#the whole world’s fate is on your shoulder! don’t freak out :S

[lanternlightss]

I see that you have read "I get a sneak peek at my death"

How's the great prophecy treating ya 👀

i’m going to

[pop-punklouis]

top five HL fanfic!!!!

biiiiitch you all know how hard it is for me to choose only 5. but sigh FINE here’s my all-time favorite list that isn’t 5 sorry i can’t choose 😔:

• Here in the Afterglow (89k)

“If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.

Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.” 1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

• Coax the Cold (86k)

England, 1897.

English Professor Louis Tomlinson’s passion for the occult has been a source of mockery and derision for most of his life. When he hears whispers of a travelling freak show newly established in London claiming the existence of a monstrous sea hybrid, half-man, half-fish, Louis sees it as his ticket to credibility amongst his peers. The summer he spends undercover working on the show, however, gives him much more than that.

• Wild and Unruly (124k)

Harry is a cowboy sitting on the biggest oil reservoir in Wyoming, and Louis is the paralegal assigned to pressure him into selling his land.

• This Wicked Game (70k)

An AU in which The Bachelor is gay, Louis is a contestant, Harry is the bachelor, everyone drinks a lot of champagne, the entire world gets to watch them fall in love, and no one plays by the rules.

• Love is a Rebellious Bird (135k)

AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who "has made Mozart cool again" according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.

• Fixated On One Star (53k)

Louis is just a boy with the world on his shoulders, and Harry's just a boy from the wrong side of the galaxy. A little thing like love doesn't stand a chance against a thousand years of war, at least until the right two come along to break the mold.

Or: space Romeo and Juliet AU

• Finding Lou (60k)

Louis is the nomadic stranger who wanders into Harry’s bookstore. Harry is the skeptic who falls for him.

• California Sold

Notoriously closeted boyband member Harry Styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile Louis, as his best friend, is back home in Manchester, living the typical life of a 24 year old. When Harry needs Louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.

A fake-relationship AU between two lifelong best friends.

• Empty Skies (134k)

For three years, Harry has been running from his past. Now, he is moving to London and pledges to fulfil his only dream -- making it big in the music industry. Not everyone has a place, though, and the competition is tough. As is his past catching up on him.

Louis is part of the biggest boy band of the world, and getting there had meant a lot of hard work, as well as sacrificing parts of his heart and soul. He's still happy. Maybe not as happy as he could be, but who is he to complain?

• And Then a Bit (159k)

“We’d like to give the fans what they want.” Magee states, placing his hand on the table in front of him and leaning forward. “We want to give them Larry Stylinson.”

Or, take a parallel universe where Louis and Harry were never together, mix in a two year hiatus and an impending comeback, pour in a dash of lost fans, two tablespoons of strong friendship and a Modest! employee with a good idea. Add a squeeze of pretending to be a couple, lots of kisses and a tattoo or two. Stir. Serve: the mother of all publicity stunts. (aka Harry and Louis fake a relationship for publicity. Eventually it becomes a lot less fake and a lot more real.)

• Dream Awake (31k)

The sun leaks through the tent wall behind him the way it leaks through eyelids, bathing the boy in an ethereal half-light as he croons. The crowd is mesmerized. Louis is mesmerized. This is the most important person in the world, he thinks wildly, and then can't figure out how to take it back.

On a hazy day in August, Louis sees Harry perform at a music festival as an unsigned act and convinces him to spend the rest of the weekend in his company. Harry gets signed; life changes. They never really wake up from the dream.

• Say You’ll Remember (93.5k)

au. louis and harry are best mates that are only half aware that they're also soulmates. alternatively, louis goes to university and harry travels the world, and they always manage to find their way back to each other.

takes place over nine years, in which they love and hurt, make mistakes and learn, and above all, grow.

• Outwit, Outplay, Outlast (61k)

Survivor All-Stars AU in which Harry and Louis are just in this game to win the million dollars, but they end up with something better.

Featuring Harry's yellow swim shorts, Louis in snapbacks, and OT5 shenanigans.

• Nothing Else But Us Right Here (35k)

Louis sighs and gives himself a mental pep talk as he smooths his jumper down over his hips. He can do this. He can resist the draw of Harry Styles, because he is a responsible, mature adult, and as much as he wants to tangle his fingers in that mess of hair and map those ridiculous tattoos with his tongue, he does not want to get his daughter’s favorite teacher fired.

• Wings to Break Your Fall (103k)

strip club AU. Harry’s work and family are keeping him busy. He really isn’t looking for a relationship, doesn’t want one. He just wants Louis. Problem is, Louis has other plans.

• Leave it to the Breeze (81k)

Louis couldn’t be prouder of his bake, but there’s something—there’s something. Something about Harry Styles and the earnest way he measures, pours, mixes, scrapes. Something about the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth as he knocks the air out of his batter.

or a great british bake off au in which louis cares about winning and winning only, harry is made of sunshine and rainbow sprinkles, and niall sticks his nose into other people's business. also featuring liam as louis's best friend-slash-concerned mother, and zayn as a macaron connoisseur.

• You Come Beating Like Moth’s Wings (81k)

Harry smiles. He's only known Louis for about two hours, knows nothing about him past his first name, but he's nice and sarcastic and helpful and so, so pretty. And Harry's still got a few days left in Barcelona, and he thinks he wouldn't mind spending them with Louis.

Also known as, Harry takes the summer before uni to travel Europe and meets Louis in Barcelona, and they end up traveling together.

• Hold Me Closer (36.5k)

Louis Tomlinson is one of the most promising dancers of the English National Ballet, on track to become the youngest principal dancer in the company's history. That is, until forces conspire to significantly complicate his life, including: a surprise ballet, an unfairly attractive guest choreographer, and being pushed into a rivalry with his best mate. Featuring lots of wine, dancing, pining, and a happy ending.

• In Vogue (121k)

Fashion AU. Louis is the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, and Harry's running British GQ. Featuring Zayn as the crazy creative director and Louis' confidant, Liam as the sports writer that gets to sit front row at fashion week and DJ Neil as the only sane person in the whole story. (There are no skinny jeans in this fic)

• These Things Will Never Change for Us at All (1.5k)

The room falls silent as they stay wrapped up in each other. Harry can feel Louis’ soft breaths on his neck, and he almost thinks Louis’ fallen asleep until he says softly, “How did you know you were in love with me?”

Or, Harry and Louis look back on five years.

• A Runaway American Dream (15k)

AU. they take route 66 with only each other and their secrets.

• Things Have Gotten Closer to the Sun (49k)

it’s strange, making the choice to face his past—it almost feels like he’s heading for the sun straight on, like he’s screaming come on and burn me, i deserve it.

when a solar flare is announced to end the world in twelve days, harry reunites with the people that he used to know better than the back of his own hand.

• Here (in your arms) (60k)

the one where Louis is a successful real estate agent and Harry works at a retirement home. They’ve never had a real home. Up until now.

(Starring Liam Payne as a fitness trainer, Zayn as an artist, and Niall, who busks.)

• These Inconvenient Fireworks (190k)

Future AU in which nobody tries out for X Factor but the boys end up finding one other eventually anyway. Louis is a jaded bastard who owns a cat named Duchess and teaches drama to teenagers, Harry is an idealistic aspiring photographer/part-time footy coach, Zayn teaches English lit and wears leather jackets, Liam saves people from burning buildings, and Niall is Niall.

• In Dreams (23k)

AU. When Harry moves to a new city, his new flat come with a number of sweet, anonymous gifts and surprises that brighten his days. Could it be a friendly ghost? Another friendly presence in his new building is his tattooed neighbor, Louis, who seems determined to put a smile back on his face.

• My Heart is Breathing for this Moment in Time (160k)

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old. Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they’re put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn’t know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry’s always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

• Paint the Sky with Stars (63k)

On 10 April 1912, Harry Styles boards the finest ship the world has ever seen. Still grieving the death of their mother, he and his sister are being sent to America to live with a callous uncle who cares more about his business connections than family. Harry prepares himself for a long, disappointing voyage alone in his stateroom. Louis Tomlinson has borrowed and saved, and finally has enough to purchase a Third Class ticket to America. With all of his belongings in a single ruck sack, he boards the Titanic filled with hope for a brighter future. Never one to sit still, he can’t resist exploring the massive ship, and soon goes sneaking into First Class in a stolen steward’s uniform. By a twist of fate, Louis finds himself in Harry’s stateroom, entranced by the most attractive man he’s ever laid eyes on. He keeps returning day after day, even if he doesn’t understand what it is about Harry that continues pulling him in. That’s all right; Louis has a week to figure it out, and Harry is plenty willing to help. Except they don’t have a week. They have four days. Because on 15 April, their entire world will be turned upside down.

Or, the historically accurate Titanic AU with a happy ending.

• Through Eerie Chaos (102k)

For as long as anyone can remember, Old Hillsbridge Manor has always been believed to be haunted. Everyone in the village agrees and keeps a respectful, fearful, distance. New in town after a bad breakup and an internship that led to disappointment rather than a permanent job, Harry Styles figures taking pictures of the decrepit building could be a great new creative project. Or at least a much-needed distraction while he searches for a job and crashes at his parents’ new house. No one warned him about the apparitions though; about the music, the laughter, the people who flicker and vanish when you call after them, the echoes of a past that should be long gone… Harry has never believed in spirits but even he can admit that there’s something weird going on. What starts as mere curiosity evolves into a full-blown investigation and soon enough, Harry finds himself making friends with an aristocrat from the 1920s and struggling with finding the best way to tell him that he’s dead.

The Ghost Hunter AU where Niall lives to prove ghosts are real, Zayn is a skeptical librarian and Harry gets caught up in a century-old mystery and catches feeling in the process.

[padme-parker]

Collide / Chapter 1

[a Star Wars x Avengers crossover]

Summary: With the fate of the universe lying in your hands, you are sent on a mission to a galaxy far, far away.

Warnings: none (I think)

Word Count: ~3k

A/N: The readers ‘superhero’ name is Star btw, so I hope that clears up any possible confusion (there will be a backstory/flashback later as to how she got that name). This is the first series I’ve ever written, so there's gonna be some major plot holes and shit that doesn’t make sense!! I’ve been trying to work through the kinks and make it seems as logical as possible. Sorry and Thanks for reading :) xx 

also I didn’t really proof reader so sorry if there like,,, a lot of mistakes

image is from the 100! (but this isn’t strictly about the 100 !)

“and I scream from the top of my lungs, what’s going on?” -4 Non Blondes

You sat down on the couch with a huff, Tony had taken the remote away from you after you decided to replay Revenge of the Sith for the 100th time. It was the team bonding movie night, occurring every friday. Peter and you were more than eager to rewatch it, however the team was not so ecstatic about it.

As soon as Tony saw your eyes light up, he immediately knew what you were thinking of, “And don’t even think of asking FRIDAY to play it for you.” You let out another huff, deciding to leave so you could have some time to yourself.

“Star, where are you going!?” He paused the show, as he and the others turned to you.

“Well, since you took away my joy, Mr. Stank, I’ve decided to ogle Anakin Skywalker in the comfort of my own room.” You could hear the snickers let out by the team as Tony muttered under his breath, unpausing the show as the theme for Sense8 started to play.

As you entered your room, you took no notice towards the figure in the corner. You were just about to flop down onto your heavenly bed before you were interrupted.

“Miss L/N.” You let out a scream as you turned to the figure. Quickly unholstering your weapon, you pointed it at the figure, finger guns ready to shoot if needed. “Cut the crap L/N, and put the ‘gun’ away.”

“Damn Fury, I could’ve been changing! What the hell.” You gave him an incredulous look

“Oh you’re funny, but we all know that you don’t give a damn if someone sees you half or fully naked. Not that I’d want to, cause frankly I don’t.” Your eyes widened with shock, mouth falling open, “Nevermind that, I’m not here for chitchat. I have a mission for you that requires your focus to be….elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere..? EYe- sir it’s the 21st century, not the 18th century.”

“Yes, well regarding the place you’re going to, our timelines won’t be explicitly the same.” You gave him a questioning look, he continued, “Tell me young L/N, have you ever heard of the force?” Oh at this point he must’ve been tickling your pickle, I mean what kind of joke is he playing at?

“Yes, of course I have! It’s a fictional power from a fictional movie!” Opting out on the ‘DUH!’ at the end just in case Fury decided he wasn’t in the mood to play games anymore.

“Wrong, agent L/N. You’re absolutely wrong.” At this point you were seated on your bed, hands clasped together and placed on your lap. “In fact, where do you think you got your powers from?” Oh shit, maybe you should’ve thought about the fact that you could move things with your mind before saying that the force was fake.

“I don’t understand, even if what you’re implying is remotely correct, it would be impossible! There’s also no way I could even go back to the past to change it” Before you could utter another word, Director Fury motion for you to stand up.

“Come with me agent L/N, you have much to learn.” He said as he directed both of you out of your room. Soon you found yourself in front of the doors to the meeting room. Walking in, you noticed there had already been files laid out across the table. “Take a seat, L/N. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“First things first,” I’m the realest, HA! I’m funny, good one y/n.  “The force is real, it’s essentially what gives you your telekinetic powers. Second, because of Doctor Strange, it has come to my attention that the fate of the universe lies in your hands.”

“Wait, what? Why me? Is it because I’m a huge Star Wars fan..? I mean come on! What about Peter, he likes Star Wars too!!”

“Cause I said so, and no, Peter is too young.” Yeah, but apparently old enough to be watching a show with the team that contains nudity, but then again he is 18. Poor kid would just blush at the thought of sex.

“Okay, but even if I did agree to doing this, wouldn’t it be too late for me to at least try to solve anything?” There were a million thoughts and questions running through your mind.

“Time runs at a slower pace in our universe than it does in theirs. If our calculations are correct, we are currently in the Revenge of the Sith timeline.”

“But I thought it was, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’ not the present..” you rebutled

“Ah, yes. We contacted Mr. Lucas himself. Turns out he too is force sensitive, and gifted with foresight. That’s why he wrote the books and comics, along with creating the movies. He did it so he would never forget about where he’d come from, but it also served as a warning. When he first had visions of the downfall of the Jedi Order, he fled. Using a bridge that connected Coruscant to our Earth. That’s how he, and many other force sensitive beings like you, can inhabit the earth.” He explained.

“That still doesn’t answer my question, how-”

Fury interrupted you before continuing, “Right, like I said, time runs slower here than it does in their universe. While time in his universe runs faster. Before he left, Qui Gon Jinn hadn’t been born yet. He’d left their universe when he was merely 22, about the same age as you. At the age of 32, he’d already released A New Hope. On Earth, he ages slower. Had he stayed within his universe, he would’ve been dead way before you were born.”

All this new information was giving you a headache. “Hold on, you mentioned a bridge.. What exactly is it?”

“Well agent L/N, the bridge is located in the middle of Antarctica, precisely the south pole in an underground ice cave. The bridge can either be used to summon other beings or to travel to different planets. It just so happens that we have one here on Earth. How? We have no idea, but we’re working on it.”

At this point, you were confused and wouldn’t be able to comprehend any new information if he gave any. Noticing the distant look on your face, Fury dismissed you.

“I’ll give you the night to think about it, but remember, the fate of the universe lies in your hands, Y/N. We don’t have much time to waste.”

-

You sat on your bed, hands raking through your hair. Hours ago you were so excited to rewatch your favorite movie, and now you were about to be thrown into that universe. You didn’t know whether to be elated or terrified. Fury said that there were other force sensitive beings on Earth, so why would they choose you? Surely there was someone stronger than you that they could send. But then again this meant that you would be seeing THE Anakin Skywalker.

You looked at the files again to get a better grasp of the mission. Join the Jedi Order. Befriend Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Senator Amidala. Eradicate the Titan race. Hold on, they wanted you to kill a whole race of creatures. If you couldn’t kill a fly, then there was no way you’d be able to off a whole race.

You decided to shoot Peter a text, asking him to come to your room. It didn’t take long before you heard a knock on your door. You responded with its open and Peter came into your room, flopping down onto your bed right next to you.

“What’s up buttercup?” You scrunched up your face. Ew, save it for MJ. Speaking of MJ, you wondered how the two of them were doing. However, you chose not to say anything and instead focus on the situation.

“Okay Pete, I’m going to tell you something and you absolutely CANNOT repeat it to anyone else. Not even Ned.” You paused, waiting for him to nod before continuing, “So like after Mr. Stark so rudely interrupted our rewatch of Star Wars, I went to my room to watch it myself. And then one thing led to another and nowi’mgonnabetravelingacrosstheuniverseandplayingjediwithTHEANAKINSKYWALKERandofcoursedaddywankenobibutFurywantsmetokillawholeraceofbeingsbecausethefateoftheuniverseliesinmyhandsnow.” You turned to Peter hoping his advanced hearing allowed him to understand what you just said, but instead you just received a flabbergasted look from him. “ ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵃᶦᵈ…” You waited a few seconds expecting that he would catch on eventually, alas he didn’t. You began to repeat yourself, only this time slower.

“...so you're telling me that the force exists and i got stuck with a FREAKING radioactive spider bite??” Dear god, this boy was going to be the death of you.

“Peter, that’s not the point!” You said, trying to get back to the subject, “The point is that by tomorrow I’ll be in a whole other universe, that up until today, didn’t exist to us. This is supposed to be fictional dude, and now it’s becoming my reality! OUR reality! What if I get impaled by a lightsaber? I’m only 20, I can’t die!! Or worse, what if Anakin doesn’t like me?” The severity of the situation was just now hitting you, so many things could go wrong on this mission, but the whole universe was counting on you. The weight of the world began to crush you and breathing became hard. Falling to the floor, you laid in a fetal position, arms clutching your knees.

From the corner of your eye you could see Peter's arm reaching out to touch your shoulder, “Hey, star, you're okay. You’re gonna be okay. C’mon sit up and take a deep breath with me.” Carefully, Peter hoisted you up. You sat criss cross applesauce on the floor, parallel to Peter. Following the breathing exercise, you felt yourself calming down.

“Thank you, y’know you didn’t have to do that. But I appreciate it, a lot.” You knew you weren’t getting a wink of sleep tonight, so you asked Peter if he could stay for the night, which he agreed to. The two of you spent the night talking about the most random things, and before you knew it, the sun had already risen.

Noticing that it was morning, you offered to make some breakfast for the both of you. However as you got up to move, FRIDAY interrupted you, “Miss Y/N, Director Fury requests your presence in the meeting room.” Letting out a loud groan, you told FRIDAY that you would be down soon.

“Well Peter, it looks like I’ll have to make you breakfast once I get back.” You gave him a quick nod before making your way to the meeting room.

“I trust that you spent the night thinking about the mission, agent L/N. So, what have you decided?”

You cleared your throat before responding, “One last question, then you’ll have my answer.” Fury briefly nodded, signaling for you to continue, “Of all places within our universe, why there? Titan is within our solar system, wouldn’t it make sense for the avengers to travel there and just..” holding up a two finger gun to your head, you pretend to shoot yourself and die, “y’know? I mean it would save us a lot more time.”

“Well to put it simply, they have technology far more advanced than ours, we need a special weapon in order to carry out the mission.” You hoped that Fury wasn’t referring to THE weapon. If you went, that would mean you’d be forever changing the timeline, and there’d be no way to fix it. But if you didn’t go, Anakin would fulfill his prophecy, he would live the life of a liar, traitor, and puppet. You wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself for letting Anakin suffer.

“Fine, I’m in. When do I leave.”

-

The flight to Antarctica was long and boring, you would’ve slept but your nerves kept you up. But as you felt the jet land, you couldn’t have been more relieved. You were finally back on land. You could kiss the ice if you wanted to, but chose not to. Who knows what kind of ancient bacteria is lurking.

The entrance to the cave was surrounded by many agents. Although it was quite literally in the middle of nowhere, security was still a top priority. Entering the cave, you clutched the fluffy jacket that was wrapped around your body. You walked in silence, admiring the cave until the agents stopped in front of a hatch.

“This is as far as we can go. Climb down the ladder and follow the path, Fury will be waiting for you.” One of the agents informed you, as the other bent down to open the hatch. Well, here goes nothing.

The first thing you noticed was the change of temperature. Above the hatch, it was freezing, but below it was warmer. Warm enough that you broke out in a slight sweat, but not warm enough to melt the ice. The second thing you noticed was how well lit the passage was, which surprised you. There were lights hanging onto the wall. Hmm, there’s no way they could be solar powered, it's too far underground. They must be powered by the bridge.

You followed the passage, noticing a slight hum that grew louder with every turn you took. Soon, you found yourself in front of a door, a faint green hue escaping from under it. You slowly pushed the door open. The sight in front of your very eyes had you mesmerized. The bridge itself was made of a stone like matter, hovering above the ground. Walking closer to it, you took note of it’s spiral pattern and engravings.

“Welcome agent L/N.” Fury’s loud voice startled you out of your trance.

“The symbols, what do they mean?” You asked

“Well, we're not entirely quite sure what they mean. But we do know that it’s a language of sorts. You see, if you tap the symbols in a specific order, you can travel to a different world or summon a person.” Fury turned to you, handing you a necklace. “It’s a communication, tracking, and code device, all in one. Use it when you need to communicate vital information to us. All the codes you need are in the device, but be weary of using them, any only summon one of us if absolutely needed. It also includes mission details, like the time on Earth and a countdown. If you're not back the day the countdown is done, we will come find you.” He demonstrated how to use the device, pressing a button to bring up Coruscant’s code.

“Now, exactly how does this work ?” You pondered

“It relies on the energy being emitted from the bridge. For it to work, it’s essential that you stay on a planet with a bridge. If not, we won’t be able to track or help you if needed.”

Not another word was uttered as you went to remove your jacket. The black long sleeve shirt along with the black jeans and combat boots you were wearing was going to make you stick out like a sore thumb in the Jedi Temple. Reaching for the device around your throat, you pressed the button. You took a deep breath before touching the first symbol. A warmth began in you, starting from your core, expanding to the tips of your fingers. With each symbol you touched, the vibration of the hum increased. You continued to touch the symbols needed, pausing slightly before touching the last one.

“What now? Do I jus-” There was now a chill in the room, your hair lightly swayed. A small swirl of green mist appeared from behind the bridge, expanding until it filled nearly half of the room. “Do i just walk in..?” Fury nodded. You took hesitant steps towards it, your heart beating louder with each step. Before you fully engulfed yourself into the mist, you turned towards Fury, “If I don’t come back, tell-”

“You’re going to come back. You have to. The avengers, human race, and every inhabitant of the universe is counting on it.” Letting out a shaky breath, you nodded before stepping into the mist.

The further you went in, the less you could feel Fury’s burning stare on the back of your head. As it became weaker, you began to see a concrete wall. You reached out to stabilize yourself, it felt as though you were being kicked out of the bridge. The mist dissipated the second you stepped out of it. Hugging the wall, you look around the concrete room, noticing a heavy look door in front of you. With all your might, you pushed the door open. You began to sluggishly walk down a corridor, tripping over your own feet every couple of seconds. Damn, I really should’ve slept. All of your energy had left your body, and now it felt like you were going crazy as you began to hear a voice in your head.

Who are you? That voice, it sounded so familiar. Too focused on trying to figure out who the voice belonged to, you failed to notice the Jedi running up behind you. It was the ignition of a saber that made you freeze, followed by, “Stop right there! Turn around and face us sith!” Oh, so apparently you were a sith now. You raised your arms up slowly, showing that you weren’t a danger to them. Fully turning around, you were mesmerized to find who was in front of you. Or more like, the crowd in front of you. Your eyes scanned through the familiar faces until you locked eyes with him. His eyes followed your every move, his gaze strong and hard.

“Anakin…” You whispered, your knees buckled, sending you to the ground. Your eyes fluttered close, the exhaustion taking a toll on you. Before you could fully fall asleep, you heard the voice softly respond,

It’s you.

~~

read ch 2 here

omg yall I feel like this sucked ass, I rushed the last couple of paragraphs cause I just really wanted to publish this. I’ll probably come back in the future to edit/rewrite it once I get some stuff sorted out. as of rn I'm thinking of doing a love triangle but idk. Also please tell me how you feel about the title,,, I’m stuck between ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘Clash’, I only went with the former cause it seemed fitting but I also really like the name ‘Clash’. lmk what you think !!!

[imaginesmai]

Peter Parker - See the light (5)

Finding gifs about the film is becoming more and more difficult, because I want them to be about what the chapter is about. If anyone knows where to find them, please tell me!

Plot: danger had passed, and now it’s time for secrets and confessions. 

Small sneak peek

First part

Second part

Third part

Fourth part

You tumbled into the lake like a bird diving headfirst through the clouds. The first thing you noticed was how cold the new water was. The second thing, the sunlight trying to break through your closed eyelids. And the third things was that your lungs were screeching for air. It was hard, but with a few harsh pulls your head surfaced and you breathed greedily. Your eyes finally popped open and, with slightly blurred vision, you spotted the land nearby.

As you swam closer and closer, you saw a body already lying on the grass.

“Peter!” you croaked, paddling faster.

You heaved yourself onto dry land, your hair becoming a dead weight behind you as it was then completely clogged with water. You fell to Peter’s side, whole body feeling like weighting a thousand pounds. It was hard to breathe, to blink and you just wanted to close your eyes. But you remembered Peter pushing you first through the hole, putting your safety before his, so you rolled on your side.

“Peter” you shook the boy. “Peter!”

You grabbed both of his shoulders with a tight grip and continued to shake him with all your will, which wasn’t a lot. After jolting the boy back and forth a few times, Peter coughed violently and you let go out of surprise.

“Oh my god, Peter” you cried out as Peter turned to the side and coughed out water. “Are you – are you okay?”

“Are you?” Peter asked. His eyes were foggy, but he was making an effort to see if you were alright. Your heart warmed and you smiled.

“I am. I had no idea if that would work”

If Peter remembered the thing with the glowing hair, he didn’t say anything. He pushed himself up by his elbows and started at you. Your neck was definitely feeling the strain as your hair pulled at the roots of your scalp, and half of it was still floating in the water.

“Come one” Peter said, walking towards the water’s edge. “I’ll help with that”

Peter started reeling in your hair, not caring about how his muscles hurt from lifting the stones or how it made his arms even wetter. He didn’t feel like complaining, when you had to carry that all the time. Finally, all the hair was resting on his arms, and he got out of the water.

“I can see why you don’t want to cut it. The glowing thing was sure a surprise” Peter said, trying to sound casually. He didn’t want you to think he was creepy, or was interested about your hair. The last thing he needed was for you to run off because you thought he wanted your hair; he had come a long way since there. And he needed the crown.

That was the only reason why I want her with him. That’s the one and only reason. Yup, only the crown. Right?

“You’ve never seen that before?” you asked with a smirk. Then, the smile dropped and you yawned. “God, my hair has never been this wet before. Starting to hurt my neck.”

Peter nodded, and offered you a hand.

“I can help you out, you’re really wet” Peter seemed to realize what he had said a second later, and even you didn’t see nothing wrong, his face became pink and he started to stutter. “Of water! Y-you’re, uh, wet w-with water. Uh, just like that. Nothing more, n-no hidden meanings. Let – um, let me help you up – or not, I’m sure you can d-do it – god, d-do you need help?!”

You blinked surprised at the threatening yell. Peter wasn’t looking at you anymore, but to the side, offering you a trembling hand. The cockiness from before had disappeared, and he was starting to show who he was before the death of his loved ones. Giggling, you took his hand and got up.

“Thanks” you said. Peter mumbled and held your hair on his hands, motioning you to move.

He couldn’t be more embarrassed.

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

“And how is this supposed to help, darling?” Peter asked as you wrapped your hair around his palm.

You looked up quickly, startled out of your concentrated silence. You tucked your tongue back into your mouth, and looked back at his palm; completely missing how the small smile disappeared from his face. There was a deep cut on it, and even if he had tried to hide it from you, you had noticed and were willing to help. He was just a little sceptical.

“Just wait, Pete”

You stopped your actions at the name, and Peter’s eyes widened. Honestly, you hadn’t had it planned; it just came out, and in a way it sounded natural. It had just rolled off your tongue. Still, you looked up, waiting to see the same disappointment as you saw in your mother’s eyes when you called her mommy once.

Peter’s eyes were wide, but with surprise. He had his mouth open and his face had relaxed completely. To him, it was as if he had travelled to another world. He was used to people calling him Parker or Peter lately; and if someone called him Pete, it just felt wrong. It was what his people back then called him, and he had hated the nickname until then.

He liked it on your tongue.

“I’m sorry�� you started, letting the hair untighten from his hand. One of your hand flew to your mouth. “I – I didn’t, god, I, uh, Peter I’m –“

“No, no, don’t apologise. It’s good” Peter recovered quickly, and gave you a genuine smile. “My, um, aunt used to call me that. I like it. I’ve – I haven’t heard it for a while. It feels good. It’s okay”

You nodded with your lips pressed in a line, blushing. It was hard to say no to something he said, with the wide chocolate eyes and reddened cheeks. You went back to your task, not wanting the cut to be infected.

“So” Peter started again. “You’re gonna tell me why – ow!”

“Sorry” you said quickly, after pulling tightly. Finally, you finished wrapping. “Okay. Promise me – just, don’t freak out. Please. Promise.”

“O-okay?” Peter raised a brow. “That’s enough reason to do it, but I’ll try”

You took Peter’s wrapped hand in your grasp and took a deep breath. The only person who had ever heard you sing, in normal conditions, was your mother, so when you started your voice was shaky and insecure. You had to cough up a few times to start correctly, but Peter didn’t interrupt you.

Pushing past the nerves and just trying to concentrate on how Peter needed your help, you started to sing.

Magic, gleam and glow, let your power known

Let them all now see, just how strong I can be

Strengthen what has broken, change the fates’ design

You knew that your hair was quickly lighting up and casting the world around you in a golden glow. You could feel the magic coursing up your spine and gathering in the back of your mind warm and static. A feeling that you had grown used to.

Make the clock revers, bring back what once was mine.

Give what should belong, bring back what once was mine

You could feel Peter tensing in your grasp, and as you opened your eyes, you could see how rigid the boy had become. Peter’s eyes were even wider as he unwrapped the hair from his hand, and saw how his hand looked flawless. Probably better than before.

Peter’s hand quickly flew to his mouth, and he bit his knuckles and he folded on himself.

“Don’t freak out” you reminded him, cautious.

“I’m not – are you sure you aren’t freaking out?” he let out a nervous laugh. “I – I – that’s normal! Your hair heals, that’s normal. Very normal! Why would I freak – oh my god!”

Peter actually hid his face on his hands, and screamed on them loudly. You waited until he calmed down to talk again. It took a while, because Peter seemed to have a problem with his emotions; but finally, he took a deep breath and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Thanks, I guess” Peter said, softer and calmer. The fire he had started reflected itself on his eyes, making them seem even more beautiful. You got so caught up on them you almost missed the next question. “Um, so, how long have you been able to do… that?”

“My whole life” you sighed, casting your eyes down. “Mother has told me people tried to cut it and sell it, when I was a baby; but when you cut it, it curls up and loses its power. Mother wanted to protect me, to make sure no one would find out about its power, so… that’s why I live in the tower. Why I’ve, uh – I’ve never –“

“Left the tower” Peter finished for you, nodding in understanding.

Peter shifted in his place uncomfortably. The confession had caught him off guard, and he didn’t really know how to react to you being locked because of your magic hair; that was still hard to assimilate. He tried to remember how his aunt would have acted, and almost heard her harsh words at leaving you sitting by yourself with teary eyes. After getting fed up with the horrible conscious for a few seconds, he decided to switch places and sit next to you.

His presence was warm and comfortable, and before you saw him, you knew Peter was close to you. At first, he had his hands folded on his lap, fingers playing with each other; but then, he decided to risk one hand by moving it to your personal space. He waited for you to tell him to go away, but you accepted his hand and searched it with your own.

Your hands found each other and linked; his, rough from being out in the wild for so long, because of the rough life he had had. Yours, clean and soft, from being used for nothing more than painting in your years in the tower. Still, the fitted quite well.

“Does, uh… do your parents know where you are?” you whispered, still not looking up. The fire was slowly disappearing, but you weren’t cold.

The question seemed to make Peter tense, and you noticed how, in your grasp, his hand started fidgeting. He didn’t look at you either.

“They – they are dead” he explained, not giving you time to retract. “They died when I was little, so I don’t remember them. I’ve lived with my aunt and uncle until last year. They died too, along with my mentor”

Your eyes widened at the naturality Peter spoke of them. It was clear that he was hurt, and even if you didn’t know, it was the first time he spoke about them. Instead of pitying him, or cowering away, you moved closer to him. There was no physical space between your bodies, and the excuse of being too cold sounded a bit fake. Still, you pulled yourself closer until your linked hands were resting on his lap, and your shoulders were touching each other.

You waited until he looked at you. Peter did eventually, and you saw a deep sadness on his eyes. It seemed as if he was carrying the weight of the world.

“Tell me about them” you asked, smiling.

Peter gave you a small smile, the biggest one he could mutter. He started with simple facts, things that he could say to anyone he asked about them; how they died, their names, where they lived. However, Peter seemed to open up to you little by little. He started to tell you how his aunt was banned from the kitchen, how his uncle loved to take night walks with him, and how his mentor was the craziest yet the best man in the world. He talked about Ned, MJ and some of his other friends. Peter showed pride, courage and a warmth that you weren’t sure where came from; but it made you shift until you were leaning against his shoulders, legs on his lap as he had one arm over them, and the other playing with your hair.

Just like that, a part of the weight Peter was carrying was lifted; and maybe something else blossomed.

Want to know more about me? Here is my Masterlist! Feedback is always appreciated!!

Tom Holland and Peter Parker Taglist

@delicately-important-trash

@lexxxistrips

@smilexcaptainx

@aikaterrina

Peter Parker Tangled

@ohmygoditsanthonyedwardstark

@tomsirishgirl

@imjuliabtw

@missmulti

@cazslaughter

@fckingchile

@used-avocado

@willpoch12​

@kassedillaa

@whorrorbean​

@the-iridescent-phoenix​

@juliebean247​

@farfromjustordinary​

@redheaded-hobbit​

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 020 [Living Valley Online]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Author’s Note: So, this was obviously inspired by the third ending, “Datte Atashi no Hiro” by LiSA. I love that ending and I thought it would be cool to explore that RPG side for a couple chapters! You can watch the clean version at the bottom of this page~

Word Count: 2,344

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“If you don’t like the way I talk, then why am I on your mind? If you don’t like the way I rock, then finish your glass of wine. We fight and we argue, you’ll still love me blind.” Dua Lipa, “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“She was… a villain?”

Toshi nodded, hanging his head. “Alissa grew up as an orphan on the streets. She became a mercenary at a young age in order to survive. As she grew up, she came to care less and less for the rules society tried to force upon her and so… she became a contract killer.”

“A mother fucking assassin…”

“Yes. Her quirk, ‘rogue’, made it an easy profession for her. She could use stealth at will, and she was well versed in all manner of poison and venom.”

“Holy fucknuggets,”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to hate her. Alissa’s rough childhood shaped her into who she became because she had no one to guide her, to show her love. She was utterly alone in life, and she did the very best she could with the cards she had been given.”

“Her past was pretty bad, that’s true,” Aizawa interjected. “But everything she did was her own choice. She understood that better than anyone and she didn’t go around making excuses for her actions. She took responsibility for her poor life choices.”

“Alissa had already begun to turn her life around when I met her. Rather than continuing on as an assassin, she chose to become a bounty hunter instead.”

“Ain’t they the same thing?” I raised a brow.

“No, they’re not. Bounty hunters don’t kill their targets, they incapacitate them and hand them over to the police.” Toshi held up a finger as he explained. “She stopped killing people and started to attack only criminals that had done terrible acts of violence. Actually, that’s how we met. She saved my life from a group of villains when I was in my last year of middle school. Of course, I had heard all of the rumors surrounding Alissasears, but she was surprisingly kind to me. She made sure I was unharmed and safe before taking off. After that day, it was like fate had decided that we would continue to cross paths. And then…”

“She turned herself into the police,” Aizawa muttered. “It was all over the news for months how the police had finally apprehended the famed assassin.”

“But she became a hero, right?” My brow furrowed. “How’d that work?”

“She made a deal with the police commissioner. In exchange for her cooperation and testimony against several top villains that she had done jobs for, they would let her go free. She agreed to this, giving up multiple associates and old clients. Because of her actions, twenty-five top villains of the time were taken into custody, but… she was never free again after that. She was under constant surveillance by both cops and villains. No one trusted her. Just like that, she was completely isolated again.”

“So you weren’t kidding when you said she had a lot of enemies, huh?” I swallowed, leaning back a bit.

“No, I’m afraid not.” Toshi heaved a heavy sigh. “As far as most people are concerned, Alissasears ‘retired’ from being a hero because of the target on her back, but there are a few people that know the real reason behind it.”

“Which is?”

He lifted his hand, pointing a bony finger at my heart. “You, young Jen. When she became pregnant with you, her whole world took on a new meaning. She did her best to avoid the public eye, but with so many people watching her so intently, she knew that that could never happen. Not here, anyway.”

Aizawa humphed. “She kept what she was planning a secret from all of us. She didn’t trust anyone… except for this idiot.”

“Even then, she didn’t tell me everything. The day she tried to leave, for example. Alissa kept telling me that she was planning to make a break for a different world, but she never told me when she was going to leave. And then she tried to run.”

I scratched my cheek, my brain trying to process all of this new information. My head is really starting to hurt… “You told me before that she… uh, died in your arms… How’d you find her?”

“When she was heading for the meeting spot, she realized that the hero killer, Stain, was following her. She panicked… I’ll never forget getting that message from her. I was on the other side of town at the time, attempting to help save a group of women being held hostage. Maybe if I had left immediately instead of waiting, she…”

“Tch,” I leaned forward, flicking him hard between the eyes. He winced, blue eyes snapping to meet mine. “All these years and you’re blamin’ yourself, aye? Not cool, Toshi.”

He gave me a sad smile, nodding his head. “I have many regrets when it comes to her, but… the past is the past. There’s nothing I can do to change that.”

“Hmm, and you’re trying to make amends by taking care of me, huh?” I cocked a brow, folding my arms over my chest.

He jumped out of his seat in surprise, blood spurting from his mouth and onto the white blanket draped over Aizawa, who glared at him. “Of course not! I mean, in a way, I hope it makes up for my failures, but I genuinely do care about you, young Jen!”

“Calm your man tits, I was kidding.” I grinned.

Aizawa continued to glare at him, not that he noticed.

Toshi took me by the shoulders, his expression dead serious. “No matter what happens from here on out, I promise you, Jen, I won’t let the league of villains take you. I don’t know what they want from you, if it’s some sort of revenge or if they have other plans, but I won’t give them the chance.”

His sincerity caught me off guard. My grin softened to a smile as I pulled his hands from my shoulders. “I don’t need you to defend me ’cause I’m gonna get stronger. I’ll defend myself and everyone I care about. Let that blue-haired freak come for me. I’ll make him regret the day he was fucking born!”

Toshi smiled proudly, giving me a nod.

“You can both leave now,” Aizawa grunted. “And get me a clean blanket.”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me.” I rubbed the back of my head, giving them a blank look. “Apparently I can teleport,”

“…what?!”

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Are you fucking serious?!”

I winced, pulling the phone back away from my ear. “Do you have to be so goddamn loud?”

Bakugo scoffed from the other end of the line. “Bitch, you just told me your mom is Alissa-fucking-sears!”

I scratched my cheek. “She’s that popular, huh?”

He was silent for a moment. “Oi, have you told anyone else?”

“No, you’re the only person I really talk to, bro.”

“Good. Don’t fucking mention that to anyone else, got it?”

“D’aww, are you worried about me, Bakuhoe~?” I grinned.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!! And no I ain’t worried about your dumbass! Are you gonna fuckin’ log in or not?!”

“Yeah, yeah, geez.” I put the phone on speaker, setting it on the coffee table beside me before picking up the controller and booting up my game system. “What’s this game about anyway?”

“It’s an RPG,”

I hummed. “Doesn’t seem like your kinda game,”

He scoffed. “It’s currently one of the hardest games to fucking beat. I’m gonna destroy this fucking game and leave all those losers in the dust!”

“‘Kay… but why do I have to play?”

Silence.

“Bakuh -”

“Shut up,” he grunted. “This stupid game doesn’t let you play alone.”

“And you have no friends, huh?”

“S-Shut up, bitch! You don’t, either!!”

Yeah, but I’m not the one trying to play a multi-player game. I rolled my eyes as the game loaded.

“Hurry up and make your damn character!”

“Don’t fucking rush me,” I scowled, selecting the swordmaster class. “Fuck, there’s so many options. Why are there so many options? This is hella detailed for a free game.”

“Che, I’m gonna go get food. You better be done by the time I get back!”

Hm, should I make her look like myself or a completely different person? Making a cute ass guy is also an option. Meh, I’ll just make her look like me with a few subtle changes. Let’s try… green hair? Ooh, girl, green is not your color, fam. Blonde maybe? Oh, that actually looks pretty dope, but it’s too normal. Red? Not nearly as cool as Erza Scarlet. Damn, that blue looks amazing, though. Maybe I’ll dye my real hair that color for a while.

Now for the clothes. I’ll just choose some pants and a basic, plain shirt with boots. I confirmed her looks and the game started to load. I heard a door opening and slamming over the phone, followed by the obnoxious sound of someone munching loudly on chips.

“Are you done yet?”

“Just loaded in.”

“Ignore the fuckin’ NPC and come outside.”

“No can no, chief. Gotta do the tutorial before I can leave.”

“For fuck’s sake!”

I chuckled at his impatience. “Tuts usually aren’t too long, keep your thong on.”

And I was right. Five minutes passed and the tutorial ended. I left the building, a blinding white light filling the screen.

それ以上に上昇 ☆ Living Valley Online

Bakugo was waiting outside the building, leaning against the wooden support beam. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he was wearing an open vest, the top rimmed with thick white fur. Red fangs hung from his ears, and various necklaces and beads hung around his neck. His pants were blue, white fur between the hem and the top of his black boots. Red cloth was pulled over his elbows and a cutlass was strapped to his waist.

“Fucking finally!” he scowled, holding his palm up. A blue screen projected in front of him and he glanced at me. “Swordmaster, right?”

“Yeah,”

He pressed on the screen a couple times before a sword materialized in his hand. “It’s only a rank twenty, but it’s better than that shitty rank one on your back. Trade me.”

A blue screen popped up in front of me: ‘LordXplosionMurder has requested to trade with you.’ I accepted and selected my sword, while he added the higher level sword and some potions. We both confirmed the trade and I took the sword out to examine it. The metal was dark grey with a faint sapphire-blue glow around the blade. The handle was wrapped in leather with wolves stitched into it with black thread. The game said it was a blue item – rare.

“Let’s go! We need to power level your ass!”

I hummed as I followed behind him, strapping the sword to my back. The fantasy city we were in was called Rune Province. According to the information popping up beside me, this is the main city in the game, but it was only medium-large in size. The buildings were made from white brick and dark oak wood. Lanterns hung beside the doors, a cream-colored candle unlit inside.

Hmm, so it’s a fantasy middle-age type game without electricity.

“Hey, what’s the max level in this game?” I asked, glancing at his back.

“One hundred eighteen.”

“And what level are you?”

“One hundred.” He growled, clenching his fists. “You have to pass through the fuckin’ Jade Forest to get to the level one hundred one area, but you have to have at least one level eighty in your party to enter the fucking place.”

“Sheesh. How long you been playin’ this shit?”

He mumbled under his breath.

“You’re walking in front of me, Bakuhoe, I can’t hear you.”

“Since it came out!” he yelled, earning weird looks from the citizens and other players. “And stop fucking calling me that, bitch!”

If I remember correctly, the download page said this game came out a little under a year ago. Has he been playing alone this whole time? I sped up so I could walk beside him. “So, how are we gonna power level?”

“We’re going to Moonbrick Manor,”

I hummed, folding my hands behind my head. “Sounds interesting. And I just gotta let you fight, right?” He grunted and a screen popped up in front of my face: ‘LordXplosionMurder has invited you to a party!’ I accepted and he stopped in front of a wooden post, atop which was a whitish blue stone with a teal swirl in the center. He put his hand on the stone, grabbing my wrist with the other. A bright blue light surrounded us, blinding me.

When the light faded, we were standing in front of a large wooden door, standing at least twenty feet tall. We were on a stone bridge surrounded by spruce forests as far as the eye could see. I glanced over the side of the bridge and whistled. This shit is hella high off the ground, so much so that I can barely see the river flowing underneath it. The fog hanging in the air didn’t help my visibility, either.

“Stop gawking and let’s go, bitch!” Bakugo barked.

I approached the gate, lifting my hand to the wood. A red screen popped in front of my face: ‘Warning! You are about to enter a level one hundred dungeon. Your current level is one. You will definitely die. Proceed?’

I sweatdropped. No pulling punches, huh? “Uhh, Bakuhoe. Don’t think this area is just a bit too high?”

“Hah? Are you scared, tiger?” He smirked, folding his arms over his bare chest.

The fuck is with that nickname, brah? I scowled, “No, I’m not scared, but it’ll take ten times as long to level up if I keep getting one shot when an enemy so much as looks at me.”

He rolled his eyes, approaching the door. “Just stay the fuck behind me and you’ll be fine, dumbass. I’m not weak like you are!” His body walked through the door as if it were made of water.

I have a bad feeling about this, man.

With a sigh, I accepted the warning and stepped through the door.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[infiniteshawn]

No Place I’d Rather Be

a/n: 5.3k oneshot. here’s the deal

i was approached a couple of months ago to write a fic for someone’s birthday, as a gift. as a result, this piece is very specific to that person. i changed the names and moved it into second person, but it’s not what i typically post--i’m just posting it because i’m sure you guys would like to read it anyway. it’s not very detailed because as it was written for a real person, i didn’t want to invade their head like that. the smut is very glossed-over. but i put a lot of time into this, so here’s something super random!! enjoy!!

“Nervous?”

Shawn looked up from his own hands, fiddling with the feather-shaped ring adorning his middle finger. He took a deep breath.

“Nerves mean you care,” he answered with his classic line and a tight-lipped grin, nodding as he spoke. Cez huffed at him, wondering how on earth someone could maintain such composure at all times. Especially in the middle of headlining a sold-out world tour.

Shawn’s gaze travelled out the window of the Uber, absorbing everything he could about the city he was in. That’s the thing about touring, he thought to himself. While you see the world, you really don’t.

He was sure San Diego was beautiful, but it was hard to get a good look at the buildings because the sidewalks were completely lined with people. Fans of his, in particular. A mass amount of bodies crowded the entrance to Pechanga Arena, waiting patiently for the doors to open.

Shawn’s chocolate eyes scanned the herd of people as the car rolled along, clearly not fast enough for Cez’s liking.

Something caught his eye. He wasn’t sure if it was her long black hair or pearly white smile, but Shawn craned his neck quickly enough to give himself whiplash.

“Wait, ca-,” he paused as his right hand tapped at the window frantically, “Can we turn around?”

“Shawn, we’re already late,” Cez pressed, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion at Shawn’s sudden outburst.

“No, bu-“

“Shawn,” he spoke sternly. There was no getting out of this.

“Alright,” Shawn breathed, sinking back into his seat. Whoever she was, she was fucking gorgeous. And she was there to see him. He could only hope to find her inside.

And hope he did. Shawn carried on with the rushed soundcheck followed by his Q&A session, analyzing the face of every fan looking back at him in a meek attempt to see her again. His heart raced and his features perked up as every dark-haired girl walked in for her meet and greet, only to once again be discouraged when he felt absolutely nothing.

The team knew something was up, failing to mention it in fear of Shawn being on the brink of a nervous episode. In reality, the reason he wasn’t all there was due to his desperate search to find her.

_______________________

Shawn bounced on his toes, shaking out his arms as Eddie played the opening notes of Lost In Japan. The stage was dark as Shawn crept out, making the most of the twenty-one seconds he had to scan the crowd, praying to his lucky stars that his eyes might fall on her. His heart sank as he knew it was time to focus, to play the damn show because that was why people were there and that was why he was there. That was why she was there.

With a deep breath and a toothy grin, Shawn straightened out his shoulders and took the mic into his hand.

“San Diego how you feelin’?” escaped his lips as his hopes were crushed, accepting his fate. Sixteen-thousand pairs of eyes stared back at him, and he wondered which one of them belonged to her.

_______________________

“Fucking finally!” you exclaimed, finally ejecting yourself from the confines of Pearson International. Your best friend, Alex, trailed after you, wheeling her suitcase in the direction of the arrivals pickup.

Navigating airports wasn’t always easy. Especially in foreign cities under a time-crunch and being completely engulfed by the looming excitement of Shawn’s upcoming stadium show, which happened to be the next day.

The air was warmer than you’d expected and your surroundings were greyer than anyone would have liked to admit, but somehow, some way, Toronto was still beautiful. Except the airport wasn’t even in Toronto. They could see it, way off in the distance, but Brampton, Ontario, definitely was not Toronto.

You were pulled from her thoughts when a black Chevrolet Equinox pulled over in front of you, popping the hatch for your luggage.

“Your chariot awaits,” Alex giggled, nudging you in the side as she loaded your suitcases into the spacious trunk.

The Uber merged onto the 427 and made its way southward, barreling toward the city faster than your fragile heart could handle. The Toronto skyline was glowing at the sun set, the glint of the CN Tower proving hard to look at as the city you so badly longed to be in grew more and more in your reach.

A blaring car horn startled you, causing you to snap your head around at the source. The Uber was merging again, onto another highway, and had unfortunately just cut someone off.

You craned your neck in search of a sign, spotting “Gardiner Expressway” in gigantic letters attached to a light post. The crashing waves of Lake Ontario were to your right as the Uber took the exit reading “Lake Shore,” you and Alex exchanging a look of pure joy.

Holy shit, these buildings are huge, you thought to yourself as the Uber rolled slowly through the thick traffic of the downtown core. The Rogers Centre was a massive white dome from another plane of existence, and stationed just behind it was the CN Tower, standing taller than either of you had ever envisioned.

Then the Uber took an aggressive left on Spadina and all the buildings looked the same and within minutes the vehicle was pulling over, announcing that you’d arrived.

“Alright,” you giggled, wheeling your luggage into the lobby of the apartment complex. It seemed modern and posh, and thankfully, right in the middle of everything. Alex retrieved the key from the front desk and you tapped your toes anxiously against the floor, watching the little screen as the elevator climbed all the way to the fifteenth level.

The apartment was nice. Faced the east, providing a great view of the near skyline, and the bedroom was on the north wall. You looked out the window with fascination, watching as a green GO train chugged along on the tracks below.

“Hungry?” Alex called, pulling you from your thoughts. “Sorry, but all I can think about right now is food.”

______________________

Night came and went, leaving you giddy with excitement, staring at your own reflection, satisfied with what you saw. The show was in a few hours and it would be your second time seeing Shawn on this tour, and you couldn’t have been more ecstatic.

The Rogers Centre. The special guests. The extended show. The massive crowd. You knew it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it was all happening to you right here, right now.

You wondered what Shawn was doing, what he was thinking about. If he was nervous—hell, how nervous he was.

_______________________

Shawn’s drive to the Rogers Centre was a quick one. That’s new, he thought to himself. His phone had been blowing up all morning, text messages from distant friends and family rolling in like clockwork. It was a big fucking deal.

Shawn was busy thinking about her. Playing a show for 55,000 people had Shawn all in his head—what didn’t?—and he found tranquility in thoughts of what could have been. He wondered if he should tweet something. Or relocate to San Diego for a while and maybe hang out at a Walmart. She was bound to pass by at some point.

But no. It had been two months—two whole months—since he’d seen her. He didn’t know why he as so drawn to her, so captivated by her. But he felt something that day. There was no doubt about it. And he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to try and find her.

Today wasn’t the day, though. He was about to play the biggest show of his career, and if he was being honest with himself, he was freaking the fuck out. He breathed in. Her. He breathed out. Her. He was calm.

“Gates six or ten,” Alex read off the e-ticket, causing you to whip your head around in search of some sort of fucking sign. For such a big building, one would think it would be at least labeled.

The CN Tower quite literally towered over you as the two of you followed a mob of people to the doors, holding hands in fear of losing each other in the crowd. You thought back to lining up outside of the arena in San Diego and laughed to yourself. This was nothing like that.

“Six it is,” you spoke, nodding to the circular sign above the doors everyone was crowding around. The group was buzzing with murmurs of where everyone was sitting, many “you’re lucky”’s exchanged whenever someone revealed that they were in an “A” section. Alex shot you a tight-lipped grin, both of you thinking the same thing: we’re in A4.

The sun was low and 7:30 was quickly approaching, the anticipation building as everyone prepared for the doors to open.

“These seats are incredible,” you thought aloud, settling next to the aisle with your vodka cran.

“Yeah, you’ll finally be able to see the sweat dripping down his neck,” Alex quipped, earning a nudge in the ribs from you.

Shawn, on the other hand, was not so easygoing.

He was freaking the fuck out.

Backstage was chaos, everyone trying to get sorted at the last-minute. All the people Shawn loved were under the same roof, but still, he wasn’t at peace. He considered he’d probably retreat to his ancient calming tactics, focusing on one audience member and freaking them out with a lot of eye contact. It worked every time.

Your stomach twirled as you got to your feet. The lights were low, the bass was rumbling, and something was about to happen. You felt as if you might burst.

Shawn’s stomach twirled as he stood at the side of the stage. The lights were low, the bass was rumbling, and he was about to step out there. He was ready to burst.

And just like that, he kicked off the biggest show of his career. Lost In Japan went harder than ever and he was over the moon, singing to and with fifty five thousand people who loved him endlessly.

______________________

He took a deep breath. It was mid-show, he hadn’t introduced the special guests, and he jumped down from the stage and held his arms out to touch people’s hands as security escorted him to the b-stage, where a grand piano waited patiently.

“Holy shit, he’s right there!” Alex screamed in your ear, her senses overwhelmed by her emotions. Shawn spoke a few words that you didn’t quite catch as he sat down on the bench, the chords to Life of the Party causing the crowd to erupt. You were positive that you weren’t alone in trying not to cry.

A few songs later and he was wrapping up the segment, performing an elongated version of a fan favourite: Ruin. The band was on the main stage and Shawn stood alone, absolutely nailing the guitar solo. Accomplished, he looked up from his guitar, bidding sweat away from his eyes. He blinked. And then he blinked again. No fucking way.

He missed his cue and messed up the song a bit, but he wasn’t too worried. Squinting into the audience as the spotlight illuminated the sections surrounding him, he was sure of it. It was her.

“Is he okay?” Alex wondered out loud, her voice insignificant in your ear. You weren’t listening.

He was looking at you. You turned your head around, wondering what the big deal was, to find thousands of people, too, looking at you.

Shawn knew this couldn’t last long. He was being obvious.

He wrapped up the song, hardly peeling his eyes from you because how could he? Like, seriously. What were the fucking odds?

Shawn ran back to the main stage and just like that, he was gone. You checked your phone. 9:30. There was no way it was over.

Shawn dove off the stage, frantically searching for Andrew.

“The hell was that?” Andrew asked sternly, finally locating Shawn.

“Listen, that girl? Not the middle section, two over to my right? Dark hair, on the aisle,” Shawn panted, everyone around him staring at him in confusion. “Look.”

Shawn pulled Andrew to the edge of the stage where he couldn’t be seen very well, pointing directly at her spot.

“The girl from the San Diego show, she’s here.”

“That’s her?” Andrew questioned, “how the fuck did you see her?”

“Lucky? I don’t know,” Shawn spoke quickly, “but I need someone to go get her. I need to talk to her.”

“Shawn we can’t jus-“

“See you after!” he called with a grin, stepping back onto the stage to introduce the one and only Taylor Swift.

You were baffled. Wondering if you’d done something wrong, confused as to why the Shawn Mendes was looking at you as if you had two heads.

There wasn’t much you could do. Yes, Shawn kept looking. Staring, really. But you had no choice but to smile back and enjoy the show, oddly confident and confused and insecure all at once.

Taylor left and Ed came out, the crowd absolutely losing their minds. Shawn was at his peak happiness, a little anxious about what would happen later but very, very in the zone.

You were having the time of your life, too. You could sense the show coming to an end as he played the opening notes of In My Blood, giving it his absolute all for every single person who made it to the concert.

Shawn thanked the crowd endlessly. He waved goodbye. The lights came on and everyone started filing out, but you were intercepted.

A massive man in a black hoodie stopped you in your tracks, and you soon recognized him to be Jake, Shawn’s security guard. You took a deep breath.

“I’m with Shawn,” he spoke, flashing you a backstage pass, “would you mind coming with me for a few minutes? Your friend is welcome to join.”

You turned to look at Alex, who was already raising a brow. If you hadn’t recognized Jake you’d be suspicious, but this seemed legitimate.

“Y-yeah,” you nodded, agreeing to follow Jake to the side of the stage and eventually around the back, down a long hallway, and to the dressing rooms.

“He’s just winding down for a minute with his team,” Jake spoke, opening the door to a furnished dressing room. “Are you okay to wait in here for a bit?”

You looked over at Alex, who gave you an understanding nod. Of course you were okay to wait a bit.

Jake left quietly and you were too jittery to sit on the plush sofa. Alex, on the other hand, plunked down like a sack of potatoes.

“How are you calm right now?” you asked frantically, chewing your nail.

“Nothing bad’s gonna happen,” she chuckled, “clearly Shawn’s got something to say to you.”

That did not help. Your hands were shaking and you were pacing, soon locating a mirror and making sure you looked okay. Of course this was when the door burst open.

You turned toward the sudden commotion, face-to-face with a very sweaty, very flushed Shawn Mendes.

Silence.

You bit your lip. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

Shawn was the first to speak.

“Hi,” he said quietly, trying his best to suppress a bashful grin.

“Um, hello,” you giggled, holding out your right hand and introducing yourself.

“I’m, uh, I’m Shawn,” he laughed, a chuckle escaping Alex’s lips a few feet away.

“That’s my friend Alex,” you nodded, crossing your arms over your chest.

Shawn shot her a nod, more concerned with you. Why was she here? How did she get here? Where did she come from?

“Oh,” Shawn raised his eyebrows, “you’re probably wondering what you’re doing here.”

You laughed, and he swore his heart skipped a beat. He could listen to that forever.

“This is going to sound really weird, but please, bear with me,” he grinned, taking a step closer. “I recognized you from the San Diego show.”

Your eyebrows lunged into your hairline.

“You’re kidding.”

“Dead serious,” he nodded.

“How’d you see me there?” you asked, unsure of if you should laugh or be worried, “I wasn’t even on the floor.”

“I looked for you,” he twirled his ring around his finger, probably nervous, “I saw you lining up outside, actually. When I was on my way to the venue.”

“Right,” you said quietly, still baffled by all of this.

“I just, I felt like I needed to talk to you?” he explained, his tone uneasy, “There’s something about you, I can’t quite put my finger on it. You’re um, you’re gorgeous.”

Your cheeks burned crimson as your spoke a soft “thank you,” desperately waiting for him to continue.

“I don’t know where I’m really going with this,” he paused, bringing a large hand up to run through his dark curls. “I have to go to this afterparty thing for a little bit, but maybe do you want to meet with me later? We could grab a drink or, or something?”

Was this fucking real? you thought to yourself. Of course. Fuck. Speak. Speak!

“Yeah, I do. That would be really nice,” you played it cool, finally really looking into his eyes. They were beautiful.

“Great. Uh, can I maybe get your number?”

_______________________

Back at the apartment, you were having a royal meltdown.

“I didn’t pack for this!” you called from the bedroom, pulling various pieces of clothing from your luggage to figure out what on earth to wear.

“He remembered you from a different fucking country,” Alex quipped from the doorway, watching as you scrubbed the makeup from your face to reapply it. “I don’t think he’d care if you showed up in a paper bag.”

“Not gonna happen,” you responded, having given up on the attire situation for the time being.

A few blocks over, Shawn was celebrating with his loved ones, over the fucking moon because thanks to some twist of fate, he’d finally found you. The party was set to end soon and you’d be meeting him at a quaint little dive bar just down the street from his house, and the seconds couldn’t have ticked by faster.

“My Uber’s almost here,” you snapped, your long-sleeve shirt halfway over your head. “How do I look?”

“You look gorgeous,” Alex spoke from the couch, giving you a one-over as you put your high-heeled boots on.

“Thank you,” you breathed, slinging your purse over one shoulder. “Alright. I’m off.”

And with that, you were gone. Practically shaking the entire car ride to the address Shawn had texted you, wondering if he was feeling the same.

Shawn stood on the sidewalk beneath the lights strung all over the front patio, his eyes fixed on every car that slowed down in front of him. His nerves were getting the best of him, but he had no choice. This was it. He’d been thinking about you for so long, wondering everything there was to know about you. Holy shit, there she is.

You climbed out of the back seat, thanking the driver and shutting the door behind you. You looked up, your gaze met by that of a tall, handsome, curly-haired young man. His smile reached his eyes.

“Hey!” he grinned, holding out his arm for you to grab. You needed steadying.

“Hi,” you smiled, her heart jumping a bit as he pulled you in for an unexpected hug.

“Shall we go in?”

__________________________

He told you everything. When he saw you, where he saw you, how he felt when he saw you. Everything. And you were absolutely fucked for him.

“That’s insane,” you nodded, sipping your second cocktail. “Like, what are the odds?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” he laughed, finishing off his IPA. “I don’t know. I just, I think you’re gorgeous. And I want to know more about you in the least creepy way possible.”

“I’m not creeped out,” you blushed, your hand finding his thigh in the dim light of the bar. He twitched a bit. You pulled away, embarrassed by your actions, eyeing him apologetically.

“No, no, that’s fine!” Shawn reassured, reaching for your fingers and placing them back on his knee. “I just wasn’t sure you were all that into me, I guess. Now I realize that’s kind of stupid.”

“I mean, I did travel to a whole other country just to see you perform, so,” you chuckled, wiggling your fingers against the denim of his black jeans.

He nodded, flushed. They were acting like teenagers. You eyed his lips. He put his hand on yours and leaned in, brushing your nose with his own. All they could breathe was each other.

“Is this okay?” he whispered, his soft lips turning up at the corners.

“It’s very okay,” you nodded with a smile, closing the space between you to press your mouth against his.

He tasted like mint and honey, warm and cool and sweet all at once. You were itching for more, desperate to have his hands on you when he pulled away, smiling like a goof.

“Um,” he started, giving your hand a squeeze, “do you, maybe, want to get out of here?”

_______________________

“Condo looks nice,” you muttered against his lips, your body pinned against the back of his front door. His lips were everywhere at once, trailing from your lips to your jaw to her neck, begging for mutual attention.

“Thanks,” he muttered with a giggle, carefully holding your face in his hands like you might break. He was afraid he would.

“Wow,” you broke from his lips, craning your neck down the hall. His view of the city was gorgeous and his living room was so cozy, you had to take a minute. “This is really nice. Thank you, for uh, for bringing me here.”

Shawn cleared his throat, joining you in his living room. The wonder in her eyes was electric as you gazed out the window. He was in awe.

“Listen,” he spoke softly, reaching for your hand so you would turn to him, “I didn’t just bring you here to, uh, you know,” he took a deep breath, “I actually like you. A lot. We can do whatever you want, I’d still be over the fucking moon.”

You were the hungry one now. If you weren’t already destroyed by the thought of him, his words had you hooked. Shawn kissed you back, allowing your lips to swallow his gentle mewls as he walked you to his bedroom, trying his best not to fall over.

You didn’t even have time to take in your surroundings, the brute force of Shawn’s body on top of yours as you collapsed on his king-sized bed, knocking the wind out of you. You both broke into a small giggling fit, easing the nerves that seemed to be eating at his stomach from the inside out.

“You’re sure this is okay?” he whispered, fingertips grazing the skin under your shirt.

“More than okay,” you smiled, assisting him in slipping the fabric over her head.

He was blushing more than ever, giddy and elated that this was real life and really happening in real time. Someone controlling the universe and all mystery greater than life itself had his back. He made a note to say thank-you later.

Before his thoughts strayed too far from the woman beneath him, you were kissing his neck, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, reminding him of what really mattered.

Holy fuck, you thought to yourself. You knew he was ripped—had inspected every inch of his body through the screen of your phone. But you didn’t know he looked like this. You swallowed your filthy thoughts with a gulp, your gaze raking over the dips and hills of his muscular torso, wondering what on earth was beneath his jeans.

As if he’d read your mind, he was messing with his belt, finally unclasping it and moving on to the button of his pants.

Your heart was racing.

His heart was racing.

It was happening quickly, but it made sense. You both wanted—needed—this, and it seemed fitting.

You wiggled out of the tight confinement of your jeans, matching his minimal attire of mere undergarments. His flush reached his chest, which was littered in tiny brown hairs, topped off with a dangling silver pendant.

This is real. This is Shawn Mendes. You took a deep breath.

His warm hands were on you, exploring the expanse of your ribs as he kissed you with all he had, teeth and tongue included. He needed you badly, and he wasn’t afraid to show it.

You let out a squeal as he began nipping at your jaw, reminding you of how real this was. Your hands were exploring the divots of his stomach, feeling the softness and warmth of his skin against yours. He felt amazing.

He inhaled sharply, collapsing against you when your fingertips slipped into the waistband of his black boxers. Your hands were where he needed you most, feeling and rubbing and massaging everything he had to offer. He was ecstatic.

“Fuck,” he muttered as you spread the bead of precum he’d released around the head of his cock, prompting him to buck his hips into your hand with great desperation. Shawn wasn’t a selfish man, but he had a hard time focusing on putting his hands in your panties when you were touching him like this. “Wait a sec,” he interrupted, shame washing over your face instantly. You were afraid you’d gone too far.

“I’m never gonna last past your hand,” he breathed, his chocolate eyes pleading with yours as you retracted her fingers from his underwear. “Please, please let me focus on you.”

No protest there. Your panties were off and he was between your thighs before either of you could take a breath, and holy fuck, he knew what he was doing.

His tongue was hot against your core, kissing and licking and lapping at the soft skin like it was his final meal. You squirmed beneath his gigantic arms, pinned to his bed and thankful because there was nowhere in the world you’d rather have been.

“Shawn,” spilled from your lips, a mantra you’d practiced over and over in the comfort of your own bedroom, completely mind-boggled that you were using it for real now. “Fuck,” you reiterated, gasping as he added a finger into the mix, working you to the edge faster than you’d ever experienced.

He was humming against you. Sucking on your clit like a fucking popsicle, grinding his hips into the mattress in preparation to give you all of him. He’d never felt so fucking alive.

Another finger slipped into your heat, Shawn coming up for air to plant some kisses on your inner thighs.

“Gonna come for me?” he groaned against your skin, fucking you roughly with his fingers as you struggled to formulate a sentence. “Need you to fucking come for me.”

His mouth was back on you, exploring you thoroughly and sloppily, leaving you a shaking, shivering, writhing mess. He sucked, you shouted, and you were coming on his hands, clenching around his fingers like if you didn’t, he might not have been real.

Shawn was smiling against your skin, proud of himself and proud to be between your thighs. You were panting, rapidly trying to regenerate because you wanted nothing more than to take all of him as soon as possible—to give him what he needed.

“Shawn, that was amazing,” you muttered with a grin, pulling his face up to meet yours and tasting yourself on his glorious tongue, “Need you.”

He separated himself from your lips, nudging your nose with his own and resting his forehead against yours.

“You’re positive? This is okay?”

“Yes,” you giggled, rolling your hips against his, “please, Shawn. Need you to fucking give it to me.”

He was off you in milliseconds, rummaging in his bedside table for a condom and wiggling out of his boxer-briefs like they were burning his skin. You pushed up on your elbows, watching with a lazy smile as he fumbled with the latex, not-very-gracefully rolling it down his thick shaft and once again turning to face you.

Sculpted by the gods, he stood at the edge of the bed, throbbing cock in his hand. You reached around and unclasped your bra, Shawn unable to peel his eyes from your exposed chest as he crawled up your frame, kissing his way over your torso and up your neck, eventually finding your lips in the dim light of his bedroom.

He breathed in.

“You ready?”

You nodded.

He breathed out. This was it.

“Shit, baby,” he muttered, running his reddish tip along your folds, “you’re soaked.”

“Obviously,” you giggled, recounting the events of only a few minutes prior.

“I’ll be gentle, I promise,” he whispered, planting a soft kiss on your lips as he slipped inside of you, groaning at the feeling of your soft walls hugging him so tightly.

The burn was quick, soon subsiding to pleasure as he bottomed out, beginning to carefully move in and out of your core. He was the perfect size—not too big, not too thick, but definitely not small. His shallow thrusts turned into deep rows, pounding into your heat as he lost himself in the pleasure your body provided.

He was moaning into the crook of your neck, sweat pooling in his hairline as he gave you all of him, focusing completely on grazing your walls as deeply as he could.

“Shawn,” you panted, nails digging into his shoulders to pull him impossibly closer, “touch me.”

His fingers found your clit and he sped up, reducing you to a mumbling string of profanities, feeling nothing but ecstasy as he was inside of you, working wonders with his cock and his fingers.

“M’not gonna last much longer,” he warned, trying to slow down in a poor attempt to keep himself from barreling over the edge.

“Harder,” you encouraged, closing your eyes and tugging his curls, lost in the feeling of the drag of his cock as his fingers danced over your sensitivity, bringing on your orgasm more intensely than you knew possible.

“Shit,” he grunted, moaning with you as you clenched around him, your back arching against his mattress as you came together, seeing nothing but stars.

__________________

“Please stay,” he spoke into your hair, hugging you tightly beneath his heavy duvet.

“I can’t, Shawn,” you nuzzled into his chest, “Alex is waiting for me.”

He hummed in protest, groaning as you slipped out from under the covers and began relocating your clothes.

“It’s too cold for you to leave.”

“Shawn, it’s September,” you giggled, tugging your lacy underwear up your thighs. He watched.

“At least let my pay for your Uber.”

“That I can do,” you grinned, slipping your shirt over your head as he unlocked his iPhone and ordered a ride. “Walk me out?”

He got dressed (half, really), and walked you to the elevator, holding your hand so tightly it was almost painful. Neither of you knew why this felt so hard.

“It’s two minutes away,” he whispered, pulling you against his dense frame for a long hug, topping it off with a soft kiss to your swollen lips. “You have my number.”

You nodded, stepping into the elevator, his hand still in yours as long as the doors remained open.

“Catch you next time you’re passing through San Diego, I guess?”

He grinned bashfully, a flush creeping down his neck as the metal doors began to shut.

“I think you’ll be seeing me a lot sooner than that, sweetheart.”

[thatwriter-leahlolita]

Surely not?!

Summary: Avid fans of Dan and Phil have always dreampt of meeting their favourite YouTubers in person. Only a rare few get the opportunity. Never before though, has one (You, the reader) managed to bump into them repetitively.. as if it was fate?

Ship: Dan and Phil

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

Lately, you've felt tired. But of course that could easily be explained by the number of hours you've spent leaning over a maths textbook in confusion. Not only was it completely impossible to figure out what 'x' was, but in all honesty you couldn't care less. Your teacher is an ass and he has never helped you actually learn anything important in all the years of education you've had to face with him. It's all pointless, all of it!

Deciding this was a great time to attempt escape from another existential crisis, you clumber your legs out from under the kitchen table and stretch. In the living room, you could hear the sound of the television playing "Housewives of Somewhere Expensive". Deciding to save yourself from the horrific scenes that lied before you, should you dare to enter, you walk over to the fridge to grab some milk and make yourself a coffee. It's 6pm, but honestly any form of energy is highly welcomed at this point.

Unfortunately for you, there was no milk. You turn to the coffee pot to see, no coffee.

"Kannst Du Nitch~" You grumble softly under your breath. "Mum/Dad! There's no coffee or milk left!"

Your Mum/Dad, busy wasting their time watching crappy daytime television, yelled back, "Well go to the shop then, you've got legs!"

Grumbling, you stomp over to your Dan Howell Sad Boi hoodie and black converse shoes, and then make your way to the shops.

***

Dan was tired, and grumpy. He hated 6pm because it's always the time he looses energy and wants a nap. But clearly 6pm is too early for bed and too late to nap. His compromise is coffee.

"Where you going Dan?" Phil wined, turning away from the TV to look at him. "You promised you'd watch this with me."

"I will, but first: coffee." Dan waves his hand nonchalantly back at Phil as he makes his way to the kitchen. "Phil!"

Phil tuts, pausing his show. "Yes?"

"Where's the coffee?" Dan replied.

"Oh... yeah, about that..." Phil winced. "I finished it earlier and kind of forgot to get more."

"Well that's just great!" Dan sighed, now facing Phil as he stands in the door frame of the living room. "Come on then!"

"Come on what?" Phil whined.

"You can't expect me to go get coffee alone can you? This is your own doing Lester!" Dan demanded, chucking Phil his coat.

"Fine." He replied. "But we are finishing this episode when we get back!"

***

The shop was quiet, most people at home eating their dinner or watching TV together. The only noise that filmed the building was the beeping of scanners and rustling of shopping trolleys as people wheel them around the store.

(Y/N) was stood at the coffee isle, staring meekly at the coffee's in slight confusion. They was not usually much of a coffee drinker, at least not making it themselves at home. There is a LOT more range then they could have ever imagined... If it was up to (Y/N) they would pick any random one, but their Mum/Dad was a stickler for coffee and would grumble if they picked the wrong one.

A few more moments past, staring at the coffee types, before a strangely familar voiced peaked their attention.

"Listen Phil, I've told you this once and I'll tell you again, Svens Universe is not more of a priority than coffee. Yes, it's a tough choice but honestly, coffee will always win."

Could that be- No... surely not?!

The men themselves, Dan Howell and Phil Lester walk towards the coffee aisle in haste. (Y/N) had absolutely no idea what to do. Should they move to another aisle, smile and continue shopping? They were way too anxious to actually acknowledge them.

When they arrived at the coffee, (Y/N)'s heart stopped. They stared at the coffee for a moment, before Dan leaned over (Y/N) to grab a coffee from a higher shelf that (Y/N) could never possibly reach.

"Dan! You just leant right above that person!" Phil gasped, turning to you in haste. "I'm sorry about that, you see Dan here will probably murder someone for coffee if needed!"

You turn your head up to face Phil, who stood taller than you by a long shot. You then looked over towards Dan, who huffed at Phil, cradling his instant coffee.

Eventually, realising the situation in front of you, you manage a reply: "It's o-okay. I've been here a while struggling myself!" You laugh meekly.

Dan peaked interest in that moment, "Why's that? Need help grabbing something?"

You blush softly, "Well, no, not exactly. You see I have no idea which coffee to get.." you realise this is a wierd conversation to have with strangers, eventhough they surprisingly don't feel like strangers to you. "Nevermind."

"Oh well if that's the case, " Dan smiled. "Here you go!" He passes you the Starsucks brand coffee he's been cradling, and then grabs himself another from the shelf. "This is by far the greatest coffee I've ever had from here."

Phil retorted, "But of course that's his opinion, you don't have to get that one."

"No, I- Thankyou. That's a great help." You smiled, placing the coffe in your basket beside the fresh oat milk.

Dan stuck his tongue out at Phil, "They want it see, I'm always right!"

"Shut up Howell."

"Watch your tongue, Lester!" He retorts.

Standing in bewilderment, you stare at the clearly apparent lovers flirting with eachother right in front of your eyes. Eventually, Phil turns to you again and realises his placement right now.

"Sorry about him," He smiles. "He's cranky when he doesnt get his coffee. Hope you like yours though."

Dan agreed, "Yeah, bye~". Then he hurried over to the self serve counter to pay.

You stood their a few minutes longer, shocked by what just happened in front of you, before heading home to finally have your much delayed coffee break. The least that experience has taught you, is that Dan Howell has amazing taste in coffee.

***

A few days later, you decide since the new "Animal Crusing" has come out, you would go to the game store to pick it up. You would usually just order it online for preorder and anxiously wait for the delivery day to arrive. But in almost some kind of introverted people hate crime, they released the preorder for store pick ups only!

Arriving at the store, you see a long que. "Well, here we go." You grumble, falling into line in the que quietly. This is why it's better to stay at home, cosy and warm, and wait for the delivery man to deliver the goods.

When suddenly, a voice moaned in the distance. "See! Look at that que! Store pick up only, I mean, the makers of "Animal Crusing" must hate us. And why did we choose "GAMING" of all places to pick it up! This place is always busy."

"Phil honestly you always complain about stuff like this, would it kill you to que for a bit for a lifetime of fun?" Dan replied.

"Lifetime my butt!" Phil retorted. "I give it a few months before you loose interest."

"Absolutely no faith." Dan gasped fakingly, bringing a hand to his chest.

Again? How is this even possible?? You wonder, anxiously staring at the two famous YouTubers walking towards you for the second time this week.

They eventually join next in the que behind you, and you barely keep yourself calm as you feel the heat rising up your body. It's like an itch you can't scratch, knowing they are behind you watching your every move. It is scary, to say the least.

"This better go quick." Phil mumbled, kicking a stone on the floor with his shoe.

The stone rolled quickly across the floor and slammed abruptly against the back of your leg. It was small, so you barely felt it. But the awkwardness of the whole situation just took a much more dramatic turn.

"Oh my God!" Phil squeaked. Tapping your shoulder lightly.

You have no choice, he wants your attention. So you turn slowly and act innocent, listening to Phil grovel about how sorry he is for doing something stupid.

Then Dan spoke up, "Wait, aren't you coffee dude from the other day? When we went to get coffee from Bainsburies?"

"Oh, yeah. That's me." You smiled softly, hoping your eyes didn't give away how obvious it was that you knew WHO they were and that you was intensely aware that you saw them 3 days, 4 hours and 27 minutes ago in the coffee aisle in Bainsburies.

"Small world, huh?" Phil smiles. "Sorry again, though. I didn't mean to hit you."

"It's fine, I barely felt it anyways."

"So, you know what they say," Dan interupts, "Once a stranger, twice a friend."

"What now?" Phil quizzes confusingly. "I've never heard someone say that, ever."

Dan shoves Phil slightly, just enough to make him loose his balance slightly. "Anyway... I'm Dan, that loser on my left is Phil. Can I ask your name?"

"(Y/N). Nice to meet you both." You blush, realising that one way or another, Dan freaking Howell just called you his friend.

"You too!" Phil beams, pushing Dan back in revenge. "So you like Animal Crusing?"

"Yeah! I loved the mobile app version, but I've never played it on a real console yet so I'm super excited."

For as long as the que took to shorten, you three talked. About a lot of things. Boredom and a long que made you all relatively good friends by the end of it. And as a nice bonus, you all got the new Animal Crusing game. You was ecstatic. But this was now the end, you had to go home eventually.

But before you left, "Hey guys."

Dan and Phil turn to you, replying "Yeah?" in unison.

You gulp, breath in and out, and then said: "I have a confession." You continue, "I kind of know you guys already a little, as in I am a bit of a fan of your YouTube channels, yanoo."

They sigh, looking slightly releaved. Phil slapped your arm softly and smiled. "You scared us! I thought you was going to tell us that you were secretly stalking us for months or something!" Then he looked nervous, "Wait, you wasn't, was you?"

You laugh. "Of course not! But is that okay, me being your fan and all that?"

Dan smiled at you again and swished your hair out of place. "Of course its fine (Y/N). It was kind of obvious, you WAS literally wearing my merch when we met at Bainsburies the other day, and you seem genuinely kind. Why wouldn't we want a friend like that?"

".. Oh yeah." You laugh.

Your smile couldn't have reached further then that day. You exchanged contact with them, had one final chat, and then headed home.

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

Thankyou all for reading. Hope you enjoy. If you have any requests I'm open to them!

[longsightmyth]

Myth reads The Riddle, Chapter 1

Alrighty, folks. I can’t to a direct book-to-book comparison (there are seven ToG novels not including The Assassin’s Blade, which is a collection of five prequel novellas, and only five Pellinor books including the prequel novel) so I made a spreadsheet to figure out what should be read with what. The Riddle gets to be compared to Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and a not insignificant amount of Queen of Shadows. The Crow gets the rest of Queen of Shadows, the entirety of Empire of Storms (Hem doesn’t deserve that but them’s the breaks), and a good chunk of Tower of Dawn. The Singing has the rest of Tower of Dawn and all of Kingdom of Ash, for which it has my sincere apologies.

The Bone Queen is going to be compared to The Assassin’s Blade on the premise that they are both prequels and that at some point I could use a break from doing anywhere from 40-90 pages at a time of ToG. I may do those two directly after The Riddle so I can have the aforementioned break.

I COULD, of course, read two books for every Pellinor book except the Bone Queen, which would still be read only with The Assassin’s Blade, but a, I didn’t think of that until I was already done with my spreadsheet, and b, that would involve reading exactly 1.628 pages (Tower of Dawn and Kingdom of Ash) with The Singing, which is 444 pages. As various friends correctly pointed out, that sounds torturous (and comes out to about 4 pages of ToG for 1 page of The Singing). After that discussion, I decided my spreadsheet should not be in vain.

Here we go.

The Riddle, being the second of the Books of Pellinor

Chapter 1

The Riddle

Do not twine garlands of myrtle for my forehead Nor pluck sweet roses to adorn me Make me a crown of somber violets For I am dying

The sweet lips of the maidens of Busk And the flashing feet of dancing goatherds Will never again quicken my desire For I am dying

Come to me merciful Meripon In your ebony chariot drawn by swallows From the dim halls beyond the Gates For I am dying

I kiss the peaks of Lamedon with my eyes And the white arms of the passionate sea Which loves this beautiful island that I love For I am dying

Thus begins the first chapter of the first section of The Riddle, called Thorold.

Yikes.

Maerad has a dream vision of a lot of armies marching through a desert, and not even a cool natural desert. Something about it feels bad and poisoned. She freaks out and falls…

Maerad woke, gasping for breath, and sat bolt upright. This was an unwise thing to do, as she was sleeping in a hammock slung below the deck of a small fishing smack called the White Owl. The hammock swung dangerously and then, as she flailed for balance in the pitch dark, tipped her out onto the floor. Still trapped in her dream, Maerad screamed, putting out her hands to break her fall, and hit the wooden floorboards.

Cadvan of course rushes to check on her. Maerad says she had a bad dream and apologizes if she cried out. Cadvan jokes that it sounded like there was a hull on the boat and asks if it was a regular nightmare or a foredream. Maerad says definitely foredream, definitely horrible, also she is not a fan of boats because she gets seasick.

Foredreams, in Maerad’s experience, we always horrible.

Cadvan, when Maerad tells him about it, says it definitely sounds like the place the Nameless One started out from when he marshalled his armies to bring about the Great Silence. Maerad asks hopefully if maybe she’s just seeing the past, and Cadvan says there’s always the possibility but he doesn’t think so in this case, because Cadvan is a negative nancy.

Maerad gives us some ‘last time on’ info while she and Cadvan consider the implications, including that Turbansk, Saliman’s Bard school and where he and Hem went, are going to have it rough.

“...even that vast force is only one piece in the great strategem the Nameless One is now unleashing. And you, Maerad, are as significant to him as that huge army. Maybe more so. Everything turns on you.”

Maerad bowed her head, oppressed beyond measure by Cadvan’s words. On me? she thought bitterly. And yet she knew it was true.

Cadvan, I don’t mean to criticize, but you seem to forget a lot that Maerad is a teenager who was pretty recently yoinked from slavery. Maybe, like. Chill for a second on the whole ‘the fate of the world is on Your Shoulders Alone’ thing? (It’s a different matter from how I feel that in ToG the books have forgotten that Celaena is a teenager pretty recently yoinked from slavery. If I fail to mention this in the comparison yell at me in the notes and I’ll talk about it)

More ‘last time on’ but I don’t mean it as a criticism: it manages to be couched into Maerad’s thoughts about Cadvan and her Foretold-ness, and honestly I feel like more books should have some ‘last time on’ thoughts when they’re sequels. If nothing else it would remind the authors themselves what happened in the last book.

Naming no names, re: sequel consistency (oh we’ll get to that)

They’re two days out from Busk, and Maerad, at a loss for anything else to do, offers to keep watch so Owan or Cadvan can nap, since they’re the only two who really know how to sail. They would have taught Maerad, but Cadvan has a magic wind still going, which makes teaching difficult, and when it’s not going he’s asleep and Owan is busy actually, you know. Sailing.

Maerad had already witnessed Cadvan’s powers of endurance, but his stubborn will impressed her anew: his face was haggard and his mouth grim, but he moved the with alertness of a well-rested man.

So many jokes I could make. I will refrain.

Maerad sees something in the water and alerts the other two. Cadvan tries to make them go faster but whatever it is keeps up.

It’s an ondril, which are usually pretty benign sea serpents. This one is big, they’ve already gotten out of whatever territory onril would normally defend, and they can’t see to outrun it.

Welp, says Cadvan (lightly paraphrased), guess we’re gonna have to fight. Let’s charge it.

Owan cocked his head and thought briefly. “Aye, easily enough, if you put more breeze in the sails,” he said. “Think you that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t,” Maerad said. “I think it’s mad.”

“We may be able to wrest the initiative,” said Cadvan. He looked at Maerad and smiled with a sudden sweetness that illuminated and transformed his somber face. “Come, Maerad. It is far better to put away fear than to be driven by it. You know that.”

Yes, I know that, Maerad thought sardonically. But I’m tired of having to be brave when really I’m so terrified I scarce know what to do.

He lets his wind die, has Owan turn them around, and whips of an opposite direction wind to charge the ondril. Maerad isn’t pleased but readies her sword and magic. Cadvan magically fastens Owan to the boat so he won’t get thrown out and gives age-old fighting advice: go for the eyes.

They do.

Anyway they have a battle, Maerad hits it with fire (some of which glances off), they run, the ondril pursues, both Maerad and Cadvan go for the remaining eye when it catches up, and they finally manage to escape. The men congratulate each other and Maerad.

Maerad looked away over the sea, feeling nothing but a vast emptiness. She had no sense of triumph, nor even relief. All she felt was a returning wisp of nausea. The only good thing about being frightened half to death, she thought, is that it makes me forget all about being seasick.

End chapter.

Throne of Glass

Are y’all ready for Crown of Midnight? I bet you aren’t!

Confession: this is the one I remember least, so we’re going on a journey together basically. I hope that comforts you as it has failed to comfort me. Anyway. Chapters 1-6 (and the first 51 pages) of CoM, here we come. (I also have to remind people that if I didn’t enjoy this on some level I wouldn’t be doing it: no one is forcing me. I’m just being dramatic)

Also can we discuss how I actually LIKE Crown of Midnight as a title, even if it’s pretty irrelevant to this book? Just saying.

We start with part 1, titled ‘The King’s Champion’ which is a departure from the first book, which was separated only by chapters. All subsequent books follow this format for reasons I don’t entirely understand, but we can talk about that in the comparison section, probably in more than one of these chapter/section comparisons.

Chapter 1!

Celaena sneaks into a house in a storm with many s words describing movement. She’s concealed in a black mask and hood, which is not a good way not to attract notice. Human-shaped splotches of solid black aren’t exactly blending in with the shadows (you’d want lots of different shades of brown and grey and black and yes even red, especially if there’s a lot of brick around. Fun fact: red is one of the first colors to register as grey to human eyes in the dark) and not exactly great for blending in with the crowd (unless that’s a new fashion in Rifthold?). She might have done better to disguise herself as a servant once she was in the house, or even to get in the house.

To give Celaena her due, she is trying to make An Impression on the dude she’s supposed to assassinate so he’ll take her seriously. To harp on my own pet peeve, making everyone around him less competent to make Celaena seem more badass is not the way to make a badass character (“the [servant] girl hadn’t noticed [Celaena’s] wet footprints on the floorboards,” really? She has to clean those floors. That girl is going to notice when they’re dirty).

We are two paragraphs into this book.

Anyway. I might also have to start counting uses of the word ‘wraith’.

Celaena notes that Lord Nirall’s wife is pretty and wonders what these nobles have done for the king to want them dead. Remind me to talk about Celaena’s weird compassion for high ranking Adarlan citizens vs everyone else in the world in the comparison.

She crept to the edge of the bed. It wasn’t her place to ask questions. Her job was to obey. Her freedom depended on it. With each step toward Lord Nirall, she ran through the plan again.

Her sword slid out of its sheath with barely a whine. She took a shuddering breath, bracing herself for what would come next.

Lord Nirall’s eyes flew open just as the King’s Champion raised her sword over her head.

Chapter 2!

Celaena’s walking down the hall to the king’s council chamber. I personally would have my assassin report to me in my study barring some really specific circumstances but I am but a young girl unschooled in the ways of politics and murder.

Also Rifthold is spelled Rift-hold for some reason. I assume it’s just a formatting error or typo.

Celaena bows to the king, notes Chaol and Dorian, and removes her hood when the king tells her to rise, which just makes these guards even more incompetent. You’re letting a hooded chick with a bloody sack just walk into the council chamber?

Wait why does the council chamber have the glass throne. Does the king just have multiple glass thrones? The glass throne has been mentioned all of once and it already has more impact in the book NOT named after it. Anyway.

Celaena produces a head (mauled unrecognizably) and seal ring, and then when the king asks about the guy’s wife she hauls a “slender, pale hand” wearing a wedding ring from the sack, saying that the wife is chained to the remains of her husband at the bottom of the sea. Dorian looks sick and Celaena decides she should give him credit for not throwing up.

The king says fine, and tells her that her next assignment is to root out and get rid of a growing rebel movement.

“There are several people on my list of suspected traitors, but I will only give you one name at a time. This castle is crawling with spies.”

Well that’s stupid on a scale rarely seen. You aren’t going to hand her a physical list, after all, that would be -

Chaol stiffened at [the comment about spies], but the king waved his hand and the captain approached her, his face still blank as he extended a piece of paper to Celaena.

- exactly what you’re doing. Okay.

Keeping her features neutral, she looked at the paper. On it was a single name: Archer Finn.

Celaena actually knows him - he trained for a bit with her, because he’s a courtesan and needed to be able to defend himself from his clients’ jealous husbands, apparently. No gay people in Rifthold, no siree. Celaena had a crush on him back in the day and she hasn’t seen him in several years.

“...she’d never thought him capable of something like this. He’d been handsome and kind and jovial, not a traitor to the crown so dangerous that the king would want him dead.”

Sounds like a perfect spy tbh.

Somehow despite Archer being a famous and highly sought-after courtesan, the king thinks it’s salacious that Celaena might know who he is. Then the king gives her a month to kill Archer or he’ll reconsider her position. When she’s killed Archer she’ll get the next name on the list.

Surely there isn’t an actual physical list somewhere of everyone the king considers a traitor. Surely he at least has it in code. Surely his spymaster has different bits of info kept different places or with different people. Surely he has a spymaster?

Leave me my hopes and dreams.

She had avoided the politics of the kingdoms - especially their rebel forces - for so many years, and now she was in the thick of it. Wonderful.

Ah. Sorry to mention this, but…

“We kill corrupt officials and adulterous spouses; we make it quick and clean…”

Maas, Sarah J.. The Assassin's Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas (Throne Of Glass Series) (p. 41). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Killing corrupt politicians is not avoiding politics. I’m just saying.

The king tells her that her payment for killing Nirall is in her chambers. She pulls a salary and gets bonuses? Sweet gig. Aside from, you know, the murder.

She leaves the throne room, keeping the piece of paper with Archer’s name on it because this is Celaena we’re talking about, and we swap to Dorian’s PoV.

He’s worried because Celaena is killing people and not dressing up anymore and starts to think that maybe she just manipulated him into getting her the position of King’s Champion, which would make sense except for the fact that he pulled her out of the salt mines having never knowingly met her (and she doesn’t know they’ve met either: it’s a prequel thing) for the express purpose of making her King’s Champion, no seduction required.

Also, she’s an assassin who kills people for money. I am always surprised at how characters, knowing that fact, are surprised when she talks about killing people for money.

Dorian couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought. He’d visit her - tomorrow, perhaps. Just to see if there was a chance he was wrong.

But he couldn’t help wondering if he’d ever meant anything to Celaena at all.

Back to Celaena’s PoV!

She goes to the sewers to dump the body parts and Chaol follows her. She wonders why everyone seems shocked that she’s willing to murder people, which is the first and possibly only time Celaena considers that as far as I can recall.

Chaol gets mad at her for being unwilling to share her murder details because for some reason that links in to missing her? I guess bonding over working for the apparently murderous conquering dictator is one way to strengthen a relationship.

They hug because she realizes he was worried about her and we are reminded that Celaena is warm for Chaol’s form. He says she smells really bad. She complains that she wasn’t allowed to shower before going to see the king, which I will acknowledge is a fair thing to be peeved about.

Chaol walks her to her room and agrees to come back for dinner, after which Celaena gets fussed over by Philippa in summary and then ruminates on how she hadn’t actually killed Niral and his unnamed wife or the named first target (Sir Carlin). Apparently there are sick-houses that dump lots of bodies, so Celaena stole a couple that looked like the victims and slashed them up a little. Celaena thinks about how the pale and slender hand had come from a girl “barely past her first bleed” which marks the beginning of the interesting relationship these books have with menstrual cycles and somehow knowing if someone has them or not.

She tries to think of how she can fake Archer’s death and draws a blank because he’s so well-known (but somehow it was surprising that she knew who he was back in the throne room?), then that she still can’t believe he’s a rebel, then that she can’t think of what else the king could conquer unless he’s looking at the other continents.

There were other continents, of course. Other continents with wealthy kingdoms - like Wendlyn, that faraway land across the sea.

Celaena’s mother was literally from Wendlyn. It irks me that the book pretends she has no idea about the country.

Celaena thinks that if the king finds out what she’s up to he’ll destroy her.

Chapter 3!

Celaena has a nightmare where Cain and the ridderak chase her through the secret tunnels. Cain almost catches her and…

He whispered her name, her true name, and she screamed as he -

When the book acknowledges Celaena’s Super Secret Long Lost Heritage and when it doesn’t has never quite made sense to me, but here we are.

She wakes up, cuddles her dog, and goes back to sleep.

The next morning Celaena and Nehemia play fetch with Fleetfoot the dog who hates everyone and everything but Celaena per the text. Celaena considers that Nehemia is a spy but the king definitely can’t know about her or he wouldn’t trust Celaena to be his Champion.

Fleetfoot is apparently abnormally large, as a sidenote.

Nehemia wants Celaena to tell her anything Celaena figures out about the king’s plans, because Nehemia is a reasonably competent spy in enemy territory using every advantage. Celaena promises to do so but thinks that she won’t, actually, because the king promised if she worked against him he would murder Chaol, Nehemia, and Nehemia’s family one by one in that order, which is really the wrong order to go in if you’re an evil king bent on bending a mostly morally incompetent assassin to your will. You kill somebody just close enough to prove you’re serious first. You don’t give up your hostage grown princess or loyal captain of the guard until other options have exhausted themselves. The hostage crown princess keeps an entire country at bay. The loyal captain of the guard is a, loyal, and b, captain of the guard. Those are the people you get rid of when you’re just Over It. You won’t have anybody left to bargain with after you kill the people Celaena actually cares about.

Look if you’re going to write evil, calculating characters, make them evil and calculating. Moving on.

If Nehemia talked more about the rebels, [Celaena] didn’t know how much more of it she could take. Yes, she wanted to be free of the king - both as his Champion and as a child of a conquered nation - but she wanted nothing to do with whatever plots were brewing in Rifthold, and whatever desperate hope the rebels still savored. To stand against the king would be nothing but folly. They’d all be destroyed.

Nehemia talks about Calaculla, which is supposed to be a work camp even harsher than Endovier and reserved almost entirely for citizens of Eyllwe, and says that the king won’t meet with her to discuss the conditions there.

“Apparently, he’s too busy finding people for you to kill.”

Get her.

Nehemia calls Celaena Elentiya, which if you have forgotten means ‘spirit that could not be broken’ in the language of Eyllwe and which you might have REPRESSED that Nehemia gave to Celaena, possibly in a fairytale hope that if you name something you influence the nature of it.

Sorry, Nehemia. You tried.

Anyway she does that while demanding when they can actually act.

But when Celaena said nothing, when she promised nothing, just as she always did when Nehemia spoke about these things, the princess dropped the stick on the ground quietly and walked back to the castle.

Celaena thinks about how she has to go meet Chaol for a run in a few minutes and she’s going to go hang out in Rifthold afterwards.

After all, the king had given her a month, and despite her own questions for Archer, she wanted to get off the castle grounds for a bit. She had blood money to burn.

Chapter 4!

We start with Chaol’s PoV. He and Celaena are doing their morning run and it’s cold. He looks over at her.

Noticing his stare, she flashed him a grin, those stunning turquoise eyes filled with light.

I just wanted it noted for the record exactly how noticeable her family eyes (from her Wendlyn side) storied in song and legend are.

They tease each other and run faster. Chaol thinks about Cain and how he killed him and asks Celaena how often she thinks about the people she’s killed. She drags him to a stop and says he shouldn’t pass judgment on her before breakfast. In the book it’s not bantery, it just sounds that way in summary.

Chaol assures her he wasn’t judging, and when she asks if this is about Cain he says yes. Celaena launches into a speech about never forgetting the people she’s killed, which would be a lot more moving if we knew anything about the people she killed or if she actually, like, remembered them in her PoV. we don’t even know who the guy she killed when she was in the single digits (mentioned in ToG) was. This is what I mean by these books telling instead of showing. We’re in Celaena’s head for most of these books. We should know more things.

Celaena assures Chaol that what he did wasn’t dishonorable and that she’ll never forget he saved her. Chaol reflects silently that he doesn’t know who he’d chose if it came down to Celaena vs the king, which, uh. Really dude?

They run some more.

Celaena’s PoV!

They’re walking back to the palace through the gardens. It’s still really cold.There are lots of women out to ogle Chaol as he removes all his layers but his shirt. Celaena is irritated. Chaol offers to help her with surveillance on Archer, she says she doesn’t need help, and they run into Dorian and a blond young man.

Blond dude is Roland. He makes Celaena nervous, which I’m not actually going to make fun of. Sometimes dudes just give off unspecified Bad Vibes. Dorian introduces them.

They still used her alias whenever she couldn’t avoid running into members of the court, though most everyone knew to some degree that she was not in the palace for administrative nonsense or politics.

Administrative.

Nonsense.

Fine whatever.

Roland didn’t expect the King’s Champion to be so lovely, apparently. He’s here to take a position on the king’s council. Chaol gets grouchy. Roland ogles Celaena. Dorian breaks up the party.

Dorian’s PoV!

Roland comments that Celaena/Lillian is an unexpected choice even with the competition. Dorian hates him and remembers that time Chaol punched Roland in the face and knocked Roland unconscious. He says Roland deserved it but does not explain why, though apparently he deserved it enough that the entire court took Chaol’s side.

Roland asks some more questions. Dorian gives no answers and thinks about how Meah (where Roland is from) is a prosperous coastal city with no army and no political power, which makes me question everything. Also I wish the throwaway comment early about Celaena ‘killing’ a dude in Meah linked into Roland somehow, but that would mean this was a different book.

Celaena’s PoV!

Her salary as King’s Champion was considerable, and Celaena spent every last copper of it.

Where does all your money come from later if you spend it all? I guess we’ll talk more about that in Queen of Shadows.

She returns to her room to find Dorian waiting for her. They banter, mentioning Dorian’s flocks of ladies.

Actually, the thought of Dorian with other women made her want to shatter a window, but it wouldn’t be fair to let him know that.

Yikes.

Celaena says she has to head back out into Rifthold.

Dorian took a step closer, exposing his palms to her. “Do you want me to fight for you? Is that it?”

“No,” she said quietly. “I just want you to leave me alone.”

His eyes flickered with the words left unsaid. Celaena stared at him, unmoving, until he silently left.

Alone in the foyer, Celaena clenched and unclenched her fists, suddenly disgusted with all of the pretty packages on the table.

In a weird way, I think this might be one of the most telling passages about Celaena. When Nehemia tries to talk about helping people, Celaena goes shopping. When she reiterates to Dorian that she doesn’t want to date him, that is when she can’t stomach shopping.

It’s just interesting to me, is all.

Chapter 5!

Up on a rooftop reindeer paw, down jumps good old Celaena Sardothien.

Ahem.

On a rooftop in a very fashionable and respectable part of Rifthold, Celaena crouched in the shadow of a chimney and frowned into the chill wind gusting off the Avery.

She’s waiting for Archer to leave his current appointment. She remembers Sam Cortland and vague events from the prequel novellas, but not in any helpful manner. When Archer exits (apparently after two hours instead of the one his previous appointments took).

While she was in no hurry to seek out the truth behind her own capture and Sam’s death, and while she was fairly certain the king had to be wrong about Archer, part of her wondered whether whatever truth she uncovered about this rebel movement and the king’s plans would destroy her, too.

And not just destroy her - but also everything she’d grown to care about.

Later, Celaena and Chaol are chilling in his room (she notes that it’s one room with a bathroom, not the suite that she has). Celaena is studying Archer info. Chaol is presumably doing captain of the guard business, which should involve a lot of writing and accounting so at least that’s happening. Good for you, book.

Celaena learns that Wesley (Arobynn’s bodyguard) killed the crime lord who killed Sam. Arobynn apparently killed Wesley right afterwards.

Celaena ruminates on how Arobynn betrayed her and…

How much she’d make him suffer - and bleed for it.

Chaol asks why she cares, and she explains about Sam and being captured.

“I failed him,” she said. “In every way that counted, I failed him.”

Another long silence, then a sigh. “Not in one way,” Chaol said. “I bet he would have wanted you to survive - to live. So you didn’t fail him, not in that regard.”

I feel like it’s moments like these where my extreme disgust and disappointment in the way Celaena is handled as a character gets in the way. This would normally be a sentiment I’d be down with. It’s not terribly written. I just can’t make myself believe that Celaena really gave a damn about Sam.

It’s a problem.

Chaol opens up about his own romantic past, in which Roland stole his ladylove away and whisked her off to Meah, never to be seen again. I want to be clear that it wasn’t a kidnapping, it was Roland sleeping with Chaol’s girlfriend.

Look. Not to be all ‘ladies can’t make their own choices’ but I gotta say if the cousin of the current murderous dictatorial king was like ‘sleep with me’ I probably would out of fear for my own safety. The situation might not have been like that, but it kinda seems like that.

They banter. Chaol goes to walk Celaena back to her rooms and she asks if he’d do the same for Dorian or if he only does it for women. He doesn’t reeeaaally answer and walks her back.

Celaena tells him that if Lithaen (a wink and a nod towards Celaena’s secret identity in Queen of Glass) chose Roland over Chaol then Lithaen is ‘the greatest fool who ever lived.’

Please see above, re: consent being debateable.

Celaena is also grateful that Lithaen is gone.

Midnight! Celaena heads for the library, being unable to sleep. She plans to grab a book and hightail it back to her room unless there are still some fires lit in the library and I’d ask why she wasn’t reading one of the eighty zillion books she apparently bought earlier but I have been in the frame of mind where nothing you have works for your brain. It’s like with some people and clothes? But with books.

With the chill tonight, it was no surprise to see someone completely concealed by a black cloak, hood drawn over the face. But something about the figure standing between the open library doors made some ancient, primal part of her send a warning pulse so strong that she didn’t take another step.

It’s a librarian come to keep her away from the books. They know what’s going to happen when she brings her dog into the library and they know about those times when she was a kid and they figure out that she’s easily spooked by people in black cloaks.

I’m kidding. It’s creepy and evil and the Eye of Elena starts glowing to ward it off. Celaena closes her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, the amulet was dark, and the hooded creature was gone.

Not a trace, not even the sound of footsteps.

Celaena didn’t go into the library. Oh, no. She just walked quickly back to her rooms with as much dignity as she could muster. Though she kept telling herself that she had imagined it all, that it was some hallucination from too many hours awake, Celaena couldn’t stop hearing that cursed word again and again.

Plans.

Honestly I feel like that chapter should have just ended on ‘Celaena didn’t go into the library.’ It’s kind of funny but still conveys that the creature freaked her out.

Chapter 6!

Celaena is still walking back to her rooms in this chapter. I feel like that could have been better worded last chapter. She’s trying to rationalize still: reading is out of fashion, so maybe somebody was indulging in the middle of the night so nobody made fun of them.

Also it’s a lunar eclipse tonight.

Celaena decides to go see Elena in her tomb and sets off down the secret passageway. Celaena has scars from the Ridderak bite (“a ring of white scars punctured her palm and encircled her thumb”) that I don’t believe were mentioned before or are ever mentioned again. I could be wrong.

She reaches to open the door to the tomb and a bronze doorknocker shaped like a skull asks her if she’s going to knock. She freaks out and says the door knocker can’t really be talking because that would mean magic.

It was impossible - it should be impossible. Magic was gone, vanished from the land ten years ago, before it had even been outlawed by the king.

“Everything in the world is magic. Thank you ever so kindly for stating the obvious.”

She calmed her reeling mind long enough to say, “But magic doesn’t work anymore.”

“New magic doesn’t. But the king cannot erase old spells made with older powers - like the Wyrdmarks. Those ancient spells still hold; especially ones that imbue life.”

What the fuck ever, y’all. I give up on figuring out the magic vanished from the world stuff. Really it only vanished from this particular continent, too, you learn later. Does that mean it’s really only a forcefield? Does that mean water stops magic? Does the amount matter? Would a river stop magic? If you’re on a boat in Erilea, can you do spells?

No answer. Well, I live in hope, as the priest said to the princess (thank you Tamora Pierce for that saying, which I have used since I was seven)

The door knocker is annoying. Celaena is annoying. Their banter is annoying. I think reading 50 pages of this at a time is messing with whatever objectivity I was clinging to. Moving on.

Apparently King Brannon (first king of Terrasen, Elena’s father, hot fae dude with fire powers) put the door knocker there to watch Elena’s tomb. I have to ask what the door knocker’s powers are aside from speech, but I know I will receive no answer.

The door knocker (whose name we have now learned is Mort) says that her name is the funniest thing he’s heard in centuries.

Apparently Elena is recharging after helping Celaena and won’t be back for a while. Mort says he has a message from her to Celaena though. Celaena decides to put that off and examines the tomb more thoroughly.

There’s a sword of truth, wyrdmarks on the walls, and Gavin Havilliard’s armor but no sign of Elena’s. The lunar eclipse puts the tomb almost entirely in darkness and Celaena agrees to hear what Elena has to say.

Mort cleared his throat, and then said in a voice that sounded eerily like the queen’s, “ ‘If I could leave you in peace, I would. But you have lived your life aware that you will never escape certain burdens. Whether you like it or not, you are bound to the fate of this world. As the King’s Champion, you are now in a position of power, and you can make a difference in the lives of many.’ ” Celaena’s stomach turned over.

“Cain and the ridderak were just the beginning of the threat to Erilea,” Mort said, the words echoing around the tomb. “There is a far deadlier power poised to devour the world.”

“And I have to find it, I suppose?”

“Yes. There will be clues to lead you to it. Signs you must follow. Refusing to kill the king’s targets is only the first and smallest step.”

Celaena has the usual ‘why should I bother helping other people because my life sucked’ discussion with Mort, who does the wise old mentor parts right down to “you don’t mean that.”

Mort just glowered at her. “You’re that selfish? That cowardly? Why did you come down here tonight, Celaena? To help us all? Or just to help yourself? Elena told me about you—about your past.”

“Shut your rutting face,” she snapped, and stormed up the stairs.

End chapter 6.

Comparison

Accidental parallels ahoy! Neither Maerad nor Celaena want their destinies. Both are told the fate of the world hinges on them.

Of course, The Riddle has Maerad keep it on the down low and ponder things herself even as she keeps moving forward because she has had a crappy life, and she doesn’t want other people to have a crappy life. We also know who Maerad is and why she’s important to the grand scheme of things, while ToG is taking its sweet time confirming what seemed to me on first read incredibly obvious. I remember being confused when it was a reveal and flipping back through. That’s just the kind of book ToG is. Of course she’s a long lost princess. Of course she is.

I just wish the book didn’t pretend it was going to be a surprise.

We also have Maerad remembering the last book and some key points and having an action scene almost right off the bat. Celaena, the action murder heroine, has yet to have a fight six chapters in.If you took away Maerad’s experiences, she wouldn’t be the same character. If you took away Celaena’s, she would still be doing exactly what the plot says she should be doing, because nothing has formed or been formed by Celaena.

If that makes sense.

Stats

The Riddle

Pages: 18

Fragments: 14

Em-Dashes: 14

Ellipses: 6

ToG

Pages: 51

Fragments: 110

Em-Dashes: 116

Ellipses: 48

[astoria00]

A Sun seeks DAY

Get out of my way Freak!

I wasn’t anywhere near you!’

It’s your fault the deal fell flat.

 They didn’t even know about me!’

 I never wanted a kid in the first place.

 ‘Would it make a difference if I was born ‘normal’?

  Neo hated waking up from that accursed dream.

Since Roman’s death it constantly plagued her. Her peace of mind seemingly lost forever by his sudden demise…and she only had herself to blame.

If she hadn’t taken Ruby lightly, if she had stayed on top of the ship, she could have stopped her dear friend’s cruel fate.

But she had thought they would be alright…just like always.

There was no way they were in any real danger.

They chose the winning side…

 And now Roman was gone forever.

 It boggled her how thinking about him still hurt so much.

Time healed all wounds?

What a joke.

 Stretching her tense legs a bit, she shivered at the cold creeping up her feet.

This was the last time she let Cinder chose where they would spend the night.

The cave might have been a more…low profile friendly option, but Neo was tired of freezing all the time.

 ‘Don’t have those fancy powers keeping me warm.’

 The short girl had always had some sort of inkling that their new partner was a bit more special than she had let on, but the existence of actual magic just seemed so far removed from reality…and yet she had witnessed it with her very own eyes.

Years before Cinder had graced them with her presence.

 Now you listen to me you stupid brat!

You better not come back before you apologize for whatever you did to the Branwen tribe, you hear me?

 Shuffling her feet, Neo pulled them to her knees while sitting up, her mismatched eyes blinking through the darkness.

Cinder and her had build some sort of provisional shelter to keep the snow outside and giving them an opportunity to rest…though she couldn’t be too sure if the dark haired girl had actually gotten herself some shut eye.

Speaking of which, where was her sassy companion anyway?

 Grimacing at failing to locate her missing attire, she hobbled to the exit winding her thick blanket even tighter around her body.

 ‘Of course she’s outside.’

 Cinder seemed to have trouble to let her guard down enough to sufficiently rest.

It was something Neo observed when they had traveled to Atlas together.

There was some nervous, tense energy around her. One that felt all too familiar to the shorter girl.

A cold shudder ran down her spine, as she pulled the spare blanket they had put up along the entrance to the side and padded outside.

 ‘COLD!!!’

 So maybe running through the snow barefoot hadn’t been such a great idea after all.

But on the other hand, she also had no real motivation to turn back around to get her shoes.

Exhaling loudly, she let her eyes wander over the scenery in her attempt to spot Cinder.

Which appeared not to be as time consuming as she thought.

The dark haired girl hadn’t strayed too far from their secret hideout, lying in a puddle of fresh snow, staring up into the dark, cloudy sky, watching the snowflakes fall.

There was something strangely serene about the picture.

Neo couldn’t help but look at her companion in silent wonder.

She had never seen Cinder so…relaxed…no, that wasn’t the right word.

 ‘Vulnerable!’

 That’s it.

She had never seen her so vulnerable, so raw and open before.

Maybe it was the dim light surrounding them, as the moon was obscured by thick dark clouds, but the short girl couldn’t help but acknowledge how beautiful the other girl actually was.

Even if it was somewhat begrudgingly.

After pondering whether to leave or stay, Neo sat down next to Cinder.

 The snow was freezing, even with the blanket around her whole body.

Shivers ran done her spine, as she tried to huddle closer to her companion, finally seeming to get her attention.

 “What the-?

Do you have a death wish, girl?

What are you doing out here?”

 What is a small girl like you doing in a place like this?

  xxxxxxxxxx

  The tall boy mustered her with keen interest, his bowler looking oh so funny on his reddish hair.

She must have gotten lost on her way to the Branwen tribe’s current location after all, because that definitely wasn’t how she had envisioned a bandit to look like.

Before she could even try to explain herself though, a red, long and more importantly sharp sword was held to her head, pointing directly to a point between her eyes.

Its owner’s face was hidden behind a…grimm mask of sorts?

Only two crimson orbs glowed dangerously through the two small slits, positioned perfectly over the other person’s eyes.

She swallowed harshly.

 This wasn’t good, right?

She should have never sneaked inside this tent!

 ‘I don’t want to die!’

 “Now, now Raven.

Your loyalty and commitment to my safety are honorable, but surely you don’t believe me to be threatened by a mere child, do you?”

 Behind the masked girl appeared an older, even more imposing woman, a fur coat hanging around her shoulders, carrying the proud emblem of a lone feather.

 ‘The leader!’

 Now this was bad.

On one hand she found the leader, on the other…

 “My apologies, ma’am.”

 The sword disappeared from her view and relief washed over her, to be immediately replaced by another wave of anxious tension by the masked girl’s next words.

 “Shall I deal with this brat?”

 She didn’t like the sound of that.

And if she was being honest, she also didn’t want to find out how the bandit wanted to ‘deal’ with her.

 Not daring to move one inch, she stared at the leader in fear.

 “She’s just a kid, I’d say we have more pressing topics to talk about than deciding the fate of a poor streetrat.

Just let her go.”

 Finally the bowler wearing boy had spoken up, tipping against his hat with a grin.

The leader sighed, when Raven immediately whipped around, almost growling at him.

 “I am second in command!

You don’t give me orders!”

 The redhead’s grin widened, when he pulled out some keychain, causing the masked girl’s posture to get rigid.

 “I don’t know about that, Robin.

Maybe you’re getting soft.”

 He dangled the chain in front of her, revealing a photo of four young people, all smiling in the camera. One looked oddly similar to the masked girl, she thought.

Not that she cared.

She just wanted to get out of this alive.

 Before Raven could retort anything, the leader stepped forward, banging her hand against the table with a loud, thud, splintering the wood and causing both of the other bandits to snap to attention.

 “ENOUGH!”

 Fixing the masked girl with a pointed stare, she ripped the keychain out of the bowler wearing boy’s hand, her voice lowering dangerously.

 “We will talk about this at a later time, do you understand, Raven?”

 Nodding wordlessly, Raven didn’t make a sound. Just her clenched fists indicated how furious she must have been right now.

 “Good, and Roman”, her attention now solely laid on the redhead, “the answer is no!

I will not approve of segregation!

We are bandits, not organized crime lords.”

 “But think about-“

 “Not another word!

I gave you a home when nobody wanted you. I taught you everything you know.

Without me, you would be nothing.

Is that the extent of your gratefulness?”

 The boy lowered his head and it was in that moment that she decided to bolt.

Running and crawling as fast as she could back into the air ventilation system, only managing to catch the muffled cry of what she presumed to be Raven and the cold voice of her leader.

 “Let her go.

I won’t waste resources on catching a little brat that is of no use to us.

She hasn’t heard anything that could do us harm.”

 And still…she couldn’t stop running.

Tears streamed down her face, as she realized just how narrowly she escaped death.

A death her father had gladly sent her to…

 ‘Oh no!’

 Her father!

…he wouldn’t be pleased when she reported that she hadn’t been able to change the Branwen tribe’s mind after all.

 The cold evening wind that greeted her once she finally submerged to the surface again made her want to huddle down.

 It was so cold…

She was so tired…

She stopped completely and leaned against the wall, searching for a place to rest a bit.

Hobbling into an alleyway she ducked next to a trash container to shield herself from the freezing breeze.

 She didn’t know how long she stayed there, only that she couldn’t seem to stop crying.

 ‘Mommy…why did you leave me?’

 Because she was a freak.

Wasn’t that what her father told her all the time?

No one wanted a mute child.

 “Well, hello there Neopolitan.

You look practically frozen.”

 Startled she looked up, her eyes widening in shock.

It was Roman, the bowler wearing bandit.

She had expected dread to settle in again, but surprisingly she wasn’t as afraid as she thought she would be.

The redhead only smiled, offering his hand to her, almost as if he knew who she was…

But that couldn’t be true…right?

 “Let’s get you home and warm you up.”

  xxxxxxxxxx

  “-warm you up?”

 ‘Huh?’

 Neo blinked owlishly at the person now perched at her side.

Cinder seemed to have sat up, squinting at her incredulously.

She must have missed the question.

Cocking her head, she shrugged clueless, causing the dark haired girl to sigh exasperated.

 “I asked if you want me to warm you up.”

 Just as she was reminded of it, the cold returned full front, making her shiver noticeably under her blanket, offering a small nod to Cinder, who rolled her eye and simply held out her hand for Neo to grab on.

 A pang of sadness washed over her.

There were times when missing Roman was bearable…and then there were times she wished she could scream her pain out to the world.

When she wanted to find someone she could blame it on.

Cinder had been on the receiving end of it as well.

Her feelings for her companion were a jumbled mess.

 She hated Cinder!

And the worst was, the dark haired girl hadn’t even known why until recently.

Obsessing over getting her revenge on her had kept her going.

It had been the only thing driving her…

‘Roman’s dead and you left me!’

 And yet…

 Warmth spread through her hand as it entwined itself with Cinder’s.

 …she couldn’t help but want to keep being around her.

There was this admiration she had for the other girl.

The way her face would light up for the most ridiculous thing she deemed useful to her.

Her cunningness, her over the top attempts to sound like a crime lord…

…her golden like, gorgeous eye…

 ‘…huh?’

 Where did that come from?

 Giving Cinder a grateful smile she wrote in the snow before them.

 /Do you ever sleep?/

 The dark haired girl’s expression soured, her voice changing, adapting the short girl’s favorite uppity tone.

 “I don’t need sleep.

I am perfectly capable of reserving my energy.”

 Something cracked behind them in the distance, possibly a tree submitting to the heavy snow piled on top of it, but whatever it was, it made Cinder flinch noticeably.

 ‘…are you afraid?’

 That would probably be a bad thing to ask, though she doubted Cinder would ever be able to find some rest like this, seeing how high on alert she appeared to be.

It was time to change the game.

 /Read me a story./

 Her companion positively gaped at her.

 “Excuse me…what?”

 Pointing at the snow again the short girl wrote it out even more carefully, skillfully hiding her gleeful smile.

 /READ ME A STORY!/

 Cinder appeared at a loss for words, she was positively rattled.

It seemed to cost her immense willpower not to react to the fact that Neo had practically ordered her to do it, as she breathed in deeply.

Finding her voice again, she tried to compose herself.

 “If you hadn’t noticed, we are right out of books.”

 ‘You don’t say.’

 The short girl shrugged.

 /Guess you have to make one up then./

 Not even waiting for Cinder’s response Neo lied down on the snow, staring up at the dark sky, just as her companion had done before her.

 Befuddled Cinder stared at her, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment, as she realized Neo would probably continue to bug her to comply with her wish…

The shorter girl’s grip on her hand tightened a bit when she tried to pull her hand away.

 Neo wouldn’t let her get out of this.

 With a silent curse, Cinder surrendered and rolled on her back, glaring at the clouds.

 “Do I really have to?”

 A quick squeeze was the only affirmation she got.

 Clicking her tongue in annoyance, the dark haired girl began to search for words.

 “Fine…

Ahem, once upon a time there was…a dragon.

He was strong and feared…and powerful.

One day he encountered a little girl who was shackled by a cruel fate and he saw the potential inside her, so he took her with him…”

 ‘You have a nice voice.’

 She really meant it. It was incredibly pleasant to listen to. So much so, that Neo had to be careful not fall asleep.

Not yet at least.

 So she listened to the tale her companion spun, full of monsters and magic, thieves and wizards and, most importantly, dragons.

The sky began to tint its colors, chasing the endless dark of the night away as it slowly began to dawn…and Cinder’s voice abruptly stopped.

 Turning her head she saw that the dark haired girl’s eye was closed, her breathing even and slow.

 ‘Finally!’

 It had been so hard to not simply drift off, but now that she had managed to get Cinder her much needed rest, she felt herself fade away as well.

Robbing closer to her companion’s sleeping form she cuddled against her.

Yes, Cinder would probably never allow them being this close to each other after she stabbed her, but Neo couldn’t stand the thought to wake up alone and cold again.

 ‘Good night, Cinder.’

 In hindsight, it probably had been a bad idea to fall asleep outside of their camp.

 AN: Hello again ^^

Time for Day Two I guess…I’m probably not finishing until    Spicecreamweek is 

Over, but I’ll still do all the prompts.

Enjoy ^^

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

COTW - I need some guidance or I'm just gonna keep writing

Four months after the start of Nick's trial, it was finally coming to an end. Floch had stopped by to tell them the jury was entering deliberation, and that he'd contact them once he had news. Another week passing before Floch called to say the jury would be delivering their verdict the following morning in court. Neither Levi or Eren getting any sleep the night before. Levi cleaning the apartment in an attempt to sooth the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, while Eren was up with the twins. Rei had taken his time adjusting to life outside the hospital, as he was so much happier than his twin to voice his complaints. Rei wouldn't take Eren's nipple, nor did he seem happy with expressed milk. Eren was devastated, and took it as a sign as his son rejecting him, not listening to Levi while he tried to rationalise with his husband. It wasn't as if Eren rejected his pup, in fact, he was overly protecting of the small boy, but feeding time usually came with a quiet Eren. Dressing for court, both of them were silent. The mood suffocatingly heavy. Levi had opened his mouth half a dozen times to reassure Eren, only for nothing to come out. The heaviness only broken by Eren having a breakdown over a bloodied nose, convinced that Nick was about to walk free. A week was a long time, a stupidly long time in Levi's mind, but given the length of the trial, there was probably a huge amount of evidence to sift through. Eren had definitely got through to the jury. He'd gotten through to every single person in that courtroom, and then to masses online. They could only hope that Nick hadn't paid any of the jury members off. Now that he was able to carry Viren around, Eren hadn't wanted to leave Viren home with Gunther and the twins, their son confused as to why mummy was crying. Stepping in, Gunther had gently pushed for Eren to take Viren with him. Eren needed to face his past, and Viren was the dose of courage he needed... but Eren finally pulled himself together, leaving Viren home and confused, crying for his mummy as Eren rushed from the apartment. Even though he knew Eren couldn't help but feel crushed at the prospect of Nick being free, it'd be so much easier if Eren would channel some of that confidence he had coming off the witness stand. There was no way that anyone in their right mind would let Nick walk. The media had packed the steps of the court. Both Eren and Levi were blinded by the flashing cameras, and hounded as Levi kept a tight arm around his husband. Eren smelt of fear and distress, his head hung as Levi led him up to the top of the steps, then safely into courthouse. Taking a moment to compose and recenter himself, Levi let out a heavy sigh to which Eren nodded. The alpha's stomach was doing flips, nervous like he'd never been before. Nick had taken so much from them. So much from Eren. His husband's whole life had been ruined by Nick and his thirst for money and popularity?, if that was the right word for buying connections. The man a slave to it. Realising several moments had passed since they'd entered, Levi took hold of Eren's hand. He was the alpha. He needed to be the strong one. He needed to be what Eren needed him to be, and right now, Eren needed him to drag him down the hall and into the courtroom. * Entering the courtroom, Eren was attempting not to throw up on his feet. He knew that there was a fair chance that Nick wouldn't be walking out a free man, but that was in a fair world. The world was hardly fair. Led by Levi, his alpha sat him down in the chair at the end of the row, before sitting next to him. Effectively blocking him from escaping from the room. He wanted to run. He'd already scratched his inner thighs, which he knew Levi would be disappointed over. The action still so ingrained that he'd fallen back into the habit without even realising it at the time. Taking his hand, Levi rubbed the back with his thumb, the action was meant to be comforting, but he was too far into his own head to find it so. This was an awful idea. He shouldn't have come. He should have had hidden at home with the kids... he could have stayed in his nest and just waited for news. It was all... he'd thought about this day for so long, and he'd thought he'd be strong enough to be here. When he'd come off the stand, he was so sure Nick wasn't going to get away with everything... As a large hand landed on his shoulder, he jumped and whimpered. Jerking away from the hand, and from Levi, fleeing as far away as one could without leaving the chair "Whoa! Eren, it's ok. It's just Mike and Erwin" "S-sorry" Now he felt like a fucking moron. Mike cleared his throat "Hanji's here too. She dropped us out the front, and will be here in a moment" "Ok..." Even if they were there to support him, Eren felt almost claustrophobic as the two alphas sat behind him. Levi went to take his hand, but his nerves had him so shaken that the simple touch elicited a whine of distress "Bright Eyes, its all going to be ok. Just focus on your breathing, ok?" "That's easy for you to say. This man didn't ruin your whole life!" Snapping at his husband, Eren immediately regretted it. He could feel his face reddening "Sorry. You didn't deserve that" "No. You're right. This man didn't ruin my whole life. He just took my boyfriend away, and fucked up my husband's life. I know you're upset and I know you're freaking out. But there is no way that Nick is going to be walking free from this. That arsehole is going away, and he is never coming back" "I wish I could be so sure..." "He's right Eren, have faith in the justice system. You've taken the stand and you fucked Nick's case right up for him" Flinching at Mike's words, the did nothing for his nerves at all. When Nick finally came in, and the court was brought into session, Eren's heart was hammering in his chest. The man looked confident. His suit perfect, and his combed back as he smiled at everyone like a man who was about to walk free. Trying to control his breathing, Eren felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack. This trial hadn't even been about him, yet his life had been laid bare for all to hear, and he'd nearly lost his pups because of it. Listening to what was going on around him became impossible as white noise filled his ears, his panic flowing off of him freely. The jury came in, and Eren was gone. Biting his lip as he tried to curl into himself, his fingernails scratched at his right wrist. Just a few more minutes and they'd know Nick's fate. The lawyers were talking to the judge, but when he vomited into his mouth, Eren had to look away, covering his ears with his hands. Too scared to know what was happening, when Levi swept him up his arms, he had no idea what was happening. Erwin and Mike both joined in on the impromptu hug, Hanji barely able to wrap her arms around the four of them. Nuzzling his neck, Levi's tears rolled, his scent filled with happiness. As quick as the hug started, it was breaking apart. Levi pulling him down with him, his alpha's face still hidden against his neck. It took more than a long moment to realise Levi was mouthing something against his neck. Sniffling, he shook his head, trying to tell Levi he didn't know what was happening. Removing himself for his neck, Levi took his face in his hands. His alpha's smile blinding, as he wiped at Eren's cheeks with the pads of his thumbs "He's guilty, baby. He's going away for life..." Reality came rushing back as he sucked down a breath. Nick was on his feet, spluttering out his protests, while the judge was trying to bring things back under control "Guilty?" His voice sounded strangled... because he honestly couldn't believe it... "Yeah. Yeah, baby. He's not going to hurt anyone again" "He's... guilty?" "Yeah. Yeah, Eren" "L-Lee..." Pulled back against his husband, Eren's hands gripped Levi's shirt so hard his hands hurt. Nuzzling into Levi's neck, he sobbed "... he's guilty?" "Yeah, baby. You're safe" "They're safe. He can't hurt any more omegas?" "No, Bright Eyes. He can't" "Thank god..." Nuzzling into his husband's, Eren was practically boneless with relief and disbelief that it was finally over. Not paying attention to the judge, he was confused when Levi pulled away from him "Mr Yeager?" Jumping at his name being called by the man, he had no idea whatsoever as to why the man could be addressing him, only that his fear had coming back with those two words. Whispering, Levi told him to stand. Eren feeling completely disjointed as he gathered himself up enough to "Your h-honour?" "Mr Yeager. It is clear to all of us that this man has been directly responsible for untold heart break and pain for omegas. As such, I am allocating you a restitution payment. It will not undo what has been done, but it may go towards your ongoing counselling needs, and the upbringing of your children. You've shown many of us that omegas are still being treated in a way that is substandard, and completely unacceptable in this day and age. Before I decide the amount, I want to ask you a question. You are clearly passionate about omega rights. What would you like to see in the future, for them?" Why? What? Why him? Awkwardly, he stammered "I... I want a world where omegas are treated as equals... Where they don't have to fear walking down the street, or fear going to school... And where they don't have to live a life of being bred just for alphas..." God. Had he said the right thing? The judge let out a long hum, Eren's stomach doing a backflip. He shouldn't have said anything... he didn't know the right things to say... "Sir?" The judge smiled, nodding to himself. Or, at least, Eren assumed it was to himself. He had no idea what was coming "I am awarding you a payment of $600,000, for the emotional distress and damages caused by this man. And a further $500,000 in the hopes you'll use the money to better your life, and those of omegas. This money will be paid from the funds seized at the time of Nick Minister's arrest. We cannot undo what was done, and you are not responsible for the sins of this man, nor your father. Live your life with no regrets, and make the world a better place for omegas" Eren nodded quickly, the words hadn't sunk in. Only that the man in front of him was telling him not to carry to weight of his father's sins "I... thank you" "You're welcome. And I hope to never see you in my court again, Mr Yeager" Levi tugged him back down to sit. Eren still processing the words... They were giving him money? What for? He had money. He had a good life with Levi... He liked working for his money... Why were they giving him money? He didn't want their money. He didn't want anything to do with Nick... "Bright Eyes?" "I..." He didn't know what he wanted to say... Nick was yelling abuse as he was taken away. Floch was saying something to them, but Eren shook his head. He didn't know what to do or what to say "Eren, you need to calm down. Your breathing's getting out of control again" "I... need to go home" That was it. He wanted to go home and see his babies. He wanted his boys... and he needed less people around him "Ok, but we need to wait while Nick is escorted out. Life in prison is a good look for him" He didn't want to wait. He wanted out. He wanted his sons and to be home where he could lock the world out. He thought he'd be happier than he was... but this all felt too much like a dream. * Levi watched as Eren walked into the apartment ahead of him. His husband wasn't acting like he'd expected him to. He'd expected Eren to be happier, especially given that the judge had given his omega a leg up, to help him follow his passion of helping other omegas. Heading straight for Viren, Eren lifted him off the sofa, ignoring the look Gunther gave him. Carrying Viren into their bedroom, Eren slammed the door behind him, Levi sighing to himself as he close the apartment door "It didn't go well?" "No. It went great. Eren's just... I honestly don't know..." "So Nick's going away?" "Life with no chance of parole. The judge said it was one of the worst cases he'd seen in his 20 years as a judge" "Then why is Eren upset?" "That's the thing, I don't know. The man even took the step to pay him restitution for what he'd been through" "Oh? Is that it?" "I can think of 1.1million reasons why it isn't..." Gunther let out a whistle as his eyes widened. Levi felt much the same. He hadn't expected anything to come from Eren giving evidence, other than his mate being able to highlight the mistreatment of omegas "Yeah. Tell me about it. I think it's so Eren won't turn around and sue the state for what he went though in foster care, and because it's affected every single aspect of his life. $600,000 for what he went through, the another $500,000 to help Eren help omegas..." "That's a lot of responsibility right there" "Do you think?" "Maybe. I don't know. He's your husband, you know him better than anyone else does" "Yeah..." Honestly, Levi didn't know where to even begin when it came to improving the lives of omegas. He only knew that he'd pulled a rabbit out the hat, and somehow managed to help Eren get back on his feet. But Eren was a naturally loving and forgiving person. He truly believed he'd deserved to be abused and used... "I might take off, let you two have your alone time. Eren clearly needs to talk. Both twins have been changed. Rei's had a bottle, and Viren had cereal" "Thanks for that. I know Hanji and the others wanted to come back... but until I know what's going on with Eren..." Levi let his sentence drop. Gunther got it. He didn't take any offence to being evicted after babysitting all morning "No worries. It's a relief to know a piece of shit like Nick won't be back" "Yeah. You should have seen it. He was livid. Piece shit got done on drug charges too. I would have loved to have seen that part of the trial" "Drugs. Why am I not surprised?" Climbing off the sofa with a weary sigh, Gunther walked over to him, pausing to pat him on the shoulder "Tell Eren congratulations when he's in a better mood. Whatever he decides to do, I'm sure he'll be just fine" Letting himself out, Levi locked the door behind him. He had no idea what mood Eren was going to be in, but he couldn't let it fester. Heading into their bedroom, Eren was curled up around Viren. The pair of them laying in the middle of the bed, with Eren pressing kisses to Viren's hair. Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, he placed his hand on Eren's side "Are you hungry?" "No. Not really" "Then do you want to talk about it?" "Nope" "Eren" "Lee. I can't. Not right now. It's too much" "I thought you'd be happy" "I'm sorry" "No. Just. Don't let it get to the point where you can't talk to me. I know you scratched at your arms, and they'll need to be dressed" "I'm sorry" "Eren..." "I'm sorry! I don't know how I feel. I know I should be happy, but I just feel disgusted" In his arms, Viren wriggled out of Eren's hold. Eren rolling onto his back as Viren climbed over him less than carefully "Why disgusted?" "I don't want his money. Do you know how many pups that would be? How many omegas had to be hurt for him to be that rich? It's wrong!" "Ok. Ok. But you know, the judge did suggest using the money to help omegas..." "How am I supposed to even do that? What am I going to do? Start a shelter? I'm not smart enough for any of that. The best I can do is keep my head down, and not provoke anyone else further" "I think maybe you should think about what you want from your life. There's a lot of things we can do..." "I don't want his money! I didn't do any of this for the money. I thought I was doing the right thing... I thought that speaking out I could change things, even if it was just for one person, you know. Now it feels like... feels like he still owns me. You should take Viren to the park or something. I'm not really good company right now" "I'm not leaving when you're upset like this" "Then I'm going to take a shower... I feel sick" Well that went well. Climbing across the bed, Eren put as much distance between them as possible. Levi left with his arms filled with Viren and the feeling that the next few days were going to be a total shitfest. Nick didn't own any part of Eren. The money was gifted to him, because the judge believed Eren could do something really special with it... like a shelter. It might have been an off handed comment, but Eren didn't know that Levi had been thinking of trying to find his omega a job in that field of work. He was jobless, and overqualified to be so. Hanji was talking about quitting and spending more quality time with Anna, before the birth of her second child... To Levi, it really wasn't that stupid of an idea. * Trying to find a rhythm between them seemed harder than Eren thought it would be. With the trial over, he just wanted things to go back to being normal. After having such a messed up life, he found comfort in having a routine and creating tasks for himself to complete. He knew he was avoiding the real issue of what to do with the money forced upon him, but until he could figure out just what came next for him, he wanted to go about setting a routine he could easily accomplish. Only. Levi was ruining all his plans without even knowing it. Even the twins, who were a handful now that Eli had started crying just as much as Rei, weren't annoying him as much as his husband did. When Levi was working, Eren prided himself on keeping the apartment clean. He prided himself on making breakfast, lunch and dinner, for his husband, no matter what time his shift ended. This had all gone to shit with his pregnancy, and as much as he desperately wanted to reclaim it, Levi was always there. He'd get up for the morning feeds, then go about making breakfast once the twins were fed. That should have been a simple task, yet it was like Levi had a superpower and that superpower was waking up just as he started, then shooing him out of the kitchen so he could take over. After breakfast came the dishes and clean up, which Levi would do. At lunch, Levi would insist on making it... then dinner. When Rei had started running low on formula, Eren had offered his pup his breast, only for the pup not to take it. Given it was still early, and only he and Viren were awake, he'd intended to take the toddler for a walk down to the local pharmacy. It was only a 10minute walk, yet, Levi magically appeared from the bedroom as Eren was about to slide his shoes on. Explaining that Rei needed formula, Levi took his shoes from his hand, kissed him on the top of the head and promised he'd go... because "he knew the right one to get". He knew how to feed his son. He'd taken a photo of the tin, and had fully intended to ask one of the staff, if it wasn't in stock. The same thing happened a few days later when they needed nappies. Levi happily taking Viren for a walk, while Eren was left home with the twins. Even when it came to things like pads, or nursing pads, off Levi would go. If he tried making something for lunch or a snack while Levi was gone, his husband would scold him gently about how he should be resting. Levi was doing everything around the apartment, and it was driving him insane. If he went and took a nap, his husband would ask what was wrong. If he went and took a bath, Levi would check on him if he felt like he'd been in there too long. He knew Levi liked to keep busy, and while he'd appreciated how much his husband had done for him, and how he'd gotten him through his pregnancy, this was exactly why he felt Levi needed a job. Keeping his mouth closed about it, he finally broke and called Krista, booking himself an appointment without telling Levi about it. He'd used his phone to map the route out to clinic via public transport... he'd then triple checked it carefully. He'd have to swap buses and walk, but he was honestly looking forward to it. Having made the appointment in the morning, Eren crept carefully around the house. The shower he'd had, could barely have been called a shower. He was too scared that if he turned it properly, Levi would wake up. Feeding both pups, he cleaned them up and dressed them for the day, before laying them both down in Eli's crib. The pair loved sleeping together, and Eren loved watching them sleeping together. Creeping out the nursery, he thought he was home free. He was dressed, shoes on, backpack organised, Titan was happily eating his wet food on the counter, while Levi and Viren slept... only, Viren came stumbling out his room dragging his blanket. Rushing to gather his crying his son up, the toddler wrapped his arms around his neck as he started to cry... summoning Levi. Blinking at the sight, Eren hated the confusion on Levi's face "He had a nightmare" "Why aren't you in bed? Are you dressed?" "Oh. Yeah. I have an appointment with Krista in about an hour..." "You do? You didn't tell me about it" "I thought I'd be back in time..." "Give me a sec, I'll get ready" "No" "What?" "No. I don't need a lift" "Eren, you shouldn't be walking around town. You've just recovered from..." Walking over to them, Levi lifted Viren out his arms "Recovered from what? I gave birth in April. It's nearly July. I'm recovered" "You're still..." "I'm still what? Sick in the head? Yeah. I am. That's why I made myself an appointment" "I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth" "No. You didn't need to say it" "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means I have nothing to do anymore, Levi. It means "I don't even know why I'm here, other than to take care of the kids" "Eren..." In Levi's arms, Viren was looking at him like he was the worst mother in the world. His son had even gone back to everything being "daddy". He wasn't allowed to be there for his son's nightmares, or the times he tripped. Whatever he drew, it was for Levi. Bath times and bedtime stories were "daddy", and "no mummy". He didn't know what he'd done to make him fall out of love with him again, but he was just so exhausted. He needed help and he'd made an appointment... now he was stuffing everything up "Look. I'm sorry. I need to go" "Eren..." "Just take care of Viren..." Fleeing the apartment, he slipped his headphones into his ears. He might have been lying to himself to build up his courage, but he really did need to get out of the apartment. And by heading to see Krista, he already knew the destination. He knew what was waiting for him, and that Krista would listen. He knew the area, and where the bus stop was in relation to her office. He might not know the bus stop where he needed to switch over very well, but he had his headphones and his phone... as well as the thick hoodie he was half hidden in. His nerves and anxieties gave him no relief, but once he'd made it to Krista's office, he was quietly proud of himself. Pulling out his headphones, he stuffed them in the pocket of his hoodie, as he entered the waiting room. Krista's secretary looked up to give him a smile, before frowning. Eren's heart deciding to do a stupid flip in fear "No kids today?" Oh... that was all... "No. They're at home with Levi" "Aww. I've been looking forward to meeting the two new little ones" "I've got photos" "I'll take it! It's been so long since I saw you. How've you been?" He liked Krista's secretary. At first it was strictly professionally, but as time went by, she'd made the effort to be polite, and he appreciated that "Yeah. All over the place..." Shooting her a smile, the woman nodded "I can't imagine. Three little pups under 4... you're much stronger than I am" Walking over to the desk, he pulled his phone from his pocket, frowning at the new message from Hanji saying she'd pick him up from his appointment "Is everything ok?" "Oh. Sure. Hang on, I'll find those photos. Viren isn't sure what to think of being a big brother. He doesn't like that cry, and that they're too small to play games with" "Aw, bless him. I'm sure he'll settle down. Didn't you also have a cat? How does he like them?" "It's funny, with Viren, Titan didn't want anything to do with him. But with the twins, he's always trying to get into their cots. He was actually grooming Rei the other day" "Cats are complicated creatures" "I don't think I'll ever understand them... here we go. Rei's the one slightly smaller than Eli" Handing his phone over, he chose the photo of the pair of them holding hands "Oooh. Oh, they're adorable" "That was when Rei finally came home. They're inseparable now. They both sleep better when they're next to each other" "Someone's a proud mum" "Yeah... yeah. I can't deny that" Spending the time before his appointment talking about the kids really helped. It was a nice distraction, though it didn't drive away the thoughts of the fight he'd had with Levi, it did help calm his anxieties back down... until Krista came out and called him in. Sitting in the corner like he usually did, Krista sat across from him "Let me guess. You had a fight with Levi" Eren's lips twitched, the sides turning slightly upwards "Am I that transparent?" "Just a little. Do you want to start with that?" "No. Yes. Ugh... Is it possible to love someone, and want to punch them in the face at the same time?" "Yes... but it all depends on what he did" "I... you know how things weren't going great towards the end of last year? Well, now it's the opposite and we had a fight about it" "Levi's being too caring?" He could hear the laughter in her tone "I get that I had a lot of downs during the pregnancy, but he's suffocating me. I can't do anything at home" "What do you mean?" "Levi does it all. I'm sure if he could breast feed the pups, he'd be doing that too" "Have you talked to him about it?" "No. I know I should, but... he... it's not like he's doing it to be cruel. He's just not used to sitting still" "So you're upset because your husband is pampering you, and doing everything for you" Eren groaned "It's pathetic. I know it's pathetic, but I used to love taking care of the apartment. You know? Like, it made me proud to have everything done and organised, now I'm not even allowed to go buy formula, because I'm supposed to be resting" "Not many alphas would do that" "I know. That's what makes it so hard. We both know I'm a basket case, but with the pups and the trial, I need to get back into a routine. I need to keep busy so I don't have to think, and all I have are these thoughts and I'm sick of them" "What kind of thoughts?" "Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? Why am I still with Levi, if I'm not contributing anything? And I... I've started scratching again. If I catch myself, I can stop it. But when I'm sleeping, or distracted... I don't want to be like that" "Ok. So. Let's break this down. How do you feel about having both boys home?" "Terrified. Scared. Happy. Scared... I mean. It's a miracle that Rei survived. And I know that Levi is still shaken over the fact I technically died, but he's been getting worse, rather than better as time passes. He wanted to drive me today, like that wouldn't mean getting the twins up and into the car, and getting Viren moving..." "You're talking about Levi again. I want to know what you think" "I... I'm scared. I'm honestly scared. They're both so tiny. I feel like I have to watch them all the time or I'm going to lose them. I... it's harder than I thought it would be... some nights I can't sleep" "What keeps you up?" "I don't want them to die... I feel like I failed both of them and each time I look at them, I feel... guilty for what they went through..." "You're not to blame" "I was the one carrying them. I keep feeling like I'm a terrible mum, because even though they were supposed to be twins, they're not" "That was for medical reasons" "I know, but I still keep thinking they'd be better off I wasn't around" "Not around, or, not around?" "I... the second one" Drawing his knees up, Eren dug the heels of his palms into eyes "I don't want to die, but I don't not want to either. I'm so tired of it. I thought once the trial passed, that things might get better, but I'm not. I'm hiding from Levi. He's pushing himself so hard for me... but I can't tell him. I can't tell him how bad I feel because I know he's going to be too nice about it. I don't want to leave my kids, but I can't do anything for them. I feel so sick and dirty. Nick reminded me of who I really am, and I hate that person. I thought I was strong for standing up to him. Then the court gives me all this money and I feel like I've been fucked and paid for my services..." "You didn't see me, but I was there. I think his ruling was fair" "I don't! It's like Nick still owns me... I have his money. I don't want his money" "Have you thought about what to do with it?" "I can't talk to Levi about it. He doesn't get it. He thinks I want to buy a house or a car, or something physical with it. I don't want it. I hate what Nick did and I feel like I'm profiting from it" "Then, why don't you donate it?" "How do I know it's safe to do that? How do I know it's going to help omegas? He did so many bad things. So many things that can't be forgiven" "That was him. The judge gave you that money because you're an omega. You know what omegas need" "I'm a failure of an omega... I couldn't even have proper pregnancies. My heats are wrong. I'm too tall. It took an alpha to teach me how to nest. It took Levi to teach me how to read and write properly..." "See. You know what's wrong with the system. The fact you can even think about such things shows you've seen all the wrong sides of it. How would you show someone in your position that they're going to be ok?" "I don't know" "Yes you do. What did Levi do that no one else has?" "He... he took me in. He... told me it was my body. He was the one who taught me that" "How many omegas out there, do you think feel like they don't own their own bodies?" "A lot" "Too many?" Eren sniffled and nodded "And how many do you think fall through the gaps when it comes to shelters?" "Way too many... shelters aren't safe..." "I think what the judge was trying to tell you was that you're passionate about omega rights. If something isn't right, you speak up" "I can only do that because Levi's there" "That's not true. You told me how you stood up for the dancers at the clubs" "Because no one else would" "Exactly. You see someone who's hurt and you want to make it better. You see what's wrong with the world, and you see what's right. If you find something or someone working with omegas to make their lives better, why not donate the money to them?" "But what if they turn out like Nick?" "Not everyone you meet will be like him. Don't rush into anything, but also don't feel like you owe Nick a single thing... because of him you lost so much, Eren. Don't let him take any more from you" "I don't think I have anything left to give" "You have plenty. You've birthed three amazing boys, you've married Levi, you have a safe place to call home. You're allowed to be happy" "I don't feel very happy. I'm so sick of it, Krista. I'm sick of being told to rest. I'm sick of Levi doing everything around the apartment. I'm sick of me. I hate how I look. I hate how I feel. I hate hiding my panic attacks and tears from him... the only moments I get any real peace is when it's the twins early morning feeds. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of crying in front of my babies" "Have you been to see your doctor?" "No... I couldn't get an appointment, and if I did, Levi would insist he comes with me. I know I should go back on the stupid pills, but I don't want them in the house... it's... it's too tempting" Krista let out a soft sigh, rising from her chair, she came and sat beside him "You know what I'm going to say" "That I have to talk to Levi" "Yeah. I really think you should. Especially if you're feeling this low" Because it was just that easy, finding his hand starting to inch towards the other one with the need to scratch, he moved his arm up to rest on the arm of the sofa "I... Krista, he looked so hurt because I scratched at the trial. I'm sick of disappointing him" "Are you sure it was disappointment?" "What do you mean?" "There's a difference between disappointment and worry. He cares very deeply for you" "I know that. That's why I can't tell him... I love him too much to" "Eren, if Levi was feeling as you do, would you want to know?" "Yes" "Why?" Why, what? His reply tapering off into a question. He really didn't know what Krista expected him to say, other than the obvious "So I could support him?" "Exactly. I know things haven't been easy for you both, but I really think you need to talk. I could have him come here if that's easier. Wait. You have the twins now. I don't mind coming to talk to you both" "Krista, I couldn't ask you do that for me... You're supposed to be my therapist, but somehow you've ended up being one of my closest friends... I don't want to inconvenience you" "It's not an inconvenience. And maybe I'm really a wicked, selfish girl? Hmm... have you ever considered that I may want to meet Rei and Eli properly? See, I'm terrible" Eren let out a small laugh "Yes, you're completely wicked..." "Aren't I just? And don't think I don't know you've been showing other people baby photos" "I can't help it. They're so tiny... I still can't believe they're here. If everything had gone right, I would have only just given birth last month" The tiny spark of a joking mood was snuffed out with his own comment... "Eren, you can't blame yourself for that. It was in Rei's best interest that he was birthed sooner rather than later. I know you know that" "I do... but it's hard, Krista. They were twins, and now they're... not. They started their lives together, but they have different birthdays. I feel like I deprived them of that bond" "When they're old enough, you'll explain it to them and they'll understand" "And what if they don't? Then what do I do?" "You live with the knowledge that you went above and beyond what a normal person would do, so that your sons would have a chance to have each other. You've always been too hard on yourself" "I still don't feel better about it" "I know. And I can't imagine how it is to be a parent, but you love your boys, even the big kid. He loves you too, and you two really need to talk about this" "I feel like... if I tell him, he's only going to blame himself. I don't want to hurt him, not when he's trying to take care of me" "You said he'd gotten worse?" "Oh... yeah. Like, when I was pregnant, we went through a lot and I wasn't allowed to do things in case it brought on labour. But... it's like... he's trying to take everything on and I'm afraid it's going to burn him out" "Then tell him that" "He'd tell me not to worry. Because he's an alpha and all that... he treats me so good, Krista. He treats me like a person, and even calls me his equal... but I don't feel very equal at the moment" Krista hummed "I have an idea" "What?" "Why don't you draw up a table? You can divide jobs" "He'd ignore it" "Not if it's doctor's orders. We can draw it up now, and you can show him when you talk to him. I agree with you, I think you need to be up and doing things. Humans aren't made to be sitting still. Getting up and moving releases endorphins" "I can't even take the kids to the park or anything... the twins are too young, and when I want to take Viren for a walk, Levi insists he can just drive us. I've had him Viren out on outings, but he gets upset? when he comes home and finds I've done something... I've gone from feeling like he doesn't love or want me anymore, to feeling like everything I try to do isn't good enough, because he insists on doing it. It makes me start doubting that anything I've ever done has been good enough... it's exhausting. I can't even go stay with Hanji to have a break, because ever since the trial, I've been really sensitive to scents, and the pups are too small... I don't want to take them away from Levi" "Do you know what triggered the scent issue? And what happens? Do you panic?" "I... Yeah. It was on the day of sentencing. Levi sat me in the corner and I started feeling claustrophobic, then Mike and Erwin sat behind us... I felt like I was boxed in... actually... no. It was before then... when Eli came home. I started feeling really scared... and it's just gone from there. I'm not ok, Krista" "And that's a huge step. You're not denying it, and you're actively seeking help. That's huge and you should be proud of yourself" "I don't feel too proud" "Well I'll be proud of you, for you. Though I don't like that you feel this low..." "I don't like it either... it's exhausting" "Have you been sleeping?" "Not through the night. Just an hour or two at a time" "Can Levi watch the twins so you can get some real sleep. It's really going to help your mood" "I prefer if he sleeps. Viren has been demanding all of Levi's attention lately, so it's better if he sleeps. Three year olds have so much energy" "You know what I'm going to say" "That I need to take care of myself" "Yes. Because you do. I'm going to make an appointment with Levi too, and I'll stop in to see you both later" "Krista, you really don't need to do that" Krista winked at him "I'm selfish remember" "I think you're the least selfish person I know" "I'll take the compliment... but only if you show me those photos... I think you need a break from thinking" "I think I do to" * Cleaning the apartment around Viren, Levi wanted everything to be perfect for when Eren came home. He had no idea what was up with his husband, but he'd spent the whole time his mate was gone, trying to figure it out. He'd even messaged Hanji to see if she knew, which she didn't. And all he got was questions about what Eren had decided to spend his new fortune on. Levi was still really hung up on the shelter idea. He hadn't told Eren, but he'd been looking at property listings online. He'd found one place that would be ideal, but even with Eren's money, it would still take a lot of work to bring it up to scratch. Maybe it was naive of him, but he was carefully planning out everything. Hanji wanted to quit, but she was qualified to practice as a GP. If she ran a small clinic out the building, then they'd have both a doctor on staff, and they'd be able to offset costs. Nanaba was trained as a medical receptionist, and even if she couldn't join them, she'd be able to give them some direction in the way of being a receptionist. Mike could share a practice with Hanji, or be their facilitator between the hospital and the shelter... Eren would know what omegas needed. He'd know how to empower them best. His husband could help in every single aspect of being an omega. From choosing the decor, to letting Levi or Hanji know what each omega needed. Hell. Eren even had practice helping with births. They could work with Krista on the mental health side of things... Hell. He'd even thought maybe Sasha could help with dance classes to help get omegas more comfortable and confident with their bodies... or for rehabilitation. He knew it was all just a dream, but he also knew how much it would mean to Eren. As for himself, he didn't know what he could contribute. He had a hatred of paperwork, yet, he didn't think he could trust anyone else with this, and with Nick's case still fresh in everyone's mind, he could probably see about government grants to offset costs. After all, they were pretty red faced over their own failures coming to light... So, he might have put a bit too much thought into it... but he'd seen abused omegas. His own husband had been abused and he'd seen that not all omegas were happy to accept that kind of treatment. But all of this depended on Eren, he wouldn't take any of this further without talking to his husband about it. When Eren finally came home, his mate looked tired. Dropping his house keys in the bowl, Levi didn't expect it when his husband walked over to him and dropped down in his lap. He'd thought he was in the shit, with the omega. Wrapping his arms loosely around his husband, he forced himself to bite his tongue. Eren had initiated things, so that had to mean Eren wanted to talk. Letting out a long breath, Eren dropped his head onto Levi's shoulder "We need to talk" That was never a good way to start a conversation "I don't appreciate you bringing Hanji into private things like this" Oh. He was in the shit with his husband "What happens between us, needs to stay between us. Or I can't trust you" Levi again held his tongue. Eren had just been to see Krista, and while she was his therapist and he wanted his husband to be able to talk to her... Krista wasn't him "I didn't appreciate her spending the drive telling me how I'd upset you, without her listening to what I had to say. Krista will be coming over tonight, so I need to talk to before she does" Krista was coming over? Why? Cautiously, he replied "Ok..." Climbing out his hold, Eren sat down on the coffee table. Pulling his backpack off, his husband rifled around in it, finally pulling out a piece of paper folded in half "I need you to take a look at this" Handing it over, Levi unfolded it "What is this?" "You're doing too much around the house and I'm not ok with it" Folding the paper back up, Levi placed it down next to him. A frown on his face as he did "I'm your husband. Of course I'm going to..." "You didn't even look at it" "Because I don't mind..." "Well I do. Ok. You're making me feel useless. This is why I had to go see Krista. You're making me feel useless, Levi. You don't even let me go down to the shops, or do anything around the house. I know you're doing it because you love me, that's why I've been trying not to say anything, but it's not ok" He wasn't trying to make Eren feel useless... his husband had been through so much, so he wanted to ease the burden on his shoulders "You're still..." Eren cut him off with a hurt glare "I'm recovered physically. I'm not recovering mentally. I'm going backwards. Today, Krista asked me about going back on my pills. I told her no because it's too tempting. Do you understand what I mean by that?" Pills.. No. He didn't... All he wanted was for Eren to relax and rest... When he didn't reply, Eren sighed heavily "I've been thinking some pretty fucked up things. About how things wouldn't change if I was no longer here..." Suicide. The answer hit him like a ton of bricks. His hurt showing on his face "This is why I didn't want to tell you. Because I know you're only doing everything because you care. But I feel completely useless... I feel like if I was gone, nothing around here would change. Viren has reconnected with you. Rei is on the bottle, and Eli would probably take a bottle without thinking twice. So I went and I talked to Krista. That piece of paper, you ignored, is a jobs list. Everything around the apartment that needs to be done, broken into turns, because if something doesn't change, I'm going to break. I used to be proud of keeping the apartment clean. I used to be proud to make you meals. Now I feel like none of that meant anything to you, because you don't let me do anything. Do you understand what I'm saying?" "I... Eren. I never meant to..." He hadn't. He'd thought Eren's falling mood was his depression, not because he was making his husband feel worthless. He'd wanted Eren to be happy. To relax and spend time doing more things for himself "I know you didn't. And I know what happened with my pregnancy scared you. But I've gone back to scratching. I'm hiding showering or doing anything, in case you wake up and tell me to rest. I'm hiding my panic attacks and I never wanted to hurt you, but this isn't working. I'm going to take a proper shower and I want you to take a look at the list. You keep saying I'm your equal, and I know you're still shaken and hurting, but if you're going to be home all the time, we need to work as a team. This was what Krista and I came up with as a starting point..." Climbing off the table, Eren headed into their bedroom to ditch his backpack, before heading into the bathroom. Left on the sofa, Levi didn't know what to say. He really hadn't meant to make Eren seem unvalued... and not to the point of... Picking up the piece of paper, he unfolded it again. This time taking the time to read it properly. It was simple enough. The times Eren cooked, Levi did the dishes and vice versa. If Eren put the washing on, Levi moved it to the dryer. If Eren swept, Levi mopped. Eren did the night feeds, if both pups were hungry, then Levi was in charge of making Rei a bottle. His husband had broken everything down, though he did notice that Eren had listed himself as feeding Titan everyday. He'd known quitting work would be a huge adjustment for them both, he just hadn't realised that it would ruin their marriage. He'd hated everything Eren went through with his pregnancy, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone else, but he'd enjoyed when Eren would let him take care of him... and not just sexually. It made him feel wanted and needed. It felt good to take care of Eren, and to be what his husband had needed.

[77marvelimagines]

The Upside To Being A Terrible Liar

The Upside To Being A Terrible Liar

Stephen Strange X Reader

Prompt(s) from anonymous: Hiiiii May I request a Stephen strange x reader where the reader is part of the avengers and is starting to fall in love with him but like she’s in denial and she talks to herself and Stephen accidentally hears her? Thanks love

Note(s): Your quite welcome love! Thank you for sending in this prompt! It was so good I ended up going a little overboard with it, haha! I hope ya’ll can enjoy it nonetheless :’)

Warning(s): Slight language.

Word Count: 1,207.

“So,” Clint grinned far too wide, “How are you and Stephen Strange doing?” 

(y/n) hated the casual way that he leaned against the unopened fridge door. In an effort to ignore his raised eyebrows and snarky attitude, she opened the other door and leaned in to rummage around for some fruit.

“Stephen and I are fine. Why are you so interested, Clint? It’s not like something’s happening.” (y/n) continued to hate the way Clint didn’t believe her.

“Are you sure?” He pushed off the fridge and went to perch atop the marble island, a squint to his eyes. “Because someone got very drunk last night and may have revealed a few secrets while I was on a mission. As soon as Nat told me I had to come to get the scoop!”

Ah, yes, of course he had. (y/n) grimaced as she pulled out a carton of molding blueberries. She threw it away and continued to rummage, not answering Clint’s unspoken question.

It was true, though. Tony had brought out some alcohol around ten the night previous, saying something about how he was sober and didn’t need to see the crate in the fridge any longer. Everybody who wanted a few drinks dove into the free alcohol, which wound up into (y/n) drinking her strong feelings away and telling most of the whole team in her drunken haze. A horrible headache and the snark that Tony had given her in the morning shed light to her evening activities. (y/n) was trying hard to forget about her little episode last night. Clint coming and asking about it was truly and utterly unwanted.

The Avenger raised an eyebrow at his teammate’s unusual silence. “Is it true?”

(y/n) slammed the fridge harder than she needed too. There was no fresh fruit. She’d have to tell Steve on his next grocery run. “It doesn’t pertain to you. Please stop asking.” She walked out before he could ask anything else, legs taking her to one of the less visited wings of the facility where Clint and Tony wouldn’t be able to bother her throughout the rest of the day.

“I can’t believe he’s trying to get gossip from me,” (y/n) growled as she strut, “What are we? Freaking high schoolers? Real mature Clint, real mature!” She passed by Vision, who wisely phased through a wall as she passed. Even he could see the metaphorical steam that raised from her ears.

She threw her hands into the air as she rounded another corner. “What are we, middle schoolers? I do not have an obscene school girl sized crush on Stephen Strange! No siree!” She paced around the messy quiet room that she’d wandered into, pillows and blankets strewn everywhere. “I don’t like his wavy, curly hair, or how he always smiles when he starts to explain difficult concepts, or how his eyes crinkle when he laughs, or how he’s so thoughtful of others when they aren’t expecting it, or how he’s always trying to sneak glances at the stars at night, or that I’m hopelessly in lo-”

Shit.

(y/n) dropped the pillow she was trying to put away with a long, guttural groan. The couch cushions took the brunt of her graceless flop. God, she was the worst liar, even she couldn’t believe herself.

“You’re a terrible, horrible liar, (y/n),” she told herself. The cushions that she grumbled into made it sound more like “Wyer a herrable, orrable eyer, (y/n),” but that seemed to be enough for her secret spectator.

“Do you mean that?”

Shit.

(y/n) sprang up from the couch, hair a mess and eyes wild, at the sight of Doctor Stephen Strange standing in the doorway. His hands were clasped behind himself politely, chin tipped downwards as he timidly locked gazes with her. (y/n) felt her cheeks blush when she realized that he was shy and blushing, and that he’d probably heard her whole spiel.

“Uhm,” she started with a far too awkward laugh, “I.. I mean, it might be a possibility that I… completely and utterly… am helpless for you?” She grinned, but it was nervous and tight and cut more into her cheeks than she liked.

Stephen grinned despite her tenseness. His tongue peeked out to lick his lips as he laughed, short and breathless as if he were in disbelief. Usually, he was the epitome of looking clean-cut and the embodiment of snark and genius, but for once in his life, Stephen looked as small as an awkward high school boy.

“That’s good to hear,” Stephen said with a slightly thick voice. “I, um, think I feel the same way too. Do you think there’s any way that you would want to go out to dinner with me?”

(y/n)’s jaw dropped. Was Stephen Strange actually asking her out? How had she gone from having the worst headache to being pestered by Tony and Clint to having her heart’s dream come true? If this were truly a dream she didn’t want to wake up.

“That’d- that’d be great! Could we maybe go tonight? I-I’d like that…”

Stephen picked his head up with an absolute grin, eyes bright and a childlike eagerness about him. (y/n) felt herself blush even harder, sporting a grin that rivaled Stephen’s own.

“I’d love that, (y/n). Um, I’ll pick you up at eight?”

“Yeah, I’ll be ready by then.”

“Alright! I’ll uh, see you then.” Stephen quickly conjured a portal and left to presumably get ready. 

(y/n) blinked into the empty quiet room. Then grinned, and squealed and screamed and broke every rule Tony had set up in the quiet room. She flung herself into the couch and hugged a blanket as she rolled back and forth, laughing and screaming her joy all at once.

Stephen Strange asked her out! She was going to get dinner with the Stephen Strange! Oh fates ruling the world, don’t let this be a dream!

“Miss (y/n), it’s already almost five thirty. It’d be wise to start getting ready,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. said. She’d obviously been present for the conversation, and (y/n) shot up once more, this time with more gratitude than surprise.

“Thank you, Fri! I have to go shower, pick out something nice to wear, maybe a bit of makeup- jeez, thank you!”

And with that, (y/n) marched off to the other end of the facility to get herself ready. This time Vision peaked his head out of the wall with a curious look, and even Clint was mystified by her sudden upbeat behavior. He nor Tony could place what happened.

When eight rolled around Strange stepped into the compound wearing a fancy suit that highlighted every aspect of his body, from his legs to his arms to the build of his shoulders. (y/n) stepped out wearing their nicest outfit, hair all done up and a little bit of makeup to help pop their best features. Steve choked on the stew Wanda had made for dinner and Natasha clapped appropriately. Clint and Tony started hooting and hollering as the new couple left, arms linked and engrossed in their own conversation, in their own little perfect world.

Tag list: 

@princess76179 @kalechipps @a-confused-blogger @pieceofsupersoldiertrash @agent-valkyrie-romanoff  @starkslaufey @bad-black-angel

[damijon-supersons]

The years that passed - a damijon fic

Hi. I ate this really good kebab. And that means it’s angst time.

Summary: Years after the Super Sons disbanded and went their separate ways, Jon gets a call from Damian. Try as he might, he couldn’t put everything in the past, especially since that last time Jon saw Damian, was the last time they were on speaking terms.

 “Damian…” Jon breathed in surprise. He was staring at his phone with half-lidded eyes, the caller ID still with that matching picture of his erstwhile partner when he was still a boyish 13. Jon hadn’t thought to change it over the years until it became pointless because he never expected to hear from him again.

Jon hesitated for a few seconds more before he took the call. He sighed deeply as the crisp, straightforward voice of Damian Wayne hit his ears once more.

“J, the Super Sons need to get back into gear. We have a mission.”

There’s something I never thought I’d hear again, Jon mused in his head. True, they were still the sons of super heroes, but the name they’d taken to using when they were still partners sounded almost too silly, too childish, now that Jon was a freshman in college. It was silly just like how Jon had been silly in his youth, and just as silly as the fact that Damian, of all people, would be calling him out of the blue.

“It’s Jon,” Jon replied stiffly. “And I have midterms tomorrow, Damian. I don’t really have time for…whatever this is.” Jon tried his best not to sound cold. He almost succeeded, and he could almost hear Damian pause and flinch.

But just as he’d known, the young man on the other end of the line easily regained his composure. “What, using school as an excuse again? We’re not kids anymore.”

We’re not partners anymore, either, Jon barely managed to stop himself from saying. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t angry at Damian. Not really. He was just tired, and he didn’t think the years apart were enough to ever stop him from being tired.

“I have my priorities, Damian. Get to your point.”

Another pause from Damian. When he replied, it was a little more subdued, as if the smirk was unceremoniously wiped away from his voice.

“It’s the Amazo armor,” Damian said quietly, in an un-Damian like way. “We defeated it when we were kids, and the league has since kept it on lockdown, but apparently it made copies of its programming in Lexcorp’s computers and now it became self-aware and took over one of its manufacturing plants. It’s self-replicating new robot avatars.”

“I take it no one else is available?” Jon asked wearily. He was dreading what he knew was inevitable.

“This was our case, Jon,” Damian insisted. “We’re the ones who have to end it.”

On that at least Jon agreed with him.  “Okay. I’ll come.”

“Do you want me to pick you up at your dorm or…?”

“No,” Jon cut him off. “Just send me the address.” The last thing Jon needed was a painfully awkward jet ride with Damian.

Jon took his letter jacket emblazoned with the initials of Metropolis University, and put on his last pair of jeans that were a few inches short above his ankle. He rummaged in his closet to find his old childhood second-hand jacket with a cape—his old uniform. A wave of bittersweet nostalgia hit him with the force of a freight train. It used to be his uniform, but now it was too small. Jon had grown up—and out—of the need to wear the jacket. And if he was honest with himself, it wasn’t just the jacket he grew out of.

**

Try as he might, Jon couldn’t escape that awkwardness. He’d arrived thirty minutes later at the address Damian had provided, at a medium-sized factory 10 miles from the outskirts of Central City. The few local police available had already cordoned off the perimeter, looking both clueless and helpless at the same time. Beyond the chain-link fence, the factory spewed smoke, and paramedics were rushing back carrying gurneys carrying survivors. Damian was already there coordinating with the authorities.

Damian was…well, Damian, though older than when Jon had last seen him. Just barely out of his teens, Damian had the physique of an athlete at peak condition. His hair was still spiked up with what Jon assumed was half a tub of wax, and he’d changed his uniform to look less like a traffic light, into something sleeker and cooler. His outfit was carbon-fiber black designed for stealth, with red highlights, and a red cyber-styled bat symbol on the chest that looked like it could glow with the flip of a switch. His cape was a dark reflective gray on the outside and crimson on the inside, and it was draped around him like a roman sagum—a military cape fastened with a clasp on one shoulder.

But besides the new costume, which echoed that of Dick Grayson’s previous renditions of Nightwing, Damian was still the Damian that Jon had known. The Damian he’d loved. The Damian he’d lost. They saw each other and walked closer to greet each other, but stopped before any hands were raised for a handshake. For a brief moment, they were both just boys again, and the starburst-laced memories flashed in their eyes. Then it was gone and the awkwardness settled—a heavy, uncomfortable pall of the years that passed hanging over them like a miasma.  

“Hey,” Jon began shyly.

“Hey,” Damian replied.

Damian had gotten taller over the years, but he was still an inch shy of reaching Jon’s height. It used to be a point of endearing banter between them. Now that they were older though, it seemed like such a petty matter—the mirth and good-natured humor in the fact dried and shriveled up in a corner of the past.

“You have a new costume— it looks good,” Jon said with all the air of a man commenting on the weather for want of something interesting to say.

“And you’re still wearing a jacket,” Damian said.

“It’s a letter jacket now, Damian,” Jon sighed, though his lips twitched into the beginnings of a wistful smile.

“I remember when that letter was an ‘S’,” Damian continued.

Jon’s almost-smile faded. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Damian blinked as if something surprisingly unpleasant backed up his throat. Then, as if resigning himself to a grisly fate, he nodded.  

They both casually walked into the factory together. The nearer they got, the louder the whirring and buzzing and clanging of machinery seemed to get. The air smelled of rust, ozone, and diesel. The hairs on the back of Jon’s neck stiffened as he recognized another odor underneath…a metallic greasy bile flavor that he’d only ever smelled in the presence of the Amazo armor, all those years ago.

Jon was just about to open the door when a three-foot-tall black robot with far too many legs burst forth from it, leaping in the direction of Jon’s face while hissing a metallic screech. In a split-second, it was thrown against the wall, impaled by a heavy batarang. It sputtered as sparks flitted from the hole in its thorax.

“I had that,” Jon snapped, his eyes glowing bright red with power.

“I was just covering you,” Damian said. Jon’s super-hearing picked up a distinct hint of melancholy in his tone.

“Sure…” Jon replied hesitantly. The biting retort that he expected from Damian didn’t come. He expected Damian to criticize his slowness, or chide him for getting rusty. He expected Damian to scold him with all the magnanimous condescension his pompousness afforded him. But it never came, and this caught Jon off-guard.

“What’s our win condition here? “ Jon asked as he recovered himself.

“There’s a central terminal that’s probably reinforced and defended at the heart of the factory by those robots,” Damian began as a hologram of the factory’s insides emerged from his gauntlet. “The Amazo programming should have housed itself there while it creates more of these face huggers.” He gestured to the many-legged black robot that was still impaled in the wall.  

“So, wreck all the alien-looking robots?”

“Yes,” Damian confirmed. “They’ll swarm us and attempt to encase us in metal, so we need to work together and cover each other’s bases. It’ll just be like old times…” he smiled slightly.

“Right…old times,” Jon muttered. Seeing Damian’s smile again tugged at his insides, but not in the way that it had when he was younger. As a young boy, Damian’s smiles gave Jon hope for something indescribably wonderful. As a young man, it reminded Jon of his youthful folly and gave him a sour feeling in his guts, much like bile that precipitated vomit.

They opened the ruined door and stepped inside. Despite his age, Jon had to steady himself and remind himself that adults shouldn’t be freaked out by bugs anymore—even if they looked like black, skittering manifestations of his every childhood nightmare he’d ever had. The whole factory was crawling with the same many-legged robot that attacked them. They all sported black jagged metal plates that could be mistaken for a chitinous carapace, giving them a horribly similar appearance to shiny black scorpions. Every movement they made emitted a low creak of metal grinding in on itself, and with the hundreds of robot crawlers that covered the walls, floors, and machinery, the factory hummed and buzzed and chirped like the world’s most horrific menagerie of bird and crickets.

Jon had only a few seconds to appreciate the grotesque scenery before the first crawlers started their attack, springing up to his head in an attempt to do unsavory things to his face. Damian’s coined name of ‘face huggers’ sounded about right. Jon quickly batted one of them away, while beside him, Damian had sliced another one in two using an extendable segmented sword. They stared at each other and then nodded.

The factory wasn’t very large, all things considered. They would be able to reach the center of the machinery, and the terminal within ten minutes at a leisurely pace. But with the dozens of face huggers that had begun to assault them with every step they took, it would probably take them a little over an hour at most. Even then, both of them were unfazed. They’ve definitely been through worse. The hum and buzz of metal reached a deafening crescendo as they descended upon Damian and Jon. Then, a new sound punctuated their passage through the factory—the distinct screech and groan of metal being rent, torn, and destroyed.

Jon was starting to get familiar with the routine again. He and Damian had adopted one of their classic stances, where they stood back to back, covering each other’s blind spots, all the while moving forward with a deliberate pace. Jon didn’t bother to count the number of face huggers he’d had to punch out of the air—all of them were easily dispatched by a single punch. Every now and then he’d sweep the floor with a burst of heat vision to take out ten or twenty at once.

Damian was having a similarly easy time himself. Every swing of his sword was a dead face hugger on the floor, and he even had time to be flashy with his sword strokes. Jon was certain Damian was twirling his swords around just to show off. Jon had always found it cool and impressive when they were kids. But now? It just seemed odd. It dawned on Jon that this whole mission seemed odd, if only because it was so easy. That, and Damian seemed like he was beside himself with glee, flashing Jon a grin every so often. Jon felt like Damian was checking up on him not to see if he was okay, but to make sure that he was having fun as well. Jon grew suspicious.

It felt like no time at all when they’d reached the central terminal. What remained of the crawling face huggers covered the control board in an eight-foot mass of bulging black spiky metal, not unlike a doomed Spartan phalanx that had resigned itself to dine in hell.

“Would you do the honors?” Damian gestured to the crawlers with a thickly gloved hand.

Jon nodded as his pupils glowed a searing red. Wide beams of blinding red light erupted from his eyes and incinerated the face huggers, peeling them off the terminal one by one until the control board was finally visible. The layers of black face huggers had apparently been shielding one of their own, this one a rusty shade of brown and green. A cable that sprouted out of its back was connected to one of the panels, and what passed for the thing’s head glared balefully at the pair of them. It was clearly the Amazo remnant that Damian and Jon had been looking for, and its small body’s gestures gave it the barest hint of recognition that it was about to finally meet its end. It howled an ear-splitting screech that sounded like nails scratching on a blackboard as Damian severed the cable with his sword at the same time as he threw an explosive batarang at the robot. It exploded into a hundred tiny inconsequential fragments of scrap.

“So ends Amazo, finally,” Damian said with a grin. “We make a really great team, don’t we?”

Jon turned to stare at Damian. His expression was nothing short of furious.

“Enough, Damian!” Jon growled. “Stop it. I can’t do this. Not again.” Jon turned away from Damian to look at anything other than the latter’s face, his arms crossed and his eyes shut as if in pain.

“Jon, what do you—“ Damian tried to say. He raised his hand in an attempt to reach Jon’s shoulder, but Jon cut him off.

“I said enough!” Jon repeated, and his voice carried weight. Damian could have sworn the air around Jon rippled outwards in a tiny shockwave.  “This mission of yours was too easy, Damian. You could’ve done this yourself. What’s the real reason you called me here?”

“I needed your help…” Damian began, but he stopped when Jon gave him a look that clearly knew he was lying. Damian sighed heavily. “I wanted us to partner up again. I wanted you to feel like we used to when we were still…”

“I can’t do this,” Jon repeated with a hurt tone. “You’re leading me on, Damian. You’re playing with my emotions. You made it perfectly clear you didn’t want anything from me!”

And Damian had. That day, though years past, had etched itself in Jon’s then young mind. He was but a boy that was full to bursting with love he was just aching to share, but the one person in the world he’d wanted to give it to shot him down harder than a bullet to his heart.

What do you think this is? Damian had said back then.

Don’t taint this with your emotions, Jonathan. Get your head out of the clouds. We’re heroes.

This is a professional partnership. Act like it. Damian had sounded so disappointed back then, and his words rang with icy finality.

In the days and weeks that had followed, Jon tried his best to understand why Damian had reacted that way. But young as Jon was, he only ended up blaming himself. He blamed himself for not seeing how nearly every other conversation he’d had with Damian was brutally sarcastic and mean-spirited in some ways. How Damian’s means of appreciation were varying degrees of insults. How even when Damian had claimed they were friends, he only ever said it sparingly and warned Jon not to make a big deal out of it. Jon blamed himself for not recognizing that Damian was just utterly disinterested, and he felt so rotten because in his mind, he was forcing himself on someone who didn’t want him.

The blame had turned into shame, as Jon saw his affections as something to be embarrassed about, something to be hidden and never talked about. Over time, being with Damian on their patrols had become unbearable, because he felt his affections were synonymous with childish stupidity. He wanted to spare Damian from all of his worries and fears and shame—and it came to pass that he decided Damian was better off without him, and he was better off without Damian. 

Their partnership ended gradually but unremarkably. Jon just turned to his studies, his friends, and his hobbies. He turned up less and less for patrols until he just didn’t anymore.In the years of disuse, the Super Sons headquarters had become an abandoned and forgotten thing, serving little more purpose than an artificial coral reef.

Now, just when he thought he grew out of being that little kid with the red cape and a second-hand jacket, Damian was making him remember just how much he’d loved being a superhero with a friend. That, and how much he’d loved that friend. And worse, how painful it felt to force himself to think that all of his emotions were a mistake.

In as few words as possible, Jon had tried to say all of this to Damian. Amid the ruins of vaguely insectoid robot corpses and sparks of electricity and puffs of acrid smoke, Jon tried his best to remind Damian why they’d stopped talking to each other all those years ago, and that they had both tacitly agreed to go their separate ways.

“I was stupid, Damian. I was a kid, and I was stupid, and I’m sorry. Maybe I’m still stupid right now. But I don’t want any of this anymore. I don’t want to give you my baggage. We both stopped it. Why are you making me go through this?” Jon sounded as pained as he looked. His brows were furrowed and his tone was both demanding and pleading.

“I thought you’d like remembering how we worked as a team,” Damian replied patiently.

“It just reminds me of how badly I wanted something I could never have when I was a kid, and how stupid I was for wanting it,” Jon said bitterly. He turned to leave. “I already made my peace with you, Damian. I’ve learned from the mistake of loving you too early on.”

Damian clenched his fist and inhaled sharply. “I did all of this because I’m sorry for loving you too late!” he almost shouted. Color rushed to his cheeks and his expression was a mixture of frustration and regret.

“What…?” Jon stopped in his tracks.

“We’d stopped talking by then,” Damian continued with grim determination. “But the silence was worse than the most deafening sound in the world. We were always together, and when we weren’t anymore, I felt like I lost an important part of who I was.

“You offered me love but I couldn’t understand why, Jon. I could never consider myself worth that kind of selflessness, or deserve anything that pure.  I thought we didn’t need it. I thought I didn’t need it. I thought I was doing us a favor. But when you left, everything just felt…wrong. And all that time when we were still partners, some part of me wanted to thank you, to ask you, maybe even plead with you to just always be…there. I just didn’t know how to say it. I never really knew how to talk to you even when we still talked to each other.”

“It’s been years, Damian!” Jon replied angrily. “Why tell me this now?”

“Because it took me years to find the words I needed!” Damian said, the sorrow ringing in his tone. “For half of my life, I was an assassin whose raison d'être was to dominate. For the second half, I was raised to be a hero whose sole purpose is to succeed.

“For most of my life, I’ve divided people into allies and enemies. When I met you, all I knew was that you were neither, and that you were more. All I knew was that I felt safer and more complete when you were around. All I knew was that I could stand to smile a little more than usual without feeling guilty when you were beside me. I didn’t have a word for that, Jon. And it took me years contemplating the distance, and silence, and the wedge that drove itself between us for me to realize that I loved you. It took your absence in my life for me to realize you were trying to tell me the same thing.”

“I can’t, Damian…” Jon said after a sober pause, his breath hitching. “I can’t just forget everything that’s happened since then. You can’t just say you love me and expect us to team up again, or even talk again the way we used to. There’s just too much. It hurts too much, and that’s not going away.” He turned to look at Damian again, his bright blue eyes filled with a deep-seated weariness from years of sadness and guilt.

“I know,” Damian said with a miserable smile. “That’s why I orchestrated all of this, gave you some semblance of what we had before…because I wanted to properly say goodbye.” His eyes glistened, and though no tears fell, the lines in his face reflected a heavy sense of loss.

“I love you, Jon. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”

Jon blinked a few times as his words left him. He stared at Damian as though seeing him for the first time all over again. Then he looked away.

“I’m sorry, too. Goodbye, Damian.”

**

“That’ll be $200, please.”

“Thanks, ma’am,” Jon said as he winced. He knew it wasn’t all just his money, but he felt a phantom pain in his pocket nonetheless. He placed the thick book in his backpack and left the counter.

After seeing one of his classmates tearfully calling her mom about not having enough for one of the term’s new required textbooks, Jon and a few of his friends had thought of buying the book and reproducing it for the needier members of their class. Granted, it set Jon back a lot in terms of his stipend, and he wasn’t exactly sure of the legality of photocopying the book, but he was sure that supporting the cause of education and helping people out was a cause his dad would have approved of. Besides, Jon reasoned that his dad wasn’t always that law-abiding either. He was sure his dad’s uniform’s red trunks violated international decency laws.

He was just about to leave the store when a brightly colored book caught his eye. He picked it up from its small wooden pedestal in the ‘recommended for kids’ section. He grinned in surprise to find that it was a book about his and Damian’s adventures, made into a children’s book.

“The Super Sons: even kids can be heroes, volume 3,” Jon read out loud. The cover prominently showed Damian as Robin when he was thirteen, and Jon as Superboy when he was just ten. Damian was swinging off to the right using his grapnel, and Jon was running on the rooftop just below him. It seemed like a paparazzi photo taken in secret, and Jon could have sworn he remembered the exact circumstance of when that picture was taken.

We’d just stopped an armed robbery on a Whole Foods. One guy tried to shoot the old lady cashier to distract us and let his gang get away, but I stopped the bullet, Jon thought to himself. He flipped through the book to find more pictures, and even artistic portraits of him and Damian in their uniforms. There were stories of their exploits written in a way to impress young readers and encourage them to emulate the bravery and values of the Super Sons.

“Huh, I don’t remember it happening quite like that…and I’m pretty sure this was supposed to be Kraklow,” Jon said to himself in amusement as he skimmed through a story detailing how they’d once defeated an extra-dimensional wizard by summoning the magic power of an ancient castle to give themselves strength.

Jon paused, the book open in his hands for a good two minutes as he stared off into nothing at all. He hadn’t thought of Damian in weeks, and now he found that he could call to mind that handsome face and those piercing green eyes without  flinching. All of a sudden, his memories of his time with Damian during their run as the state’s most famous kid hero duo flooded him with all the torrential force of a burst dam.

Damian…Damian would have been amused to no end if he saw this, Jon thought. To his surprise, remembering Damian, and their adventures, and their time together…actually felt wonderful. Exciting, even. Jon remembered that time they had to save their moms from each other, that time their sleepover was interrupted by an international syndicate of animal poachers, that time they drove away what was possibly a rabid alien saber tooth lion… and Jon laughed.

For what felt like the first time in his life, he felt like he could reminisce without pain, and remember without regret. All he felt was the exhilaration he’d had as a child and Damian…he started to see in his mind all of the little things that Damian said and did that made him love to be around the older boy so much back then. 

Damian would have sarcastic quips, but Jon always did him better. 

Damian would be overly serious and aloof when talking to the people they rescued, but after he went away Jon would grin and tell them not to take Robin too seriously.

He remembered all the times he’d held Damian’s hand and dragged him off somewhere in giddy excitement, all the times that he’d ruffled Damian’s hair without the threat of dismemberment, and all the times Damian sat beside him without speaking, sympathizing through silence.

Jon felt like his memories could finally breathe, and he could look back clearly with fondness at what should have been the best times of his life. Everything was different because now, Jon could see how Damian had been enjoying himself as much as he did. He knew that Damian, in his own way, was loving every moment just as he did.

“Hey, mister!”

Jon snapped back from his reverie when a curly-haired boy with a Superman shirt and flip-flops tugged at his jacket.

“Wha…what?” Jon said, struggling to find his words.

“You gonna buy that?” The boy asked impatiently. He couldn’t have been more than 12, yet he had the unfaltering confidence to sound like he was challenging Jon.

“I uh, I was just browsing,” Jon stammered.

“Good, give it here,” the boy said. “The lady over there told me they ran out and only had the display on stock, and I’ve been wanting to get the new Super Sons for a whole week! I saved up my allowance on it, I’m probably their biggest fan in all of Metropolis these days! If you bought it, I’ll make sure Robin and Superboy find out you’re stealing things from kids and you’ll be in trouble!”

Jon could only chuckle at the boy’s fervent look. “It’s all yours. The last thing I need is Robin scolding me. Even Superboy wouldn’t want that for his worst enemy.”

“Hey, whattaya know, the old guy actually know how jokes work,” the boy said with a sly grin. Then, with a more serious expression, he asked, “When you were a kid, the Super Sons were still around, right? You ever know much about them?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Jon replied with a knowing smile. “Why?”

“I know they’re older now, and they’re probably doing something else,” the boy asked hesitantly. “They’re not a team anymore…but do you think they’re still friends?” he looked anxious, as if he was hoping for an answer that he knew must have been impossible. 

“Do you want to know a secret?” Jon asked, grinning widely.

“What?”

“It took me a while to find out, but…they were always more than just friends…” Jon smiled, and he exhaled deeply as if a tight knot in his chest had finally been undone.

The boy’s eyes widened as he pondered on Jon’s words. Jon handed him the book.

“They haven’t been together for a while, and so many things have happened since then. But I know there’s still something between them...something brighter than sunshine. All they need is to see each other’s smiles.” Jon continued, though more to himself than the boy. “I think I’m ready to see the sun again.”

He left the bookstore lost in thought, leaving behind a boy who had no idea his most secret romantic pairing fantasy had just come true.

[scuzmunkie]

Love is Blind: Chapter 8

A/N: Oh my sweet, amazing, darling little pumpkins!! You guys are awesome!!! Thank you so much for your kind words and support!! Seriously, I literally jump in my seat and tear up when I see all your reblogs and comments!! You guys know the drill! Lmk if there are any mistakes and if you’d like to be added to the tag list!! And now, chapter 8!

Seth Rollins x Blind OFC

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 2000+

Summary: Seth was Lily’s world, she was foolish enough to think that she was his. That is until he leaves her behind in pursuit of his dreams. What happens when fate throws them together again years after the heartache and tears? How can Lily see past the pain of the past when she can’t see at all?    

+++

“Seth?”

Her angelic voice stopped him, holding his breath, his heart beating faster than any human heart should.

Lily sighed, bowing her head. She knew that what she was about to say was risky and not a smart decision by any means. She was standing at the edge of a cliff, but still she closed her eyes and jumped anyway.

“S-Stay the night?” After the events from earlier that day, Renee, Dean and Roman had told Lily how remorseful Seth had been when he lost her. They told her how guilty he’s felt and how badly he wished he could change the past. Although it didn’t let him off the hook for the pain he caused Lily, she felt that maybe, just maybe she could start the forgiving process.

Seth felt his jaw drop. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Letting out a shaky breath, he walked over to the bed. Lily was already laying on one side of the bed, her back still towards him. He wordlessly slid under the blanket, laying on his side, staring at Lily’s back. It took everything inside him not to reach out and pull her soft body to his chest. When Seth heard soft snores coming from Lily he waited a few minutes before he moved as close as possible without touching her.

“I give you my word,” he whispered, “I’ll be the one to make you smile, make you laugh and the one who’ll love you for the rest of your life. And if you cry, they’ll be tears of joy, I promise you, pretty baby, I’ll make you the happiest woman on earth.” With that, he kissed her head and fell asleep

.—-

In the wee hours of the morning, Lily laid in bed, having woken up during the promises Seth made last night. She had stirred when she heard his voice, not wanting to disrupt him, she remained still, pretending to be asleep, as she listened to his every word. She wiped the tears from her eyes, conflicting feelings swimming through her body. So much has happened in such a short time, she felt completely drained. When she heard what Seth had promised, it took every ounce of her will power not to turn around and kiss him.

She was violently ripped out of her thoughts when Seth’s alarm blared, causing Lily to jolt forward. With a squeak she nearly fell off the bed, had it not bent for Seth’s quick reflexes, she most definitely would have. He lunged towards Lily, grabbing her arm and pulled her to him. They were silently panting, both hearts racing.

“You ok?” Seth asked, a slight chuckle in his voice.

“You’re alarm is loud.” Lily said, eyebrows furrowed with the cutest scowl on her face. Seth couldn’t help but smile down at her. He missed waking up next to her.

‘You could’ve had this everyday’

his brain insisted on reminding him.

“That’s twice now you’ve almost made me fall.” She said with a smirk.

“Twice? What does that mean? Name the first time!” Seth playfully demanded.

“I was walking past the athletic building and you plowed into me, but in your defense you did save me.” She giggled when she heard him sigh.

“Hold up, walking? I think the word you’re looking for is sneaking since you were eavesdropping.” He got her there.

“Ugh, pointless details.” She mumbled as she subconsciously rubbed circles on his left forearm.

The small act not going unnoticed by Seth. He stared at her hand as her delicate fingers soothed his heated skin. He found himself slowly inching towards Lily’s lips. When she felt Seth move closer, she felt her heart sputter and the air leave her lungs. She felt the heat from his lips, they were so close, his breath fanning her face. She should stop him. She should really stop him. She should....

“Goooood morning!!” Amanda sang from the other side of the hotel room door as she knocked, jostling Seth and Lily back to reality. Seth’s heart dropped, he was so close. That kiss could’ve changed everything. That kiss could’ve brought his Lily back to him.

“Um, you should probably go. I know you have a strict exercise routine and how grumpy you get when you miss a workout.” Lily said with a sad smile as her heart slowly shattered all over again.

She wished so badly she could be the brave girl she used to be, old Lily would have pulled Seth down and kiss the ever living shit out of him, but now, she was afraid.

“You’re probably right.” Seth sighed. “And I don’t get grumpy. What do I do about Amanda? I’m not exactly at the top of her favorite person list at the moment, though I can’t blame her.”

“Ummm,” Lily purses her lips, almost tempting Seth, “cover your ears” she said, putting her hands over Seth’s ears.

“Hey!! Give me 30 minutes, I gotta shower and get ready. I’ll call you when I’m done, you wanna go find some place to grab breakfast?” Lily yelled, praying Amanda would buy it and leave her be.

“Sure thing, jelly bean! Love you!”

“Love you too!”

Lily and Seth both let out a breath they were simultaneously holding when they heard Amanda retreat from the door.

With a heavy heart, Seth got off the bed. When he opened the door, he glanced over his shoulder looking at her one more time.

—-

“So let me get this straight,” Dean huffed, wiping the sweat from his brow, “you guys spent the night together and now you’re.... um what are you exactly?”

“I don’t know and it’s the most frustrating feeling ever.” Seth was trying really hard to figure that out right now.

“Well let me ask you this?” Roman, who had for the most part been quiet, spoke up, “what are you hoping the out come will be? I mean, we leave tonight.”

“If this was a perfect world, I’d want her ba-“

“Back, yeah, that part we know, but what would you have her do? Would you work out some kind of visiting schedule? One that you would keep?” Dean asked, sending a low blow Seth’s way.

“I really want her to travel with me. I make enough money to support the both of us, she’d be able to travel and experience different cultures! I just don’t know how to ask her, or if she’d even be willing.” While Seth was spilling his guts, Dean took it upon himself to text Renee and hoping she’d do a little spy work for him...

—-

“C’mon doll’, you got this. Just bring it up casually.” Renee reread the text from her darling husband completely dumbfounded. How the hell did he expect her to casually ask Lily if she’d ever be willing to travel with Seth?!

“Is everything ok?” Renee snapped her head up from her phone when she heard Lily’s question. She, Lily and Amanda were enjoying a little brunch while Lily told them about last night and Seth sleeping next to her. She felt it would be best if she told Renee and Amanda, heaven forbid if they found out from someone else.

“Yeah, yeah. Just uh, just Dean asking for um,” oh poor Renee, can’t lie to save her life, “for leftovers, oh for shit’s sake I’m not even gonna try and make something up. Would you ever consider the possibility of traveling with Seth?”So much for casually.

Amanda choked on her food while Lily nearly spit out her drink. After wiping her chin, Lily regained her composure and tried to register what Renee had just said.

“Um, c-come again?” Lily asked. Taking a deep breath Renee tried again.

“Would you ever consider the possibility of traveling with Seth?”

“Why are you even asking?!” Amanda said, damn near ready to flip a table. Lily put her hand on Amanda’s thigh, hoping to calm her down.

“Look, I’m just asking because she’s good for him.”

“And?! He’s not good to or for Lily!”

“I was just asking a simple question!”

“There is nothing simple about it!”

“I was asking Lily,not you !!”

“I don’t give a shit WHO you were asking, she doesn’t need this in her life!!”

Lily started rubbing her temples as the two women argued.

“Oh, so now you’re the expert on what she needs now?!”

“Yes I am! I’ve known her longer than any of you motherfuc-“

“ENOUGH!!” Lily yelled, frustrated with this whole situation. “Both of you, arguing over MY life and what’s best for ME! I’m pretty sure I get a say in all this.” She grabbed her cane from her purse and went to leave, but Amanda put her hand on Lily’s, stopping her from going.

“You’re right.” Amanda admitted, giving Lily’s hand a loving squeeze.

“We’re sorry.” Renee said, agreeing with Amanda. “How are you feeling with all this?”

“Honestly, I’m both anxious and terrified. Part of me doesn’t want to trust Seth again for fear of heartache and the other part wants to throw caution to the wind and go. But...”

Both women were leaning in, on the edges of their seats waiting for the but.

“But, why are you asking me, Renee?”

‘Oh shit’ Renee thought, ‘time to come clean.’ Sheepishly, she placed her phone on the table, the sound of it hitting the wood made Lily jump a bit.

“Dean’s been texting me, apparently Seth is freaking out about what happens after today. He asked me to be his spy, see if you’d even be willing to do this.”

Lily simply nodded. She felt the table start to vibrate.

“Oh speaking of Dean.” She happily slid the answer button. “Hey handsome how are yo-, wait, what?! Now??? Oh shit shit shit. Why is he even there? No, I’ll try. Yeah, bye.” She ended the call quickly gathering her things all the while swearing under her breath.

“Re-Re, what’s wrong?” Lily asked sensing the change of tone in her voice halfway through her call with Dean.

“What’s wrong is Seth is either going to land in the hospital or put someone there. That someone being everyone’s favorite Beast Incarnate.”

Lily could hear the hatred that seethed from Renee’s lips when she mentioned Brock Lesnar’s nick name.

“Wait,” Amanda interjected, “what’s happening?”

“Well, apparently Brock showed up at the gym and thought it would be funny to get in Seth’s face, he sees it as a hobby trying to get other wrestlers riled up to the point of swinging on him just so he could lay them flat and claim self defense. According to Dean Seth is a breath away from beating the shit outta Lesnar. I gotta go and try to keep everyone’s head outta their asses.”

Just as Renee was about to leave, Lily stood up, catching both Renee and Amanda’s attention.

“Take me to him.”

—-

By now there was a crowd gathered watching as both men stood toe to toe, foreheads nearly touching.

“You keep running that mouth, Rollins, and I’ll shove my fist in it.” Brock said, his face plastered with a sadistic grin.

Seth could feel his blood absolutely boiling. He would love nothing more than to pound Brock’s head into the ground. He kept clasping and unclasping his fists. Dean and Roman were waiting at the ready just in case Seth or Brock decided to throw down. Their fingers twitching with anticipation. Brock had a cruel glint in his eyes seeing how close Seth was to bashing his brains out as he kept talking down to him.

“I’m starting to think you’re all talk and no action, more like a lap dog to Hunter. Probably the only reason he keeps you around, that, and that mouth of yours.”

The dam broke and Seth’s fist was about to collide with Brock’s overgrown head.

“Seth, don’t.” It wasn’t a loud or stern command, but a command none the less. Roman, Dean, Brock and Seth’s heads snapped towards the petite redhead standing with Renee and Amanda.

Brock took in her appearance, smiling evilly.

“Wow Rollins, I had you pegged for a lot of things, but I never thought you’d hide behind some blind little bi-“ Seth went to lunge at Brock but was blocked by a very furious Amanda.

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are,” she said as she shoved her finger in his face “but if you like your current intake of oxygen then don’t you dare finish your sentence, pig.” Lesnar looked Amanda up and down, she, however didn’t bat an eyelash.

Per her request, Renee quickly guided Lily to Seth. Sensing that Lesnar wasn’t quite finished being an asshole she quietly slipped her tiny hand into Seth’s large, calloused one.

Muttering a whatever, Lesnar left the gym, but not before slamming his shoulder into Seth’s on his way out. Without thinking, Seth squeezed his fists but stopped immediately when he felt Lily flinch and heard her wince in pain. He turned to her, bringing her hand to his lips.

“I’m so sorry sweetie.” He said between kisses. Lily let out a shaky breath and placed her free hand on Seth’s shoulder.

“It’s ok. Um, is there somewhere we can talk?” She whispered, cheeks slightly pink from having his lips on her again and being watched while it happened.

“Yeah, this way.” He kept her hand in his as he led her out of the gym.

When they stopped walking, she heard the sound of the hotel elevator door opening. They stood in silence, still hand in hand. As they entered Seth’s hotel room, he couldn’t stop himself this time. He pressed Lily against the nearest wall, arms wrapped around her waist, pressed his lips against hers and kissed her like a man possessed. Lily didn’t care anymore, she let herself get lost in the moment, her hands tangled in his hair. They pulled apart, both breathing hard, their foreheads pressed together.

“Well,” Lily softly spoke, “this c-complicates things.”

“But what if it didn’t have to be complicated?!” Seth asked, kissing Lily’s cheek. “What if we give ourselves a clean slate, a fresh start?”

“But-“

“But nothing. I want you to come on tour with me. You wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. Let me take care of you. Let me be there for you. Let me, let me love you.”

Lily was quiet for a while, trying to process everything Seth was saying. People can change and people can grow up. Had Seth truly changed? Was he ready to be trusted again? She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Seth’s hand take hers and pulled her further into the room.

“I wanted to show you something.” He said, show not being the best word choice. “I bought this for you this morning.” He took both of Lily’s hands and placed them on said object.

Lily felt different buttons and surfaces but stopped when they landed on something so familiar. She lovingly ran her fingers over the black and white keys as a stray tear fell down her cheek. Seth was quick to run his thumb under her eye, removing any trace of it. He watched in complete bliss as her smile lit up the room.

“Y-you bought me a keyboard?” She managed to say through her tears.

“It’s yours no matter what. If you do decide to come with me, I want you playing whenever you want, in the arena, my dressing room, our hotel ro-,” he quickly cleared his throat, “your hotel room.”

“Our hotel room?” She asked with a small smirk. Seth grimaced a bit, he had hoped that she didn’t catch that.

“Yeah. I mean, we wouldn’t have to share a room, I just,” he let out a heavy sigh, “I know I would be asking a lot of you if you choose to come. I know I’m being selfish by asking you but I need you in my life, whether it be friendship or...”

Lily moved closer to him, feeling up his shoulder to his chin. Knowing that he’d be looking anywhere but her, she tenderly turned his face towards her.

“Or?” She encouraged him softly.

“Damnit Lily, I just need you. You make sense, you calm me down,” he took the final step between them, taking both her hands in his, “you’re my hiding place when the world gets to be too much.” He whispered, watching as she slightly gasped, her eyes widening as fresh tears formed.

“You’ve got a lot to make up for, Seth, like years worth.”

“I know, and believe me, I’ll do anything to get on your good side again.” He told her, squeezing her hands softly to emphasize his point.

“Fine, I’ll come but I’ve got a few stipulations!”

Seth smiled at her use of a wrestling match term.

“And what’re those, pretty baby?” He asked, kissing the back of her left hand.

“I get to choose the music every other car ride, I get first dibs on what side of the bed we sleep on, junk food once a week, and” Seth was holding his breath on the last one hoping that it’d be something he could do. “don’t ever disappear like that again!”

He smiled, cupping her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

“Never.”

@haven-raven012591 @wrestlingfae @calwitch @lost-in-the-stories @neversatisfiedgirl @team-elias @hanaslay @panda-girl1999

[trumpetnista]

CMW2/Trumpetnista: True North

Summary from FFN: CANON COMPLIANT AU WITH HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE END OF SEASON 4 AND THE FIRST EPS OF 5; After the events of 'Not You, Too', Bruce is ecstatic that Selina is alive but he is about to truly lose it. Being the True North of his life, Selina enlists the one person who loves him more than her to help him escape Gotham's ruins.;Rated for words & imagery;4th in my 2019 SSS Project

Words from the Hooded GOTHAMITE: Your eyes are not deceiving you, folks. It's a double header! I'm really gonna knuckle down and update/finish at least one of my established stories in another fandom after this one, I promise but again, what the Muses want, they get. If I don't cooperate with them, they go away for ages. They really want Bruce and Selina right now. It is what it is.

Selina and Alfred's bond is one of my favorite on the show. I've always loved a good 'started from the bottom, now we're here' plotline and I'm glad that they've united. Other than Jim, they're all Bruce has so it's best that they get along. They've gone from enemies to frenemies to family and I really, really hope that the BatFamily can become some kind of an official thing in GOTHAM's endgame. If not, that's what fanfic is for.

Again, I just want everyone to be happy. Is that too much to ask?

Anyway, here's the follow up to 'Not You, Too' and after I do the aforementioned updating/finishing in my other fandoms, I will get started on my next big Baby BatCat fics. There is a need and I will fulfill it!

Disclaimer: “Honestly, it’s not mine!”

"I once said that the only reason he wanted to be with me was because I was literally the only girl he knew. That myth is just busted all to pieces now, ain't it?"

"Completely. You're the love of his life."

"He's a masochist. And I'm an idiot because I love him back. One of those Tangs for me?"

"Yes."

"Any vodka in it?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Don't worry. I'll swipe some Goose from Barbara later. I gotta go see Tabby. Pay my respects."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Selina."

"Are you?"

"You cared for her."

"She tried to kill Bruce. Like really, really tried."

"Everyone has."

Laughing still hurt like hell but Selina Kyle couldn't help but do so. It wasn't like Alfred Pennyworth was wrong. Every maniac worth their salt in Gotham took a crack at Bruce Wayne at least once before their temper tantrum was done. That was what he got for being an overly noble piece of shit like Jim Gordon. Not to say that Gordon wasn't a good man (not that she'd ever tell him so to his face) but to model one's life choices after him really wasn't the best idea. It led to so much trouble.

Hopping down from the roof's ledge aggravated her injuries but Selina welcomed the pain. She welcomed the fact that she could climb and jump again. Even when she had nothing, even when she was all alone, she had been able to move. She had been able to run, jump and be free. Jeremiah Valeska had taken that away from her. He had shot her, nearly ruined her, but fate in the form of Bruce had intervened. He had gone out and found a Cure for her. He had risked becoming a living garden from Ivy Pepper Version 3′s venom for her. He had saved her and in turn, she would do her best to save him.

Eventually, she wouldn't be able to. It went back to him being an overly noble piece of shit but damn it, she would try. Bruce didn't get to die on her, not for a long time.

"How are you feeling?"

"I look the way I feel, Lurch."

"So, like a walking piece of roadkill?"

"Fuck off."

And it was very clear that Selina could not die on him. It wasn't an option. Jeremiah Valeska and his crazy girlfriend bitch had tried to kill her. They had damned near blown her up but she had made it out. She had managed to get out of her restraints and had been in the process of climbing out of a window when the explosives went off. That had sent her flying and while there was a bit of a blank, she remembered the feeling of weightlessness, the impact with the truck, and more importantly, the feeling of needing to get home.

Home was Bruce. Whether they were in Wayne Manor, The Haven, or anywhere, Bruce was home. She needed to get her ass up, pull herself together enough to function, and get home. If Valeska went after her, it stood to reason that he was going to go the whole nine yards. Her, Gordon, Alfred, anyone positive in Bruce's life had a bulls-eye on them again. Valeska wanted to break him. He wanted to convert him to his special brand of madness and the circus freak probably wanted his body, too. Bruce was damned fine to look at, like one of those angels in museum paintings. He had been adorable before but puberty had been very good to him.

However, the only person who would be touching the art was her.

Even if Jeremiah wasn't crazier than the cow that jumped over the moon and blew it up, the age difference was not good. Jeremiah was in his mid-twenties. Bruce may be 40 years old in the head but he had just turned 18. Jeremiah's Evil Twin Jerome, may he forever rot and burn in Hell, had ruined his birthday party when he took over that concert with exploding neck bombs.

The cake had been damned good, though. God, Selina missed cake so much. It was still possible to find the ingredients or a done one but it was more trouble than it was worth. The energy would be put to better use finding medicine or ammo.

Anyway, it had taken some time but she had gotten to the Twelfth Precinct, only to find a broken Bruce Wayne. He had thought she had been murdered. Jeremiah had said she was dead and instead of breaking in the way the freak longed for, Bruce had beaten him to death with a chair.

Jeremiah Valeska was very much dead.

Selina had demanded to see the body, just to make sure he was gone, and it had been a mess. Absolutely justified but a mess, all the same. Jeremiah's girlfriend had been catatonic but when three unfortunate saps tried to transport her to Arkham, she had murdered them and ran. Word was that she The Dark Zone's leader now and she would 'continue her beloved's legacy' or some other nonsense like that. As long as the demented bitch left Bruce the hell alone, Selina didn't care.

She would never forget the way he looked when Bruce came out of Gordon's office.

He looked as if his whole world had been destroyed but reborn in front of his eyes. The wild look in his eyes, the way he was shaking? It was the warehouse with Scarecrow's Terror Gas all over again, only a thousand times worse. All Selina could do was touch him, tell him to breathe, tell him to look at her but he hadn't got it. It had taken seconds for him to get it but it had felt like hours. Seeing him like that? God, if the motherfucker wasn't already dead, Selina would've gone after him. He already had a target on him for the bullet to her spine but hurting Bruce, breaking Bruce...

The hug he had given her had been so painful but she didn't dare pull away, not until she was sure that he was back. The anguish and relief in his voice as he cried in her arms, even as he responded to her would haunt her forever.

It also put a very heavy responsibility on her.

She had to stay alive.

She had to keep her remaining 7 lives close to her because if she didn't?

"...Selina? Are you up here?"

"Hey, B. You want some Tang? There's no vodka in it but it's still pretty good."

"No, thank you. I...I woke up and you were gone."

"Sorry. I needed some air and you needed the sleep. I didn't mean to scare you. C'mere."

Bruce came to her and hugged her, hiding his face in her shoulder. It had been 2 days since her supposed demise and Selina knew that he would cling for quite a while. Afterwards, he would be even more protective of her and she had to get ready to deal with it. Not just from Bruce but from everyone. Even though Valeska was gone, eliminating one of Gotham's biggest problems, she and everyone else was far from safe. The government was still doing its best to avoid helping them, meaning that the city would continue to fall apart. Eventually, even the good people would start turning on each other for the sake of survival and then, where would they be?

"You two weren't fighting, were you?"

"Nah. Truce is still on."

"Good."

"You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"I didn't ask if you were. You need to eat. I found a bunch of MREs and water. There's enough."

"Selina..."

"Look, I get it. You thought I was dead, went full on WrestleMania on Valeska, found out I wasn't dead, and had the panic attack to end all of them. You're stressed out. You're feeling guilty for caving that asshole's head in, which you really shouldn't, by the way, you're still sad because the city's fucked but let me tell you something: I'm still here. We're getting by as best we can until we can get outside help. Valeska had it coming to him and all not taking care of yourself is gonna do is make Alfred worry about you and piss me off. Do you wanna do that?"

"...no."

"You need to eat. And you need to sleep some more. I'll come down in a few minutes. I gotta bandage and ice my ribs, anyways. Eat. Talk to Gordon and get some damned sunlight, will you? You look even more like a vampire than usual."

Bruce let out a noise that was between a scoff and a laugh before looking between them.

"Anything to add, Alfred?"

"No, I think she covered things nicely."

"I don't know if I like this. You two ganging up on me..."

"Somebody has take the L. It might as well be us. Are you still here?"

"I'm going, I'm going..."

"Wait."

Stepping forward, Selina pulled him down into a tender kiss and pecked his forehead.

"Now, scram. Grab me some chili mac and a vanilla pudding."

Bruce looked at her fixedly, nodded, and headed for the staircase. He hesitated in the doorway and when he turned around, Selina gave him a tired but genuine smile. Relief visibly filled him at the sight and he was gone. Shaking her head, she let out a noise that was half sigh and half sob.

"For fuck's sake...Alfred, we've got to get him outta here. Enough is enough. I don't...he has been on the edge of the worst nervous breakdown ever since it all went down with his parents and now this shit, on top of all the other shit? We gotta get him the hell out of here, government bullshit be damned!"

"Agreed. How?"

"I dunno. I was hoping that you had an idea. All that gray hair. There ought to be some wisdom underneath it..."

"This gray hair used to be blonde."

"Oh Christ...don't tell me you were walking around looking like one of the bastards from The Bee Gees back in the day..."

"Okay, I won't."

"Ewww...I wanna see pics but ewww..."

"...we're all he's got. Us and Gordon and he won't leave."

"Gordon will help us get him out, though. Him, Bullock, and Foxy. Maybe even Barbara. She's always had a soft spot for him from back in the day. If not, she'll do it for me...or Gordon. Gross."

"Problem is that Bruce may refuse to leave. He sees Gotham as his responsibility."

"I'll change his mind about that."

"I don't think you're in enough good physical condition to do that, yet."

"First of all, where there's a will, there's a way. Secondly, you need to mind your business, Jack. I know you're his Guardian and I guess mine now but there are boundaries..."

"Apologies."

"...and third, I don't think getting him to bounce will be as hard as you think. He doesn't want to lose anyone else he loves to what's left of this place. That's us. If we get out, he'll get out. Of course, he'll come back here to help as soon as possible because he's an overly noble piece of shit..."

"He's our overly noble piece of shit."

"...I know but...if we stick together, we can pull it off. Truce is still on."

"For Bruce."

"For Bruce."

[marvellousbooknerd-blog]

light up ~ steve rogers

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 1.3K 

Warnings: mention of alcohol and dreadful dancing

Prompt: Shining

A/N: this is my entry for @redgillan ‘s writing challenge for Steve���s 100th b-day! it’s my first attempt at writing so i’m sorry in advance! even so, please enjoy!

The air was still around you as you stood on the top of the Avengers tower; the faint hum of music from the party behind you acted as a reminder as to why you were stood there in an uncomfortable outfit. 

“This definitely counts as a win,” Tony cheered as the quinjet lifted off the ground, “Cap, I think it’s time to put your cocktail-making skills to the test!”

Steve chuckled as he finished dressing the wound on his wrist, “I don’t have any experience with cocktail-making, Tony.”

The mission was a success and as a result, Tony wanted a party. You looked around at the group who came on the mission, smiling at Natasha when her eyes met yours. She had helped to train you for this mission and you managed to hold your own the whole time, even assisting Clint with one of the goons! In your books, this was a win.

“-you hear me, rookie?” Your eyes shot back up to Tony who wore a lopsided grin.

“What? Sorry, guess I zoned out there.” You smiled, wiping your eyes to regain focus.

“First mission and you’re already acting like you’re ready to retire…” Tony’s eyes lit up. “That’s it! Perfect reason to throw a party, Y/N’s first mission. Hear that guys? We are celebrating tonight!”

Clint rolled his eyes and scoffed as Tony ran through some themes for the night. Out of the corner of your eye you could’ve sworn you saw Steve smiling at you but as soon as you moved your head to check your suspicions his eyes moved back to his now bandaged wrist.

You shook your head, it felt like your mind had been playing some tricks on you which you were less than thankful for. Every so often you would think that Steve was staring at you, be it from across the training room or whenever you walked past him after a briefing… your crush was sending you crazy.

“Everything alright out here?”

Jeez, now you were hearing him.

“Y/N?”

Oh… You peered over your shoulder to see the man himself, Captain freaking America strolling towards you with a small drink in his hand. Muscles tensed but you willed them to relax once you took in a breath for some composure.

“You’ve been doing that a lot recently, staring off into space.” He commented, coming to a stop next to you. “Is there something more interesting that the rest of us should be looking at too?”

“No, I just keep getting… lost in thought.” Breathing out a laugh you take a sip of your own drink. A part of you was envious about how Steve could keep drinking but never become drunk, but then again, he’d always remember the embarrassing parts of the party without the alcohol to help him forget. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be inside? Telling people to watch their language around their elders?”

He let out a chuckle at that. “You’re one to talk, Tony threw this party for you.”

“He wanted to throw one anyway, let’s be real here.”

You both ended up laughing, then the peace and silence returned. Looking up at the sky you smiled at the stars lighting up the darkness. There weren’t many clouds that night, meaning that there was no rain to worry about and allowing you to view the complete canvas of the beautiful sky.

On the other hand, Steve was too busy admiring your features to notice the shimmering stars above. His eyes trailed over your face, gaze lingering on your lips. An urge in his chest told him to speak, to say anything to you so that you would say something back and the melody of your voice could fill the blank void.

Suddenly you smiled up at the sky and Steve found himself smiling too, then felt himself stuttering as you turned from the sky to face him and caught his eyes gazing at yours.

“I, uh—,” he coughed.

“Do you, maybe want to go inside and dance?” You felt blood rush to your cheeks, if your gut feeling was right then Steve was feeling just as anxious as you were.

That caught Steve off guard and caused him to wince. “I actually came out here to ask you that.”

“Really? We’ve been out here for almost five minutes and you never mentioned dancing to me.” You placed your now empty glass down on a nearby table and moved your hands to your hips.

“You looked so relaxed I didn’t want to interrupt.” He countered, holding out his hand for you to take. “Besides, I know how nerve-racking it can be when a really good dancer asks you to dance with them.”

You scoffed at his words. “Oh really? Well then,” grabbing his hand tightly, you pulled him back towards the music, “let’s see who the better dancer is.”

Fate seemed to be favouring Steve at that moment when a song sounding like the 40’s came on over the speakers. You made a face at Steve who just shrugged and smiled.

“I’ll lead, you’ll have to learn from the master.”

Yeah, sure. Steve was the master of the dancing.

If you ignored every time he stood on your foot or spun you around too quickly.

Each time he would apologise and say he could dance better, but you just smiled and laughed. After all, you were too busy revelling in the moment of dancing with your most favourite person in the world to care about the bruises that would soon be covering your feet.

Steve’s footwork did improve as the night went on, yet that wasn’t what made Steve smile.

You were glowing.

The enjoyment you felt was clearly visible from your features; the way your eyes lit up, the way your smile seemed to never end and the way you laughed was music to the super soldier’s ears. The building could lose all its power, but Steve would still be able to see you clearly- you were a beacon that never dimmed.

Before he could stop himself, the worlds flowed out of his mouth as if they were the most natural thing he had ever said.

“You are stunning.”

Your eyes widened briefly and you almost stopped dancing. Steve just called you stunning?

“W-What?”

“Out of everyone here, out of everyone on Earth even, you are the most beautiful person I have ever laid my eyes on.” He continued, words streamed out from his heart. “To make things even better, you haven’t complained about my slightly less than legendary dance skills.”

You laughed at his last comment, the smile on your face couldn’t grow any wider.

“They’re nowhere near legendary…”

“Hey!”

You burst into laughter again, Steve’s heart filled up as he watched your glee.

“You’re incredible, Y/N. I’ve always thought so, and after today seeing you in the field… I now know how incredible you are. That being said,” he smiled nervously at you. “I was wondering if you would go on a date with me?”

“Now?” You asked.

“Well, not right now… I think Tony wouldn’t be too happy if the person he threw the party for got up and left.” Steve pointed out. “But definitely soon.”

“Yes.” You rushed out. “I would love that.”

You gave Steve a quick peck on the cheek and held him closer, wrapping your arms around his neck whilst he held your waist tighter than before.

Steve pressed a kiss to your neck and smiled. If he thought you were glowing earlier,

You were positively shining now.

woooo! first one shot done !! again, feedback would be greatly appreciated :) and I hope you enjoyed xx

[nexttrickanvils]

Akira x Haru Fic Part 4!~

(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)

IT’S HAWAII TIME ERRBODY!

Alt Title: Ryuji and Yusuke are the Worst Wingmen

Alt Alt Title (as suggested by my beta, @captmickey​): Ryuji is the worst Wingman and Yusuke just let's Ryuji get away with it

------

"DUDE, THIS IS SO AWESOME!"

"Ryuji, volume. Do we need to have the "secret identities" talk again?" Akira remarked

"Aw come on, Akira. You can't tell me that you're not at least a little hyped about the whole world talking about the Phantom Thieves. Yusuke, what about you?"

"It is fascinating to witness how far we've come." said Yusuke

Akira crossed his arms and gave a not so serious smirk, "Well... I guess it is kind of cool."

"...S'pose I should take what I can get from you two. So anything else you guys want to do while we wait for the gi... Huh?"

"Ryuji?"

"Dude, over there."

Akira turned to where Ryuji was facing and immediately his eyes widened.

Sitting on a bench, under the shade of the nearby palm trees, was Haru. The mystery girl he had kept running into over and over this year.

"Hey, ain't she kinda cute? Maybe we should ask her some questions too."

Before Akira could give an answer either way, Ryuji was already running over to the fluffy haired girl. He shook his head and followed with Yusuke right behind. When the three stopped in front of her, Haru looked up from her phone.

"Ah... Free time is almost up. Shouldn't you be heading... oh hello Akira-kun!"

Ryuji and Yusuke turned to look Akira who merely offered a small smile.

"...It's nice to see you again Haru."

"I see that the two of you are already acquainted."

"Dude, when did you... two... meet..."

A ridiculous expression then appeared on Ryuji's face and Akira felt a sense of dread. If there was one thing he had learned in his months long friendship with Ryuji Sakamoto, it is that nothing good ever happens with that expression.

"Excuse us miss..."

Akira then felt himself pulled away by the arm, Yusuke once again following behind. As soon as they were out of earshot of Haru, he felt Ryuji sling his arm over his shoulder.

"Dude! Isn't she your "damsel" or whatever Mona called her?"

Akira could feel his face becoming red. He had hoped that Ryuji had forgotten about Morgana's "noble knight and fair damsel" comments from months ago.

"Damsel?" Yusuke asked

"Oh yeah, this was before we met you. Akira met this girl on the school roof and according to Mona, he was trying to play hero for her."

Of all the times for Ryuji to decide he actually wants to agree with Morgana, why'd it have to be over this?

"...We bumped into each other, talked a little bit, and that was it." Akira responded in an annoyed tone

He also met her at the buffet back in May and ran into her before seeing everyone at the Fireworks Festival. But he wasn't going to let Ryuji know that.

"Yeah but didn't we also see her watering flowers at school?! Plus you two already know each other's names apparently. Maybe this is like destiny or something."

Yusuke couldn't help but crack a small smile, "It could be that the two of you are connected in some way. By the Red String of Fate perhaps."

"The red what?" Ryuji asked

"It is an old legend. Two people who are destined to be together are tied by an invisible red string on their pinkie fingers. While the string can tangle and stretch, it will never break, hopefully bringing the two individuals together one day."

"...Ya know with all the shit we've been through this year, I think I can buy into invisible destiny string."

...All Akira wanted right now was some freak tsunami to come and drag him into the ocean. Makoto could take over as leader of the Phantom Thieves, right?

So caught up in that thought, Akira almost didn't notice Ryuji and Yusuke walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going!?"

"Me and Yusuke are gonna see if Ann and Makoto are done shopping. Have fun!~"

Akira sighed. He glanced over, saw Haru still sitting on the bench, and walked back to her.

"I'm sorry about my friends. They can be a bit..."

"...Enthusiastic?" Haru offered

He smiled as he sat down next to her, "Sure, let's go with that."

Haru laughed a little at that. Although the redness in his face had faded, Akira felt his cheeks heating up again.

"S-so! How have you been enjoying Hawaii, Haru?"

"I admit I've been so busy with chaperone duties that I haven't done much. But it's still been nice to have my mind off of things. I'm hoping that I'll have the time to try some Kona coffee before we leave."

Akira looked at her with surprise.

"That's... pretty expensive. But I guess you don't want to just settle with a Kona Blend."

She shook her head, "It's expensive but I would rather have the real thing. You seem to know a bit about coffee, Akira-kun."

"Heh, I would hope so. I've been living and working in a cafe since April."

"Really!? What cafe is it? Maybe I could visit."

...It would be nice to just meet with Haru rather than just randomly bumping into her. Plus Boss would be happy to have another customer. Why not?

"Cafe LeBlanc, it's in one of the back alleys in Yongen-Jaya."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to come by sometime."

The chime of a phone rings out and Haru pulls it out of her pocket.

"Oh! It looks like one of the teachers need me."

Haru stands up and smiles at Akira.

"I'm glad we ran into each other again, Akira-kun. See ya."

"S-see ya." Akira said, as he tried to ignore the strange fluttering feeling in his chest

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

"Don't you think we still have a lot to learn about each other though?"

Akira and Ryuji looked over at Ann curiously.

"Like?" They both asked

A cat-like grin appeared on Ann's face, "You know, things like what kind of people we like... So, time to come clean, Ryuji!"

"Me!?"

Akira smirked, "Oh this will be good."

Ryuji shot him a quick glare before facing Ann.

"Uhhh, well... she's... she's gotta have a good personality. I'm okay with anyone who's modest and nice..."

"What about if two girls with equally good personalities confessed to you at the same time?"

"If they're equally nice?"

"Don't do it Ryuji, it's a trap." Akira said

Unfortunately Ryuji ignored Akira's warning and answered, "Well then it'd hafta be the one with the hotter bod."

"So looks are what's most important to you." Ann replied

"What!?"

"I tried to warn you."

"Your first answer was just superficial. The second answer was how you really feel."

Akira chuckled over Ryuji decrying the whole thing as unfair.

"What about you, Akira? C'mon, spill the beans. What kind of girl is your type?"

At that moment, a vision of brown eyes and fluffy hair flashed in Akira's mind. He turned away from Ryuji and Ann.

"I-I don't have a type."

"Pfft, yeah right! I know exactly what your type is... Akira-kun~" Ryuji responded with what Akira assumed was supposed to be an imitation of Haru's voice

Without saying a word, Akira tossed one of the spare pillows at his best friend's face.