#then you see Vanny and her face doesn’t move

[chloesimaginationthings]

Vanny is actually pretty scary in FNAF..

[vannies]

Hello! I saw your recent post and was wondering if I could request Blade cuddling with gender neutral or male reader, if you are able to do this, thank you so much!

CUDDLES?! ft. BLADE

hi anon!! im so happy to be writing this because blade loving cuddles just feels so real to me.. imagine him having a hard time warming up to you because of his past but cuddling with you immediately gets him comfortable! :( silly boy is bad at communicating affection but will always try to put his hands on you somehow !! this is so super short but i hope it’s enough

pairing: blade x gender-neutral reader

warnings: none, soft fluffy blade! honorable kafka mention

“oh? blade? you’re home early..”

blade walks past you and falls onto the couch, breathing heavily. you guessed he had a hard day at work, so you sat next to him, hoping to give him some sort of affection. your lover isn’t one to drench you with sweet nothings, but you know he does love you. the red eyes that glisten every time blade gazed at you always meant i love you.

blade shifts his body on the couch, “this isn’t comfortable enough.”he complains, letting his hair fall down his face as he looms over. you then offer to give him a blanket, but he shakes his head no.

“then.. ah.. my love, what could i do to help?” you smile at him graciously. blade is truly the shy type. you never really expected him to do anything bold, or so you thought.

poor, poor you. he was feeling a bit brave today.

before you could ask him if he wanted coffee, he pulled you closer to his body, your head on his chest. he sighs, saying this was comfortable, that this was exactly what he had wanted. this was definitely a side to blade you’ve never seen before, but god, do you want to see it more. with every breath of his, you felt his chest rise up and down. he’s warm. it’s peaceful.

he snuggles you closer, “i would like to do this more often. i love you.”

you couldn’t help but blush at his response. he was so.. vague. but it made you smile from ear to ear. before you could say i love you back, he was fast asleep. blade’s head resting on yours while he put you in a tight hug that you were sure you couldn’t escape from.

as time passed, you could feel yourself falling asleep in his arms too. you stroked his loose hair strands, getting ready to shut your eyes, but a notification stops you.

kafka: “soo.. did bladie do it correctly?~”

huh? did she set this up? how disappointing.. you do truly cherish this moment though, so you asked her what was going on.

kafka: “me? set this up? oh no, no! i just gave bladie a warning~ i told him you might leave if he didn’t try making a move you know? he was so stressed today.. thinking about a way on how to truly make you feel loved. he doesn’t want you to leave him!”

smiling, you text her: that’s so cute! while you were busy on your phone with kafka, blade slowly arose from his short nap. his grip on you tightened and you let out a surprised yelp. still fuzzy-minded from his nap, he whispers,

“kafka.. she didn’t tell you anything? did she?”

I LOVEE HIM AGGHHH!! @ vannies

[mekochansblog]

Hii!! Can we have a part two of “my little Angel”? I would love to see a part two starting right in the moment it sopped, I’m obsessed with that and with Five as a dad😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭

My little angel

Five Hargreeves x reader

Pt.2 of my little angel

Five held Lina in his arms while he stared at you. You lovingly admire his bottle green eyes. Vanya came back, she first gave you a glance then stared at Five holding Lina. She had a puzzled look on her face since when she was with Five he didn’t have a kid. She then decided to just ask, there was nothing wrong with asking right?

“Umm Five, who's the kid, and why does she look like you?”

Five contemplated on letting her know, but this was his kid! Why shouldn’t he show off his little angel. He looked at you; you were breathtakingly glowing. Pregnancy really did a wonderful job on you. You were practically glowing, but then again that could be your powers making you glow, so goddess-like and glowing like the sun. 

“She’s my beautiful daughter, Evangeline Hargreeves.”

Five announced with so much fondness and confidence, his face was relaxed, something that Vanya had not seen in a while. Vanya stared at Lina and looked at Five. She saw the way Five loved his kid, also Lina looked like a female version of Five. She then smiled, happy he was happy, the time that she has known him (which has been a short while since she doesn’t remember anything at all.) You looked at your sister-in-law and introduced yourself again to her. You all four finally walked out of the cafe shop and started walking who knows where. Just that Five had a place he was staying at and wanted you to go with him. Of course you did follow him, he had your daughter in his arms after all. Lina talked to Five about anything and everything. She told him about staying with her uncle Klausy and how they got back to Dallas.

You winced at the memory, it just happened two days ago, so of course it was a recent thing she will probably remember. Five gave you a look and you just smiled nervously. You knew he was going to ask you about it, but for now he was content with Lina talking his ear off about her days. Five told you he was going to an underground fight since Luther decided to get himself into that with his stay in Dallas first. You winced and took Lina from his arms. He gave you a confused look. You gave him a look he knew way too often.

“My miele, I love you but our kid is not going into an underground fight to see sweaty men and get traumatized.”

You explained to him so he understood why. He nodded his head, moving it side to side to understand that yes maybe that wasn’t the brightest idea he has. Lina first complained, wanting to stay with her father since seeing him for the first time; but you did let her know that we will see him later, he was just going to run errands with auntie Vanny and you promised to take the cake to uncle Klausy and uncle Benny.

She nodded with a cute serious face and gave her dad a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Five had the biggest smile on his face and he gave Lina many kisses all over her face that made her let out giggles. You chuckled and grabbed Lina’s hand. You gave Five a sweet kiss and told him where you were staying. You both bid goodbye and made your way back to Klaus’s mansion. Lina looked so happy getting to finally see her father in person, all she had was stories from you and uncle Klausy. You knew she was going to talk about her day to Klaus and Ben, she loved the stories you will tell her about her father, letting her know she looked exactly like her father. Getting back to the mansion you decide to prepare for dinner, hoping you will finally have lunch with your husband and child like an actual family. Once you are done you decide to visit your friend with Lina in tow. You take a basket and add food for your friend, and you and your kid. 

You let Lina know you’ll both be walking towards Elliot's house. She nods and grabs her backpack. You both make your way to the store and open the door. Once inside you knock on the second door and wait, Elliot opens the door and looks around,once he sees you both he smiles and mentions you both to come in. You go in and put the basket down on the table and look around. Lina runs around and you just smile fondly at your daughter. You start small talk with Elliot while he takes out some paper and crayons for Evangeline. Elliot starts talking about a guy that just showed up at his place and is now staying there. You gave him a deadpanned look and shook your head in disappointment. 

“Elliot, are you getting taken advantage of by this guy? Do you even know who he is? I mean does he even know you like that for him to just stay at your house?”

You question genuinely worries for your older friend. You put a hand up making him stop answering you.

“Actually Elli i don’t think I want to know the answers to my questions. Anyways, come and eat. I made my husband’s favorite food.”

You saw he gave you a sad look but still came and sat down. You went towards the living room not knowing that your husband and Diego were coming from the other side. You tried to get Evangeline to come and eat, but for some reason she was being stubborn and wouldn’t come to eat. You knew if she kept at it she was going to throw a tantrum. You sighed and looked at her.

“Angel?”

You knew that voice. You turned towards the door and saw your husband with your brother in law. You sighed happily, Lina got up and ran towards her dad screaming happily. You looked at your husband and went back towards the kitchen to prepare two more plates for the surprised guests. Diego looked at you and Five back and forth. 

“Who’s the cute looking kid?”

You looked at Diego and looked at Evangeline and gave him a deadpanned look. He still looked confused and then his eyes widened and he looked shocked and looked at Five pointing at him. You snorted and let out a laugh. Five looked at Diego, not entertaining his questioning. You told the boys to sit down, hoping that if Five was sitting down meant that Lina would also sit down to eat. She ran towards her father sitting on his lap ready to eat. You were glad you didnt have to tell her, but you were going to talk to Five about her stubbornness she inherited from him. Once the night ended, Elliot let you stay the night in the guest bedroom Five was already staying at. You got Lina ready for bed, her falling asleep from using all her energy playing with her Uncle Diego. You got into your nightgown and started braiding your hair when your husband came into the room. He sighed and took off his coat, sweater vest and tie. He hugged you from behind and put his head on your shoulder.

“You have no idea how much I missed you.”

You leaned your head back, you turned around and hugged him back. You sniffed him, him still selling like coffee and the forest. 

“I know miele you don’t know how much I needed you here, but I’m glad you’re here with us now.” 

You both layed down, each of us on one side of Evangeline. We all snuggled together and held hands. You whisper to not wake up Lina.

“I love you Five Hargreeves.”

“I love you even more Y/N Hargreeves…. and little Evangeline Hargreeves.”

[heartsouls]

no plz tell me all your thoughts about the gregory hate so I can reblog it💀

OHHH boy this is gonna be a long one buckle up

Ever since Gregory was first announced I believe most of the fandom have interpreted him as this frail child who was always on the verge of tears and needed G.Freddy’s protection (think C.C 2.0), but once the game came out most ppl were shocked to see this kid actually has a lot of bite to him and kicked ass (ppl’s first reactions to him destroying the animatronics still make me laugh).

This was MY first introduction to him, so I wasn’t completely taken aback but still pleasantly surprised. Most if not all his actions made sense or at least made sense for a 10yr boy to think/act. Giant robots coming after me with the intention to kill (and insulting me for no damn reason)? Yeah I’d probably add an extra kick in there for good measure. Then came the first repair scene, when Vanessa revealed the high possibility of Gregory being an homeless orphan everything just clicked into place for me.

OF COURSE that’s why Gregory was so aggressive, he had to learn how to fight on his own to survive he’d probably had to face even worse than this! He wasn’t going to let that all go to waste bc some weird murderous rabbit lady wanted to drag him into her plans. It explains why he brushed off G.Freddy’s worries about him bc he’s used to have to just keep moving and bare thru pain, especially in an environment where that’s really the ONLY thing you can do. It’s why he’s so blunt and can come off as rude bc he was most likely never taught how to behave “correctly” bc really who has the time?

He was just using all the knowledge he learned on how to survive from a cruel and harsh environment for another. But this time he has an ally for once, an adult (father) figure who actually cares about his wellbeing, it’s no wonder why he became so attached (but struggles to show it bc he’s not used to it). And through all that easily irritable aggression, there are moments to remind us he’s still a kid.

A useless fridge magnet? Yeah that is pretty lame man.

Now imagine my shock when I see others hating on him and calling him a villain. “How could he KILL the poor animatronics? He was so mean, he’s the true monster!” Wh- DID WE WATCH THE SAME GAME? You mean the same animatronics that says he doesn’t have anyone to care about him? Yeah real sweethearts they are. Gregory isn’t a damn monster, he’s a survivor! He’s doing what he only knows best, IT’S TO SURVIVE!

“How could he be so mean to G.Freddy??? Those are his friends! He made Freddy feel bad!” Trust me when I say that Gregory cares about G.Freddy ALOT, did you see his reactions whenever G.Freddy got hurt??? That’s his father thank you very much!

“How could he have killed Vanny in that one ending?! He’s the real villain!” …Do I even need to explain this one?

And ohhhhhh don’t get me started on the awful “bratty gremlin devil” Gregory HCs. Now this isn’t to say that Gregory can’t be a gremlin or whatever. He can be, he is a bit cheeky, but then some started to intensify it and made it his entire personality. No, Gregory wasn’t just itching to rip Roxy’s eyes out or do the next batshit insane thing, he noticed the other upgrades and put two and two together (It gets more weird and slightly disrespectful when they add in the homeless thing as if that automatically makes someone act “feral”….tiktok.)

And then we have the complete opposite where some portray him as what I mentioned in the first paragraph. The poor helpless child who cant handle anything by himself…even though that’s complete bullshit (he’s also usually portrayed to be obnoxiously sweet for some reason). I don’t think many ppl realize how often were not in G.Freddy during SB, and Gregory is described to be quick on his feet and wits (plus his tools) and he doing damn well by himself! [Obviously this isnt to say that he didnt need G.Freddy’s help and protection, ofc he did, he just didnt need to RELY on it like some ppl make it seem he did].

(I know we went a bit off-topic for the last two paragraphs, trust me it connects)

All of this comes down to simply that some just can’t accept the fact that Gregory isn’t their perfect victim. He doesn’t crumble to the floor and beg for G.Freddy to help him up like they want him too. He’s not shy and sheepishly asking for help like they think he’s supposed to. And when they realize that part they try to push him into the other far end where he’s crazy, cold, and cruel. But he’s not. He cares, and he cares deeply. He’s still a little boy, he cried and tried to cover his face when he saw Vanny die. He should be leaping in victory, he killed his killer after all right? But he didn’t, bc despite everything she was still a human being, and he was so scared.

He has complex trauma (duh), he’s not this way or that way, and I get it. It’s hard to write or draw that kind of trauma for Gregory, especially when SB didn’t really give us much. But the way ppl act as if that’s what he actually is is soooooo frustrating. In my opinion the fact that his trauma is so complex and the fact he’s not your typical written victim is what makes him so interesting! And I feel like a lot ppl were slowly getting around to it…

Until GGY and Ruin happened and the hate came back so much worse, Welcome to the real Freddy Hell.

[thebunztalk]

Mimic story in sb theory!!!!

Uh spoilers maybe…it’s been 3/4 weeks tho

Before I start, I wanna say that I don’t believe Tales From The Pizzaplex is FULLY canon.

Yes, Mimic does exist but I don’t think his backstory and personality from the TFTP is canon, maybe there’s some aspects that Steelwool put into game!Mimic.

The proof for this, is that game!Mimic is slow. When Cassie gets chased by Mimic, she runs but her stamina drops faster than Gregory and runs slower while Mimic is even slower than Cassie. And book!Mimic hunted a group of teenagers which are faster than Cassie and yet Mimic killed the group like it was nothing…

Another proof is in TFTP, book!Mimic rips people heads and limbs off and in Ruin, Mimic’s jumpscare shows him grabbing Cassie’s head to rip her.

But when you actually look at both Mimic jumpscare

It looks like he’s trying to wack Cassie on the head instead of trying to grab or rip her and for the Mimic jumpscare without the suit, it looks like he’s putting his hand on front to Cassie’s face instead of his whole palm.

I also don’t believe GGY is canon, I mean sure, amnesia is a thing and Gregory could forgot about what he did

but then again…him being NATURALLY good at computer tech and hacking doesn’t really match to SB taken from his dialogue…

“I don’t know, it looks pretty complicated…”

It’s not that complicated actually, it’s just so much memorizing.

OK! Now let’s get officially started.

Staffbot Silo/Post it room

In my theory on Mimic, I said he’s the one writing these notes, Vanny created him for the purpose of a physical body for Glitchtrap but didn’t work, him kicking Freddy out of the main system and Mimic spying on Gregory through the caution bots/Patpats.

I’ve also talked about Mimic is the one scattered the retro cds for Gregory to find and him waiting in the fake Michael’s living room for Gregory to come see him because Mimic wants to get to know him better.

And from what you guess on the title, I want to tell about Mimic’s story before SB and in the middle of SB but let’s talk about this first.

Specifically the language. In TFTP The Mimic, a young kid named David and book!Mimic decides to make a hand sign language for Mimic to communicate

and when their father wrote in of what the language looks like…it looks like the image that I just showed you. Hopefully! I dunno, I never read TFTP but from what people said, the writing is very similar to the wall code.

Since I said that Mimic’s backstory isn’t canon how does this work? Well I said Vanny could’ve created Mimic and she is very smart, Vanny could be also the one created that hand sign language for game!Mimic to communicate better. But why?

Because in Ruin, you reach closer to the underground, Grimic’s voice sounds less human and more of a bunch of words that stuck together and when Cassie meets the real Mimic, he doesn’t speak (other than “I’m Gregory”) so that’s why Vanny created that language and in the notes you can read that was talking to someone. Like this

Now, was Mimic got put in the endo warehouse?

Maybe. Maybe, after Vanny realized that Mimic is its own being, she putted him in the warehouse with the other endos and from their walk/run cycles, it looks like they have a mimicking feature of their own…that they able to copy the Glamrocks’ AI and the wall/door to teach them. My proof that Mimic was there.

This would make sense, in a way that Vanny is trying to make Mimic just like Glitchtrap.

So I said in the beginning, that Mimic’s run cycle is very slow and he doesn’t copy the Glamrocks’ or Gregory’s.

So maybe Mimic is a slow learner when he was in the warehouse and from the post it notes, his writing is progressing to be a more steady one. So he just needs to take his time on learning how and what is surrounds him and that causes him to be a slow learner (autistic robot real).

Vanny notices this and decides to move Mimic down to Staffbot silo so the employees won’t get suspicious about Mimic and to learn at his own pace and give a lifetime supply of post it notes to Mimic.

From the look of the room, Mimic has been in the Staffbot silo for a while and he has of a more developed mind but he is still a child, he just wants to be grown up.

Connecting Caution bots

While Mimic have been staying in the Staffbot silo, employees starting to get a little too close to the truth then Vanny kills them, with her recent action being the message “All staff meeting”. That also happened to Glamrock Bonnie.

He must’ve trying to investigate about all the strange stuff that happened like the disappearances of children and the staff. The question is who Vanny used to kill Bonnie? Was it actually Monty? Roxy? Prototype Freddy? Or Mimic. If Mimic killed Bonnie, he either gotten pressured or told to just “decommission” Bonnie by Vanny. In the end, Mimic able to connect to the Patpats or he already did get connected and they’ve decommissioned Bonnie because he got to close to the truth.

Which I wanna say that the reason why, Bonnie’s eyes stopped glowing when you deactivate the Patpats is because Mimic must’ve felt guilty about killing him and decided to connect Bonnie with the Patpats too.

The start of SB

Mimic saw Gregory at his stay in the Pizzaplex through the Patpats. Mimic watched Gregory a few times when he’s trying to be in shelter, Gregory must’ve been staying in the Pizzaplex for at least two days that Mimic gets curious about him and his behavior.

Sadly, that has to end when Gregory gets caught by Vanny or Vanessa BUT Mimic has a plan, he wants to help Gregory get out of this mess then Freddy had an error moment when he saw Gregory and Vanny/Vanessa in the crowd but then he had full shut down because something kicked him out of the main system. Mimic kicked him out. That distracted Vanny/Vanessa that Gregory able to get out of their grasp.

Mimic wants to know Gregory more so he can’t just leave then he knows how to make Gregory stay little longer. Make a scavenger hunt! That’ll keep him busy. Mimic leaves the Staffbot silo but when he got out, he crashed into a bunch of boxes

He tried to put boxes in its place but he doesn’t have the time do this right now. Mimic searching for something to use in the scavenger hunt.

Now the retro cds can only be found by using Roxy’s eyes and since the Glamrocks and Mimic is connected to the AR system, Mimic could have found a bunch of data that’s complied into a cd and somehow Roxy’s eyes can make it into a reality.

Mimic found the retro cds through the AR world and scattered all of them in the Pizzaplex for Gregory to find.

Fake SL living room

Mimic is staying in the fake SL living room while Gregory’s doing his 6 hour adventure. He’s been watching Gregory in security cams and Patpats through the TV. Why did I said he watching Gregory through the TV?

Because in ruin, we can see a security footage of Gregory and Vanny so there’s a possibility that Mimic can see Gregory like this too.

Now does Mimic just sit and wait for Gregory to come and that’s it? No. I’m sure, Mimic helped Gregory along with Freddy but how?

The messages

Throughout the game, you can collect messages in the shape of a duffel bag that can help you or for lore reasons. So how Mimic can send the messages despite that in game, you’re collecting them yourself? Simple, that’s just a game mechanic.

In one of Freddy’s unused dialogues, he mentioned about one of the messages on how to get to the catwalks. So in game, you have to collect the messages but in story, Gregory got messages at random times but in certain places. And there’s this one place where you get the “PQ 1 maint” message. The first message that Gregory founds out about PQ

The same place where you can find Bonnie in Ruin (I’m on the 10 images limit but you know what I mean).

If Mimic send all of those messages to Gregory then why he sent the message about PQ despite the arcade machine could free Vanessa.

Maybe the Bonnie and all Staff meeting incident made Mimic realize something that what Vanny’s doing isn’t good or normal. Maybe he wants to free Vanny because he knew something was wrong and the only way to do that is playing PQ but it didn’t exactly work…

(I think the “HI DAVE” and “Better Employees” message was a message misread speedrun send accident or Mimic thinks it would be funny)

A challenge message

Back to fake SL living room, there’s this message behind the TV and I said that the language was created by Vanny so ONLY Vanny and Mimic knows about this language but what if i told you Mimic1/Glitchtrap also knows about it.

When you think about the translation of the message, it sounds like a taunt, a challenge.

Taken from the quote

“Break and mend, i built the breath. They hunt now, drawn to life. Not real, still keen. And frit and fraught with thought and zest and gest no blunt woes. Dodge, duck, flash, shoot, crawl, run, crash the vile band. Cry not, try not, do not hold out hope, no. Your life, your aim will save those with soul.”

“I built the breath. They hunt now”

That would make sense for Glitchtrap because he built the virus and Vanny put that into the Glamrocks causing them to be aggressive. Obviously, this message is for Gregory but it’s not message…it’s a challenge. A challenge for Gregory. Glitchtrap is taunting him to fight through the night and destroy the Glamrocks which Gregory did just that.

But how Glitchtrap able write that challenge despite he doesn’t have a physical body? Mimic also got affected by the virus in which cause Glitchtrap to control him and wrote that message. So here’s what happened

Mimic was helping and watching Gregory through the TV then he got glitched and errors, he dropped his popcorn (yes, I think Mimic was the one who carried two popcorns and eating it) Glitchtrap took control and wrote that code then he leaves and Vanny founds him.

Vanny hides Mimic to somewhere below the Staffbot silo and that place is Freddy Fazbear’s pizza place, that’s where Mimic’s story ends and y’know how it goes next,

Gregory and Freddy goes to Fazer Blast and Vanny disassemble Freddy, Gregory plays PQ 3 and freed Vanessa and which also “freed” Vanny and they eat ice cream together with Freddy being a head and Mimic saw that and he’s all sad, the 3 star fam are gone for awhile then they came back with Vanny created MXES and modified the AR world.

Now here is the interesting part

A story about a Mother and a Son

I’ll tell you one thing…there is not a single mother and son duo in the FNAF franchise. So either the mother and son is most likely a metaphor or it’s about Vanny and Mimic.

“Now i will tell you a story about a Mother and a little boy who lived alone in a cabin in the dark woods”

Vanny and Mimic lived in the Pizzaplex which they hide in dark places and the animatronics there seems aggressive.

“There was a monster in the woods but the Mother caught it and kept it locked in the basement”

The monster is Glitchtrap. Tape girl and Vanessa tries to trap Glitchtrap in different ways but the one thing about tape girl, that she had the option to delete her audio logs that was used as Glitchtrap’s hiding spot but she never deleted them…

“The monster always made scary noises at night. But the Mother would tell the boy not to worry because it could never get out. Then she would sing the boy a lullaby to sleep.”

The virus affected Glamrocks is seen killing their targets through the Patpats, Mimic asked Vanny about the disappearances but she told him not to worry/gaslighting him to not think about it.

“One day, the monster stopped growling. Instead, listened and learned the lullaby.”

Glitchtrap watched Mimic and learned the language that Mimic communicates with and used it to write the message.

“The next day when the Mother went out to find food, the monster sang the lullaby from the basement. The little boy heard the lullaby and opened the door…”

When Vanny got “freed”. The 3 star fam came back to the pizzaplex and put MXES in the underground.

MXES who is oddly similar to Glitchtrap is now the monster luring Mimic to the underground and trapped him there.

But wait…

Did MXES lured Mimic?

From most people’s theories, Gregory lured Mimic there because Mimic wants to meet Gregory. But what if Mimic’s messages to Cassie IS true.

In his first dialogues to Cassie, that SOMETHING grabbed him and he’s under the raceway and when MXES first appeared, Mimic told Cassie to “stay away from that thing”.

Then when Cassie talks to Mimic in the Monty gondolas maintenance room, Mimic said this

“I’ll explain it all when you get here. That thing is back! I gotta hide!”

It’s the fact that Mimic sounds very genuine when he’ll explain about how he can see what Cassie’s doing and he called someone “that thing”.

Was he referring to himself or to MXES because it would make sense that MXES is physically near Mimic.

Now, the very last thing to talk about

The elevator ending

In the chase scene, Mimic kept trying to run to Cassie. Maybe the reason why Mimic knocked Cassie out of consciousness was because he was desperate to have company especially when Gregory said that he’s been trapped for really long time.

Then if Mimic cut the elevator (as in destroyed the conduit) either he didn’t think that the elevator would fall or he’s so desperate that he’ll let Cassie get hurt on the way down…but I think I’ll choose that first one.

Conclusion?

Mimic is so tragic actually…same thing with book!Mimic. Anyways

AlsoiheadcanonedVannycalledMimicJimmysoMimic’sactualnameisJimmy

This theory is helped by @chaosnightgal

[viarayy01-blog]

I’d love to hear more about golden rock au Gregory and Vanessa’s relationship BEFORE the Bite and does Gregory ever move on and does he ever forgive her :((( I love this au so much it drives me INSANE

ah okay so b4 the bite they have a really good relationship. like 99% of the time they are eachothers best friends. think of them like siblings who get into arguments but its always more funny than serious. that 1% where they dont get along is usually facilitated by vanessa. she has pretty good control of her temper but sometimes she just snaps. and thats the 1%. not physical or anything but she will shut down and threaten gregory to stay away from her. and of course he does becuase thats his sister and he doesn’t want to make things worse. and hes scared of her. no matter how many good times they have, no matter the amount of times things are perfect, hes terrified of her. after the bite things have obviously changed. Gregory has to watch his sister lose her mind and kill all his friends right in front of him. for once in his life, he doesn’t even want to fight back. he honest to god hopes vanessa dies (by her own means or by others) so that it can just be OVER. but cassie isnt satisfied. vanessa, controlled by vanni or not, killed her. she wants to make it end. she wants gregory to be okay. she wants to see her dad again. so by means im not going to give out yet, gregory confronts vanessa and this time, hes not scared of her. he clasps his hands around her neck and waits for everything to stop. the whole interaction is practically silent. and the entire time, vanessa has tears of happiness rolling down her face. he lets go. if he kills her, then hes no better than vanni. he’s giving his killer a way out. and as much as he loves vanessa and needs her, she needs to face the mess that she created. and on the sidelines, all of vanessa’s victims (tony, ellis, cassie) watch as gregory makes her leave. and she does.

to gregory, forgiveness is nothing hes familiar with. he doesn’t believe in it honestly. his sister killed him and everyone he loved, besides herself. hes destroyed. but hes also unrelenting. stubborn. wanting. and he wants vanessa to wake the fuck up.

hope this helps answer your question!! im so glad you like this au :D

[jgmartin]

HEADLIGHTS [short horror]

It started last week.

The lockdown, I mean.

Before that, things weren’t great but they weren’t awful. We weren’t the happiest place on earth, but we weren’t jumping off bridges either. We just were. We managed, is what I’m trying to say.

Now years of impoverished alcoholism have reared their head. The lockdown’s done its job. It’s kept us safe from the devil outside our walls, but sometimes it’s the devil inside that does the most harm. Sometimes it’s the thinking. The thinking, thinking, thinking.

That’s what does you in.

My town’s main industry has been on the decline for decades. These days most of us are on food stamps. We can’t afford to live here anymore, but can’t afford to move either. Catch 22.

A few years back the government opened up a compound on the hill, a research facility for military-types and the super geniuses you see on TV. A few weeks later, they announced the town would enter a lockdown. Something about a radiation leak. Something about acid rain.

Since it started there’s been one dead and nine missing. How’d the dead guy go? If you're wondering, it wasn’t radiation. It was self-loathing. They found Benny West near the woods with a smoking handgun beside what was left of his head, and a suicide note so wet with blood that nobody could read the damn thing.

Famous last words? We never knew them. But then, I don’t think any of us really needed to. You could still smell the booze on Benny’s breath, could still see decades of struggle etched into every line of his face.

As for the missing? They’re a tougher puzzle. Nobody’s found them. Nobody’s had any contact with them whatsoever. Not a text. Not a call. Not even a dusty email.

It’s odd, but maybe they’d just had enough, couldn’t take this place anymore and finally decided the lockdown was the worst of it. What’s the phrase? The last straw. Yeah, that’s what the lockdown was for them.

The last straw.

Since it all started, I’ve been going stir crazy. Being cooped inside with nothing to do but drink and watch TV will do that to a man. I think that’s why I did it, you know? Took a midnight stroll. Loneliness is a strange beast and it doesn’t pick and choose it’s time of day, but if I had to place it I’d say it always gets worse at night. There’s something about the dark that suffocates. Makes you feel vulnerable. Singled out.

So I went to her cabin.

My old highschool sweetheart. Vanny Williams– the only girl I’ve ever met that could shoot a target with her eyes closed and still hit a bullseye. The girl I called the love of my life, who left me after nine years because I couldn’t wake up in the morning without a shot of whisky.

That night, I needed her. Maybe I wanted to make amends, or maybe I just wanted somebody familiar, somebody warm who I could feel a sense of connection with. I don’t know. All I really knew is I couldn’t last another night alone in my cabin. Not with the whisky. Not with the .45.

So I set off.

The government was taking the lockdown seriously. One of my neighbors, Roger Huckbrite got a lashing from the sheriff for wandering around drunk after dark. They knocked out three of his teeth and told him next time they’d break his legs.

“No wandering at night,” they told him. “Otherwise those broken legs will be a mercy, Rog.”

I had a thing for my legs. I liked walking, liked kicking a ball and most of all I liked hitting the gas pedal of my truck. I didn’t want broken legs, so I stayed off the main roads and stuck to the logging roads. Hell, I didn’t even drive. Too conspicuous, I figured.

So I set those legs to work and took a walk. To the right of me was the hillside, all brush and boulders with the military facility up top, and to my left was the valley. Charmouth Forest. On the other side of those trees was Vanny Williams, but walking straight through them was a death trap. See, that night it wasn’t just dark, it was snowing, and where there was snow there was ice, and I didn’t want to risk a sprained ankle going down that valley slope. Not without cell service. Not when the weather called for a cold snap tonight.

So I kept to the side of the road with my eyes and ears on, and as I walked something caught my attention. It was above me. All the way up on the top of the hill, nestled near the military facility. Headlights. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that those lights belonged to the sheriff, holed up there in his SUV and looking for cars on the roads breaking curfew.

Too bad for him that I was smarter than that. I didn’t just leave my truck at home, I made sure to wear my black jacket and keep close to the treeline. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was spotting me down here. Even still, his presence made my skin crawl. There’s something uncomfortable about being watched, and even though I knew the sheriff couldn’t see me, it still felt tense to be breaking the law right under his nose.

I decided I ought to disappear. Just until I got myself firmly away from his field of view. So I slipped into the woods, keeping certain not to stray too far from the road– just far enough that I lost sight of the sheriff beyond the canopy of fir trees.

I walked like that for maybe five or ten minutes. Kept it up until I rounded the bend in the road, and then I poked my head out and breathed a sigh of relief. The headlights were nowhere to be seen. The sheriff either took off, or I put enough twists and turns between us that the trees were now obscuring his view. Maybe he just figured nobody would break curfew on a night this cold.

Either way, it was good news for me.

I hiked back up to the road and then froze. Again I felt that familiar, uncomfortable sensation of being watched, like there was somebody stalking me in the dark. I looked back up the hill, wondering if I'd missed the sheriff's somehow but–

Light blinded me.

I stumbled backward, slipping on a patch of ice and falling onto my ass. Ahead, near the curve in the road sat a pair of headlights. The sheriff. But how? The son of a bitch must have been scanning the road with binoculars, maybe some fancy night-vision ones borrowed from the military types.

I groaned, getting up to my feet. He was still a fair distance away, far enough that he probably couldn't make out my face through my toque and hood.

That meant I could still get away.

I shot off into the woods, slipping down the valley slope and sliding over dirt and leaves and fresh fallen snow. I jumped and dipped, doing the best I could to dodge the onslaught of stray branches and renegade roots. I kept at it until my lungs got hot and I needed to breathe. Then I kept at it some more until I reached the valley floor.

Breathing hard, I looked back at the top of the slope. If I thought it was dark up on the road, then down here it was practically pitch black. It was all I could do to see the ground directly in front of me, but despite it all I knew one thing for certain: there weren’t any headlights.

I took a moment to lean up against a tree. Catch my breath. Get my bearings. I had to figure out which direction Vanny’s house was in. Was it to the North? North-East? The cold nipped at my ears, bit at my nose. It was worse down here. Frigid.

The damn sheriff really made a mess of things.

My hands dug in my pocket and pulled out my flashlight. I'd brought it along just in case things got too dark to navigate, and boy was I happy I did. Since I couldn't see the sheriff's headlights through the canopy of trees, I knew there was no way he'd see the glow of my flashlight either.

I flicked it on.

Good. That was better. Shivering, I used the light to navigate as best I could, spotting familiar landmarks that I remembered from playing in the valley as a kid and using those to plot my course. A big boulder here. A broken tree there.

It was all coming back to me. With any luck, I'd make it out of here before frostbite set in, and I'd get to Vanny's with all my fingers and toes in tact. She'd like that. Probably call me a damn fool for going to such trouble for a cup of coffee with her, but then I never said I was a genius.

Something snapped behind me.

A tree branch, maybe? It sounded big. I paused, wheeling around and casting my light as far as it would go. I couldn’t see anything but the shadow of tree trunks and fresh fallen snow. I knew for a fact that there were bears in those woods, but surely they’d be hibernating by this time of year.

“Hello?” I whispered. I didn’t think the sheriff had the dexterity to chase me down here on foot, but it was possible he sent his partner after me. “Deputy Marigold?”

No reply. Come to think of it, I couldn’t hear any sound at all. Not the pitter-patter of squirrels hoarding winter food, or even the flap of wings flying through the trees. The forest was silent. Still.

Another snap. This time, bigger. It rang out like a gunshot and I scrambled, running blindly backwards as my ears filled with the sound of rushing branches, ricocheting off timber as something plummeted toward the earth. A tree.

A fir branch whipped across the back of my jacket, smashing me to the ground and taking the breath out of my lungs. The ground rumbled as the tree crashed next to me.

I wheezed. Gasped for breath. I rose onto my hands on knees, freeing myself from the branch and trembling with adrenaline. I'd nearly just been flattened, and I couldn’t even tell where the tree had fallen from or what caused it. The dark was thick enough that my light didn't stretch far.

No, I told myself. No time to go investigating.

I wiped snow from my face, teeth chattering. I had to keep moving. Just a little further and I’d be out of these woods and in front of a hot fireplace, making coffee with the warmest woman I knew.

Besides, it wasn't that big a deal. Sometimes trees fell. That's just how nature worked-- it wasn't something you could predict.

I carried on for another few minutes when my stomach twisted. There it was again. That feeling. The same one I'd had up on the road, that feeling of being watched. Stalked. I swung my light around, doing my best to illuminate the snow-covered trees and brush, but I could barely see ten feet in front of me.

"Hello?" I tried again.

No reply. If there was a deputy down here, then surely they'd have made a sound when that tree came down, right? Of course they would. He'd have had to ask if I was okay, if I was still alive if only to properly fill out his report back at the station.

That meant it was my imagination. Just a bit of paranoia.

They say a dark forest is the ultimate evolutionary fear. The perfect embodiment of the unknown. Our ancestors didn't roam the woods at night because just about everything that lived there could see or hear them before they knew they were there. Some of those things were bigger than them, too. Hungrier.

But I wasn't some neanderthal, hunter-gatherer. I was smarter than that, and besides I could finally see the other end of the valley. The slope that led to Vanny's cabin. The lights of her windows peeking through the trees.

A low groan filled the night, distorted like a scratching record.

I spun around. My ears strained for the sound of footsteps, the sound of breathing but I couldn't hear a damn thing but my heart slamming in my chest. Was that the sound of an animal? If it was, it wasn't any animal I'd ever heard, and I'd lived next to these woods my whole life.

“Is somebody out there?” I called. An awful feeling took hold in my gut, replacing the creeping sensation of being watched. Now I felt like I was being hunted.

"Fuck this," I muttered. I took off at a sprint, racing toward Vanny's house as fast as my feet could trample the snow. It crunched beneath my boots, my breath coming in great white clouds. If there was some psychopath in the trees then I wasn't about to wait around and make this easy for them.

A screech pierced the forest. Wings thundered as birds fled from the tree-tops in droves, filling my ears with their cries. Another screech followed, this one lower-pitched. Snow crunched beneath feet. Not mine.

Something was walking toward me.

Time to move. I scrambled at the slope, struggling to find purchase against the icy incline. I slipped, falling, falling. My jaw smashed into a rock. The taste of blood filled my mouth, my vision swimming as I tumbled down the side of the valley, crashing against a tree at the bottom.

“Get away from me!” I coughed, spitting out one of my teeth. I felt dizzy as I got back to my feet, disoriented, but I held my ground, staring defiantly into the dark wall of trees and my unseen assailant.

“I’m armed,” I lied “If I were you, I’d turn right around and start walking, otherwise you’re getting my .45 between the eyes.”

Footsteps crunched beyond my vision. Whatever was out there sounded big, big as a bear or a moose. Now it was circling me. Was this what had knocked over that tree? Had it been following me this whole time?

Another screech, this one deafening. My head rang with the sound of it, reverberating around my skull like an exploding nail bomb. I clenched my ears and fell to my knees. Tears stained my cheeks, freezing in the air.

Light blinded me.

I shielded my eyes, stunned and disoriented as two headlights beamed down at me not ten feet away. I scrambled backward, confused. The sheriff? The hell was he doing down here? How did he get his SUV down that incline, let alone through all those trees?

The headlights began to sway, moving closer to me. No, that wasn't right. Headlights weren't supposed to sway, and wheels weren't supposed to sound like footsteps either. The crunch of the snow was like a bell tolling, each step marking me a moment closer to death.

"What are you?" I screamed, emptiness filling me up inside. Suddenly I felt weak. Hopeless. It was as though just being near this thing was killing my will to live. If I had my .45 with me, I'd have pressed it to my skull and pulled the trigger as many times as it took.

The headlights reached out. A long, twisted and gnarled arm that looked like it ought to have belonged to a tree grabbed me by my torso, snapping my ribs like twigs. I threw back my head and screamed.

A voice reached my ears, something deep and cold. Colder than winter.

It sounded familiar. It sounded like it lived at the bottom of every whisky bottle I'd ever drank, like the whispers in my head every time I'd fucked up, every time I'd made a mistake so bad I wished I was dead.

"I," said the voice, "... want to taste your misery."

______________________________________

This is the part where I tell you I managed to get away. That I kicked the creature in its giant, glowing eyes and made a beeline up the slope and never saw it again. I wish I could say that was the truth, I really do.

But the truth is much worse.

The truth is that Vanny Williams saved my life that night. Maybe she heard my screams. Maybe she just had a feeling that something wasn't right, that somebody was in trouble. Honestly, I don't even know if she knew it was me. Vanny was the sort of girl that'd go out of her way to help anybody.

She came out of her cabin and did what she did best: hunted. She rained bullets onto those headlights, distracting them, pissing them off enough that they let me be and ran off.

Ran to her.

Six bullets to its head, and still it climbed the slope of the valley like an anthill. Six bullets to its head, and still it took her screaming into the trees. Now she’s another statistic. One of the missing. The sheriff's calling me crazy for what I saw, telling everybody that I’m a drunk and Vanny just had enough and skipped town like the rest.

I know what I saw, though, and I think the folks at the military facility know too. The feeling I had beneath the glare of those headlights was like nothing I'd felt before, a hopelessness that's difficult to put into words. Simply put, I'd have taken death over another second of it. Even if that death came by my own hand.

Ever since that happened the military's been watching me. They've been driving by my house from sunrise to sunset, and more than once I've spotted somebody going through my trash. I've tried reaching out to news organizations but nobody wants to run my story. Even now, in the dead of night they're out there. Maybe they don't think I'm awake, or maybe they've just given up all pretense of keeping a low profile. I don't know. All I know is I can see them through the crack in my blinds, waiting patiently in my driveway.

Two headlights in the dark.

[riahlynn101]

"Of Heartaches and Headaches" (11).

Chapter Eleven

Author's note: Special thanks to Halogenrobotics (or Yeagle on Ao3) for giving me some ideas for this chapter (and most of the chapters moving forward)! Go check out their stuff. They have a lot of good ideas, are super creative, and are an absolute joy to talk to! With all that being said, I hope you all enjoy :D

--

Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Not again! Not again! Fuck! Fuck! 

Luis had been on his way to the security room, as he wanted to see if the daycare was currently in sleep-mode (Moon was said to not allow caregivers to pick up their children while they were sleeping), when he came across his best friend passed out in front of the doors. 

And all he could think is a string of curses and half-garbled thoughts. 

He made sure she was breathing, and her pulse seemed to be steady enough. The skin on her face and hands is slightly dry and cool to the touch. Mixed with her occasional complaints in the past about headaches, he hopes it’s just dehydration (serious but not as serious as what they had to deal with four months back). 

Management is sure to have a fit if they see her passed out. Whether it’s her fault or not, the company will try to paint her as the villain and toss her out like yesterday’s newspaper. It’s for the best that he puts her in the security room and keeps an eye on her until she wakes up. 

It helps that the daycare is indeed having their naptime, so it’s not like he can go anywhere for another hour or two. 

He sets an alarm. He’ll wake Vanessa up when it goes off, and if she doesn’t respond he’ll call 9-1-1. 

-x-x-x-

The office smells strongly of cinnamon and disinfectants. Bookshelves surround the room, boxing them in, save for the wooden door off to the side. A child-sized table sits towards the back. A board game with worn edges lays haphazardly forgotten on the table’s top. 

“So…..want….issues…” The person in front of her says, their voice muffled.

Vanessa thinks it must be a person, but with how blurred they are, it could be anything. Unless this a dream, in which case perhaps animals could-

“Vanny!” A woman’s voice cuts off her train of thought. Her voice is clearer than it ever has been. It’s firm, commanding in a way that’s expected from someone who’s been teaching for many years, but also comforting like a mother. 

Vanessa doesn’t so much as react. She never does. She can’t.

“Yes?” She hears herself ask. 

The woman inhales deeply. “Are you….are you feeling alright?”

“Fine, why do you ask?”

The woman is quiet for a good minute. The clock hanging over the door is the loudest thing in the room. Each tick a countdown to ending the session. 

“No reason. As your therapist, I worry about you, is all.”

Vanessa feels something in her boil in pure, unadulterated rage. Thoughts that are definitely not hers bubble up to the surface. 

Weak! If I’m weak he’ll get rid of me! How dare she insinuate I’m weak! Not weak! Not weak!

Vanessa is overwhelmed with the oscillating emotions. Still, she can’t move a muscle to show this. The corners of her mouth uptick into a smile. 

“I’m alright, Dr…..” Her voice trails off, everything becoming blurry around the edges like a watercolor painting. 

Vanessa feels herself sink into the couch, being sucked in and in and in until she’s falling through an open void. She squeezes her eyes shut, heart dropping into her stomach. 

“Vanessa…?” 

Suddenly, she isn’t falling anymore. Someone’s shaking her. “Vanessa?” They ask. 

Vanessa takes a second to open her eyes, relishing in the feeling of being awake and in control of her own actions. She sighs, deeply. 

When she finally opens her eyes, Luis is seated next to her. Concern is written all across his face. She hasn’t seen him look so worried since….

“I’m fine,” she says, sitting up. Judging by the large monitors taking up the entire room, they’re in the main security room. When did she get here?

“I found you passed out in the hallway. I carried you in here so management wouldn’t write you up.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”

“You want to pay for a ride in the whee whoo wagon?”

Vanessa looks down, shaking her head. “No.” She cracks a smile. “You don’t think Faz Entertainment would foot the bill, do you?” 

“No, absolutely not. They’re allergic to the words: accountability and lawsuit. You’d be fired before the ambulance even arrived.” He laughs, not at her but at the corrupt company that employs them both. 

“Right, right. Well, thank you for not leaving me to die out there. I must have been dehydrated or something.”

“Anytime. And, considering the last time I saw you drink any water was….” he hums, tapping a finger to his chin, “...never. I would say you’re probably right on the money. Here.” He tosses her a water bottle.

She fumbles it, casting Luis an (pretend) annoyed look.

“Drink up, and call me if you start feeling off.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” She unscrews the cap. 

“I’m going to pick up Gregory. Don’t die.”

“No promises. And Luis?”

He pokes his head back into the room, holding onto the doorframe. “Yes?”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

“Like I said, anytime,” he smiles brightly at her before leaving for real. 

-x-x-x-

Gregory lays curled up. His cot is situated between Sarah and Xander. The two got in trouble with Mr. Moon, so they had to be spaced further apart. They still talk in loud whispers anyways. He ignores his new friends, focusing on the twinkling stars over their heads and the soft music playing from some unknown place in the daycare. 

The next thing he knows, Mr. Sun is kneeling next to his cot. The lights are back on and his new friends are no longer next to him, nor are their cots. 

“Friend, it’s time to wake up.”

“Nuh, uh,” he groans, pulling up the blanket Mr. Sun let him borrow for naptime over his head. The material is soft and keeps him warm. He starts to fall back asleep. 

“Friend, it’s time for you to go home.”

That wakes him up. 

He pulls the blanket away, hopping up. As fun as the daycare was, and he hopes Mama Nessa and Papa Luis let him come back tomorrow, he really wants to leave. His new friends are really loud and kind of messy. 

He helps Mr. Sun take care of his blanket, pillow, and cot. And then he’s led to the daycare’s door. 

“Papa Luis!” He shouts, racing the rest of the way there. 

He’s scooped up, and he leans into the warm hold. It reminds him of…..

Gregory shakes his head, removing the thought before it can lead anywhere. He hates thinking about that. Hates thinking about his life before this. Hates, hates thinking about her.

It hurts his head anyways, and sometimes he can pretend it was all a bad dream. Mama Nessa and Papa Luis are taking really good care of him anyways, even if they think he’s a tiny little baby and not a toddler. They’re really nice, and he has no doubts that they’ll learn. 

He closes his eyes, putting his head on Papa’s shoulder.

[paigelts05]

FNAF AR, Renegade AU - Obviously Obsessed

https://www.deviantart.com/paigelts05/art/FNAF-AR-Renegade-AU-Obviously-Obsessed-881079313

Published: May 30, 2021

Renegade File Server Location: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23858029

First things first: Welcome to the Renegade AU. It's my AU and that means that cannon is just taken as a suggestion, and a bit of inspiration to make deeper plots. You know how people usually see Luis as a simp? Well, in my AU, it's Vanny/Ness who is the simp. From the moment that Luis showed her a bit of compassion and concern, she spiraled in love instantly. Prior to being asked out for coffee, she just observed 'her dearest' from afar, and it was only after being asked out for a coffee she realised her feelings were reciprocated. After that, they actually talked at work. She told Luis that her fake boyfriend was a code word she used to refer to Glitchtrap in order to still seem sane when talking about that monster and make excuses for why she'd sometimes drop off the face of the earth for days at a time and come back battered and bruised, as as William doesn't exactly treat his potential heirs well. Whilst everyone else at the firm had already been told this weeks ago, Luis happened to not get the memo, so better late than never. Luis, the oblivious gentleman, had feelings for Ness, but never brought it to light, as even though Dan kept telling him that Brad is a code word for Glitchtrap, everything from the printer to the kettle was conspiring against him to not let him hear that. I also think it's worth mentioning that literally everyone except Luis knew that Ness was madly in love with Luis, who didn't realize that she liked him and he didn't want to sound too forward by asking, even though he liked her. It took Dan and Anna to spell it out for them more than a few times for Luis and Ness to realise that their feelings were in fact reciprocated. You know what? I might even make another drawing about this some time! No promises though. Also, note this happened BEFORE thry went out for coffee, which is before they went to the old HQ where Ness had to knock Luis out. This happened before all that. =°•.🌹 Story 🌹.•°= °*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•🌹•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*° Ness observed her dearest from her desk. Her laptop was closed, and she was using it to rest her elbows upon as she gazed towards the tiny server room. Outside of the server room was a desk, and there sat a young man named Luis. Ness had only talked to him through emails so far, but she was already in love. She just worried that he wouldn't reciprocate his feelings, so she kept her distance, waiting for him to make the first move. When she first started at this small maintenance firm, she lied about having a boyfriend to cover up for the fact she'd sometimes come into work bloodied and bruised. It was a close enough way to describe the rat-bastard Glitchtrap. She had come clean to most of her colleagues that this 'boyfriend' was in fact a code name she used to refer to a certain ghost that has been manipulating her. She hadn't talked to Luis about this in person, but she hoped news would get around. As she watched the server admin do his job, she sat and watched, infatuated. In these moments, Glitchtrap's threats no longer existed. Her bloodlines past and destiny for lives of tragedy no longer existed. In these precious few moments, she could forget about all of that as she watched her dearest do his job. Remembering that she couldn't spend all day observing her dearest, she opened her laptop and begun to get to work. Today, she was looking at some circuit boards scanned in from some other company, that wasn't some branch of Fazbear Entertainment, had sent in. Ness was glad that at least some of the machines here weren't from that cursed place, so she got to work, adding in comments to the code so it could be understood by people and trying to figure out what the issue with it was. After a while, she heard the ping of an email. Checking her email inbox, she saw it was from Luis. Her heart raced as she opened it and read the email. He wanted to go out for a coffee! She knew damn well her face was many shades of red. Her dearest actually wanted to go for a coffee with her! He probably liked her back! She spent ages hovering over the keyboard, each moment draining her energy, pondering the right way to say yes, when someone walked up behind her. "Ness, you've been composing an email for five minutes. Are you ok?" It was Anna. Anna, despite being co-owner of the maintenance firm alongside Luis, was a friend of both hers and Luis. Looking at Ness's screen, she figured out what was up. It didn't take a genius to know that Ness had been spending a good few hours just staring at Luis, and it was getting a bit annoying seeing the two of them be so oblivious towards eachother's affection. "You're trying to figure out how to phrase a yes without sounding desperate?" Anna patted Ness on the back in a friendly and encouraging way, "Just reply a simple yes. No-one expects anyone to reply in paragraphs here." Ness looked at Anna, then back at her laptop, then back at Anna. With a newfound burst of energy, Ness quickly typed up the fastest "I'd love to go for a coffee" ever typed, and watched as Luis received the email. He looked a bit surprised and happy. "Right, my work here is done," Anna brushed her hands together before setting off, "and oh, you know he actually likes you back, right?" °*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•🌹•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*° The ship so the three people who also ship this can find it: Vannis , Vanny X Luis , Ness X Luis , Reluctant follower X Luis Cabrera

[greatjobsuperstar]

Crush - Vanny

Requests: Could you do either bonnie or vanny? & could you maybe do vanny?

Content Warnings: Typical Vanny behavior! Be wary.

Pairing: Vanny/Reader

Word Count: 1772

Vanny is a quiet one — not by nature, but by necessity. She can’t afford to form connections out of fear of exposing her plans, and thus, makes no effort to connect with you. Not at first, anyways.

She watches over the Plex by day, observing the animatronics and waiting for her time to strike. Everything is progressing perfectly, but there’s a new staff member — you. It’s not often that someone new gets hired, and she can’t take the risk of moving on without analyzing you. She just needs a couple days to understand your behavior so she can determine whether or not you’re a threat to her plans. But then those couple of days turn into one week, then two, and… she just can’t seem to take her eyes off of you. Why is that? Is it a sign from Him? Or something more? She decides that she simply has to figure it out, and these cameras just aren’t cutting it anymore. The second you get put on the night shift she starts moving closer, peering at you from around corners and through the railings.

The cameras didn’t tell her how pretty you were, or how your gentle look would send a foreign jolt of excitement through her. She’s no stranger to the feeling, but this? This isn’t the excitement that comes with a kill, or the hunt for a victim — It’s something else entirely. You sweep your flashlight around the room, and for the briefest of seconds Vanny thinks that you’re looking at her with that sweet, pretty little face of yours. It’s at this moment that she realizes that she never wants this feeling to go away.

She likes to leave little gifts around the Plex for you to find, most often in the form of candy and arcade prizes. She’ll even write a note with them, just so you know they’re yours. She likes that little laugh you do when you pick up her gifts, turning it this way and that as you murmur a “thank you” to the night.

But soon, even that’s not enough. She wants you to talk to her, so she can hear your voice loud and proud. Or, maybe she just wants to talk to you herself. She’s never been one for talking to others, but you don’t seem like everyone else. She’ll skip around the Plex more boldly at night, hoping to catch your eye. She wonders what you’ll think of her — if you’ll be afraid of her, or if you’ll feel that same spark that she does. It’s not love, of course. She won’t even entertain the idea. She doesn’t know you at all, and she doesn’t have the time or even ability to fall in love! But there must be a reason that you’re here, right? A reason that you spark all these feelings in her heart, yes?

She bounds over to you in the early hours of your shift, just after everyone else has gone home. She wears the suit to make the other animatronics feel more normal, you see? It’s pretty cute, right? She just got off of her vacation, and she’s so excited to be working with you! She’s good at twisting the truth around, but it’s not malicious — she just can’t risk anyone finding out who she really is, or what she’s doing. Not yet, anyways.

She’s over the moon when you accept her friendship, and proceeds to make every night at work the absolute night of your life. Whatever you want to do, she’s there to kick it up a notch with you. Your favorite songs always echo through the speakers of the Plex after hours, and management never seems to scold you for it. Every night is filled with joy, for the both of you.

Absolute hide-and-seek queen! She loves to be the seeker most, but she’s not particularly picky. She loves it when she figures out where you are so that she sneak up on you from a weird angle to give you a bit of a fright. She’ll tiptoe behind you, only to lunge forward and circle her fingers around your wrists gently. She presses her chest against your back, quick as a flash, only to murmur a soft “boo” in your ear as she lets out a quiet laugh. You can feel her heartbeat kicking in her chest, just like a rabbit. But she can feel yours too, you know. Are you having fun, yet?

You guys become close very fast. You start looking forward to seeing those floppy ears bounding down the steps to greet you at night — the costume doesn’t even phase you, anymore.

Little do you know, she’s been getting just as attached. That feeling of excitement upon seeing your smiling face never went away; in fact, it only grew. She wonders if He would accept you as a follower too. She was scared when she first met him, but not anymore. If she talked to you about Him, would you understand? Would you join her if you knew how happy it would make her? Her heart pounds in her chest every time she sees you now, and… oh. Oh, she really is in love with you after all.

She becomes very flirty around you, and it always sends this white hot flash of ardor through you. She’s so suave in the way her voice lifts — smooth as silk and alluring as a siren.

She loves to take your hands and twirl you around the room, and she knows with every fiber of her being that this is the closest she’ll ever get to Heaven. Your hands are so warm in her own, meshing perfectly together like a puzzle that’s finally found its missing piece.

She’s a damn good dancer too, you know. You could have two left feet and she’d still be twirling you around, making you giggle and fall into her arms.

She picks up on all of your interests lightning fast now, as if she wasn’t already attentive before. She finds a way to bring them up every now and then, just to let you know that she’s listening to you. You know that the mask she wears can’t move, but when she gives you a gift from your favorite game you’re half sure that the plastic grin grows just an inch wider.

She’s an artist at heart, and eventually commits to drawing a little you, right next to her own drawing down in Afton’s room. In the image of your favorite animal, of course. It might seem trivial to anyone else, but it really solidifies you as an important person in her life. She wishes she could put your name next to hers in her own room but… she doesn’t want to implicate you in anything, in case it all goes south.

Speaking of, she’s terrified that He won’t accept you. That you’ll be labeled as a liability or worse, a threat to his mission. She knows that people have died because they got too close to the truth, and while she didn’t care about them too much… you’re different. You make her feel human. In your arms she feels alive, free from her worries and her guilt. Free from the atrocities she’s committed. And what if you don’t see the world like she does? What if you start to fear her? Vanny is a confident woman, but she can’t control your thoughts or His and that scares the hell out of her.

She wants to confess, but she wouldn’t dare do so until He gives her the okay. She doesn’t view him as a father, but it almost feels like that when she walks up to his stasis chamber to ask for permission. She can’t hide you from him forever, and it wouldn’t end well (for either of you) if he found out he was hanging out with you secretly.

But to her surprise… he says yes. She feels her heart swell with this overwhelming, immeasurable joy when his broken and raspy voice echoes into the room, giving her permission to court you. And then the stipulations come, and her heart breaks.

You’d have to join her in His work.

She can feel the tears welling in her eyes at this — she can’t remember the last time she cried, and she forgot just how much she hated it. She wants to rip every tile from the wall, light the wallpaper on fire, and say goodbye to the hellish place. But she knows that she can’t, and that’s what hurts the most. He always comes back. She swallows her rage and sorrow, uttering a cold “Yes, sir,” before turning her back to him and leaving his room.

Could you ever love a monster like her? Could you love a woman who works for the flesh-and-bone Devil?

She tries to introduce you to her personal life slowly, but surely.

The steel of her knife is cold against your skin as she drags it slowly up your stomach and over your chest before coming to rest at your chin. She draws no blood as she tilts your chin upwards with the blade, and your eyes meet with her own glass ones. And then her soft, furred hand comes to cradle your face, fighting back against the chill left in the blade’s wake. You smile, relaxing against the knife dangerously. She could kill you if she wanted to. But you’re not afraid of her, and you never will be.

She continues to prod, gauging your fear and receptiveness to certain topics and actions. And eventually, she comes clean about everything.

She’s halfway to a breakdown when she does, honestly. You’re the only person she’s ever told the full story to and it feels so freeing. You’re more than just a crush to her — You’re her own little angel, and she didn’t even realize it until now.

If you’re accepting and willing to join her in her work, she’ll confess to you right then and there. She’ll rip off her mask, professing her love to you without a single other thought. She should wait to confess to you and she knows that, but it’s like it all bubbles out of her. A wildfire has been growing in her heart, and your acceptance of her is like adding gasoline. She might even kiss you, if you reciprocate.

But you know… she would burn down this whole building if you asked her to. She’s terrified of Him, but if you asked her to leave him and run away with you… it might take some convincing, but she’d do it for you.

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

Moon picks up the phone absentmindedly, leaning back against the security desk. “Good Evening. The daycare is closed, if you would like to schedule a time for drop off business hours begin at 6 am.”

“Hello again, Moon~”

The phone slips out of his hand, and he freezes in shock; That voice... He runs over to the daycare doors, checking to see if they are locked. Thankfully they are, Sun must’ve locked it after he went to hang out with Freddy. He sighs, relieved.

“Oh there’s no point checking those, I snuck in a while ago.”

Moon shrieks in surprise, whipping around to face the white rabbit. A million questions race through his mind; How did she get in here?? Why is she here?! She’s SUPPOSED to be in jail!!

The rabbit, he heard that she went by the name “Vanny”, giggles at his panicked response. She steps closer to him, the felt rabbit ears flopping to the side as she tilts her head. “I see they got you working again. How sweet~”

“You shouldn’t be here.” He shoots an alert off to the main office, receiving an  automated message stating that his alert would be responded to within the hour. The HOUR?! He has to get her out, he CANNOT deal with her for an hour!! He has no idea how she snuck in, but he can figure that out later. He just wants her gone. This is his home, and his daycare, and she has no right to break in unannounced. Especially after what she did. 

Vanny is unconvinced by his harsh tone, taking another step forward despite the animatronics obvious discomfort; It’s humorous, in a way. She doesn’t even go up to his shoulder blade, she barely reaches his midsection. And yet he shrinks back when she moves forward, eyes darting around the room nervously. 

Without warning she reaches up, cupping the crescent moon cheek in her hand. Moon yelps from the sudden contact, back hitting the large wooden doors. “That’s not a nice way to great an old friend, Mr. Attendant. ”

Moon stares at her wide eyed, frozen in fear. Why isn’t he doing anything?? He’s three feet taller then her for crying out loud! He could pick her up as if she were a toddler!! And her presence here checks off all the boxes for him to sound the intruder alarm. So.. why isn’t he doing anything? Why doesn’t he just open the door and throw her out? Why does touching her make him feel so disgusting, why does he feel disgusted by it at all? Moon just wants to hide, just get her away from him and run. So, he does, shooting into the ceiling the second the cable hooks into his back. He glides onto the swinging bridge between the two play structures, perching on the railing. Vanny watches his retreat in amusement, leisurely skipping after him.

“Sun’s coming back down, so unless you want to be arrested you better leave now.” he hates the way his voice cracks at the end, and he hates the way her head tilts in acknowledgement of it. It may be a bluff, but he just hopes that she’ll buy it. Sun rarely leaves the daycare after all, it isn’t that strange right? 

She stares up at him, the glassy lifeless red eyes and permanent smile making his skin crawl. “That’s cute. I know you’re alone, Moon.” she giggles, hands held behind her back. Moon grips the plush railing tightly, shit shit shit shit. She continues in a mockingly innocent tone, tilting her head as if innocently  puzzled as to why he’s so frightened of her. As if she doesn’t know why the sight of her makes him want to hide. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Then why are you here?” his internal fans pick up; She’s been here for less then a minute and Moons already radiating heat, stress churning painfully inside him. 

“To let you know I’m still here, that way it won’t take you by surprise next time you’re needed.” Vanny states simply, as if the explanation is blatantly obvious. 

“... Next time?”

She folds her hands close to her face, as if she’s a school girl gushing about her first crush. “You were so good last time! He was very pleased. I have my eye on another project, buuut it’ll take some time before it’s ready. Trust me, you’ll love it. I know you’ll make us proud!~” She giggles wickedly, pressing her hands against the mouth of the mask. Moon slips off the rope railing, landing back onto the bridge. This can’t be happening. She’s messing with him, right? This is a joke. It has to be a joke; The others pulling some really fucked up prank on him. It can’t be real. He won’t, he can’t go through that again! He doesn’t want to be made a spectator in his own body again, forced to watch every HORRIBLE thing this twisted women demanded of him! He can’t see the terror on his brother’s face, he can’t handle anymore blood on his hands. Moon pushes back the memories trying to cycle through his vision, seeing those would only make him panic more. He doesn’t need to see them to remember that it was a living hell. 

He can’t go through that again! He JUST CAN’T!

Vanny chuckles under her breath; Stunned silence, that’s a new one. Her goal complete, she skips back to the large wooden doors and slides her keycard into the lock, slipping out into the dark lobby. By the time Moon builds up enough courage to look up again, she is long gone, leaving him alone with nothing but his thoughts and the feverish buzzing of his mechanical fans.

-Hey Moonyyy! Hows clean up going?-

She’s back.

[sourapplesauces]

Bot Boy Idea 5: Vanessa sees ghosts

I didn't think I'd be doing more of these, but here we are.

An idea that I've seen exceedingly few fics try and cover is Vanessa encountering the ghosts of the people whom she (as Vanny) murdered after the 3-star ending.

I am unsure as to how one would make this situation happen. Maybe it could be a dream. Maybe Vanessa would see them at their graves during her weekly trip to them and feel unending guilt. Or possibly some other situation that includes Gregory.

I really like it because there are a lot of things you could potentially cover, including:

How would the ghosts react to seeing the freed Vanessa? Would the children be enraged? If so, what would they do?

Or would they be able to see that the person in front of them is not really the same as the one who murdered them, not mentally, at least? Maybe (relating back to idea 2: "Vanessa is good with kids") the children who were taught by her would be able to convince the other children of this.

How about the therapists? They would likely be more willing to listen, being adults trained in understanding psychological conditions.

One could discuss how Vanessa has been dealing with having 2 sets of childhood memories, a fake abusive one (put there by Glitchtrap for reasons of being a dick) and her true, standard, evidently normal one.

And, of course, we can't forget Vanessa. What would she do? It is most likely that she would curl up into a ball and await the punishment that she thinks she deserves (she doesn’t). After all, it is HER fault, right? (No, it’s Vanny's.)

If you include Gregory in this encounter, he, being the "no fear" gremlin that he is, would probably try and start to defend his… uh… paternal guardian of unspecified rank in some way, either by trying to explain that Vanny is no more, or try and actually fight the ghosts.

As you can see, there are many ways that I think someone can make a mini story out of this concept.

If ghosts are terrifying on their own, imagine seeing the ghost of a child whos murder you witnessed! I think initially the children would feel distrust towards Vanessa, especially if they saw her face leading up to their deaths. But im sure with time, forgiveness ensues and their spirits are able to move on. Getting over the guilt sounds like a hard time for Vanessa but im sure with the forgiveness of the children she can learn to love herself more. Keep it up with the awesome concepts!

[sunsetsintandem]

Au where Klaus dies instead of Ben.

Reginald has a public funeral for him, claiming he died of "injuries sustained from the last robbery". No one questions the fact that The Séance doesn't usually fight on missions.

Privately, Klaus' death is ruled as an overdose, and Reginald gives them a speech about wasted potential and how much of a disappointment Number Four was. Nobody sees Klaus scowling at Reginald.

Their father's dismissal is the nail in the coffin that makes them realize that he truly doesn't care about any of them. To the Academy, they didn't just lost a member, they lost a brother. To Hargreeves, Klaus' death is meaningless. There's no portrait, no statue, nothing except the memories they made in the house.

Ben and Vanya leave together, before the mission Ben is supposed to die in. Allison rumours her way to an audition in Hollywood, she doesn't expect to get the role, she just wants an excuse to be out of the house. Diego's the last one to go, he has a big fight with Luther beforehand because he doesn't understand how his brother can see the way Reginald treats them and still insists their father ever loved them.

Klaus doesn't—

Klaus doesn't stick around. He doesn't linger like the ghosts that hunted him in life. He watches them go through the door before he crosses to the other side. The little girl is confused, and upset, but Klaus is dead. Even when he isn't supposed to be. And she can't send him back this time. So he stays.

Vanya still writes her book, but now, she has Ben's input. Ben, who gets upset when he reads an excerpt of it. Ben, who tells her about their special training, the pain and the fear and the uncertainty of tomorrow. Ben, who makes her understand that she wasn't the only one hurting. Vanya rewrites her book.

Extraordinary: My Life As Number Seven is a best seller. The words are chilling and bring Reginald's abuse to light. For the first time, the media focuses on the man who brought together The Umbrella Academy, the man who bought seven babies and had six of them be constantly shove into danger.

Vanya stops taking her pills. It's not an entirely conscious decision, Ben had begged her to lower the dosage after he caught her swallowing her fifth pill of the day, Klaus' death fresh in his mind. She agreed.

Her siblings reached out to her. There's no anger or resentment, just an undercurrent of guilt and sadness and nostalgia gnawing at them. They set their schedules for monthly phone calls and catching up.

Allison's pregnant. After much hesitation, Luther sneaks out to visit her. It's a bit awkward, but they slip into old habits easily, sitting close to each other, speaking softly. There's no lingering feelings between them. Allison confesses she is scared she won't be a good mother, that she'll turn into Reginald. Luther doesn't even think about it when he says that she'll be better. She and Patrick offer him a place to stay, where he can figure out if the Academy is truly the place he needs.

Five finds the book. It's buried under the ruins of a library, but the cover's still intact and the pages, although dirty, are mostly whole. There's a picture of Vanya and Ben in the back of it, he commits it to memory.

Reginald Hargreeves dies.

The day of his funeral, a portal opens in the backyard, and out tumbles Five looking no older than 13.

The world ends in 7 days.

His family is weirdly cooperative, working around each other with a practiced ease Five doesn't remember from their childhood. He ignores the pang on his chest that tells him they are missing one of them.

The eye yields no results. Five is angry and desperate and hopeless. He isn't there when the Academy is attacked.

Vanya is kidnapped. She hasn't taken a pill in over 26 hours. Ben and Allison search for her as Diego and Luther look for their brother.

The clock is ticking.

The world shakes beneath her feet. Hazel and Cha Cha loom over her.

Something pools in his stomach. Klaus follows the trail, comes across a barbershop.

Reginald Hargreeve's waiting for him. And fuck, Klaus doesn't want to have whatever conversation the old man is going to drag him to, but he knows it must be important if it's interrupting his heavenly stay.

(On the distance, he catches a glimpse of his little sister, slumped in a wooden chair.)

—Vanya.

She snaps her attention to the voice.

There's blood, or what she assumes is blood, dripping from open wounds to the carpet. His hair is shorter than she remembers, swept to the side. Her eyes linger on the finger marks on his neck. It's Klaus, 16, in all his bluish form. Vanya's pretty sure she's hallucinating.

—I can't stay here long, — he admits, tilts his head —so you have to listen carefully.—

She can do that.

Correction: she can't do that.

—Breath. Vanya, breath, you are going to be okay, but— his hand reaches up to her face for a moment, but he doesn't try to touch her before it slips back down —you need to use your powers to get out.—

Vanya's ordinary. She doesn't have powers. The floor shakes beneath her feet.

B

R

E

A

T

H

It feels like she's been plucked from the motel room and dunked in a bath of molten lava. The fire runs up her veins, burns through her muscles, bleeds into her very core. Klaus is still talking, his voice soft, hoarse, like he'd been screaming. Is he screaming? She isn't sure.

—The ropes, Vanny.—

She concentrates. The door opens with a bang, the sound sharp, harsh on her ears. Someone is shouting, she doesn't know who. The material snaps off her wrists, and she tumbles forwards.

There's no Klaus when she wakes up. Ben's reading a book, seated against her wall. She can't get the image out of her head.

—Ben, — she hesitates, shakes her head. Klaus was dead. Is dead. There's no point bringing up the past.

But if he overdosed, then why—?

A flash of light. Five stares down at her. She can see apprehension in his eyes. It takes her a moment to realize what he's saying, even though his lips never move.

You are the bomb.

Fuck you, Five.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

WIP Wednesday: Whumptober Previews, Take 2

I still have a few more to go, but I am in the final stretch for writing my @whumptober2020​ pieces! I already posted one preview of what I have so far (you can see Days 1-12 here), so here are previews for the rest of what I have written - and sneak peeks at what’s planned out but not written yet! 

Whumptober starts tomorrow - we’ll see how you feel about my work this go-round! Last year, Whumptober Day 1 introduced Daniel Michaelson. This year... it starts with Danny, too.

Day 13:

“Vanni, they thought he was you.”

“I know, Ridley!” Rossi never snapped at Ridley, but here it was, and Connor forced in a hitching, shaky inhale around the tremendous, inescapable weight pressing down on him, determined to keep breathing long enough to understand. “I know they did.”

“And they fucking poisoned him and then dumped him to fucking die-”

“I know!” The two men went silent for a second, Ridley staring with shock at Rossi and Rossi glaring furious towards the window without looking back. Connor’s breath, rattling in his struggling lungs, was the only sound in the room.

Day 14:

Peter glanced over his shoulder, back towards the house. The thermometer had climbed a little more, reading 98.5 degrees Farenheit now, and Peter blinked as he shivered again, swallowing without any saliva. His mouth felt dry, and strange. Why was he shivering - how did he have goosebumps - if it was almost one hundred degrees?

As if he’d heard Peter’s thoughts, the side door opened and Micheal came out, wearing his weekend outfit of slim black slacks and a pale heathered gray t-shirt, what Madam allowed him to wear. He was carrying a glass of water with ice and a little striped straw stuck in the top. The black shock collar he was never allowed to remove - not yet, Madam said, not until Micheal learned how to be silent without needing encouragement, to her satisfaction - cut a wide band across his neck, the black box small and nearly perfectly blended in at the back. 

“Peter,” He said in a low voice - not quite a whisper, but just as quiet. “I brought you a drink, I-” He looked up, squinting towards the sky. “It’s hot. Should you be out here?”

Day 15:

He drops back to the ground, groaning, eyes fluttering open and shut, before he reaches out to grip onto Ora’s arm again. He turns to look at them, and his eyes are glowing so brightly he can see the reflected light on Ora’s face, the flicker of yellow against their irises. There are things that move beneath the light in Ryan Michaelson’s eyes, and he no longer feels them pushed back under the surface of his skin. 

“I’m so fucking hungry,” He whispers, and his fingernails dig into Ora’s arm until they begin to bleed and whimper, but they don’t - can’t - pull away. Not until he lets them.

They will be lost in his eyes until he decides to let them go.

Day 16:

Count to ten, Tris! One… two...

Her voice is so loud he jumps, but when he looks to the left, nothing’s there. Just the white walls, plain and featureless, white tiles that were smooth under his fingertips back when he was allowed to touch them. 

Everything is cold, and the boy has been shivering for so long that his muscles ache from the constant tense-and-release, tense-and-release, struggling to keep him warm.

Day 17:

She giggles a little, then glances over her shoulder, mouths something at the cameraman. Oliver can guess what. Edit that out.

Kelly Donahue doesn’t want the episode to be aired with her giggling like a schoolgirl at a bit of idle flattery. Well. Everyone has their things they like to hide, don’t they?

She has her giggle. Oliver has a teenage boy locked in his bedroom.

Day 18:

“Your mother,” Patrick interrupted, with gentle violence, “believes that you are squandering an opportunity.”

“An-... a what-”

“We respect your decision - and your brother’s - to refuse interviews, especially at his early date.” Patrick sounded like he’d rehearsed this answer, delivered with the same smooth cadence he had during his speeches before the Board of Directors. “But, considering the effort it took us to find you-”

“The effort it took Nate to find us,” Ryan corrected, ice growing along his veins at the same time it took over his voice. “Nate. It was Nate who watched the videos, it was Nate who talked Abraham into showing him the yard, it was Nate who spent fucking night after fucking night trolling fucking satellite photos to try and find us. Don’t act like the effort came from you. It came from my brother’s goddamn fiance.”

Day 19:

“If this is a trap, I’m going to owe Gavin fifty bucks.” Vera checked and rechecked her handgun, as though it would suddenly be less loaded than it was just a few minutes before. Her jaw was set in a grim line, eyes flashing a kind of damped-down fire, embers ready to spark. Her thick black hair, showing growing hints of gray, was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore a pair of black pants and a tucked-in t-shirt, ready for the fight she was definitely expecting. “I don’t want to owe Gavin money, Isaac.”

“It’s not a trap,” Isaac replied, making his own nervous check and recheck of the table and chairs. “I don’t think it is, anyway. My instincts are saying it isn’t.”

“Your instincts-”

“My instincts have been spot-on for a decade, Vera. Just trust me on this. She let us pick the day, the time, the location… she let us give her the location with less than four hours’ notice, even. If this is a trap, she’s piss-poor at setting it.”

Day 20:

He’d been flying, and the fall had been worse than the arrow, at first.

The sudden burst of white-hot pain had stunned him, caught him mid-spin enjoying an early-morning chill, and sent him tumbling to the ground below.

He’d heard his own frantic keens of panic and fear as if from a distance, and then they’d been drowned out when he slammed into the trees, feathers flying all around him as they were ripped free by the branches he smacked into one after another on the way down.

Day 21:

"Mmhmmm. Christopher. Stanton." Nat listens for a long time, then says quietly, "No known health problems. Autistic."

Jake looks up, and Nat calmly looks back at him, while speaking into the phone. "Yes. Yes, I'm confident. He is sensitive to fluorescent lights, scared of needles, and terrified of sedation. Yeah, I realize that I just described the exact environment we’re sending him into.” Chris whimpered, and Nat’s voice went ragged, her eyes closed tightly against the sight of his face pale, sweaty, twisted with pain. “Listen. Just-... just put on the fucking papers that Christopher Stanton is fucking autistic, because that's what my goddamn rescue is - I'll sell someone else's firstborn to fucking Satan if he isn't, mark my fucking words - and we're wasting time while he gets worse!"

Day 22:

Rossi picks the glass up and just as he tilts it up to his lips, Connor rears back and up on his knees and swings one of his hands, the black leather ‘paw’ smacking into the rim of the glass and spilling it in an arc across Rossi’s suit, onto the table, soaking his cards and hitting the next person at the table right in the eyes.

“Connor, what the fuck?!” Rossi’s voice isn’t furious, not yet - he’s too shocked to get beyond the simple surprise.

Day 23:

The drugs in his system weigh him down, he is too exhausted to understand what’s happening or how to begin to fight it. His eyes keep trying to close and stay closed, and he whimpers, forcing them back open.

“Pozhaluysta…” He groans, collapsing forward against the heavy solidity of the man, the soft tailored fabric of his expensive suitjacket, the scent of clove cigarettes that clings to him like a woman’s fingers clutching tightly. “Pozhaluysta, otpusti menya…”

Day 24:

“My name is Melody,” The girl said, nearly extending her hand, but then she realized the creature’s right hand was nothing but wickedly sharp talons, and it was bound in front of him to his left. “Oh, I’m sorry. What’s your name?”

The creature blinked once, twice. Watched her, tense and maybe suspicious, and then shook his head. “No… no name.” He spoke slowly, as though words came only with difficulty but a soft little trill sounded under one voice, layered it with another. “Pet.”

Day 25:

“Wh, where, where, where-where, where am, am I-”

“Sssshhhh.” The person in the dark blue uniform presses a plastic-gloved hand to his shoulder as he tries to sit up, pushing him back down. “Hey no, you gotta stay steady, there. Don’t move.”

“Please-... please, sir, h-hurts-”

“Not sir,” The person says, gently, a bit of auburn hair falling over their forehead. “Can you see?”

“K-Kind... kind of... hurts-”

“Sssshhhh. I know. I know it does. Just hang on. Tori’s going to help me get you some paperwork going. Don’t worry, kiddo.” The person pats him, lightly, and then looks up, brown eyes scanning the hallway outside. “You’re not the first we’ve pulled through this.”

Day 26:

Calon Nie hummed to himself, tapping talons on the floor, watching the boy sit so still, as though stillness could protect him from the dangers of the world. “Good. Failed, you, to keep new eyes. Costs a life, to give something new. Killan Josta, human boy, he fail Calon Nie. He fail the life given, when eyes don’t work. Did not respect sacrifice.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” The boy said hoarsely, curling in on himself even more, his wings instinctively curling protectively around him. “I… I don’t want anyone to d-die for me. I didn’t mean to-... I didn’t mean to fail. I, I tried to p-pray for them, to stars, to-”

“Paugh! Mysteries do not hear you.”

Day 27:

Jake answers, and on the other side of the door, the old woman stands holding a large cardboard box in her arms, her grandson present, as nearly always, at her side. He holds a large box, too - so big, in fact, that only the top half of his face is visible.

“They’re sayin’ it could be a week before we get power back,” Ruth says, with a world-weary sigh. “A full-on week. We figured we’d bring you some supplies.” 

Day 28:

Ora Collins is hungry.

Day 29:

Jake is a tall man, but the emergency room always made him feel so small. Even now, part of him rehearses the scripted stories. I fell while climbing a tree. I crashed my bike. I tripped going down the stairs.

He has lies to tell today, just like he always has, but today the lies are for Chris, not himself.

He’s my brother. No, different dads, that’s all. His mom lives a few states away, I handle all his medical stuff. 

Day 30:

(AKA Possession, Part 2)

Ryan and Nate take down Abraham Denner.

Day 31:

Danny is left for dead.

[jjdoggies-fanfics]

Day 3: Childhood

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27364003

@fivevanya

Title: Say You’ll Remember Me

He was supposed to fix things. He was supposed to be able to stop the apocalypse, return to his family, keep them safe. But he failed. Now they were stuck, in some alternate dimension, or timeline, or universe, and they were all back in their teenage bodies.

When Five realized how badly he’d fucked up getting them to safety, only intending to go back a week or so, maybe even just a day, but instead got them lost somewhere else, he started counting how many things they already had working against them. 

Number one, they had no fucking clue when or where they were. 

Number two, he had no idea if they were even still in the same timeline or not. 

Number three, Vanya’s powers were still a huge question mark to them. 

Number four, Five had no way of getting them to the right time at the moment. 

Number five, he had no clue when or if The Commission was going to rear its head, again. 

Number six, they were currently seven teenagers wandering aimlessly, with no guardian present, drawing them unneeded attention. 

And number seven, which was debatably the worst of all, their father was alive again.

There were a few pluses to their current predicament. Firstly, Ben was alive again. Secondly, they were all still alive. Thirdly, at least for Five, they were all physically the same age again, even if he’d always be decades older than them mentally. Fourthly, they were still all together, and not thrown aimlessly across time. And fifthly, it seemed that Vanya was no longer stuck in whatever trance her powers had trapped her in.

Granted that when they’d first landed, Vanya was still unconscious so they hadn’t known that at first. And Luther and Diego, being the idiots they were, still were hesitant about letting their sister, who’d only just found out she had powers in the past week and had incidentally lost control of said newly discovered powers, live. Thankfully for Vanya, who was still unconscious at the time, Allison, Klaus, Ben and Five had all heavily disagreed with Luther and Diego’s suggestion that they kill their sister, so Vanya was still with them.

When they hadn’t landed at The Academy, their group also had to figure out where to go. Unsurprisingly, Luther’s first idea was to go back to Dad, which was quickly shot down. Especially when Ben asked someone where they were, only to find out they’d landed all the way in Dallas, Texas in 1960. So even if they did return to their father, he wouldn’t know who they were. And telling him would fuck with the timeline so badly it hurt Five’s head just thinking about it.

Within a day of landing in Dallas, a much older Hazel found them, inviting them to come with him to a farm he and Agnes had gotten three decades earlier, when they’d escaped the 2019 apocalypse. When one of his siblings, likely Klaus considering Allison still couldn’t talk, asked Hazel about his ‘donut lady’ the former Commission agent told them that she’d died a few years earlier, dying from cancer. 

Hazel provided them with a much needed home base while Five tried to figure out an equation to get his siblings back to 2019, preferably after their father died and keeping Ben alive. Unsurprisingly it was already giving Five a massive migraine trying to figure it out.

It had taken nearly two full days after they’d landed for Vanya to wake up. Specifically to gasp awake with a scream on her lips, tears streaming down her face, and a migraine nearly as bad as Five’s already set in. Five and Hazel had been the only ones in the house when she’d woken up, the rest of their siblings had been assigned tasks to attend to on the farm and were quite occupied, and far away, when it had happened.

Vanya’s scream had jolted Five out of his thoughts, jumping into her room, ready to attack what or whoever was scaring her, only to find Vanya watching him, her cheeks soaked in tears and a look of pain and confused on her face. He hadn’t realized anything was wrong, it hadn’t even crossed his mind, until he reached out to comfort her, and Vanya flinched away from him.

“Vanya?” Five asked, sure his confusion was evident in his voice but not caring about it one bit, “What’s wrong?”

Five thought, after spending over four decades in the apocalypse, and then more of his years at The Commission, there wasn’t much that could upset him. That was, until Vanya asked him, “Who are you?” 

For a second, Five thought she was messing with him, some kind of payback for accidentally leaving her behind all those years ago. But when the fear stayed on her face, no laughter or smiles finding their way, Five felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him and a rock had been placed in his stomach. She really didn’t remember him.

“Vanya, it’s me. Five.” As he pleaded with her, hoping something he could say or do would get Vanya to remember him, “I’m your,” their different relationship would be too hard to explain, especially if she couldn’t remember anything about him, about them, “your brother.” Five felt his heart crack a bit more when he took a small step towards her, and Vanya moved away from him, even in just the slightest bit.

Five nearly jolted out of his skin when a hand pressed into his shoulder, before he remembered Hazel also had heard Vanya screaming. “Let me handle this Old-Timer.” Hazel said, giving a small gesture towards a still very scared Vanya, “Go get your siblings, try to tell them what’s going on.” Five gave Hazel a quick nod, and just before he jumped, Hazel added, “And make sure you all return quietly, we don’t want to scare her anymore than she already is.”

Fearing that he’d have to face the fact that his, Vanya, didn’t remember him if he stayed any longer,  Five jumped to the barn, expecting at least two of his siblings to be nearby as Hazel slowly and calmly approached Vanya. 

When Five landed in the barn, he just about crashed into Ben and absolutely scarred the shit out of Klaus, who’d nearly jumped three feet in the air at his sudden appearance. “Five? What’s wrong?” Ben asked, “You look upset.”

Klaus ran out of the barn, getting Luther, Diego, and Allison while Ben talked to him. “There’s a problem. A very big problem. And I don’t know how bad it is. Or how to fix it.”

“What is it Five? What’s wrong?” Ben asked, concern creeping into his brother’s voice as Five’s vagueness towards whatever the issue that was upsetting him continued.

Five sighed, wishing he could’ve been with Vanya, needing her as his source of comfort, but that option, obviously, wasn’t available at the moment. Instead, Five told Ben, “Vanya doesn’t remember me.”

“What?” Klaus’s voice screeched from the doors of the barn, having returned with their other three siblings, “What do you mean Vanya doesn’t remember you? Does she remember any of us? Or anything? Does she know who she is? Does she remember what happened? Does she-”

“Klaus,” Diego hissed, pulling their brother’s arm, “stop talking.”

“I, I don’t know.” Five admitted, surprising his siblings, considering he prided himself on knowing as much as possible and always more than his siblings in any given situation, “I don’t know how bad it is, or how much she does or doesn’t remember. And I don’t know how to fix it.”

Ben put a comforting hand on his shoulder, much like Hazel had a few moments earlier, “Five, you don’t have to fix this alone.” Ben told him, “You have us, for help.”

Before, Five would’ve never flat-out accepted anyone’s help, especially his siblings’ but now, he needed all the help he could get. This was, Vanya was, far too important to him to fuck it up. Five nodded, muttering a quick “Thanks.” before instructing his siblings to follow him back to the farmhouse, emphasising their need to be quiet as they did so.

They, as quietly as possible, made their way up the two flights of stairs to the attic Vanya and Allison had been sharing. Five slowly opened the door with a click, seeing Hazel still sitting on the edge of the bed by Vanya, who’d moved from the opposite corner from the man to being a few inches from him, looking completely at ease. 

But when her eyes moved from Hazel to the six of them, or maybe just him, Vanya’s entire body was consumed in tension and fear, trying to hide behind Hazel. Five wished he could’ve heard whatever Hazel whispered in Vanya’s ear that caused all the tension that had suddenly arose in her body to melt away. And despite hiding herself away from view, for the most part staying behind Hazel, Vanya’s eyes jumped between the six of them, not lasting on any of them for particularly long.

“Vanny?” Klaus called, deciding to be the first one to say something, taking a few cautious steps towards their sister, “Do you know who I am? Or any of us?” Klaus stopped approaching the bed when Vanya started to shift away from him as he moved closer.

There was a tense beat of silence that filled the room, Five felt as if his heart was pounding out of his chest, while they all waited for Vanya to reply as Vanya watched Klaus with some fascination. In the seconds that Vanya hadn’t answered, Five wasn’t sure if it would be better or worse if she didn’t remember any of them. It would hurt less if it wasn’t just him. 

When Vanya gave Klaus a minute headshake, Five didn’t want to say he was relieved it wasn’t just him that she couldn’t remember; but it also hadn’t eased the pain in his heart. There were a few more hesitant questions that Vanya had been asked, most receiving a silent nod or headshake, a few one or two word answers sprinkled in. 

After a few more questions had been asked, Hazel shooed them out of the room, leaving Vanya alone for a little bit, as she’d been getting a bit overwhelmed and frustrated with all the questions and lack of answers she had for them. The Hargreeves and Hazel moved down to the small living room, or maybe it was only small because there was seven people in it, as they talked about some sort of plan to handle Vanya’s new found amnesia.

“Do you think if we just said, or do, the right thing it’ll just,” Klaus started, making some odd gestures as he waved his arms around, “trigger something? Like make her remember?”

“But, isn’t it better?” Luther asked, “That she doesn’t remember certain things. So she’s not so-”

“Murderous?” Diego hissed, a glare set upon his face. But he still got a smack on his arm from an equally angry looking Allison, who was giving him a rather annoyed look.

His idiotic siblings bickered back and forth for another 10 minutes before Hazel got the Hargreeves to shut up and listen to him, much like Five wanted to, but likely would’ve done so in a much blunter manner, as Hazel explained to them what he believed was happening, what likely caused it, and what might fix it. Fix her.

When a second round of bickering start between his siblings, Five hadn’t bothered paying attention to them this time, much more interested in keeping his brain cells, instead Five slipped out of the room, intending to casually wait near Allison and Vanya’s room. Just as he reached the very top steps, only two or three of them left, Five nearly crashed into the only person that could’ve possibly been in the top of the farmhouse. Vanya.

She, after also realizing she’d nearly run into him, jumped back a bit, an annoyingly familiar look of panic in her eyes. The same look she’d get forever ago; the scared, timid little girl with a desperate need for approval and acceptance seared into her every being. Desperately, and naively, hoping that her own siblings would acknowledge her, at least for one second.

But now, there was entirely different reason for her scared looks. And it wasn’t because of a fear of rejection.

It was because, she didn’t know them. She didn’t even know anything about herself beyond her own name, according to what Hazel told them in their little meeting.

No lonely childhood, filled with constant reminders of her supposed ‘ordinaryness’ or insults from her siblings. No traumatic week, full of betrayal, abandonment, pain and a murderous ex-boyfriend. Him abandoning her, accidentally of course, in the academy, with their father and uncaring, besides Ben and on occasion Klaus, siblings. No memories of rainy days spent in the library, nights sneaking out to Griddy’s, or the stolen moments in time together. Their life together. Nothing.

“Five?” Vanya, “Are you okay?”

For one of the few times in his life, Five stumbled over his words, struggling to keep his thoughts the slightest bit organized as he replied, “Um, ye-yeah. Do you-”

“Remember anything?” Vanya guessed, a half smile trying to hide away on her face before dropping into a sullen frown, “No. Not yet at least.”

Five gave her a small nod, making sure she knew he was listening to her, giving her even the smallest amount of his attention, before asking, “If you don’t remember anything, then how did you know my name?”

She lamely gave him a shrug, a move Vanya often did when she didn’t want to explain. But, when he gave her a questioning look, with an added light nudge to her shoulder, Vanya explained, “I don’t know, really. I just, saw you, I guess. And I just, knew.”

Instead of wondering why, when she’d seen him before, either times, that hadn’t triggered whatever part of her mind that now was letting her remember. Five instead asked her, “Where were you going?” which wouldn’t answer any of the questions he wanted to ask her. That he needed to ask her. He needed her.

“Oh, um, I was,” Vanya, much like Five had a few moments earlier, stumbled over her words as she explained, “I was just going to go get a glass of water.” And before his mind realized what his body was doing, Five jumped into the kitchen and filled a glass with water for her and reappeared in front of her.

It wasn’t until after he’d already used his powers another two times in front of her that he thought it might’ve freaked her out in the slightest bit. Five readied himself, closing his eyes, waiting for her to jump away from him, fearing him. Instead, small, warm fingers wrapped themselves around his wrist, the one not holding the glass of water. “Five?” The glass slid from his hands, into one of her’s, leaving his hand cold from the water but empty. “Thank you.”

He cracked his eyes open as he heard two feet scurrying away from him, the occasional wooden board creaking, followed by the bedroom door clicking shut. Five knew she’d just left him, figuratively slipping through the cracks of his fingers again. But, for once, it was her leaving him, rather than him always leaving her behind. Abandoning her, when she needed him most.

For a brief second, he thought he was back. Back there. Dirt sneaking into his lungs, smoke causing his eyes to water. Desperation filling every fiber of his being. Desperate to return to his family, to save them from their deaths. Desperate to escape the apocalypse. Desperate to survive. Desperate. Needing her more than ever.

More than he’d ever admit.

The door clicked again, the hinges squeaking a bit as Vanya pulled it open, her head poking out into the hallway. “Five?” she called his name and he was in front of her in an instant, ready to do whatever she wanted him to do, “Can you, lay, in the bed, with me? I’m scared.” He was already going to agree, knowing how nightmares would stave off any sleep she could get for days at a time; but when, in a whisper she added, “I don’t want to be alone.”

He could’ve easily jumped into the room, landing on or near the bed, even bringing Vanya with him. Instead, Five gently wrapped his hand around one of hers, walking into the room when she shuffled over, and lead Vanya with him to the bed. He crawled in first, moving to the farther side of the bed, giving Vanya the choice of joining him or fleeing. He’d understand either way.

Five was, however, extraordinarily happy when Vanya slid into the bed with him seconds after he’d settled in, sliding much closer to him than he’d expected. There were a few moments, as they laid in the bed together, silently, that they just watched each other. Five could see Vanya’s eyelids growing heavier by the second, her eyes sliding shut before snapping open again.

“Go to sleep Vanya, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Five told her.

Vanya looked at him through half-closed eyes, far too tired to keep them open a moment longer, giving him a very doe-eyed look, whispering, “Promise?”

“Promise.” Five answered.

He watched as Vanya snuggled into the covers, closer to him, closing her eyes with a soft smile on her face as she said, “Goodnight Five.”

“Goodnight Vanya.” Five replied, a light laugh escaping him, a soft smile making its way onto his face.

What he hadn’t expected was for Vanya to tell him, “I love you Five.” right before falling asleep. And it’s not like he’s going to wake her up just to ask Vanya what that meant.

Rather, Five just sighed, began carding one of his hands through her hair, whispering back, “I love you too Vanya.”

[ofmythsandmadness]

i need a favour - four.

PART FOUR - and so, the truth starts to come out (just a little). or, someone starts to realise that what she’s feeling is a little more than just nerves about this fake relationship - that she might be a bit more invested than she ever would have thought.

WORD COUNT - 2819. A/N -  This is a mess of a chapter, sorry folks. I’m not great at this. My gay ass is really just trying to make this work for y’all and truly, it shows. If you want to be added to the taglist, just ask and let me know. As well, if I missed you, just shoot a heads up.

SHE EAGERLY ACCEPTED THE CUP, only to hissing and hurry to place it down. However, she waved off Vanya’s immediate ‘I’m sorry’s’ with a sheepish grin. “It’s fine, I’m good. See?” She waved her slightly reddened fingers to prove her point - which the girl did not really buy, but at least seemed somewhat mollified.

After daring to test another sip - and regretting it immediately after - Y/N turned her attention back to the other woman, sitting across from her. They were around the same height, and yet every time Vanya always looked so much smaller, like a child in an adult’s body who’s too lost in this cruel world to properly function yet.

Far too apt for a vague thought, she bitterly rebutted herself.

“Sorry for stopping by like this,” she started, readjusting herself against the couch cushions. “I just wanted to pass on my well wishes and I saw the posters for the orchestra, figured I should pass on the good will in person.”

Vanya smiled softly. “It’s no problem. And thanks, yeah...yeah, the kids have been working hard.”

By the kids, she meant a small collection of junior students who she had begun to teach after the apocalypse situation. She still nursed a myriad of trauma around performing herself, but she had been encouraged (by both Y/N and her therapist, as well as her siblings when they were about) to not give up on something she loved. And so, she took up teaching again, but went about it with the hopes of creating a mini group of performers of her own. Y/N could tell it was not the same as performing herself, but at least it was something. As she worked on both herself and her strange abilities, it would be enough.

“I hope I can still crash the party? I don’t know much about classical music, but I have gotten quite good at pretending like I know more than I do. Diego’s nonsense helps with that.”

The other girl’s smile bloomed a little, at that. “Is he playing plus one to that, too?”

“Huh - oh, yeah, well...I don’t know,” she stuttered, stumbling over every word like it was from a whole new language. “Haven’t asked, but you know, no matter what the guy says he likes kids. Maybe he can uh, put...put the knives away for the night. Or something.”

“He doesn’t have to-”

“-no, of course he’d-”

“-it’s not his scene, and he’s a busy guy,” Vanya rushed, “you don’t have to feel bad. It was just a joke.”

Normally, Y/N would know that. In fact, she would be so quick to catch any joyful points in their conversations that she would overplay her reactions, laugh a bit too hard and like, slap her knee or something stupid like that. But that time, the reference had gone right over her head and then slapped her right in the back, enough to make her fall over and collapse. She was doing her best to get up and rebuild that hole in her wall again, but it was difficult and she could feel herself coming undone by every passing second.

As if sensing her panic - or maybe just seeing it as it was displayed on her face - Vanya moved forward and gently touched her hand. “I didn’t mean to start anything, or - or say something wrong.”

“Oh. No. NO, you did nothing wrong.”

“But-”

“-sorry, I just lost my train of thought and along with it went my brain, I guess.” Y/N was back to smiling, but it was fake as shit and both of them knew it. “What were we talking about?”

“Hey...is ev-what’s wrong, Y/N?”

She knew Vanya was only trying to be nice - and genuinely nice, as sign by her changing the bland ‘are you okay’ to a real question. She also knew that she had dug herself into a really, really deep hole and it was going to take a whole shit tonne of climbing to get out of it. And this time, she was not sure a smack on the lips was going to solve the issue.

“Would you believe me if I say I’m all good?” Y/N tried weakly, only to sign and slump into the couch when her head shook no. “Alright. Uh...you got anything stronger than coffee? This is a douzy.”

“I think I can handle it. Considering...everything.”

She laughed bitterly from between her friend’s couch cushions, then attempting to smother herself between them. It did not work, but it was nice to hide her face for a quick moment. “This might just be more surprising then everything else, Vannie...believe me.”

Vanya came back quickly with the glasses, and Y/N hesitated none to gulp the drink down regardless of the burn. After that, she struggled through the entire story, the ups and downs and even the stupid little anecdotes shared between her and Diego just to make it seem a bit funnier than it was - like it was just a fun game and not her love life being through around and about like nuts. But honestly recounting it back just made it sound even more dismal and humiliating and plain-out weirder. More than it already was to her.

Vanya was silent throughout it all, simply nodding along and letting her speak without pause. She supposed that was a good thing, she was grateful there was no need to stop - mostly because if she did, she might just never speak again.

Y/N finished it off with a sigh and a wry smile, raising her glass to her lips in an attempt to get the last drops out, sans manners and any grace. “That’s that,” she grumbled. “That’s...that’s that.”

And all Vanya said to that, was a quiet, monotone, rather emotionless, “oh.”

Y/N blinked, surprised. “Oh? That’s it?”

“Well - I don’t - I don’t know what to say.”

“Oh.”

“It’s just unexpected,” she offered up. When the only response was a quirk of her eyebrows, Vanya moved to explain. “I just thought...you two really had just gone for it. Like we had always teased you two about.”

Her cheeks bloomed with colour, forcing Y/N to duck her head and hide the flush. Not that it did much good, the splotchy red was much too eager to show her embarrassment then appease her. “No. ‘Fraid not. We’re just friends...who are now pretending to be sleeping with each other.”

“But why?”

She shrugged haplessly. “He wanted a break from everyone dogging him about being single, I guess...and I didn’t have anything better to do. I figure do ‘im a favour, he does one back, we’re even - except I didn’t really think it’d be this...big.” As in, she did not imagine kissing him. In front of his entire family, sans Five and their dear old dead daddy.

And also, actually fucking enjoying it.

“And technically, we’re not supposed to say a word to anyone, it’s on the list - but man, I just, I just need to talk to someone about this.” She gratefully accepted the second drink, swallowing it down in three hearty gulps. “I feel like I’m drowning.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be. I mean, I agreed to this, right? And it’s my fault for thinking this could be a walk in the park. I just thought...I don’t know what I thought. I guess I didn’t.”

Vanya smiled a little at that, and finally moved, walking around her coffee table to take a seat beside Y/N. She took the other’s hand in hers, squeezing ever so lightly. “It’ll be okay. It’s only a couple months, right?”

“I guess, but I feel like I’m already screwing it all up. I mean, it’s been like a week and a half? And I’ve already made a fool in front of everyone, and kissed him - and then blurted out the secret to someone! I mean, I might as well propose to him and then tell him our entire friendship is a lie, too!”

Despite herself, Vanya grinned, finding the humour in Y/N’s words, despite the panic on her face. She squeezed her hand a little tighter. “You’ll be okay.”

“How do you know that, though?”

“Because,” she replied slowly, “you told someone, but just one. And I’m not going to say a word to him. Okay?”

“Okay…”

“...and you didn’t make a fool out of yourself, really. You guys were cute. And everyone believed it, mostly because they’ve all secretly wanted you two to get together for years. I mean, since the moment they first heard your name leave Diego’s lips, Allison was making wedding invitations and Klaus was coming up with the worst moments to drop hints about you. I’m surprised you never caught them,” Vanya finished, lip curling a little at the memories.

Y/N knew enough about the siblings’ thoughts about her and Diego. It was unavoidable and for the most part she was fine with them conspiring. It was only when the mention of Diego came up, when one of them said something alluding to the fact that maybe he talked about her a little more than mere friends...that maybe there was a whole lot she did not know about.

Just as she was going to ask Vanya what she was referring to, the other girl cut her off. “And the kiss, like you said it was nothing. You had to do it, and it didn’t mean anything. So you’re still okay.”

And at that, she felt all the blood that had flooded her face drain right out, leaving her pale and panicked next to her close friend. And just like before, there was no hiding her expression or the plain out anxiety attack raging underneath her skin.

It did not take a wizard, to figure out what had caused it.

“Oh, Y/N-”

“-I don’t know, it just-”

“-Y/N...”

Y/N slumped back and covered her face with the cushion, groaning loudly into the fabric. “Shit.”

||

WHEN HE CAME BY THAT NIGHT, she was cold. 

Polite, and caring as always - but cold in her actions, in her few-word replies, in the way she shied away from any near-touch possibly laid upon her skin.

It was not intentional, at least not at the start. She was a mess most of the afternoon and early evening, but then as the sun fell and the hours crept away faster and faster, she felt herself close off. Even from herself. Like she had rebuilt that wall but it had been built too high and too close, so everything was left out of her heart. Not enough so it could not hurt, not so she could not feel waves of guilt every time she did something stand-offish - but enough to make it continue.

She knew he felt it too, but neither said a thing on it. For that, she was grateful. It was easier to move in silence then have to stop and think about the storm in her head. Mostly? Because if she did let her guard down maybe even a second, she might collapse entirely. And no one could have that.

“Here. Take these.”

His only response was a grunt and a nod, fingers barely brushing hers to take the small pills. She pushed back her worries and maintained the same blank expression, watching as he dry-swallowed the Advil. When he was done, she pushed off the coffee table.

“Need anything else?”

“No.”

“Okay. Shower, there’s some of your shit in the dryer now you can change into. Come in when you’re done.”

“I’ll just-”

“-you’re not goin’ anywhere,” she barked. For a moment, she softened, considering a sweeter tone and more reason than shouting orders. But quickly that idea shrivelled up. “It’s late. You need rest. You’re already here anyways.”

“I’m not-”

“-Diego, please.”

He finally left the couch. She heard him moving behind her, but dared not turn to look his way. Instead, her eyes remained train forward, frozen on the window he had come through Watching, tracing the frame, paralysed in replaying all the instances in which she had stood there before. 

“What did I do?”

Her eyes clenched shut, squeezing with all her might; gone was the window, replaced only by darkness. “Nothing. I’m just tired.” A slight pause, then: “sorry.”

“There’s more than that, isn’t there?” Slow, stumbling steps in the shallow dark walked her way. They remained a distance away - and yet she felt like he was right there. “I did something.”

“No.”

“Bullshit. You’re upset - at me.” There was bitter humour in his voice then. “I’ve known you too long to believe any of your lies.”

When Y/N opened her eyes again, they watered and struggled to even make out the shadows, finding the night still pressing into her skull. Digging its claws in, trying to wrench out all her fears and emotions and the shit she had buried deep deep deep within. Offer up her heart on a silver platter and leave her dead in the process.

She smiled ever so slightly. In the words of Cher fucking Horowitz, ‘as if’. No weepy confessions to be made that night.

Instead, she turned and made her lips turn up more, into a more believable grin. “I’m sorry. It’s been - it’s been a long week, feels like everything’s hitting me. I didn’t mean to take that out on you.”

“I-I know-”

“-it’s okay,” she murmured, voice hitching at his slight stutter. “It’s fine. Seriously, Diego, I just need to sleep this off. And uh, so do you.”

Diego sighed, hesitating as he thought over his words before pushing forward. “Why do you put up with me, do all this?”

“I’m not doing much.”

“You should be sleeping.”

“Sleep is overrated, you and I both know that.”

“Come on.”

“I’m being serious!”

“You’re exhausted, Y/N.”

She shrugged lightly. “Maybe. But I’d rather sacrifice an hour or two if - if it means I know you’re alright.”

Those words not the words that she had originally planned on saying. But they came out anyways, and hung heavily in the air, a wall of tension that left both sides unsure of what came next.

Before he could try and pry, ask about those softly spoken words, about the way her voice cracked a little at the end, she spoke. “I’m your girlfriend, Diego, can you blame me for caring about you getting home safe or not? I mean, I can’t have the love of my life dead in a fuckin’ alley somewhere.”

At that, she just smiled and turned, hurrying off to her room. She heard him speak, but it was too soft to pick up, and so she discarded it with the rest of the conversation. Just let herself sink into the blankets once more and shut her eyes, begging for sleep even when her brain was more awake than ever. Like she could sleep, after this. She never did.

Y/N listened instead as he moved around, shuffling into the bathroom and starting up the shower. He was brief, only a few moments before the water turned off and he was back to quietly rustling around. Soon enough, maybe ten minutes or so and he was in the doorway of her bedroom.

She shut her eyes and pretended to be already asleep, just as she always did. Let him feel safe within the darkness, moving to the other side and slipping under the covers. He laid still and at the edge, as always, still as anything so as not to overstep any boundaries. Sometimes, she smiled at that - other times, she longed for him to roll over and move close to her, put his arms around her and-

-with a start, Y/N realised that the silence had been broken by him. He had sighed, followed by a soft sniffle. She dared not move even a muscle, frozen against her pillow as Diego groaned once more and adjusted his pillow. 

And just when she thought it was over, he spoke. Just three words, soft as a breath. If it were not for the heavy silence, she would not have caught it, but he might as well had shouted it in that instant.

“You fucking idiot.”

Y/N dared to breathe, soft and slow, attempting to play asleep. But even if she wasn’t pulling it off, she was not sure if he even heard, so wrapped up in his own thoughts. 

Not for the first time, she longed to roll over and touch him, reassure him she was there with him. Ask what was on his mind, and if their thoughts paralleled in any way or form. But like always, they remained on opposite ends, too eager to maintain a friendship to overstep. She remained still and staring out into the darkness, listening to her exhales matching with his own shallow breaths.

Neither of them would sleep much, that night.

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