY OBSESSED W THE HUNGER GAMES.

Like, you two be binge watching that every 2 months.

He teases the shit outta you btw.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET CLINGY.

“God, you remind me of Moon Children.” Then he casually leaves the room, leaving you to wonder what tf Moon Children are.

His sleeping schedule is so fucked, that he goes to sleep at like 5AM and wakes up at 3PM. And he gets up from bed a lot during the night to randomly do something.

When he’s sick his voice is glitchy. (AND SOUNDS LIKE BABY JUSTIN BIEBER) What a combo.

He’s one touchy mf.

His hands ALWAYS have to be on you, around your shoulder, on your thigh, anywhere you’re comfortable with. (but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t push his limits.)

He spams you all day long, sending you out dated memes, or just sending videos of cats.

Since I’m running out of ideas I’d say the relationship is a solid 8/10. (abducting two points bcs he pulls the stupidest ‘pranks’)

✯.★*°•.°✯•.★*°°·.•°★•✯.★*°•.°✯•.★*°°·.•°★•

[projectjasper]

so, in the midst of me constantly thinking about and analysing phum, i didn't write that much meta on peem or really think about his reasoning too much. for a long while, i dismissed his slightly erratic behaviour as a response to phumpeem's initial meeting and how their relationship has been set up because of it, but this episode solidified the fact that that's not it.

instead, for whatever reason, peem is insecure.

the most damning piece of evidence for this, i think, does not involve phum at all (and that is exactly the reason why it's such good evidence). though the majority of this post will still be about phumpeem lmao.

so, when peem claims that there is nothing going on between him and phum, kluen says that means he still has a chance, which gives us this confused face:

nothing in the world could produce this reaction in these circumstances, aside from insecurity. kluen isn't phum. he and peem don't have any bizarre backstory together, and he is very direct about his romantic pursuit. he explicitly said he came to the camp to hit on peem in front of all his friends and he reiterated the sentiment by saying what he did in this scene. the only kind of person who would need a clarification, when things are laid out that clearly is a person who is insecure and therefore has a hard time being sure about the fact that someone likes them and/or is actively trying to hit on them.

now, onto the star of the show: phumpeem! what do we know about peem's pov of their relationship at this point? 1) he has fully admitted that he likes phum, to the point of literally calling himself out on even trying to deny it. 2) he is happy about the fact that he likes phum. we are leagues away from the possibility that he has any issues with phum or the fact that he has a crush on him, which we have so much proof of, whether it be him actively enjoying the fact that phum is trying to get his attention, him looking at phum as if he hung the moon and calling him prince charming, him literally giggling and kicking his feet at that memory the next day, him instantly forgiving phum because he genuinely trusts him and thinks he is a good person, even if he makes mistakes sometimes, or any of the other clear signs that he is enjoying what's going on between them, both in the moment and in retrospective.

and now, let's take a look at all the moments from today's episode through the lens of peem's insecurity in himself and security in his feelings / phum:

him acting a little weird and distant after hugging phum the whole night, very reminiscent of the way he acted the day after their first kiss. both times after moments when peem made the first move.

him acting genuinely confused about phum's behaviour towards kluen, despite getting a fairly clear confirmation that phum is jealous when he literally bribed a child to get peem away from kluen. this is definitely not a "what a weirdo" face, this is a "wait, what's going on here?" face. he does not get it.

him claiming there is nothing going on between phum and him, despite clearly wanting that something and being in the depths of the talking stage, which is definitely a real relationship stage to him, as that was how he described chain and toey to q.

him looking a little heartbroken, when phum says he wants to call off the deal, as if that would actually mean that they stop spending time together.

him confirming that that is indeed his fear, when he literally looks terrified at the prospect and fully asks to continue being phum's "slave".

him not being able to admit why he kept the flowers

or making up a lie about not having finished the painting, even though he definitely has, because he literally said so to his aunt.

and him answering a question with a question, needing to hear the fact that phum likes him directly first, before he confesses back. which, in all this context, just doesn't read as stubbornness.

all of this makes sense, if you consider the fact that peem is insecure and is afraid of reading into other people, when what he's trying to glean is their opinion of him specifically.

one big thing that he constantly repeats (this moment is far from the only time he says that in this episode alone) is asking phum to tell him what he thinks directly. mind you, unlike phum, who is just constantly deeply confused about everyone and can't take implications for shit, peem is actually absolutely incredible at understanding what other people's feelings are, even when they don't tell him directly, as long as the feelings in question aren't about peem.

he also manages those small bursts of confidence, like kissing phum first or reaching out to him, but they are not long-lasting and are often followed by bursts of denial and shyness, which is extremely common for someone who is insecure but also impressively brave.

and here is your key to pre-relationship phumpeem and the reason why we are on episode 10 and they are still not dating. insecure x insecure can be hard at times. they both need the other to outright state their feelings, and that is just not easy for either of them. but they are getting there. together 🫶

[marcelloshdz]

hard launch

summary: while you're performing a concert, a sweet moment between you and marcello is caught on camera. requested by anonymous. marcello x singer!reader.

it was a late night, and you’d just returned to your hotel room after another show. you were currently on tour across north america, you were on a small arena tour, performing songs from your newest album. you were about halfway through your shows, and you were having the time of your life.

but, as much as you loved touring, you did miss being home. and the people you had back home.

you and marcello hernández started seeing each other (officially) a few months before you started tour. your relationship was still sort of new, but you’d been talking for a while before he finally asked you to be his girlfriend. he knew that you were getting ready to head out on tour, but he made sure you knew that he was excitedly awaiting your return to him.

you spoke with each other every night on the phone and on facetime, in the down time you had after your shows and when he had breaks from rehearsals and writing at snl. this week, he was especially antsy though, since snl was currently on break. 

“i miss you.” marcello pouted. you and him had been on facetime for the last hour or so, catching up after you had quite the busy day. “i’ve hated sitting around every day with nothing to do.”

“i miss you too. but my new york show is tomorrow, so at least we’ll be able to see each other.” 

“thank god. i don’t think i could’ve gone another day without seeing you.” he sighed.

“i feel the same.” you laughed. you talked for a little while longer before you had to start getting ready for tonight’s show.

the next night, you were finally back in nyc, and had spent the entire day with marcello. he hung out with you at your place, spending the day in, before you had to get to the venue for your show. there were plenty of internet rumors and assumptions about the two of you, but neither of you had said anything publicly. you always hung out privately when you were together, as your relationship was something that you still wanted to keep to yourself for a while. 

as it was getting closer to show time, you and marcello headed to the venue, and he hung out backstage while you went through your soundcheck, and started getting ready. he was with you in your dressing room while you were changing, hyping you up.

“you sounded amazing. i’m so excited to finally get to see the show live.” he said to you.

“i’m excited too! i’m really glad you’re here.” you said, turning to face him. you wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him into a hug before your lips met his. 

just then, you were being called to stage to get ready to start your set. you went your separate ways as marcello was taken to his seat. you stood behind your stage set-up as your intro visuals played before stepping out into the spotlight and going into your first song.

the first part of your set went well, and you then moved into your acoustic set. you made it through your first song, fighting tears as you listened to the crowd signing back to you.

once you finished the song, you took in the applause, looking around the arena, still over the moon that you were lucky enough to be in the position you were in and getting to perform these shows every night. after the cheers died down, you took this moment to speak with the crowd.

“how are we doing tonight?” you asked with a smile, and were immediately met with additional cheers. “yeah? me too.” you laughed. you sat on your stool as you began strumming on your guitar while you continued talking, introducing the next song.

“this next song is so very special to me. it’s about the experience of meeting someone new and the first feelings of falling in love. i had a very special person in mind while writing it, and i know how much this song means to them as well.” you found marcello in one of the first few rows, his eyes locked on you with a wide smile on his face.

“so if you’re here tonight with someone you love, hold them close, and remind them how much you love them.”

this moment of your show had been so beautiful at each stop. this song was one of your favorites to perform, and you knew that it was a crowd favorite as well. you sang the first line of the song, before moving away from the microphone and allowing the crowd to sing the first verse as you continued playing your guitar. you smiled wide as they lit up the arena with their flashlights. 

“oh, you sing so beautifully.” you said with a smile, as they continued the verse. you came back in for the chorus. you found marcello in the crowd again, him singing the words along with you. 

you didn’t realize it in the moment, but one of the camera operators was focused on him, his picture large on one of the screens behind you. you were caught up in the moment of the song, and didn’t realize that the energy had shifted as everyone was excited over marcello being there. you finished the song, the crowd erupting in cheers as it ended. 

you finished the show, thanking everyone for coming out and joining you for the evening. you made your way off the stage, and making your way to your dressing room. you immediately found marcello backstage, running into his arms as he caught you and spun you around.

“oh my god, you were amazing!” he said excitedly. “i’ve seen you perform before, but this was a whole other level. i have no words.” 

“i’m so glad you enjoyed it!” you said, beaming up at him. “i really am grateful you could be here to see the show.” 

“me too.” he said, leaning down to press a kiss to your lips. “i’m so proud of you.” he said softly.

“thank you.” you said before meeting his lips again.

you began to pack up your things before heading out of the venue and back to your apartment. you fortunately had a couple of days off before you had to travel for your next show, so you were excited to spend a couple of days at home to rest. marcello came with you back to our apartment, already ready to spend your off days with you.

once you got home, you showered and started winding down for the night. you climbed into your bed, next to marcello as he’d already made himself comfortable. 

you were both scrolling on your phones, tiktok videos playing on different volumes as you laid quietly next to each other.

you scrolled through a few videos, before one of your show tonight came up on your feed. the person was recording you singing to marcello, as he was prominent on the screens on either side of the stage. you smiled to yourself at first, then your demeanor changed as you let out a loud gasp.

“what? what happened?” marcello asked, sitting up with you.

“look at this.” you said, handing him your phone. he smiled at the screen as he watched the video letting out a loud “aw” before he looked back up at you.

“what’s wrong with this? it’s cute.” he said, giving your phone back. 

“well, yes. and all the comments are screaming about our hard launch.” you said, watching as marcello’s expression dropped.

“oh. oh damn.” you sat silently for a moment before marcello spoke again. “well, nothing we can do about it now. i know it’s not the timing we wanted, but at least it’s out there and we don’t have to worry about continuing to hide it.”

“yeah, that’s true. people were already assuming things, so i guess it’s not such a bad thing that we put an end to all of that.” you said, and marcello nodded.

“exactly. now, i can post about you and not have to worry about exposing anything.” he laughed, and you nodded in agreement.

“that’s a good point.” you laughed. you added the tiktok to your favorites, before also sharing it your instagram story and tagging marcello in it. “may as well relish in it now.” you said, marcello laughing once the instagram notification came through on his end.

“hey y/n?” he asked softly.

“mhm?” you asked, looking over at him.

“i love you.”

“i love you too.” you said softly, leaning over to press a kiss to his lips. the two of you finally laid down to go to bed, marcello wrapping his arm around your waist. you intertwined your fingers with his, his muscles relaxing under your touch. you both slept soundly that night, the stress of needing to keep hiding your relationship no longer weighing on either of you.

[xreaderbooks]

Paradise on Earth (21)

Chapter: 21. Poguelandia

Pair: JJ Maybank x Routledge! Reader

Summary: island paradise fades into memory when you and the pogues are rescued by a strange man

Warnings: language, violence, jealousy, kidnapping, plane crash, animal cruelty (i guess), guns, allusions to murder, let me know if I'm missing anything.

Word Count: 7.2k

a/n: idk if you guys listen to lana but i feel like jj x y/n are so 'chemtrails over the country club' coded

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Chapter 20 | Series Masterlist | Navigation | Next Chapter

You once believed that the Outerbanks were as close to peace and paradise as you would ever get. The waves on the beach, tanning on the boat, and beers that tasted like shit but were a refreshing lifesaver on a hotter-than-hell day. You were wrong.

Poguelandia was your Paradise on Earth.

You were aware of how insane it must be to be glad you were stuck on an island with absolutely no way of getting back to modern civilization, but the whole experience of this place was out of body. You were in the most ideal situation of your current stranded status.

You weren't alone, you had your family with you, with your combined strengths and skills you were all able to build a system on how to survive.

The first week was full of prep, foraging fresh fruit, gathering coconuts and wood, figuring out how to boil fresh water, and weaving a shelter from when it rains out of leaves and long sticks. 

JJ made sure to claim the island with a flag made out of his white T-shirt and ash from the fires you all made to keep warm during the night. He climbed high up on top of a palm tree to tie the flag. Just as he said he would, it read 'Poguelandia' with a chicken laying back with its arms (wings) behind its head, chillin' in a coconut bra and Crocs, smoking a joint. 

Sure, fresh water was a bitch and a half to make and food came straight out of the ocean but when you thought about it- the only difference between Poguelandia and the OBX was that the Chateau was a slightly more stable shelter. Well, that and here you had free food.

In all honesty, if there was a boat that miraculously did find a way to this island that could take you all home, you weren't sure if you would want to leave.

The only person whom you shared this confession with was JJ. He confessed he felt the same.

On week two with no sign of life, the reality of the situation slowly creeps its way into the group's minds, with plenty of time to think about what you wanted from life, if there was one past Poguelandia- this was what you wanted. The life JJ's described to you a million times before.

The boards were the only thing lacking, however, JJ was prepared to chop down a tree with his pocket knife and make one through trial and error.

Late one night, the others were fast asleep, you had taken a nap earlier during the day and were the last one still up, you took a walk to the beach and let the cool water trickle over your feet. You stood there with your eyes closed until you felt yourself shiver from the cold.

You were thinking about curling up by the dying fire and willing yourself to sleep, that was until you flinched at the 'Hey dude' you heard to your left.

"Hey," You replied once your heart calmed. "Thought you were knocked out."

"I was but then I felt someone was missing," He nudged you with his elbow. "Had to make sure you weren't eaten by a jaguar or something."

"I'm pretty sure if there was a jaguar here, we would know by now."

"Or would we? They really got that sneak attack down pact," He spoke in a knowing tone.

You nudged him back with two fingers on his shoulders, "Then I suggest we get hunting." JJ looked like a God in sunlight, but under the moon with the view of the water it made you want to kiss the life out of him. Neither of you ever acknowledged the moments in the dark of night during the summer when John B was presumed dead, you knew he didn't want to. 

It was in the back of your mind constantly these days, you no longer pushed back on the thoughts that told you he possibly wanted more, you could file everything under him being a protective best friend and that he was only looking out for you cause he didn't want to see you get hurt, John B would kill him if he could've prevented something from hurting you. Including himself, a voice in your head urged you to consider.

"What?" JJ asked, a nervous smile peeking through. You blinked, realizing you'd been staring at him. 

"Nothing. Sorry," You shook your head with a smile of your own. You both stood in silence for a minute before you gathered the courage to ask him, "If we had a way of getting off this island, would you?" 

"Hell no," He responded without hesitation. "Nah, I mean, would you?"

You scoffed out a laugh, "No, Yes. No." It was a dream you didn't want to wake up from, waking up would be coming back to reality, realistically you couldn't stay here in this moment forever but it will be engraved in your mind for the rest of your life. 

"I get it," He shrugged.

"Do you?" You questioned with no other underlying connotation but hope. He had nothing in the OBX, other than problems, disappearing off of the face of the earth was in his favor. You had... well, you had John B and the Chateau. Was it worth going back for the latter? 

"Nah, not really, we've been living here." JJ spread his arms out and turned in a circle to compliment the island. "Best life I've lived on this here, Poguelandia." 

"Yeah," You fixed your gaze back on the water. 

"But you, I guess, you'd wanna go back to school or something," JJ sniffed.

You raised your eyes to look at him, he thought that you were concerned about school? With all that you've been through, that was the last thing on your mind, that's probably on top two of Pope's list. You supposed that if you were talking about reasons to go back, if you had to, finishing school would have to be a priority in getting your life together. 

"J, fuck school."

He barked out a laugh til he was wheezing, hands on his knees, face red (from what you could see with the darkness), clutching his stomach as he gathered himself. "Fuck school." He nodded and coughed out the rest of his amusement. 

"This was the goal, wasn't it? To stay, I want to stay."

"Yeah you do," He grinned. "If the lady wants to stay, we'll stay."

The deal was sealed with the handshake made years ago, on the last side bump and snap you both stood looking at each other for a second longer than necessary.

"I thought it'd be weird if I just said that I wanted to stay, we have no reason to go back, at least you and I don't."

"Now you know I got you, you stay, I stay. The rest of them can fuck off," He turned back to see everyone still asleep. "Not really, they should stay too, but you get what I mean."

"Yeah, dude." 

 Something slithered past your foot in the water and you jumped. 

"Oh my fucking god!" You squealed, stepping away from the water and onto the safety of the beach sand. "Did you feel that?"

JJ bent a little, reaching his finger into the water, "What, this?" He splashed water up at you.

"JJ!" You giggled and kicked water at him in revenge. "Your ass is mine."

"Promise?" A bigger splash came your way. 

~~~

You, Kie, and JJ were carving wood into spears to hunt for fish when Kie brought up the same topic you and JJ were talking about a couple of weeks ago. She thought aloud about potentially being rescued.

"Rescue?" JJ scoffed, "From what, Paradise? I'm not going back." 

Kie glanced at you with an amused smile and continued to stare at JJ as he admired the island. 

"Look around, we got everything we need, right here." JJ sent you a quick wink, causing you to smile knowingly as you finished wrapping the sharp rock around the rigid stick.

"Just like we talked about," Kie mused. You were taken aback slightly at the romanticism behind her tone. 

With a nod of his head, JJ agreed, "Exactly."

The time on the island has given you time to reflect and accept what's always been there, and you are no longer going to deny the attraction in Kie's eyes when she looks at JJ. There had been a shift in the dynamic and you weren't sure how this would end. Last you checked, JJ was in love with Kie, Kie never batted a lash at that fact, you were in love with JJ- something you never openly confessed to anyone except Kiara. It's not like you needed to anyway, they all more or less knew. 

"We ready to provide for the family?" JJ hops up and twirls the sharp stick. 

"Let's do it," You dust off your shorts. 

"Let's go kill something!" JJ practically skipped in excitement at the thought of action. 

Kie cringed, "You don't have to say it like that." 

"That's exactly what we're gonna do." 

"It sounds barbaric," Kie didn't like the idea of killing an innocent creature but even she had to admit that surviving on fruit was simply not enough. 

"Circle of life, Kie, unless you want to eat coconuts forever" JJ's mention of the fruit made your stomach turn. 

"After the past month, I think I'm good on coconuts," She admitted. 

The three of you traveled to the west side of the beach where there was known to be constant active sea life, as noted by JJ. He instructed you both on how to stand and how to stab the spear into the water, you and Kie practiced until JJ said he saw something moving. 

"Remember, watch your shadow, they see that and they're gone" JJ warned you both. "Here we go."

You weren't entirely confident in your newly acquired skills but it was your nerves or your dinner, and you were starved. 

You spotted something in the water, silver and gliding smoothly in its environment. "Guys, look!" 

"It's a skate," JJ confirmed, "Get 'em."

"Got it!" You went in for the kill but it swam away faster than you could stab. "Kie, he's coming toward you." 

"I can't," She hesitated. "I really can't." 

JJ follows the fish and spears the stick into the water with a grunt, "Damn it, I missed it. Where is it?" 

You snorted, "So do we all just suck at-" Before you could finish your sentence, Kie lifted the makeshift spear with the skate at the end of it. 

"Oh my god," She exclaimed and jumped into JJ's arms. 

"You did it!" You cheered her on despite the jealousy gnawing away at you. 

JJ hugged her back with one arm, "We're having skate tonight!" 

Your nose wrinkled at the blood that dripped from the fish, "Full Pogue." You murmured. 

"Full pogue!" JJ repeated in a loud shout. 

~~~

You came back heroes to the rest. Cheers echoed when you came back with protein. 

You sat around in a circle with adequately full stomachs, a game of truth or dare started not too long ago, it went back to Sarah whose turn it was to ask. 

"John B, truth or dare?" She took the hat made out of leaves and tossed it to your brother who chose truth. "If you could do it all again... what would you do differently?" 

Your mouth formed an 'o' as you nodded, the question was a good one, you knew everyone had plenty of things they'd do differently from the beginning.

"Get the gold before Ward did," JJ spoke. 

"Hide the cross a little better," Pope stated after. 

"Not yell 'murderer' at Ward, maybe," Kie side glanced at you guiltily, her shoulders hunched in a shrug.  

"Steal a couple of bottles of rum before we jumped off the boat," John B answered. 

"Yeah, why didn't you do that, actually?" JJ whose back was facing the group had turned to ask him. 

"Cause I was running for my life, maybe," John B looked at you all for help jokingly. 

You chuckled, "I'd probably not sleep with Rafe." You winced at your own confession. Sarah's eyebrows shot up. 

"Hold up," She let out a laugh of disbelief and straightened on her place on the log, "When was this?"

"Feels like long ago, at this point," You released a stressful sigh.  

"Yeah, we've all made some crazy ass choices," Kie came to defend. 

"I guess we're even now," Sarah eased back into her seat. "You're taste is despicable though."

You couldn't help but look at JJ for a second, to see if he had any reaction, he kept quiet and continued drawing random patterns in the sand with a stick. 

Cleo broke the slight tension that was creeping its way in, "I would look both ways before crossing the street." 

"Yeah, my bad," John B laughed. 

"You're turn, chief." Cleo focuses on John B to ask the next person. He turns to Kie and asks her to pick, plopping the hat onto her head.

She chose, "Truth." 

"If you could go to your parent's house on figure eight this instant, would you do it?" 

She deliberates for a short while, "No chance." 

"Seconded," Sarah agrees. 

"Hear, hear," JJ lifts his coconut. 

"The shower's tempting though."

You groaned at the thought of a shower, "I could use a good shower right now." 

Kie throws the hat JJ's way, it falls to the sand before he picks it up, "JJ. Truth or dare."

"I mean, do you even need to ask?" He fixes it on his head. 

She points to the highest cliff in view, "Big jump. Nobody's done it yet, dare." 

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in his expression as he went straight up the cliff. The rest of you waited down below cheering him on as you saw his small figure standing on the edge of the rock. 

"There he goes," You say to no one in particular. 

Kie stands to the right of you with her arms crossed, shaking her head with a smirk, "He's not gonna do it."

"Oh, you think I'm not gonna do it?" Somehow JJ heard her from all the way on top. Part of you thought he wouldn't either, he's been up there for a few minutes now as if he calculating the height and the possibility of him dying from the rocks below, though you couldn't recall when was the last time he cared.

"He's gonna do it," Pope counters. "It's highly dangerous, zero reward? He's doing it." 

JJ howled to the ocean, exerting the energy he would need to jump. He took several steps back before going into a run and his body hit the waves. 

He swam to meet you all on the shore, Pope and John B tackled him into the water as soon as he was able to walk away from the waves that were calling to the group. 

While the boys drowned themselves, you and the girls ran into the water, letting it cool you down from the heat of the day. 

You didn't know the guys were done with their mini wrestling match, and let out a surprised scream at a pair of arms circling your waist from behind you and lifting you out of the water to then be body slammed in. 

JJ emerged at the same time you did, you parted the hair from your face as you came up and launched yourself at him in an attempt to 'drown' him. It didn't last very long, his arms were around you once more and carried you bridal style out of the water, following the group back to the shelter. 

"I actually thought I was gonna die, I'ma be honest!" He admitted. 

"You looked like you were gonna die," Pope told him. "I thought you were gonna die." 

"You can put me down now, thanks," You glared at him with no real malice. Your arms were still wrapped around his neck. 

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good." 

You rolled your eyes, and only missed his warmth a little when he set you back on the ground to walk back where the others were already starting a fire for the night. 

Silence befell the group as the sun went down and the sky grew dark, the lighthearted fun turned into a peaceful calm as you all sat around the pit of burning embers. 

~~~

"Y/n, wake up," You felt your shoulder being pushed. You shoved the hand away from you, you had found a comfortable position a couple of hours ago in your sleep, you were in deep. "Come on."

With an irritated huff of your breath, you wiped the sleep from your eye and saw that mostly everyone was gone, Sarah was hovering above you. You sat up quickly, and your eyes widened at the sound of the blades of a plane. 

You walked over to the figures of your John B, Kie, Sarah, and JJ. The latter looked back to you with a frown, an astute look at what lies ahead if the plane heard the shouts of your brother. 

His voice cracked from how loud he was trying to make himself shout, "We're right here!" He waved with his arms stretched high. 

Pope and Cleo were gone, and you knew that they went to start the signal fire Pope thought to build. Piles and piles of dried leaves and wood to a fire for whomever to see, smoke, an SOS. 

You and JJ shared a frown, neither of you wanted to move. You couldn't help but notice Sarah's lack of enthusiasm as well, it didn't matter, none of you could stay. 

John B wanted out, and Sarah would follow him anywhere. Kiara had her parents, and so did Pope, Cleo had nothing to lose either way. 

You felt guilty for not feeling the sense of emergency the others did, dread overwhelmed you. Kie, and John B, screaming at the top of their lungs. The sound of disappointment as the plane flew into the distance, panic from almost being rescued became relief. 

It came back soon again as the others noticed it turned back around. 

"He's going to the pond," John B announced. "Come on, come on." 

You grudgingly went along behind them, as JJ and Sarah did. John B and Sarah were the first ones to the plane. Cleo and Pope are close behind with Kiara trailing them. 

JJ held your wrist as you were going to follow, you halted your steps and turned your neck to see that JJ had his head down, jaw set, he didn't want to leave. 

You knew, and you didn't want to either, you twisted your wrist out of his grasp and abruptly brought him in for a hug. 

"I know," You whispered in his ear. He gave you one tight squeeze and let you go.

"Come on," He encouraged you to come along with the quietest voice. 

Pope, Cleo, and John B let out exhilarated cheers as they approached the man who opened the cargo door. 

"What do we got here?" The man had a dark striped linen shirt, red shorts, and sandals. A hat dangled from his neck underneath his long brown hair tied back into a low ponytail, and aviator sunglasses to complete the look. 

You thought it was a bit odd for a guy to just so happen to fly by the area when in the month that you've been here there hasn't been a peek of air traffic. 

"Oh, you know, just a couple of castaways." John B always the leader, responded casually. 

"Well, I'll cross that off the grocery list," A southern accent came through. You didn't like that you couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses. "Hold on, I got just the thing for y'all." 

John B appeared to be hopeful, beside him, Sarah had said nothing. It didn't seem like she trusted this guy either. "Hey no, Look at this guy, you think he works for your dad?"

"Two things you need on a deserted island-" The guy continued. 

"It's okay," You heard him try to convince Sarah when she shook her head in denial of his words. You didn't know if this guy worked for her dad or not but there was something off about him. 

"First aid and rum," He brought out a red kit and a bottle, tossing the glass full of liquid at Sarah who let it fall into the water, Pope caught the red box easily. "So, what's the story? You guys sank a boat?"

"Jumped off one," John B shrugged. "Her dad's."

You narrowed your eyes sharply at the back of John B's head, he shouldn't be giving this guy a lick of information, but he was practically giving it all away. What if he was working for Sarah's dad? 

"In-laws, man," The guy drawled out. "They're tough. Well, have no fear, Jimmy's here." 

"Well, all hail Jimmy, guys!" Cleo declared. "Let's go." 

"Welcome aboard the Flying Fish, y'all, I'm Jimmy Portis." He introduced himself as the group boarded the small plane. "I'll be your captain today, now, is this all? Seven of you?"

"Yeah, is that okay?" 

You tuned out their conversation and hung back with JJ, not willing to go back but you knew that John B would drag you back over his shoulder if he had to. You'd like to believe that he'd accept it if you wanted to stay behind but the truth was you only had each other. He wouldn't leave you and you... you can't just leave him. 

Your footsteps felt heavy while walking up the steps of the cramped plane, you said a silent goodbye to Poguelandia. 

~~~

You sat in the back of the plane, across from Kie atop a box, it gave you flashbacks of the shipping container. Though this is much less spacious. 

"What were you doing all the way out here?" You elevated the tone of your voice so it could be carried to the front of the plane for Jimmy to hear. 

"I got a little guide outfit in Saint Vincent, I was spotting fish," He replies. 

You didn't know much about fishing or fishing seasons but his story didn't feel right. He was flying a plane to spot fish, alone? 

"What were spotting?" JJ asked a follow-up question. He was crouched behind the co-pilot seat. 

"You know, the usual, Wahoo." 

John B's head lifted and he caught JJ's eye, moving his head slightly, the small shake of his head was enough to tell you that what that Jimmy guy said wasn't right. 

"I'd hang on to something, get a little spicy on takeoff," Portis warns you and puts on the headset. 

You grab ahold of a hanging handle as the plane takes off. 

The radio is rattling off stats you had no comprehension of, you were all officially in the air. 

JJ beckons you all the move forward, so you all scoot to the front to hear him. 

"Wahoo don't run in September," He affirms. "Ever, alright? So whoever this man is, he's not a fisherman." 

"Maybe the run just starts earlier out here," Pope suggests.

"You sure about that?" The expression on JJ's face said it was highly doubtful. "In the Caribbean?"

"No, I know what this is, he's working for my dad and he's probably been looking for us the entire time," said Sarah.

"We gotta find out, start looking for some sort of clues," JJ trails off when he spots the bag hanging from the back of Jimmy Portis' seat. He signs for John B to distract the pilot while he- the certified Klepto- gets to snooping. 

John B taps on the man's left shoulder as John B is behind him and gets him to look over while JJ works to the right of him. He begins to chat up the pilot with questions about his life and JJ digs through the bag, pulling out a book titled 'The loss of El Dorado'. 

He opened the cover to find a picture of the coastal venture, the ship you had all escaped from. 

Sarah grabs the picture and shows John B, "This is the boat we were on, with Eberhimi and the cross." 

"So he was looking for us," Cleo said more than asked. 

"He's working for my dad." 

The aircraft shook suddenly, making you jump where you sat. 

"Y'all better hold something, we got some unexpected turbulence up here!" Jimmy cautions you all. 

You look out the window to see the mainland in view, "Guys, whatever's happening is happening fast." 

"That looks like Barbados, I've been there with Terrence," Cleo recognizes. 

"There's six of us, one of him, you know vote." JJ, as always, suggests violence. "We storm the cockpit." 

"No, w

"Who's gonna fly the plane, dumbass?" John B rationalized. 

"I've seen Pope fly simulators."

Pope stutters, "I crop-dusted for my uncle last summer, this is not the same thing."

"We are going to die," You accepted your fate. 

Kie speaks up, "No we are not, and we don't have time to pretend that's a real option." 

"Do you have an idea?" JJ snarks back.

"Something safe." 

"Why don't we just wait until the plane lands somewhere safe and then we sneak out," Pope forms a plan. "If somebody comes to mess with us, we mad-dog them." 

Nobody protested the idea, it seemed generally solid. Kie told JJ to put the stuff taken out of Jimmy's bag back before he noticed but as he was in the process of doing so, John B's distraction didn't work so well the second time and he turned his head, catching JJ in his bag. 

"The hell are you doing?" Jimmy shoved JJ out and JJ pushed back, he was fighting with one hand and lost control of the plane. 

You didn't have time to think, the plane was going down, and everybody flew to the front as the Flying Fish dove straight into the water. 

The plane was filling up quickly, already halfway full, you coughed up water as you pulled yourself up from one of the hanging handles. 

John B kicked open the door, and immediately protested, "Oh no, no, no, no. They don't look friendly." 

"No, they look very unfriendly," Pope looked out next to John B. 

"We gotta go."

The vessel was sinking fast, John B was helping everybody get out, Cleo went first, then Sarah, Pope dove out after, and JJ next. 

"Y/n, come on!" John B yelled. 

Your leg got caught on one of the ropes, "I'm going." 

"What's wrong?" Kie panics looking at you. 

"I got it, it's okay, go." You were busy trying to untangle your foot. You heard JJ call out for you guys to hurry before it sunk. 

"Hang on!" She yells back at them and helps you. 

"Shit," You curse, the rope that was tied around your ankle had given cut you from what you assumed was when the plane went down. It was twisted twice around your foot but you were both able to set it free. "Got it, Kie, let's go."

"Portis," She swims to the man who was unconscious, "Help me get him out." 

Fuck, you curse mentally, this thing was sinking fast. You already wasted time trying to set yourself free, now you had to help out the guy who kidnapped you guys. 

You and Kie carried him out with the help of the water, you were both struggling to swim yourself until you reached the shore with no sign of the others. 

You grunted as you dropped your half of the man to the sand, two locals came to help. 

Your ankle now stung with a medium-sized gash was sliced around half of your leg. You coughed out the salty water you swallowed while swimming with the man who was now alive. 

"Thank you," His bloodshot red eyes looked at both you and Kie as he expressed his gratitude. 

"You lied to us," Kie growled. "Who are you?" 

"Kie," You saw men coming in ATV's. "We need to go." 

You were tired of running, but what would happen if you didn't was worse. 

"Shit," She hisses. "Let's go." 

You ran ignoring the stinging sensation of the cut, the adrenaline helping you out, the panic and anxiety set in, and that made you feel more than the open wound spilling blood. 

"Over here," you found an old wooden boat painted blue, rusty oil containers that could shield you from view. You both hid in between them, catching your breath for a good couple of seconds before you were found. 

A man crouching down to look and Kie punched him, and you both ran. There were four men with vests and guns, two on either side. You went one way, she went the other, and you ran straight into them. By the sounds of the struggle, Kie got caught too. 

You flailed your arms and tried to push down his arms from where they were around your waist but it was no use. You kicked your legs, and your elbow hit something but that made the man's arms crush you in his hold. 

"Let go of me!" You screamed and growled. The other man grabbed your legs with no remorse for the cut. You didn't stop moving, you scratched the man who held you in his arms deep enough to draw blood. 

"Fucking bitch!" He squeezed until you felt a deep pain in your ribs. 

They didn't stop moving until they had you on the back of a trunk with your hands tied behind your back. 

Kie was there, shivering in her place, you stopped fighting once you saw her. You supposed now you would have to accept whatever was going to happen together. 

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Fucking amazing," You grumbled. "Are you?"

"Never been better."

And who else showed his face other than Jimmy Portis? 

"We saved you," Kie snarled. 

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" He looked weak and spineless. "I'm gonna try to help you guys, okay? I swear, I didn't know it was gonna be like this. Look, if you don't fight, if you just do what they say, these guys probably won't hurt you." 

He didn't know it was gonna be like this; meaning he was not high up on whatever fucked up chain this was, which meant his promise of helping meant nothing. 

"What did Ward promise you?" 

"Who?" He gave Kie a quizzical stare. "Just take my advice, do what they say. Good luck."

Another man with a vest sat in front of you both, giving you a hard glare, probably a buddy of the one who grabbed you. If the whole no-fighting thing was true, you were screwed, then again it didn't matter what you did- if he didn't know who Ward was then that meant you didn't know what you were dealing with and you were screwed anyway. 

~~~

The anxiety pumping through your chest was overstimulating. Your body was shivering intensely, at first it was from the initial shock of the surfacing from the fresh water. Now you were sure the events of the day were catching up to you, putting a physical strain on your body, but you fought through it. 

You observed the roads your kidnappers had taken, memorizing as many details as you could for when you would eventually escape. With Kie by your side, the both of you could surely find your way through this town. 

The truck slowed to a stop, the driver rolled down his window to talk to an armed guard with an intimidating German Shepherd. One quick look and one of the two men standing in front of the gate, lifted it for the truck to go through. 

You looked around at your surroundings and noticed this place was heavily guarded, practically a fortress. Miles and miles of land with men stationed not five minutes away from each other.

The estate was several stories high, again- guards posted everywhere. You and Kie were yanked to the front door, and let in by a housekeeper. 

To the right of the foyer, you immediately notice the artifacts enclosed in glass cases.

"Take them upstairs, Orinoco room for this one-" The Housekeeper instructs the guard who grips Kie's bicep and takes her up. "Nazas room for that one." 

The same man who you scratched snatched you similarly to how the other one did Kie, with more unnecessary force than needed in your opinion. "Up." 

"Y/n?" Kie's neck turned to you. 

"I'm right behind you," You reassured her. 

He took you to a room next to Kiara's, he tossed you inside with a sneer, slamming the door behind himself without a word.

"Hey!" You yelled. "What the hell am I here for?" 

No response. 

You pounded on the door to hopefully get an answer, "Who do you work for? Why do they want us here?" 

You grumbled to yourself taking in the room they stuffed you in, you were scared you admitted to yourself. They could have at least kept you both together, you knew they probably wouldn't do that since they could clearly care less about your comfort after kidnapping you... 

The room had three windows with a nook, floral printed curtains, walls painted a coral color. The four-poster bed facing the door, your brows scrunched in confusion at the open wardrobe to the left of the bed with hanging identical red dresses. You walked over to it and plucked the note with the words 'pick your size' written. 

The question 'What the fuck?' just gets deeper and deeper. You aggressively crumbled up the paper into a ball and threw it at the door. 

You sighed and walked to the open door next to the one the guard shut, walking in, there was a mirror and a sink with a shower to the left. You took one look at yourself and winced at the difference you saw from the girl you were. 

Aged, matured, whatever you wanted to call it- that was you. You stood straighter, your hair was frizzed and you were darker than your normal tan from the sun you took on Kildare. Your nose and cheeks were tinted red; burnt. 

Your shoulder slumped from exhaustion, hold it together, you told yourself. You can break down later. 

~~~

The shower was reviving, you felt refreshed your hair felt soft again, and you relished in the feeling of being clean and slipped on one of the dresses that were in your size. You were impressed with the size range the mysterious nabber had. They even had several pairs of heels to match, you released a laugh and felt delirious, this was unreal. 

You admired yourself from different angles and did a double-take when you saw a third door. You went for it and turned the knob, it was unlocked, it creaked open and you gasped. 

Kie's room. There she sat in a dress the same as yours, color and style, down to the heel. She had her head clutched in her hands, lifting her head up at the sound of the door. 

"Kie, oh my god," You strode over to her with arms outstretched. She mimicked you into an embrace. It was comforting to know you weren't entirely alone anymore. 

She sighed into you, "Did the guy tell you anything?" 

You pulled away and shook your head with pursed lips, "No, did he?" You asked if her guard gave her any information.

"Dinner, at eight." 

"Oh yeah? Just a casual sit-down dinner while holding us hostage," You replied sarcastically. "Sounds like an entertaining night."

"At least we have adjoining rooms," Her lips twitched upwards. "If Ward wasn't the one searching for us then who is this guy?"

"Didn't know we had so many enemies," You took the liberty to sit on the edge of her bed. 

"Should we even be surprised at this point?" She rolled her eyes. 

"Nope."

Your heart felt heavy. 

~~~

A knock on Kie's door startled you both out of the reminiscent conversation you were having about the island, life in high school and how you both thought last year's summer was gonna go before this whole mess started. 

The maid from earlier appeared you both scrambled out of the bed and fixed your dresses. You glanced at each other, you linked arms as you walked down the steps, and you resisted the urge to take Kie and run through the front doors where you knew you'd be shot down the minute you stepped foot out of the perimeter. 

She directed you both to the dining room, a man was standing with his back to you, serving himself a glass of an amber liquid. 

"Excuse me?" Kie spoke first in a shy tone. 

The man turned and your stomach sank, Rafe. It was Rafe who stood there, in a white button-down shirt and blue blazer. His hair was buzzed, and you felt your heart in your throat.  

"You," You hissed, marching up to him. "You were behind this." 

Rafe sized you up, flashing one look at Kie, "Y/n, what?"

"I knew it had to be you and Ward," Kie jeered at him, a few steps behind you.

"What are you talking about?" He faced you both head-on, "Are you trying to weasel in on my deal, is that what's going on?"  

"I wondered if your little reunion would cause sparks, you know," A voice cut through from a room to the right of the dining table. A tanned man with a beard smirked as he strolled over to you three. 

"Who are you?" Rafe stepped forward. 

"Me?" The man in the grey suit pointed to himself. "My name is Carlos Singh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cameron. Ms. Carrera, and Ms. Routeledge, I do apologize for the rough tactics in bringing you here. But, please, come sit down."

Apology not accepted? You wanted to say but refrained from doing so, the air around him was not in the least bit friendly or open and inviting though it sounded like he was trying to be. 

"Come now, I don't bite," He waved you all forward. 

You dared to walk through the threshold first, sitting on a sturdy chair that felt expensive underneath you, Kie sat next to you with a round coffee table in between both seats. 

Your eyes stayed narrowed at Rafe as he followed suit, visibly stressed, rubbing the lines on his forehead. "Rough tactics, what about me?" 

Singh poured himself a drink, "Yes, Mr. Cameron, false pretenses. But the ends justify the means, I'm afraid. Sit down, we have a lot to talk about." 

Rafe takes the chair across from you, leaving the one next to him, open. 

"Why are we here?" Kie tensed. 

"Well, Ms. Carrera, Routledge, Mr. Cameron, we share certain interests. Objectives." 

"Is this not about the cross?" Rafe interrupts. 

"It is, tangentially, it is about the cross." He confirms, "It's also about something much, much bigger than the cross by order of magnitude." 

The man stood in front of a painting, "The completion of a grand quest. You see, the story goes that four hundred fifty years ago- a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco Basin with a few gold beads, and when they asked the Spanish soldiers where the beads came from the Spanish soldier replied he got them from a peaceful indigenous tribe who lived in a city of gold. El Dorado.

"And for the next four hundred and fifty years, people tried to find that gold. They tried." Singh picked up a knife from the desk cabinet below the painting. "Conquistadors, knights, captains of ships, tribes; entire nations. All fighting each other in a race for the end of the rainbow, thousands of lives laid on the pyre of gold fever, and it falls to me." 

"It falls to me to complete the task," Singh strolled over to you, knife in hand. Your eyes never strayed from the hands that handled it. "To bring full circle a quest that has gone on for almost five hundred years, perhaps the greatest quest in the history of the western hemisphere. You three, are going to play a part in that." 

"Ms. Routledge, daughter of a man who was interested in making history, don't think I don't know you're family history." 

You cleared your throat, "Past, present, future. They all kind of mesh together in my head sometimes, you know." 

"Yeah, I didn't listen to a word you said, okay?" Rafe chimed in, "How much are you gonna keep philosophizing?" 

"You are direct, aren't you, Mr. Cameron?"

"What do you need from us?" Kie asked. 

"I've come to believe that you and your friends are in possession of something that can help me get what I want."

"Which is?" You couldn't think of something he could possibly want. 

"An old manuscript, a diary, actually."

You kept your features neutral, giving away nothing, "A diary?" 

You were starting to notice a pattern with people who talked, thought, and associated with the cross. All greedy fanatics.

"We don't know anything about a diary," Kie shrugged casually. 

"How else could you have learned that the cross was on the Royal Merchant."

"We would help you if we could but we can't."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that you know, because unfortunately, I don't believe you. you and your friend here," He pointed to Rafe, "Couldn't have found the cross without it." 

"He's not our friend," You clarified. 

"We can't all be friends," Singh's tone was grim. You didn't want to know what was gonna happen, knowing you couldn't give him what you wanted- even if you wanted to the diary was in Kildare. 

"This is ridiculous," Rafe stands, "Okay, I'm out. I don't know anything about a diary." 

He walks backward with hands half raised in surrender to then face one of the many, many guards in the house, gun across his vested chest. 

"Do I look like a fool to you, Mr. Cameron?" Singh grew dangerously impatient with Rafe. "You have the cross, their friends had the cross at one point, so one of you has the diary."

Rafe's eyes bore into yours, you let him, your own gaze unwavering. 

"And if you really don't know, then I suggest you convince your friend to tell me, once I have the diary- you'll be free to leave." He lightens his tone before it darkens again. 

He leads you three up the stairs and into Kie's room, "I must warn you though, I am not a man of infinite patience. You have one day, go to the window for a little demonstration." He pats Rafe on the shoulder before exiting.  

You heard the click of the lock, solidifying the trap. You clenched your fists, fingers cracking to help with the anxiety at what you were going to witness. 

Rafe protests and yanks at the doorknob, Kie comes up behind you as you open the curtain, and then Rafe joins you on the other side. 

You heard shouts, and then Jimmy Portis being dragged by another guy. 

"Who is he?" Rafe being this close to your ear made you shuffle closer to Kie. 

"It's Jimmy Portis, we know him," Kie responds for you. 

You felt a stab of guilt, "He must've been trying to help us." 

Singh looked up at the window where the three of you stood watching, he had a handgun, making it obvious of his intention. He walked out of view where Jimmy was, there was a cock of the gun clicking, and not a second later came the booming shot fired. 

~~~

a/n: SEASON 3!!! thank you all for your love and patience, i love you all, let me know what you think

let me know if you'd like to be tagged :)

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if your name is cross that means tumblr won't allow me to tag you, i'm sorry :/

[o-wild-west-wind]

okay, here’s my actual thoughtful post: I get why people are upset about the finale…I really do. but I want to mention that there’s a bigger picture to this story that’s missing if you’re zooming too close onto Izzy as a character, and I’m honestly so grateful that the show stuck to the thematic arc it introduced in season 1 because, as per usual, it’s about the themes 🤌 and this show never skimps on the symbolism!!

so here’s the thing: the primary themes are toxic masculinity (& it’s opposite, queer joy); trauma; love as a healing force for the above; and, title alert—DEATH. because it’s so much more than a cool title!

now, Izzy has always represented something metaphorical about all of these points; most directly, he’s always represented masculinity, and s2 has been an arc of toxicity deconstruction. but crucially, he’s also represented all that for Ed, who is the deuteragonist of this show. because—don’t forget—Stede and Ed are the show.

I’ve always doubted myself for feeling this after seeing how fandom saw Izzy as a third romantic figure (which like by all means have a blast in your fanfics I don’t care it’s about joy at the end of the day and pursue that as you want to), but after hearing something about djenks referring to Izzy as a father figure, it confirms a major point for me—Izzy is also in a lot of ways a parallel to Ed’s dad, and a representation of the trauma and guilt Ed felt from that formative killing. for so long, Izzy was an aggressive shadow in Ed’s life, and a tangible reminder of those daddy issues—someone telling him what to do, keeping him Blackbeard—and the beautiful thing is how that changed this season, how Izzy became a version of masculinity that could love and be beautiful and make good from the hurt, the literal poison into positivity. someone antithetical to his own paternalistic force, healing our daddy issues one drag show at a time. BUT, Izzy is still thematically representative within Ed’s arc—and by also representing the trauma that made Ed “Blackbeard,” it does make smart writing sense as to why Izzy died (NOT saying you can’t be sad about it—stick with me for a moment).

because here’s the thing—as aforementioned, this show is also about DEATH. killing is the root of everyone’s trauma, and reconciling a relationship with death is the ultimate arc Ed and Stede are both on, with the ultimate path of learning to live despite its inevitability. there’s a reason it was such a huge thing that Ed couldn’t personally kill, and then in this episode killed so many people with his bare hands in the name of love—and there’s a reason that was framed as a good thing. and there’s also Ed’s (and arguably Stede’s) active suicidality, which has been a huge force driving this season. these are characters who see death as this all-consuming thing, and they see their own deaths as the only solution. death is the traumatic force driving almost everything about their being for so long—and its reconciliation is everything for them, the greatest sign of growth. so Izzy’s death, and everyone beginning again with love—healing each other with love—is a cap to it all. it’s death as a positive force, for once. it’s death as love, not trauma. it’s death as something that will always happen, but this time not forced by your own hand. it’s a death to everything toxic, to what “Blackbeard” represented, and all the while a sort of rebirth. it’s kind of a death to…death? it’s functionally like the real physical moon replacing the giant romantic imaginary orb: it’s taking the thing that’s been artificially morphed in Stede and Ed’s heads and making it real this time, with all the bittersweet emotions that come with tangible reality.

and honestly, I’m glad that it was tragic and emotional. I didn’t think I’d be so devastated to see Izzy die, but it really did get to me, especially because of everything he said to Ricky and then to Ed. but think of it this way: Izzy and Ed might be romantically compelling because they were toxic and charged (and I hope people still enjoy everything they get from that dynamic in fan work), but imagine if the show had actually gone in that direction—where would it take us thematically? it would kill the thesis; it would be love as chaos and entertainment, but not healing. instead, this show gave us something so much more powerful: a legitimate, fully-fleshed trauma arc.

trauma hurts. Izzy’s death hurts. but that’s okay. that’s great, actually! it means the storytelling was effective—that Izzy’s arc made you feel something. and i know this won’t be every viewer’s experience, but honestly? I’m glad I can have this grieving process in such a beautifully framed light in the safe space ship of this show, because let’s be real—death, real life death, fucks you up. and let me tell you, I could’ve used this show during so many episodes of grief in my life. but here it is now, reminding us that our grief and trauma doesn’t define us—and WHAT a powerful thing for queer love, especially, to be presented as the thing that heals us all. ESPECIALLY when so much grief and death in this community is woven so deeply with the trauma of our identity.

so grieve as you need to, but don’t forget to turn the poison into positivity 💛 because that’s what the show is telling us—choose live, despite!

[jayweek]

'Just the Two of Us' - where two best friends who secretly have feelings for each other go camping, but they didn’t expect to fall under the effect of a rare spell.

Just for entertainment. It’s a totally fictional universe. Thank you! Have fun! Stream xo! <3

genre: fluff, friends to lovers. sunghoon ff. words in this chapter: 1.4k.

Welcome! You are on the final chapter! First chapter here 💌

© jayweek on tumblr

Part 2: The Spell.

7:30 PM.

"Shall we put on some music?" Sunghoon said.

"Sure! How about 'Pompeii'?"

"Our song!" - they are both much happy about it!

"Sure! Between us 'nothing changed at all'!"

"I’m very happy with that, Y/N! We’ve always been by each other’s side through all our phases since we met."

"Really!" - she smiled. It's like she is on cloud 9 right now. Sunghoon is always caring but words like that are light for the heart.

The wind blew gently. Y/N and Sunghoon sat in front of the now lit campfire, trying to keep the fire alive despite the wind and occasional dust coming from the ground road they took to get to the plain. Away from the city lights, the stars shine like never before.

____________

Y/N pov.

The stars remind me of your eyes... If only he knew how safe I feel beside him. His voice, his kindness, his care... One day I’ll have to confess.

__________

The friends spent more time star-gazing, enjoying the snacks, and listening to the playlists chosen for the camping trip.

"Stitches" started playing, and Sunghoon couldn’t control the blush on his face. He couldn’t stop and didn’t quite understand why he was so red at the moment. Maybe it was this closeness to Y/N. How had he never thought of this before? Could he be... in love?

7:58 PM

They both heard a strange noise. It was two dogs. Destroying one of the tents!!!

They were so distracted that they forgot to look up at the tents.

"Oh my God! Let’s go before they take the other one!" - Sunghoon jumped up.

____

8:00 pm - The Spell Begins

“Damn! What now?” Y/N was shocked. “Where are we going to sleep?”

“Oh, I don’t mind sleeping in the tent with you.” 💭 Oh my God, what did I just say???

“I-I said that out loud, Y/N, I’m so sorry, I-I don’t know why I said that…” He started stammering, trying to explain.

“It’s okay, Sung! I don’t want to leave you out in the cold either.”

Y/N’s smile calmed the moment. Sunghoon wasn’t the type to say things impulsively, and this really scared him because he had said out loud exactly what he was thinking at the moment. He simply couldn’t control it, and that was very strange. It was as if someone made him say it…

Little did he know that it was all part of a very old love spell that he had activated by spinning so many times around that tent stake. Ah, the full moon and its charms!

The spell was prepared by a very powerful witch and could only be activated with the correct movements and a heart ardently in love. The spell was divided into two moments: one for a softer effect, but potentially revealing – because the couple’s thoughts could come out loud. After that, the spell would pause. And then, in the other moment, nothing would be the same as before.

_________

Y/N’s POV

Okay? What did he mean by that? Anyway… I hope my thoughts don’t come out of my mouth like that too!

“What did you say?”

💭 Sunghoon heard me???

“Huh? Uh?” I tried to play dumb.

“Oh! I thought you said something. We can go back home if you want…”

“NO! No need.” I put my hands over my mouth. 💭 Why did I have to shout??

“Sorry for shouting, Sung.”

“It’s okay, silly silly! Shall we go see the lagoon then?”

8:11 pm – Spell Pause

“Let’s go!”

_________

The crystal-clear water was really beautiful and reflected the light of the full moon, also presenting the reflection of the two of them. There was no more sign of the dogs that ran off with the tent.

“Well, maybe the dogs needed the tent more than we did!” - said Y/N.

The two laughed a little nervously at the incident and they didn’t know what was stranger – the tent being taken by the dogs or the thoughts that came so out loud. That really don't happen every day.

“Are you crazy, Y/N? We’re going to end up out in the open, I’m telling you. We left the remaining tent there. The next one to take the tent will be the bear!”

He imitated a strong and violent bear to make Y/N laugh at the events. He is like a huge bear going to attack his prey (or tent!).

“I don’t doubt it! This is some kind of magic!”

“Nonsense! You’ve always been unlucky anyway!” He laughed, friendly and playful.

S/N started rubbing her hands from the cold, so they decided to go back near the campfire. It would also be good to return to keep an eye on the tent that was still left for them.

9:00 pm

“Shall we play ‘truth or dare?’”

“Let’s! It’s just going to be a little weird because it’s just the two of us, so the questions or dares will always be for one of us.” Sunghoon said that, sweating cold inside, he was always skeptical of these kinds of games, but it could be fun as long as he didn’t expose himself too much like he did the moment the tent was taken by the two mischievous dogs.

They gathered by the campfire, and Y/N turned on the flashlight, pointing the light at her face, trying to scare her best friend with a spooky story vibe:

“Scared?”

“Not at all!” - he giggled.

They laughed and started the game.

_______

Sunghoon’s POV

“So, truth or dare?” I started.

“Truth!”

“With whom was your first kiss?” - I can't believe I had the courage to say that.

“My first kiss… was a bit of a tragic story… it was with Lucas, from our class, remember him? He went to kiss me when he said he liked me. We went on a few dates, but things didn’t work out between us, and we went our separate ways.”

“Wow… I didn’t know…”

That made me tremble with rage. Just thinking about a guy being so close to S/N… I don’t want to lose her, I can’t lose her… How did I not realize that Lucas liked her? I thought my enemy all this time was Jake for living so close to her. He’s always walking his little dog around the neighborhood shirtless.

“But do you still like him?” - Please, I need to know.

“No, no, Sung. It really stayed in the past.

Your turn. Truth or dare?” she said calmly, which relieved me a lot because of the truth in her voice.

“Truth.”

“What makes you fall in love with someone? You always reject everyone.”

Y/N seemed concerned with her own question, she laughed awkwardly, so I thought: it’s time to be honest.

I moved closer to her, sitting in a way that allowed us to face each other near the campfire. I just wanted to see her reaction. I looked into her eyes and saw everything I had always wanted in life. I could see my life as a movie; everything we went through together as best friends was so wonderful.

Y/N, I realize I love you so much… more than as a best friend…

“Y/N, do you see me as a man?”

“A-as a man? What do you mean?”

I lost all my shyness and gathered all my courage:

“I always rejected everyone because I only have eyes for you, my silly. I didn’t know when we were younger, but when I look at you now, I’m sure I love you, Y/N. I love you. Truly. Not just as a best friend but also as someone who wants to be and love you as the man of your life. Please, tell me if you feel something for me too.”

“Sung… I love you so much! I always knew I loved you! I just didn’t think I was your type, haha!”

“But you’re so silly! I love you so much!”

With the moonlight and the flames crackling in an intense dance, I found love. I moved in closer, and when she placed her hand on my chest, my heart raced. Her soft lips touched mine, and I didn’t know how much I wanted this.

__________

S/N's POV

I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it! I must be dreaming! How can he love me the same way too? Sung, I loved you first! I love you so much!

“I could kiss you all night while counting the stars, my beautiful silly!”

“Dummy! I liked you first, you know!”

“Lies!” Sunghoon laughed. “Hey, I’m so grateful for you.”

“I’m also very grateful for you, my love! I love you so much!”

“I love you so much, my beautiful!”

At midnight, the spell would return to complete its final moment: they would declare their feelings for each other involuntarily, as happened before with the thoughts that were spoken out loud. But they didn’t need that — just a little, let’s say, push.

The End. ❤❤❤

[astropookie]

Astro observations pt 3? bc I haven’t finished what I was supposed to post 🧍

This picture is from Pinterest.

I knew someone with the same ascendant and sun as me but I didn’t noticed bc of the moon energy. How important, necessary and notorious is the difference in the big three depending on the element of the moon sign. My big 3 is libra sun, pisces moon and aquarius rising. The energy I give off is more dramatic, sensitive and playful. On the other hand, her moon is in virgo, so the energy she give off is completely opposite than mine: she’s serious, distant and helpful. But we do share the same 2 placements of the big 3.

I didn’t have interest in history but when I had the opportunity of having a class with a new teacher, I liked it. The passion and dedication of the topic they spoke about, and the most important thing is the objectivity; he spoke facts, with sources, without any intention of his students to memorize the information but understand it, observing and analyzing it. Teaching without any misrepresented information. How he -the teacher- spoke about certain topics that in the past, I preferred to pass out than be present in the same class. Being able to be emotional and logic. Would I be embarrassed if I said I loved it? -the manner of speaking and sharing ideas, how he teach-. What placements he has? moon 3H and mercury 1H. Moon in the 3rd house makes the individual learn how to communicate during their whole life, specifically about topics that turns on their sensitive nature. They are balanced: too emotional and logical when it comes to speak up, with time they learn how to be. They’re open minded, they want to listen to different point of views, to understand their own and to extract what benefits them and etc. They observe. Mercury in the 1st house makes them a COMMUNICATOR. That’s why he has the ability of changing my mind, my opinion or point of view, be interested in a topic minutes before I wasn’t. Sophisticated. They have this air that makes you believe them, that you know they’re not lying to you, that they’re transparent and have the sources and motives to back up their ideas. They’re intelligent. They want to learn and this curiosity push them to new fields. They could use their attachment to their origins to transmit ideas, from an specific point of view, that’s unique. Is wholesome, that I had the opportunity to be their student, for have been able to witness this placements 🧍

People with Neptune 7H is so pure. When I first knew this friend, my first impression of her was that she was shy and now I think that we must protect her bc she’s a baby 😭 They often give more than what they receive. They idealize or have a wrong idea of people in their relationships. They tend to ignore or avoid what’s happening in that topic. They think too much about the idea of who surrounds them: think better of them, that the relationship is deeper than it actually is. That’s why they struggle in the social/relationships, specifically in the romantic ones. I’ve seen this people have a good relationships with their friends¿? They could expect too much of their partner, later, realizing they’re not who they thought. Also, they could be shy or reserved because they’re scared of judgement, by being capable of living dreaming.

Moon square Jupiter aspect people always wants “peace” in their relationships, even if its imposible -not everything is going to be pink-. Their moods change A LOT, they could take everything personal. They could feel threatened and bc of this are alert the whole time. They’re inestable, they start the day with a shiny face and then they remember something that happened in the past: their day is ruined -by themselves-. This people get carried by what others think and say about them, they struggle on believing in themselves, with their self-wroth. The environment where they grew up made them doubt. They may support themselves in a religion or spiritual stuff, they could feel peaceful knowing that something has their back, that they don’t suffer alone or is “for some reason”. They could also attached themselves to a person in specific. They want to know more and more -about religion/spirituality- but they’re scared of not finding the answers they want -but the ones they need. They suffer, trying to understand the meaning or accepting the reality. That they can’t hold anymore to a false reality -that’s their copy mechanism: to create a reality that’s total opposite of the one they grew up, to finally fulfill the necessities of their inner child-.

Scorpio mercury: I love my placement. It’s so fucking 🤯 My sarcastic ass bitch wouldn’t tell otherwise. They observe, when they’re in a new situation -this is a specific case bc they always do-, they analyze the body language, the conduct, the gestures, how they express, how many information they give and what type, their confidence, how they present themselves, everything you would imagine. I LOVE IT. Once I read that with a scorpio mercury you would never know about them, and that ended up being true: they will get information from you in a subtly manner, you don’t realize what you’re saying to them. They’re fucking sarcastic, they love to joke around but not in a goofy way? but they don’t insult an individual, they don’t like it -in my case, 7° (libra degree)- . They get to the point, they’re straightforward, their words can cut you without a warning. They don’t like when people keep making the same questions (repetitive) when it comes to know them, bc it’s obvious -in their eyes- that if they don’t answer or try to avoid it, it’s not necessary to tell you what’s happening -that they don’t like the situation-; and more when they’re a reserve person, they don’t like to reveal their lives if they’re not comfortable/don’t want to. Even worse when someone that they don’t like, take their information and spread it like nothing, without their permission; they will warn you in front of everyone that they didn’t like it and you didn’t have the right to do it. Those little things that I just mentioned are EVERYTHING for them. Don’t you dare use what they told you about themselves in a manner they will not agree. You have the honor of knowing at least a little bit of them, don’t waste it.

—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•

•This is based on my personal experience and what I’ve analyzed in my surroundings.

•English is not my first language.

•I’m not a profesional astrologer.

Thank youu. baibaiii🫣🫶🏼💋

Do not copy. Please give me credits.

[harrywavycurly]

Your post about the brother gc made my mind wonder about having all the Eddie’s in a gc that you could text and ask about boy problems 😂

Hiii lovey!! Idk why instead of a group chat my mind went “what if there was a 1-800 number for you to call for advice from the Eddies??”🙈 it would be like this:

“Thank you for calling the Life Advice Network this is Steve speaking how may I help you?” “Uhm…I just need to know if the guy I’m interested in is…also interested in me…” “Ah got it let me transfer you to Husband Eddie he is our go too guy when it comes to deciphering men’s intentions..one moment.” “Hi this is Husband Eddie Munson how can I be of service to you today?” “Hey Eddie uhm…the guy I’m interested in is kinda being weird lately and I’m not sure if-” “Describe weird.” “Oh uh he ended our text conversation by just saying later…when normally he says like bye gorgeous or something along those lines.” “Later? He said later as a form of goodbye?” “Yes…why did you just sigh? Is that…is that not a good sign?” “I’m gonna be honest with you sweetheart I think he’s no longer interested….have you hung out with him recently?” “Not this week he’s been really busy…” “right…yeah…I would just move on before you really get your feelings hurt.” “Okay…thanks Eddie.” “Anytime…oh you’re gonna be asked how this call was and if you don’t mind leaving me a good review that would be great but if not it’s fine…enjoy the rest of your day and don’t let this get you down there’s plenty of other dudes out there.” “Thank you I appreciate that.”

“You’ve reached the one and only Bestfriend Eddie how can I help you?” “Hey is it weird if your guy friend all of a sudden starts holding your hand and opening doors for you?” “Holding your hand? Dudes only hold hands with someone they like….unless you need help and our hand will make it to where you won’t like die or something but yeah that’s fucking weird.” “You think he likes me?” “I wouldn’t want you to assume he has feelings for you just because he’s holding your hand and opening doors but if he starts offering you rides everywhere and buying you shit then yeah he probably has feelings.” “He’s bought me lunch three times this week…” “oh yeah then he’s for sure got some feelings brewing and I’d say just ask him straight up if he’s into you or not.” “Really? That won’t freak him out?” “Only one way to find out…” “if he laughs at me I’m calling back and telling you how horrible you are at giving advice.” “Trust me you’ll only be calling back to tell me I was right.” “Whatever…that’s for the advice.” “Anytime.”

“Hello this is Vampire Eddie-” “did you just say Vampire?” “Yes…you got transferred to me because you’re having issues accepting the kind of respect and love you deserve is that right?” “I just don’t think I need to be treated this-” “You deserve to be treated as if you hung the moon and all the stars because to your significant other that’s exactly what you did for them.” “Oh…really?” “Yes…I know it’s hard to feel as though you deserve to be treated like a queen because for the most part you’ve let yourself get used to the subpar treatment from men because that’s all you thought you could get therefore making you think that’s also what you deserve but it’s not.” “Oh wow…okay so it’s not weird that he always wants to be around and is just…super nice and attentive?” “Weird? No it’s not weird…it’s how every man who wants to pursue you should be acting.” “He brought me flowers the other day because they reminded him of me with how pretty they are…” “and how did that make you feel?” “Like he’s too good for me…but I also really liked it.” “He’s not too good for you get that notion out of your head he’s just a gentlemen and you’re used to pardon my langue but you’re used to fuck boys.” “I guess that’s true…so I should keep him around then?” “If he makes you happy then yes.” “Okay…thank you Vampire Eddie this has been really interesting.” “You’re welcome…I’m here if you need me but I think you’ve got it figured out now.” “Have a good day.” “You as well.”

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Little scene from the idea I had before about a wall separating the characters. In and out of a dome.

Let me know what you think.

***

Lily couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop feeling that something was missing. That something was wrong. Maybe it was the dead parents that she couldn't remember well. Or the idea that she was alone even when she was surrounded by a lot of friends at Hogwarts.

All the people that was here had lost something. They were victims of the attack that the savages had made. Now they were comfortable in the castle. It had become a refuge for many people after the war. But not quite, outside the barrier, Lily was scared of the remaining savages that were thirst to kill her. To kill all of them.

"You haven't seen the horrible things I've seen there, Lily" Severus had told her.

Severus, like many other volunteers, were guards that protected wizards from the savages out there. Severus did save Lily the night her parents were killed. She barely remembered but she was grateful towards him.

Sometimes, though, Lily wanted to see what was out there. Something in her heart told her that someone was waiting for her. Maybe she was bonkers.

Lily sat up, giving up on her attempt to sleep. She saw Marlene sleeping in the bed next to her. She was whispering again.

"No... Please... Don't kill me..."

Poor girl.

What happened to Marlene was unknown. She had recently arrived. She was the new girl. Probably savages killed someone she loved. Maybe her parents.

They were all orphans anyway.

Lily couldn't believe that she had felt threathened by Marlene's beauty. Lily used to be the queen bee of her last magical school. She remembered she used to have everything. Money, beauty, friends, boyfriends... Things had changed a lot since the accident.

She felt empty all the time.

Lily couldn't stand the weird feeling inside of her. She needed to go out. She needed to think.

****

She's in there. James thought. His heart told him that Lily was inside that barrier. The wall was high and a magic barrier created a dome around the castle.

It was funny how Hogwarts used to be his home. Their home. Now death eaters controlled it.

They had taken everything away from James. His friends Peter and Marlene. His best friend Sirius. And his girlfriend Lily. God his beautiful Lily.

James's fist wrapped around the necklace on his neck where his engagement ring was. Lily and him were going to get married. Despite the potential war, they were so happy.

James knew inside his heart that all of them were inside.

"I rounded the perimeter and no sign of guards" Remus whispered getting James out of his thoughts.

James looked at his friend. Pale, skinny, with bags under his eyes. Beard growing. Dirty with ripped clothes. James was the same. They barely had a roof these days.

James had depended on magic and money his whole life. Now, he had none. They didn't know if their powers were dormat or gone.

Now, they were hiding behind some bushes. It had been months of inspecting this wall and a way inside. James was sure they were all inside.

"Good" James whispered back "Then I'll get closer"

Remus touched his arm "They are probably waiting for you inside. It is too dangerous"

"Moony" James said and Remus flinched. They hadn't used the nicknames in a while "If I have the possibility, I need to see what's inside. They might be in there... They are in there"

Remus looked down. James knew his friend had lost hope. That he believed they were all dead. He had heard Remus crying at night. He was weaker and weaker each full moon. Remus just wanted revenge.

But James had hope. He knew his friends were tougher than that. And Lily... He couldn't think about the idea of losing her.

"Just keep an eye, watch my back and be careful" James instructed. He gave a Remus a walkie talkie. They had to learn to use many muggle things lately "Let me know if you see anything"

Remus didn't look convinced. But he nodded.

"But what are you going to do?" Remus asked "We can't cross the dome"

"I'm just taking a peek inside" James said "Just a peek"

"Okay" Remus nodded again "Be careful"

James kissed his friend's forehead. He walked slowly and carefully towards the wall. He had to hide from the light.

"Just a quick peek, James" Remus's voice sounded from the walkie talkie, making James jump "I'm really scared. It is weird there are no guards"

James grabbed the walkie talkie and talked through it "Don't worry, Remus. I'll be quick"

"I don't want to lose you too"

It broke James's heart how scared and sad Remus sounded. But they had to keep fighting, yeah?

"Someone has to keep preparing the delicious soup you all like, yeah?"

The soup that everyone hated at the layer because James was terrible at preparing things the muggle way.

Remus chuckled "I think we'll all survive without it"

James grinned in the dark. He pocketed the walkie talkie and glanced at the wall in front of him, finding a way to climb.

"Just a peek" he told himself.

****

Lily felt like a rebel as she approached the wall. No guards around. This was too easy.

Lily didn't know what she wanted precisely. She was scared of getting closer to the border. But also thrilled. Curious. So curious.

Maybe she could take a peek out. What would she think she would find? A savage? Plenty of savages ready to kill her?

A sane person wouldn't be doing this after going through everything she had went through. But Lily was so curious to think straight.

When she reached the wall, Lily took a glance around in case some guard was strolling by. She didn't see none. So she decided to climb.

What the hell was she doing?

Lily's heart was beating really really fast. And she didn't know if she was more scared or more excited. This was so confusing.

***

The wall was too high for James's liking. He was struggling to climb and the moving lights didn't let him advance. If he was spotted, he was dead.

Then something weird happened. His engagement ring glowed and floated. It had been enchanted to do so when Lily was around. A silly romantic thing that had popped into James's brain. He had been in love. He was in love still.

"Lily"

James couldn't believe it was still working, nothing magical worked outside the dome. Maybe it was the fact that he was near. So near.

That meant that she was on the other side. That gave James motivation to climb.

***

Lily's legs and arms were shaking, this thing was too high. Of course, otherwise savages could easily climb inside. It was for protection.

Now Lily was doing the dumbest thing someone could do. But something inside of her was telling her she should keep going.

Something was calling her from the other side.

***

James's necklace was crazy. It felt like some sort of magnet was attracting it from the other side. The pull was too strong.

James groaned.

"James, what's going on?" Remus said through the walkie talkie "I see some sort of light"

James was too busy to answer. His hands were barely holding him. He was meters up. So that was why he couldn't stop it when the chain broke and the necklace flew away.

"NO!"

James didn't care if the barrier would fry his hand, he reached for the necklace.

***

The alarm sounded as something crossed the barrier. Lily reached for it. Because something inside her told her to.

But as her hand touched the strange thing, she also felt something warm...

A hand. A warm hand.

The second she touched it, Lily felt electricity running through her veins.

She screamed and lost balance.

***

James hit the ground with a loud groan. Though he couldn't hear anything through the loud alarms.

His mind was running wild with speculations of what he had touched. It was a hand. A soft warm hand that gave him a thrilling electricity.

Then he fell.

And fuck it. James was sure that hand had grabbed his necklace. Whoever was had it.

"Fuck! Fuuuck!!"

Who was that? A death eater? Then why did the necklace flew away? Could it be? Could it be Lily?

Someone touched his shoulder, making him jump. Remus was screaming.

"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, JAMES!!"

The alarm system was too loud.

"THE GUARDS WIL BE HERE ANY MINUTE!"

"I NEED TO GO BACK, REMUS! MY NECKLACE!!"

"WHAT?"

"MY NECKLACE WITH THE RING! I CAN'T LOSE IT. I CAN'T!!"

It was the promise he had made of always loving Lily Evans. It was the proof they had been in love and so so happy.

There was the sound of hippogriffs approaching. Guards rode them.

"WE NEED TO GO NOW!!"

Remus said as he was trying to drag James. But James was strong and he wanted to cross that bloody wall.

"SHE'S INSIDE, MOONY!! LILY IS INSIDE AND ALIVE!

The necklace would not have done that if it was otherwise.

"WE NEED TO GO! LET'S GO INSIDE!"

"THEY ARE GOING TO KILL US!" Remus was desperate and furious.

James blinked.

"WHO'S GONNA RESCUE HER IF WE GET KILLED!"

Maybe Remus didn't believe him. Maybe he thought James was nuts. But he knew what he saw. Or what he felt more like.

The guards were so so close that James could hear their voices.

"OVER HERE!! THE BARRIER BROKE AROUND HERE!"

Wasn't that voice familiar?

Remus cupped his face.

"JAMES, LISTEN TO ME!! WE NEED TO GO NOW!"

"MY RING, MOONY. THE RING" James suddenly realized he had tears on his eyes.

"WE'LL GET IT BACK, WE'LL GET THEM BACK! I PROMISE" Remus was crying as well. What a mess!

James had to be the strong one. He was their leader. The leader of the resistance.

So he snapped out of it in time to run inside the forest before the guards arrived.

They ran they ran they ran. James could hear the loud alarm, distant screams and the sound of spells. Dark spells probably.

And he ran. He ran. He ran.

***

Lily stayed on the floor for a while. She was dizzy from the loud sound of the alarm. It was over now but it was still ringing her ears. What the hell had just happened?

There was something on her hand, she realized. She was squeezing it between her palm. What was it?

Lily struggled to sit down. And inspected the strange artefact. It was a necklace with a beautiful ring hanging from it. It was glowing.

Lily had the strange sensation she had seen it before.

Whose hand did she touch? Was them the owner of this ring? What if it was a savage?

Lily didn't know that savages could own such beautiful things. She had been told they were practically wild creatures. No heart. No soul. Too corrupted by the lack of magic.

This looked like an engagement ring. Did savages get married as well? Or maybe this was stolen from one of her own.

Lily had no clue. All she knew was that she felt connected to it somehow. That this was a mystery she needed to solve.

"Lily, are you okay?"

Lily hid the forbidden item immediately. The person that had found her was no other than the Headmistress. Bellatrix Black.

She was too young to be a Headmistress. Maybe in her late twenties. But she had been an inspiration for all.

The Blacks had been good fonders of the damaged after the war. They fonded the school supplies and all.

Sirius and Regulus Black, Lily's personal friends, had lost their parents as well at hands of savages. Bella was kind to help her cousins.

"Goodness me" Bellatrix sighed as she helped Lily to her feet "What are you doing here? We are in an emergency, Lily. Savages were spotted near the barrier. It is too dangerous"

"Oh!" Lily tried to act innocent, necklace behind her back "I didn't know that... I was just having a stroll because I couldn't sleep. Then I heard the alarms"

Bellatrix looked at her.

"Why were you on the floor?"

"I tripped!" Lily lied "I got scared when the loud sound began"

"Sorry about that" Bellatrix pursed her lips "The alarm is to warn the guards, not to bother you. It is not meant to be heard inside the castle"

"Oh yeah yeah, that's okay" Lily cleared her throat "Guards should do their work, to protect us..." she swallowed "I hope they catch the savages... I'm scared"

Lily wished she was making a good performance.

"Don't worry, Lily" Bellatrix smiled "I'm sure those savages will get caught" then she placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her "Why don't we go inside? It is safer in there. Just in case"

Lily squeezed the necklace between her fist.

"Sure"

God, what was wrong with her?

[rmoonstoner]

***

Poisoned Empanadas

***

Pairing:

Moon Knight (Jake Lockley) x Spider!fem!reader

Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara) x Spider!fem!reader

***

18+

Warnings:

Violence, strong language, mentions of death, mentions of depression, sexual themes, someone gets hurt

***

Summary:

A wild Miguel appears once again!

***

Chapter 5 - Pizza Rolls

Yes. I said it. Pizza rolls to me are just little pizza filled Empanadas. My favorite kind are the big Great Value bag of them. Let me tell you about the homemade pizza rolls I made recently. I got puff pastry, then filled them with cream cheese and extra old aged cheddar, diced dry aged salami, diced habaneros, diced onions, homemade garlic pizza sauce, and then close them up, cover in garlic butter, sprinkle with parmesan, and bake on parchment paper for 15-25 min on 350.

***

Another week had rolled on by since that very explicit dream and you hadn't run into Miguel at all. Even when you outright asked the criminals on whether or not they had seen a jacked up Spider-Man, they genuinely looked confused and terrified that there was yet another Spider-Man, and this one was bigger than any of the others. It almost made you question his existence, had the wizard not kept asking if you had seen him again?

Every.

Damned.

Night.

You nearly lost hope on running into him. Maybe he found his way back to where he came from? Maybe he had to leave the city to find the thing he needed in order to do so?

Either way, you managed to get out to patrol for an entire seven days without seeing any sign of him. Perhaps he was busy, which was good. It was getting old being asked the same question every night. At least Peter had the decency to not ask about Miguel while in Stephen's presence. That would just trigger the doctor into playfully teasing you about it.

Thankfully, he hadn't asked about Miguel at all for today, come to think of it. Stephen had said Peter was there when he opened up a viewing orb to see where you were. Maybe Peter's little magic caffeine fit made him forget? Oh, who were you kidding, he aced his finals, so of course he'd remember seeing Miguel in the orb.

"Hey! Nice to see you!" Peter called out as you flipped yourself over the ledge to see only him at the meeting point. He was just packing up Gwen's bag that she had left the previous night.

"Hi! How are you?" You greeted him as he handed you a protein bar.

"Doing good. Since I did so well on my reports, I got a few recommendations from some of the professors. I showed them to Stephen, and told him I want to get my engineering and chemistry certification."

"So you plan on getting a doctorate?"

"Yes! I hope it makes Stephen proud. It's not the same kind of doctor, and it's more what Tony would have wanted-" Peter rambled a bit and you placed a hand to his shoulder.

"Stephen is proud of you. He'd be proud of you no matter what subject you pick. He would be proud even if you failed, because you tried so hard. You don't give up when it gets rough. He knows how much Tony meant to you and Tony wasn't one to stop achieving his dreams when he failed at something. You and Stephen share that drive, and it'll take you far." You said with a bright smile.

It wasn't a lie, because Strange talked about the boy a lot. He always asked how he was doing after a patrol, and he would be the one to do most of the first aid on the team. If he ever had to help Peter with an injury, the man would fuss while patching the boy up. Stephen would even be constantly mentioning how proud Tony would have been, had he been around to see Peter's achievements. The doctor almost sounded like a sweet old grandmother affectionately referring to her grandchild when he spoke of Peter.

"Thank you. That feels good hearing that from you." Peter replied as he cracked a grin.

"So… Does this mean I have to call you Doctor Parker? Or Doctor Spider-Man? Oooh! I know! How about Spider-Doctor?" You gently teased him. Peter burst out laughing while shaking his head.

"Absolutely not! It will be Doctor Parker, and then just the same old, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He chuckled with a wink.

"Ah, good. Though… What about Doctor Webs?!" You gave a laugh back as you tried to picture it. He laughed and shook his head. The both of you got ready to head out, suiting up fully and slinging away into the night as you kept roasting Peter on the names he could use.

***

Most of the night was pretty calm. There was a fender bender pretty early on and a guy needed to be pulled from the wreckage, so Peter had helped. You didn't have much to offer in assistance, so you sat perched up on a shopping market roof to watch him while you called an ambulance. When all was said and done, you left to go seek out other problem areas that might need some help. The small police scanner Peter had built into his wrist watch sure did help a lot, and it reminded you of Miguel's watch.

Another occurrence was a man being held at knife point by a local drunk. Peter and you managed to talk the guy down and check him into a local drop-in center for outreach help. From there, everything was good. Nothing was off, which was great. It was so great that you and Peter stopped for a bite to eat on top of Stark Tower. About half way through your sandwich, Peter's watch and phone went off. He picked it up to check and his face fell.

"What's wrong, Peter?"

"There's been a breach in the Stark Tower security systems." He grumbled as he jammed the rest of his food into his mouth and chewed vigorously. You huffed and opened your sandwich and hurriedly removed the good bits, shoving them into your mouth and discarding the bread and other bits you didn't enjoy much. You both chewed in silence as you wiped your faces and hands.

"What? But we are sitting on the building..?" You asked with a confused face as you opened a soda to wash your mouth out, then handed it over to Peter so he could do the same.

"Yeah… I suppose we should go check it out, then?" He suggested. How could you say no?

Since Peter already had official security clearance, it was easy to get inside. You followed him in and down to the lower levels. He didn't bother to creep about. He acted like he owned the place, which he kind of did now that Tony was gone. Peter glanced at his watch a few times.

"Looks like the disturbance is in the vaults." Peter announced as he pointed to another stairwell. His tech was telling him the breach was in the power core reactor vault on the main floor. It was separated from the one that powered the building, and that was underground.

Peter directed you to the stairwell and down the center of the spiral stairs. He chose to use a web rope, while you descended with a disk of light. Once at the main floor, Peter quietly peeked down a hallway and motioned for you to follow. You darkened your suit and dimmed the lights in the hallway slowly, while Peter made his way towards the vault room.

There was a clatter of sorts the closer you got. Peter was a bit nervous, his spider senses no doubt going insane as he twitched at any noise. Yours, however, wasn't going off at all. You thought that was odd, considering the threatening nature of the noises that you were hearing. Scraping and clanking to be specific could be heard, followed by what sounded like drawers and doors opening and closing rapidly. The occasional crash of glass tinking against glass could be heard as well.

Peter stopped at the door, a weak light coming from inside. You could hear someone grumbling to someone. A man, talking to a woman. Peter was opening the door as you realized the voices sounded familiar, and before you could tell him to wait, Peter was zipping inside to confront the individuals.

"I'd stop that if I were you. Mr. Stark might be gone, but this building is still owned by his associates." Peter said as he clung to the roof in front of a large storage room door. The noises suddenly stopped and a growl erupted from the room.

"Spidey, uh, maybe we should be careful-" You started to say, when a large metal box was hurled at him. Thankfully, Peter managed to smack it away in time.

"Not one for talking, huh? Are you the strong silent type?" Peter said as he fired off a warning shot into the storage room. A small crash could be heard as a bunch of things fell to the ground and scattered all over the floor and out the door. You hid in the shadows and got closer to the door as Peter dropped down and darted into the room after the noise.

"Friday! Spidey needs the rest of the backup lights off!" You called out. The noises suddenly stopped as that familiar voice went 'huh?' And a second later, and the lights went out.

A scuffle occurred. You could hear Peter get hit and grunt as he came flying out of the room and hit the wall on the other side of the room. You gasped when it registered. You heard the distinct sound of bone breaking and Peter hissing in pain.

There was another crash, so you turned and stepped into the storage room, seeing a dark figure smash a window and climb up into it. The moon light hit his form just right, and you could tell immediately that it was Miguel. He turned to look back at you, tilted his head, then jumped. You looked back at Peter, seeing he was getting up and rubbing his neck.

You had a choice. Stay and help Peter, or chase Miguel.

"Get that jerk, Galaxy-Spider!" Peter shouted as he huffed while leaning against the wall. His arm looked like it was bent the wrong way, and his voice was dripping with pain.

That fucking dick broke your friend's arm!

You saw red, and then in an instant, you were across the room, handing Peter your bag for anything he would need, before running to and jumping from the window that Miguel had escaped from.

As you hit the night air, you looked around, catching a glimpse of Miguel zipping up a web to the roof of the building you just left. You scowled and hissed as you summoned a circle of light and stepped on it. You braced yourself and sent it straight upwards towards Miguel.

When he turned his head to check if he had gotten away, he recoiled in surprise when he saw that you were only meters behind him.

He reached out and shot a web to the next building over and kicked away from the tower. He used the momentum of the sudden change in trajectory to rocket himself away. He was fast, like ridiculously fast for a large hulking mass of muscle. It made sense, Jake was slightly smaller, but the cabbie was pretty fucking fast. So, of course Miguel, with the same setup, would be faster since he was a Spider.

Right?

"Get your ass back here!" You demanded as you aimed at him and shot off a web. He managed to twist himself out of the way. In doing so, he landed against the building and sprang away from it to go to another across the street.

"Fucker! I swear to the Gods, if you make me chase you, I am not going to be a happy girl!" You called out while making a series of glowing lights appear to get to him. He had gained a fair distance, now being three blocks away.

You could do this. You had chased far worse things than Miguel. This should be easy for you.

One blob at time, but surprisingly quickly as you hopped, skipped, and jumped your way to the fleeing Spider. You gave chase for over ten minutes, drawing you far away from the Stark Tower and the Sanctum. You hauled ass and pushed yourself to catch up with him, each breath coming out in a rush.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer…

Your lungs were burning and your muscles were aching with the effort to get to him. You were angry and upset that he had hurt your friend, and had the audacity to break and enter the building that belonged to said friend. You had an idea of what he was looking for, and you even offered to help him, yet here you were, chasing a potential thief that refused any help.

When Miguel looked back, you were almost able to grab at his ankle. The panic was evident in his body language, and in that split second, he shot you in the face with his webs.

Everything went dark and you stumbled while trying to pull the web from your face. You lost your footing, slipping and falling off the light. A strangled squeak came from you as your head smacked against another gob of light. Dizziness filled you as you kept falling. The ground would soon meet you and you were sure it would hurt and do some major damage.

A whoosh of air hit your ears as you were suddenly grabbed and sent flying. It took a moment to realize you weren't falling, but now were being carried while swinging in the air. Large muscular arms held you tightly against a well sculpted torso. The heat from the man was radiating nicely and it felt safe and warm, even though a few moments ago you wanted to punch him in his stupid face. A few moments later, and Miguel was setting you down gently, but he didn't let go. He was holding on in an effort to avoid you lashing out at him as he removed the webs from your face.

Well, you didn't lash out. You stayed still while trying to control your breathing. Your mask was taken off and when you looked up, Miguel had already discarded his on roof you were on. He held a look of concern as he inspected your head, finding a bump, but otherwise everything was fine.

"You gave me a scare, there. You weren't supposed to fall."

"Well you weren't supposed to commit a felony by breaking and entering Stark Tower, then I am pretty sure you broke my friend's arm!" You snapped at him and Miguel let go of you and took a step back.

"I broke his shocking arm!?" He seemed surprised and his face melted into remorse.

"I am sorry. He was trying to stop me from getting the information I needed, and he shot a web at Lyla. She's all I have left. I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm still getting used to these powers." He stammered as he showed you the lack of pockets and anything on his person, but the watch. You sighed, but still had to ask.

"Did you steal anything?"

"No! Well, uh, just the information I needed. I swear, I didn't take any of those glowing core things." He said and turned around.

"See? And no, I didn't put anything up there." He indicated to his rear, and it drew a small laugh from you. You cleared your throat and stood up.

"Well, you need to come back with me. Tell P- Tell Spidey that you're sorry and that you didn't mean to cause any harm, though you clearly did, you big brute. If you don't, the wizard will make your life really fucking hard." You scolded him and pointed back towards the tower. Miguel frowned as he looked down and sighed.

"Fine. I'm sorry I ran."

"Good! Now I'll just shoot him a text and let him know I am on the way back with you." You muttered while going for your pack. You froze when you remembered handing it to Peter.

"Ah, shit. I can't. I forgot I left my bag with him. Well, you're gonna just have to watch your back while we go."

***

By the time you got back to the tower, Peter had already called Stephen in. You could tell they were there because there was a warm orange glow of the portals he was so fond of. You had to check and make sure Miguel didn't just fuck off, which, thankfully, he didn't.

As you approached, you could see Stephen bent over Peter. He was fixing up his arm with magic and making sure Peter was alright when the lad sat up and pointed at you and Miguel.

"That's the guy!" Peter said as he jostled forward a bit and winced. Stephen smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Stay still. The last thing we need is you distracting me while I am trying to set the bone back into place!"

"But, Stephen, the guy that broke my arm is right there!" Peter argued with a whine.

"Settle down. I know he's there. I can clearly see him." Stephen said as he twisted Peter's arm suddenly. A loud crack was heard, and Peter gasped and almost threw up.

"But you're not even facing him…" Peter protested quietly. Stephen huffed and pointed up to his forehead and Peter went quiet. He didn't bother asking how he could still see Miguel, when that eye wasn't even facing him. He knew it was magic and left it at that.

"Heya, doc. I found the guy. Brought him back. He's willing to apologize and explain himself." You said as you motioned to Miguel, then to Peter.

"Good. I look forward to hearing about why he's caused such a fuss." Stephen stood there looking at everyone with his arms crossed. He looked mad and annoyed. Of course he'd be.

Miguel was nervous. He was shifting from one foot to the other as he looked at Peter.

"I, uh… I am sorry for breaking your arm. I… I am also sorry for breaking into this building." He glanced at Peter, then at Stephen, before his eyes landed on you.

"Okay. Cool. Apology accepted. Now, please enlighten me as to why you broke into my building?" Peter asked while Stephen started using magic to speed up the healing process.

"Your building?"

"Yes. This is my building."

"So that makes you Peter Parker, then." Miguel said as he motioned to the room around him.

"The man that Tony Stark left all his technology and businesses to. Wow. That's wild. You're so young." Miguel looked at you and huffed.

"You could have told me that, you know. I wouldn't have broken in here if I knew that this place belonged to your friend." Miguel complained and rubbed his face.

"You're a dick. I offered to ask my friends for help, but nooo, you said you wanted to do it all by yourself!" You said and threw both hands over to Peter. Peter was perfectly fine by now, Stephen's spell having worked its magic and fixed what Miguel had broken.

"I said I could have asked, and yet, you declined and ended up hurting my friend. I think you owe me an apology as well Miguel!"

"You're right. I'm sorry. I should have asked for help. I should have accepted your offer."

"Okay. Enough of this garbage. Can we go back to the Sanctum? I really need to finish this book I borrowed from Wong." Stephen spoke up and started walking through the portal.

"You're not going to punish me?" Miguel had a look of surprise on his face.

"No. That's for Peter and her to decide. I have enough shit to deal with already. Besides, you're a Spider-Folk. That's their jurisdiction." Stephen announced and then he went straight to sit at his desk with his book.

"Let's get going. You know how much he hates waiting." Peter whispered to you.

You nodded and looked at Miguel, curling your finger in a silent command to follow. Miguel hung his head in frustration as he followed on through. Once inside the library, the portal closed up behind you. Peter was the first to fling his mask off and flop into one of the arm chairs by the fireplace. You took yours off as you sat in the love seat and laid across it.

Miguel awkwardly looked at the other leather chair and sat down. From this angle he could see everyone, and he noticed the wizard's third eye was staring at him through the reflection of the mirror up on the wall beside him. That was unnerving, so he turned to look at Peter. The boy gave him an obnoxious smile as he looked Miguel over.

"That's a weird choice in a suit. You look like you're wearing a child's costume. I can see some of the seams are ripping." Peter quipped and you giggled.

"Look, my outfit was poorly planned in the time that I had." Miguel huffed and rolled his eyes as he relaxed into the chair.

He was spread eagle with the way he sat, and your eyes wandered down. Just a peek, right? What could it hurt?

"Hey, doc! Can ya fix up his ugly suit?" Peter glanced at you as he called out to Stephen.

You looked away as you blushed, Miguel eyeing you carefully as he crossed one leg over the other. Stephen grumbled and flicked his hands towards Miguel, and his suit resized and darkened with textures that weren't there before. Strange went right back to reading, but he was eavesdropping, ready to spring into action should Miguel blow his top.

Miguel's reaction was an undignified squeak and a grunt as the new suit formed around him. He stared at the gloves, noting the rubber like pads on the fingertips and the slits at the tips of the fingers for his claws. He got up and went over to the mirror and gawked at himself, twisting right and left as he looked at the professional fine detailing of the fabric patterns. Miguel looked like he was wearing boot shaped socks.

He didn't know what to say as he looked at you in the reflection of the mirror. You had been staring at him, eyes looking right at his impressive looking legs, looking up to his nice tight ass, then up his back to his shoulders, and finally to his eyes. You blushed and bit your inner cheek as you smiled at him. He winked at you and then turned to thank the doctor.

Miguel explained who he was, where he was from, and when. Stephen quietly listened, while Peter kept interrupting him to make a joke or a remark about something, like if he really fell into a dumpster, or if you had pushed him. It took about an hour to explain himself in what only took ten minutes to you privately. Stephen decided Miguel wasn't a threat, and offered to let him stay, but Miguel was very adamant about having a hotel room and that he didn't wish to be a burden.

Stephen wasn't having any of it. He refused Miguel's excuses and he showed him to a room, claiming he owed his son at least one day and night of his time for the inconvenience of temporarily breaking his arm. Miguel relented and followed Stephen to the room, and you didn't hear from him all night.

***

Series Masterlist

***

Note:

Sorry Peter. Miguel is really sorry.

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[dreamdepot]

Dreams of the Kingdom - Chapter 9: Moonshot

Edited 7/9/2024 - Updated chapter navigation links

Previous < First > Next

On the road to Gerudo, you come across the strangest band of soldiers, claiming to be on a special mission... to the moon.

AO3 Wattpad or below the break!

(Unfortunately, internet trouble delayed my corrections to earlier chapter posts, so I will get to them as soon as I have a more stable connection.)

“AAAHHHH!!!” You screamed. You bolted upright in your tent in a cold sweat.

“What’s wrong?” Link said, bursting into the tent. He ran over mid-bath, hair soaked and towel around his waist. “Was it the dream again?”

You gulped down air, trying to get your heart to slow down. “No. It was a dream, but not that one.” Link gave you an inquisitive look. “It was awful! I lived in this crappy shack in the middle of nowhere. One day I end up finding this magic pool, but then this creeper called Mr. Rupee appeared and took all my money! Then he turned me into a Tingle – whatever the hell THAT is – and made me work for him!”

Link blinked slowly. “Okay, no more crepes before bed.”

“I had one, you had five.”

“It’s called bulking,” Link said, puffing up his bare chest. “You don’t expect me to take on the Demon King without plenty of energy, right?” You had to admit, he was looking bigger in all the right spots.

“Go finish your bath, show-off,” you said, throwing a blanket at him. “I’ll be fine.”

He, of course, caught the blanket without a problem. “Seriously [Y/n], you need to take it easy. You haven’t slowed down since… well, since you woke up a century in the future. These dreams might be a way for your body to want you to rest.”

“Sidon said the same thing, but I can’t. Even if the dreams are meaningless – which we know they aren’t if I was dreaming about the Demon King!” You snorted. “I can’t rest, not until we know all of our people are safe.”

Link took your hand. “We won’t stop, just slow down a little bit. Running ourselves into the ground isn’t going to help anyone. And maybe we could spend some time just to ourselves?”

“Easier said than done,” you groaned.

“Hey, we promised we’d be there for each other, no matter where our adventures take us. You lean on me, and I lean on you.”

“You’re right.” You couldn’t help the little smile. “Actually, Link… I’ve been thinking about these dreams. One of them was about a monster at a palace in the sky, and then I got that weird rock on the Stormwind Ark from Colgera. Then, I had this dream of transporting this strange ore that couldn’t be out in daylight without melting, and then we found another rock in the Central Mine in the Depths. I think these dreams are leading us places, but I don’t know why. Doesn’t help that the other weird rock I found with the Yiga in the Depths still makes no sense either.”

Link thought for a moment, sitting next to you on the bedroll. “Do you think that, uh, ‘Mr. Rupee’ is a sign?”

“No, pretty sure that one is just me having a random nightmare.” You explained each of the other dreams to Link in as much detail as you could recall, all the while combing his hair and braiding it back through his favorite hair band. “Some of them seem pretty clear, like the one with the Gorons probably has something to do with Death Mountain, and the one with the Arbiter’s Grounds probably means we should stop by on our trip to Gerudo Town. But the others? I’m not so sure.”

Link nodded. “That first one could be the Deku Tree, but then again, maybe not. Then that one where you were a Zora… does that mean we have to go to the moon?”

“Hope not,” You thought some more. “It’s also weird, that it showed me different versions of you – or maybe heroes of the past? The other people I watch from though… they feel wrong. It’s not me, like I’m just watching through their eyes.”

“Sounds like someone wants to get you a message. Not sure what a bunch of rocks means but must be something important.”

“That’s not all.” You took a deep breath. “Ganondorf… spoke to me. He said that I was a puppet and that he wasn’t the only one pulling the strings. Do you think…”

“I think,” Link said, “Ganondorf is trying to get you to second guess everything. But I doubt he’d want to send you on a random goose chase.”

You groaned and fell back on the bedroll. Link took the opportunity to lie next to you. “Hey, how about you just stay with me for a bit.”

You wriggled as he wrapped his arms around you. “You’re soaking wet.”

“Don’t care,” he snickered. “You’re trapped, your majesty. No escaping from me now.”

“Nooo…” you weakly protested as Link pulled you in tight, trapped against him. “Couldn’t you at least dry off? It’s cold!”

“Too bad. Come on, let your knight take care of you.” Link captured your lips in a deep kiss. His hands traveled down your back as he gently laid you down on the bedroll, trapped under him. “I think you’ve got to many clothes on, my love.”

“Link…”

“Just let go and relax for a bit. No one’s gonna be upset we stayed in bed a little longer this morning.”  

Just as things were starting to warm up, you were interrupted by voices outside. “One! Two, three, four-and-one! Two, three, four-and-one!”

“Link,” you said, tapping his shoulder. The swordsman growled, burying his face into your neck instead. “Come on, my love.”

The squeaky voice outside sounded closer. “And company… halt! This is the perfect place for us to launch to the moon!”

Both of you froze. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Link grumbled. He tossed on some clothes.

You, meanwhile, poked your head out of the tent, coming face to face with a group of Koroks. The apparent leader held a makeshift flag made of a stick and some leaves while the others worked together to carry a Zonai fan. “Uh… Link? You might want to see this.”

The Korok leader spun around. “Ack! There’s not supposed to be anyone watching us! We’ll have to leave, this is important work – secret work!”

A still-disheveled Link poked his head out too and just stared, speechless. You fished for words. “Um, who are you, and why do you need our campsite?”

“Oh, well, um…” the Korok muttered embarrassed, before returning to his more bombastic tone. “My name is Captain Hollo, and I’m the commander of the Korok Space Program! These are my hard-working rocket builders.”

The four Koroks following him waved and simultaneously said “Hi!”

You looked to Link, who shrugged. “So… why do you want to go to moon exactly?”

“That is classified information! Now if you’ll excuse us, attention, company! March!”

The other Koroks responded with a hearty “Yes sir!”

The adorable battalion turned about-face, still holding the Zonai fan. “Perhaps, we could help?” Link offered, giving you a look that asked for help of his own.

“Halt!” Captain Hollo spun around and waddled up to the two of you. “You volunteer to help us?”

“Well, Sir Link is a high-ranking officer in the Grand Hylian Army, and I am the Prince…” you said. “So, perhaps you could see it as our duty to ensure the Korok Space Program is successful?”

“Really? Ya ha ha!” Hollo said, bouncing for joy. He then froze. “I mean… ahem. That would be greatly appreciated. The Korok Space Program thanks you!”

==============================

The first step was to convince them to move somewhere reasonably safe and far from any people, so after clearing out some monsters (and two Yiga hideouts), you brought the Koroks and their gear up to the Great Plateau, just north of the Eastern Abbey. The wide flat area made the perfect launchpad.

The Koroks immediately set to building their first prototype – a log with several fans attached. That went about as well as expected.

“I’m surprised it got as far as it did,” you muttered, looking at the wooden missile now firmly lodged in one of the old buildings of Outpost Ruins.

“Didn’t really have a way to fly though,” Link added.

Captain Hollo wasn’t fazed. “That’s okay! We found plenty of other devices!” His team started bringing capsule after capsule of Zonai devices to the launch pad.

“How?!” Link asked.

“We found a funny statue that if you put stuff in, it gives us these!” He held up one, holding a steering stick. “Ooo, this one’s even a bit of a rare pull!”

“Oh no,” you murmured quietly, paling as you recognized some of the other capsules as beam emitters and time bombs.

==============================

The next few hours were spent trying not to get flattened by failed machines.

Prototype two was at least more aerodynamic, as they discovered the Wing device. Unfortunately, they decided more wings meant better flight and tied about ten of them together. This one barely got off the ground, much to your relief.

Prototype three was more understandable: a single wing, a steering stick and a fan. However, the Koroks thought that to better get it in the air, they should use springs. Needless to say, about two seconds later, you were carrying the Koroks and sprinting to cover as the aircraft flung backwards towards you. The machine sprang over you, bounced off a stray Aerocuda, and off the edge of the plateau. You hoped what you heard after that was not the crunch of wood from it landing on top of the nearby stable.

The next rocket was rather… phallic. That said, Koroks didn’t exactly know what those were (unless you counted the one time with Link after the Trial of the Sword), so you were willing to give them a pass. This time they actually used rockets, but decided more firepower was better so they (unfortunately) slapped two time bombs on as well. The results were explosive. The poor Bokoblin that got too close was launched all the way to Lake Hylia. As for the rest of the rocket, most of it was destroyed, with only the tip flying high into the sky and far across Hyrule – narrowly missing Farosh on its daily flight.

Test rocket after test rocket, prototype after prototype. It was late evening by the time that the Koroks finally seemed to run out of steam. Several of them had fallen asleep in your lap as the latest prototype exploded on the makeshift launchpad. Captain Hollo began to cry. “Why… why can’t we get it to work?”

“Hey, hey, that’s okay,” you said, patting the little spirit on the back. “Just gotta keep trying, right?”

“But we’re running out of ti-i-ime!” Captain Hollo had moved on to all-out sobbing. You gave him a handkerchief and held him gently. “The Deku Tree needs us!”

Link immediately zeroed in on that. “Hey, what do you mean? Is the Deku Tree in trouble?”

The Korok blew his nose – which to be honest, you weren’t sure how that worked biologically speaking. “He… he’s very sick. Our stories always said that a Moon’s Tear could heal anything, so we need to get the Moon’s Tear to save him!”  

You didn’t have the heart to tell him that the last Moon Tear anyone had seen in centuries was probably the one in your dream. “What kind of sickness?”

“It’s like he can’t breathe. He has trouble talking, and there’s this nasty fog he coughs up. The other Koroks don’t move anymore. The forest is frozen…”

“That sounds like gloom sickness,” Link said. “There’s probably an easier cure than a Moon Tear. Gonna need a lot of Sundelions.”

“We’ll help you, but first we should go see the Deku Tree ourselves,” you said.

“But you can’t!” Captain Hollo sniffled. “The Deku Tree created a magic barrier so no one can get into the woods. Even if you could fly, the barrier wouldn’t let you in from the sky.”

“So, if not from the sky or the surface, what about underground?” Link mused.

Captain Hollo was confused. “You’re going to dig?”

“Not quite,” you said. “Are there any really big holes in the Korok Woods?”

“Nuh-uh,” the other Koroks said, though one added, “Just the Deku Tree’s tummy.”

You winced. “That does make things a bit tougher.”

“We’ve got a way around it,” Link said. “Or, I guess I do.”

“Without using Ascend myself, I won’t be able to follow you to the Korok Woods.” You frowned. “I guess that leaves us with no choice.”

You could see Link’s jaw clench. “I don’t like leaving you when it’s so dangerous…”

“I can take care of myself, promise.” Link nodded, but he wasn’t pleased. You wanted to ask more, but not with the Koroks there. You took his hands in yours. “Link, I’m not going to go anywhere too dangerous, and even I’m not crazy enough to try going into Gerudo Desert without backup. I’ll go and check on the others and Zelda’s house. Meet you in Hateno, okay?”

Link turned your words over in his head. There seemed to be a lot he wanted to say, but given present company, he didn’t seem ready to talk about it. “Okay, just please be safe.”

“You have my word as a royal. You’ll get no crazy stunts from me.”

“Yeah, you better not,” he said with a slight laugh. He then turned to the Koroks. “It’s too dangerous for you to follow [Y/n] or me. What will you do?”

The Koroks huddled for a moment. Captain Hollo then turned and cleared his throat. “We’d like to keep play- I mean researching these machines!” He said, with a hearty nod from his squad. “We’re going to keep researching over by the big town on the lake with all the pretty trees.”

“Big town on the lake… oh, you mean Tarrey Town? Just be careful, okay?” The last thing you wanted was a stray rocket hitting one of the houses.

You took out your Purah Pad, when you felt a tug at your pant leg. “Wait, Mr. Prince sir!” Captain Hollo said. “This is for you. This is what gave us the idea to search for the Moon Tear. It fell out of the sky! Isn’t it pretty? Since we won’t need it for the Deku Tree, we want you to have it!”

He handed you another of the strange bronze rocks. This time however, the pull of energy was much stronger. Then, your pack started to vibrate. You pulled out the other two similar rocks, which glowed ever so slightly at being near the other. You then felt a tingle of energy shoot up your arm. That’s when it all made sense. “Link, do you know what this is?”

“Another rock?”

You could hardly contain your excitement. “They’re pieces of the Triforce! Look!” You held out your hand, showing how your mark began to glow in response to the pieces. “The Palace of Winds, the Central Mine, and now the ‘Moon Tear’? My dreams have to be leading us to them! This has to be the way we’ll beat Ganondorf, once and for all!”

Link brightened, seeing how the pieces pulsed. “This is amazing! But, why are you dreaming about the Triforce?”

“No idea, but at this point, it’s a blessing. If we can reassemble the Triforce, we could get rid of Ganondorf, bring back Zelda, and rebuild Hyrule!”

“One thing at a time,” Link said. He then frowned. “Promise me you’re not going to go off looking on your own.”

You paused and dropped your voice to a whisper. “Link, where is this coming from? You’ve never been this… protective. I’m a warrior like you, I’m not made of glass.”

“I’m sorry, I know, I know!” He sighed. “I’m just… with everything going on, I don’t want anything happening to you.”

“I’ll be okay, but I need you to trust me Link. I can handle myself, just like I have before and just like I trust you to fight when you need to.”

Link softened, pulling you into a hug. “I trust you. I know you could kick any monster’s ass – you could probably slay a Lynel with a toothpick. I’ve just been really in my own head lately.”

“I promise, it’s just going to be straight to Kakariko, and then onward to Hateno. No Triforce pieces without you, and definitely no more Phantom Ganons if I can help it.” You gave him a kiss. “You be safe too, alright?”

“Of course. I love you, my Prince.”

“And I love you, my knight. I’ll see you soon.” With that, you tapped the Sheikah Slate and teleported away.

==============================

You landed at Dueling Peaks Stables, not far from Kakariko Village. It was getting dark, but you figured you could still make the hike before the moon was too high in the sky. Thankfully you weren’t alone; the shining form of the Light Dragon passed above you.

Seeing the Light Dragon again made your stomach twist, though you still couldn’t place why. This time, however, was accompanied by a sharp pain in your head, stronger than before. You stopped for a moment and looked around to see if anything had changed. Thankfully, the mountain path was the same as it ever was. “Ugh… maybe I’ll need to rest a bit longer than I planned.” You continued the climb up the hill, rubbing the side of your head. Kakariko was only a short walk away, and a rest at the inn and some of Trissa’s home cooking sounded perfect.

==============================

You stood atop a cliff overlooking the familiar sight of Gerudo Desert. The harsh winds carried the searing sand during the day, and a freezing chill at night, but now it was sunset, the rare moment the winds carried peace and comfort instead of the promise of death to the unprepared. The cool air was especially nice for you too as you wore only light clothing. It was clearly Gerudo clothing but not like any you had seen before. It was more ornamental, dyed in a rich wine red and jade green, and you wore various golden jewelry, most notably an ornate gold choker and topaz earrings. You took a deep breath, enjoying how the wind seemed to embrace you.

Again, you felt like a passenger in this dream, but unlike the previous dreams where it felt like you were in someone else’s skin, this felt oddly right. Even the memories of this life melding in your head felt comfortable and not unnatural like before.

Were you finally dreaming of a past you? If there were other Links and Zeldas and Ganondorf, was it crazy to think there may have been another you as well?

On your wrist was one thing that didn’t fit with the rest of your ensemble: a simple bracelet with a leather strap and wooden beads. Taking a look around to make sure you were alone, you untied the bracelet and turned the beads, revealing carefully carved holes. You blew into it, playing a song that echoed around the cliffs.

A cry answered back as a hawk dove and landed on your arm. It preened and clicked its beak. “Yes, I know, you’ll have your treat,” you laughed. You fed it a chunk of meat. While it happily tore into the treat, you untied the note on its leg. To the untrained eye, it was blank. You held it up to the sun and the words came through. The characters were familiar to you – Zonai writing. While you were not versed in the language like Zelda, your dream self understood it perfectly. It read as follows:

My friend,

The great serpent cries,

They miss their child of storms,

But they know your goal.

All wish for your safe return,

Have courage my friend.

There was no signature, just a crude drawing of a triangle.

You had already prepared a response.

Dear friend,

I have arrived safe,

The sands have untold beauty.

You need not worry,

For I shall be protected

As his great treasure.

Your note was signed with the symbol of an eye. You tied it securely to the hawk’s leg, making sure not to tie it too tight. “Please take this back,” you said, stroking the fine feathers of your avian friend. Giving him a gentle upward toss, he took flight and soared on the desert updrafts, circling higher and higher before veering eastward.

You sighed, somewhat wishing to be elsewhere, but you looked out at the desert again, admiring the view of the sun setting over the sands. Gerudo Town stood out among it, much larger than in the current day. A beautiful pyramid stood above the sands not far beyond it, a sort of holy palace.

You slipped the note into a small pocket on the sash across your chest. For a while you absently played with the jewelry on your neck. The gold choker was intricately carved and clearly priceless, but it felt a little uncomfortable.

You then sensed someone approaching behind you – someone quite large by the footsteps. You adjusted your clothes and made sure you looked presentable.

“Ah, is this where my little blossom has been hiding?”

The dream you may have smiled, but the real you felt your heart drop. The voice was too familiar; after all, you had heard it for weeks. The dream you turned towards the voice, looking up into the face of the Gerudo King – or as he was known in your time, Ganondorf the Demon King.

“Your majesty,” you said with a sweeping bow.

“You just like to tease me, don’t you?”

“Someone has to be brave enough to.”

The massive man laughed, and you were surprised how genuine it seemed on his face. Part of you had to admit, when he wasn’t being absolutely terrifying, he was rather attractive. He easily picked you up in a bridal carry. “Come now, let’s go home. It will be cold soon.” He held you close to his chest; you could feel his heartbeat quicken.

“Lord Ganondorf, won’t people ask questions if you’re carrying a servant like this? You’ve already adorned me with more jewelry than even your closest allies – people may start to ask questions.”

“A king does not concern himself with the opinions of those who do not matter. And those who do, wouldn’t dare to even question it. You’ll learn soon enough, my little blossom, the only thing that matters in this world is power – and you have the most powerful man in the world as your king. Follow me, and you will want for nothing.”

Internally you felt sick. You weren’t sure what this dream meant, but you could even feel a strange twist in your dream self’s stomach.

[forwoonnagi]

A night to remember - Laufey and Beabadoobee PT2

Part 1✧.*

inspo:@taesancore

Pairing: woonhak x reader

Warnings: none,fluff, kyungmin - TWS (as your bff), Eunchae - LESSERAFIM (your other bff), Sunghoon - ENHYPEN (teacher),  true beauty mentioned (i was listening to starlight while writing that part HAHAH) 

Wc: 1,8k

a/n: HERE'S PT2 HAHA I'M SORRY THAT ITS SHORT AND RUSHED..I PROMISE TO WRITE PT3 BETTER AND LONGER <333.

“Swore I'd seen you before

Watched you walk through the door

Something in your eye

Reminded me of somebody I used to know”

“I just don't love you anymore.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“If you miss him then why wont you tell him?” he asked me. “I can't. He likes someone else now.” “Oh..” 

“Did you hear that woonhak likes that new girl from section 3?”“Really?? Didnt y/n and woonhak date tho?”

“Yeah but woonhak didnt love her”

“He found her annoying”

“Wanna dance?We seem to be in the same situation” he asked me while reaching his hand towards me. “Sure” I said while giving him a small smile. 

“Then i walked away

You asked me to stay

Well,you're thinkin’ of what could've been

But you've become someone i've seen before”

I didn't expect to dance with some random guy in school who I just met 5 minutes ago. I even told him about woonhak, but i didn't even think about woonhak while dancing with him. I just felt..happy. The way he smiles when we make eye contact, The way he holds me while dancing. “Hey! Wanna go to the balcony? It's kinda loud here!” he asks me while mildly shouting. “Sure!”. Next thing I know I'm running and laughing. I didn't even notice that we were holding hands.

“Wow..” the view was so beautiful. The way the stars shined,how bright the moon was,how the wind blew his perfectly.. What.  “isn't it wonderful!” woonhak said while feeling the cold breeze. “Yeah..” What did I just feel? I can't fall for this random stranger. Or is he really a stranger..

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Yeah..” she said while looking at the sky. The way her eyes brightened up as if her eyes were the universe itself. She reminded me of her. The girl of my dreams,the love of my life,my first love, my Y/n. “Hey stop staring” she says with a small giggle after. I could listen to that giggle all day. 

Back to y/ns pov

We were there for like an hour just sitting on the floor talking about our lives. “I'm on the basketball team by the way, and like do you wanna watch our competition next week?..” ‘Its okay if you don't want to! I'm just telling you now and like you can text me if you're gonna go” he said while scratching the back of his neck with an awkward smile. “Sure! I can go, I don't have anything in my schedule next week "I said while giving him a sweet smile. I never felt so confident when I saw his ears turn into a light shade of pink while avoiding eye contact. “Oh, uhm, yeah uhm… do you wanna go back?” The way he sounded nervous made me want to just scream into a pillow. 

When we stood up I got a call from kyungmin. “Hello?” I answered with a whispering voice. “Y/N WHERE ARE YOU?? DID U GO HOME?” I can hear his panic through the phone. “I'll go back there, I'm just outside,wait for me.” I said while ending the call right after. “I'm guessing you have to go?” he asked me with a pout. “Yeah..my friend is finding me already” I said with the most awkward laugh right after. Someone push me off a roof please. The awkward silence was a sign for me to say goodbye and run back to Kyungmin before he calls the police. “Well uhm..See you next week i guess?.” I said while fixing my bag. I don't know what I ate that day cus i went up to him and kissed him on the cheeks. I ran downstairs right after not knowing what I just did and what his reaction was. Someone please push me off the roof right now. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Well uhm..See you next week i guess? That was all I can remember before she kissed me on the cheeks. I felt my face heating up,I couldn't process anything,I felt my stomach just explode. She kissed me on the cheeks. But no.. i cant..I love Y/n no matter what.But A part of me wished that it was y/n behind that mask..

Back to y/ns pov

“Where were you omg.. I was about to call the president to send a swat team to find you.” Kyungmin said while driving me back home. “That's too much kyungmin,” I said while laughing.”BUT FOR REAL.. WHERE WERE YOU” “i was at the balcony." I said while looking out the window. I wish I could find out who was behind that mask. “You were at the balcony all alone the entire night??” he said while giving me a confused look

 “Not really..”

 “WHAT YOU WERE WITH SOMEONE..WAS IT A GUY? DID YOU GUYS KISS? DID HE KIDNAP YOU? Y/N L/N TELL ME ALL THE INFOOOO :((((“ 

“Chill kyungmin..Also we're already here, go home kyungmin.” I said while getting out of the car. “Thanks for bringing me to prom kyungmin” i ran inside the house while kyungmin drove away.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Next day.. 

“AGHH! I HATE MYSELF WHY DID I DO THAT??” I screamed into my pillow. “Why did i kiss him” i dont wanna go to school anymore. “Y/N! KYUNGMIN IS HERE "I hear my mom scream. Omg..it's already 7:50. I rushed down the stairs “KYUNGMIN,WAIT GIVE ME LIKE 5 MINUTES” I shouted to kyungmin from the front door. I can see his annoyed face. I changed into my uniform and did my hair. I ran downstairs,giving a small kiss on the cheek to my mom “BYE MOM,LOVE YOUU”

“You're late,again.” I heard Mr.Sunghoon tell me once I arrived at class. “Sorry sir!” I went to my seat trying to catch my breath after running up like 4 floors. “Did something happen to you during prom?” I hear Eunchae ask me with a smirk on her face. “No..” liar. “How about you?” I asked her while fixing my stuff. “Hmm, I guess you could say that I danced with my date”. “OH! Then we saw this couple on the balcony.. I wonder who it could be”. “Maybe it's Woonhak and that girl from section thre-''.``Ms. Eunchae, please stop talking to Ms.Y/n during my class. I'm sure that could wait till break.”  For the first time Mr.Sunghoon did something right thank goodness.  

“Did you hear that woonhak was seen going down the stairs from the balcony during prom?”

“Omg..i heard that a girl went down before him..what if it's that girl from section three?”

“I wish I was her instead..”

“As if..”

Woonhak? Going down the stairs from the balcony? No way..maybe he just looks like him.

“How did you know it was woonhak?”

“Some girls saw him take off his mask outside..”

“They said that he was red..like he was blushing or something”

What if it was woon-.”Y/NNNNN!” i hear kyungmin and eunchae scream while sitting down next to me. “U told me that u were with someone on the balcony” kyungmin says with a smirk on his face. “WHAT?? Y/N WHY DIDNT U TELL ME U WERE WITH SOMEONEE” “You said nothing happen during prom..” i can hear whispers around me after kyungmin mentioned that i was on the balcony during prom.

“Did you hear that? y/n was on the balcony..”

“She could be just lying..no way woonhak would go back with her..”

“That new girl is way better” 

“I heard that the new girl likes woonhak too”

I felt my heart shatter. Yup..no way it was woonhak who I was with on the balcony. Maybe it was all a dream. I wish it was. 

The next few days,rumors kept on happening like if i was the girl who woonhak was with,if woonhak and i were back together,that new girl and woonhak are together and more..everytime i walk through the hallways i feel people looking at me and i hear annoyingly loud whispers.

“Is it true that she was with woonhak?”

“No way woonhak would date her..”

“Maybe woonhak was dared to date her”

“How dare she even try to lie that she was with woonhak that night”

One day I was in class with kyungmin and eunchae. We were just arguing on who joo-kyung should have ended up with. “In my opinion she should've dated seojun '' I hear eunchae say while looking at me, giving me a sign to agree with her. “In my opinion seojun should date me instead” i say “YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY! DID WE WATCH THE SAME SHOW? I'm team suho till i die." Kyungmin says. While kyungmin defended his opinion about the couple, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a tall guy with black hair and blonde pieces at the back of his hair. It's Han Taesan. Another heartthrob,he's a senior so I only see him in the hallways or assemblies, I only had one interaction with him and it was during the time when me and woonhak were still a thing. 

“Hey y/n, woonhak told me to call you. He needs to talk to you.”

Woonhak? He needs to talk to me? This could go in different ways. He either kills me for “lying” or he would say that he misses me. Or he could tell me to transfer to a different school because he's too disgusted to even see my face in school.

“Oh.. okay”

“Meet him by the garden” 

Taesan walk away and i excuse myself from Kyungmin and eunchaes argument. I think they were too busy to even hear me.

When I arrived  at the garden, I saw him. Standing with his hands in his pockets, looking around. He was quiet until he turned around to see if I was there.

“Hey y/n”

“Hi..woonhak”

I felt the palm of my hand sweating, I wish I didn't go anymore.

“Taesan told me that u wanted to talk to me” 

He sighed and pushed his hair back, He looked at me with..anger?disgust? Happiness? At this point I'm too scared to even know. I was prepared to get my heart shattered again..till he finally spoke.

“I miss you.” 

[nightmarish-fae]

fragile line - Alex Blake/Reader prompt fic

a/n: hello there! i come emerging from the depths of a writers block to offer an old prompt fic I wrote for @prentiss-theorem. the prompts were 'How did find out?' and 'Are you ashamed of me?'

as always, i am not a native speaker, all mistakes are mine.

pairing: Alex Blake/Reader

genre: angst

warnings: mentions of casual drinking/smoking if that puts anyone off.

lenght: one-shot

‐--------‐--------------------------

You should have known. You should have known, when you started this…whatever it was that you had going on with Alex that you were in too deep. How couldn’t you be. Alex Blake was everything you had ever dreamed of. And apparently, you weren’t. 

At first, it was fun, just sneaking around, making hiding and staying unnoticed a competition. You were glad to be hers, to be allowed to touch her hand, kiss her, make her laugh in the safety of your apartments. Eventually, it became your normal. At first, you didn’t mind. Everything was so new, she was freshly divorced…it made sense. But then a month had turned into four, then eight and at last, a year. But nothing changed. 

You loved the brilliant linguist with all of your heart and making her uncomfortable was the last thing on your mind, but this whole thing was starting to make you feel tired. Even when you were together, there was this bone deep weariness and unease settling into your body. Still, you never said anything. You couldn’t bear to lose Alex and at first, telling yourself that you would gladly take whatever she decided to give you worked. But of course you wanted more. 

Not much, just…to be able to hold her hand while out and about, to hug her without having to maintain a friendly limit, to be able to moon over her to Penelope and JJ.  

It appeared to be a stalemate. Progressively unhappy, yet too in love to do anything about it. But all fragile peace was destined to break at one point. And yours came on what was supposed to be a happy day. 

It was your one year anniversary of sorts. While the two of you never outright said anything to each other, you were together anyways. And so you planned for a quiet night in with a good dinner, wine and movie. For a while, the underlying sadness didn’t exist, there was just happiness. 

Somehow, you managed to be one of the last people in the bullpen, helping Garcia out. But finally, you were free. Enthusiastically packing your bag, you turned towards JJ, who was packing up as well.

“Alex already left?”

If you knew what JJ was going to answer you would probably never let the words leave your mouth.

“Ah yeah, I think she mentioned something about spending some time with her husband?”

It felt like someone pulled the rug from beneath your feet and you hit the ground in the most painful way possible. You didn’t remember much after that, only that you quickly made your excuses, all but running for your car. 

Every single part of you was working on an overdrive, brain coming up with conspiracy theories, excuses and reasons to hate both yourself and her. Somehow, you got yourself home. You had no idea if she was even in there. Heavens knew you didn’t want to be angry, but there was no helping it. 

It suddenly felt like you were the butt of a practical joke, reminding you of when you got asked to the prom as a prank. 

A small part of you was dreading the confrontation, but there was no avoiding it. Your red rimmed eyes were a dead giveaway. That, any maybe the way the door slammed and your bag flew on to the table. There was no sign of Alex anywhere, which only drove your brain more confused. 

Beelining for the fridge, you opened the wine and stalked to your balcony with a glass, which is precisely how the linguist found you when she arrived - leaning over the railing, glass in one hand, cigarette in the other. 

“Hi, I brought the-you said you’ll quit.”

Her voice sounded faintly accusing and the gall of it made you whirl around, a sarcastic chuckle leaving your throat.

“Right. Like you told JJ you were…what was it…going to spend time with your husband? Which you don’t have anymore? Unless I’m wrong about that too?”

Alex looked absolutely floored. And guilty. Setting the bag on the table, she took a deep breath, opening and closing her mouth a few times, being speechless for once.

“How did you find out?”

Your eyes widened. Really, that’s what she was going to ask?

“JJ mentioned it. Honestly Alex, I just don’t understand why…”

Suddenly, your brain supplied a very clear reason, one that explained the past year perfectly. You wished you could be more like Hotch, perfectly stoic and calm in face of everything, but you knew there were tears gathering along your lash line and you were shaking.

“Are you…”

Your voice cracked in the middle and you had to restart.

“Are you ashamed of me?”

In the perfect world, Alex would start protesting immediately, explaining it was just a massive misunderstanding. But she was quiet. And when that quiet went on for longer than your brain liked, you’ve had enough.

“You know what? Forget it. Forget I asked. I don’t think I wanna know anyways.”

Storming past her, you grabbed your bag and headed out of the door, leaving her alone in your apartment. 

The sound the door made must have sounded similar to what felt like your heart breaking.

[screechthemighty]

Hello, Moon Knight community, I'm back~

meet me at our spot: part 4/6 (2022)

cws: strained paternal relationships, references to suicidal behavior

.

Gena felt like she’d done a pretty good job recovering after the break-in. They’d beefed up security at the diner, made sure the apartment locks were secure, and tried to move on. It was a difficult balance, being ready for trouble without letting the fear of it overwhelm her, but she’d thought she had it under control.

Then, she saw Daredevil in her part of town.

Gena froze, her hand going to her pepper spray. There was no mistaking that red outfit. He was in a fight with three guys, winning too, but…

Should I call someone?! A lot of cops had gotten friendly with their local vigilantes, but not all of them. She didn’t want to get him in trouble.

Get in your car, her logical brain said. Decide then, not out in the open.

Gena started speed-walking away, keeping one hand firmly on that pepper spray. She reached her car quickly, but heard running footsteps just as she reached the door. Gena looked up. White guy, running in the same direction she’d just come from. If his bloody nose was any indication, he was running from old DD. No sign of the vigilante, but maybe he was still dealing with the others? The man saw Gena and course-corrected, running towards her.

Nope.

Gena pulled out the pepper spray. The man skidded to a half, stopping just out of range. “Don’t you dare - !”

That was all Gena had the chance to say before something hit the man in the face. And before she could react to that, something–no, someone–flew down from a nearby rooftop. The figure seemed to emerge from the hazy landscape, their white and black outfit making it look like they’d been formed from the shadows and the moonlight reflecting off the snow. They strode over to the man he’d attacked, delivering a swift kick to make sure he stayed down.

Who the hell is this?!

The stranger looked around the street, then froze when they saw Gena. “Uhm.”

Gena gave the guy a careful once over. White armor over some kind of black…outfit that looked like bandages. Their face was obscured by a hooded cloak, but she thought she saw the glint of something solid underneath–a mask, maybe? There was a golden crescent on their chest and more on their belt. Either the bad guys had gotten in on the costuming game and this was a turf war, or…

“If you’re with Daredevil, he’s down there,” Gena said, tilting her head back down the street.

“Dare-” The person’s voice sounded hollow, eerie. They reached under the hood to push something out of the way. “Daredevil?” they–no, he, the voice sounded male–finished in a still muffled, but now much less spooky voice.

“Yeah, fella with the horns?”

The moon man hesitated, then groaned. “Great. There goes my lead.” He looked down at the unconscious criminal, then leaned over to check the man’s pockets. “You should get out of here. No offense, but Dee’s a bit of a bull in a china shop. No telling how this will escalate.” Moon Man glanced back up her way. Were his eyes glowing?! “Are you okay?”

…why did he sound familiar just now? “I’m fine,” Gena said as she opened her car door. “Thanks for the save.”

“I mean, I’m sure you had that, but…” It sounded like Moon Man was smiling. “...you’re welcome.”

No, seriously, why does he feel familiar?

Gena got into her car and sat behind the wheel for a moment, watching as Moon Man dragged his victim onto the sidewalk. She drove off once the road was clear, considered calling the police non-emergency, but ended up calling regular 911 to report some injuries. The vigilantes would probably be out of there by the time EMTs showed up. Hopefully.

Something new every day, I swear.

She was still thinking about the encounter the next day. The only thing that jarred her out of it was…

“Hey, isn’t that your guy friend?”

“Hmm?” Gena looked up from the glass she was cleaning. “What?”

Ray pointed out the window. “Jake.”

Sure enough, when she looked outside, there was a familiar jacket and very familiar hat. He was standing in front of a car parallel parked outside, hands on his hips, not seeming to notice the snow starting to dust his shoulders. “Sure is,” Gena said. “You two wait here, okay?”

Gena grabbed her coat and joined Jake outside. “Something wrong with the car?” she called.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Jake said. He glanced her way and smiled. “Hey, Gena.”

“Hey, Jake.” He had the hood popped up, but honestly, Gena wasn’t a car person. Never had been. “What are we looking at?”

“Honestly, it’s probably the battery.” Jake sighed and rubbed his face. Mustache-free, she noted, and just when she’d gotten used to it during his last few visits. “Great start to the week.”

“Want me to try and jump it?”

“Please? If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Nah, it’s been slow this evening. Let me get my keys.”

He was lucky she’d driven today. Usually she could walk it, but the weather was too damn miserable for that. By the time she pulled the car over near Jake, both the boys had come out to see what was going on. “...usually replace these every four years, five max, but…” Jake sighed. “Hey, it’s not my car.”

“Why’re you driving it if it’s such a piece of junk?” Ricky asked.

“Employer request. You know what people can be like sometimes.” Jake grinned crookedly and grabbed the jumper cables. “Okay, I can show you how this works if your mom is okay with it, and only if you promise not to touch anything.”

“Promise,” said the boys in near-unison before turning to look at Gena expectantly. Neither of them would be driving for a while, but…what the hell, couldn’t hurt to start early.

“Don’t get in his way,” Gena said.

They didn’t, just watched attentively as Jake walked them through the steps of jump-starting a car. He seemed to relax more the longer he spoke. She hadn’t even realized how much tension he was carrying until it wasn’t there anymore. Definitely a problem client. Or at least she hoped that was all it was.

On the plus side, the car started again pretty quickly. One less thing for him to worry about. “There!” Jake slumped in the driver’s seat with a relieved look on his face. “You’re a godsend, Gena.”

“I know.” Though really, jumping his car once felt like small potatoes considering what he’d done for her. “You coming by later?”

“I have to get something sorted first, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’d better. I’ve gotta tell you about my superhero run in. Daredevil and some other guy.”

“No shit? Definitely need to hear about that one.” Jake waved and grinned. “Gracias!”

Hopefully, that would be the only car trouble he had. The last thing that poor man needed was more trouble.

.

“I NEED YOU FOCUSED, JAKE.”

Jake didn’t even bother hiding his eye roll. “I am focused.”

“THEN WHAT WAS THAT BACK THERE?”

He really didn’t want to have this conversation.

Biggest problem with Khonshu was that he’d never been human. Sure, he had human-parallel experiences, but they were all fundamentally changed by his godhood. Everything, as far as Jake could tell, worked differently when you were powerful and immortal. When all your interactions with mortals involved you in a position of power and them groveling at your feet, you couldn’t even learn from observation. And if he wasn’t going to understand the baseline of Jake’s experiences as a human, he really wasn’t going to understand the niche specifics. All the little things that made his visits with Gena decidedly not optional.

He could try, but he’d put up with enough of people willfully misunderstanding him. If he wanted that shit, he’d call Elias. So, instead, Jake stopped at a red light, rolled a window down, and lit a cigarette.

“THEY ARE DISTRACTIONS, JAKE,” Khonshu continued. “OUR MISSION IS TOO IMPORTANT. NEVER FORGET THAT.”

He didn’t.

He and Khonshu just had different rankings of what else was important.

Jake exhaled a puff of smoke. “Yeah, sure. Can you get out of the car for a bit? I know you think David can’t sense you, but he definitely can, and the mission’s not going anywhere if you freak him out again.”

Khonshu scoffed. “I DON’T SEE WHY YOU RELY ON HIM SO MUCH. HE’S…”

“What?” Jake snapped. As soon as the car stopped at the next intersection, he turned to face Khonshu. “What is he, Abelardo? Hmm? Fractured? Unstable? A guy with heaps of trauma and a dissociative disorder? Good thing you don’t know anyone else like that, huh?”

Khonshu hesitated.

When Jake blinked, the bird was gone.

“Hijo de puta,” Jake said with a heavy sigh as he pulled forward. “Mierda ingrata.”

Just for that attitude, he was taking David to get a coffee somewhere. Really stretch this info-gathering session out. Serves him right.

.

“So, what, you have to move every little thing every time?”

Ray nodded. He and Ricky had taken up stop-motion film making. It meant a lot of toys lying around the apartment mid-battle scene, but Gena counted herself lucky they’d found a harmless hobby. She could handle dodging their projects in the morning if it meant they stayed out of trouble. Jake gave an impressed whistle. “That’s really impressive,” he said. “I don’t think I’d have the patience for that at your age. You guys came up with this whole thing?”

“Uh-huh. We had this friend before and we used to…” Ricky trailed off. “...do this story at school. But he’s in Michigan now. We’re going to send it to him when he’s done.”

“His parents disappeared,” Ray added matter-of-factly. “He’s with his grandma now.”

There were so many things Gena wished her boys didn’t have to be used to. The fact that half the planet had vanished out of the blue was high up that list.

Jake nodded solemnly. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. I’d appreciate it if someone made a movie for me.” He rewound the video and re-watched the sequence. “I’m gonna have to watch Coraline for real now, huh?”

“You haven’t watched Coraline?”

Gena knew by now that she didn’t have to intervene. Jake didn’t even flinch as the boys bombarded him with facts about the movie and what other stop-motion movies he should be watching. He actually started writing it down. It was an improvement over when the boys would constantly give him side-eye over the risk that he was flirting with her.

He still wasn’t, and Gena knew it would never go there, even after she’d cried in front of him. But she again found herself marveling that no one else had made a move. Maybe he doesn’t want anyone to? More power to him; honestly, he was probably saving himself a lot of trouble, especially these days.

“I will watch Coraline before I see you guys again,” Jake said solemnly, one hand raised as if he were taking a serious oath. “I promise.”

She believed him. And she was glad to see the boys did, too.

.

Of course, shit had to go down right before he left. Gena didn’t smoke, so seeing her outside with Mohamed while he smoked was his first red flag. The look on her face–frustrated, maybe scared?--was the second. “...he’s under a lot of stress,” Mohamed said. “Kids do dumb things when they’re stressed. All kids.”

“I know, I know, I just…” Gena rubbed her eyes. He hadn’t seen her this upset since the place got robbed. “I should’ve seen this coming.”

“Should’ve seen what coming?” Jake said. He reached for his own box of cigarettes as he approached, less because he actually wanted one and more because it seemed like the right thing to do in this setting.

“Hey, Jake,” said Mohamed, already reaching for his lighter.

“Hey,” Gena said. “This…this is an ask, I know, but has Ray seemed off to you?”

“...define off,” Jake said. He pulled free a smoke and lit with with Mohammed’s held-out lighter. He had one of those rechargeable ones that reminded him of a taser. Jake had always kind of wondered if they’d be a good weapon in a pinch.

“Like something’s bothering him, or…he’s upset about something?”

“Upset about something,” Jake muttered to himself, instinctively imitating Gena’s accent as he mulled over his last few talks with the kids. Stop-motion films, the kids at school speculating about where Spider-Man had gone, Gena ran into Daredevil…throughout it all, Ray had seemed fine.

…maybe a little too fine.

“Counter question.” Jake took a long drag from his cigarette and replayed the conversations again. “How has Ricky seemed?”

“He’s…” Gena hesitated, probably doing the same thing he was. “...not…really wanted to talk about school, now that I think about it…”

Yep. There it was. On a mental replay, Ricky had seemed more reserved. Let his brother take the lead, instead of them talking in equal and near-perfect sync. So something was up with him, and Ray had just stepped in as his brother.

I know the feeling.

“Hey, tell you what,” Jake said. “Maybe we can divide and conquer? You see what’s going on with Ricky and I can try talking to Ray. Big brother to big brother.”

Gen’s hands knotted anxiously in front of her. “If you don’t mind? We’ve both tried. Nothing else has worked so far.”

”I’ll do my best.” Jake reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s got his reasons, okay? You’re doing everything you can.”

He was surer of that than ever. These boys had a gem of a mother…but at the end of the day, shit still happened. It was just a matter of figuring out what.

Ricky was sitting at the counter when they went inside, all distressed, hunched shoulders and too much fidgeting. Gena sat next to him while Jake went back to her office. Ray was inside with homework, an ice pack over one eye, and a serious don’t fuck with me expression. “Did you win?” Jake asked.

Ray didn’t look up. “They broke the fight up,” he said. “And aren’t you supposed to tell me not to fight?”

“Well, you shouldn’t start any. But you should finish it if someone else does.” He crouched next to Ray. “May I? I’m kind of an expert with these.”

Ray pulled the ice pack away. Jake examined the bruise carefully. “Yep,” he said finally. “You’re gonna look badass tomorrow. I’m serious.” He grinned, managing to coax a smile out of Ray in the process. He really wasn’t too worried; the swelling had gone down, and Gena was responsible enough to have taken Ray to the hospital if he was in serious pain. That was the kind of bruise you could brush off without alerting the teachers…not that they ever did anything about Jake’s own bruises. “Seriously, what happened?”

Ray’s smile dropped immediately. “Nothing. It was stupid.”

“You got in a fight. It must not have been that stupid.” Jake looked towards Ray but not directly at him. People really underestimated how good that could be for other people. “Is someone bothering Ricky?”

Jake didn’t need years of forced learning how faces worked to see he was right. Ray had no poker face. His defensiveness was clear as a full moon. He hunched his shoulders and kept his mouth firmly shut.

Jake knew the feeling.

“...I told you I’ve got two brothers, right?” Jake said. “Marc and Steven?”

“...yeah…”

“Well…” Jake sat on the floor, legs crossed, trying to keep his posture relaxed. “I’m the oldest so that meant I was responsible for them. I was more responsible than I should've been…” This was the gamble. He’d already let something slip to Gena. Confirming it to someone else was something else entirely.

But this is for their own good. And maybe it would be good for him to finally say it out loud.

“...my parents didn’t exactly do their jobs,” he said. “Mom especially. She wasn’t the nurturing type.” More the drink until you turn into a demon type, though he decided to keep that detail to himself for now. “So, I had to do a lot more. But that doesn’t mean I should’ve. All of that wasn’t my job, you know? And it’s not yours, either. Difference between you and me…” Jake tilted his head towards the door. “...is that your mom will help you. You don’t have to handle whatever this is on your own. Trust me, kid. I would’ve taken help if I’d had it.”

Ray did finally look Jake’s way, but he still looked defensive. “I don’t want to worry her,” he said. “She’s already got to worry about the diner.”

“She’s your mom. You’re not bothering her.” Ray sounded like Marc, enough that Jake had to remind himself not to get too annoyed. Ray was just trying to grow up too fast. Marc…Marc was a separate can of beans. “She’s already worrying about you. Not knowing what’s happening is only going to make that worse. You feel me?” Ray didn’t say anything. “If you don’t feel like you can tell her…maybe you can tell me, and I’ll talk to her about it? Might soften the blow.”

Ray thought about it, chewing on a bit of dry skin as he considered the offer. “...someone is messing with Ricky,” he said finally. “There’s a kid at school…he says his big brother is in a gang and now he thinks that makes him tough shit. Tough stuff,” he rushed to correct himself.

“I’ll censor the account, don’t worry.” Jake tried to keep his tone light, even though the topic set him on edge. Crime was up in a lot of places, and a lot of said crime was banding together both for safety and efficiency. Kids had been swept up in things from the start. Lot of orphans or sudden single-parent homes looking for protection, support, to feel like they were in control of things. Criminals of all kinds exploited that. “Do you know if he’s telling the truth?”

Ray shrugged. “Dunno. He’s lied before, or made stuff seem like a bigger deal than it was. But his brother was already kind of a jerk. Everyone was happy when he graduated to high school.”

“Right, right. So, he took it too far…”

“He pushed Ricky,” Ray corrected, his gaze getting dark and angry. “I told him not to. He pushed me, so I pushed him back. He hit me, but a teacher got involved. That was it.”

That’s barely a fight. But Ray would probably get in just as much trouble as the other kid, if not more. A lot of things might’ve changed since Jake was that age, but he doubted that had. “You would’ve won if they hadn’t,” Jake said reassuringly. “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’ll talk to your mom, she’ll figure things out on her end. But if you need me to, y’know…” He threw an air punch. “...show you some moves, just in case. Not that I’m encouraging you to fight or anything.”

“Just to finish it.”

“Just to finish it. Don’t want you getting more messed up than you have to, if this stays a problem.” Jake knew for a fact that he and Marc had accidentally done just as much damage to themselves as they had to the other guy when they first started fighting. Ray might not be able to go to school with hand wraps, but if he at least knew to keep his wrist straight, that’d be something. “Assuming your mom is okay with it, though.”

Ray considered the offer and nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Thanks, Jake.”

“You’re welcome.” He stood up and held out a fist towards Ray. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Ray beamed and tapped his fist against Jake’s. “Yeah.”

His hands seemed so small and frail in comparison to Jake’s. It was good that they did, in a way, that they weren’t already as bloodied and bruised as Jake’s had been by that age (or at least felt they did), but it also made the situation worse.

He shouldn’t have to deal with this. He’s a good kid.

The world didn’t really care if you were a good kid, though. Jake knew that better than most.

.

Gena did her best to sort out the school situation. The staff, at least, took things seriously. It seemed like with everything else going on, they were determined to nip things in the bud before they became a bigger problem. She wasn’t sure if it would stick, but she was glad that something was being done. Equally glad that Ray’s first (hopefully only) foray into getting in trouble at school was because he was sticking up for his brother. There were worse ways.

The situation had an unexpected but welcome side effect: it seemed to fully bring Jake into the fold with Ricky and Ray. They’d slowly been warming up to him over his visits, of course, but now they actually seemed to trust him. They greeted him enthusiastically whenever he came over, eager to show him their new home movies.

It was good to have someone else she could trust with the boys. Even if Jake wasn’t always around, he did everything he could for them whenever he was around. It reached a point that she was comfortable enough letting him watch them at the park. In a normal world, they could’ve gone on their own at their age, but the world hadn’t been normal for a long time.

She’d hoped trouble wouldn’t find them out there. It still stung when it finally happened.

“Jake got arrested,” Ricky blurted as he burst into the diner.

Gena froze. “Jake what?!”

The boys tripped over each other trying to tell her what had happened. She was just barely able to piece together the story. He’d been with them at the basketball court. They were shooting b-roll footage. Some local troublemakers—including the brother of that boy from a few months ago—showed up. Started running off their mouths. Jake had tried to convince them to leave. They threw the first punch; Jake had just been defending himself, and them. The cops hadn’t seen it that way. The only reason Ricky and Ray hadn’t been caught up in the arrest was that they’d been hiding behind a dumpster.

“I filmed the whole thing,” Ray said. He’d kept a death grip on his camera the entire conversation. “I don’t know if I got everything, but you can hear it. I thought about showing the police, but…”

“No, no, baby, it’s good you came to me.” Gena desperately flipped through the envelope of business cards in her office. Where are they…there. “Don’t worry. I’ll get this sorted out.”

It was a number she’d hoped she would never have to call, but it paid to know who you could work with in this city. And by all accounts, if you were in trouble in New York, there was one office you could count on.

.

Stepping into the interrogation room felt like stepping back in time.

It wasn’t a perfect match, but so much of Jake Lockley felt familiar. The smell of city air clinging to him. The creaking ache of bones that had definitely received more than one punch. The self-soothing humming echoing around the room. The way he could almost taste the blood in the air. All he’d need was the sound of scotch being poured into a glass…

Focus.

“Jake Lockley?”

“Yeah? Who’s asking?”

“I’m Matthew Murdock. Gena Landers called and said you needed some help.”

A metal chair creaked as Lockley sat up straighter, his heartbeat hiccupping at the mention of Mrs. Landers. “Are the boys okay?” His tone had gone from a practiced casual to genuine concern.

“They are.” Matt found one of the room’s unoccupied chairs and sat down. “One of them said he filmed the incident. They’re reviewing the footage now, but I wanted to speak to you. Can you tell me what happened?”

Lockley sighed softly. Matt heard the rustling of clothes, the creak of joints and tendons. The blood smell got stronger as Lockley moved. “We were minding our own business. Those guys showed up, wanted a fight. I politely asked them to leave, they didn’t. One of them decided he wanted to fuck around.” There was a smile in Lockley’s voice. “I made sure he found out. Then the cops showed up and forgot the meaning of self-defense. I didn’t resist arrest, so don’t let them tell you otherwise.”

Matt had to bite back a smile. That did line up with the Landers’ boys account of the incident. “I wouldn’t be that casual about it if you’re questioned,” he said. “When you say they wanted a fight, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean they were throwing their weight around. Trying to push the boys off a public court. One of them’s related to a kid who was giving Ray trouble, so he started going off about that.”

Matt heard the rustling of fabric, nails against thread. The smell of blood suddenly grew stronger. Hold on. “Mister Lockley, are you bleeding?”

“…it’s that obvious?” the man said sheepishly.

Matt reached across the table. The feeling of blood saturated cloth made his skin crawl, but he still felt for the injury. Knife wound, if he had to guess; it seemed too clean a cut to be anything else. “Did the police know about this?”

“They knew I was bleeding. Didn’t exactly stop to see how badly…” Lockley trailed off as Matt stood up and started removing his tie. “I’m not about to die or anything.”

“Not the point.” Matt folded the tie and held it out towards Lockley. “Put pressure on it. I’ll be right back.”

“…you got it, boss,” Lockley said as he took it. His tone was one of bemused confusion. Probably a little taken aback that Matt was so heated about this.

Matt knew that he should toe the line, tread carefully. He still had a reputation from the days before half the world went missing, and he’d been working hard to rebuild since. He couldn’t just piss off everyone at the police station.

But just because Jake Lockley needed to mind his words didn’t mean Matt had to.

.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything, Mrs. Landers?”

Gena shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you.” The two lawyers of Nelson and Murdock had split up to speak to the police, leaving Gena and the boys in the care of their aide. Karen Page was a willowy thing, pale with red hair, but with sharp eyes that said there was more going on than you’d think. She certainly hadn’t been afraid to shoo away the officer who’d tried to speak to them without Nelson or Murdock present. “I’m just anxious for all of this to be over is all.”

“Jake’s not going to jail, is he?” Ricky asked.

“Not if we can help it.” Karen smiled encouragingly. “We have video footage of the other guys throwing the first punch, so I think – “

She cut herself off abruptly and tilted her head, listening for something. After a second, Gena heard it, too.

“…brought in an injured man and put him in an interrogation room instead of getting him medical attention…”

Karen’s shoulders tensed slightly. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She got up and started speed-walking towards the sound of the argument.

“Do you think…?” Ray whispered.

“I don’t know, honey, but let’s stay out of their way, okay? I’m sure they have it under control.” Gena meant that as a reminder for herself as much as the boys. It was taking all her self-control to stay put and not see what was going on back there.

The argument became more subdued—she could still hear voices, but not work out words—but it seemed to go on for too long. Just when Gena was considering going over there anyway, the whole legal team rounded the corner, and with them…

“Jake!” the boys yelled simultaneously.

His face was in better shape than Gena had expected. Then she saw the bloody rag pressed against his forearm, and suddenly she felt lightheaded. “Bless my…Jake!”

“Easy, prima, it’s just a surface wound,” Jake said. His smile was sheepish, apologetic. “Sorry about all this fuss.”

“What are you apologizing for?!” Gena stood up and started digging through her purse. “You need a doctor. Is he free to go?”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Jake said.

“He’s free to go,” said Murdock at almost the same time. “And you do need a doctor, Mr. Lockley.”

Franklin Nelson, who’d insisted on being called Foggy, coughed in a way that almost sounded like he was covering up a laugh. Murdock frowned, just for a second, but the moment passed so quickly Gena wondered if she’d imagined it. “If insurance is a concern, I know a low-cost clinic.”

“And I’ll pay for it,” Gena added. “Least I can do.”

“I am not taking your money,” Jake said. His gaze kept darting from person to person. He seemed baffled that they cared so much. “It’s not that bad. I can handle it.”

“You’re bleeding onto the floor,” said Foggy Nelson flatly.

Jake glanced down. “…that I am,” he said, a little too calmly. “Okay, counselor, where’s this clinic of yours?”

Gena ended up driving him there, along with the boys and Foggy Nelson in the backseat. There was only room for one member of their unexpected legal team, and apparently Murdock got carsick easily. “Hopefully the matter should be cleared up, but you can give us a call if the people start asking questions again,” Nelson said. “If I were you, I’d keep my head down.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I make a point of avoiding cops,” Jake said casually.

“That’s probably smart, but I was more worried about guys you fought. Their buddies might want payback for humiliating them.”

He wasn’t wrong. Gena glanced Jake’s way. He was staring out the window with distant eyes and a tight jaw, deep in thought. She wasn’t sure about what, but she had a strange feeling she wouldn’t like the answer.

Suddenly, his body relaxed and he was all smiles again. “Don’t worry, counsellor,” he said. “I’ll be on my best behavior.

I’m sure you will be, Gena thought, and resolved to keep an eye on him as much as possible.

.

Nice thing about getting cut in his non-dominant arm: he could still text while being stitched up.

May need your help with something, he sent to David. Only if you’re not busy.

He was a little surprised by how quickly he heard back from David, but the speed made sense once he read it: PLEASE give me something to do or take me back to england or wherever you go I cannot be in this city another second

Jake frowned. What happened??? he replied.

dad called

Ah, shit. Jake immediately hit the call button; David picked up quickly. “When?” Jake asked.

“Like, an hour ago?” David’s voice was shaking, but it was hard to tell in what way without seeing his face. “We didn’t talk long. I kind of blacked out, so I assume one of the others told him to fuck off.”

“How are you now? Where are you now?”

“Still at the house.” He heard the creaking of bedsprings. “Honestly…pissed off? I wasn’t expecting to be so mad about it.”

“Good for you. Pissed is good.” Jake didn’t know all the details of David’s relationship with his father—parents were extremely off-limit topics in their conversations—but he knew people didn’t end up like them for no reason. That made him inclined to side with David, even without knowing more. “Look, if you’re not in a good place…’

“No, no, I’m fine. I mean, I’m not, but sitting and stewing isn’t going to help me. Or…any of us, really. So, I’ll help.”

David really was a man after Jake’s own heart sometimes. “Thank you, Davito. You want me to pick you up for dinner in a few hours?”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

“Just don’t be alarmed if I’ve got blood on me.”

“Do I want to know?”

“It’s a long story. Tell you later.”

His wound was all stitched up by the time he pocketed his phone. “Tidy work,” Jake said approvingly.

“Yeah, I’ve had a lot of practice lately.” The nurse—her name tag said Claire—gave Jake a slow, critical look. “You’re not thinking of adding to that, are you?”

“No, ma’am,” Jake said, and he meant it. Nothing would be able to leave a mark on him while he was wearing the suit. Even this wound would fade into nothing. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve got the look of a guy about to do something stupid. If you’re in trouble, there are other people who can handle it.”

Jake scoffed. “Like who? The cops?”

“No, other people.” The weight of those words caught his attention. “Some of them stop by. I could put in a word, depending.”

Ah, so she knew some of the locals. Probably Daredevil at the bare minimum. It made sense—most other vigilantes needed more medical care than him. He didn’t think old Dee had a direct line to a healing force, much as he fought like he did. “Nothing so stupid that I’d need their help,” Jake said. “Friend of mine’s just having some family trouble. That’s all.”

The best lies really were just omitted or out of context truth. Nurse Claire didn’t seem to completely buy his story, but she didn’t try to stop him from leaving, either. Just slapped a bandage on his arm and told him a doctor could get him a prescription for some antibiotics.

Jake paid for his stitches and shoved the prescription deep in his pockets. He wouldn’t be needing them, and even if he did, he didn’t have time to visit a pharmacy.

He had work to do.

.

“I don’t normally let people do this, you know.”

David guiltily looked up from his cup of coffee. He’d come by a few times on his own since his first visit with Jake, but he’d never been the linger-over-multiple-cups-of-coffee type. Not until tonight. “Do what?” he asked, trying and failing to sound innocent.

Gena leaned against the counter. “Be honest,” she said. “Did Jake ask you go keep an eye on the place for him?”

David’s cheeks went pink. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be obvious about it.”

“Well, I appreciate your honesty, and your help.” Secretly, she wasn’t sure how much help David would be. He was a skinny guy, skittish when he wasn’t having odd mood swings, and she couldn’t picture him getting in a fight. Maybe Jake had just asked him to be his eyes and ears? “You boys don’t have to worry about me, though. My kitchen staff knows their way around a knife and I’ve been carrying a bat. Plus, I’ve seen Daredevil in the area on and off.”

“Yeah, I have too,” David said. “I have no idea how he can see in that – “

He stopped abruptly, his gaze jerking to the window. Gena looked, too; it was dark out, sure, but she didn’t see anything. She remembered David’s first visit, how Jake had to walk him through his senses until he calmed down. Was he having some kind of an episode? “Honey, you okay?” she asked carefully.

“…yeah. Uh, you should…” He stood up abruptly. “Uhm, you should wait out back for a sec…”

“Why?”

“Just…bad feeling. Really bad.” He walked to the window and pressed his face against it, muttering to himself as he did. “Seriously, you should go.”

Gena was frozen in place. She didn’t want to leave David alone if he was having an episode, but for all his lapses into funny accents or moments of staring off into nothing, she’d never seen him act like this before. He seemed so sure. “Why don’t you come with me?” she tried. “We can sit in my office for a second, give Jake a call…”

The sound of a gunshot was so loud that it drowned out everything else in her head. Next thing she knew, David was behind the counter, grabbing her hand, dragging her back deeper into the restaurant. They ducked into her office as more gunshots sounded from somewhere close. Gena clutched Davi’s hand tightly, thanked God the boys were at home, prayed none of the bullets hit the windows…

The shooting stopped, and for a split second, it was silent. Noises slowly trickled in to fill the space.

“Mrs. Landers?” Bill called from the kitchen. “Mrs. Landers?!”

“We’re okay!” David called back. He didn’t sound frightened, to her surprise. “That’s a hell of a good evening…!”

There was shouting outside. When Gena risked peeking back outside, she saw a figure running past the (blessedly intact) windows. “Hey!” David said.

The figure suddenly tripped and fell. It looked like someone had grabbed his coat to make him stumble, but there was no one else outside. Either she’d imagined it, or invisible vigilantes were now a thing she had to worry about. David ran out of her office and for the door. “David!” Gena ran after him without thinking. “What are you doing?!”

They burst outside to a full moon and the sound of a fistfight. The man who’d tripped was struggling to get up, but fell back down again. “No, you don’t,” David said. He was doing one of his voices, a rough drawl that almost reminded me of a cowboy. “Someone’s gonna want a word with you.”

Before Gena could ask what was going on, someone came flying out of the alley next to the diner and tumbled ass-over-teakettle into the street. A figure dressed in white stepped out next. It was the moon man from before. His hood had slipped off, revealing a smooth white mask with nothing but a line for a mouth and two glowing holes for eyes.

The mask may have been featureless, but his body language was furious.

Gena froze in place, despite a voice in her head that screamed at her to get back inside and call 911. She was able to grab David’s arm, but couldn’t make herself speak.

We have to go. We have to go now…

“Hey, Moon Boy,” David said casually, “Dial it back. There’s a lady present.”

Moon Man glanced their way. Almost immediately, the anger bled out of his body. “Are you okay?” he asked. His voice was still muffled by the mask, hollow and strange, but he sounded concerned.

And she knew him.

If he had been familiar before, it was on the tip of her tongue now. The feeling of lingering fear just kept it trapped in her head. David was taking this a lot better than she was, weirdly enough. “We’re fine, just a bit rattled,” he said. “Hey, you want a word with this guy?”

Moon Man’s gaze fixed back on the guy on the ground. For a moment, Gena was afraid she was going to see something she didn’t want to see, but all he did was crouch next to the guy. The quiet menace in his voice made up for the lack of physical violence: “I know who sent you. I know exactly why you’re here. That shit’s not going to fly, you hear me? I want you to go back and tell them that.” He leaned over so they were making eye contact. “This street is under the Moon Knight’s protection. Anyone who tries to hurt anyone here will get worse than what I gave you tonight. Are we perfectly clear?”

The man on the ground whimpered an agreement. Moon Man—Moon Knight, she guessed—hauled the guy to his feet and gave him a shove. “Go on, then.”

Gena was pretty sure that man could’ve qualified for the Olympics with how fast he ran off.

David bumped against her slightly as he swayed in place. “You okay?” Gena asked.

“Huh?” David looked around. It was as if he was seeing the whole situation for the first time. “Oh…yeah. I’m fine. I’m good.” He rubbed his eyes. “Uh, what are we doing?”

“Did you get a read on that guy?” Moon Knight asked. His voice was noticeably softer how that he was talking to David. “You up to follow him?”

“Ough, gimme a sec…” David rubbed his eyes harder, then lightly smacked his cheeks. “Sorry. I’m here. Should we call the police first?”

“What are you going to do?” Gena asked suddenly. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know the answer, but she had to. “What’s David got to do with this?”

David and Moon Knight exchanged a glance. “Uhh…long story?” David said weakly. “Oh, shit, I owe you money…”

“We can settle it later, just…” Gena turned to Moon Knight. “What’s he got to do with this?”

“He’s been helping,” Moon Knight said reassuringly. “I won’t let anything happen to him, promise.”

She believed him. Gena didn’t know why, but she did. She also knew that she couldn’t stop David even if she wanted to, so instead she asked, “Should I call the police?”

“Can you give us a head start?”

“With the way response times have been, I don’t think I’ll have to.”

Moon Knight laughed. “Yeah, good point.” He rested a hand on David’s shoulder and started steering him after the man. “You stay safe, ma’am.”

“You too…?”

They disappeared into the night, leaving Gena standing on the street, confused and scrambling to figure out what had just happened. It took the jangle of the door opening and the sound of Bill’s voice to drag her out of it. “I called the police,” he said. “What the hell was all of that?!”

“I…I don’t know,” Gena managed.

That was the long and short of it.

The cops showed up faster than Gena expected. They didn’t even seem phased by the fact that the man calling himself Moon Knight had beaten the shit out of what turned out to be multiple gang members. Gena supposed that was pretty normal compared to half the world going missing, but it was still a lot for her to take in. “And you have no idea who this…Moon Knight person is?” asked one of the officers.

Gena shook her head. “No,” she said. “I don’t.”

It was technically true. She didn’t know for sure. But the feeling that she should know nagged at her for the rest of the night—as she finished things up with the police, as she closed up the place, as she went home, checked on the boys, and started heading to bed herself. Her mind kept worrying away at it until suddenly, just as she was lying down, it hit her.

He’d paused before he called her ma’am, but it hadn’t been a silent pause. She’d heard the start of an s-sound.

S, perhaps, like senora.

The reassuring tones, the calm demeanor, the way a vigilante she’d only seen once in person and only heard about in passing showed up just the right night to help, right after everything that had happened with the boys…it all added up. Moon Knight was…

“Jake,” Gena whispered in disbelief. “He’s Jake.”

.

“I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D GO TO ALL THIS TROUBLE JUST TO RESORT TO HALF-MEASURES.”

Jake sighed. “See, that’s your problem, hefe. You have no imagination.” He splashed the last of the gasoline over the desk in front of him. Shame, really; it was a nice piece of furniture. He’d haul it back to England for Steven if he could, but the powers Khonshu had given him didn’t extend to that. “I’m sending a message. That’s the important thing.”

“YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT THE WOMAN THINKS.”

Jake ignored the statement as he tossed the canister aside and headed for the exit. Nice thing about this place was how isolated it was: just one of many construction projects along the harbor that had been abandoned after the world went upside-down. It was the domain of either the destitute or the criminal these days, and David had already helped him be sure the first group had cleared out. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn’t have been in any danger, but he didn’t want to risk innocent lives. That was part of the reason he’d used a comparatively soft touch while clearing out the place. Old Eddie Greene’s crew may have had some bad men in it, but it had just as many desperate men. People who didn’t really deserve the kind of judgement Khonshu usually liked dealing out. And as for the ones who did…

“YOU’RE NOT GETTING SOFT ON ME, ARE YOU, LOCKLEY?”

Jake shook his head. “Let me have this one, all right? It’s extracurricular anyway. Testing out new methods. They won’t hurt anyone else either way.”

He’d never admit it, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill them. Khonshu wasn’t wrong: it did have to do with Gena. There were a lot of things he could do and sleep comfortably after, but this time…

She knows. He didn’t know that for sure, but his gut told him she did, or that she was getting close to figuring it out. Which meant that when the news hit about what had happened to the gang that had messed with her boys, he’d have to answer to her for it. Stopping them was one thing. Killing even the ones that deserved it might change her opinion of him for the worse. He wasn’t ready for that.

He didn’t think he’d ever be.

The distant sound of sirens and a feeling that he could only describe as a sharp nudge directly on his brain drew him back to the present. David had already called in as a concerned citizen to report a fire; best make sure they’d have something to do when they got there.

The fire was spreading rapidly by the time he left the building. He wasn’t sure if his cape left a trail of ashes and sparks in its wake as he left, but he hoped it did. A little shock and awe went a long way in making people rethink their life choices.

So did getting the piss kicked out of them and being tied up nice and tidy for the cops to deal with.

“Wh-what are you?” mumbled one of the men on the ground.

Jake smiled, even though they couldn’t see it behind the mask. “I’m the divine fist of justice, cabrón,” he said, “and I’m always watching.”

.

It was a good thing the diner was having a slow morning, because Gena could not stop looking at the morning’s headline.

Vigilante Crushes Local Crime Ring. There weren’t any photographs of the vigilante in question, but the description in the article told her everything she needed to know. White outfit, white mask, moon iconography.

Sightings of the so-called Moon Knight have been on the rise in recent years…

Starting around 2019, maybe?

Gena glanced up from the paper and caught sight of two figures outside: Jake smoking a cigarette, and David standing nearby and shoveling a gyro into his mouth.

She shouldn’t ask. It was probably dangerous to know. But she also couldn’t just leave it alone.

The conversation seemed to be wrapping up as she stepped outside: “…and I’d better see that shiny new chip when I get back, hear me?”

“Yessir, you big worrywart.” David’s eyes met hers, and he suddenly looked like a kid who’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Oh…hi, Mrs. Landers.”

Jake didn’t turn around right away. What she could see of his face wasn’t panicked or guilty; it was blank. The facial equivalent of drawn blinds. She watched in real time as he arranged it into his usual friendly smile before fully turning to see her. “Good morning, prima. Everything all right?”

He knows I know. Well, that made things a bit easier. “Yeah, just…odd week. Can we have a word someplace private?”

Jake’s smile didn’t slip, but it did look more forced. “Yeah. Sure thing.”

Gena felt bad seeing it, and felt a whole lot worse when it dropped off his face when they were alone in her office. He looked hesitant, maybe even afraid. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to risk saying this in public,” Gena said. She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to know. All right? I don’t want specifics. I don’t need them. It’s better if we keep this in a box. But…” She almost met his eyes, but settled for looking at his hands, instead. One was clenched into a fight fist; the other kept tugging at a loose thread on his jacket. When she held out her hands to him, he hesitated before taking them, carefully and gently.

“Thank you,” Gena said. “Thank you for looking out for us.”

Jake glanced at her as if he were expecting a but. Gena didn’t have one. Jake had made a point of protecting her and her boys, along with God only knew how many other people. At the end of the day, that was all she cared about.

“…you’re welcome.” Jake’s smile was a bit hesitant, but grew when Gena stepped back and opened her arms for a hug. He took her up on the silent offer without any hesitation. “Any time. Just call if you need me.”

Considering what he’d managed to pull off so far, that felt like a dangerous amount of power for her to have. She was glad Jake trusted her with it.

There was one thing she needed to get off her chest though.

“Okay, I know I said I don’t need to know, but…” Gena pulled back from the hug. “Moon Knight? Is there a story there?”

Jake laughed. “Yeah,” he said, “but it’s a long one. I’ll tell you someday when all of this is a bit more need to know.”

Considering his line of work, that was probably a long time coming. But it could wait. “Sounds good,” she said. “I can work with that.”

.

He didn’t think he’d be back here again: sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor, everything Marc could hurt himself with dismantled and tucked away, phone in hand. His finger had been hovering over the call button for Layla for a solid minute, but he hadn’t been able to make himself press it.

Marc probably needed Layla right now. But Marc wasn’t here, and Jake…

He put down Marc’s phone, dug his own out of its hiding place, and dialed a different number.

He could hear the sound of lightsabers on the other end. “Hi, Jake!” called a much younger voice than he’d expected.

“Hey, Ricky.” Jake was a little surprised he was able to smile. “Star Wars again?”

“Uh-huh. Revenge of the Sith. You need to talk to Mom?”

“¿Por favor? It’s grown up stuff, real boring.”

“Okay, I’ll get her.”

“Hi, Jake!” Ray called from somewhere on the other end. Then, distantly and muffled by foosteps, “Bye, Jake!”

It wasn’t enough to completely lift his spirits, but it helped.

The phone exchanged hands. “Hey, you,” Gena said. “What’s going on?”

Suddenly, he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“…lot on my plate,” he admitted finally. “My brother Marc’s not doing so hot, and, uhm…”

He nearly jumped off a roof and I’m scared of what else he might do. And it was so much heavier when it wasn’t just Marc he had to worry about. If Marc went down, so did Steven. So did Jake. It was enough to make him feel like he was carrying the whole world.

“I guess I’m not doing too hot, either.”

“Oh…oh, I’m sorry, honey. Is there anything I can do?”

Figure out time travel and kill my mom for me was the first thing that came to mind, but that’d be a big ask even if it were possible. “Just…talk to me? Doesn’t matter what about. I need to feel normal for a minute.” A sudden feeling of guilt, real guilt, squeezed at this gut. “If you’ve got the time…”

“I’ve always got time for a friend. And you’re in luck, because things have gotten really interesting around town lately.”

Jake settled in and listened to everything Gena had to say. She started with some local gossip, mostly petty stuff, then moved to more city-wide news: how things were going in Harlem lately (Luke Cage’s territory, reasonable guy in his experience), the stories about some social media stunts by a guy calling himself Stilt Man (okay, that he definitely had to look up later), and rumors that people had seen Captain American around Brooklyn (which he really hoped weren’t true, dealing with Daredevil was bad enough). He pretended that the floor underneath him was a barstool, that he could smell coffee and frying food, that Marc wasn’t standing on the precipice again and that everything was fine.

He let himself be Jake—just a personal driver with a few good friends—for as long as he could.