#then i remember that that's canon and continue writing

[sansaorgana]

— DECEPTION (X – SAURON)

DECEPTION MASTERLIST ALTERNATIVE ENDING (ADAR)

PAIRING — Sauron x fem!Elf!Reader // Adar x fem!Elf!Reader

SUMMARY — You already made your decision to remain by Adar's side but your former lover has different plans.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — First of all, thank you so much for your comments under every part and your support because this fic (and this fandom) was what brought back my joy for writing! 😊 I am aware most of you wants to see The Reader from this fic with Adar but I still wanted to let you make a choice and I had an idea for this storyline either way, so... 🤷🏻‍♀️ The very cold line Some are born for sacrifice is taken from another fantasy TV show – The Shannara Chronicles. 😅 I loved while watching the show and I remembered about it while writing this story. I think it suits. 🤐 This part is more canon-like than the alternative ending where The Reader chooses Adar tbh.

WARNINGS — forced/arranged marriage, Reader is NOT a good person – she is proud, greedy, fake and corrupted by Sauron, "love" triangle situationship, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS 💀

WORD COUNT — 4,930

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

DECEPTION (X – SAURON)

You spent the rest of the day and half of the night inside the forest, in your new favourite place, feeling uneasy. Alone, just in case Sauron wanted to reach out to you again. But he was not making such attempts and it was making you anxious more than ever. His wrath was something you did not want to experience yourself and you knew very well that you had earned it.

Nervously fidgeting with the wedding band around your finger, you were sitting there by the fallen tree and listening to the sounds of the battle taking place nearby. Once more, you felt like sneaking back into the camp, stealing your own horse and running away to some place where no one knew you. But you knew you could not. You had to face the consequences of your actions.

Eventually, you took a deep breath in and decided to find Adar. You needed him close to feel safe and secure again because your anxiety was growing bigger and bigger with each given moment.

You found him near your shared tent, surrounded by the Orcs, small fires to light the path and all the war machines that made you realise how truly close you were to the battle indeed and how serious the situation was.

As you were approaching Adar from one side, you spotted Glûg walking up to him from the opposite one, with some of his friends standing behind as if they were waiting for him to speak to their Lord Father in the name of them all.

“Lord Father,” Glûg started just when you stood next to your husband and wrapped your trembling hands around his arm, happy that he was still there; that Sauron’s rage had not taken him away from you just yet. “The wall is stronger than we thought,” Glûg continued with his head slightly bowed down. “We may not breach it before morning. The Elf is faring better than you expected,” he added. “His troops have already destroyed five of our trebuchets. Many Uruk are dying,” he emphasised, his voice filled with pain and fear. “What are your orders, Lord Father? Shall we sound retreat?”

“No,” Adar’s answer was quick, nearly harsh. It caused a shiver to go down your spine as you watched with interest the conversation between him and his son. “Sauron must not escape,” Adar stated and turned around in your direction, putting his arm around your back to walk you inside the tent. “Bring down that wall. At any cost,” he added.

“Adar!” Glûg exclaimed and you exchanged a meaningful look with your husband. There was desperation but also a hint of disappointment mixed with anger in the Orc’s voice. You both froze and turned around to face him once more. “You told us… You loved us,” Glûg reminded his father in the Black Speech and your heart clenched inside your chest at his words that you could understand perfectly well now.

“With all that is left of my heart,” Adar answered with pain but also determination in his voice. Too much to let you become Sauron’s slaves.”

There was no answer from Glûg or any of the Orcs, so Adar left your side and went inside the tent. You hesitated at the sight of their faces, though. Their expressions did not mean anything good but you had no idea how you could fix it.

Either way, it was an argument between the Orcs and their Lord Father. You were not a side in this conflict. Therefore, you turned around and followed your husband inside the tent.

When you looked around, you spotted that he was angry and crouching down next to a few dead bodies of the Orcs. Lady Galadriel was not around.

“She’s still in the camp. Find her!” He barked at a few Orcs coming inside after you and they nodded before running out.

“What happened?” You asked.

“She escaped,” Adar stood up and showed you a small Elven key Galadriel had to use to get out of her shackles. Suddenly, you realised what Herald Elrond had done while kissing her. He had managed to distract everyone from the fact he had handed her his brooch with a hidden item inside.

“Smart,” you admitted and tilted your head but Adar was not impressed.

“You were supposed to watch over her,” he reminded you, harshly.

“Me?” You were surprised at his words. “I know that you are nervous because the battle is not going the way you planned and I agree with Glûg that we should retreat and go back home but that is no reason for you to take it out on me,” you drawled out through your gritted teeth.

Adar did not say anything to that as he gave you a scolding look and left the tent in a hurry, leaving you speechless. However, not even a minute passed and he was back.

“Forgive me,” he said and extended his hand towards yours. “I might die today and I do not want to leave this world knowing that the very last thing we did was to argue,” he admitted and you sighed, approaching him.

You ignored his extended hand because you threw your arms around his neck instead and you hugged him tight before taking a small step back and cupping his face in your hands.

“Do not say such things, please,” you pleaded and cracked a nervous smile before joining your lips together to kiss him softly before you eventually let him go to join his children.

The battle was getting worse and more ferocious but you remained inside your tent, nervously patting the surface of the wooden table with your fingers. Then, suddenly, angry Glûg entered the tent without even announcing himself. You turned around, surprised and raised an eyebrow at him.

“My Lady,” he bowed his head very slightly, nearly lazily, which was quite uncommon for him.

“What is it, dear?” You tried to be more lighthearted.

“I come to you because Adar remains deaf to my pleas,” Glûg sighed, still standing near the entrance of the tent as if he was scared of approaching you.

“What pleas, Glûg? He will not agree to go back home. Believe me, I’ve tried,” you rolled your eyes slightly and Glûg squinted his small eyes at you.

“That I know, my Lady,” he nodded. “He has just ordered to send the troll in.”

“And what about it?” You inquired. “Have we not brought that filthy creature here to use him in battle?”

“He is killing our own kind!” Glûg tried to protest and you pursed your lips after realising how delicate the situation was indeed.

“I understand,” you nodded and stood up finally to approach him. “However, you must trust your Lord Father’s orders. Some battles require smaller losses to win the big thing in the end. I have lost a lot myself. I have lost things you have no idea of, Glûg,” you only said and he growled but then he looked down at your scolding expression. “We all have a part to play,” you added. “Some are born for sacrifice.”

Glûg looked up at your face as if he was scared of you. Perhaps he was but you were not given more time with him because he left the tent in a hurry. You sighed and went back on the chair. Everything was a mess and you just wanted the battle to be over. The worst thing was the uncertainty.

When the dawn came, you could no longer stay in one place. You left the tent and went deeper into the forest to hide between the tall trees. But instead of going straight to your favourite place, you took a small detour, trying to calm down your pounding heart and your shaky breath.

Your mind was plagued with all the things you could have done differently. You could have told Adar back in Mordor that Halbrand was Sauron. You could have slaughtered him yourself with Morgoth’s crown. You had known then, after all, where Adar was keeping it. You could have discouraged your husband instead of encouraging him when it came to the matter of attacking Eregion.

So many things you could have done differently but you had been blinded by Sauron and his empty promises.

You reached the cliff and there you could witness the true image of what you had caused – burning Eregion, one of the most beautiful Elven cities… now fallen. Your eyes welled with tears but could you really blame yourself? It was all him – Sauron.

“I have promised you, have I not?” His voice filled your head that very moment. You turned around but no one was there as your heart skipped a beat. His voice was overlooming and malicious – he was angry with you and you could feel it despite the physical distance.

“Promised me what?” You asked, angrily.

“I have promised I would destroy them all. All the beautiful Elven cities you felt so small compared to. Mithlond, Eregion… I have promised that you would watch them burn,” Sauron reminded you.

“You have promised me I would watch them burn with a crown upon my head,” you gritted your teeth.

“And you promised me you would bring me the very crown and put it onto my head. Back in Mordor, when I was your prisoner. How sweet you were to me then,” Sauron answered, his voice filled with sinister irony.

“Leave me,” you shook your head and shut your eyes close, letting the warm tears stream down your cheeks.

“You have outdone yourself, I must admit, my love. You might have earned my forgiveness with the army you brought me,” he whispered before leaving your mind as you had requested.

You took a deep breath in and opened your eyes rapidly.

Adar.

You had to find him. You had to find him now.

You gathered your skirts and ran back inside the forest, through the trees and the hidden paths you were able to see perfectly well because of your Elven heritage. Your ancestors had been running through forests like this one – maybe even the same woods. It was in your blood to be able to swiftly move through the trees.

In no time you found yourself in your favourite spot by the fallen tree where the sunlight was creeping in. And as you circled around, wondering where to go, you overheard glimpses of conversations. You immediately recognised your husband’s voice but also… Lady Galadriel’s?

With a furrowed brow, you followed the voices and found yourself approaching a small forest clearing with a stone circle, which had most likely been made by your kin back in the First Age. In the very centre of it stood the biggest stone and Morgoth’s crown was placed upon it.

Your husband was approaching Lady Galadriel and handing her back a Ring – you assumed he had managed to get the one forged by Lord Celebrimbor for her. And the power of this item you could feel even there, hidden between the trees. It was vibrating with pure light and chiming with a beautiful, Elven song.

And Adar’s face was different. It was… Healed. You gasped and took a step ahead but when he turned his face back at you, you could see the scars appearing once more because the Ring was now back on Lady Galadriel’s finger.

“We must go,” you swallowed the lump in your throat as you approached them. “We must go back home. Please,” you grabbed him by his sleeve. “I beg of you,” you added, not caring much about your pride anymore. You didn’t even mind Lady Galadriel’s curious gaze.

“On the contrary,” Adar smiled softly and caressed your cheek. “We have just made ourselves a deal with the Elves” he told you and you furrowed your brows before laying your eyes on Galadriel. She smiled nervously at you. “Together, we might destroy Sauron.”

Hope bloomed deep inside of you once more at his words. You cracked a smile at Galadriel, too.

“Thank you,” you breathed out to her.

But despite all of that, you had a feeling that something was not right. It was too easy. Sauron would never let it happen and he would surely predict it.

“We shall create a lasting peace in Middle-earth,” Adar added and you squeezed his arm tighter, lovingly. “Now and forever.”

You knew that deep down that was all he had ever wanted – for his children to have their own land and live there peacefully as he would watch over them. And you would, too. By his side. You smiled to yourself.

Your small moment of blissfulness was interrupted by a few Orcs carrying Glûg on the stretchers. His face was wincing out of pain and he seemed to be hurt. Adar left your side immediately and you stood there with Galadriel while you observed.

“What happened?” Adar kneeled down to check on his son.

“We found Sauron, Lord Father,” one of the Orcs explained and you moved uncomfortably at that mention. “He tried to make Glûg betray you, but he resisted. So, Sauron did this. The others are pursuing him now.”

“Forgive me, child,” Adar whispered to Glûg.

You wanted to go to him, too but you tilted your head instead when you realised that the rest of the Orcs were not kneeling by their dying brother’s side. No, they were keeping a fair distance as they formed a circle around Adar and Glûg, with their hands close to the hilts of their weapons.

“Adar…” You called his name. “My love, can you come back to me?” You reached out to him with your hand carefully as it trembled.

But he did not listen to you because, at that moment, his son’s pain was his priority.

“It’s too late…” Glûg groaned.

“It’s never too late,” Adar insisted. “Not even for me. And not for you, my son.”

“Adar…!” You insisted but you were ignored once more and tears filled your eyes. You even took a small step closer even though at that moment, you were not sure anymore if you could keep trusting the Orcs.

“It’s too late…” Glûg whimpered as if he was dying and a short moment after you watched in terror how he pierced Adar’s side with his blade.

You shouted and reached for your sword without thinking twice about whether your abilities were enough or not to fight them but when you were about to charge at the Orcs attacking your husband and him not even trying to defend himself… you were stopped.

A hand on your shoulder.

You looked around and saw Sauron’s face so close to yours that you gasped. He had a new form once again but this time it did not differ so much from the previous one. He was a blond Elf now, radiating light and wisdom. A blasphemous image, surely.

His eyes in that moment were nothing but two dark abysses as he was looking you up and down with pure hatred and curiosity.

“Let go of her!” Lady Galadriel ordered and you nearly chuckled at how naive she could be.

“She is exactly where she is supposed to be. By my side,” Sauron smirked and you turned your head around once more to glance at your husband.

Adar was laying on the ground now but he was still alive enough to see. You tried to get free from Sauron’s grasp and he surprisingly allowed it.

There was no point of fighting the Orcs now – there were too many of them. And perhaps some part of you wished for them to do to your body the same thing they had done to your husband. So, you tossed aside Morgoth’s sword because it would only slow you down and you hurried to Adar’s side as you kneeled by him and sobbed.

“Please, stop!” You begged the Orcs but they ignored you. Yet, their blades made sure to not even scratch you as they were piercing through Adar. “Please…” You begged and begged as Adar laid his blue eyes filled with sadness on your face. “My love, please, forgive me… Please…” You caressed his cheeks and his hair as your tears were falling down upon his face. “You can’t die thinking I did not love you. I am so sorry… So, so sorry…”

Sauron approached you all, which caused the Orcs to retreat. You noticed he was holding Morgoth’s crown now in his hand. They were standing in a circle above you and you were kneeling down, holding Adar’s dying body, sobbing and looking up at your corrupted lover.

“Please…” You whispered. “I love him,” you told Sauron.

But Sauron did not react. He only watched with a twisted satisfaction and you squeezed Adar’s cold hand. You felt his fingers trying to squeeze back yours, which only made you sob even more.

“My… children…” He looked at you as he breathed out in the Black Speech.

“They are not children anymore,” Sauron informed him and you shot him a deadly glance. Glûg was standing right next to him and your pain mixed with anger at the thought that it was him out of them all who had betrayed your husband.

“I forgive you,” Adar told you in the Quenya language now and your heart skipped a beat. “I love you.”

You were too heartbroken to say anything to that but you knew that he knew how much you loved him, too. And you knew he understood why you had done all those things – he understood what it meant to be under Sauron’s spell.

Sauron put his hand upon your shoulder and moved you away slightly to make more space for Glûg to finish Adar off with one final stroke as he yelled and you sobbed.

When the fallen Elves die, where do they go?

“What orders, Lord Sauron?” Glûg asked Sauron as all the Orcs bowed down. The very moment their Lord Father let out his last breath.

Crying silent tears, nothing but hatred grew and grew inside of your heart for them now. They were just like everyone had been saying – vile and cruel. They did not know anything about love or loyalty.

They did not deserve Adar.

You did not deserve Adar.

“Raze Eregion,” Sauron ordered but you couldn't care less about anything else now. All that mattered was your husband, laying there dead. You were still squeezing his hand. “Leave no Elf alive but bring me their leaders.”

“Hail Sauron! Hail the new Dark Lord!” Glûg shouted in the Black Speech and the rest followed, screaming it over and over.

In the meantime, you caressed Adar’s face and wiped the black blood streaming down his chin from the corner of his mouth with your thumb. You fixed his hair delicately and closed his eyelids and it nearly looked like he was asleep.

The Orcs finally ran away, passing you by. Sauron kept staring at you with contempt and you looked up with hatred.

“I will be back,” he smirked and walked away to join Lady Galadriel since the business between them was surely not over yet. You watched with gritted teeth how he picked up your sword and claimed it as his.

And, once more, you found yourself not caring. Because it did not matter, after all. Nothing mattered and you felt nothing, too. You were empty.

Sauron and Galadriel began their duel but you did not watch. She hurried away into the forest and Sauron followed her and now all you could hear was the sound of clinking metal.

“Sleep, my dear,” you whispered as you looked down at Adar’s peaceful face and caressed his hair. “Sleep, you deserve it,” you added with a trembling voice.

Your hands went lower to his own because you wanted to take the wedding ring off of his finger to keep it. You did so and then you reached with your fingers inside his sleeve and you sobbed more after finding there the leaves of the holy trees you had married under.

“Oh, Adar…” You lowered yourself to press your forehead to his. “Thank you for everything.”

He was the very first who had shown you love and given you power. You missed him already – his soft smiles at you, the brushes of his fingertips upon your cheeks, his rough voice, his usual calmness, his wisdom. His respect towards you and how safe he was able to make you feel. That you just knew he would never harm you – his wife.

You did not know how much time had passed but you were sitting there without moving an inch, holding Adar’s body close and feeling how his body was slowly getting colder and colder.

Familiar footsteps brought you back to reality. Sauron, wielding your sword in one hand and Morgoth’s crown in another with Galadriel’s blood dripping down from its iron spikes as you looked up to see his angry face.

“She refused you once more,” you pointed out, bitterly. “So you’re back to me. What would you do if she said yes? Would I join my husband in death then?” You asked, calling Adar your husband to spite him.

“She said no and I am here,” Sauron clenched his jaw. “What would you do if he was alive?” He asked and your expression changed because, sadly, he had a point.

He had betrayed you but you had betrayed him, too. It was only fair. But just like you had feared his wrath – perhaps he should fear yours, too. That would be fair as well.

“He is dead and I am here,” you caressed Adar’s cheek one last time and stood up to be on Sauron’s level. “Give me back my sword,” you reached out with your hand but there was no reaction from him. “It was not a plea. The sword is mine, so is Mordor and so is the army. I have earned them,” you stated, harshly and Sauron let out a contemptuous laugh. “The Lady of Light did not follow you and you were a fool for thinking she would even consider it,” you added and Sauron’s laughter stopped in an instant as he shot you a deadly glance.

He could not threaten you with death, though, because it would only mean a reunion with Adar, therefore you did not fear it anymore.

“Only I am rotten enough to follow you, Sauron,” you pointed out, bitterly. “Perhaps all of this had to happen for us to finally realise that we are cursed with one another,” you continued and walked past Adar’s body to get your sword from Sauron’s hands yourself. He allowed you to but he kept watching you closely. “We are doomed to walk side by side, my love,” you whispered but your words were malicious.

You looked deep into his scary eyes although you were sure yours were just as terrifying at that moment. And when you were getting the sword from him, your hands joined together for a moment as you two froze like that.

You hated and despised him. He had betrayed you. And yet, it was true that you had to be doomed to be with him because, still, you felt attracted to him. Still, you would follow him wherever he would go now.

You had nowhere else to go anyway.

“I rue the day I met you,” you told him in Black Speech, “shadow of Morgoth.”

Those words visibly angered him as he tilted his head with a smirk.

“If I am nothing but his shadow, what does that make you? You are merely made in the image of me,” Sauron remarked.

“No, I am my own self. My own person. My own soul with my own desires,” you raised your head high. “If I am to follow you, it will be on different terms this time. It will be as your equal,” you insisted.

“What use are you to me except for warming my bed?” Sauron grabbed you by your chin as he brought your face closer and his hot breath fanned over your skin.

“What use are you to me except for warming mine?” You answered, calmly.

Your spat was interrupted by Glûg himself who ran up to you with one of his friends. At the sight of him, Sauron let go of your chin and you both turned around to face the Orcs.

“We are overwhelmed, Lord Sauron!” Glûg exclaimed after approaching you two and you kept staring at him with nothing but pure hatred and disgust. Like he deserved to be treated after everything he had done. “The Dwarves are securing the Elves’ retreat,” he shook his head, nervously.

Sauron said nothing and kept staring at the Orc with a puzzled expression, surprised that he even dared to file such a complaint. Glûg laid his small and pleading eyes on you as he bowed down.

“If we pursue, many Uruks will die, Lady Mother,” he addressed you and his words caused your jaw to clench as blood boiled in your veins.

“Do not call me that,” you scolded him, harshly, as you glanced briefly at your husband’s dead body before looking back at the Orc. “I have no love for you,” you told him and Glûg’s eyes widened. “You have betrayed the only person who was able to love your filthy kin,” you added and you made your point very clear to the rest by piercing your sword right through him.

And what a satisfaction it brought you to watch him choke on it when it was him who had betrayed your husband the most. You twisted the blade and retreated it as Glûg fell down on the ground and curled up to die.

“What are you staring at?” You barked at his shocked and terrified friend. “Go back and fight!” You ordered and he ran away.

Short silence occurred between you and Sauron. When you finally broke it by sighing and turning around to walk away slightly, you felt his hands on your wrists, pulling you closer once more. His face was right in front of yours but this time there was no threat in them and they were no black abysses anymore but a beautiful shade of green.

However, you moved away.

“I want to give my husband a proper burial,” you crouched down next to Adar’s body. “Then I can go with you.”

You formed the funeral pyre yourself in that favourite spot of yours by the fallen tree. It took you a whole day since you were carefully choosing the best branches to do so. And it was you without anyone’s help moving Adar’s body on top of it. When you were able to finally light the fire, it was dark already but you knew he would prefer it this way.

You hesitated while carrying the torch because you knew that burning him was a definite act. He would be no more. Not even his flesh.

Yet, you couldn’t leave him behind to rot.

“In flames he returns to darkness,” you whispered in the Black Speech and lit the pyre before taking a step back and watching it burn.

You were so cried out that only one single tear streamed down your cheek and you did not even bother to wipe it.

A quiet sound of the footsteps made you realise that Sauron joined you but you did not look back. You knew he made that slight noise with the purpose of letting you know he was there, so you ignored him purposefully, too.

“You, Elves, you marry once in a lifetime, do you not?” He stood right behind you and you sighed at the irony in his voice.

“We do,” you nodded as you played nervously with the contents of your pocket – two wedding rings and the leaves of the holy trees. “But in the eyes of the Valar, we are married. You and I,” you turned your head around to look at his devilishly handsome face being lit by the light from the dancing flames. “I have given myself to you out of my own free will and during our first night together I became your wife,” you reminded him, bitterly. “You have many brides, though, am I right, Lord Sauron?”

He did not answer as he kept staring at the flames but he put his hands on your shoulders and pulled you a bit closer to him.

“None of them as terrific as you,” he confessed with a hint of admiration and leaned in to place a kiss upon your temple.

His words were like venom – treacherous and infectious. You liked to think that you were immune now to him and his craft but perhaps you had overestimated your own self.

You turned your head around and your noses brushed softly as you gave in and opened your lips to welcome his hungry kiss.

“My Dark Lady of Mordor,” he whispered between the kisses. “Commander of my Army. My Queen.”

His Queen. Everything you had once wanted and now you had it.

But what a price you had to pay for it.

What a price indeed… To find out that you had a heart hidden in there despite it all – only for it to die and rot shortly after.

And whatever was left of it, Sauron had a tight hold on it.

“Your Queen,” you cracked a sad smile and let go of the wedding rings and the leaves inside your pocket to raise your hand and caress his smooth cheek. “Your malediction.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE 2.0 — Hi, it's me again! 👋🏻 If you are here for angst, then I think reading Adar's ending might make it worse for you because it shows you the possibility of what could have been only if our Reader made slightly different choices. If you read both endings, you will see that it was mostly small gestures of kindness and compassion that decided her fate. 💓

MASTERLIST

[simp-ly-writes]

Dressing Up for the Role

─────── · · The Professionals

Pairing: Russell Adler x Fem!Spy!Reader

─ · · SUMMARY: You and Adler are husband and wife on paper yet you both need to appear the part. You take on the city for the elements to make your relationship appear authentic: rings, clothes, and chemistry? Well that couldn't be right... and who the hell is this "Bell" person Adler always flicks past... a continuation of this.

─ · · TAGS: no use of (y/n), non-canon compliant, flirting, use of pet names, teasing, fluff, only one bed trope at the end, Adler being a bit on an ass (but we love him for it).

─ · · MASTERLIST | TAGLIST REQUEST | WORDCOUNT: 1,826

─ · · A/N: I had to stop myself so many times from writing, "and then they kiss" lmao. Let me know what y'all think. Thank you for the support on the introductory part!

─────── · ·

Two days left was all you had with your new "husband," to make yourselves seem like you had been married for years. You both had rented a camera to make sure you had pictures of your "honeymoon" ready if anyone searched your bags or took a look at your wallets.

You had decided on a picture of you both in the local Park underneath the multi-coloured tree's, the other an image of Adler smoking out on the balcony while casting you a wink. Adler had yet to show you the picture he placed in his wallet and teased you every time you asked saying it was the worst picture possible so that other's wouldn't get jealous- you did not know weather to be offended or thankful.

The day would be packed full of clothes shopping, speed get-to-know one another lunch dates where more than twenty question rounds were asked to ensure that any question directed towards each other or your relationship could be answered or deflected with ease.

─────── · ·

You were in the fitting room, trying on various outfits for your trip. Needing thicker clothes for colder climate than you were about to be operating in. Adler was in a chair outside your door, a large mirrored room to see every angle of the fabric draped against your body.

Leaning back against the leather that groaned more than he did. Adler rose his pointer finger, twirling it around and watched as the fabric of your dress spun with your shoes before falling back to the floor. You smiled watching as the glasses slipped down his nose. "You look very nice but we do need clothes for six months not six weeks and we are running out of daylight."

"Well its not like these dresses have super accessible zippers or anything! Takes me a solid ten minutes to just get out of the fucking things since you waved the associate away!" you argued with a pointed finger at his chest.

Adler stood before placing a hand on your hip, reaching up and around to slowly unzip the fabric from your body as to not catch any or your skin. "No harm in asking for help, you know that?"

"Not when the help gets all preachy, Adler," you retort, "but thank you." Holding the front of your dress up you run back to the fitting room, a smile dusting against your lips as your heart fluttered in your chest.

─────── · ·

Throughout the day, you had to consistently remember that the information you were getting out of your husband was not for just your ears and the guilt only built in your gut as Adlers answers slowly went from satirical to genuine as the day progressed.

You could sense the hidden truth underneath the smiles and cigarettes he would present to you behind closed smiles and doors. Telling you about the team he had back at home and the slip of the name, "Bell," that was never mentioned again.

Looking through the database while Adler was out buying another box of cigarettes and lunch for the day, you had yet to find anything for a member under the CIA with that codename or a mission of any kind.

This point lingered at the back of your head as he told you his days during the Vietnam war and you were most surprised over your third cup of coffee that day that he had a wife before you. In actuality, you forgot just how long you both had been working in the field for that it was silly of you to think of yourself as the only one... if only a fake one.

Smiling and nodding along, Adler raised a brow at your drop in reaction to a concealed one- you hated that he could instantly pick up on your tricks and perfected charisma you thought to have mastered over the years. "Have something you want to say?"

"Nothing, just... was this "Bell" person your wife?"

Adler laughed harder than you had ever seen before yet it felt distantly hollow as you shrunk back into your chair as he leaned forwards onto the table. "No, though we wouldn't have been far off if things worked... differently."

You both let the words sit in the tension-filled air, unsure of how to continue conversation you decided to end it all together and move on to the next activity. "Ready to get married, old man?"

"Thought we already were?"

"Not without a ring on your finger, we arn't"

─────── · ·

Wedding band shopping had taken a majority of the afternoon as Adler had to keep up a pleased facade as you hung off his arm, smiling widely and rubbing up and down his arm while speaking with the consultant.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, honey," Adler commented with an overly sweet tone yet after the few hours that you had known the man. Those sweet-toned words were heavy with sarcasm, his eyes appearing dead underneath his shades that he insisted upon wearing- even indoors.

"Well, honey," you add just as if not more sweetly back, "I want to make sure we have the most authentic and delicate piece on your finger to make everyone know we're together." Adler chuckles, smiling while glaring daggers at the side of your head as you laugh with the consultant who is practically leaning over the display case to converse with you.

A sudden hand falling from your arm down to your waist is a comforting weight as your attention shifts back over. Adler pulls you back slightly to his side so that you stand up-right before leaning down and whispering in your ear, "we do plan on paying for these right? Don't need you sweetening the deal with anything with wandering eyes."

You look up at Adler, eyebrow raised in question, "and here I thought you wanted a good deal?"

"Not my money, honey. I could care less about what you spend the budget on as long as we both make it back with majority of our pieces." you nod with a shrug. "We'll take these thank you."

The consultant blinks before smiling, "yes, let me ring these up for you two." Adler had yet to take a hand off your back until you both were a block away from the store before offering you his arm.

─────── · ·

Arriving back at the hotel, you ordered room service for dinner on the balcony before going over the plan for tomorrow. You both would be boarding a commercial plane, a car waiting to take you to an empty apartment across from the venue you would be attending to gain more information on the Russians space plans. An insider under the name red-gloves had slipped the information to your agency saying that this was a cover for the missiles they were building.

There would be five people you would be on the look out for, the Space Agency Director, his wife (and mistresses attending), the directors assistant, and surprisingly enough, a USA ambassador that was supposed to have returned a year ago.

Adler nodded along to the information as you wrapped a blanket over yourself, the wind catching and picking up as a few napkins threatened to join the breeze. A sudden clicking sound had you looking over to watch as your husband lit a cigarette, offering it to you before lighting another one for himself.

You both sat there in silence overlooking the city below you before stuffing out your cigarette and closing your eyes for a moment. You knew that this would be your bit of peace before the act actually started but in this moment, life felt so natural in an odd way as you began to understand why people did this, got married, so much so that you didn't realize yourself drifting away.

─────── · ·

"Hey, hey," Adler shook your gently before snapping his fingers in your face. You had not moved, instead burrowing further into his side with a smile- he scoffed. Flicking the bud burning his fingers to the ground and pressing it out he rolled you up in the blanket before picking you up in his arms and bringing you towards the bed.

He watched as your head found the pillow, debating of weather or not to move the covers on top as well, he decided against it but before he could step away from the mattress. Your hand gripped his shirt. "Stay."

"I'm not your husband just your co-worker," Adler retorted watching as you slowly woke back up from the change in temperature.

"I know that and I also know how miserable you were complaining about your back hurting all throughout the day. Now lay the fuck down, Russell Adler and get some good rest. I need my co-worker, work-ready in the morning not a grumpy husband, right?" you said back before rolling over to the other side and flicking the lamp off, "Goodnight."

Adler stood at the side of the bed, shaking his head. He couldn't believe you spitting his words right back at him before shrugging off his shirt before crawling underneath the covers.

─────── · ·

Waking up, you were surprised to find your pillow and blanket had changed as you head rested upon Adlers chest- his arm your blanket before you were leaning over the sleeping man to slam the alarm back to sleep. "Morning, sunshine," you teased, stretching in a groggy tone, bones cracking as Russell deeply groaned. The sound going directly through your spine with a shiver watching as Adler rose, his back flexing as he stood and reached down for his shirt while turning around you got a glimpse of his stomach before it was hidden away.

"If you keep looking at me like that, you'll get sick of me before the mission even starts, wife," Adler says before turning towards the kitchenette for a cup of coffee.

Rolling your eyes and falling back underneath the covers you could hear Adler shaming you from the next room. "Don't make me pull you out of that bed. It was your idea for us to make the earliest flight, sweetheart."

"Then do it and see what happens," you commented playfully yet tone coated in a sarcastic flair. "I think you'd be into it from what you were telling me yesterday," Adler says with a laugh before walking back into the room, two mugs in hand.

You silently take a mug, glaring as you bring it up to your lips to cover your heated cheeks. Adler looks out the window, hair tousled as he stretches his neck, fingers twitching for nicotine in the morning.

You watch the way the suns rays gently cast upon the gold locks of hair wanting nothing more than to stand and feel the softness of it underneath your fingertips.

"I thought we went over the starring thing already."

"Fuck off, Adler."

"Now thats more like it."

─────── · ·

[starry-stan-blog]

am writing chapter 6 of my scum villain fanfic and there is 3K of sqq unwittingly unleashing his wife beam on lbh

as soon as binghe gets back from the abyss it's over for sqq's ass

[aarontaylorjohnsonsdivorcelawyer]

library card ➵ valgrace university au

valgrace university au - PART 5 [masterlist]

[friezaglasiencold]

hey Frieza, i was wondering how Yamcha's doing? also idk if this has been asked already but what's his relationship with Kuriza?

((hi i was wondering if you could give me some tips on starting my own character ask blog? if that's alright))

He's fine... actually, we had ourselves a little get-together last night. Saw a movie. Played some word games.

(Among other activities.)

He's taken on a very active role with Kuriza, which I do appreciate. Most strapping bachelors of his ilk don't take as well to their dates having children as he has. The boy adores him, too.

It's a dangerous situation for me to be in, however, to allow my child to become so attached to someone I might well leave by the wayside. I wouldn't want to obligate myself into a relationship for his sake. Still, we have fun, and Yamcha plays the role of babysitter quite well.

[caswlw]

the idea that they’re writing the season as they go so they’re seeing the reaction the audience has and that it (even in the smallest way possible) could have an impact on what happens this season (and in future seasons) is so wild to me. not saying that they’re seeing our response and saying “oh that sounds good, totally writing that in,” but it’s not impossible to say that they will see what the people want, realize the best way to generate buzz and excitement and increased viewership is to keep your fans happy, and then actually do something about it instead of killing characters/storylines just for kicks

911 has the opportunity to be that bitch even more than it already is and they shouldn’t squander it while they’re on top

[geee-three]

rewatching alien stage after round 7 heres my thoughts on a prsk version:

sua -> haruka mizu -> an till -> akito ivan -> toya luka -> mafyu hyuna -> shiho

[finxwrites]

They used to play the game a lot. One of them would say a name, and they wouldn’t ask the question aloud if they were anywhere even slightly public—secrecy was too ingrained in the three of them, and Mike had taken to it quickly enough—but they’d all hear it anyway: if they were a shifter, what animal would they be? They’d toss ideas back and forth, sometimes settling it at once, sometimes arguing for days. It was more fun than it had any right to be, and it hadn't taken Dustin all that long to figure out why: they’d never had anyone to share this with before.

Shifters mostly stuck with their own kind. In a town as small as Hawkins, that meant shifters mostly just had human friends, and politely avoided each other in the grocery store. It was part cultural norm and part instinct—something about being near other shifters made their animal side a little stronger, and animals don’t trust strangers. Especially strangers with sharp teeth. 

Mike had practically had to sit on them to get the three of them to be friends. For the longest time, just being around Lucas had made Dustin want to bolt. Hares and badgers weren’t even natural enemies, but it was enough that they weren’t friends, and that some deep part of Dustin, the part that lived right at the base of his skull, knew that Lucas could maul him with one well-placed strike.

Will hadn’t been so instinctively frightening—no one has anything to fear from a mouse. Where Dustin got jittery around the other two, Will went still and quiet. But Dustin had been as wary of that as he had been of Lucas’s on-edge sharpness. Everyone knew Will’s dad was a rat. Will had taken after his mother, but you never know with mixed shifters, and no one wants to tangle with a cornered rat.

Mike and Will had met on the first day of kindergarten and become instantly inseparable. Lucas had moved into the house next to Mike’s during spring break of first grade, and they’d hit it off almost at once. Mike hadn’t been able to understand why they’d both balked so hard when he tried to get them to play together at recess.

Most people would probably have given up after a few weeks. But Mike was one of the most stubborn people alive when he got an idea in his head. It didn’t get any easier when he and Dustin got close at summer camp, but Mike started second grade with an iron-hard determination that they would all be friends. Whether they liked it or not.

It took a little over a month for him to get all of them in his basement at the same time, very cautiously playing board games. It was another month before the three of them spent more than thirty seconds alone together, and even then it wasn’t voluntarily. Mike’s mom interrupted a game to insist he take a phone call from his grandma right now. Mike went with loud and lengthy protests, but he went, and then Dustin, Lucas, and Will were left staring at each other in suddenly stifling silence.

It was Will who broke it. Will had always been much braver than you’d expect a mouse to be. “If Mike was a shifter,” he said quietly, “what do you think he’d be?”

Lucas barely hesitated a moment. “A donkey.”

Will nodded pensively. Dustin snorted. “Because he’s stubborn as a mule?” he asked, at the same time as Will said, straight-faced, “Because he can be a real ass.”

Dustin and Lucas both lost it. Will grinned, and then joined in the laughter. That was how Mike found them, collapsed on the floor and giggling, drunk on the cut tension.

They weren’t magically friends after that. But for Dustin, at least, that was when it had started to feel possible.

[paigemathews]

@chloesaunders replied to your post “I’m always intrigued by the fanon unchanged future...”:

elaborate 👀

​Okay, so honestly, the vast majority of what the unchanged future is like? We have no idea. Honestly, all we really know is: magic has been exposed, Wyatt runs the world, and there are probes scanning for witches. (Probably a few more things tbh, but. Eh.) Yet, everyone has basically agreed that:

the resistance is a thing, which is probably the biggest one despite there never being a mention of anything like that.

Chris is either its founder/leader/major player/whatever, despite y’know. Being in his early twenties. (As someone in said early twenties, I cannot imagine being in charge of any kind of rebellion like. are you kidding? I can’t even manage myself, much less a resistance movement.)

honestly that Chris and Bianca have any allies at all, bc we only see them with the whole time travel plot

Wyatt pretty much. blew up the world when he and Chris were like 16/17 and 15/14 respectively. There’s nothing actually indicating if it was earlier, later, or right then but everyone went yep! around Piper’s death is when it all went to hell.

similarly, that Piper was the first of the sisters to die. I mean. Everyone seems to consecutively agree that Piper’s death was the catalyst for everything going to shit, lmao.

look, every single fic about the unchanged future that i’ve read has Wyatt go by Lord Wyatt, which. Not inherently opposed to, but like. There is never an indication of that!! We totally made that up!! Hell, if he’s going by the royal title, King Wyatt?? Bestie has Excalibur and the (technically not confirmed in canon but c’mon, it’s canon) King Arthur past life, why is it Lord and not King?

Wyatt knew that Bianca had betrayed him when she joined the resistance/really any kind of knowledge about Bianca betraying Wyatt. This isn’t as explicit but like anyone besides Chris knowing Bianca turned? Because canon actually explicitly spells out that Wyatt did not know Bianca betrayed him. 

this has also died off in recent years but. remember when everyone went lmao yeah cole and prue are in the unchanged future, despite that making absolutely no sense? why did so many people just roll with that?

[spring-lxcked]

mild spoilers in tags but i'm just mad i don't write any actual security bre.ach muses now and i think i need to change that fuck

[orcelito]

uhm. uhmmm. ladue chapter 18 sure is the goal.

... though im still kinda in the mood for angst. this is a problem.

[johnbly]

seven sentences tag game

tagged by @boltlightning apparently six days ago and i kinda forgot about it but also hadn't written anything to share but now i have so. enjoy the last seven sentences written for my before crisis fic i guess

technically some of it was written in another order so these aren't the seven most recent sentences but it would be less comprehensible if i stuck to that requirement so you're welcome

His work with AVALANCHE didn't have the desired end result, but at least it's gotten the old man's attention. For once, Rufus has been taken seriously. To some extent, anyways. This feels more like being grounded than a punishment worthy of a threat, but he'll hardly complain about being given a second chance. He doesn't know how long he's supposed to be down here -- it's been a couple of weeks already -- but he intends to make the most of it. The Turks take turns watching him. Considering he's expected to stay out of sight in the basement's secret room, it's not like they have much to watch.

i tag @philcoulsonismyhero @writingbyricochet and whoever else would like to!

[smallbutpowerful]

I think what the FF16 fandom doesn't like to acknowledge is if Terence was a female character, the canon Dion/Joshua interactions would have everyone shipping that as the popular ship for those characters just like the CidClives.

He has no personality, he's in 0.2 scenes where he takes care of Dion and cries when Dion leaves him. If he was female y'all would be bitching from day 1 and rollercoastering down the "poor writing->thats why i just can't ship it" pipeline, but because he's male you come up with endless hcs for him and call it the best ship evar.

You guys better not be the same crowd saying Jill doesn't have personality or agency and "doesn't do anything".

[alcego]

what's a slowburn without a little bit of flirting with someone who is very much not endgame

[feralwritings]

three's company

part three

masterpost | part one | part two | interlude I: 1985

words: 5.3k

so, i ran into a bit of a problem. in scenes where there are other girly pops besides reader, the pronouns can get a little confusing. so, when you see an asterisk (*) next to a she/her/hers pronoun, that's you! hope this helps. let me know if it interrupts the flow at all, if it does i might just use 'reader' in place of a name.

warnings: proceed with the highest caution my dears cause this one is fucking gnarly. more specifically though, graphic depictions of violence against women and men, choking not the fun kind, tentacles again, not in the fun way, this author isn't even into that and was actively gagging while writing that, near drowning, upside down brand of torture, vecna is actively enjoying inflicting pain not in a sexual way he's just a fucking dick. also billy gets his shit fucking rocked. emetophobia warning.

“Holy shit, we thought you guys were goners.”

She and Eddie bent down to accept Dustin’s hug, both smiling fondly down at him when they pulled away. 

“Yeah,” she glanced at Eddie, who was looking at Steve, “We thought so too.”

Steve was next to hug her, winding his arms around her back and pulling her close to him, squeezing her a bit harder than the situation warranted, but she snorted into his shoulder, pushing his chest gently, “Good to see you, too.”

She fixed him with a slightly dubious glance, tilting her head and pressing her lips together before accepting the hug/tackle that Robin gave her. 

She embraced Robin for much longer, listening to Robin ranting in her ear and ranting back. Steve caught snippets of the story, and what he did hear was enough to make his stomach twist uncomfortably.

When her and Robin finally extricated themselves, still standing rather close, they turned to the group at large, tuning into the conversation that Nancy and Eddie were having.

”Do you know what time this was? The attack?” Nancy asked.

”Yeah, I know exactly what time it was. Walkies not the only thing that got soaked,” Eddie tossed her his watch.

”9:27.” Nancy read, glancing at Robin.

”Same time our flashlights went kablooey.”

”Which means what, exactly?” Steve interjected, glancing at Nancy, to Robin, to Eddie, then back at Nancy.

”That surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick.”

She* and Eddie both sucked in a breath, exchanging a glance before hurriedly looking away. Steve watched this exchange, his eyebrows furrowing together. 

As the group continued their conversation, her eyes landed on Dustin, who was pacing back and forth, looking out into the woods, hands on his hips, contemplative. 

“Dustin’s not cursed, is he?” Eddie asked, following her eye line to the boy.

Steve shook his head, “Cursed? No. He’s fine. Mental? Absolutely.”

“Boom!” Dustin exclaimed, making everyone jump out of their skin. Nancy turned her head so quickly that she must’ve gotten a crick.

As Dustin launched into an explanation of how he wasn’t wrong, arguing back and forth with Steve about compasses and faulty equipment and electromagnetic fields, she* spaced out, half listening to Dustin and half looking around the woods.

Anxiety bubbled in her chest. A large group of people like this was bound to get noticed, and with Jason on their tail, thinking that Eddie had not only murdered Patrick but was also holding *her hostage, it seemed ill-advised for a bunch of innocents tagging along with a pair of fugitives.

It was only when Robin, who was still stuck to her side said the phrase ‘snack size gate’ that she* was brought back down to earth with a rather unpleasant bump.

”Wait, a gate?” She glanced at Dustin, then Nancy.

”Yeah,” Dustin said, “Weren’t you listening?”

”Yeah, a bit, but how would there be a gate? And why?” *she asked, “Last time a gate was opened, it was Eleven, and she’s not here, so…”

”I don’t know. I just know that something is causing this. And last time we saw anything like this, it was a gate. And I hope it is, cause then we’d have a way to Vecna, and a shot at freeing Max from this curse,” Dustin gestured emphatically with the compass.

“We?” She* asked, raising an eyebrow, “Do you really think that if we find the gate, we’re going to let you or any of you other kiddies anywhere near it?”

Dustin looked affronted, “It’s my theory. I should get to go in.”

She* shook her head, “And we’re grateful, buddy, truly, but there is no way in hell you’re going into the Upside Down. Not happening.”

”Why?” Dustin whined. 

“Because you are fifteen years old, and going into the Upside Down is extremely dangerous. You could be killed.”

”So could you!”

”Doesn’t matter,” She had moved away from Robin now, and was approaching Dustin, “You’re our man in the chair, right? You’re the one running things most of the time. We gotta keep you safe. And letting you go into that hellscape is completely counterintuitive to what we’re trying to accomplish here, right?”

Dustin seemed pleased with the compliment, and the praise, but there was a vestige of defiance remaining. Lucas and Max looked at each other, identical expressions of exasperation painting their faces.

He turned to Eddie, “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

Eddie’s gaze was fixed somewhere on the ground, pensive as he spoke, “I’d say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor. Which, if I’m being completely honest, I think it’s a really bad idea.”

He looked into the trees, his voice taking on a hint of nostalgia. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves, and *she caught her breath, feeling that now familiar twist in her stomach whenever she looked at him. He was enigmatic. She was curious.

”But the shire,” He sighed, “The shire is burning.”

There was a rhythmic clunking sound as Dustin jumped up and down, the contents of his backpack shifting and banging against each other. Eddie stood with a flourish, setting his shoulders.

”So, Mordor it is.”

With that, Dustin turned on his heel and started marching in the direction that the compass was leading him, and everyone fell in line after him.

”What is Mordor?” Steve asked no one in particular.

”It’s from Lord of the Rings,” she* and Eddie said in unison, then looked at each other in surprise.

”You’ve read them?” Eddie asked, and she nodded, smiling.

”Yeah, I’ve read ‘em a few times.”

”I have the radio show that NPR did back in ‘79 on cassette. I sometimes listen to that if I don’t want to reread the books.”

She* grinned wide, “Fuck, that’s so cool. Are they good?”

Eddie nodded enthusiastically, offering his hand to help to make sure that she didn’t trip over a log, “Yeah, it’s pretty good,” he ducked under a branch that she moved out of the way, “If we survive this, you should come over and listen.”

She* chuckled softly, “Yeah, if we survive, it's a deal.”

They fell back into step behind Dustin, and as the sun began to set in the distance, Steve felt a sort of sinking feeling, watching everyone in the group fall into their own conversations. 

He didn’t know if there was anything to say. And even if there had been, he suspected it might be too late.

Setting out on the boat was no easy task.

They’d burst into a flurry of arguing shortly after uncovering it, and it took some convincing to get Dustin to stay on dry land. 

“Dustin, I know you wanna help,” Steve cajoled, “But we can’t do what we need to if we’re worrying about keeping you, Max and Lucas alive.”

”You don’t need to worry about me! I can handle myself.” Dustin insisted.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, “Tell ya what, if your theory is correct-“

”Which it is-“

”Then we’ll… talk about you going with us next time. Okay?”

Dustin seemed satisfied for the moment, confident in his theory and therefore very assured of the fact that he would be able to take on a more direct role.

As she* climbed into the boat after Steve, holding his hand for stability, she bent down and hissed, “Why on earth would you tell him that?”

They were already moving away from the shore, Eddie and Robin rowing the boat towards the middle of the lake, taking directions from Nancy, who had Dustin’s compass, and making adjustments as needed.

”It was the only way I could get him to shut up,” Steve shot back, letting go of her hand once she was settled on the floor of the boat, the benches occupied by the others.

She looked up at him, “You know he’s going to hold you to it, he always does.” She glanced back towards the shore.

”Tell me about Max. What’s going on with her?”

Steve sighed, recounting the events of the past few days. As he told her, her expression became more and more pinched until it looked like she was on the verge of tears.

”Jesus Christ,” She finally said, once he had finished telling her about the graveyard, “That poor kid. This must be so confusing for her. With Billy dying the way he did…”

Steve narrowed his eyes at her, “Yeah, but he… he had it coming.”

Robin was listening now, and every so often Nancy and Eddie would glance back at them.

”Not in that way,” She* clasped her hands around her knees, “He didn’t deserve to die, at least not in that way-“

”Are you serious?” Steve stared at her, “He nearly killed you and you’re telling me that he didn’t deserve to die?”

”He nearly killed all of us,” She reminded him, her gaze growing slowly more dangerous, “Not just me.”

Which, in essence, was true. Steve couldn’t really say that Billy had it out for her* when it seemed that he had it out for everyone. 

”Is there something you’re not telling me?” Steve bent low, trying to keep the conversation between them but he didn’t quite manage it, given the fact that they were in a tiny boat on an echoey lake, “Do you - did he say something to you? At Starcourt?”

”You know I don’t remember, Steve.”

”You told me that you didn’t remember, but I saw what he did to you-“

”And why would I tell you anything?” She hissed, voice rasping with restricted emotion, “It’s not like you stayed after-“

”Stop!” Nancy suddenly exclaimed, holding up a hand, her eyes focused on the compass.

Her* and Steve fell silent, and in the silence, they could hear the metallic needle of the compass whirring in the glass, a high pitched sort of ringing that made her* ears hurt a little.

Chh- “Guys, what’s going on?” Dustin’s voice sounded over the supercomm.

”Come on guys, talk to me.”

Robin recovered first, speaking into the walkie, “Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital ahhhh-“

Steve had begun stripping off his shoes and socks, catching everyone’s eye.

”Steve,” Nancy said, measured yet apprehensive, “What are you doing?”

”Someone’s gotta go down there and check it out.”

”And it just has to be you, doesn’t it?” She* said, rolling her eyes.

”I mean, unless you can beat being a Hawkins High swim team co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years,”

”Oh my god, I was literally on the swim team-“

”And you could never beat my time,” He pointed out, taking off his yellow sweater and tossing it at Eddie, “And, as I said, I was co-captain for three years.”

”Nepotism. And the only reason they kept voting for you is because everyone wanted to see you in your tiny little speedo.”

”And yet,” Steve prepared for his dive, giving a final look over his shoulder, a sarcastic, somewhat evil grin on his lips, “I never heard you complaining.”

And with that, he dove into the lake. She* stared at the spot where he had disappeared, glaring at the ripples, nostrils flared.

She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like I hope he drowns, before settling back into the boat, arms crossed and expression even more so.

They dissolved into an awkward silence after that, the boat gently rocking back and forth on the little waves.

Robin was the first one to break the silence, glancing at *her frenetically, opening and closing her mouth before finally speaking, “Sooo, what was that?”

”No comment,” *She said, digging her nails into the flesh of her own arm.

“How long has it been?” *She asked Nancy, her voice betraying a shred of worry.

”Closing in on a minute.” Nancy said softly, keeping a sharp eye on her watch.

Suddenly, Steve burst from the water with a flourish, scaring everyone into yelling at least one expletive at him. 

“I found it.” Steve breathed, reaching out to hold onto the side of the boat. 

“You found it?”

“I found it, yeah.”

“Dustin, you’re a goddamn Einstein, Steve found the gate in the lake.” Robin said  breathlessly into the supercomm, but they were all so preoccupied with Steve that they hadn’t noticed they’d failed to get a response from the kids. 

“It’s pretty wild,” Steve pinched his nose, rubbing at his nostrils to rid them of water, “More of a snack size gate than the momma gate, but still pretty damn big.”

“Okay, showoff,” she* said, reaching out a hand for Steve to grab so she could haul him back up into the boat, “Just get your ass back in and we’ll figure out our next move.”

He grabbed her forearm, and she leaned back to pull him up when the boat gave a sharp lurch. 

“What the fuck was-“ Eddie began to say, but the rest of his sentence was swallowed by a rush of water in her ears as she was pulled under with Steve, her leg smashing into the rim of the boat as she went. 

She hadn’t had time to take a breath before her head went under, so her lungs burned the entire way down, watching as tendrils wrapped around Steve’s legs and pulled the both of them deeper. Steve had let go of her arm, gesturing wildly in the darkness but she couldn’t tell what he was trying to say, so she dug her fingers into the flesh of his forearm harder. 

Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, and as the edges of her vision grew black and she took on water, they broke through the sticky membrane of the gate and fell hard to the dry ground below. 

He landed on his back and she landed on her chest, both letting out screams of pain. 

The tendrils had wrapped around her too, and they ripped her and Steve in opposite directions, dragging Steve on the bare flesh of his back against the rough ground, and her a much shorter distance, landing roughly in a nearby bed of undulating roots, which began to encircle her wrists and ankles, one snaking sinisterly up her spine, along the side of her neck and finally, securely over her mouth. 

The roots thrummed in recognition. 

They remembered her. 

You should be dead, they mused, I thought he had killed you. 

Through flashes of Steve struggling with unknown creatures, vision blacking out from the pain of the barbs that the vines possessed, the harsh pressure on her windpipe, she could see, almost like a window, Starcourt. 

It didn’t make any sense. The image of the mall grew larger, the edges seeping into the very corners of her vision until it was all she could see. 

The rest of the Upside Down fell away, the sounds of Steve screaming, the distant rolling thunder, everything. 

Instead, she felt the rumble of an engine below her. Hands that weren’t hers gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles shining white against the neon blush on skin from the lights of the mall. 

Her own thoughts played in the back of whatever this was, like she was screaming at her own body from another room. 

She caught her eyes in the rearview mirror, and saw the bloodshot baby blues of Billy Hargrove staring back at her. 

As her mind sluggishly put together the pieces, she knew, distantly, what this was. 

Nancy’s Grand Prix came into view. 

As the car accelerated under him, Billy felt a thrill of fear when the first bullet hit the windshield. There was no stopping the car, try as some part of him might, with the voice in his head and in control of his hands, his feet, his body, he knew that impact was imminent.

As he sped closer, he zeroed in on her, on Nancy, face fixed in a snarl as she emptied the magazine into his windshield unblinkingly.

Ah, The Voice inside him said, and Billy could feel it’s - his - he could feel the cruel laughter, Her again. She will be dealt with. In time.

He was twenty feet away. 

Fifteen. 

Ten.

Suddenly, the world spun, and the only eyes he could see out of were the eyes of his precious creature, his beautiful creation, looking down upon the parking lot. Fire had erupted across the hood of the car, and Billy laid against the door, head lolling uselessly out of the window.

Humans, he considered as his creature jumped to the pavement below, tearing after the car that was speeding away from the mall. So fragile.

It was the heat that woke Billy. The sharp spikes of pain all over his body were enough to rouse him, and as he opened the door and collapsed out of it, he heard distant voices, frantic and labored. 

He peered into the distance, four figures coming in and out of focus.

“How we doin, El?” A female voice spoke, someone familiar to Billy, and The Voice felt it too, some old annoyance, not unlike a persistent fly buzzing around his head, distracting him, “Keep her talking, Mike, she’s gotta stay awake.”

“I’m trying!”

He heard the metallic creaking next, and as he drew closer, he saw a flash of yellow.

Eleven.

His heart leapt in excitement, in triumph, that the one he had been searching for all this time had walked right out into his midst, like an innocent little lamb being led to slaughter. It was almost too perfect.

The tallest figure spotted Billy first.

“Fuck, turn around,” She said, stepping in front of the three smaller figures, in front of Eleven, raising some sort of weapon in her arms.

“What?” The boy said, hitching Eleven higher on his shoulder. His knuckles were white from the ferocity of his grip on her, “Oh, shit, go go go go go go!”

Together, he and the redheaded child -

Max, Billy thought miserably, Max.

Her name does not matter. She’ll be dead soon anyway. Together, he and Max dragged Eleven back towards the door, and The Annoyance stood her ground. Behind her, the gate slid closed.

“You and me, Hargrove,” She cooed, grinning, “Just like old times, whaddya say?”

She seemed as bloodthirsty as he felt, and the complete lack of fear in her gaze, the almost maniacal smile on her lips… had she not tried to derail his plan at every turn, she may have made a good ally. There was a darkness within her that he could sense, that he could feel coursing through her veins as he watched her carotid jumping in her neck.

There was no time for that now. She had made it abundantly clear that she was going to continue to be a thorn in his side, poking and prodding.

He simply had to prune the poison away. That was all.

She cocked her head, swinging her weapon - an axe, he now saw - low to the ground, taunting him, “Come on, aren’t you gonna do anything?”

Billy’s body was his only vessel at the moment, so he had to approach this carefully. One misstep and his vessel could be reduced to a useless pile of limbs.

His creature wouldn’t make it back in time to capture Eleven.

So, he charged towards her left, and at the last moment, changed course, feinting to her right.

The swing of the axe had unbalanced her enough that he was able to seize a hank of her hair and slam her face into the metal gate. She screamed in pain, the impact shocking her into dropping the axe. He kicked it away, sending it skittering across the pavement.

Evidently, she had learned from her last encounter with Billy, using her weight to twist and unbalance him in turn, sinking a well aimed but somewhat weak punch to Billy’s gut, as she hadn’t had time to properly wind up.

She used her momentum to sweep his leg with a powerful kick, shoving him to the ground. She kneeled on his chest, her other knee trapping his arm, and she seized the crown of his head and began slamming it repeatedly into the cement below.

The fortification of his essence running through Billy’s veins had made him stronger, smarter, so with the arm that wasn’t pinned, he landed a blow to her ribs, feeling them crack beneath his knuckles.

She did not relinquish her hold on him, seizing his wrist before he could swing it again, digging her nails brutally into his flesh.

He planted the soles of his feet on the ground, lifting his pelvis in a sharp thrust, knocking her off of his chest, and onto the ground. He scrambled to pin her, winding his hands around her neck, keeping his elbows locked, pressing all of his body weight down.

She wound her hands around his wrists, trying in vain to claw them away from her throat, thrashing wildly beneath him. Then, she raised her knee in a sharp line, hitting him directly in the groin.

Of all of the injuries that she had inflicted upon Billy’s body so far, this one was the worst. The shock of it reverberated through Billy’s body, and control of his limbs waned between the two parts of Billy’s mind, his grip slackening enough for her to be able to throw him off, rolling on her back and onto her feet in a crouch.

She spat blood out of her mouth, looking at him through her lashes, a dark purple bruise already blooming on her cheekbone. She was moving away from him, the toes of her sneakers circling backward as she inched towards the burning Camaro. 

“You’ll never save them,” He taunted, slinking towards her, towering over her.

“We’ll see about that,” She said, “I���ve kept them alive this long. What’s a little longer?”

“You’ll die trying,” He stated, simply, as if they were having a conversation about the weather, “And I’ll make you watch as I end them, and I will make sure the last thought in that pretty little head of yours is how you failed them.”

“Aww,” She gave him a glowing, sarcastic smile, “You really think I’m pretty?”

She used his momentary distraction of his threat not landing to stoop down quickly, seizing a jagged piece of glass from the shattered windshield, and came at him with it, swiping for his jugular.

He ducked out of the way, seizing her forearm and twisting it behind her back, and she cried out in pain as he used her own wrist to thrust the piece of glass into her back.

Chest to chest, he could feel her heartbeat racing against her ribcage. There was still that fire in her eyes, that willful and idiotic defiance. He could be severing her spinal cord right now, he could feel her blood seeping around his fingers, but she still stood on her own two feet, ready to challenge him, to fight him until her last breath.

It was a delicious challenge, sure, and he relished the fear he could feel, but this was getting tiresome, and with every minute that passed, Eleven had a better chance of escaping. Not that she would, he’d make sure of that, but this journey had been so hard fought, filled with so much pain, so much agony, so much needless and inconvenient bloodshed that he was growing wary. His goal was in sight, and he couldn’t allow himself to get continually distracted.

She reared back and spat in his face, and as the blood and saliva mixed with Billy’s, dripping into his mouth, a flood of memories washed over him.

Two toddlers on a hot afternoon’s day, splashing each other in a small pool, the edges of which were lined with colorful fish. Two children, older, riding bikes down an autumn streaked road, shouts of laughter echoing off of the picket fenced houses. The ruined face of a teenage boy, blood streaked and bruised, her delicate hand pressing a cool cloth into a gash along the bridge of his nose, his big brown eyes boring into hers. An almost kiss between a shared cigarette on a row of bleachers, chilly night air pressing into them. The exchange of an ice cream cone over a counter, a warm smile and a nametag reading ‘Steve’ flashing under fluorescent lights.

And, suddenly, he understood why she fought so hard. Why she had fought Billy so hard all that time ago, and why, even now, as she grew weaker in his grasp, she fought.

Love.

How fucking pathetic.

“Oh, you poor thing,” He drawled, “He’ll never feel the same. If Steve cared about you at all, he’d be here.” 

He glanced around theatrically, and when his eyes landed on her face again, that fire was extinguished, finally, by the tears that were welling in her eyes.

“But he’s not,” He brushed away a tear as it fell, “And he never will be.”

He caressed her cheek, and she squeezed her eyes shut, whimpering. He wound his fingers into her hair, whipping her around and he slammed her face against the hood of the Camaro.

She went limp, finally, collapsing onto the ground, cheek resting against the rough gravel.

She didn’t move again.

“Steve! Where is she?”

“I don’t- she wasn’t - we got separated-”

“Fuck!”

“She’s gotta be here somewhere, fucking look!” 

All of their voices mingled, high and low tones of mingled desperation, fear and rage.

“She can’t have gotten far,” Eddie reasoned tearfully, “She’s got to be here somewhere.”

“Steve,” Robin gasped, “You’re bleeding.”

“I don’t care.”

“Like a lot.”

“Robin, just-”

“No! Shut up and let me-”

Nancy had torn off wordlessly in what seemed to be a random direction, but as Eddie’s eyes adjusted to the darkness of the Upside Down, he saw a heap of vines, thick, tangled cables, undulating and encircling, almost lovingly, a body.

Her body.

Eddie followed suit, leaping over tangles of vines and debris, landing in a slide next to Nancy, who was tugging at the vines with her bare hands, grunting with the effort.

The sight was nothing short of horrible. Her irises had turned milky white, and every few seconds she jerked and gurgled around the tendril that was intubating her. The whites of her eyes had burst capillaries. She couldn’t breathe. She was dying, right before their eyes.

Steve and Robin had joined them by now, fruitlessly tugging at the tendrils. Eddie gripped the tendril that was slinking its way down her throat, and tugged.

At first, he was met with resistance, but as Steve shouted something, Eddie couldn’t really tell what it was, and Robin pleaded and Nancy managed to free one of her hands, the tendril’s hold grew weaker, and soon enough, he was ripping it from her mouth.

Color flooded back into her irises as she launched herself out of the bed of vines, scrambling away on her hands and knees. She braced herself on one arm as the other came to encircle her stomach, and she retched, coughing up some gelatinous substance mixed with blood and lake water. Her hair hung lankly around her face as she stayed hunched over.

Four pairs of hands were on her in an instant. Steve at the front, cupping her face and pulling it level with his, one of Eddie’s on top of Steve’s as they both crowded in front of her, looking into her face. Nancy had one hand rubbing soothing circles into her back, and Robin was brushing her hair away from her forehead.

“You’re okay,” Robin whispered, almost like a prayer, “You’re okay, you’re okay, it’s okay.”

“Look at me,” Steve pleaded, “Can you breathe?”

“Let her catch her breath, man, she just had a fucking - whatever that was down her throat, it’s gonna take her a second-”

She clasped a shaking hand on each of their shoulders, and shoved both Eddie and Steve bodily away from her, doubling over once more to vomit a final time, before rolling onto her back, limbs going boneless, staring up at the crimson streaked sky.

“That,” she heaved, sniffling, “sucked.”

Nancy let out a strangled laugh and bent over her, smoothing a hand across her forehead, “Welcome back.”

“Hi, Nance,” She reached up to pat Nancy’s cheek clumsily, “Is everyone okay?”

They all murmured that they were, and she looked around, taking in her surroundings.

When Steve came into her field of vision, she swallowed thickly, expression tightening, and once her eyes fell on his neck and chest, she frowned, “What happened?”

“Don’t worry about it,” He helped her sit up, resting her back against his chest, “God, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Jury’s still out,” she rasped, reaching for Robin, squeezing her hand, before turning in Steve’s grasp to look at Eddie, and she reached out to touch him as well, brushing a shaking hand over his face. He gave her a watery smile, turning to brush his lips against the pads of her fingers as her hand fell away. He wasn’t sure that anyone noticed.

Once she had made sure that everyone was okay, and tangible, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“I should get hurt more often,” She mused, easing herself out of Steve’s grasp and slowly getting to her feet, Robin and Nancy helping her, “You all are so cute when you’re worried.”

“Don’t even start,” Robin huffed, slinging an arm around her shoulders, supporting her as she got her bearings.

“Least she’s still got a sense of humor,” Steve said, helping Eddie to his feet.

Nancy watched this entire exchange warmly, running a hand through her wet hair, “Well, we should-”

A distant screech swallowed the rest of her sentence. They all turned, eyes landing on the pulsating, scarlet gate as winged creatures surrounded it, bearing their teeth menacingly, chittering and screeching.

“What the hell are those?” She* asked, eyes growing wide in fear.

“Bats.” Steve said, “They attacked me, nasty little-”

“You told me not to worry!” She* wailed, taking better stock of his injuries, “Jesus Christ, Steve.”

“Do you think these bats have rabies?” Robin asked, shining her flashlight in the direction of a bat corpse.

Steve glanced at her, before turning his attention back to the ones that were surrounding the gate, “What?”

“Well,” Robin sighed, “It’s just, like, rabies are my number one greatest fear, and I think we should get you to a doctor soon, cause once the symptoms set in, it’s too late, and you’re dead-”

“Wonderful,” She* groaned.

Steve was lowering into a half crouch, eyes trained animalistically on the gate, “We can take them, right? It’s not that many.”

As if in response to his question (and, knowing the hive mind, it probably was) a moving, jagged cloud appeared in the distance. As it came into view, hundreds of distinct little flapping shadows loomed over them.

“You were saying?” Robin squeaked.

Nancy turned to look at the woods, and then at her*, “Can you run?”

She* cocked an eyebrow, “Do I have a choice?”

Nancy shook her head, “Not really, no.”

As the swarm drew closer, they sprinted in the direction of the woods, and soon enough, they were swallowed by a lifeless, decaying forest, thunder rumbling in the distance.

As the perpetual night pressed in on them, poisonous dust entered their lungs as they sucked in air, they all had some inkling of what they were facing, and what they were running towards.

But none better than her*. She finally knew the depths of what had happened last year, the story behind each scar on her skin. The reason for the phantom pain that woke her in the night, the confusing and aimless night terrors that never made any sense, and that were gone by the morning, stored away in the shadowy recesses of her mind.

She knew that this ecosystem knew her. She knew that it understood her.

And she knew, looking at her friends, these people that she loved, that she cherished, that Vecna was never going to stop until he had taken everything from her.

Everything.

[musical-chick-13]

Going through some of my Currently-Paused WIPs for fun, and. Hmmm. HMMMMMMMMM.