#there might be seven (or even eight) here soon because i love to torture myself with multiple wips

[coffeeaddictandinsomniac]

me, wanting to write one (1) fic for nanowrimo

my brain, having other ideas: "how about several?"

my tabs:

[image description: too many google docs tabs (there are six)]

[thedelusionreaderbitch]

Kaz Brekker x fem! Reader - The Saints Of Freedom

(Gif not mine)

A/n: So this just came up into my head... There's going to be so much Shadow and bone content I'm just saying in advance - I'm so sorry! Also Matthias is alive!

Warnings: Sexual abuse, abuse, harassment, angst, fluff, terrible men, death, blood, language I think that's it? You have been warned!

Summary: Some man from the Crow Club wants a good time with you

I take a sip of my water, sighing. Inej and Kaz are in the corner talking to each other, like they never broke up. Wylan and Jesper are in a couple seats over from me joking with each other like their lives depend on it. And Nina and Matthias are in a both in back, Nina trying to get Matthias to kiss her while he's trying to be decent. Apparently.

Why did I have to fall for the Bastard of the Barrel?

I shift around on my bar stool a bit so I can listen in on a conversation.

"Let's play a round of strip poker boys!" I flinch, nope not happening.

I guess I never really fell in love with Kaz, I drowned for him. Him and all his terrible ways and his broken mindset, I drown in that. I yearn for that death in an ocean of Kaz Brekker. Wanting that kills me, slowly although.

"James! Go get some Chicks!" I stiffen up and start to get out of my seat. I gracefully like a snake avoid anyone in the crowd slipping into the darkness acting as just another man looking for it's prey.

That way you go unnoticed.

A hand grabs me and forcefully drags me away from the entrance. Damn it, I was so close. I am harshly turned towards the person who dragged me away from my freedom. A shiver runs up my spine as a man with yellow teeth grins down on me. His left hand goes up and down my arm, while his right has a bruising grip on me.

"Your gonna come play some poker with us aren't you little- Umm let me think." The man pretends to think for a second

"Ah! Your a fawn!"

I freeze.

That's what my father called me when he use to rap-

Don't think about that you need to try and make up a plan to get out of here!

I realize that I'm dragged all the way to the back where a table is, too late.

"Come on girly, we want some." The monster says.

"Now." He growls.

I shake my head trying to get the thoughts out of my head from my home life. I can't kill them because their good pigeons to the Crow Club. But I can injury them if necessary.

"Your not even going to tell your name?" I look up to the man who dragged me over here, knowing that he's going to get me and will be the only one to get me. He got his prey now the others get to watch.

"It's James pretty girl, and take your pants and panties off now, if I win you'll get to keep em." The men around the table chuckle in delight knowing what will happen - he will try to loose.

"And if you don't?" I cheer myself on internally for not loosing it and keeping my voice strong. Stall, it's the best thing you get do.

"We really start playing poker than."

Lies. I hiss in my head, once my pussy is out he will do what ever he wants with me.

I place a hand on his arm, stall Y/n, stall.

"When does the game end?" I lean in and whisper into his ear like I'm trying to seduce him. Bile rise's up from my throat but I shallow it back down but then I realize it makes me seem like I'm nervous. Shit. He seems to have picked up on that though and he likes it. It means he has control.

His hand goes to my thigh.

"As long as I want." He pulls me onto to him and I struggle out of his grip. Five other men come and hold me down on the table. I attempt to wrestle them all and I almost get out, but two other monsters come up and hold me down.

"Let's give them a show boys!"

Tears gather up in my eyes.

"Monsters." I hiss at the men. One with blond hair punches my arm with the bed of his fist and a small scream is with drawled from my throat as I hear it... Crack! Fuck, it's definitely broken.

"You can't break a girl that's already been broken, you'll only get cut." I rasp my voice quiet but very, very angry.

"You litt-" He gets cut off from the other man who brought me to this torture.

"Gather round! People, gather round! Let's see what we can do to this pretty little fawn here?" The man - James says as he places a hand on my stomach. Mostly horrid men gather around the table but the odd woman is here too, probably the dumb ones. As soon as the predator got it's prey you run.

So your not it's next meal.

Struggling to try and get out of the men's grip on me, but it's hopeless. They have two on each limb of my body holding me down.

"Come on little fawn, it's time to play." The man whispers into my ear.

Memories flood into my sense's of my father. Doing terrible, terrible things to me. Marking me. Tainting me, as I learned not to scream anymore so mother wouldn't beat the crap out of me because if he couldn't get me - he got her.

The barbaric beast crawls onto me surely leaving bruise's and his hand goes to lift up my shirt and-

BANG! He's on the floor bloodied from where something hit his face. Hard.

The other men don't try and stop whoever hit the other vile man to the floor. I almost don't open my eyes to see who might be my savoir in fear that they just might want some.

I open my eyes.

Kaz! I think and I nearly sigh in relief.

"Let her go." Kaz says dangerously low and calm and the men practically drop me on the table.

Kaz's cane is still on the table as I sit up. Hi cane is pointed towards the men in question and at this point the other man starts to get up. Kaz nods to Jesper and Inej and she smiles a bit, always a pleasure to hurt some nasty men. Matthias seems to be guarding to doorway so now one can get out and Nina seems to go help Inej and Jesper as Wylan goes help Matthias with the door. Demo at the entrance, nice.

Kaz holds out a gloved hand, I take it and stand up next to him and at the angle we're at I'm pressed up against him.

"Come on little fawn." My father opens the door to my room slowly with a sadistic smile on his face.

"But fath-"

He lifts me up by hair and the cry of pain that would come from a normal child did not come, for they had not been train to be solider at seven.

"We don't call me that when it's play time. You know that." He growls as his hands start pulling off my shirt.

"Yes master." He takes my shirt off and h-

"Y/n." I voice says and I open my eyes and they lock onto some dark brown eyes. "Would you like to do the honours?" A voice rasps. I realize that Kaz is referring to the seven men lined up, held up my Nina, Inej, and Jesper and with some help from Wylan who has a grenade out to scare them.

I feel myself fade away like a I'm ghost.

Come on Y/n, be a good little fawn.

No. I think and push the memories back.

I go to the first three and I simply cut their throats with my double sided daggers. A man laughs and I swiftly turn. I then stab one in the stomach, the one who laughed while I killed the others. He howls in pain, I then simply kill him and the others till it's just the last one left. The monster. The one who dragged me away like a sack of kruge. Like I was a prize for him.

A ballistic smile creeps up on his face like he was paper and someone was drawing my nightmares.

It's my brother.

My brother who has the same smile as my dad, the brother who made fun of me at school, the brother who helped mom and beat me on his own accords as well. The brother who toke after our father in every way.

"You won't kill me." James smiles.

"You won't kill me." My brother says as I pull out a knife with serpent around it's handle.

"You still love me, I'm your brother." I drop the knife and he see's it as his chance and strikes.

The knives shake in my hands but I put them away.

"See." He chuckles like he knew what would happen. Imbecile.

"Your doing it wrong." Kaz limps up to me, the familiar pace of his cane hitting the floor. "You need to have a reason."

"I thought you didn't need one?" I sigh in disappointment of doing it the wrong way. Again. Kaz stares at me for a couple of seconds then shakes his head slightly like he's trying to clear his mind.

"No. You need a reason behind why we're here."

My brows frown in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Limping closer to me he places a hand on my shoulder.

"Why are you here?"

He walks back a bit giving me space to do my work. I suck in a deep breath, why am I here?

I release my weapon, an extension of myself and it doesn't hit the traget.

A man hits the ground with a thud, the man who tried to get a night with me yesterday is dead right on the ground. The blade embedded inside his chest and the snake sticking out.

Checkmate.

Kaz flash's me a smile but I barley catch it and it's gone in a blink.

"Good, not what do you want to be called?"

"Serpent." I whisper as I look up into his eyes.

"The Serpent."

I take out my knife with a snake around it's hilt always looking like it's moving and ready to strike.

Why are you here.

I close my eyes and it's done in a flash.

His ankles and hands are severed off and they drop to the floor like their separate bodies.

I lean in and whisper into his ear.

"The Serpent as struck and it seems." I grin a little.

"She has not granted you the mercy of death."

I lean in closer so only he can hear as he howls out in pain.

"Eight years." I breath. I come back up and turn swiftly out of the Crow Club shoving past Matthias who looks to be horrified but I don't know beause he did survive hellgate.

I stumble into an alleyway and I grip onto the brick wall.

The wolf is no more.

Streaming down my face tears flood my vision as I weep for all the pain, for all the years of torture finally the last one of them is dead.

Thump. Thump.

I hear the rhythmic of the crow cane but it seems to stop.

I lift my head up.

Kaz.

"Breath Y/n." I gasp in a breath and I stumble forward into his arms. I tense up and-

"Come on sister time to be a..."

"I'm not him." He whispers and it pulls me back into reality like an anchor.

He goes to try and touch my face but he stops midway and takes his gloves off. He touches his ungloved hand to my face and I can feel myself losing him to the past.

Think, Y/n! Think! He helped you, he saved you from everything! From your retched family, from the men today! He made it so you could defend yourself! He-

"Sankta Kaz." I blurt.

His eyes snap open and goes to back away.

"No, no, no! You can't possibly think of me as a saint!"

Normally I would be discomposed and would already be running out from embarrassment but a weird calmness wash's over me and a strange sort of serenity makes me want to go swimming.

"You may not be a saint to them." I point out behind him even though there's no people.

"But to me..." I pause trying to find the right words.

"You are my savoir. You saved me from my family." I walk up to him. "You killed my father and mother." I keep on walking closer. "You saved me from myself, you saved me today, and..." I trail off realizing how close we are.

I look into those dark eyes and I barely breath out,

"You gave me freedom."

I hesitantly warp my arms around him and he stiffens up but he relax's in my embrace. Our face's get closer and closer then-

"Why are you here?" It's the question he asked when I first learned how to throw a knife: What do you want?

"I am here because..." I trail off trying to find the words.

"I am here because of the kids." A new found confidence builds up in my chest.

"I am here to help the children safe from their abusive homes. I will help the children of Ketterdam." A fire of passion ignites in me making me bold.

"Will you help me?" The words hang in the air and Kaz looks into my eyes with a calculating gaze.

"I run a gang Y/n." I go to look away my face burning with embarrassment.

"But..." He takes my face into his hands.

"This Bastard can do both I guess." I grin in happiness and our faces finally get closer and we kiss.

Lightning crash's through me but I think of Kaz and our friends. Our lips shift together and I realize now that...

I'm drowning.

I'm drowning in Kaz, I'm absolutely deep into the ocean, falling but never rising. I just keep on going deeper and deeper till I pull away.

We pull away and I feel like a wave just crashed into me Kaz smiled and I whisper;

"Sankta Kaz."

Sankta Kaz the saint of greed. Sankta Y/n the saint of suffering. Together they are the saints of freedom.

Words 2383

-thedelusionreaderbitch

All rights go to Leigh Bardugo, Netflix and you! I just own the plot!

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: you are a mermaid and you save a handsome man from drowning but little do you know it’s not his first rodeo when dealing with mermaids. seonghwa, a former prince, is currently hongjoong’s first mate and boyfriend. hongjoong is the captain, the pirate king of the most savage crew across the seas. and you want nothing to do with them. not because they’re pirates, but because they’re humans…

ship: mermaid!reader x prince/pirate!seonghwa x pirate!hongjoong

genre: little mermaid!au, pirate!au, angst, fantasy, romance

author’s note: demon!jongho x wizard!yunho let’s get ittttt

warnings: some swearing, mentions of demonic activity & torture, hell references (idk, just in case someone’s uncomfy with that), mentions of drowning, kissing

word count: 3.3k

chapter one ☠️ chapter two ☠️ chapter three ☠️ chapter four ☠️ chapter five ☠️chapter six ☠️ chapter seven ☠️ chapter eight ☠️ chapter nine ☠️ chapter ten ☠️ chapter eleven ☠️ chapter thirteen ☠️ spotify playlist

Jongho’s POV

"It appears your time is up," I smirked triumphantly the minute I snatched Hongjoong away from his ship. Humans were so foolish it would almost be amusing if a tiny part of me didn't feel bad for them. Key word: tiny. 

Collecting human souls and becoming more powerful was a far more pleasant activity than whatever sense of guilt had briefly visited me. As I was saying, humans: 0. Me: 8524. Or was it 8525 already? I began losing count of how many souls I'd acquired throughout my immortal life. 

And it's not like I wasn't a benevolent demon. I had warned Hongjoong what would happen if he achieved true happiness. It wasn’t my fault he found joy so quickly. It wasn't my fault he couldn't find a way to be miserable in order to prolong his life on earth. Or should I have said life at sea? Damn pirates and their weird habits.

"Please, I need more time," Hongjoong begged wretchedly.

"If I had a soul for every time I heard that line. Actually, nevermind. I do have a soul for every time I heard that," I shrugged smugly.

"So what's one more week to you? You can't die, right?" he bargained relentlessly.

"Fair point, but a deal is a deal. Any last words?"

"I just want to say goodbye to my friends. My soul will be yours for eternity, so what's the rush?" Hongjoong kept talking. 

Ah, humans and their never-dying hope. If it wasn't so pathetic, it would have been admirable.

"Hm, let me think...No," I rejected his plea without even bothering to consider it. 

And just as I was about to put an end to his mortal existence and absorb his soul, I felt a surge of faintly familiar power calling me. No, summoning me. Oh, what the hell?

🔮🔮🔮

Yunho's POV

"Hello, demon," I greeted Jongho reluctantly.

"What do you want, wizard?" he scoffed. "And why have you trapped me in this ridiculous circle?"

"I have my reasons," I responded vaguely. "Care to explain what you've been intending to do with that pirate's soul?"

"It's none of your business," Jongho rolled his eyes.

"I suggest you tell me unless you want to stay here forever."

Jongho laughed maniacally. Ever the narcissistic prick.

"You think this can hold me down?" he moved towards me swiftly, as if intending to break away from my spell. 

Once he realized there was an invisible wall preventing him from escaping, he eyed me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Now, I'm intrigued. How did you become so capable?"

"Answer my question first and then I'll decide whether to tell you," I suggested, fully aware of the fact I had the high ground in this situation. 

Maybe not forever like I'd threatened, but it would certainly be long enough to make Jongho speak.

"Very well. I was intending to devour his soul. I don't seem to have enough pirates in my collection. Too many corrupt politicians, which is kinda gross, don't you think?"

"When will you put this obsession of yours to an end? Aren't you already powerful enough down there?"

"Obviously not powerful enough since you've managed to entrap me."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"I can't let you take Hongjoong's soul."

"Why?"

"Like you said before, it's none of your business," I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Humour me, wizard. What's so special about this pirate?"

"Alright. To put it simply, I've invested too much of my energy and magic to his loved ones' well-being. If he is taken away from them, all my efforts will have been in vain. It would be a waste."

😈😈😈

Jongho's POV

"Who are they? His loved ones?" I asked despite myself. 

Even though I was furious at Yunho for summoning and tricking me into this circle, my inquisitiveness was growing by the minute. Wizards usually didn't meddle in demons' affairs. But for some reason, I kept running into Yunho every now and then. And though he was a bit annoying, he certainly wasn't boring. So, I kept playing along.

"A mermaid and a former prince. Satisfy your curiosity?" Yunho replied without giving too many details. Okay, I'll bite.

"Juicy," I murmured. "And what exactly did you invest in them?"

"Let's just say I have helped them transform in ways previously thought impossible."

"Aw, come on, you've got to give me more than that," I insisted.

"Maybe I will. But first, you're gonna have to promise me you won't take the pirate's soul."

"And what's in it for me?" I pouted. "You know I don't do things for free."

"Bloody demons," Yunho muttered under his breath. "I'll give you something that will make you as powerful as you want."

"As powerful as the devil himself?" I blinked incredulously.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" 

"A wizard's soul," No. He couldn't... "Mine, to be specific."

Idiot. Beautiful, impossible idiot.

"You dare compare yourself to the devil?" I cackled.

I didn't understand it myself but a part of me was actively trying to talk him out of it.

"Not right now. But in a few years, I'll be even stronger. With my powers in your collection, you'll be invincible."

"You're willing to give up your soul and yet you don't even know that pirate?"

"I don't need to," Yunho waved me off.

"And if you trick me? If you don't become powerful as you suggest you will?" 

I kept trying to change his mind. It was insane. He was presenting me with an unbelievably good possibility and I was attempting to dissuade him. What was wrong with me?

"Well, then, you'll have eternity to torture my soul."

"Hm. Tempting, I admit."

🔮🔮🔮

Yunho's POV

"Then, just agree to it, Jongho," I pleaded.

"You must be really desperate to call me by my name," the demon observed correctly. Damn, how I hated that he was right.

"Don't pretend you haven't made up your mind already. No other wizard would ever offer you something like that," I couldn't take no for an answer.

"So what makes you so different from other wizards?"

"I don't know. But the fact remains. You can't reject me. You're far too greedy to let go of your ambitions now."

"This is your last warning, Yunho. If I give up the pirate's soul and take yours instead, you will regret it. Human souls wither in time and their miseries become less painful. A soul like yours? It could last till eternity and beyond. And every second in hell will be agony. It will destroy you little by little. And even when you might think there is nothing left, it will still persevere against all odds. I wouldn't wish such a fate on anyone."

"Aw, are you worried for me, demon?" I teased him. "You don't think I can handle it?"

"Shut up and get me out of this obnoxious circle."

"I take it we have a deal, then?" I said confidently.

"Regrettably so."

"You'll let Hongjoong go?" I needed a confirmation.

"Haven't I made it obvious? What could I possibly do with him when I'll have you in a couple of years?"

"You didn't strike me as the patient type," I laughed, while undoing the spell trapping him.

"I can be patient for the right reason, wizard."

"The right reason being my immortal soul?" I joked, even though every cell of my being was telling me to run, even though I was already beginning to regret my impulsive decision. My love for humans would be my downfall...

"Can there be any other reason?" Jongho, now free, traced his finger across my jaw. "Hell, I can't wait to devour you."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

☠️☠️☠️

Hongjoong's POV

That damn demon just disappeared?! I had no idea what was happening but before I could waste any more time wondering, I decided to take advantage of the situation and try to escape from wherever his lair was. However, it was too dark to see anything and no matter how much I ran, I couldn't find a way out. I was beginning to panic, thinking about the demon's potential return when I felt a pair of strong arms pulling me. Not given the chance to protest, I could only determine that I was suddenly being taken away. Soon enough, I was greeted by a familiar sight that reminded me of the happiest memories of my life. I was back on the ship! I couldn't believe my luck and whoever my mysterious saviour was, I knew that I owed them everything. Letting go of me, I attempted to discern their features but in vain. The pitch-black night surrounded us from all sides.

"Who are you?"

"A friend. That's all you need to know for now."

"How can I repay you for what you did for me?" 

"You can't," the stranger replied sadly, obviously leaving something out. I was too terrified to ask what they meant by that. So, I asked something else, instead.

"Will I see you again?"

"At sunrise. I need to talk to all three of you at once."

"All three of us?" 

But before I could inquire what exactly my saviour was suggesting, they disappeared. Were they referring to Seonghwa, Y/N and myself? I groaned quietly and figured I'd just have to be patient and wait until the morning. Until then, I couldn't do much but see Seonghwa again (since I assumed Y/N was back in the sea during the night). I wasn't sure whether (and if so, when) the demon would return for my soul, so I hurried to our room. Imagine my distress when I didn't find Seonghwa there. Running a hand through my hair, I hurried to check my other crewmates' rooms. There was no trace of any of them. If something had happened to them while I was at the demon's lair...I would never be able to forgive myself. Even if I didn't have much time left, I was determined to spend every second of it looking for my friends. Eventually, I decided that checking Mingi's cell was the only solution. If he was still there, he might know something about my crew's disappearance. If he wasn't...then, I would have no idea where to go next.

"Mingi?" I yelled but in vain. His cell was empty. Fuck. Was this some wicked game? Had the demon taken all of them just to mess with me? Where was everyone? I couldn't think of anything but...No, this was too dangerous. But it's not like I had something to lose, right? I had already sold my soul. So, I abandoned my ship and jumped into the sea.

"Y/N! Y/N!" I started screaming while swimming further away from the ship. She probably wouldn't be able to hear me. But I was desperate, okay? And besides, what other choice did I have? To my utter disbelief, she appeared on the surface soon after I began looking for her. An involuntary sigh of relief left my mouth. But then, it hit me. It was a full moon. Which made Y/N more like a siren. Oh, fuck it. If I was about to go to hell, I might as well be drowned by her instead of have my soul absorbed by that demon.

"Hongjoong!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I lied and swam towards her, completely disregarding the potential danger. "Where did everyone go?"

"They went looking for you, of course!" Y/N explained. "And I had to return here, because of...well, you know why."

I smiled nervously.

"And Mingi?"

"Yeosang let him go," she said.

"Yeosang?" I was shocked.

"I don't know, he said they would need more hands or something," Y/N chuckled at the cruel irony of it. "Yeo's been visiting him. He said Mingi's...different. Kinder."

"Why do I have difficulties believing that?"

"Everyone can change, I guess," she shrugged. Wait, when had she gotten so close?  Almost too close...

"Y/N..." I whispered her name in warning, but she didn't seem to hear me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, I felt unable to move. Completely transfixed by her, a small fraction of my brain was terrified of the fact I didn't feel terrified, at all.

"I missed you," she responded with a song-like voice. "Come with me."

"Okay," my mouth agreed even though my mind was still struggling to accept this. Then, she pulled me under. This was it, then? Surrounded by the endless water, her lips touched mine, giving me a breath of air. A couple of moments later, I realized something unexpecting. She wasn't trying to drown me. She was trying to save me. Her siren nature had made her take me beneath the surface. But her human nature was the one providing me with oxygen. After what felt like centuries of kissing, I felt Y/N letting go of me and pushing me upwards. What had just happened?

🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️

Reader's POV

Finally! Oh, how much you'd missed the sweet sunrise! You swam towards the ship. Memories of what had taken place mere hours ago flooded you. You wondered if Hongjoong would be angry with you. You had to explain everything to him and it couldn't wait any longer. You hoped he'd understand...And that he had made his way back home safely.

"Hongjoong!" you cried out, overwhelmed by guilt. He appeared soon enough, looking absolutely wrecked, like he hadn't slept at all. Knowing him, that was probably the case. You climbed up the ladder and the first thing you did was hug him. You were surprised he didn't flinch away. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know you didn't," he replied calmly.

"I thought I could control her. I didn't think she'd try to drown you. I tried my best to stop her but..." you were rambling before you could realize what he was saying.

"I know, sweetheart, I know."

"Wait...what?" you looked up at him in confusion.

"If you hadn't kissed me, I would have drowned. I could feel you struggling against your siren nature."

"So, you forgive me?" you mumbled nervously.

"There's nothing to forgive," Hongjoong unconsciously repeated your words.

You smiled at him gratefully and then, it hit you.

"Hold on, if you're not mad at me, why do you look so miserable?"

"Seonghwa and the crew still haven't returned. After our nocturnal encounter, I thought it sensible to come back to the ship and wait until dawn. I have no idea where to start looking for them."

"Oh, shit, I was so focused on fighting against my siren self that I forgot to tell you," you mentally slapped yourself. "They took the boats and said if they don't find you, they'll come back to the ship in the morning."

"So, why aren't they here yet?" Hongjoong asked anxiously.

"Aren't they?" you grinned and pointed towards the horizon, where a couple of boats were approaching the ship.

☠️☠️☠️

Seonghwa's POV

"Oh my God," I whispered as soon as I saw Hongjoong on the ship. Safe and sound. I ran towards him and enveloped him in a suffocating hug. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"Relax, Hwa, I'll tell you everything I know," he promised.

"You better! We resorted to letting Mingi go in order to search for you!" I hissed.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Mingi complained.

"Yeosang kept saying some nonsense about how he was a changed man or whatever," I kept going.

"Still right here," Mingi announced awkwardly.

"As you might have guessed," Hongjoong interrupted us, completely unbothered by Mingi's freedom. I assumed Y/N had told him already. "I was taken by a demon."

"We figured," Yeosang confirmed.

"I told them about your stupid deal," I groaned.

"Hey, it's not stupid, Yeosang's still alive, isn't he?" Hongjoong argued.

"It is stupid. It's not like I would have killed my favourite pirate in the universe," Mingi intervened.

Yeosang had the audacity to wink at Mingi!

"Shut up, Mingi," Hongjoong said and continued telling us of his adventures. "Now, where was I? So, the demon told me he'd take my soul and like, I tried to talk my way out of it but before I could achieve anything, he disappeared. Naturally, I tried to escape from wherever I was but it was so dark I couldn't see a thing. Eventually, I was saved by some stranger who teleported me back to the ship. My saviour said we'll meet again at sunrise. That's when they vanished, as well, and I noticed you all weren't on the ship. I checked Mingi's cell and of course, it was empty. So, I decided to wait until the morning."

Hongjoong and Y/N exchanged a strange look that led me to believe that wasn't the whole story. I made a mental note to ask them in private what that was all about. But until then, we had more pressing matters to discuss.

"So, the demon just let you go? This doesn't make any sense," I pointed out suspiciously.

"I don't know why or how but I'm grateful I get to spend more time with you. All of you," Hongjoong clarified. "Even Mingi, for fuck's sake."

Mingi chuckled cutely at being acknowledged like that.

"You think the demon will come back for you?" I inquired.

"No idea, but let's hope not," Hongjoong said.

🔮🔮🔮

Yunho's POV

As I was a man of my word, I teleported myself back to Hongjoong's ship at sunrise. And apparently, my timing was particularly appropriate, because the crew had gathered around Hongjoong and he was obviously telling them of his recent experiences. Making myself invisible on purpose, I appeared in the most dramatic fashion, taking them by surprise.

"Holy shit!" Seonghwa yelped in shock but soon enough, remembering how I'd helped him, visibly relaxed. "Yunho!"

"It's the wizard of the lighthouse!" Y/N exclaimed gleefully.

"Hello again," I greeted them.

"Wait, I know that voice!" Hongjoong announced. "You're the guy who saved me last night!"

"In the flesh," I confirmed, a little too smugly.

"You said you need to talk to the three of us," Hongjoong repeated my words. "Did you mean Seonghwa, Y/N and me?"

"Aren't you a clever pirate?" I patted his shoulder proudly. "No offense but I'd like to keep our conversation private. For now."

"None taken," another one of the pirates shrugged.

Hongjoong led me, Seonghwa and Y/N to a room where I assumed we'd be able to have some privacy. As I informed them of the deal I'd made with Jongho, their faces lit up with a mixture of relief and terror. Relief, I imagined, because they were happy Hongjoong would stay with them. Terror, I figured, because humans and mermaids alike, were quite compassionate by nature, and they probably felt bad for me.

"I don't understand..." Hongjoong spoke quietly. "You don't even know me and you would give up your soul for me?"

"Funny, that's exactly what the demon said," I shook my head. "The truth is, I'm too invested in the three of you already to watch him break you apart. First, with transforming Seonghwa's face so that he can have a new life away from his parents. Then, with fulfilling Y/N's wish to have legs during the day so that she can be with you two. Now, this...I can't explain it myself, but seeing the three of you happy, I feel like it's worth the risk. If Hongjoong was taken away from Seonghwa and Y/N, all of the good magic I've done would go to waste."

They looked at me with so much gratitude and worry I couldn't bear it and told them something I probably shouldn't have.

"Don't worry about my soul. I have a plan that demon will never see coming."

"Do you need our help?" Y/N asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but if I do, I'll come to you."

"Please, do. We owe you big time," Seonghwa responded.

"Don't mention it," I waved him off. "But until then, enjoy your lives."

To be continued…

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

Fallout of the century 🌑💔

Part 3 🥜

Read part 1 & part 2 here 😌

🌼🌸Masterlist🌼🌸

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: angst, car accident, moving on

The ride to the airport was quiet. I wasn't sure how Harrison managed to get tickets so soon, but I didn't question it. We made it through security and were almost ready to board when my phone rang. I looked down to see Sam's name across the screen, I answered it almost instantly, an uneasy feeling washing over me.

“Sam?” I asked.

“You need to get to the Hospital Y/N,” he was crying. I felt my head get light as a million thoughts ran through my head. I didn't say anything, I just turned and ran until I got outside. Leaving my bags and Harrison in my dust. I called a cab and went straight to the hospital. I ran in through the big revolving doors and found Tom and Sam sitting in an empty waiting room. As soon as they saw me they both wrapped their arms around me tight. It was bad, but I wasn't sure how bad.

“Where?” I asked, my voice not seeming to work.

“Surgery,” Tom sniffled, while urging me to sit. I sat down and they explained what had happened. A car had hit him in a crosswalk, while he was looking down at his phone. Guilt washed over me and consumed me. I probably cried for an hour straight, although it felt like a century. I couldn't seem to catch a breath. At some point Tuwaine and Harrison both showed up, but I didn't pay them no mind, I was to busy being consumed by my worst fears. 

Surgery took almost eight hours. Eight hours with no update. Eight hours thinking that Harry was gone. Eight hours of agonizing guilt and torture in my mind.

“Holland family?” a man's voice called from behind us, Tom, Sam, and I ran over to hear the news that the doctor had. “All of you are family?” the doctor pondered.

“Twin, older brother, fiance” Sam told him.

“OK, well we were able to get the bleeding under control, unfortunately I can't promise he will wake up, but if he does, his injuries won't prevent him from living anything less than a normal life,” It was a mixture of good and bad news, but he was alive, ad that was enough of a bright side for me.

“Can we see him?” I asked.

The doctor brought us to a recovery room where Harry was laying, lifeless looking on the bed. I felt tears rush back to my eyes and I was sure I could not breathe. I walked over to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand, I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Don't you dare leave me,” I whispered, tears escaping my eyes.

The waiting game was the worst. Sam and I sat in the room for hours holding Harry's hands, waiting for a flicker of life to become present. Tom had left to go get their parents from the airport.

“You guys need to put this behind you,” Sam said quietly. I looked up to see him looking at me with sad eyes. He was right, this game of cat and mouse had to come to an end.

“I know, I’m done with this whole run around.” I told him. “I want to be with him, I want to marry him, and grow old with him. If that means forgiving and forgetting, then that's what I'll do,” I said between sniffles.

“You still want to marry me?” His voice was hoarse and sounded dry, but it was his. Both Sam and I shot our gazes to Harry's now open eyes. He was staring at me, with his dopey smirk.

“You're awake,” I cried, getting up from the chair and leaning down to hug him. I lifted my head from his shoulder and found his lips, kissing him softly before backing up to let Sam give his brother a hug.

“This whole time, all i had to do was get hit by a car?” He asked in a joking manner. Both Sam and I laughed.

“Shut up you idiot,” Sam laughed. “I'm going to go get the doctor, so he can come check you, or whatever they do,” He told us before leaving the room.

“Hey,” Harry whispered. I sat on the edge of the bed pulling his hand in between mine and listening to him. “I'm sorry about everything. I only slept with her that one time. I was just trying to hurt you,” He paused and moved his fingers so they were intertwined with mine. “Give me another chance, and I'll never hurt you again,” His words were sincere and filled with love.

“Okay,” I whispered. Leaning down and kissing him once more. “Your parents should be here soon,” I told him.

“Oh boy,” He groaned.

The next few days were spent in the hospital, so I refused to leave Harry's side. Luckily nothing had been broken so other than a scar from surgery and some minor cuts and bruises he was walking away from a run in with a car practically unscathed.

I got a text from Harrison as I was packing all the Get well cards and animals into a hospital tote bag.

‘Hey just wanted to see how you were doing, I heard he's going home today. That's great! Hopefully we can talk soon. Just to clear the air?’

I didn't respond right away. I wasn't exactly sure what to say. Sorry I led you on? Sorry I left you at the airport? Sorry I had you take care of me for the last seven months while I was broken and damaged? I didn't know.

“Are you coming home?” Harry asked me as I finished packing all the stuff.

“To help you, or for good?” I asked him, not turning around.

“Either?” He wondered.

“I don't want to go back to that apartment, Harry. I can't.” I sighed. I turned to face him, and he had a smile on his face. “What?” I was confused as to why he was smiling at me when i had just told him i wasn't coming home.

“Let's get a different place,” he told me, stepping forward and taking my hands in his. “Let's just start over,”

“What about right now?” I asked him.

“Your place?” he proposed.

“I guess for a few days that would work, but for the love of god. Do not start fighting with Harrison. Please?” I begged. He rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek.

“I have no hard feelings for him going after a prize like you,” he told me, making me roll my eyes.

“Let's go,” I laughed. We walked out of the room and out of the hospital where Sam and Tom were waiting with the car. Luckily neither of us had anything here so there wasn't much to pack back.

“Home?” Sam asked as we climbed into the back seat.

“Only so I can run up and get some clothes,” Harry said, making both of the other Hollands turn around to look at him questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders, “She doesn't want to be back at the apartment, I'm not going to make her go.”

“So does that mean-?” Tom started to ask but Harry interrupted him before he could finish.

“You'll know when I do,” He told Tom. and with that we drove to my old apartment, somewhere I hadn't been in seven months. Tom and Harry got out and went to go get a few of Harry's things, while me and Sam stayed in the car.

“So what's going to happen? Are you guys going to start dating again, or are you going to reschedule the wedding?” Sam wondered.

“I'm not sure. All I know is I want him in my life. So I guess we take it one day at a time,” I told him as I stared out the window.

“And Harrison?” Sam asked the question I was dreading.

“I love Harrison, he's my best friend, and he stepped up and took care of me when I couldn't even take care of myself. And maybe in a different life we would have ended up together, but I can't see a future with him the way I can with Harry. Even after everything we have been through, it's still Harry I see at the end of the line,” 

I sat on the floor of my bedroom folding the clothes Harry had shoved into his bag. He never was one to fold his laundry so I wasn't even surprised when I opened the bag to find clothes just crumpled in. “You don't need to do that,” He laughed from where I had made him lay on my bed.

“It'll drive me nuts if I just let your unfolded clothes get all wrinkly in this bag,” I told him as I continued folding his shirts. I grabbed a pair of pants and a small white box fell out, a box I instantly recognized. I picked it up and opened it to see the ring that I had worn on my finger for nearly a year. There was a small folded up piece of paper in the box as well. I looked up to see if Harry was watching me, but his eyes were closed, so I unfolded the paper.

I know I messed up.

I'll live with the fact that I hurt you for the rest of my life.

I've known since that first time I saw you in that club that I wanted to marry you.

The first time you yelled at me for folding the towels in the apartment wrong.

The time we went to the lake and you told me to put sunscreen on my nose because you were afraid I was going to burn.

When I introduced you to my family, you didn't even second guess that you were now a part of it.

How when I took you to the pet store, you insisted we get a rescue dog instead of a puppy, because they deserved to have a good life.

How even after I did what I did, and said the things I said, you still sent me messages checking on me.

Making sure my laundry was done.

Asking if I had gone grocery shopping.

Checking to see if I had finished the milk before its expiration date.

But i think my favorite is when you texted me excitedly that one of my favorite movies was playing at the little indie theater we used to go to.

A movie I know you hate.

My heart was made for you.

We can't end this way.

I'll fight for you until it kills me.

Because at the end of the day, a life without you, is a life I would rather not live.

I sniffled as I folded the paper back up. “You were supposed to let me read that to you, not read it yourself. You know for dramatic effect,” Harry said from where he was now sitting on the bed.

“Sorry,” I muttered, wiping the tears from my eyes. “You brought this?” I asked him, referring to the ring in the box that was still in my hand.

“Thought i might need it,” He said.

“For dramatic effect?” I asked teasingly. He rolled his eyes at me. I stood up and walked over to the bed sitting beside him.

“Things aren't going to be the same,” He whispered. “Do you remember the fight we had before you left for that business trip?” I looked at him, thinking about what he was referring to.

“And why does it always have to be you?” He shouted at me as I packed my suitcase.

“Because it's my project Harry, I'm the one that organised it so i have to see it through,” I told him, keeping my calm even though he was livid.

“You were gone all last week, you have only been home a day and they're already making you go back, doesn't that seem a little unfair?” he asked me.

“Unfair to who harry? To me, or to you? You told me to go after my dreams, you told me you'd support me no matter how hard it would be. We're building these kids better lives and I get to be a part of that,” I told him as I took his hands in mine.

“I'm proud of you, for following your dreams, I am. I just feel like you're losing sight of everything you already have to chase something you want,” he pulled his hands away from me and walked out of the room leaving me alone thinking about what he said to me.

“I remember that fight vividly, and you were right. I had lost sight of everything I had, and once we finished the project, I was left alone and broken, with nothing to show for all my hard work,” I sighed as I laid my head on his shoulder.

“I should have been more supportive and understanding. I fell in love with a woman with a strong will and a good work ethic. I knew what I had gotten myself into,” he told me as he put his hand on my thigh. “I've missed you Nut, like really missed you,”

“Me or my body?” I chuckled.

“Is it wrong if I say both? Or is that the right answer?” He laughed.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. “Yeah?” I called out. Tuwaine opened the door with a grim look on his face.

“I think you're going to want to see this,” he handed me his phone which had a screenshot of an Instagram post. “My mate sent it to me asking if i knew the girl cause he was sure he'd seen us all out together at parties,” on his phone was a picture of Olivia, with a pink bow around her swollen belly captioned ‘Its a Girl!’ I looked at Harry whose jaw was practically on the floor.

“What the fuck,” was all i could think, and say.

Would life ever be easy?

I was standing at the kitchen counter, my knuckles had gone white from how hard my grip on the counter was. “Are you doing alright?” Harrison's voice startled me, but I didn't react.

“Nope,” my voice sounded like it was a million miles away. I was trying to stay calm, and not freak out, but my body was quivering with anger and I felt like my blood was boiling. Harrison put his hand on my shoulder, probably in an attempt to calm me down, but it did the opposite. “You know, I am the most genuine person. I am loving and caring. I'm respectful even if people don't deserve it. I'm always willing to lend a hand to people, even if they don't do the same. I literally work for a nonprofitable organization making next to nothing because that was my dream. I deserve a break, I deserve happiness!” I wasn't meaning to shout at Harrison, and I was sure he knew that.

“So it's his?” he guessed from my angry outburst.

“I don't know. He called her and i couldn't be in there to hear the conversation, i refuse to do that to myself,” i sighed. I leaned over the counter and rested my head on my hands.

“What if it is?” he asked.

“I don't want to think about that right now Haz,” I groaned.

“I mean, I don't blame you, but that's kinda a big deal.” he said while rubbing my back.

“I didn't sign up for this. If he had a kid prior to us getting together then it would be different. But this.. This is like the epitome of a shit show,” I told him.

I heard footsteps come down the stairs and I knew from the sound it was Harry. I didn't bother looking up. “Can you give us a minute mate?” Harry asked Haz. Harrison walked out of the kitchen leaving me and Harry alone. I couldn't move, I didn't want to look at Harry afraid his face would confirm my worst fears. “So that was an interesting conversation,” he said.

“Was it?” I asked.

“I've been avoiding her calls for months,” he said.

“Spit it out Harry,” I snapped.

“She's not positive, she said there's a chance it's mine, and a chance it's the other guys,” he said quietly.

“If it's yours?” I asked, as I stood back up.

“Huh?”

“If it is yours, what does that mean for us?” I asked him. He stood with his arms crossed, looking at me as I stared at him, waiting for an answer, but dreading the one I knew I was going to get.

“Does it have to mean something for us?” he asked in a quiet, barely audible tone.

“Harry, I know you. Well. too well. I know that if that is your child then you are going to want to be there, as a dad, and I respect you for that. But I didn't sign up to be a stepmom, I'm not even ready for my own children, let alone a child of the person I despise most in this world. I would resent that child, even if I didn't want to. I would.” I felt the tears falling down my cheeks as I said the words, feeling like an absolute monster.

“So this would be over, for real then?” He asked.

“It would,” I nodded.

“She said she would do the DNA test, and we could do it next week, so can we just forget this until then? Can we just spend the week living in a bubble?” he asked me. I looked at him, and all I could see was the boy I met at the pub almost six years ago. Goofy, an awful dancer at the time, and so full of love. So ready to give all of himself to someone, and somehow that someone was me.

“Can I get you a drink?” A voice asked from beside me. I turned to see a hot redhead next to me. The club was dark but I could make out most of his features, especially his curly, crazy hair.

“Sure,” I smiled at him as he sat down next to me at the bar.

“Can we get a beer and a,” he looked at me waiting.

“A peanut butter cup,” I told him.

“And a peanut butter cup,” He told the bartender, who got to work.

“Peanut butter alcohol drink, huh?” he asked me.

“It's good, but I just really like peanuts,” I giggled, pulling out my keys showing him the peanut key chain I had had since middle school.

“That's cute Peanut,” he said, already assigning me a pet name. I blushed as the bartender brought our drinks to us. We sat for hours talking, eventually moving to the dance floor to compare our equally awful dance moves. My phone started to ring and I noticed I had about a million texts from Olivia demanding we leave now.

“My friend,” I gestured to my phone. “I have to go,” I went to walk away but he caught my wrist in his hand.

“Will I see you again, Peanut?” he asked me.

“You will...,” I paused realizing i had never gotten his name.

“Harry. Harry Holland,” He grabbed my hand shaking it.

“I'll see you around Harry Holland,” And with that I left.

I walked over and pressed my lips to his. I didn't want to lose him. Harry Holland was my person. The one I would choose every time. Despite anything that could ever happen, it would always be him. Today. Tomorrow. Next year. Always.

Was I willing to toss the love of my life away because of something like this?

Was I willing to live with the consequences of his actions forever?

part 4

[alexhogh7137]

The Battle Between Love and Fire-

Ivar the Boneless × Reader

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight: "..do you really think that you would even have a chance, huh..?"

Word Count 3.5k

Warnings: some angst, fluff

The Same Night…

Ivar hid his true emotions horribly. One second, he would be looking at you or Asta and smiling and in the next, he would see Daario walking in his halls and his teeth would grind. You could feel his anger and hatred for Daario's actions in coming to Kattegat. Especially since it has only been a week or so since Asta was born, and now he is in his home. He has some nerve doing that to you and Ivar. But like he said, he was not thinking clearly. Hvitserk and Ubbe are on high alert, as well as every viking and guard in the house. Hvitserk is not letting him touch you or his daughter, that is for certain. Ubbe is sitting with Torvi and little Ragnar, but you can see his emotions change as well as Ivar's when Daario walked into the room. 

Daario "Nice kingdom you have here, Ivar."

Ivar "Hmm." 

"Treat my husband with respect Naharis. You are in his kingdom, you call him king."

Daario "My apologies, my king."

Ivar "You know, if you were not a friend of my wife's, I would have killed you as soon as you walked through those doors," Daario's smirk fades, "but because you have Y/n's respect, I will respect you in return." He said as he looked at you with a small smile on his lips. 

Daario "Y/n has my loyalty and respect, you know that don't you?" 

"Of course." He nods. 

Daario "And I thank you for letting me stay this night with you all. I promise I won't be a burden."

Hvitserk "I sure hope not." Daario tried to look at Hvitserk but he did not let him have the chance to respond before getting up because Asta started to cry. 

"I have to feed her." He hands her to you. 

Ivar "Go with her will you?" 

Hvitserk laughs, "You didn't even have to ask." Ivar nods and then looks at Daario. 

Ivar "Naharis and I are going to have a little talk." Daario's first instinct was to put one hand on his dagger but that was a foolish mistake. Ivar noticed Daario's sudden action and pulled out his dagger and held it up to his chest. 

Ivar chuckles, "Really?" Daario holds up his hands in defense, "Do you really think that you would even have a chance, huh?!" Daario does not answer, "Look behind you, my friend." He does as he is told and Ubbe has his ax to the back of his head, ready to strike if necessary. 

Ubbe "Hand it over." Daario does not hesitate to hand his dagger to Ubbe and he hands it over to Torvi.

Torvi "Well, well..how fancy Daario. Where did you get such a dagger?"

Daario "And what is your name miss?"

Torvi "I am Torvi, wife of Ubbe."

Daario nods, "Lovely to meet you. And to answer your question, it was gifted to me."

Ivar "By who?"

Daario "That is no concern of yours-" he could not finish his sentence before Ivar slammed his danger to his throat. He did not cut him, only pushing harshly into his Adam's apple. "Alright..alright. I was gifted my dagger by an old friend of mine. He since died in battle." Ivar let his dagger fall. 

Ivar "And what was this man's name?" 

Daario "Baron." 

Ubbe "Well he gifted you one fine dagger, that is for certain."

Daario "I know. I take it everywhere with me. That is why I did not think of not bringing it with me to Kattegat."

Ivar "You bringing it here, is not the problem. You were going to kill me..that was the problem Naharis."

Daario "Gut instinct, I suppose."

Ivar snickers, "Well, your gut was correct in telling you that I was a threat."

Daario "I know all about you, Ivar the Boneless. You are known all around the world. You are infamous for killing innocence." 

Ivar laughs, "I do not kill without a good reason. That is where you are wrong." 

Daario "I do not believe all the stories I have heard of you. But the killings, I do believe. I also believe that I would have died multiple times if it wasn't for your wife." 

Ivar "You are right. Y/n is my better half. She changed me as a man and as a father."

Daario "She touches everyone in different ways."

Ivar "And how has she touched you..huh?"

Daario "Her kindness. Her passion, her strength..is unmatched." He nods, "I suppose her strength rubs off of me."

Ivar "I would have to agree with you. But just remember, that you are in my kingdom, my daughter is newly born..I will do anything to keep them safe-"

Daario "I pose no threat to you Ivar."

Ivar "We shall see."

…

As soon as your daughter latched onto your breast, she calmed down instantly. You sigh from relief from the silence. 

Hvitserk "Are you alright?"

"Quite drained. I was fine until he showed up. All of this tension is so draining." Hvitserk leans down and kisses your forehead. 

Hvitserk "I know. But you are my strength. So with you, I feel like I can win a battle." You giggle, "And do not worry about Daario, he isn't coming close to Asta."

"I know that. I am her mother, he is not touching her. I may trust him with my kingdom, but never our daughter."

He nods, "I am glad that we have her with us now. It feels like we waited a lifetime to see her."

"It does. It almost feels like I have known her my whole life-"

Hvitserk "In a way you have. She was destined to be your daughter, just as she was destined to be mine. It all worked out for us in the end." You hum and rest your head on his shoulder. "You have gone through it all, kitten. But now is your time to rest and thrive." 

"All I care about is Asta and our family. You all are my priority."

Hvitserk "As you are ours."

"Do you think Daario is still alive?" He laughs, "I don't hear any screaming.."

Hvitserk "Nor do we hear chaos so I suppose he is. Sadly."

"He's a good man. Just does not think before he acts."

Hvitserk "Is that a good man to lead your people?"

"I think that he is, but when it comes to me, he thinks differently."

Hvitserk "You are right, and that is my concern."

"I understand, but I can defend myself."

Hvitserk "That you can, kitten." You lean up and kiss his lips before Asta unlatched.

Hvitserk "Done already, little one?" She coos as she yawns. "Yeah, you're too sleepy now huh?"

"Maybe Ivar will let us sleep with her tonight!"

Hvitserk "I do not think so. If Daario was not here, then maybe.."

"To me, Daario isn't even here. And his opinions do not matter to me." Hvitserk cups your cheeks and kisses you gently and swiftly, almost knocking you off your balance.

Hvitserk "I love you, you know that. If I had it my way, you would be sleeping with me every night, but tonight is not the night. It is too risky." You nod and look down at Asta. 

"Then you sleep with her." You hand her to her father and he kisses her little round cheeks. "I'm going to check on everyone, you two get some sleep. I'll tell Ivar that you two went to sleep-"

Hvitserk "Y/n-"

"I love you to two.. get some sleep." He let you walk away without protesting and you were out of the room. You know that he is absolutely right, that is why you were not mad. Only sad by the fact that you cannot sleep with your child and her father. But hopefully, that night will come soon. 

…

When you find Ivar and Daario, Ubbe and Torvi have joined them since you and Hvitserk left. That was not a surprise to you. Ivar could feel your presence as your ora filled the room and he looked in your direction. As his eyes met yours, you both smiled. 

"What have I missed?"

Daario "Where is Asta?" 

"Fast asleep. What have I missed?"

Ivar "We just had a nice long talk, my sweet. All is well."

"That is good to hear. With the being said, can we go to bed?"

Ivar "Of course. Good night you all." They all said their good nights and you and Ivar went into the chambers that you share.

"What exactly did you two talk about?"

Ivar "Well, to start, he tried to kill me-"

"What?!"

Ivar "I am still alive aren't I?!" He said sarcastically and with a chuckle. 

"What happened, Ivar!?"

Ivar "He put his hand on his dagger and I got mine out quicker. He didn't have a chance, my love."

"I am surprised that you did not kill him for that."

Ivar "Believe me, I wanted too. But I thought of you and your kingdom. If I killed him, you would have to leave for England..I can't be away from you again." Your eyes go soft and your heart flutters. "You and Asta come first in my mind. If I didn't have you two, he would have died a while ago."

You giggle, "How would you do it?"

Ivar "Oh..would you like to know?"

"Come into bed and tell me." He gets undressed while you get into your black night dress and you two join each other in your large, fur covered bed. 

Ivar "Well, where do I start?!" You two giggle like children that are coming up with a malicious plan. He tells you how he would torture Daario for the way he looks at you, before crucifying him and sacrificing him to the Gods for good luck. He went into gory detail of how he fantasizes about killing him. 

Ivar "But that day won't come unless he gives me just cause. And you know what cause that would be, don't you?"

"Yes, my king." He leans down and kisses you long and passionately. 

Ivar "I do not think that you will ever know how much I love you."

"I do know, and I love you all the same. There are just no words." He smiles and kisses your entire face before he lowers himself and rests his head on your chest. 

Ivar "When Naharis leaves tomorrow, what would you like to do, my love?"

"Hmm, I might take the dragon's out tomorrow. They have not spent much time with me since Asta was born."

Ivar "Alright."

"Perhaps we could take Asta to the lake!"

Ivar hums in relief, "I was hoping that you would say that."

"Then it is settled."

Ivar "Perfect. I love you, princess."

"I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you awake, you hear your daughter's cries for you. Ivar was still asleep, so you slowly get out of bed and made your way to Hvitserk's chambers. When you open the door, Hvitserk is in his bed, rocking little Asta. 

"I'm here-"

Hvitserk "Good morning princess."

"Good morning," you sigh from being tired, "how did you two sleep?" You asked while getting into his bed and preparing yourself to feed her. 

Hvitserk "She slept for a few hours straight, but she could not stay asleep the past two. She was getting hungry."

"Well come to momma.." he hands you your daughter and she latches onto you with ease. Hvitserk leans in and kisses your forehead. 

Hvitserk "How did you and Ivar sleep, huh?"

"He better than I."

Hvitserk "And why is that?"

"I am not certain. I just know that I was up throughout the night."

Hvitserk "You need your rest, kitten."

"Believe me, I want to rest. But my mind won't allow it." He nods and takes a deep breath because he can relate. 

Hvitserk "Well maybe you and Ivar should head out for the day, hmm?"

"We were planning on it. But Asta-"

Hvitserk "Do not worry, I'll take good care of her."

"I know that you will. I just don't know if I can part from her for that long."

Hvitserk "Where would you be going?"

"The lake."

Hvitserk nods, "Well I think that you should go. It will bring you peace of mind." You nod while looking down at Asta, "We have to take her to our spot as well. When you want to, of course."

"Oh yes, I would love that. She will too." He smiles and kisses his daughters forehead before getting out of bed to get himself dressed. His body always takes a hold on you. But you try to control yourself because you know that you can't. 

"So um," you clear your throat, "what are you and Asta going to do while I am gone?"

Hvitserk giggles, "Anything and everything." You smile from ear to ear. Asta unlatches from you and you redress yourself and Hvitserk notices. "You didn't have to redress, you know."

"I could say the same thing to you." He chuckles and makes his way to you and cups your cheeks before kissing your lips. You can't help but moan, just a little. 

Hvitserk pulls back, "I had to do that."

"I-" there was a knock on the door. 

Hvitserk "Who is it?"

Ivar "He's awake." You're heartbeat started to race as soon as you realized who Ivar was talking about. Now you have to deal with Daario. 

Hvitserk "We will be right out." You two hear Ivar's crutch bang its way further and further from the door. 

"Great."

Hvitserk "Hey, he is in our kingdom, he has no power."

"He thinks that he does, does he not?"

Hvitserk scuffs, "Yes, yes he does. But that should not worry you, Y/n."

"I know. I have to get dressed. Come find me when you're done." You kiss him one last time before handing Asta to him and leaving the room. 

You have your maiden's braid your hair and you dress yourself in your favorite outfit: black firm-coat that has dragon attachments to hold a cape of yours, with black boots. 

"You look absolutely beautiful, my queen." Your maiden said. 

"Thank you, my friend. As do you." She smiles. 

"Duty calls!" You say with a fake smile on your face as you two walk out the door together. When you make your way through the halls, you did not hear your husband's voice, nor Daario's. So you walk on, eventually leading out the door to outside. 

When you make your way outside, you find your people as well as your husband gathered underneath an awning. You push your way through the crowd and find Daario standing before you with his nose stuck in the air. 

"What is going on here?" 

Ivar "Naharis wishes to talk to you-"

"Okay-"

Ivar "Privately."

"And why is that?"

Daario shrugs, "You are my queen, I came to see you, not everyone else."

"I am standing in front of you, what is it you wish to talk to me about?"

Daario "Y/n, please."

"What is it, Daario? What can't my husband hear-"

Daario "It's not like that-that is not the reason why I wish to speak to you privately."

"Okay. Okay, fine." 

Ivar "Y/n-"

"If he was going to hurt me, I would know it. Don't you trust me?"

Ivar "I trust you, not him."

"He has not given me a reason not to trust him Ivar. I will be close." You look back at Daario to signal him to walk with you, to which he does happily. Ivar watches you walk off with the man he should have strung up on a tree. Why? Because he did not leave when he was told to. 

Ivar "Ubbe," he walks up to his brother, "watch them. Don't let her out of your sight."

Ubbe "Never." He and two other men follow your trail, close but not too close. Ivar watches everyone scatter, and crutches his way back to the house. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your strategy was to lead Daario to where your dragon's are located. Your dragon's are your biggest protectors, nothing can harm you when they are near. Daario catches on fairly quickly when he hears their noises. As soon as Ryuu notices his presence, he growls.

Daario "You really don't trust me, huh?"

"What did I just get done telling Ivar? Hmm, were you not listening?"

Daario "No, I heard what you said-"

"Then you answered your own question Naharis. I do trust you. You would not be in charge of my kingdom while I am here, if I did not."

Daario "Fair enough." You walk a bit further until your legs start to get stiff. 

"So what is it that you need to tell me?" 

Daario "I just wanted to personally congratulate you Y/n. Asta, is it?"

"Yes."

Daario "Well from what I saw of her, she is just perfect."

"She is as perfect as one could be."

Daario smiles, "Of course she is, you are her mother."

You smile, "That is very kind."

Daario, "I was wondering if I could hold her before I go?"

"I am afraid that won't be possible."

Daario "May I ask why?"

"Because I am her mother and I said no. Therefore the answer is no, you cannot."

Daario puts his hands up in defense, "Okay, alright. I had to ask, I did not mean to upset you." 

"I am not upset. If I was, you would know it. But when a woman says no, she means no. That isn't just a warning for men Naharis."

Daario chuckles, "Yes, my queen." You nod and take a quick look behind you and spot Ubbe not too far behind, which made me internally smile but you do not show it on your face. "Well, you look good."

"Oh do I?"

Daario laughs, "Yes, you do! Especially for having her a few days ago."

"Thank you, I appreciate your compliment."

Daario "No need to thank me, it's my pleasure."

"Well, I think that you should start heading back to Wessex. If you leave now, you can make it before night fall."

Daario nods, "Right, of course." He takes your hand and he kisses your knuckles. "Thank you again for allowing me to stay the night last night."

"You're welcome." You say wiping the kiss off on your coat.

Daario "I will write to you once I return, and give you updates if you'd like."

"Yes, please do. I will return as soon as I can."

Daario smiles, "Not alone, I figure-"

"Never alone."

Daario nods, "Well, we shall see each other very soon, my queen." You nod and watch him walk back up the hill and take a deep breath. As soon as the coast was clear, you joined Ubbe and the two guards. You informed them of what was said and they just listened. 

Ubbe "I saw that by the way."

"Mhm."

Ubbe "He just can't help himself, can he?"

"I suppose not."

Ubbe "Well, let's go back inside aye?" 

"Yes, Ivar and I have plans."

Ubbe "That is good! I am happy to hear that."

"Me too." You two talk the whole way back to the village and through the house.

Hvitserk is sitting with Ivar, talking and eating while Torvi rocks Asta in her arms. You smile at the sight as a sense of peace returns to your heart. 

Ivar "Where is he?"

"At the gates, about to leave." He gets up and walks up to you, kissing your lips before talking again.

Ivar "I am going to make sure that he leaves, then we can go, yes?"

"Yes." He nods and walks out the door while you and Ubbe sit down at the table. 

Hvitserk "Where did you go?"

"Daario wanted to talk, so that is what we did...by my dragon's."

Hvitserk chuckles while taking a drink of ale, "That's my girl." You giggle while snatching his horn and taking a drink of it. 

Torvi "What did he want to talk about?"

"He congratulated me and told me how good I looked for only being without child for a few days." Torvi rolls her eyes. 

Hvitserk "Well you do."

"I do not think so. My scars from Wessex have stretched terribly-"

Hvitserk "I do not want to hear another word. You are perfect. And your scars tell your life story. How brave you were, how strong you are and how you lived through it all.."

"I-"

Ubbe "My brother is right. You need to stop thinking that way Y/n. You are beautiful."

"Thank you Ubbe. And thank you love.."

Hvitserk nods and takes another bite of his food. "Can I hold Asta before Ivar comes back in? I want to get a few cuddles in before we leave." Torvi doesn't hesitate to give her to you. "Hello little one. You be good to your father while I'm away, okay?" She smiles and coos while clamping her tiny fingers around your index finger. 

Hvitserk "We are going to have a blast, aren't we princess?" He said while kissing her forehead. 

"I love you all so much..you know that right?" You asked while looking at your loved ones. Of course they all said 'yes'. "Good.." you smile and look back down at your daughter, realizing how lucky you truly are to still be alive.

TO BE CONTINUED

@hvitserkmarcosource @ivarsgoddess @youbloodymadgenius @conaionaru @krissydclayton93 @a-mess-of-fandoms @readsalot73

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Sixty-Three

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: TW. - THE R-WORD IS USED IN THIS PART! Fluff and Smut.

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Sunday morning Harry got up to start editing the photos. He dug up an old album he never used so he could place them in there for you once they were printed. He wanted you to sleep so he could get everything done. The photos were incredible. He thought you looked stunning. He edited them so they were all black and white and touched up some other things. He started printing them when he heard you walking around downstairs.

“Harry?” You call for him sleepily.

“Up here babe, be down in a minute!”

Once the pictures are dry enough he fills up the album. He sees you curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee. He comes down and plops right next to you.

“They’re all done. Wanna see?”

“How early did you get up to do this?”

“Early…I was too excited.” He chuckles.

“Okay, lemme see.”

You lean into him and he opens the album. You mouth falls open when you look at the pictures. He did an amazing job.

“You’re so talented Harry, I actually like the way I look!”

“That’s all you, babe, you’re gorgeous.” You kiss him on the cheek.

“Oh my god!” You gasp at the ones of you touching yourself. “I’m not awake enough for this.” You laugh. “I’m gonna go put this away in my closet, okay? It’ll be easy for you to find while I’m away. Thank you so much for doing this for me.”

“Anytime.”

//

Your week with Mark was easier. He kept his distance as much as he could.

“So, you have a half day today?” He asks you Friday morning. He couldn’t help but look at your butt in your jeans.

“Yup, I have to pack and then my mom is spending the night with us so we can get to the airport easier tomorrow.” You pull some sheets of paper from a file folder. “Here’s what I’ll need you to work on next week while I’m gone. Niall has a copy too and he will be checking in.”

“I don’t need to be babysat. What do I do if I finish all this?”

“Go see Niall, he’ll have work for you.”

“Do you ever have fun here, like ever?”

“I have fun all the time, with Niall, because he’s my friend. You, Mark, are not my friend.”

“Yeah, you’ve made that plenty clear.” He huffs.

“Good, that was my intention.” You give him a fake smile.

“You could try to warm up to me, I’m not a bad guy. We’re going to be working together for a while longer.” You scoff at him.

“You burned your bridge with me a long time ago.”

“Are you sure that’s it? Or are you afraid your boyfriend will get jealous?”

“Harry? Jealous of you?” You start laughing. “What’s there to be jealous of?”

“A stable job, an actual future…”

“His job is very stable, he gets paid well, and-“

“Doesn’t he have to freelance?”

“He freelances because he loves what he does and he likes making people happy. He’s insanely talented.”

“Why not open his own studio then?”

“He will, it’s just not the right time, and…you know what? I don’t have to explain a thing to you.” You shake your head at him. “I’m leaving now, see you when I get back.” He follows you out of your office and you lock it. “You are not to go in here while I’m gone, understand?”

“Mhm.”

You say goodbye to Niall with a big hug and head out the door to your place. You had a lot of packing to do. Harry came home from work early so he could spend some time with you before your mom got there.

“Ah! Son of a bitch!” He hears you yelp and he runs into the bedroom.

“Y/N?!” He stops short when he sees you clutching at your stomach.

“Hi, sorry, I just can’t get my piercing out for some reason. It’s a little tender from the last time I changed it.” You groan. “Fuck it, I’m leaving it in. They won’t see it anyways.”

He comes over to the bed and picks up a couple of your swim suits.

“These are cute.” He holds them up to his body and makes a modeling pose.

“Give me that!” You giggle and snatch it from him.

“Do yeh need help with anythin’?”

“No these were the last few things.” You close the lid on your suitcase. “Actually, could you bring that down to your car for me?”

“You got it.” He kisses the top of your head and grabs the bag.

When he comes back up you both eat a quick dinner and he takes you into the bedroom.

“She’ll be here soon…”

“Let me just love on you for a little while.” He nuzzles into your neck. You can’t resist him when he’s like this.

He makes love to you…twice. You force yourselves out of bed when your mom texts you that she’s downstairs. You both go down to greet her and Harry takes her larger bag down to the car.

“It looks amazing in here! You both have done such an incredible job decorating.”

“Thanks mumma. The guest room is all made up for you.”

“Perfect, well, I think I’ll head to bed now since we have to be up so early, night kids.”

“Night!” You give her a hug and kiss and off she goes. You look at Harry. “We should go to bed too. We have to get up at like four.”

“Sounds good.”

He cuddles you all night, and you wouldn’t have had it either way. The three of you were quiet it in the car the next morning. It was far too early to speak. Harry takes the bags out of the car for the both of you. Your mom goes into the airport to give you both some privacy to say goodbye.

You wrap your arms around each other and you feel wetness from his tears on your neck.

“It’s only a week, seven sleeps. I’m back next Saturday night.” You say into his ear.

“I know, I’m just gonna miss my sweet baby girl so much.” He pulls back to look at you. You wipe his tears with your thumbs.

“And I’ll miss my doll. Just look at the pictures when you miss me. I’m not going to have a lot of access to the internet. Only at the timeshare really.”

“So I don’t need to be a good boy?” He smirks. You smile at him and shake your head.

“No, I won’t torture you.” You sigh. “Kiss me, I need to head inside.”

He kisses you, boy does he kiss you. Your head is spinning when he lets go of you.

“I love you so much, as soon as I have WiFi I’ll text you, okay?”

“I love you too, have a safe flight.”

He watches you walk in, and then he gets back into the car. This was going to be the longest week of his life.

//

You texted Harry as you could like you said, and you told him you were planning to unplug for a bit, other than posting a few pictures to your Instagram story. He took a nap when he got home, and woke up a few hours later. Him and Niall decided to grab a bite to eat together at their favorite diner.

“Sarah and I are goin’ out for our six month tonight, otherwise I’d invite you out for drinks tonight.”

“No worries, mate. What are the two of yeh plannin’ on doin’?”

“Takin’ her out for a nice dinner. She said she had a big surprise for me tonight and that she didn’t wanna be out too late.” He shrugs.

“Did you get anythin’ f’her?”

“Yeah, I bought her a new anklet, she loves wearin’ ‘em.”

“Oh, I bet she’ll love that. She stays at your place a lot, yeah?”

“Yeah, almost every night now.”

“Think you’ll ask her to move in soon?”

“I don’t know if she wants to leave Rachel just yet. Although, word on the street is that Mariah’s been stayin’ over quite a bit at their place.”

“They’re a match made. I might hang out with them durin’ the week. I’ve been thinkin’ more about my freelance work lately. I think if I were to ever go for it full time I’d ask Mariah to come with me. She could work with clients I didn’t have time more, plus, I genuinely trust her. Then, once we made a lot of money, I’d steal Isaac too. He’s the best receptionist.”

“You’ve clearly thought this through.”

“Here and there. I just enjoy working with people a lot more. It doesn’t even feel like work. And it would be nice to have my own schedule. Guess I could just get state insurance…”

“Or you could marry Y/N and just go on her insurance.” Niall jokes.

“Plannin’ on it, mate.” Niall nearly chokes on his food.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not sayin’ it’ll be tomorrow, but I think once she and I have been together for a year I’m gonna propose. We’re at eight months now.”

“Do yeh have a ring yet?”

“I have one in mind, yeah. There’s a jewelry store in London that I like. Saw what style of ring she likes. I’ve called the jeweler a couple of times. They have a site so I can essentially design it myself. I could pick it up this summer when I go home.”

“Harry…I…I’m so happy for you. I’ve never seen you like this with someone before. She’s really the one, huh?”

“She really is. I can’t explain it...I think I knew before I took her to meet my family that I wanted her forever, but that trip solidified how I felt. And I know she feels the same way. We’ve talked about it.”

“That’s great. I can’t picture her endin’ up with anyone else.” He smiles. “Not to change the subject, but I was thinkin’ you and I could go out for a boys night on Thursday.”

“Yeah! I’d like that. Been a while since just the two of us went for a drink.”

//

By Sunday night, Harry was already missing you too much and he decided to get the photo album out of your closet. A few glances couldn’t hurt. You had posted a few things to your story. He couldn’t wait to see your sun kissed skin when you got back.

As he was rummaging through the top shelf of your closet, he lost his balance and pulled down a box, and the contents spilled out.

“Shit.” He recognized the box…it was your special box that you used to keep under the bed. There were some new items still in a bag. He pick it up and his eyes widen. “What the…” He takes the cockring out and is genuinely shocked. “Was she plannin’ t’use this on me?” Then he grabs the box the butt plug was in. “Holy shit!” He smirks. “Does she wanna use this on me too? No fuckin’ way she wants this up her ass…”

Normally Harry would tease you about these things, but he figured you hid them for a reason. So he puts everything back and finds the photo album. He gets on the bed and does his pants while he looks at the pictures of you. Just as he was about to play with himself, his phone rang, and it was you.

“Hey baby!” Your voice was music to his ears.

“Hey! How’s vacation?”

“So good, I just came inside to grab some water so I thought I’d call quick.”

“Well, thanks for thinkin’ of me. How’s your Nan?”

“She’s great! She’s really happy my mom and I are here. We’re gonna go to a casino tomorrow, I’m excited. And Tuesday night is the night we’re gonna go dancing. I’ll have to send you some pictures.”

“Please do! I was lookin’ at some right now actually.” You blush.

“Harry!”

“What? You told me I could.”

“I guess that’s true…were you, um, you know?”

“Was about to...wanna help me along?”

“Hold on, let me go into the bathroom in case anyone comes in.”

He half expected you to say no. He hears you flip the bathroom fan on.

“Where is everyone else?”

“There’s a bonfire tonight.”

“Ah.”

“So…where were you?”

“Hadn’t event taken my pants off yet.” He chuckles.

“Okay, take them off then.” You were hushing your voice which was only turning him on more.

Harry adjusts his cock out of his pants and grips it.

“Rub the tip with your thumb like how I do, baby.”

He closes his eyes and just does as you say as you’re saying it. His top rubs over his thumb and he spreads the precome up his shaft.

“Now, I want you to-“ You go silent for a moment.

“Babe?”

“I’ll just be a minute, Nannie!”

And just like that his dick went limp at the thought of your grandmother.

“I’m so sorry, she knocked on the door, um, I-“

“It’s fine, I, uh, lost it.” You both giggle.

“I’ll try to call tomorrow, I gotta go. Apparently someone’s grilling and making drinks, so I need to get back out there.”

“Okay, have fun. Love you.”

“Love you too!!”

//

You did your best to send Harry pictures of your different tropical outfits. You did well to hide your naval piercing from your mom and grandmother. Thank god for high waisted shorts and pants. Your skin was getting more tan as each day passed. One more you all decide to take a trip downtown before going to the pool for the day. You only went to the beach at night due to how strong the sun was.

There was a jewelry store your Nannie loved going to. Your Papa would take her to it all the time, and you remember going when you were a senior in high school. He bought you the most beautiful bracelet for being the best baby in the world.

The three of you looked around. Not being someone who loved to wear jewelry, you were mostly looking for something to buy for Harry.

“Honey, can I ask, why don’t you just that ring resized?” Nannie asks.

“Harry bought me this chain so I could wear it like this. It looks more like a slide than a ring anyways. We both like it like this.”

“Alright.”

You had already gotten him the pearls, and lord knows he doesn’t need anymore necklaces or rings. What the fuck could you get him that he didn’t already have? As you continue to walk by everything, a particular ring catches your eye. It’s white gold and has a sunflower on it. If you were going to wear his rose, maybe he could wear your sunflower? Although, he already wore one on his skin every day for you. But something about the detail in the ring just made sense.

“Excuse me, I’d like to look at this one.” You say to the jeweler. He takes it out for you and you know you have to get for Harry. You give the jeweler his ring size and he tells you to come back the next day and it’ll be ready.

Your mom buys you a pair of studs for years and you put them in right away. The ones Harry had gotten for you months ago sat in your first holes, and the ones your mom just got you would sit in your doubles. They complemented each other perfectly.

//

Thursday night Harry went with Niall to a bar they hadn’t been to in a while. They were both excited to have a guy’s night.

“So, I never asked, how was the anniversary evening?” Niall’s face went red immediately. “What was her big surprise? Did she like the anklet?”

“She loved the anklet, yeah.” He takes a sip of his drink. “She bought me…some things.”

“What kinds of things?”

“Um…”

“Niall, I have fucked two separate women with you, I think you can tell me what Sarah bought you.”

“Okay, okay. She bought a cockring from some sex shop.” Harry nearly spat out his drink.

“They both them together?!”

“What?!”

“I found one in Y/N’s closet the other day. Still the packaging and everything, but still. So Sarah used it on you?”

“Well, yeah.” Harry smirks at his friend.

“How’d you like it?”

“It was…interesting. I use her vibrator on her all the time so she said she wanted to do the same to me or somethin’ like that. It was sorta nice for the both of us, but it was a lot to leave on for a while.”

“She actually lets you use it on her? Y/N said she’d feel weird, that’s why I was shocked when I found the other things she bought.”

“Things? What else was there?” Harry’s face heats up.

“There was, um, a butt plug.” He says quietly. Niall starts laughing.

“Think she wants to fuck your shit up a bit.”

“How do you know she doesn’t want me to use it on her?”

“Because Sarah got one too and she wants to use it on me before she lets me get in her like that.”

“Did she use it on you?!”

“Not yet…I told her I’d have to think about it. I don’t know how worth it is.”

“You should humor her, mate, trust me, it’s worth it. So tight.”

“Alright, alright.” They both laugh. They hear a ton of commotion from behind them. “Think there’s a bachelor party happenin’.” Niall says.

“Looks like it, yeah.” Harry squints. “Lad looks familiar, doesn’t he?”

Niall turns fully around to look at where Harry’s looking. His eyes grow wide.

“Where have seen him before?” Harry says.

“Harry, we should pay our tab and go somewhere else.”

“Why?”

“Because…that’s Jake.” Harry’s mouth falls open and then his jaw tenses. “We can’t cause a scene. I can’t believe that girl he was skating with is still going to marry him. Probably lied right to her face.”

Harry would never forget watching you self implode at the ice rink. He wanted to bash Jake’s head in.

“We can’t start a fight with him, we need to go.”

Harry nods and gets up. The two go up to the bar to pay their tabs. A few of the guys from the bachelor party bump into them, one being Jake.

“Sorry about that, our boy’s getting married this weekend, he’s a little out of it.”

Harry and Niall look in their direction, but don’t say anything. They look the three up and down and put their attention back on the bar.

…

Everything else was a blur. Harry wasn’t sure when his fist connect with Jake’s jaw, or when Niall pulled him off of him after nearly choking him out. He wasn’t sure when Jake got a swing in, but he knew his nose was bruised. Not broke, but definitely bruised. They were all thrown out of the bar.

“I should press charges! You threw the first punch! How am I supposed to explain this to my fiancé?!” Jake’s friends were trying to pull him away from Harry and Niall, but it was no use.

“You should press charges?!” Harry started laughing. “You’ve done far worse things. If anyone deserves to be locked up it’s you!”

“I have no idea who you are or what you’re talking about….wait a second…you both were at the ice rink that night. My fiancé almost broke up with me!”

“Good.” Niall says.

“Who are the two of you? She kept asking me what I did, but I had no idea what to tell her.” Jake’s friends let go of him as he’s calmed a bit. Niall and Harry look at each other.

“You raped my girlfriend a year and half ago.” Harry says bluntly.

“Raped?! I’ve never done something like that. Your girlfriend’s crazy if she told you something like that.”

“I could easily snap your neck in half, I wouldn’t talk about her like that if I were you.”

“Do you recognize this girl?” Niall pulls a picture up of you on his phone. Jake squints at it. Everyone was still really drunk. He felt hazy, but he nodded.

“Went out with her a few times, yeah. But I didn’t rape her.”

“Yes you did.” Niall says. “You fucked her until she bled out on her sheets.”

“Didn’t you see it on you when you pulled out?”

“I just thought maybe it was her first time or something.”

“You’d fuck someone that hard when you thought it was their first time?” Harry asks exasperated.

“It’s not like she told me to stop, thought she was enjoying it.” He shrugs.

“She was too fuckin’ scared to tell you to stop! You didn’t even ask her if she wanted to.”

“That’s her word against mine.” He crosses his arms.

“She threw up after she saw you at the ice rink, I don’t think she was exaggerating.” Niall says. “She’s got the bag with the sheets you know. Probably has plenty of your DNA still on it. All she has to do is press charges and your ass is done. So you should be very scared. Any day at any time your entire world could come crumbling down.” Niall looks at Harry. “C’mon, let’s go.”

The two walk away, leaving Jake and his friends stunned. Niall gets Harry inside your apartment, and get some ice into a rag.

“Did he break it?” He asks, pressing it gently to his nose.

“No, but it’s gonna leave a bruise. Feel sorry for him, probably gonna have an indent of my rings in his jaw for a week.” Harry takes the ice from Niall, and winces when he presses it a little hard to himself. “Y/N is gonna be so mad. I can’t lie to her about this.”

“Look, at least you weren’t arrested. It could’ve been worse.”

“I can’t believe you threatened him like that.”

“He ruined her life! I want him to know she could just as easily ruin his. He should be grateful she hasn’t.”

“And for him to say he didn’t rape her? What a fuckin’ lunatic.”

“Think you’re gonna have some dark circles under your eyes, mate.”

“Shit.” He sighs. “I don’t even remember hittin’ him.”

“I think he bumped into you again and you lunched at him.” He starts laughing. “I don’t think I’ve seen you reach your boilin’ point like that in a very long time.”

“I should call her.”

“It’s late.”

“She might be up, I need to call her.”

“Put it on speaker, maybe she’ll take it easier on you if she knows I’m here.”

“Good idea.”

//

You were eating some ice cream on the couch watching a move with your mom and Nannie after spending some time at the Casino. You couldn’t wait to show Harry his ring. Your phone goes off, and you’re sort of shocked to see him calling so late. You get up and go into your grandmother’s bedroom to have some privacy.

“Harry? It’s late babe, are you alright? I’m in the middle of a movie, I can’t help you along tonight.” You hear Niall burst out laughing. “Am I on speaker?! Is this a drunk call?!”

“Sorry, sorry, yeah you’re on speaker.” He swats at Niall. “I’m okay, but somethin’ not so chill happened tonight…”

“Like what?”

“We were at a bar…” Niall starts. “And there was this bachelor party happenin’, and, um…”

“Jake was there.” You freeze and walk further into the bedroom and into the ensuite.

“So what happened?”

“Well, we got up to leave.” Niall says.

“But him and his friends kept bumpin’ into us at the bar, and I lost my cool.”

“What does that mean Harry?” Your eyes were starting to water.

“I don’t know how it all happened because it happened so fast, but I hit him, and then I choked him. Niall got me off him, but he got a swing at my face, punched me in the nose. The bouncer threw us all out. No one called the police…”

“Oh my god! Are, are you alright? Did he break your nose?”

“No, it’s just bruised, love.” He tries to say softly to calm you down.

“Harry, you can’t just go around hitting people! You could’ve been arrested!”

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry. It just happened.”

“What happened after you left the bar?”

“We…had some words.” Niall says.

“What kinds of words?”

“I threatened him…”

“He wouldn’t admit what he did to you was rape either.” You wince at the word and nearly vomit.

“You brought me up?! You both, you both are FUCKING IDIOTS! I, I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“We were comin’ from a good place-“

“Niall, I swear to god, just shut the fuck up.” You take a deep breath. “You both are so stupid! Were you all drunk too?”

“Yes.” They say in unison.

“Well that’s just great. Thanks so much for defending my honor. I’m so glad you called to tell me all of this at nearly one in the morning!”

“Would you rather I pick you and your mum up at the airport with a bruised nose with zero explanation?”

“What am I supposed to tell her?! You got into a bar fight? Yeah, that’ll go over really well. You better put some makeup or something over it.” There’s silence for a moment or two. “You both are alright?”

“Yes.” They say together again.

“Okay.” You sigh. “I’m going to get back to what I was doing, and try to calm down. I love you both, goodnight.”

Before they can say anything, you’ve hung up, and made your way back to the living area. Your mom and Nannie were looking at you with concern.

“Harry and Niall got into a fight with someone at a bar. They’re both fine, I can’t really get into it right now, so please don’t ask me about it.” You plop down next your mom, tears starting to burn your cheeks. She throws an arm around you and lets you cry into her. Your Nannie rubs your back to try to soothe you.

//

You soak up as much sun as you can the next couple of days. You were trying to keep your head clear. Mariah helped Harry buy and apply some makeup to make his bruises more subtle. He looked terrible, honestly.

“There.” She says, dabbing the last bit under his eyes. “Now you just look like you haven’t slept.” She smirks.

“Thanks.” He throws everything into a bag. “I hope I can remember how to do all this on my own tomorrow.”

“You said she told her mom right?”

“Yeah, but it looks so much worse than it is, I don’t want them to worry even more.”

“You’re lucky it didn’t break.”

“I know. I wish he would just move across the country or somethin’.”

“Yeah, but he’s not. You can’t just throw down every time you happen to bump into him.”

“Obviously.”

“Jesus, H, you look like shit.” Myk says walking into his office. “Are you wearing makeup?”

“This is why I usually work from home on Fridays.” He groans. “And yes I am, nothin’ wrong with a man wanting to cover some blemishes.”

“A blemish, or a bruise?” She squints at him. “What happened?” She actually looks concerned.

“I got into a little…scrap last night, okay?”

“Are you alright?”

“As if you care, Myk.”

“I do!” Her eyes soften. Mariah stands there awkwardly looking back and forth to the two of them.

“Well…I’m fine. Looks worse than it feels.”

“You should just go home for the rest of the day, I’m sure Chris won’t care.”

“I don’t need to go home, I’m fine.” He looks at the two of them. “Really, it’s all good. Shoulda seen the other guy.”

“Did you have your rings on when you hit him?” Mariah asks.

“Course I did.”

“And he’s not pressing charges?” Mykenzie asks.

“I don’t think he will be, no.” He sighs. “It’s fine.”

“Does your girlfriend know?” Myk asks.

“I called her the night it happened. She wasn’t thrilled. She’s really worried about me, but she’s less angry now.”

“Why did you-“

“Enough with the questions please! The two of yeh are givin’ me a headache. Maybe I will go home.”

He grabs his things and heads out, leaving them both there. He just wants you home with him. He wants to apologize in person for starting something that didn’t need to be started. It was the longest week of his life, and he missed you so much he could cry. In fact, he did a couple times.

//

Harry spent the day Saturday doing all the chores you usually did together. He wanted the place to be spotless for your return. He was to pick you up the airport around six. Your sister would be picking your mom up. He dabbed some of the makeup on under eyes and around his nose just in case your mom was still with you when he picked you up.

You hugged your mom goodbye after you both got your luggage. You were exhausted. You couldn’t fall asleep on the plane, and there was a lot of turbulence so your stomach felt like shit. You were just happy you had a good time and a good tan. You waited out on the curb and looked for Harry’s car. He spots you and waves excitedly, almost forgetting he’s in trouble.

He throws the car in park and gets out. He picks you up and spins you around and you throw your arms around him. Tears prick at the both of your eyes for different reasons. He sets you down, cups your cheeks in his hands and kisses you. Suddenly you forget any ill feelings you had. His lips on yours was like pure heaven after being deprived for a week. A few cars beep at you, so Harry puts your bag in the trunk and off you go.

“Doesn’t look so bad…” You finally say.

“I, uh, put some make up on over it. It looks a lot worse than it feels.” He sighs. “Do you really wanna talk about this now? I’d much rather hear about your trip. Your face is so tan! You look great, babe.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it all actually…and thank you.” You put your hand on his thigh. “What’s done is done.” He nods.

“Are yeh hungry? Want me to stop somewhere quick on the way home?”

“No, I had a sandwich on the plane. I’m desperate for a shower. We went to the pool this morning and I didn’t have time to rinse off before we packed up.”

“Alright.”

Harry gets you home, and helps with your bag.

“So they didn’t notice your piercing?”

“No they did.” You laugh.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He laughs with you.

“I don’t know.” You shrug. “My mom noticed it right away and it was whatever. My Nannie was like at least it’s not a tattoo. So I was able to wear more of my two pieces, I’m glad I packed some.”

You start taking your clothes off and he follows you into the bathroom.

“Holy shit.” He looks you up and down. “You really got some sun.”

“Mhm, I’m crispier than a chicken nugget, and I love it. I didn’t wear makeup all week either, my skin is so happy right now.” You step into the hot water and Harry sits up on the sink counter. He didn’t feel like showering, but did feel like continuing to chat.

“Did yeh win any at the casino?”

“Mostly just broke even. It was a lot of fun though. I’ll have to show you some of the pictures I took.”

Harry gets up and grabs an envelope from his dresser that he’s been waiting to give you. You get out of the shower and wrap a towel around you.

“God I feel so much better.” He has a huge smile on his face. “What?”

“Here, got his a while ago, thought you should know.”

“Is this a bribe so I don’t stay mad about you getting into a bar fight?” You smirk.

“Nope. You can be mad as long as you want, I know it was stupid.”

“I almost wish I could see what you did to him.” You shake your head and take the envelope. You open it up and gasp, clapping a hand over your mouth. “Harry!” You beam at him. “When did you…”

“Bought ‘em the second they went on sale. Fifth row, dead center.”

“Oh my god! We’re going to see the Weeknd?!”

“Happy very early birthday, babe.”

You throw your arms around his neck and hold him tight.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so excited!” You  kiss him on the cheek. “Will you hold onto these?”

“Yup, I’ll stick ‘em back in my dresser.”

You go into your carry on and rummage in it, pulling out a black box.

“I got you a little something while I was away.” You hand him the box.

“You didn’t have to do tha’…”

“Just open it.”

He opens the box and sees the sunflower ring. His jaw drops and he looks at you.

“Way too expensive.”

“Oh well, can’t return it now. Try it on. I got it for the size of your middle finger.”

Harry takes one of his rings off and puts it on. His nails were recently painted pastel purple for the Easter holiday. He loved the way the white gold contrasted with it.

“So…you were at the store, saw this, and thought of me?” He asks without looking at you, fixated on the ring.

“Mhm. I thought since I wear your favorite flower, you could wear mine. Not everyone can see your tattoo. Do you…do you like it?”

“Like it?” His eyes were glossy. “I love it!”

He comes over to you and cups your cheeks his hands and kisses you. Your hands go on his hips.

“M’never takin’ it off.” He says against your lips. His tongue swipes across your bottom lip and you open up for him. His tongue molds with yours and moan into him right away. “Miss me a little?” He whispers.

“Missed you a lot.” You look up at him. “I barely slept most nights.” You pout.

“You’ll sleep good tonight, I’ll make sure of it.” He undoes your towel and lets it pool at your feet. “I can’t get over these tan lines.” He says, cupping your breasts.

You tug at the hem of his shirt and he takes it off. He undoes his pants as you sit back on the bed.

“I can’t, um, go down on yeh unfortunately, as much I really want to. Nose it too sore.”

“It’s okay. Your fingers aren’t sore, right?” You smirk and he bites his bottom lip.

“Nope.”

He crawls on the bed and you part your legs for him. He sucks two fingers into his mouth and grazes them against your folds.

“Did you look at the pictures while I was gone?”

“Yes.” He blushes as he rubs circles on your clit. “More than I’d like to admit.” You giggle.

His fingers push inside you, and curl up. Your head rolls back and your mouth falls open. He really wants to lick you, but he knows he would end up nose deep and that was just not good for his health at the moment. He pumps in and out of you and hit that sweet spot inside.

“Fuck, Harry.” You breathe as your eyes roll into the back of your head. “That’s it right there.”

He pumps faster. Your nails dig into his shoulders. He can feel you clenching around him, wanting to clamp your legs together, but he keeps them spread apart. Your back arches and you moan his name again as you release onto his fingers. He sucks them back into his mouth to at least get a little taste of you.

Harry wondered when you’d wanna break out the new toys. He desperately wanted to ask, but he knew you must have hid them for a reason and he didn’t want you to feel embarrassed.

“Lay back doll, I wanna ride you.”

Harry smiles and does what you say. He sits up against the head board and you crawl onto his lap. You wrap your hand around his dick and play with his top with your thumb. You kiss him, slipping your tongue into his mouth. He groans against you as you stroke his dick. You raise your hips slightly and slowly lower yourself onto him. You both groan with satisfaction.

“You feel so good.” You say into his ear. “So snug.” You raise and lower on him until you find a good rhythm. You nibble on his earlobe and his hands slide to your ass to help you move faster on him.

“Missed you so much, fuck.” He practically whimpers when you tighten and loosen around him a few times. He grits his teeth as he thrusts up into you, the both of you moving in sync together.

“Tell me how good it feels, Harry.” You say into his ear with a whisper.

“Feels so fuckin’ good.” His fingers press harder into your ass. “You’re so fuckin’ wet.” One his hands moves to rub your clit and you sink your teeth into his neck.

“God, fuck me up Harry.” Both of his eyebrows raise. You clench around him and your second release comes.

He doesn’t give you time to recover before your face down on the bed, and he’s entering you from behind. He pulls your hips back. You move your ass back against him in sync with his thrusts so you can feel him as deep as you possibly can. You’re propped up on your elbows with your back arched.

“Alright?” He grunts.

“Yes! Don’t stop, you’re hitting it.” You grip at the blankets, making your knuckles go white. He was hitting your g-spot with such ferocity you knew you’d be coming again soon.

He has one hand on your hip and the other on the back of your neck. He was absolutely railing you, and it felt amazing. You had sex like this all the time when you were in college, before the anything bad happened to you.

The room was filled with the sound of skin slapping against skin. To put it bluntly, your cheeks were getting clapped. You could feel his balls slapping against you and it was making you go cross eyed.

“Harry!” You moan.

“Gonna come again?”

“Yes! Fuck, yes.”

“Go on, Y/N, come for me.”

Your back arches more and he grips the back of your neck so hard he’s yanking your back to him. One arm snaking between your breasts to hold you steady, and the other moving to rub your clit. Your head rolls back on his shoulder. You’re panting and gasping as you come. It was so intense your vision went blurry.

“Can I bend you over the bed?” He says, sinking his teeth into your shoulder. You gasp at the feeling.

“Yes.”

You both get off the bed, and he bends you over it. He slips back inside you with ease.

“Fuck.” He moans. He rocks in and out of you, his hands clinging to your hips.

“Harry, please come, fill me up.”

He thrusts quicken and grow sloppy. Your back arches when you feel his warm come sput inside you. He collapses on top of you when he finishes. You feel him pull out and his release drips down your thighs. His weight on you felt amazing, and you didn’t want him to leave. You whimper when he gets off of you.

“M’gonna get a rag to clean yeh up.” He says softly. He returns quickly and crouches behind you to clean you up. “They yeh go.” He throws the rag in the hamper. You stand to face him and your legs feel like jello. “You were amazing, you know that?” He kisses your forehead.

“M’so tired.” You rub your eyes like a child.

“Time for bed then, yeah?” It was only a little after eight.

“You don’t mind going to bed so early?”

“You’re finally home, of course I don’t mind.” He chuckles. “Go do your thing, I’m gonna get settled in.”

You walk into the bathroom and do your routine. You get into the bed and snuggle up to Harry. You take turns all night spooning each other. You both wanted to be held by the other. Eventually you passed out with his head on your chest. It was perfect.

[sparrowwritings]

Final Fantasy Writing Challenge Day Twenty-Eight: Infinity

Day Twenty-Seven -- Masterpost -- Day Twenty-Nine

The city was just a facsimile. An illusion solid enough to pass casual inspection, but ultimately contained nothing deeper than the bare bones of what once was. 

Sure, he’d had power enough to build the place--to string lights and lay paths and fashion structures--in an almost picturesque manner. Every twist and turn of metal, every pane of glass, every leaf of every tree that had existed in Amaurot, he remembered perfectly and could recreate it as such. Emet-Selch was known as the Architect for a reason.

As always, however, it was people that gave him the most trouble.

The best he could manage to do, even for all his power, was create approximations of people. He had at first attempted to remember various people he knew back then and populate the city that way. Too quickly, he’d found that beyond those he had been closest to (whom he refused to create as a matter of principle) he could barely remember how they were. Thus, when let loose upon the city, the shades would end up breaking the illusion in various ways until in frustration Emet-Selch would dismiss them. Eventually he settled for making the puppeteered populace walk simple paths and spout lines depending on which place he had assigned them to. Set this way, he could almost believe that he was walking the streets of his old home. So long as he didn’t stop to speak to anyone. Or think too hard about the fact that he’d created this place.

Really, he was putting far too much effort into creating this elaborate playground for people who would be too pained or too incensed to care. If they managed to show up at all. There wasn’t even a good reason to recreate Amaurot. It satisfied some whim of his, nothing more. A backdrop by which he would impress upon the Warriors of Darkness how much better the world had been one final time. The fate of the star, and all of the other worlds left would be decided where it all began.

One way or another.

Emet-Selch wasn’t sure where that thought came from, nor why he was suddenly weary. Perhaps he should have taken a nap. The temporary oblivion of sleep seemed far more inviting than completing his plans. Suddenly remembering the man he’d brought to torture until all he knew spilled forth, Emet-Selch made a mental note to check up on him in a short while. He was fairly certain that the Crystal Exarch would reveal all of his mysteries once the Warriors of Darkness had perished, but pain and the promise of more could help expedite the process. Not that he’d needed to be the one to directly perform the torturing in centuries, mind. He hated doing the dirty work. It’s why he was more than pleased to take over nation building for the Ascians; so that he could force others to do it for him.

So distracted by his own thoughts, he didn’t realize he’d sat down at a bench until another figure had sat down with him. Emet-Selch blinked, then sneered. He must have added in a routine for the puppets to sit when others did so. That might lead to problems down the line. Better to fix it now, then have it destroy the act he was so intent on creating.

Just as he was about to reach into the mechanics of the figure sitting next to him, it spoke in a voice that made his blood turn to ice. “I thought it ironic that you made your way to the park where we first met while wrapped up in your own thoughts, so I had the impulse to join you much like I did that day.” The figure inclined its--his? No, it was impossible. It couldn’t be--head towards him. The people he set in the city were all faceless except for their uniform white masks and dark grey robes. Despite this, Emet-Selch could still sense the smile in his old friend’s tone. “I suppose you’re going to erase me now,” Hythlodaeus said as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.

“You can’t be--I wasn’t going to--” His voice was rough. Perhaps from how unused to his native tongue he was, or perhaps from something to do with how his eyes were starting to burn. Either way, Emet-Selch cleared his throat and made himself speak more clearly. “You’re not supposed to be here.” 

“And yet, here I am.” Again Hythlodaeus--no it was not him--seemed to smile. “You look tired, my friend.”

Emet-Selch was exhausted. “There’s been a lot happening lately. You know how it is.” He should just erase it. It wasn’t real. Couldn’t ever be. It would hurt all the more to keep up the charade. He flexed a hand as if to try...but instead he closed it once more to settle at his side. “Or perhaps you don’t. I find I’m not really sure.”

“Technically, I know nothing much beyond that I am Hythlodaeus, and that I and this city was created by you for a purpose all your own.” The shade fixed his gaze forward, leaning back in much the same manner as what Emet-Selch was doing. “But I can extrapolate quite a lot from the information I have and what I can observe.”

They sat in silence for several beats. “Well?” Emet-Selch gestured a hand in a small circle to his right, indicating the street next to them. “What do you think, then?”

Hythlodaeus made a show of looking around, in spite of what he’d said before. “An impressive feat of artistry, and quite solid for a glamour.” His mask turned towards the sky--or, well, the water high above the city. “We’re under some sort of sea, yes?”

“The ruins here made for a good foundation. The magic can hold for far longer with minimal to no effort to keep it up.” A part of him was pleased that this likeness of his old friend nodded along in places exactly like he used to. Another coldly reminded Emet-Selch that it wasn’t real, that it was just part of the false Amaurot. The first part shushed the second, if only to enjoy this moment while he could. “Even should I leave it behind, the city will last for some time afterwards. Even unappreciated, Amaurot will shine beautifully for a while yet.” 

That seemed to draw the shade’s full attention. Hythlodaeus’ mask tilted curiously, aimed at Emet-Selch’s face. “Is this a planned sort of exit?” His expression must have shown something, for the shade continued, “I ask because, whether you know it or not, you’re setting the stage for a confrontation. It’s not like you to be so cavalier about what the outcome could be, regardless of what condition you expect your opponents to be in.” 

He stared at Hythlodaeus in wonder. His subconscious had added his long-dead friend to the city, that much was for certain. But was he so observant because Emet-Selch remembered him being so, or was it because he had arrived in this replica of Amaurot from the innermost workings of his mind? Something in him wanted to stay like this, to talk and experiment until he could find the flaws in this puppet whose strings he couldn’t see. 

Alas, there were more things he needed to prepare for, as Hythlodaeus inadvertently reminded him. He should wrap up the conversation before too long. If he knew the Warriors of Darkness as well as he thought he did (and while he wasn’t always good with people, having spent centuries around them did wonders for being able to suss out behavior), they would be arriving soon enough. Given the choice between turning into monsters in front of their friends, and turning into monsters attempting to save the Crystal Exarch? Emet-Selch knew exactly what choice they would make, and what the result would be.

And yet...as he thought over his plans he realized that a kernel of doubt had indeed taken root. It was something to do with the color of their souls. Some part of him was braced, ready to see and experience the impossible. Even with his victory assured. Almost especially so.

Emet-Selch put a hand over his face with a groan. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“It’s only because it happens so often.” The smile returned to Hythlodaeus’ voice, even the grey behind his white mask showed nothing of the sort. “So. What will happen should you lose?”

He’d never consciously thought of it before, so he spoke through the steps aloud. It was something he and his friends had done with each other to work out an especially trying problem. Something that stopped when all of the other participants had gone. Sitting like this, in even a reflection of the city he loved so dearly it never left his mind for long, had brought it back. “Then our plans for the First will have failed. There won’t be an Eighth Umbral Calamity.” Thinking of Elidibus, he amended, “Or at least not from my efforts.”

“Then what will happen?”

“Well I’m sure Elidibus would have something up his sleeve.” Emet-Selch waved a hand as if to dismiss the thought when he paused. “...But he would be alone in his efforts. With Lahabrea and myself gone, he’d be the only one left unsundered.”

“A lonely existence indeed.” Hythlodaeus wouldn’t have known what an unsundered was, but he was also just as likely to pretend as if he knew what Emet-Selch was talking about if only to keep him chatting. “I might not be real, but I still can’t imagine what it would be like to be the last one left of anything. And for poor young Elidibus to be alone while his brothers were gone…”

The Emissary hadn’t been young in literal ages. Still, the idea of him facing eternity as the sole bearer of the burden of bringing back all of the lives that had been lost in ages past made Emet-Selch’s brow furrow. “...he might take revenge.”

“A reasonable conclusion.”

“I can’t be sure what form it would take, but...he doesn’t even remember why we are attempting to bring back Zodiark in the first place.” The pieces were coming together in his head. Prophecy wasn’t something he’d ever been interested in. Logically figuring out what path someone, particularly someone whom he’d come to know entirely over the millenia, was a different matter. “Even should he succeed, he wouldn’t understand the why of it.”

“So what do you propose to do about that?”

A memory struck, and Emet-Selch snapped his fingers. Thirteen colorful crystals materialized in between Ascian and shade. Each of them held the symbols of the position in the Convocation that they represented. Unlike the rest of the city, these were entirely real. He reached out for them before hesitating. Heaving a sigh, he snapped his fingers again. A fourteenth, orange crystal, settled next to Hythlodaeus. The shade picked up this one, fingering the symbol of the sun carved within it. “Memory crystals?”

“The very same. And the fourteenth, illegal, one to lead him back on the path.”

“How legal can anything be, so far away in time from when such laws were created?” Hythlodaeus mused as he pressed in both sides of the symbol at once. The crystal fell in half, leaving two even pieces in each of his hands. “And made to be certain neither would feel left out. How clever.”

He ignored what his friend was saying and spoke over him. “I’m going to erase your memory of our meeting here,” Emet-Selch tried to meet eyes that he knew didn’t exist. Hythlodaeus kept the eye contact anyway, as if sensing how serious his friend was. “Otherwise you’ll be free to roam the city as you see fit with your personality intact. I’ll leave these instructions with you should my plan fail. If I die, you must be certain these crystals make their way into the hands of the Warriors of Darkness. If they’re clever and strong enough to take me out of the picture, they’ll be ready enough to make Elidibus follow.”

“I understand.” Hythlodaeus nodded. “I hope you get some rest soon, Hades.”

“I hope so too, old friend.” Hades then snapped his fingers. Once to erase the memories of the shade of Hythlodaeus, once to return to where the Crystal Exarch was being held. 

There was much to prepare. He had no more time to waste wallowing in emotion.

[thinkyoureholy]

Fragile Figures [1]

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Pairing : Choi San / [fem] Reader

Genre : Angst, Violence, Some Fluff, Smut, Character Death?, Mafia! AU, Hired Assassin! AU

Words : 3.1k

Pt 1. Pt 2. Pt 3. Pt 4. Pt 5. Pt 6. Pt 7. Pt 8. Pt 9. Pt 10. Pt 11. Pt 12.

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-Y/N’s P.O.V-

I ran through the long corridors of the mansion, Yunho following closely behind as Hongjoong led the way. I cursed at needing these two to protect me like this but we had no other choice. The place was being raided and we needed to get out of here before they found us. I could hear the others fighting their way out from a few floors down, I just hoped they all got out in one piece. Being on the third floor we didn’t have many escape routes to choose from. We couldn’t go down the flight of stairs because we’d be caught for sure so...the only way out was through a window. 

“Shit.” Hongjoong cursed out, coming to a stop at the corridor. 

“You can’t seriously be thinking about jumping from the third floor.” Yunho said, a frown on his face.

“What other choice do we have? We have to make sure she gets out of here and this is the only option.” Hongjoong argued, turning to Yunho.

I ignored the two as I went straight for the window, sliding it open, “Whenever you two are done would you mind joining me on the ground?” 

I lifted myself onto the window sill, crouching onto it. I looked over at the tree that was about five feet away from the house. I gripped onto the window frame tightly for a second before jumping. My hand barely managed to grab onto a branch, leaves falling off the branch at the sudden pull. I grit my teeth as I raised my other arm, grabbing onto it with both hands before looking down. The ground wasn’t too far away from me now so it should be safe to jump down from this distance. I loosened my grip ever so slowly before letting go completely. I cursed when I landed, a sharp pain shooting up my left leg. Fuck, I didn’t bend my knees in time. I put weight on my leg to test how badly it was injured. I let out a sigh of relief when it didn’t hurt much which meant I could still walk on it...for the time being at least, it could be the adrenaline in my system keeping the pain at bay. 

“Y/N...long time no see old friend…” A familiar voice said from my right.

I froze at the sound of his voice. I should’ve known he’d be behind all of this.

“Kanda, you bastard I should’ve known.”

He smirked, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked over to me slowly, the smirk on his face growing into a full blown grin, “Aw come on now...that’s no way to talk to a friend now is it?”

I scoffed, clenching my hands into fists at the mere sight of him, “You and I know we’re anything but friends. Friends don’t betray each other you back stabbing snake.”

He chuckled, taking a step towards me. I could tell he was trying to intimidate me but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction so I stood my ground. 

“I just saw an opportunity to surpass you and I took it. I was tired of coming in second place,” He said, all traces of a smile now gone, “Once you’re out of the way I’ll be able to run this city the way I want to.”

Before I could respond Yunho jumped down from the tree, landing directly in front of me. He landed so gracefully I was a bit jealous that he could do that. All I could see was Yunho's back as he stood in front of me, blocking Kanda from my view, but that was enough to show me just how angry he was. His shoulders and back were tense like I had never seen before as he stared Kanda down.

"While I'm still around you won't ever get close enough to even touch her." Yunho all but growled out.

"Yunho...I see you're still glued to her like an annoying dog. When will you tire of following her every last command like a good little servant, hmm?" 

Yunho's hands shook with rage, his shoulders much more tense than what they used to be. I took a step forward to put Kanda back in his place, angered by his words. Out of all my people Yunho was the one that had been with me from the start. I'd even go so far as to say he's the most loyal man I've ever met, more loyal than all the others I had taken in. Hearing Kanda call him my servant made my blood boil. He was anything but my servant. Yunho was my equal, nothing more and nothing less. I couldn't get too far as I felt a hand grab onto my forearm tightly. I looked over my shoulder at Hongjoong who had come down just as quietly as Yunho. He gave me a serious look, shaking his head.

"Trust me I want nothing but to rip that traitor's head right off his body but we need to go." Hongjoong said through gritted teeth, his hand squeezing my arm.

I set my jaw at his words, knowing he was right. We had no more time to waste here and I was in no condition to fight, not with my leg the way it was. Sure I wouldn't be able to feel much but I'm sure Kanda saw me land, knowing I was hurt. I knew he'd take advantage of that and go for my leg. I cursed, yanking my arm out of Hongjoong's grasp but didn't make a move to go after Kanda.

"Get going, Y/N. I'll catch up to you soon." Yunho said, his tone lighter as he looked over his shoulder, giving me a gentle smile.

I clenched my hands at my sides, speaking through gritted teeth, "You give him hell, Yunho."

He grinned at my words, giving me a wink, "Yes, ma'am." 

-

"I said give him hell not come back looking like hell." I scolded him, sitting by his bed.

That very night Yunho came back…but not on his own two feet. Mingi and Seonghwa had carried him in, the others filing in after them looking like they had seen better days. Yunho was the only one that was badly injured and after running some blood tests we found out that he had been poisoned. The knife wounds on his body showed traces of venom belonging to a black mamba, Kanda's favorite snake. It was a miracle that we got the antidote in his system in time...if they had arrived even a minute later I would've lost him.

"You should've seen how I left him. I would've killed him if the venom hadn't kicked in when it did." Yunho grinned, looking over at me.

I rolled my eyes at his words, punching his arm softly, "Well as much as I would've loved to see that sight...I'm just glad you're alright. I don't think I would've been able to handle burying you…"

I stared down at my hands on my lap with a frown. I was unaware of Yunho's eyes staring at me with an unfamiliar gaze as I lost myself in my thoughts. I always hated losing anyone from my team. It was my responsibility to keep them safe since I brought them into this dark and twisted world of back door deals, drugs, murder, torture...the side of the world no one wants to acknowledge. I stepped into this world without knowing anything, simply wanting to get a better life for myself. I had tried everything and this life really was the only thing I could do to help pull myself out of the miserable life I had been living until now. I had climbed up in this world, picking my people up along the way. Some betrayed me, some died along the way, and some ran when the going got tough. These seven guys...they were the only ones I had left. And Yunho had been with me the longest so losing him would be too much for me to bare.

"Next time you run you lanky idiot." I mumbled out, keeping my head down to hide the tears that had come to blur my vision.

Yunho chuckled softly, sitting up in his bed as he reached over to pat the top of my head gently, "I needed to buy you some time."

I scoffed at his excuse, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape. We sat there in silence for a moment before the gears in my head started turning. Kanda was a brave one but he surely isn't working alone. I'm sure someone put him up to it and his long history with me made him jump at the opportunity. I sighed heavily, thinking of all the enemies I had made along the way.

"My enemies just keep piling up." I said, rubbing my hands over my face in frustration.

"I already told you we can hunt them all down if you want."

"No," I said quickly, shooting down that idea like all the other times he's mentioned it, "I can't put you all at risk like that, it's not worth it."

Yunho frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the wall across from him pensively, "I know a guy. He's as reliable as they get...for a paid assassin anyway."

"Can you get in contact with him?"

"Yeah...he should be in the area." Yunho said, pulling out his phone, "The guy owes me a favor too so I might as well use it now."

I sat quietly as he put the phone on speaker, the phone ringing for a few seconds before he picked up.

"You picked one hell of a time to call me, Yunho." The voice said through what sounded like clenched teeth.

Yunho chuckled, a grin spreading across his face, "San! So great to hear your voice, man! What have you been up to?"

"Get to the point, dipshit."

"I need to ring in that favor you owe me. The boss is in need of a hired hand that's as good as you are."

There was a pause before he spoke up again, "How much are they willing to pay?"

"Double whatever you usually ask for." I said, leaning in closer to the phone.

"I ask for quite a lot, miss, you really willing to pay double that?" He asked, a smirk clear in his voice.

"I am."

He chuckled softly, "Fine. Yunho send me the address of your place and I'll be there tonight."

Yunho looked over at me with a raised brow, silently asking if it was okay to send him the address of our safe house. I gave him a nod, trusting his judgement.

"Be here by eight. Don't be late."

He chuckled once more, "I never am," he said before hanging up the phone.

-

I sat in my office, Yunho standing by the door with Seonghwa, the two of them standing guard. I argued earlier with Yunho about this, wanting him to get more rest but he wouldn’t listen to a word I said. I usually only have one on guard but in case he grew too weak from standing on his own  I had Seonghwa join him. I leaned back in my chair, placing my feet up on the desk as I stared at the ceiling. I had just finished going over the numbers for the sales of our drugs for the month, going over the quota I had set up by a large margin. Now we were just waiting for this San guy to arrive. 

Just as I had that thought a figure jumped in through the open window, rolling over his back once before coming to a stop on one knee. We all sprang into action at seeing the intruder. Yunho and Seonghwa both pulling out their guns as I quickly put my feet back on the floor, springing up from my seat as I pulled out my own gun. The intruder lifted their head to look up at Yunho and Seonghwa, their back turned to me so I was unable to see their face. At seeing their face Yunho’s eyes widened before he let out a string of curse words, lowering his weapon. He reached over to lower Seonghwa’s arm, the intruder rising to their feet.

“San what the hell?! Can’t you use the front door like a normal fucking person?! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Yunho yelled out, punching San’s arm none to gently.

San chuckled, doing the same to Yunho but gentler, “You know I’ve never been the normal type. Besides...I wanted to see if you were still on your game like all those years ago. But you seem slower…” 

He trailed off, giving Yunho a once over and took in his condition, “You’re injured…”

“Long story. Anyway before she kills you for scaring us like you did I think you should turn around and meet the one who will be hiring you.”

I threw my gun onto the table, setting my jaw as I crossed my arms over my chest as I waited for him to turn around to give him hell for scaring us like that after the last few days we’ve had. But as soon as he turned around all the words I had on the tip of my tongue disappeared, my eyes scanning him from head to toe. His eyes widened as he made eye contact with me, as if shocked or startled by me but he was quick to recover. I couldn’t stop my eyes from going over his entire body, staring from his black and red hair down to those sharp cat-like eyes of his, over the mask he wore on his face and down to his chest that was clad in black clothing. I looked away for a second, shaking my head before looking back up into his eyes to see him already staring at me. Even with his mask on, I could tell he was smirking underneath it. 

“Ah...a mistake on my part, miss. I should’ve used the door like a proper gentleman.” He said, his tone light.

I tilted my head to the side when he called me ‘miss’, a frown forming on my lips, “Just Y/N is fine...and you should’ve. Had Yunho taken a second longer to recognize you we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“My apologies, miss-” He started but cut himself off, at seeing me raise a brow. He chuckled before bringing a handing up to the strap behind his ear, pulling off his mask, “Y/N. But I was invited. Yunho should’ve warned you of my ways before I arrived.”

Yunho scoffed but didn’t say a word, a toothy grin spreading across San’s face.

“Choi San...is that correct?” I asked, ignoring his words and getting straight to business. 

He nodded, that grin still on his face as his eyes shined brightly, staring into my own.

“I didn’t invite you here to talk about your manners...or lack thereof. I have a job for you...one amongst many.”

“Oh? That’s going to cost you quite a lot of money. You have that kind of cash, darling?” He asked with a smirk, clamping his hands behind his back.

I poked my tongue against the inside of my cheek, my annoyance growing, “I have what you ask for and more. So long as you do a good job I’ll pay you for your work.”

He looked down at his feet for a moment before taking a step forward. The smirk he had grew into a grin once more, a teasing grin. His eyes shined with an emotion I wasn’t familiar with but the mischief was as clear as day. He placed his hands down on the desk and leaned forward, his eyes giving my body a once over before he gazed into my own eyes intently.

“I’m the best this business has to offer, darling, so I can assure you you’ll be more than satisfied with how I do my job,” He said, swiping his bottom lip with his thumb seductively.

I gave him a bored expression, ignoring his obvious advances. I scoffed to myself, men.

“I do require half of the money up front though. So before I can bring you the heads of your enemies I need you to cough up some of that money now.” He said, pushing himself away from the desk, looking around the room absentmindedly.

I looked over to Seonghwa who pulled out a chunky envelope from his back pocket. He chucked it over to San who wasted no time in opening it up and counting the bills inside. The corners of his lips twitched when he finished counting, a small smile tugging at his lips. Just as he was about to stuff the envelope into his coat pocket I spoke up, stopping him.

“How do I know you won’t just run off with my money?”

He chuckled at my words, turning to face me once again, “Every time you give me a job I use my life as a sort of collateral. I have a little tracking device embedded in my arm that can also shock me, and you get the remote,” He said as he pulled out a small device.

I took it from him hesitantly, looking down at the little screen. Wordlessly I pressed the little blue button on it, surprised at hearing a groan fall from his lips. I looked up to see him doubled over in pain, my finger leaving the button immediately. A few seconds after I did that he straightened out, a frown on his face.

“I didn’t think you’d actually press it now. Fuck I haven’t felt that in awhile.” He said, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

“Why would you give something like this?”

“I told you, it’s collateral. While you’re paying me...my life is yours. This is how I got my reputation and why I’m the best of the best.”

“Dude that’s a little twisted even for you.”

San glared over at Yunho, “It’s how my contractor and I develop trust. It’s worked so far and as you can tell I’m still very much alive. That also tells you how well I do my job."

I couldn't help but smirk at his words. He's very thorough with his work. He's diligent and seems to be a man of his word...I like that. With a small smile playing on my lips I sat back down, bringing my feet back up onto the desk leaning back as I looked up at San.

“Well...it seems like we’ve got all the formalities out of the way. Why don’t we talk business now?”

San smirked, that same mischief from before burning in his eyes so intensely I couldn’t look away. I didn’t know much about him but I knew just from this little encounter working together would be interesting to say the least.

[imnotcameraready]

chivalry is dead (8)

A/N: PLEASE READ ALL THE WARNINGS!!! — also if i’ve missed any warnings, please please please let me know!!! this chapter’s a doozy, and i don’t know everything that could be construed into something that might upset someone, so please let me know if you think there’s something i’ve missed so i can update this chapter and make sure it’s tagged in future chapters! or if i've worded any of them wrong! 

anyway, im so stoked for this chapter y’all wouldn’t even bELIEVE. you also finally get to see how much i adore the em-dash, ‘cause there are 33 in this chapter Alone

WARNINGS: Sympathetic Deceit, panic, panic attack!!, scarring/scars, past fights, loneliness, isolation, self-hatred/self-deprecation, self-isolation, swearing/cursing, curses, death threats, thoughts of ducking out, public torture (implied), argument (no yelling but Hardcore Debates)

WORDS:  9752 (it.,,.s,.s  so su fkcing l ong .,,. ,. .,   akshdlgasf sorry im so proud of myself bc i rarely ever write single chapters this long and im screaming)

PAIRINGS: I. am so fucking proud to say. that there’s a lil’ Prinxiety, Anxciet, and Roceit. more Prinxiety than the other two, but that’s because Roman’s doing all the legwork in this chapter

MASTERPOST

AO3 link!

@starlightvirgil @forrestwyrm @daflangstlairde @marshmallow-the-panda@askthesnake @k9cat @patromlogil

enjoy!!! love y’all so much <3 <3 <3 <3 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil didn’t think the first quest he’d have through Roman’s Imagination would involve trudging through a sewer line.

He pulled his hood tighter around his face, trying to block out the scent but leaving a hole just barely wide enough to see Deceit and the Thief walking in front of him, leading every step with the ball of his foot and basically tip-toeing through the cobblestone tunnel. The Thief had led him and Deceit around some roads too fast to follow, instructed them to put their hoods up and hide as much of their faces as they could until they breached the town’s defense wall, and to do that, they’d have to follow one of the paths beneath one of the two river branches. Underground and not seen. They were on the run from the guards, after all; Virgil agreed that getting caught would throw a wrench in absolutely everything.

Deceit was a little more careless. Virgil kinda wanted to kick him for it, actually. For someone so concerned about what was best for Thomas the real person, Deceit seemed very nonchalant about the whole “Roman, Creativity, might be gone forever” situation.

Roman was NOT gone forever.

Holy shit, Roman was gone.

Virgil squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled, covering his mouth with his hood. The realization was coming in waves, slapping him with the ice cold knowledge that they’d demoralized Roman so much he’d basically ducked out. He’d done more than ducked out. He was fucking dead.

Calm down time, he could hear Patton’s voice in the back of his head start counting one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

“Virgil. Are you coming?” Deceit said.

Virgil looked up to see Deceit and the Thief both stopped and standing a few paces in front of him, waiting. While Deceit just watched with his mouth pressed in a line, the Thief looked more concerned.

Was that concern? Virgil couldn’t tell. He just nodded, not removing the hood from his mouth or taking any further steps forward, but it seemed that his approval was enough to placate the both of them.

The Thief turned back around, continuing to lead. “Sorry. I know it’s dismal down here, but this’ the safest passage out of the city,” his fingers trailed along the right wall, making a soft scraping sound as the leather rubbed against the stone. “We’re almost out.”

Deceit was trailing right behind the Thief, close enough that his cloak’s flapping was gently hitting his shins. It seemed best to stick close to their guide, especially in as confusing a situation as this one. Plus he may be able to learn some more about the Pandora’s box that they’d opened when interrupting this death fight nonsense. He actually kept trying to grab the Thief’s hand, something to guide (not comfort), but he kept missing. Or the Thief was dodging. But no, no way would he be doing that.

They turned another corner and the Thief held up a hand, stopping Deceit and Virgil behind himself. Neither of them opened their mouths, but he still shushed quietly and turned to face the wall. It looked like dirt and stone like all the rest of the walls. The Thief said something, not to either of them but himself. Deceit leaned forward, hand outstretched, but Virgil swatted it away.

He also ignored the glare Deceit shot him. “What?” Deceit taunted quietly, “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Fuckin’ liar,” Virgil grumbled into his hood, muffled enough that neither of the others could hear what he said.

Deceit heard that he said something, though, and smirked. It was always rewarding to watch Virgil squirm, especially since….

His smirk fell and was replaced with a sigh. The path to hell was paved in good intentions, after all.

The Thief stepped back, causing Virgil and Deceit to jump. They hadn’t noticed that he’d set a few fires — there were a few wicks embedded in the stone — and the glittering golden flames formed a circle in the wall. In the circle, where there used to be wall, was a hole leading to the outside world. Virgil could definitely see grass out there.

He followed the Thief as he stepped through the opening and out into the grass. “C’mon. And stop arguing, I can hear your eyebrow muscles moving,” he said.

Both Deceit and Virgil stopped, casting wary glances at each other before following again. The Thief didn’t look at them at least, but that just made it even more confusing as to how he knew they’d been shooting each other death glares for the whole sewer trip.

Ah, well. Nothing in this realm made much sense, anyhow. Virgil looked up, squinting at their surroundings. They were definitely out of the city. Behind them was the looming city wall, definitely over four stories tall and seemingly impenetrable. The hole they’d exited from was closed, small wisps of smoke rising from where the Thief had extinguished the spell’s flames.

And speaking of which, apparently there was a Roman who was a witch or something. Logan was right about the magic in this world, then. That was another thing he’d have to be wary about. Are you ever so stressed that you’re calm? Oh, worm.

Virgil snorted to himself and rubbed his face. The memes, they’d ruin him one day.

Deceit cast him a curious look, but disregarded it before Virgil noticed. They didn’t have the time nor expendable energy for animosity. Not here, and not with the stakes so high. He was trying his best to not antagonize Virgil — okay, but come on, it was just so easy!

To their left was the river, though it was more like a stream as it cut through a grate in the wall and along the grassy expanse towards the forest. The Thief seemed to be following it, humming a tune as he pushed around reeds and tall grass. To his credit, the Thief seemed less stressed now that they were out of the city; he was swaying, even, to the song he was humming.

“Thief,” he stopped humming when Deceit interrupted him, “You live in the tree, in the forest, correct?”

“I do. You’ve seen it?” the Thief looked over his shoulder at Deceit quickly.

“Yes. When we arrived in this world, we were in a patch of grass in the forest. Your tree was our first checkpoint.”

Deceit moved the reeds in front of him away with his hands. Crickets were chirping out here, the water glittering golden as the sun lowered behind them. Sunset would be happening soon.

It seemed everything shone gold, here.

“Like a video game?” the Thief asked, humor laced through his voice.

Deceit sighed. “That was Virgil’s idea.”

“Hey—!”

“It was a good one,” the Thief cut him off, waving a hand at Deceit without looking at him. “The concept of checkpoints isn’t just a video game thing. Any story has constants, things that’re always there to help the reader place themselves into the story and understand how things flow. My tree’s always been that, so we’ve always got somewhere we’re…,” he trailed off, then chuckled. “Rooted to.”

“Booo,” Deceit groaned, ignoring Virgil’s quiet snickering, “Patton would approve.”

The Thief winced. He stopped walking — they were halfway to the forest, following the river — and pointed two red fingers at them both. “I should warn you, watch out whose names you say. You never know who’s listening.”

Deceit shot a panicked and confused look right at the Thief’s back. He turned to Virgil and found his expression mirrored on the anxious side’s face, both not liking the implications of that statement.

They turned back to the Thief, who had just turned around and continued walking. Virgil cleared his throat first.

“What do you mean by that….?”

“There’s a curse on your guys’ names. Logan, Patton, Virgil, Deceit,” the Thief’s voice was light, airy, as though he didn’t particularly care. “If you say it, everyone hears it, knows where it was said and who said it. I don’t really care but, well. I would prefer not having too many uninvited guests tonight.”

“O….kay.” Deceit cleared his throat and shook out his hands, a little more frustrated now with that knowledge. He would have to ask more about that later — there were so many things they didn’t know about, that they needed to approach, but he couldn’t keep dropping things for others. “But….more on the tree. How old is it?”

Make the Thief finish a train of thought. Virgil raised an eyebrow at Deceit, who nodded. That was their gameplan. Milk him for information, on anything, because at this point, anything was helpful.

He clapped happily, Deceit noted, walking with a slight pep in his step as his thoughts were redirected toward his tree. “It was formed before this challenge. Roman made it, actually, back when Thomas was a kid and wanted a treehouse he could escape into. When….we feel like we want to be alone, it’s where we go, so it was fitting that I’d move into it once this challenge started.”

Virgil sped up a little, to catch up enough to walk inline with Deceit. No point in bringing up the rear the farther they got from the city. “You see this whole situation as a challenge? Like, the battle royale situation.”

The Thief waved a hand as the incline changed, entering the forest. “Something like that, yeah. Mostly we’re all fighting about what we think is best for Roman.”

Deceit and Virgil shared a look. They remembered the Playwright’s words, about maintaining order. It was easy, in the euphoria of finding Roman, to forget that all of these forms had ulterior motives.

Briefly, Deceit considered what the Playwright’s ulterior motive was. He hadn’t mentioned having one, but it was in his nature to not trust that sort of silence.

“What do YOU think is best?” Virgil asked as they both turned back to the Thief.

He didn’t turn to look at them, holding out a hand as a small bluejay — where the fuck did the bird come from?! — landed on his hand. The Thief whistled quietly at it, and it chirped back, and flew away.

They could see a sliver of his face, drawn up in a small smile, expression strained even as they couldn’t see it.

“....Stay in the Imagination. For forever.”

There was a pause.

Deceit was watching the back of the Thief’s head, eyebrow raised and glare frozen. That was a twist. No, no it wasn’t. He should have seen this coming — the others’ letting him stay locked in his room would definitely send the message that they didn’t care if he came out. Of course.

He glanced at Virgil, only to find the anxious side glaring absolute daggers at the Thief’s head. He wanted to duck out (quack). Son of a bitch, there was a part of Roman that wanted to duck out (quack).

Virgil was gonna scream.

Deceit made a gesture, and Virgil’s hand clamped over his mouth. He shot daggers at Deceit, who did his best to only focus on the Thief.

“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Deceit said, voice quiet.

“I don’t remember asking your opinion, little white lie,” the Thief grunted as he climbed over a particularly thick root.

He shot Deceit a quick glare before disappearing around it. His hand stuck out and motioned them both to follow. Virgil punched Deceit’s arm with his other hand and Deceit sighed, letting up so Virgil could speak.

“That wouldn’t benefit anyone,” Virgil hissed, dread laced through his voice as he held back as much of his panic as he could. He and Deceit both cringed when his Tempest Tongue slipped out, though.

They climbed over the root, Virgil first and giving Deceit a sharp kick in the side as he did so. Deceit hissed, and slapped Virgil’s back.

The Thief watched them both with a glare as they appeared over the root.

virgil could definitively say that the Thief was one of the parts of Roman that he didn’t like. He was squirrely, too ready to judge and too eager to cut ties, and Virgil didn’t see what a center-stage hog like Roman would gain from losing his audience. It was counterintuitive.

But maybe it was tied to ducking out. Who fucking knows.

The Thief’s expression seemed to let up, but he looked away again, continuing up the hill. “You, too, Dark Knight.”

They followed for while in silence, until Deceit asked, voice softer, “And what if you’re wrong?”

Now the Thief stopped. His shoulders were stiff, as though he had half a mind to tell them to shut up, or even to turn them back. Virgil opened his mouth, but Deceit held out a hand, shaking his head. Let him think.

Eventually, he slumped, tilting his head back and exhaling. “That’s the point of breaking Roman apart,” his voice was strained, “We need to piece him back together into something more, ah….I’m bad at wording, but something more indestructible.”

That was what he had suspected. Deceit sighed, lowering his arm and approaching the Thief’s back. Carefully, he rested his hand on his shoulder, giving him one tug to turn around and ignoring how stiff the Thief turned. The forest around them was darkening, and red light from the setting sun streamed in around them.

A harsh breeze swept through the opening. Virgil held his cloak tight around himself and looked around. The fear of bears was definitely more real now. But Deceit was unfazed. He held the Thief’s arm tight, even though it was limp in his grip.

He wasn’t going to lose Roman over something so….well, for lack of a better word, trivial.

“No one’s perfect, Thief. Everyone’s got flaws and denying yours might result in,” Deceit paused, trying to phrase this without revealing his exact thoughts, “Unwanted consequences.”

The Thief’s eyes were cast down, at the ground. His entire body was rigid, as though Deceit’s hand had frozen him upon touch.

Had he always looked so defeated? Held a darkness in those eyes just as bright as the shine that comes when spinning a yarn or acting in a play?

Deceit glanced at Virgil, then back at the Thief. How had they let this happen?

He shrugged Deceit’s hand off with a sharp shake, still refusing to look at him. “Yeah. It probably will. And, once you’re all out of here, you won’t have to deal with those flaws again.”

Deceit’s eyebrows shot up, hand curling into a fist at his side as he argued in the only way he could. The Thief didn’t care?! “It’ll hurt HIM, and it doesn’t matter who wins this stupid challenge. You understand that, right?”

“Yeah,” the Thief barked out a laugh, “I’ll take your word for it, Silver Tongue.”

He continued forward, not checking that they were following.

Deceit’s hands were curled into tight fists at his sides, shaking slightly. That went against all of his work. All of his and the other Sides’ wor, too! Trying to save Roman, for him to snap back and self-destruct like this.

It was going to hurt THOMAS, didn’t Roman understand that?

Did he WANT that?!

He huffed, eyes fixed on a dandelion growing in the grass. It did make sense, it was a long time coming — of course, what an oversight on his part, to allow this isolation to extend for so long—

“Hey, breathe,” Virgil’s whisper brought him back to focus, “C’mon.”

Virgil’s hand wrapped around one of Deceit’s, coaxing his hand open with practised understanding and gripping tight. “Don’t panic. That’s my job.”

Deceit cast him a sidelong glare.

Virgil shrugged, lips pursed, but a thin smile still present. He swung their arms up, then down again, and tugged him along. Deceit could feel him taking away some of his anxieties. There was no doubt that it was unhealthy, for Virgil to be roiling in everyone’s panic, but he couldn’t help but also being thankful as Virgil squeezed his hand in small pulses, tugging him along after the Thief.

After about a minute, he exhaled.

“Thank you,” Deceit murmured, eyes downcast.

Virgil glanced at him.

They could do this. Deceit swung their arms, and Virgil let out an exasperated sigh.

He was definitely still high strung, but they could do this.

But the Thief still wanted to leave.

Deceit pressed his lips together as he felt Virgil physically stiffen, the thought kicking him back into the reality. Which, in and of itself, was ironic, because the Imagination was super duper not reality.

“Thief,” he didn’t turn towards them, “You want to duck out.”

It wasn’t a question. Virgil was glaring at the Thief’s back, eyes a little wide.

Something was ringing in his ears. That’d been his fear — that’d been Virgil’s actual, personal fear for this whole endeavor. It’d just been confirmed.

The Thief stepped over a particularly large root, waving his right arm out towards the forest. “Of course. You’re necessary. Anxiety needs to have a seat at the table, yeah. You keep him out of trouble.”

He kicked a rock and hopped over another root. “We don’t. Uncreative people’re out in the world everywhere. Thomas can live without us, or with us muted.”

Oh my goodness gracious, Virgil was so glad Logan wasn’t there to hear that leap of logic. He couldn’t help the growing disgust on his face.

Deceit squeezed his hand again, but the Thief continued. “Getting to spend all our time here, in a world of our own creation? Win. You all get to go about running Thomas without getting annoyed by us all the time? Win. It’s a double win. A win-win.”

Virgil stood up straight, finally letting go of Deceit’s hand to gesture angrily at the Thief’s back. He seethed, throwing his arms into the air and shaking his tightly-gripped fists at the sky. It was like talking to a brick wall! An incredibly stubborn and narrow-minded brick wall who didn’t seem to have any critical thinking!

Maybe he should call it quits. He squatted, wrapping his arms around his head to block out the sunlight, trying to calm down again.

“Virgil.”

No, no, that wasn’t what he did. If Roman was stubborn, then Virgil was immovable, and he was gonna get his idiot back.

A hand rested on his shoulder, pulling him upward. Virgil swatted away at it, growling quietly into his own arms.

“Virgil, get up,” Deceit’s voice was barely audible over the blood pounding in his ears, “Or he’s gonna walk away.”

He nodded, exhaling into the ball he was curled into.

Let go. Let go of the damn worries.

“Virgil. Listen to my voice. Perhaps we cannot convince him, not alone and not tonight, but we can at least stay with him. Give him options.”

He’d trained himself to not listen to Deceit, who’d lied and manipulated his way around Thomas’ head. But, just this once….

Virgil nodded again and stood upright slowly, knees creaking and popping. They could do this.

Deceit patted his shoulder and motioned forward. The Thief was already a few yards ahead, but not out of sight just yet.

They both hurried after him.

Until he stopped.

The Thief’s shoulders slumped in relief as he finally spotted his tree in the distance. His pace quickened, jogging himself across the few meters between where he stood and the tree, and was followed by the other two Sides. Once they reached the tree, the Thief placed a hand against its side, running it along the bark slowly. As though greeting a friend.

“Welcome home,” he hummed, smiling up at the canopy.

He searched in his pocket and pulling out a lighter — a regular modern lighter, wasn’t there supposed to be a medieval theme or something?! That was MULTIPLE ITEMS— Deceit squinted at it, opening his mouth in an offended fashion. He was going to say something about that, because it was pretty unfair that he got to have something so modern while everyone else was relegated to objects that were period accurate, but Virgil elbowed him in the side.

The Thief, who was pressing the lighter to the black chalk, swirling the flame along the “door” opening, didn’t seem to notice. Virgil honestly just wanted to see what this magic was all about. Once he was done drawing the circle, he stepped back and held a hand out, pushing Deceit and Virgil back, too. “Open sesame,” he said with a grin.

All of the black chalk was alight, glowing gold from the flame. The Thief held a hand out for the drawn-on handle, and as soon as his hand got within an inch it glowed golden itself. The chalky text lit up red. He slowly turned the handle, now filling his hand with an amorphous golden light, and pushed the door open.

It swung easily, as though on invisible hinges.

The Thief smiled as the scent of home wafted over him. He took a deep breath, it’d been a long day, he was home, he was safe, and he turned to Deceit and Virgil.

Both of the other Sides were staring at the thick hole in the tree, mouths open slightly and eyes open much more. There wasn’t much to see inside the door, as there was a small staircase leading up to the actual living quarters, but the fact that the fairly solid tree opened was something. Neither of them had seen the magic in Roman’s kingdom, after all, and while they knew this was what happened….seeing it was a much different experience.

It was kind of humorous, actually. To think that he’d be bringing other Sides into his little sanctuary.

It felt….nice.

Shut up, shut up with that romantic bullshit.

“Are you coming?” he asked, cocking his lips into a smirk as he waved them in.

Virgil snapped out of it first, surprisingly. He shook his head and nodded. “Yeah. ‘Course.” He elbowed Deceit, who jumped and nodded so vigorously his hat fell off.

The Thief caught it, hand shooting out, and blinked at himself. And then he laughed.

His demeanor had flipped almost at the exact moment they got to the tree. He wasn’t curled inwards, dancing around words and ideas. No, here he was, his laugh light, airy and carefree, something that he didn’t seem capable of prior. A few birds in the forest even chirped along. One cardinal landed on his head, whistling with him, and he didn’t seem to mind.

Virgil and Deceit shared a look, both equally blushing. This was a stark change and their glum guide was kinda cute.

The bird thing was textbook Disney prince too, like, how did he even —

“Alright,” the Thief brushed off the hat, lips quirked in a small smile, “Enough fucking around, c’mon.”

He put the hat back onto Deceit’s head, hands carding through Deceit’s hair as he did so. If the Thief noticed how much redder he got, then he didn’t let on, because he turned around as soon as the hat was on snug.

Virgil noticed, though. He pressed the butt of his palm to his mouth, stifling a laugh as the snake spluttered silently at the Thief’s back.

The Thief, still unaware — maybe unaware, maybe not? — went into the tree and climbed the stairs without waiting for them to follow. Virgil went first, then Deceit quickly, not wanting to be alone in the forest for long and not wanting to think about that incredibly gentle and not-at-all pleasing interaction.

No sir. Not pleasing. Not what he absolutely wanted for the rest of his life.

For once, he cursed the existence of gloves. How much softer would the Thief’s hands be without them?

Deceit would die before acknowledging that he absolutely definitely didn’t not have a crush.

Virgil stepped up to the top landing, beside the Thief, and looked around. It was small, but cozy. Before them was a sitting area with a thick couch, identical to the one Thomas actually had in his living room but without the bend. In front of it was a wooden coffee table, beneath was a rug with circles, almost like the rings of a tree, Virgil thought. Atop the table was a vase of red roses in full bloom.

To the right was a small kitchen alcove, separated from the sitting area with a counter peninsula that had two toasters sitting on it. Two toasters. This Roman must like his bread, apparently. Floating around between the kitchen and sitting area were some candles, all lit and casting the room in a comforting warm glow. On the left was a stairwell, wooden and spiraling up in such a way that Virgil could only see the first few steps.

Besides the stairwell was a second door. As Deceit stepped up into the room, the Thief went to the second door and opened it. As soon as the door touched the back of the hall it opened to, it disappeared, leaving an uninhibited opening down to a curving hallway that seemed to wrap around the tree’s trunk.

“Make yourselves at home,” the Thief said, waving his hand at the living room, “Do you want me to take your cloaks?”

Deceit put up his hand dismissively, turning in a circle and examining the room.

Virgil also shook his head, holding his cloak around himself more. The Thief shrugged at him, taking off his own cloak. “Suit yourself.”

As he moved to hang it up, Virgil could see that the gloves went to the middle of his forearms, and his shirt seemed to be tucked into them. No part of him was exposed other than his collar, neck, and head. Interesting?

When Virgil turned back to Deceit, to maybe, you know, indicate that this Roman was taking some pages out of his book, he found that Deceit was wandering through the kitchen. He pointed to the two toasters, made a judgemental face at Virgil, and continued opening the cabinets and drawers. Virgil slumped a little. Figures.

He sighed, walking over to the couch and flopping onto it. Oh. It even smelt like Thomas’ couch. The tension left his shoulders as he rolled onto his side, pressing his face into the cushions and taking in a deep breath. It was dizzying, how quickly this lowered his heart rate. Virgil hadn’t realized how stressed he was with the fast-paced changes of this situation.

The hardwood floor creaking indicated that Deceit had moved from the kitchen to the hallway. His footsteps echoed away down the hall.

“You want some tea?” Virgil heard the Thief ask.

He shook his head. He just wanted to lay down for now.

“Deceit? Tea?”

“I’m fine, thank you. May I go upstairs?”

“Intrusion doesn’t seem to be something you worry about, given how you went through my kitchen.”

Deceit didn’t grace that with a response, and Virgil heard his footsteps tapping up the stairs.

Silence again. He hummed into the pillow and rolled over into his own cloak. He just needed some time.

“....Do you want something to eat?” the Thief tried and, again, Virgil shook his head.

“‘M good.”

“Mhm.”

The Thief went around the kitchen calmly. Virgil could hear it. His steps were soft, though not as quiet as Deceit’s. More just….comfortable. Not as heavy as Romans typically would be, either.

Virgil sat upright slowly, still hugging one of the cushions, and looked up. The Thief’s gloves were sitting on the counter, as was the Thief himself, cradling a mug in heavily-scarred hands. Virgil actually did a small double-take upon seeing them.

The Thief raised an eyebrow, questioning.

“....Your hands’re fucked up,” Virgil stated.

He got a nod back. “Wow, I had no idea ‘bout that. Not like they’re on my body or anything.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. Roman always was a smartass. “No shit. Were….Roman’s hands aren’t like that, right?”

The Thief took a sip from the mug and did a so-so motion with his hand. “Yes and no. All my scars are definitely real. It’s not like we get out of every scrap with creatures, monsters, villains, the like without any damage. But Roman just sorta conjures flatter skin on top of it.”

Virgil frowned. There were a lot of questions he had for that, but he didn’t want to bombard him just this second. “That’s pretty weird, not gonna lie. So they normally heal into scars?” he gestured to the Thief, who nodded.

“Yeah, and it’s better to conjure up new skin than make you all worried.”

He must have recoiled, because the Thief laughed a little at him and took another sip. He wiped his mouth with the butt of his palm, shaking his head and speaking into his hand. “C’mon, you can’t tell me Patt wouldn’t flip if he saw this shit.”

Patton….very much would. All of them would, if Roman ever came in with that many scars. He was scared of what they’d say.

Virgil was getting a clearer image of the Thief’s intentions every minute. Still, for now, he just shrugged and conceded. “You’re right, I guess.”

The Thief nodded, opening his mouth to continue, but Deceit’s footsteps hopping down the stairs interrupted him. The snake in question popped out around the spiral staircase’s bend, and Virgil saw that he’d removed his hat and cloak somewhere. He had a hand raised, too, to get their attention.

“Thief, question. Well. First, the top floor is beautiful — marvelous work,” the Thief raised his glass, but otherwise didn’t react. Must not be so susceptible to flattery, Deceit noted. “I saw a city. A modern looking one, behind the mountains.”

“Oh, yeah.”

The Thief took another sip of his drink and motioned for Deceit to sit by pulling out a stool from beneath the counter, with his leg. “That’s just another setting. We don’t always adhere to a medieval theme in here, but right now we’ve kinda fallen back on the Disney royalty theme because it’s something we’re familiar with. That, and we can all agree it’s marvelous.”

“I see,” Deceit sat beside Virgil, crossing his legs on the cushion. “So you’re never going to change the setting, though?”

Deceit thought it was a fair question, but the Thief let out a short laugh. “Are you kidding? We’d have to flip everything around! God, we’d need new names, too, and new hiding places. It’s all too much work.”

He took another sip, then set his mug down. Deceit then noticed his hands, brow furrowing. He opened his mouth to bring it up, but Virgil elbowed him in the side and waved his hand.

He’d explain later. Best not interrupt, because the Thief rubbed his mouth and continued. “I don’t even think we can. It’d need to be a unanimous decision, like a coherent thought, and we’re not really capable of that right now.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Virgil asked.

The Thief looked at them both. He seemed to be debating something.

This Roman took his time with his words. That must mean he had a lot to hide, Deceit thought, or he didn’t want to expose certain ideas.

“For one. Dragon would kill us.”

Ah. “Dragon?” Deceit asked, “Care to elaborate?”

The Thief looked at his knees, then hopped off of the counter. “I’m going to make dinner,” he said, voice a little more airy, clearly trying to deflect from this conversation, “Spaghetti okay?”

“Tell us about Dragon,” Virgil pressed harder.

The Thief shot him a squinted look and relented as he set up the pot of water. “He’s another one of us, another Roman,” his voice held so much disdain. “He’s dramatic, loud, all that good stuff, but the biggest thing about him is that he really likes being right.”

“You don’t like him,” Deceit stated.

“Can’t say I’m a fan.”

He opened a cupboard and took out a box of pasta. He cleared his throat, glancing up at the two expectant faces before relenting again.

“He’s a bit of a sadist. Like….he moved into the castle. He controls the guards. They all listen to ‘Roman,’” here, the Thief did air quotations, “But they aren’t sentient enough to notice that there are seven of us now, so they listen to the guy who took charge. Dragon.”

A villain part of Roman, apparently. One who would attack the others, if the way they found the Thief being chased by guards was any indication. Virgil stood up, going into the kitchen. “Where’re the plates?” he asked quietly, “‘M gonna set the table.”

The Thief nodded to one of the cabinets and Virgil opened it, taking out some plates. He set them down on the counter only for them to be picked up by Deceit and dispersed around the peninsula, where the three counter stools were.

“Dragon,” Deceit reminded, and the Thief sighed.

“Before you guys showed up, he caught another one of us. Another Roman. And, God….” his voice trailed off.

The pot was boiling. The Thief put the noodles in, taking a wooden spoon and easing them into the water. He seemed to roll something around in his head, lolling back and forth, before grimacing and continuing. “He….he did a lot of bad things to Damsel, the other Roman. Beat him publicly, in the village’s central square so all the characters got to see. So that we could all see. It was horrifying.”

A chill swept through the glassless windows of the tree.

“That’s….” Virgil and Deceit spoke at the same time.

“Dark.”

“Awful.”

They shared a look before turning back to Thief, who was churning the noodles, eyes glued to the rising steam and boiling water. It was surprising that the steam didn’t put out any of the candles, actually.

He looked forlorn, lost and defeated. “It was like a warning, to the rest of us. Don’t get caught, or else.”

Deceit picking up the conversation. “I didn’t realize there was a part of Roman willing to do….that. And for what?”

“For approval. And what can I say? He lives for validation, would kill for it, too. We all know you’re in here, so he’s definitely hunting you guys, maybe to gloat and probably hoping you all will tell him he did good,” the way Thief said it sounded almost too nonchalant, like it were forceful.

He turned off the stove top’s heat — hang on, Deceit thought, a stove?! Well, fuck the theme-ing then. This was a neverending hell of inconsistencies — and pulled a strainer out from another cabinet. Slowly, the Thief strained out the water, talking all the while.

“He probably wants to….” his eyes flicked up at them, quick as a flash, and he let out a small exhale. “I dunno. He’s a bit of a dice roll. One second, he’s talking about how much he wants all of you to love him, brushing his hair in the mirror and painting his nails, just being harmless, and the other second he’s talkin’ about how much he wants to dismember you and throw your bodies into locked boxes in the river.”

Virgil and Deceit exchanged a look, one worried and one determined. They were safe, knew how to defend themselves, and had the means with which to defend themselves, but….

Virgil’s brow furrowed. Logan and Patton were out there somewhere. And there was a bit of Roman that seemed happy to kill literally anything.

He looked up at Deceit, who was watching him with squinted eyes. Logan and Patton must be fine. They must be.

What if they weren’t? Virgil squinted right back at him. They could be hurt.

No, they were fine.

The Thief cleared his throat, cutting through the tension like a knife and drawing both of their attentions back to him. He was heating up some sauce now, mixing in some herbs with what looked like a tomato-paste base, eyes shifting between Virgil and Deceit.

The staredown lasted for a minute or two before he relented, exhaling and hitting his spoon on the side of the pan.

“Let’s….pause, for a hot sec. Dinner’s almost done and, after that, you both should sleep,” his voice carried like a whisper around the small kitchen.

Neither of them responded, and the Thief just kept cooking. He slowly poured the noodles into the sauce, mixing up a little before gesturing to the pasta.

He couldn’t honestly expect them to just drop the conversation like that. Could he?

“We are going to have to confront Dragon,” Deceit raised an eyebrow at him, “You know that, right?”

The Thief shrugged. He picked up a plate, took out a pair of tongs, and began putting pasta on the plate. “Probably. I can’t help you there, though. I’ve just been setting off all the booby traps in the castle, so he gets stuck in them. And stealing his jewelry. He’s got a hoard of it.”

Like a dragon, Virgil thought. And with scales, probably, and claws. And wings. Maybe he breathed fire.

He was frightened to all heck, but if they wanted Roman back, they’d have to….what. Talk with him? Probably talk with him.

He looked at Deceit, who was looking at the pasta, and then he heard his own stomach growl. The Thief had sat down at one of the peninsula stools, pointedly ignoring them for his noodles.

Then, he giggled. The Thief covered his mouth with a hand, but they both could see that a broad smile was behind it.

“What?” Deceit asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The Child just said the Social Nerd-work’s name. That means Dad-ton Abbey and him’re safe at the Artist’s house,” he explained, waving a hand and swirling his pasta on a fork, “Wow.”

Wow indeed. A little bit of the tension in Virgil’s shoulders released. Patton and Logan were safe, fine, hidden away with another less-murderous Roman. That was some good news.

….Well. Virgil sighed, more at ease now, and relented to the pasta. As he sat at the counter, Deceit went to make himself a plate.

They ate in nearly absolute silence, none of them wanting to mention the lack of a plan and the looming fear of this villainous Roman who apparently wanted to kill them all.

Deceit finished first, and he ran his hand through his hair, smoothing it back. “We’re sleeping here, correct? I also don’t suppose you have a shower or something?”

Thief pointed down a hall. “We might have an aesthetic going, but I’d die without a whole bathroom set up. Down and to the left, there’re towels in the side closet,” he took a final bite and set his fork down, standing up

“Thank you,” Deceit said, shooting Virgil a small look as he ducked toward the bathroom.

Deceit probably wanted him to ask more about the situation. Virgil tiredly continued to eat, but the pit that was opening his stomach was taking up more room than the pasta could fill. It was clear that the Thief — both of the Romans they’d interacted with, but right now, the Thief — trusted Virgil a lot more than Deceit. At least it showed a certain awareness on Roman’s part of Deceit’s trickery?

And it wasn’t like Virgil could help how upset he was by all this. It was a stressful situation and had a stressfully silent week before it.

“I also,” Virgil looked back up at the Thief, who gestured to Virgil’s plate, “Forgot to thank you all. For coming after us. Honestly didn’t expect it.”

Virgil nodded and carefully stood up from his stool. The Thief smiled and took the plate, but his brows were pinched. He wanted an explanation, didn’t he? It felt like a weird thing to need to explain. It was obvious. Wasn’t it?

“We were worried,” it sounded lame aloud, but the Thief just nodded in response.

“Thanks,” he put the plates into the sink and pointed down the hall, too. “You should go check out a room, too. Maybe change into some pajamas or something more comfortable? There’re, uh, pajamas. I’m just going to do the dishes then head to bed myself.”

Again, Virgil nodded. He was at a loss for words, honestly, and that was all a lot of information to process.

Take one thing at a time, though. That was what the Thief was suggesting, wasn’t it? “Sure thing,” he said, dashing away immediately.

The hall was dark, long, and curved. There were candles floating along the walls, same as out in the living area, and there were doors on either side. One already had Deceit’s double-snake-head logo shining yellow. Besides that door was another, unmarked door, but Virgil could hear a shower coming from inside.

He needed to get a room, first. Across from the bathroom was another unmarked door, probably a bedroom, and Virgil ducked into it, closing the door quickly.

He immediately threw himself onto the bed and rubbed his face. That probably smudged his eyeliner. It was already smudged.

No, no, he didn’t have the time to care about that. Virgil sat upright and looked around. There was a small open-fronted wardrobe pressed against the wall, with some pairs of pants and some shirts hanging on the wall. Surprisingly, they all looked to be various combinations of purple, black, and grey. He stood up, against his desire to curl into a ball and sleep on that bed for all eternity, and checked out the clothing. Yep, everything was about his aesthetic, and some even had his logo on them. Neat.

There was the bed and there was a mirror on top of the wardrobe. Around the room were some floating candles, but none were lit, and there was a light switch by the door. Virgil squinted. How the fuck did that work?

He flicked the switch and they all turned on, lit by flames. Alright. That was cool.

Virgil had to talk to the Thief. He couldn’t dance around it.

Or he could stay in here and admire how the wardrobe auto-filled with clothes that fit his style. Or he could admire the cool candle lights. Those would look sick in his room, actually. He should talk to the Thief about that, instead of literally anything else he actually had to talk to him about.

He just wanted Roman back, goddamnit. He wanted the Roman who would do outrageous things just to see Virgil smile. The one who would put on Black Cauldron for the millionth time, without complaint, when Virgil was having a bad day. He wanted the Roman who worked to improve himself and worked to include him, and didn’t shy away, and didn’t want to hide, and didn’t make him feel like he himself had overlooked something so disastrous as a crumbling self-image and gnawing concern that no one loved him.

The guilt weighed heavy in his stomach. Yeah, guilt. Virgil had felt Roman’s anxieties growing, but did he bring it up? Well, okay, he did. But every time that he did, Roman had deflected it with a witty quip or incredibly stupid comment or even that dumb, dashing smile. And then Roman would catch that he was nervous about something. He would never guess that it was himself.

Virgil could almost imagine what he’d do. Roman would take him by the hand into his room, always with the lights dimmer, more simplistic than was usual. He’d sit him in his squishy armchair, stand behind him, rub his shoulders and let him just vent.

Or maybe Roman would lead him down into the kitchen, sing a merry tune and make Virgil some peppermint tea. Swirl around in the kitchen, making jokes or telling stories, on those days where Virgil didn’t want to talk.

Ever since they’d shifted to accepting him, Roman had done his best. Extra, frivolous, occasionally over-the-top, but his fucking best. Virgil owed his best right back.

Virgil had to get him back. He had to face the music.Virgil’s fists balled at his sides as he whispered to himself, “Fuck it,” and threw open his door.

He hurried out of the hall and stopped in the entryway into the living area. The Thief was cradling another mug, sitting on a stool and staring at the flower vase sitting on the coffee table.

“Hey, Roman,” the Thief jumped and some liquid splashed out of his mug. Virgil winced. “Sorry, Thief?”

Virgil felt a little more guilty as the Thief sighed, rolling his shoulders and casting him a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, Virgil? You need anything?”

“Not really,” Virgil leaned on the wall as the Thief pulled out a roll of paper towels and tore some off. “I just wanted to say thanks. For keeping us safe. I don’t know what we would have done if you didn’t let us sleep over.”

The Thief pressed the towels to the spilt tea and matched eyes with Virgil. He gave him a reassuring albeit crooked smile, hair falling out of whatever order it’d been. It fluffed up around his face and, almost, looked like a crown. One of his hands reached up and ran through his hair, pushing it back into the messy but suave side-part Roman always had.

Hey, stop staring. Virgil blinked slowly and focused on the Thief’s words. “....probably safest place in the setting.”

He nodded, then shifted his weight, putting his hands in his pockets. Here goes. “Also, I don’t really understand why you want to be alone so badly. Like, I do, I get that feeling too sometimes, but….”

The Thief sighed, frustration laced through his breath, and Virgil added. “You know we’d miss you, Roman.”

That got him to falter. He stared at the countertop, then lifted the flower vase and cleaned beneath that. “I can’t say I wouldn’t miss you all, too,” he said. “I wish I wouldn’t. That’s more what I want. When we are all together, the best moments are so good. Nothing brings us more joy than seeing you smile and laugh at memes with us, or hearing Logan’s gasp when he reads something enticing, or watching Patton fuss around the kitchen. Heck, even Deceit’s dumb smirk makes us happy.”

Virgil could hear the “but” hanging in the air, especially once the Thief scrubbed the counter with extra vigor.

“But the lows. We can’t always handle the criticism, the shouting, the arguing and belittling. Being told we’re not enough,” he sighed, then added in a much softer voice. “That I’m not enough.”

He tossed the paper towels away into the trash bin, beneath the sink, and leaned his back on the sink’s edge. “Sometimes, I can’t help but wish I wanted to be alone. And if we self-impose that loneliness, then it might make it easier. To be alone.”

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, watching. He’d known that they were less than supportive, on the best of days, but that was their job. Especially Virgil’s. He was the guy who was supposed to spot possible problems, things that the audience might not like, things that might endanger Thomas. He’d thought that Roman understood that he was doing it out of….

Alright, there was the L word again.

His internal monologue was interrupted when the Thief stood up straight and faced Virgil determinedly, wearing a tired smile.

“If you can convince the others, then I’ll come quiet. I just think that being alone’s….easier to handle,” he laughed a little to himself, a quiet chuckle that Virgil thought sounded hollow. “Besides, if Roman isolates himself, then it doesn’t matter if….”

His smile faltered a little, eyes seeming to watch something distantly away from Virgil. As quick as the expression came, though, it went as he looked back down at the counter. He reached up and ran his hands through his hair, settling it back.

There must be something Virgil should do or say. There must be, because sitting in silence like this — god, the Thief was gonna start crying, wasn’t he?

What wouldn’t matter? The question burned in his mind.

“....Haven’t I been through enough heartbreaks?”

The Thief’s question was so quiet, so desperate, that Virgil thought he just imagined it until a floorboard creak behind him indicated that someone had approached. He glanced back to see Deceit, hair still damp, clothed in a simple cream shirt and dark brown trousers. Pajamas, clearly, maybe taken from the room. Deceit nodded to the Thief, who was hunching over the counter, eyes stuck on the counter.

Virgil pursed his lips and made a so-so hand motion. He didn’t know exactly what was motivating the Thief, but they were getting inklings. Deceit nodded again in response and stood behind Virgil.

Who turned back to the Thief, still staring at the table. “We need you,” was how Virgil started, trying to piece together the best way to phrase what he wanted to say.

The Thief looked up at him and Virgil saw some wetness glittering in his dark brown eyes. They locked with his, not necessarily a glare nor anything aggressive. You could have convinced Virgil that the Thief was pleading. But for what, he couldn’t tell.

And then he smiled. He smiled and shook his head, looking away again.

“I…” He covered his mouth with a hand and reconsidered, shaking his head, “Nah, it’s dumb.”

“You’re not dumb, Thief.”

Virgil pushed off of the doorway to stand besides the Thief as he sank into one of the counter stools. Gently, like Roman had done for him many times, he put his hands on the Thief’s shoulders. “Can I?” he asked, voice quiet.

The Thief nodded, hand holding his mouth tight. His other hand, resting on the table and not gripping anything, had a slight tremor. Deceit stepped into the dining area, lips pinched in worry. He certainly wasn’t the one silencing the Thief, if it was anyone at all.

Virgil began rubbing the Thief’s shoulders, leaning closer and watching as his shoulders hiked up a little more. He was so tense, stiff as a rock.

“Listen. Thief,” Virgil glanced at Deceit, who was shifting his weight lamely, and nodded toward the mugs.

Deceit seemed to get the idea, because he nodded and got to work immediately. The Thief’s hand slid upward, covering his eyes now, and he shuddered as Virgil put more pressure on his shoulders. “Is this okay?” Virgil asked again, quietly, and the Thief nodded.

“Thanks,” his voice was so quiet that Virgil could barely hear him.

“You know,” Virgil hummed, quiet but determined. “I tried the whole lone-wolf thing. Thought it’d be good to keep myself separate ‘cause it would protect you all. Thought that was for the best. None of you seemed to want me back then, either.”

The Thief whined, and Virgil let up. But as his shoulders stiffened again, Virgil felt his anxiety mount. “No–uh, sorry, no that just–that was a good spot,” the Thief tried to explain, face turning redder under his hand.

Deceit snorted behind him, and Virgil kicked his heel out, managing to hit him square in the shin. He let out a chuckle when Deceit hissed in pain.

“I’m sorry. That we made you feel like that,” both of the other Sides looked at the Thief, whose hands were now both on the counter.

Virgil’s were still resting on his shoulders, so he exhaled and pressed down again. “We-We shouldn’t have—” the Thief tried to continue, but Virgil cut him off.

“Not saying you shouldn’t have, but you’ve been apologizing for it. You….all accept me, now. I’m working on getting used to that, you all work on making me feel included, and we work together. Maybe there’re highs, maybe there’re lows. That’s how everything goes, but we always get through it when we work as a team. ‘Cause teamwork makes the dream work, right?” Virgil smiled when the Thief snorted, “And we can’t make the team work without the dream.”

The Thief sat up a little more. Virgil didn’t want to pressure him or anything, so he rubbed a particularly tight knot near the base of his neck before letting go. It seemed that the Thief came to some understanding, though.

“Hot chocolate’s done,” Deceit said.

He leaned down beside Virgil and set a full mug down on the counter in front of the Thief. He then nudged Virgil’s hip with his own, holding out a mug for him but eyes not meeting Virgil’s.

That was the first bad sign. Virgil pressed his mouth into a line. Before he could make a move, though, Deceit picked up his own mug and stepped away. “I’m going to sleep,” he announced, “I can only assume tomorrow will be just as taxing as today was. Goodnight Roman. Virgil.”

Deceit’s eyes were still cast lower as he nodded once toward the Thief and once toward Virgil, and he stared at the floor as he hurried to the hallway. He disappeared down the hall, into the darkness, and they both heard his door close sharply.

Damn. So much for that truce.

Yeah, sure, Virgil wasn’t fond of Deceit. Much.

He used to be. They used to be thick as thieves — Patton would be proud of that pun, Virgil thought — and while time and responsibilities have wore down that relationship….Deceit was still important to him. Yeah, he was a bad influence, but, like….

Whatever. He didn’t care. He didn’t.

The Thief leaned back a little, head resting on Virgil’s shoulder. “You should sleep, too, Paramoody.”

His head tilted back and he smiled up at Virgil, who squinted at him. “If you fall backwards on that stool, I’m gonna laugh.”

“In fact, I’m the owner of Roman’s single braincell,” the Thief’s smile softened, “Thanks for earlier. I’ll think about that.”

His eyes were so soft. Had Roman always had that little beauty mark? Virgil really only noticed it now, with his face so close and with that weird scar pointing at it.

Not that he endorsed Roman being damaged in any physical way, but the scar was also. Pretty hot.

The Thief chuckled quietly, one hand reaching up to patt Virgil’s cheek.

His hands were a little cold, but they were soft, despite the scars. Virgil could feel him shudder a tiny bit as the Thief gently ran his thumb along his cheekbone.

Virgil felt….comfortable.

Why didn’t he want this, again? The Thief watched Virgil watching him, and saw him slowly lean his head into his hand. He must be tired, that was why Virgil was so open with him. There couldn’t have been another reason.

Still.

“Alright, you actually need to sleep, ‘cause your eyeshadow’s all over your face,” the Thief pulled his hand away and sat upright again.

As he slid off the stool, saying something about sleep and grabbing his hand, Virgil tuned him out, letting himself be pulled around.

What the hell was THAT moment? This was the absolute worst time to be reminded that he was a disaster, and the Thief must be so creeped out by how he was just staring at his goddamn face.

“And my room’s upstairs. If you go up the stairs, take a left, you’ll find me, okay?” Virgil blinked, looking up.

They were at the entrance to the hallway now. The Thief smiled kindly at him, though his brow was pinched in worry. “Have a good night, Virgil,” he whispered, hand still holding Virgil’s.

Virgil nodded, not trusting what he’d say if he opened his mouth, and met him with a small smile.

He wished had retained more of the romantic parts of Roman. Then, maybe, he’d be able to find the right words to describe how willing he was to throw this whole challenge away just to see that smile for the rest of eternity.

The Thief leaned in and pecked Virgil’s cheek. Then, he darted away, waist sash trailing up after him as he escaped up the stairs.

Virgil stared into nothing, eyes stuck to the empty staircase. Slowly, his hand lifted to his cheek, fingers grazing where the Thief’s — Roman’s — lips had been.

What the fuck.

Don’t even consider it.

He found himself walking back to the room he’d chosen — it was easy to find, his storm cloud logo was glowing a soft purple on the door — and collapsed onto the bed.

Virgil was absolutely sore from how fast his thoughts had been running today. It felt like years ago that he’d found Deceit in the hall and slammed him into the wall.

Oof. Maybe he wouldn’t sleep tonight, now that he’d remembered that. Virgil groaned into his pillow, crossing his arms over his head and pressing into it as his breathing’s erraticness increased

Deceit had been truly upset. Frustrated, angry, yeah, sure, that was the point — Virgil hadn’t expected that flash of betrayal. He couldn’t get that stupid snakey hurt expression out of his goddamn head. Plus it was just poor instincts to immediately strangle someone. And the way Deceit had slunk out of the kitchen just now, not daring to look at either of their faces.

He screamed into the pillow, pressing down into it even more. Calm down. He had to calm down.

What, why calm down now? You’d been holding this panic attack in all day, Virgil.

The pillow grew damp beneath his face; he hadn’t noticed that he was crying a little.

Virgil flipped over, now pressing the back of his head into the pillow, and wrapped his arms around his head, wiping at his eyes with his hand. He began tapping his left hand on the back of his arm, counting quietly as he inhaled, held, and exhaled.

It helped that it wasn’t completely silent. Virgil’s room had a window, a circle in above the bed. A gentle breeze wafted in, as did the sound of the trees rustling, frogs croaking, and bugs buzzing — a solid background noise to focus on, rather than the day’s events. Virgil mentally counted the frogs’ croaks as he felt his chest loosen. Maybe it was a product of being in the Imagination and, by extension, Roman’s room, but he got a grip of himself faster than usual.

As he calmed down, though, he also regained the feelings of absolute exhaustion. Calm quickly turned to drowsiness, and Virgil was asleep within seconds.

[crashdevlin]

To Hell and Back- 5: Highway to Hell

To Hell and Back Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version). This is an AU of my story ‘Marion’ and is just as epic as that series. 

Summary: Marion’s relentless nature gets her in serious trouble.

Pairing(s): Crowley x Marion

Word Count: 3273

Chapter Warnings: descriptions of child abuse, Hell, torture

Marion was seven hours into her twenty hour drive when she got a call from Dean. "Hey. Haven't heard from you in weeks. Tryin' to pull a 'Dad' on me?"

"No. I'm trying to pull a 'Sam'. You know, I was told to stay away." She responded.

She could hear Dean sigh through the phone. "Look, I didn't mean-"

"You did, D., but it's fine, dude. I totally understand. You need to spend time with Sam. He's gone revenge horny and you have to be with him... without me. It's cool. It's been a long time since I've had some peace and quiet, so I'm cool with this. Just tell me that you guys are keeping safe."

"Of course, we are. So, what are you up to? Any interesting hunts on the horizon?"

"No. It's all quiet on this end." She said, soliciting a scoff from the demon in her passenger seat.

"Sammy and I have been pretty busy, actually. A wendigo a couple weeks ago, a kid haunting the families of the boys who killed him after that and we just got a call from Jerry Panowski. Remember him? The, uh, the pol-"

"Poltergeist, yeah. I remember him."

"Yeah, well, there was this plane crash. He says there's somethin' janky about it."

"Oh, a plane crash? Cool, so you're finally gonna try out those Homeland credentials?"

"Maybe." There was a moment before. "How'd you know?"

She rolled her eyes. The amount of attention she paid her brother was ridiculous when confronted with the amount of attention her twin didn't pay her. "Just a good guess, I guess."

"Hey. I, uh, it won't be long, Marion. He's still not sleeping, but I'll get him back on track and we'll be fine. All of us. We'll track down Dad and it'll be like old times."

"Gods, I hope not, Dean." She exclaimed. "If it's gonna be like it was five years ago, I'd be better off just staying gone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She'd known he was going to be offended.

"Do you honestly not remember, D.? Ten years ago, Dad started ignoring me and got all paranoid about Sam. The shouting matches between them started and he beat Sam more with his words than he ever beat me with his fists. I was an outsider for years before that but once Dad started ignoring me and you went to defending Sam, I was fucking invisible. If you and Sam find Dad and it goes back to the way it was before, then I would be happier alone."

"Dad never hit you." Dean growled. "I wish you wouldn't say that. I didn't see it. Sam didn't see it. We lived in motel rooms, Marion. If Dad hit you, we would've seen."

"You were so far up that man's ass, you could see where his fists were! Fuck, you didn't want to see! And Sammy? Dad was good at keepin' shit from him. Sammy didn't even know where Dad went all the time 'til he was eight years old!" She took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip. "Bobby knew. Bobby knew what Dad was doing. Why do you think he took me in, taught me how to defend myself? It wasn't so that I could hunt, that's for damn sure! Look, you believe whatever the fuck you want, D., but I will not be coming back to the same shit I dealt with for my whole life." She hung up and threw the phone into the backseat.

"Delusional, innit he?" Crowley asked, looking over at her.

Marion tried to fight the angry tears that were trying to pop up in her eyes. "They both had blinders on for that time of our lives, and they always have blinders on when it comes to each other. If nothing else, Crowley, this whole 'staying away from the family' thing is letting me get some shit off my chest that I never would've said in the past."

She wondered, sometimes, if it really was as bad as she remembered it to be. She often feared she might've given herself to Crowley for nothing.

Crowley seemed to sense where her mind had wandered. "I remember watching it happen, once. You were twelve, I believe. Mr. Singer was called on a hunt and sent you back to your father. Dean left to go chase a girl at the arcade down the street and Sam had fallen asleep in bed reading. John came back to the motel, drunk on somethin' cheap. You were watching Scooby Doo, he felt you should have been working on your knife skills. He grabbed your collar and shook you but his drunken fingers lost their grip and you went flying into the TV."

She nodded. "When he pulled me up off the ground, he pulled so hard that he dislocated my shoulder." She whispered.

"Your brothers didn't even ask why you were favoring yer arm or why you were having trouble hearing them with your right ear."

"They sure noticed the TV was busted, though." She chuckled. "You smoked into that biker at the next stop. I've never seen my Dad so bruised and bloody, not from any hunt he's ever been on."

Crowley gave a small smile. "They don't remember anything because they don't want to. But one day, they'll know John for who he really is."

She smiled, brightly, and reached over to pat Crowley's knee. "Thank you for putting an end to that."

"It wasn't me, Darling. That was... that was you. It was your deal."

"You gave me a pretty sweet deal compared to the idiots I mark."

"I'm glad you are finally starting to realize that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crowley walked into his study while Marion got settled into the room he'd specifically chosen for her. He sighed as a demon wearing an old redneck appeared beside him. "You've got one of my Winchesters." The intruder said, eyes flashing yellow.

"No, I've got mine." Crowley responded. "Wanna read 'er contract?"

"I claimed the Winchester kids before those brats were even born. The only reason you have that contract is because you were able to convince Lilith that she could help you get your numbers up. If it were up to me, that one would be dead." Crowley sighed and made a show of pouring his scotch. He'd heard this spiel many times before. "She's a wild card, Crowley. She could make us or break us, and I find the boys much easier to manipulate. Don't think for a single minute that you really have her under your control. Contract or not, she's a hunter."

"She's not just a hunter, Azazel. She's a Winchester. Instill loyalty and they will follow you to the ends. I've got her as long as her family keeps pushing her away." Crowley smiled, sarcastically. "Wild card: tamed."

"I hope you're right, Crowley."

"Crowley... who's this?" Marion asked, walking into the study and giving a wary look to the other demon in the room. "Thought it was just gonna be you, me, and the hounds."

"Can't help the higher-ups comin' to check on us, love. Marion, Azazel, Marion." Crowley motioned between the two with his scotch glass.

Marion looked at Azazel for a few long moments, her breath coming in short, her heart racing as she fought panic and rage. "I'm not feeling very well. I'm gonna go lay down." She swallowed before retreating from the room. Crowley was following right behind her and, as soon as the door to her bedroom closed, she turned to him with fury. "You've been lying to me! For years!"

Crowley shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"I recognize him! Not the man, not that meat suit, the eyes! Those jaundice-looking, sickly yellow eyes! He's the one who killed my mom! And Sam's girlfriend, right?!" Crowley opened his mouth to respond, but Marion didn't give him time to answer. "Because they got in the way of whatever your bosses have planned for my family and you want me to just sit back and be your fucking house human? What kind of person would I be, what kind of hunter would I be, if I didn't try to warn them?"

Her breath was coming in short as she ranted. "How can I sit here and play pretend like I'm your pet? Sit here, surrounded by the monsters manipulating my family to their own ends and not say anything?"

"Marion, please... don't make me-" Crowley's eyes pleaded but she felt no pity.

"I won't ever stop trying. Any chains you place on me, be they literal or metaphysical, I will break them, and you will have to explain to Lilith why you had to kill me." She shook her head as angry tears started to pour down her face. "You might as well take me to Hell now, Fergus, because I'm never gonna stop."

A hand appeared on her shoulder as the redneck with the yellow eyes showed up behind her. "I thought you'd never ask."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marion woke up in a chair, drenched in sweat, with the smell of sulfur pervading her senses. It was such a hot rotten egg smell that it made her gag. "You've brought a live one? How did you even manage?"

"Crowley had her on contract. Didn't even have to engage a reaper. She's here, but no one can know she's here. We don't want her being found. Oh, and you can't let her die. Anything else is fair game, Alistair."

"Can't let her die? She's a human in Hell! Why can't I kill her?"

"Believe me, I feel your pain, but if she dies, she goes up." Azazel jabbed two fingers upward. "And she knows a lot more about our plans than I want Heaven privy to. Just give her some of that potato soup you used to whip up for the Jews, keep the torture less than fatal and we'll be fine. After we finish the plan, then you can take her out."

"So... you're Crowley's bitch." Alistair walked over to her as Azazel disappeared. "It's been a long time since I had to worry about keeping a victim alive. It's definitely a unique challenge down here. So, did you get caught with something you should have left alone? So curious, you humans."

Marion looked at him defiantly but said nothing as he slowly brought a knife to her sweat-soaked clavicle. "I love when they think they can hold out. You think you're strong because you're a hunter, a soldier for your father's cause. In the end, you are just a fragile little girl in a vessel full of pain receptors... and I know just how to activate every single one of them."

"But you won't." She whispered, hopefully.

He smirked. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because..." She swallowed. "You need to keep me alive. If you torture me the way you want, I'll go into shock and I'll die. If I have no hope, no reason to try to hang on... if you put me in a position where I might have any say in whether I live or die... I will choose to die, and you can't let that happen. So... you'll have to go soft on the torture, Al."

"You're right, of course. But I have all the time I need to slowly break every part of you, and unlike every other soul in this place, you won't be made whole again at the next dawn." He dug the knife into her skin, slicing a shallow cut from her clavicle to her navel and smiling as she cried out in agony.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marion spent much of the next few decades screaming. She was usually alone, but for Alistair. Every couple of years, Azazel would show up to see if she was still alive and to mockingly monitor her mental state. Lilith showed up just twice to taunt her. She never saw Crowley and after a few years, she didn't think she wanted to.

She didn't try to talk, anymore, her voice disused except to scream in Alistair's face. She thought she might have even forgotten how to speak until the day Azazel walked into her cell with a guest in tow. Her eyes widened at the sight of her father... his soul, anyway.

Her voice was hoarse, but she managed a whisper. "Dad?"

"I'm so happy to see this little family reunion! It's not every day we get to see something so touching in Hell." Azazel quipped.

"Marion, what are you- your brothers have been looking for you for months." John's voice was pure confusion, but his words made Marion tear up at the thought that she'd only missed several months on Earth, while she'd spent a century in Hell, alone and in pain.

"It's been quite a bit longer for poor, young Marion, and to answer for her, since I know this is all a bit overwhelming... she fell in with a bad crowd, John. She made friends with a demon, a pissant little crossroads demon." Azazel slammed his hands down on her shoulders and she whimpered. "Between that and her nosy Winchester nature, we had to shove her deep into the Pit so that we could maintain the plan."

"Friends with a demon? What is he talking about, Marion?" John asked, his voice full of accusations.

Marion looked down, dread filling her as she was forced to finally divulge her greatest secret to her father. "He saved my life. Back before Mom, before this hunting bullshit, before any of us knew about monsters." She closed her eyes. "We were at the park when D. and I were four. Dean begged and pleaded and finally convinced you to get us ice cream from the truck. I was more interested in a butterfly, this pretty yellow and blue one. I chased it out of the park and it flew into the street. There was a truck and it would've flattened me, but Crowley pulled me back just in time."

Marion looked up. "He disappeared so fast and I was so young... I thought I imagined it... but then I saw him again after the fire and he kept showing up whenever I was alone and I was alone a lot. He told me when i was nine that he was a demon, but... he'd always been so good to me, so I didn't think it mattered."

"Here's my favorite part, John." Azazel cut in.

"He saved my life on several hunts." Her voice had started coming in stronger, but much more hoarse for the effort. "And when you started hurting me, I knew I could count on him to stop it, but I... I didn't want him to hurt you to get the job done. I knew it was the alcohol and the stress and the sadness you felt when you looked at me and saw Mom. So... to make it stop without hurting you, I made a deal." She gasped out a sob as her body tried to cry but was too dehydrated to manage the tears. "I agreed to help Crowley find people who tried to run from the hounds, and he made it where I'm invisible to you when you're drunk. That's why you never noticed me anymore, because you're always drunk."

"You sold your soul?" John growled.

"No. I sold my life. You sold your soul. Which one did you do it for?"

John looked away. "Dean was dyin'. I had to."

Marion shook her head. She knew more than John thought she did. "Because somebody's gotta stop Sammy if this prick's plan works, right? You would've done it yourself if you thought you could, but no, you leave it to his brother to kill him."

"I just gave up my life and my soul and the only weapon that could take this monster down to save your brother! What else can I give?"

"Nothing now." She said, looking from her father to the demons standing over them. "Just... don't give them what they want! No matter what they do, don't-!" Marion managed to frantically get out half of her warning before Azazel's fist connected with the side of her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marion had woken up alone and stayed that way for a while, decades. Alistair had stopped coming to torture her, having found a new Winchester to play with that he didn't have to worry about keeping alive. Gallons of water, buckets of 'potato soup' which was mostly just potato water, and vitamin pills kept showing up with an increased frequency. So when her cell door opened and a form slunk in, she almost felt up to whatever fight was coming.

Crowley turned around from silently closing the cell door and surveyed the scene before him. If he hadn't known he was in the right place, he would never have recognized her. She was seventy-five pounds, if she was soaking wet, and she was covered in dirt and dried blood. On the wall over her head, there were hash marks, seemingly drawn in blood. A quick count told him that there were three hundred and sixty-five of them. More than half of them had a circle around it. Days and years. He heard a shuddering sigh as he stepped closer to her.

"You never came." She whispered and he had to school his face to keep his emotions at bay.

"It took me this long just to find you, Pony." His words were soft, and he used a nickname from her youth to put her at ease. "You think Azazel would just tell me where he put the only thing..." He faltered before continuing. "...worth taking from me?" He walked forward and pulled on her shackles to break the links. "I've spent years trying to find you, couldn't be blatant about it, called in favors from people I've been holding for centuries. Come on, stand up."

She shot a weak glare at him. "Do I look like I can stand?" She whispered.

"Well, if you wanna get out of here, you're gonna find the will to walk, sweetheart."

"Out?"

"Out." He insisted, helping her to her feet and ignoring the way the wounds and scars under his hands made him want to kill Alistair. "Out of Hell. A lot's happened since you've been gone, Pony. Sam died, Dean sold his soul at a crossroads and now the tin soldier who killed Baby Brother is on the way to open the Gates of Hell and let everyone out, which is sure to be a party. Sam and Dean are on their way to stop him, but he's bound to get the gates open for a few minutes, at least. I'm going to draw you a map. The soldier is gonna open that gate in about nine hours." Crowley pulled out a familiar piece of paper and turned it over, drawing a map.

He handed her the map, making sure Marion could see that it was drawn on her contract. "You make it there. You don't get caught. You make it here." He pointed to the far point on the map. "You make it topside and you burn the map. Azazel and Lilith can't bring you back without the clause in your contract saying your body can cross without a Reaper. Get topside, burn the map. Understand?"

She nodded, weakly. "Topside. Burn it."

Crowley ran his thumb across her dirty cheek and sighed. "Good luck, Pony."

She took a shaky step toward the door and sent and unaddressed prayer up to anyone who was listening. "Please, let me get out safe."

[blackhound14]

Paint it Red. Chapter 2

I thought all that mattered was my work, but sometimes the world isn't just black or white, sometimes it's a whole spectra of colors. Love, I learned, is the most perplexing of all colors.

I hoped that I never learned that.

View On AO3

chapter 1

chapter 3

Chapter 2: Get the Coffee and the Lead.

Chapter 2: Get the Coffee and the Lead.

I have been to several crime scenes over the last few years; first when I was a rookie, working under my adoptive father, Hank, and then when I was promoted to the post of a Lieutenant. I have interrogated more suspects than the amount of people I have, informally, ever spoken to. Never, in the past seven years of my services to the DPD, have I ever encountered such a troublesome investigation.

The man, Markus, nods towards Jerry and motions me to follow.

We enter another room at the back, filled with what I can only describe as more colors. By the looks of it, this place was probably the store room. I look around curiously, as it was just my second nature by this point. There were empty canvases of varying sizes, lined up neatly in the side and boxes full of brand new brushes. I never knew that brushes could have so many variations.

I hear Markus clear his throat in an attempt to gain my attention, “So, how may I help you, Lieutenant?”

Shit! Even his voice is silky smooth, with a honeyed tone, that I want to do nothing but relish in its sweetness. It had a calming feel to it. How does his laugh sound like, I wonder? How would those lips taste, similar to salt and caramel perhaps? Just like the tint of his sun-kissed skin. I snap out of my nanosecond of distraction and muster up my ability to make full coherent words, one skill of mine that I’m not particularly too proud of.

“I am looking for details regarding a certain type of paint.” I hand him the paint sample, “Do you know of anyone who buys it regularly?”

He shook his head, repeating what Jerry explained earlier about not having the shade for sale. “If you require, I can try to get the same shade of color and then match them with the purchases. However, there are different methods of getting a particular color, so there will be many combinations. I am an artist and I am sure that you will find my services useful.”, he winked.

Calm down and do not stutter. You hear me, Connor?!

I must decline, getting civilians dragged into this mess will only create more problems. And unhealthy distractions. But I need help and this man seems to be the only one that will help me accomplish my mission. I reluctantly agreed. I managed to exchange numbers without much stuttering and making a fool out of myself, so that one good thing.

I walk into the office and make my way to the cafeteria, or the break-room as it is so inconveniently named, to get a cup of coffee. I see Hank, going through some of his case files, from the corner of my eyes. Even at this age, his passion for the job remains undefeated. He was still great at his work as I first worked under him for about eight years and the man didn’t care about relations when it came to the office. ‘I am not your father here, Connor. I am your superior and you call me Lieutenant.’

I couldn’t help but smile at those memories. And now he asks me to call him dad. Hank’s some hard nut to crack, but worth it. No matter how solid of a shell he has, he is still a big-big softy that cries during rom-coms, sleeps while snuggling to a teddy-bear like dog and most importantly, will do anything to keep his small family safe.

I then come face to face with the man I absolutely loath. Gavin Reed. It is still morning and I do not have the willpower to deal with a self-centered moron because, god forbid, this time I might be the one to pull up my sleeve and throw a punch. And I haven’t even taken my coffee yet, making this situation even worse.

He’s a man that has everyone on edge, being incredibly disrespectful and violent. His frame is a little similar to mine, but a tad bit broad. His face has a sharp jawline with a light stubble and light colored eyes. I might even call him ruggedly handsome if his lips, whenever I’m graced with, aren’t always curled up in a nasty snarl or busy making a pathetic statement.

“If it isn’t, Lieutenant Anderson the junior! Seems like you overslept, it’s almost noon. Maybe you were too busy riding daddy’s coattails! Hah!”

As I said, pathetic. Why the hell Captain Fowler hasn’t fired him is beyond my comprehension. I ignore his remarks and continue making myself my drink, as I find that replying back to him is an utter waste of my time. I hear him groan, but don’t turn around because I know what was to follow. I quickly grab my hot coffee and accidentallyspill it over his face.

For a second there was pin drop silence, except the screams of the detective and an occasional curse directed at me. He tried to grabbed me by my collar, but a quickstep and all he held was air. “I will fucking kill you, dipshit! Your daddy’s ain’t gonna save you now, asshole!”

He threw another punch which I easily blocked, I then grabbed that arm and twisted him till his back was against me and the other arm locked. “It is not good to fight, detective. I know your dad might have not taught you manners, but at least follow the rules if you do not want to get fired. It would be very disappointing if our bromance ended so soon.” I then push him away and give him a heartfelt smile.

Before he could cause anymore damage, Tina dragged him away to clean up that mess over his face. “Have a good day, detective.” Now that that’s dealt with, I better get back to work.

I make a new cup of coffee and leave for my desk, which is still the one adjacent to Hank’s. He doesn’t notice me at first, preoccupied going over his documents. I peaked and read the name of the file, ‘Child Kidnapping’. The case Hank was assigned just a couple of weeks ago. I remember going through the file once.

“Is something wrong, Hank? You have been going through that file since I came into the office”

He almost jumped off his seat, “Jeez, Connor! At least let the old man know you’re here.” he huffed, “Anyway, remember this case I was telling you about, it’s been closed.”

“Closed?” my eyes narrowed, “But why? It’s hasn’t even been a month.”

“That’s not the reason. The children, the ones that were captured, miraculously returned home one day. On their own, might I add.”

“All of them? How is that possible?”

“No. Not all of them. But the ones that did, say that some guy saved them. Weird. I said that we should investigate, but Fowler disagreed! Oh, and there are some reports Chris left for you.”

“Have to be the forensics report from last night. I’ll take a look at it.”

I open the report and just as I suspected, Caiden Huffman’s basement acted as a torture room for children and he was illegally selling child organs. That wasn’t the only part, the lab also analyzed the fingerprints present on the crime-scene and gave the list of people to whom the prints belong to. I went through the entire report and I couldn't help but feel that there’s something missing. Where did thesechildren go?

“Hank, can I take a look at your file, the one that got closed?”

He looked at me incredulously, “Why? You got a lead on my case?”

“Maybe.”, he handed me the case file. The names matched. “The names of the children are the same. The cases are linked. How many children were reported to have returned to their families?”

“Oh my god! Three. These are the ones. But we cannot interrogate children! Fuck knows what happened to them.”

Three children escaped. “But we have to try, this is my only lead, Hank!”

Name: Trevor Norris

Age: 10

Date Reported Missing: 25 May 2018

Last Seen Location: Pirate’s Cove Amusement Park

Date of Return: 30 May 2018

Name: Sean Woods

Age: 9

Date Reported Missing: 25 May 2018

Last Seen Location: Pirate’s Cove Amusement Park

Date of Return: 30 May 2018

Name: Alice Chapman

Age: 9

Date Reported Missing: 25 May 2018

Last Seen Location: Pirate’s Cove Amusement Park

Date of Return: 30 May 2018

Caiden worked at an amusement park, his shift was from four to nine in the evening. That’s when the parks are the most crowded. “It is the second of June today. Caiden was killed on 31st of May and his body was found today at two in the morning. He was most likely a mascot as he was was able to grab a child’s attention easily. He’d then make sure that the parents lost sight of their child midst the crowd and then manipulated them into going with him. Maybe by making them think that he’d help them find their parents.”

Hank grimaced, “I suspected that the kidnapper was one of the workers, but we went through all the cameras and we found nothing in the recordings, that backed up my suspicion. Only a worker would know the locations of the security cameras and know how to hide from them. The place has a total of ten-thousand employees. We weren’t even given enough time till the case was declared close.”

He claimed the lives of eight children within a month. The kidnapper was then mysteriously killed in his own home. I need to talk to these kids and find out all I can. “We leave after lunch.”

It is long past five and we have learned nothing new. No parent wants to expose their child to the traumatizing memories of the past few days, when they were held captive in that dungeon-isque place. I do not disagree, but I need to know something!

The first couple declined to let us speak to the child. Which is understandable, still we tried to convince them that it was for a case but to no avail.

The second couple, albeit a bit wary, guided us to their son. He hadn’t even left his room since he returned, according to his parents. We tried asking him a few questions, in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Woods, but he was too scared to talk, might as well talk to a brick wall.

“You are Sean, am I right? My name is Connor and this”, I pointed towards Hank, “is my father.”

No reply. I look around the room, trying the figure out more about the boy. In the corner, laid a stringed instrument and the place was littered with basic-level music sheets, a football and a dog’s plushy.

“You are nine years old, correct? Do you like to play the cello? I can see some of your music sheets. Cellos are very soothing.”

No reply.

“Do you like to play any sport, such as football?”

No reply.

“You know, I have a dog at home. A St. Bernard and his name is Sumo. He is huge! But not frightening at all, he’s just a softy that wouldn’t even harm a burglar.”

And as expected. No reply. There has to be a way! Then a small noise caught my attention, finally. But to my horror, instead of Sean opening up about the crime, he began to cry. His parents intervened and bitterly, ordered us to leave.

Disappointed, we leave the residence and get in the car. “Do you think that we’ll find something in the next place, Hank?”

He glanced at me, “Well, they do say that the third time’s a charm. Wouldn’t hurt to try our luck, huh?”

I hummed in agreement. Maybe we will.

“So, you never told me that you would be late to office today.” he questioned as I began to drive.

“I went to an art shop for investigation. A man named Markus, who’s also the owner, volunteered to help me out.”

He hummed, “You are leaving something out, Connor. Something happened!” he said with that twinkle in his eye and a sly smirk, “I can hear it in your voice.”

“What? Nothing else happened! Just thought that he was unbelievably handsome and has a great voice.” I stuttered.

“Aha! So something did happen. You have a crush, son!” he laughed that only seemed to ruffle me up, “Now you are blushing! Oh god!”

“Why do I share everything with you? It is just an infatuation. Please, drop this line of conversation now, dad” I say pleadingly and he chortled but listened.

“Ya know, Connor, it’s high time you found someone to spend your life with. I am getting old, I need to have some grand-kids. Are you gonna deprive your old man of this?”

“Dad, I know you are worried about my non-existing love life, but I will when I am ready. Besides, Cole still acts like a five year old and he already has a girlfriend. How about you ask him for grandchildren.”

Hank’s eyes popped out in surprise, “Cole has a girlfriend?! And he never told me!” I do not reply and continue to chuckle, “Hey, Connor! Tell me, how is she? How did they meet? Is she pretty? Connor? Say something, goddammit!”

The residence of the third child was thirty minutes away, and all I could hope for was the child to say something as I waited for someone to answer the bell. A few moments later I could hear the clicking noise of the door being unlocked and it opened to reveal a woman. The woman had short, light brown hair and pale skin. She had blue eyes, some freckles and a sharp jawline. She’s really pretty.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Good evening, Mrs. Chapman. My name is Connor and this is my partner, Hank. We are from the DPD, we would like to have a talk, if that is alright?”

She remained silent for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. Hank cleared his throat and that caught her attention.

“Yes. Do come in. And please, call me Kara.”

She tells us to get comfortable while she brings us some coffee.

“How may I help you, officers?” she asks.

“We are here regarding your daughter, Alice. We got the news that she returned on her own a few days ago after she was… captured. I would like to ask you and Alice a few questions, if that is alright with you.”

She looked around hesitantly, definitely not wanting to speak about it and absolutely not wanting to call Alice. “I know that this is very important to your investigation, but I am afraid that I cannot help you. She doesn’t leave her room, she cannot sleep and when she does she always wakes up screaming. I do not want her to go through those memories again. As a mother, I just want her to forget and move on. I hope you understand.”

I take a deep breath, “The kidnapper has been killed, Kara. The killer, I suspect, is the one that saved your child. All we want to know is, who was the one who saved them. Their looks, their clothing, anything. You can stay in the room with us. We will not ask anything that will harm your daughter anymore. Just give us a few minutes, Kara.”

I hear footsteps and a new voice spoke, “If someone did kill that kidnapper, maybe he did the right thing. He did more than what the police did anyways, why would I help you find the person that saved my daughter?”

That had to be Alice’s father. He was very tall, with dark skin and dark hair with a military cut. An impressive figure.

“Mr. Chapman, killing is a crime, done for whatever reason. Capturing such assholes is our job.” Hank replied.

Before the taller man could say anything else, Kara intervened, she held his palm in her own and looked him in his eyes, “Luther, they are just doing their job. We should allow them to speak to Alice, just for few minutes. We’ll be there with her.”

Luther reluctantly allowed, but not without a warning, and motioned us to follow. The door to her room opened and Alice was silently reading a story book. The moment she notices us, she tries to hide inside her blanket.

“Alice, this is Connor and Hank. They are your friends and they wanna talk to you.” Kara reassures while sitting next to her. “Think you can answer some questions?”

Alice gives a small nod, and I smile. “Hello, Alice. How are you?”

“I am fine, I think. But I am also scared.”

“I know. You like reading books?”, I read the title, “Alice in wonderland? It is an amazing story.” she doesn't reply. I haven't ever read the book, but I know a little about it thanks to the movie’s promotions, “So, I heard that you met the Mad-Hatter.”

The girl was puzzled, “I did not meet him, he is not real.”

“But you did. The person that saved you from the bad man. The Mad-Hatter must have saved Alice sometimes. So, let’s call them, the Mad-Hatter because they saved you. What can you tell me about them?”

She looked at her mother who just nodded in return, “I do not know. He was wearing dark clothes and his face was covered. He saved me from that place and the other two took me back to mom and dad. A boy and a girl.” a few stray tear drops fell from her brown eyes. Kara hugged her and kept her close. “He said that we were free now.”

I glanced towards Luther, “We didn’t see them. They left before we could thank them. That is all.”

I and Hank left after saying our goodbyes to Alice and her parents. Emotionless, I stare right ahead, conflicted.

“Look at the bright side. Now we are certain that your killer is a male and that he is not alone. It is a group of three.” Hank said, trying to make me feel better and it did, but I just felt at lost.

What do I do now?

A buzz grabbed my attention. I received a message.

From: Markus

I have found something. You might wanna have a look! Maybe come over tomorrow?

“What is this? I’m the one that says the good things but when someone else messages you, you beam like the goddamn sun?! Is it that Marcus guy?”

“It is Markus, Hank.”

“Oh! I didn’t know you were dating already. Whatever, just send me the wedding date!”

“Very funny, Hank. Look I am laughing. HAHAHAH” I said unimpressed, but my face was flushed red and Hank was having the time of his life.

“And by the way, you have never read ‘Alice in Wonderland’, have you?” and he just laughed more.

[aescapisms]

under the same sky (4)

pairing: sebastian stan x reader

warnings: author still really doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about. and its been 4 chapters already

word count: 1,521

a/n: if u wanna be tagged just shoot me a message?????????? (is that how it works?? i think it does???) [this might be the 2nd to the last in this series!!!!!!!]

I will post the finale by the end of the week!!! love u all. 

m a s t e r l i s t

Eight months later Dean showed up at the apartment he and Y/N shared.

Sebastian was hoping for good news but life was cruel, it wasn’t so.

Dean told him that she woke up three months ago. But she didn’t want to go back home. See, some of those guys killed civilians but they took the men in uniform. And those men were her teammates. The military had put together a group of soldiers who are the best of the best and that was Alpha, and Y/N was one of them. Five months ago they went on a mission to infiltrate the facility, they didn’t find any of the team members but they did bring home someone from the other side. “We had reason to believe that the other side was planning an attack in New York. Here.”

Dean looked at Sebastian and with guilt dripping from his words he said, “Y/N volunteered to go on the mission to infiltrate the base and take back the hostages. People went to the base camp four months ago and they still haven’t returned. We thing they’re either being held captured or worse.”

“So it’s still possible that she’s alive. It’s possible. Right?” Sebastian asked, he was pacing back and forth the living room. “Have you guys planned out a rescue mission?”

Dean nodded, “Yes we are. But you have to calm down—“

“Calm down??” Sebastian scoffed “How am I supposed to calm down when there’s a possibility that she’s dead or being held as a hostage and being tortured.  Calm down?”

Sebastian wanted to punch everything that was there, even Dean. How could he stand her and ask him to calm down. What the fuck. “Am I supposed to just convince myself that I may never see her again? Dean I —“ Tears streamed down Sebastian’s face. “I never told her how I felt. I was supposed to tell her when she gets back. I was— Jesus christ. I wanted to marry her. I wanted to grow old with her. And now I can’t even do that?”

“There’s still hope Sebastian.”

They both wanted it to be true. But just because you want something in life doesn’t mean that you will get it.

Sebastian cried the whole night.

When he fell asleep he dreamt about Y/N and him. She looked older now but still looked as beautiful as the day she walked into their classroom way back when. She was wearing one of his favorite shirts, well its hers now. They were sitting at the backyard of a small house. They were laughing. Her hand on his, her wedding band glistening. He hears a car pull up on their road and then she whispers “They’re here.” She kissed my cheek and stood up. Soon enough he heard two voices shouting “Momma!!! Dadda! We’re home!!!!” Y/N ran up to greet the two boys with open arms. “How are my little soldiers??” and then they proceeded to tell her about their day. Sebastian ran up to them and enveloped everyone in his arms.  A family.

What’s worse than a nightmare is waking up from a dream you so desperately want. And realizing that you can never have it back.

Sebastian tried to focus all of his attention on his work. There are days when he won’t, he always dream of her. And it hurts.

The last thing he heard from Dean was the rescue mission turned out well. They were able to gather the soldiers taken from the attack. But Y/N wasn’t there. They told him that she managed to escape a few days back but kept on returning to save the civilians. She managed to free two other soldiers when they were attacked and they had to take the battle outside because there would be collateral damage.

That gave him hope. That somehow Y/N was alive.

That somehow she survived.

But Dean only brought him bad news.

One night Sebastian came home to a box infront of his door. When he opened it there was a small notebook a military tag and a small note from Dean that said:

“Found it near a river. They found a body. Its hers. I’m sorry.”

He broke down. That wasn’t the confirmation that he wanted. That wasn’t the news that he was hoping for. That night he stayed in her room, he was clutching the notebook that came in the box. He recognized it. It was his gift for her. Y/N always loves to write down her thoughts and he would always ask her if he could read it but all he ever got was ‘Over my dead body, Sebby.’. Oh the irony. Flipping through the notebook he found that it was mostly about the things that happened in Afghanistan then he found the last entry, and with a heavy heart he decided to read it.  

Sebastian,

I’m sorry for not contacting you. Things have been bad. Really bad. We were taken in a few months back. I don’t think we can survive this. I don’t think I can survive this. I’m scared, Sebby. Really scared. I should’ve stayed. I should’ve stayed with you. It was torture. But the thought of you kept me alive.

I keep replaying back the things I know about you, so that I won’t ever forget. Every night. Like a prayer.

Your name is Sebastian. I call you Sebby. You had blue eyes. You had a wonderful voice. You were taller than me. You liked sleeping with Mr. Snuggles. You’re a cry baby. And you’re waiting for me to come home. And I love you.

I know. That when you read this I might probably be dead. But I have to tell you this. I have been in love with you for as long as I can remember. I’ve been in love with you the moment you laughed at the joke I made back when we were kids. It was my second week at school. You were wearing a blue shirt. And you looked cute. As always. You’re the only home I would want to return to.

I will love you, to the very last beat of my heart.

I will see you soon.

If I die fighting, know that the last thought I had was of you.

Esti iubitul meu

In Sebastian’s life, there are many things he is proud of and many things that he regret. He faced a lot of hardships but he pushed through every single one of them. Falling in love with his best friend was in between those two choices. He fell for her the moment he had laid his eyes on her. Y/N was his first love. And he is certain that she would be the last. Every moment he had with her, he did not take for granted. But the only thing he does regret was not telling her how he felt. How much he loved her. He thought that they would have more time. But he was wrong. And now it was too late. While on the set of the filming for A:IW there are times that Chris would find him crying in his trailer. Chris knew of course. He was his best friend. And one look in those blue eyes of his, Chris felt like the wall broke down and the emotions came crashing down. It was a good thing that they were on the last days of filming. He might not make it if they weren’t. It’s hard to act Bucky’s character when he was a war veteran, like Y/N. And would do anything for his friends, like Y/N.

They were on the ACE convention, taking questions. Sebastian was laughing. For a moment there he forgot that she was dead. The fans in front of him supported them through it all. But he still haven’t told them about Y/N, he’s scared that if everyone knew it would be real. It would feel real, and he can’t have that.  Everyone in the room gushed about how cute the little girl who ran up the microphone was.

“Hello!!!” She said enthusiastically, “I have a gift for Bucky!”

A security guard took the gift and gave it to Sebastian. He wasn’t supposed to have it but he insisted. “It’s okay. What’s your name dear?”

“Mary. I’m seven.”

“You’re very adorable, Mary. What’s your question?”

“Do you still sleep with Mr. Snuggles?”

Sebastian laughed but then he realized that he never told anyone that. Except— He inspected the teddy bear that the little girl gave him. It was wearing a military dog tag, and a shirt that has “I’m home” written on it.

“Is everything okay?” Chris asked Sebastian. He just showed him the teddy bear.

“Hey, Mary. Did someone tell you to ask me that question?”

Mary laughed, “Yes, she was a pretty girl.”

Oh god. She’s here. She’s alive? Everyone stared at Sebastian who’s on the brink of crying. The silence enveloping the room was broken by a voice he thought he would never hear again.

“You didn’t answer the question, Sebby.”

part five [fin]

tags: @void-imaginations @cevanstann

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: you are a mermaid and you save a handsome man from drowning but little do you know it’s not his first rodeo when dealing with mermaids. seonghwa, a former prince, is currently hongjoong’s first mate and boyfriend. hongjoong is the captain, the pirate king of the most savage crew across the seas. and you want nothing to do with them. not because they’re pirates, but because they’re humans…

ship: mermaid!reader x prince/pirate!seonghwa x pirate!hongjoong

genre: little mermaid!au, pirate!au, romance, angst, fantasy

author’s note: why am i writing sm abt yeosang, this is supposed to be a seongjoongyn fic lmao; anygays, yeosang said polyamory rights

warnings: hongjoong suffers. a lot. but will make up for it later, i promise; insecurities; jealousy; blood only mentioned like once; possessiveness

word count: 1.5k (a bit shorter than usual cuz uni is a bitch and i have zero free time but wanted to update)

chapter one ☠️ chapter two ☠️ chapter three ☠️ chapter five  ☠️ chapter six ☠️ chapter seven ☠️ chapter eight  ☠️ chapter nine ☠️ chapter ten ☠️ chapter eleven ☠️ chapter twelve ☠️ chapter thirteen ☠️ spotify playlist

You swam towards the surface together with your sister Soojin. She had finally talked you into meeting up with those pirates once again. You didn’t what to admit it to her, but you were pretty excited. You were curious to find out more about them. Even though they were humans. Or maybe because of that. 

Every braincell in your mermaid body was telling you to swim away from this situation and never look back. But your foolish heart was swimming further, deeper into danger.

“There’s the ship!” Soojin screamed eagerly, pointing in the distance.

“You’re right,” you responded flatly, somewhat awestruck by the way it looked at twilight. The pink sky was painting its sails like magic. As the yellow sun was setting into the sea, you could only think one thing: you had never seen such beauty before in your life. And it scared you that you were already so attached to this new world.

“Come on,” Soojin urged you, swimming way ahead of you.

Your tail had a mind of its own as you followed her, not even bothering to object. You were in too deep. Which was ironic, considering you were swimming across the sea surface, its true depths long forgotten.

“Yeosang!” Soojin sang the boy’s name and started knocking onto the wooden ship. “Come out, you punk! I travelled a long way just to see you.”

Soon enough, the blonde pirate you’d briefly noticed earlier showed up.

“Soojin!” he beamed happily and jumped into the water without thinking twice. “I missed you.”

“Me too, silly,” Soojin stroked his hair sweetly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. You felt as if you were intruding by witnessing their blossoming relationship, so you looked away from them awkwardly.

“You keeping the ring I gave you safe?” Yeosang asked your sister.

“Of course. You trust me?”

Yeosang nodded.

“Even though I only just met you.”

Soojin smiled and buried her head into his chest. You were looking away but something made you curiously sneak a peak or two at them every once in a while. Yeosang’s attention was suddenly on you.

“Did you come to see Seonghwa?” he inquired.

“N-no,” you quickly responded. “I just came to make sure you delinquents wouldn’t hurt my Soojin or something.”

Yeosang scoffed loudly.

“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”

You groaned in annoyance.

“You want me to call Seonghwa? I’m sure he’d be delighted to talk to you again.”

“If it’s not too much trouble…” you answered ambiguously.

“Be right back,” Yeosang promised and started climbing in an experienced manner back onto the ship.

“Hey, don’t leave me!” Soojin complained.

“Will return in the blink of an eye, love.”

“You better!” Soojin threatened vaguely. “Or else!”

☠️☠️☠️

Seonghwa’s POV

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” I spoke honestly to Y/N.

“You and me both,” she replied coldly.

“You didn’t want to see me again?” I asked her in a sad voice.

“Wasn’t planning on it. Soojin dragged me here.”

“Purely against your will?” I suggested.

“Well…I suppose a small part of me was curious…”

“About?”

“You could have just thanked me and that’s it. End of story. You didn’t have to go out of your way to show me all these delicious fruits and spend all this time around me. So…why did you do it?”

“I suppose I was curious, too.”

“About?” Y/N repeated, mocking my voice.

I rolled my eyes.

“You’ll have to stick around to find out,” I responded cleverly, hoping she would fall for the trick and really choose to stay.

“Does it have to be that difficult?” she wanted to know.

“What’s difficult about it? You’re a mermaid and can swim whenever and wherever you want to. I’m a pirate and our ship can go anywhere at any time. It’s a perfect match, don’t you think?”

Y/N shook her head, apparently disagreeing with me.

“You know why I can’t,” she said, her voice strained with pain.

Like I needed a reminder of the woman I’d loved and lost. But maybe, destiny was giving me another choice. To make things right. If not…why had fate decided to send Y/N my way? Could it be a mere coincidence? I didn’t know but I wanted to fight for her.

“How about this…you don’t have to make any promises to stay. But if you’re ever bored, you can swim around the ship and say my name. I’ll answer to your call.”

“What’s with you?” the mermaid chuckled. “Seonghwa.”

“You remembered,” I whispered fondly, suddenly recalling our conversation on the boat.

“I might be an idiot, but I’m not stupid,” Y/N joked. “So…will your boyfriend scold you for hanging out with me?”

“How did you figure it out?” I asked.

“Oh, please. Last time he was reeking of jealousy.”

“You can smell that shit?”

Y/N laughed.

“What, you thought having a tail was the only perk about being a mermaid?”

“You’re extraordinary,” I panted, suppressing the urge to bring my face closer to hers. This was wrong.

“I so am,” she smirked confidently. “But seriously, we shouldn’t anger him. You said he was the captain, right? Doesn’t that give him…I don’t know, more power over you?”

I shrugged.

“No one holds power over me.”

“Not even your own heart?” Y/N teased and placed her hand on my chest. This was so wrong, I kept telling myself. Hongjoong could see us any minute if he decided to go out of his cabin.

“N-no,” I stammered unconvincingly, as she approached me like a snake, spreading her poison slowly into my blood.

“Liar,” Y/N whispered and I could feel my heart beating faster.

Then, she pulled away as quickly as she’d gotten closer.

“See, that’s why I don’t want anything to do with you humans. Even the slightest word or movement could make you so weak. It’s pathetic, really. Don’t you think?”

“It’s better than being cold. Or not having a heart.”

She was obviously struggling to keep up the charade of not feeling anything. I could see her swallowing on nothing but air as she was trying to figure out what to say or do next. Like it was a game of chess.

“Fish are cold. I’m part-fish, remember?”

“You’re also part-human, remember?” I shot back wittily. “Since you claim to dislike us so much, you might as well reconsider…aren’t you a bit like me?”

“I’m nothing like you,” Y/N spat out, denying her humanity. “The sooner you realize this, the better.”

“Yes, you are. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be terrified of getting hurt.”

“It’s called self-preservation, you idiot!”

“No. It’s called being human.”

She sighed exasperatedly.

“I’m tired of all this arguing. Let’s just stay here in silence. Please?”

I nodded, finding that silence felt somewhat comforting when I was in her presence. The sun had already set and the moon was shining brightly upon us. Despite the celestial body’s beauty, I could only focus on her. Her face seemed serene but the rest of her was tense. I hesitantly placed my hand on her back. She slightly jumped up in surprise but soon enough, relaxed under my touch. I simply looked at her calmly and expected her to do the same. Maybe this was wrong. But I couldn’t give her up.

☠️☠️☠️

Hongjoong’s POV

I followed him outside. Quietly. Making myself invisible. It’s what he would have wanted, no? For me not to witness this. Well, what I wanted was make him believe that I hadn’t. But I heard every word. Felt every touch as if it were a dagger in my back. Saw every hidden glance. Even in the dark. Smelt the sea as the wind blew on and on. Tasted the salt on my tongue and the blood as I was biting down on my cheeks to stop myself from screaming. Maybe she was right. I was reeking of jealousy. But I had every right, didn’t I? He had promised something. And even though he hadn’t exactly left, why did it feel like his heart already belonged to someone else? Why did I feel the betrayal shattering my bones like stones being thrown my way? Why was he looking at her like that? I kept repeating to myself that he hadn’t abandoned me, not really. But why did it feel like he had?

My painful thoughts were interrupted by a light touch on my arm. I swiftly turned around, grabbing the hand that had dared approach me. It was Yeosang. I released my hold on him.

“Hyung…don’t torture yourself,” he spoke softly.

“Leave me alone, Yeosang. I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“He would never leave you. You know that, right?”

“What does it look like to you, hm?” I questioned him angrily, barely managing to keep my voice down so that Seonghwa and Y/N wouldn’t find out I was eavesdropping.

“There are people who take more than one significant other, you know? That doesn’t mean he loves you any less.”

I closed my eyes, because I was afraid he’d see I’d been crying.

“I can’t share him with anyone. It would kill me.”

“But, hyung, can’t you tell he would do anything for you?” Yeosang insisted. “If you told him to let her go, he would. But is that the kind of boyfriend you’d like to be? You could find a solution. One that makes you both happy.”

“Just drop it, Yeosang. I can’t even consider this right now.”

Yeosang nodded and left. I could tell this wasn’t the end of this conversation. It was only the beginning.

To be continued…

[b0blegum]

Why Am I Here? [two]

Author: b0blegum

Pairing: Patient!Shin Hoseok x Psychiatrist!Reader

Rating: R

Genre: Psychiathriller (and a lot of smutty romance too)

CHAPTER: PROLOGUE | ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN

Status: ON GOING

TRAILER

Summary

He was once an excellent doctor. An excellent psychiatrist. Everyone loved him. He was nice, kind, always care for each other, he even got the look. We can say… he was the whole package. But his glorious days ended in just one night. The night he woke up as a patient in the asylum where he worked, with no memory of why he is there or what he has done.

You lied when you said being a doctor is what you wanted since you were a kid.” “No. I did want to be a doctor.” You shook your head as you sat behind your desk. Legs folded, bringing your knees close to your chin. “I did want to be a doctor. I always wanted to be a doctor.” You trembled.

Your eyes gazed onto all the Photographs spread out messily on your desk. All of those were photos of Shin Hoseok. The self of him before he did the act that left wounds on people’s hearts.

He was known for his kindness, his loves towards others and his patience. He used to be one of the famous psychiatrist in the institution where you currently worked. He had a lot of friends and no one seemed to hate him.

Funny seeing him now. Isolated behind a metal bar, restrained, being feared. No one would go near him anymore. No one would even said he was their friend. No one. Even his family never visited him.

“Morning, (y/n). You come early today.” The head nurse, Mrs. Park— or Nana, as called by other nurses and doctors, greeted you once you walked across the hallway, about to go to the doctors’ office.

“Good morning, Mrs. Park.” You greeted back. You weren’t comfortable yet to call her Nana, it might took some days for you to call her that. “Yeah, i don’t want to miss anything here.” You joked. “Oh, are you about to have a breakfast?” You asked, looking at the tray she had.

“I haven’t had my breakfast and sadly, i am not going to have one today.” She rolled her eyes. “You are the private psychiatrist for Mr. Shin, aren’t you?” You nodded, slowly.

“Great.” She smiled. “This is for him. I actually wanted to give this to him, like i always did, but since i met you—“

“Oh, sure. I’ll make sure to give him his breakfast.” You took over the tray. “I’m heading to his room anyway.”

“You’re so nice, dear. Thank you so much.” She smiled before she patted your shoulder and walked off.

Visiting your office first, you grabbed couple of things before you made your way to Hoseok’s room.

Hyunwoo, the guard, was already there. Standing in front of the metal door. “Morning, Hyunwoo.” You greeted. He smiled before unlocking the door for you. “Thank you.” You mouthed as you walked in.

Hoseok was seated at the edge of his bed. His forearms rested on his thighs with one wrist handcuffed to the bed’s iron frame. He had his eyes locked on the floor but shifted his eyes immediately to your direction once the door swung opened.

“Morning.” He greeted.

“Morning, Mr. Shin.” You walked to him.

“You bring me breakfast now?” He didn’t smile, but you could feel a bit of excitement in his voice.

“Only today.” You corrected.

He stood up and towered in front of you. Instinctively, you took a step back and didn’t realise you just hit the table behind. He took a step closer to you.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” He said, calmly. “I’m just hungry.” His eyes darted to the tray on your hands.

“Oh– right,”

“But i could be quite dangerous when hungry, didn’t they tell you that?“ your eyes quickly found his pair and you took another step back. You knew the guy couldn’t take another step closer because the chain of his handcuff was too short, but still.

He chuckled at your reaction. “I was joking.” He looked at you. “Now... my food?”

You handed him his food. He put it on bed, on his side and began to eat it slowly.

“Will you always give me morning session?” He asked as he was chewing.

“No.” You looked at the map on your hand, with his name written on the front.

“I hate morning session. I just got up and being questioned. How great is that?” He downed the soup.

“People most likely to say the truth in the morning.” You said, throwing the map to the desk. “You were a psychiatrist, you should know that.”

“I know, but now that i was accused doing horrible thing and admitted here, it’s just not humane,” he said, shoving the tray under his bed.

Your eyes squinted and looked at him. “Accused,”

“Well, i didn’t do anything, but they kept saying i did everything. Crazy.” He said.

“Let’s start your session, Mr. Shin.” You flipped the cover of the map opened, revealing squared pictures. You could hear him sighing. “Tell me about this one.” You shifted one picture closer to him.

“What do you want me to say?” He looked at you instead.

“Just described how you feel about this picture.”

“Ms. (Y/l/n).” He crossed his arms on his chest. “We both know the answer to any of these pictures.”

“Just tell me what do you see in this picture, Mr. Shin.” You demanded. “I see it’s facing up.” He answered forcefully.

“Good. Next,” you took the picture and changed it with another one. “How about this one? What do you see, Mr. Shin?”

“I see nothing— Ms. (y/l/n). Come on. I know too well how Rorschach test works and i can guarantee you, you will not get the result of what you wanted.” He looked away.

“And will you tell me why will i not get the result i wanted?” You leaned closer to the desk.

“Because i didn’t fucking do anything that night. Alright? I don’t have a psycho way of thinking and doing this test will reveal that i am not currently under any mental condition. I’ve done this several times with previous psychiatrist and all turned out the same—“

“It’s because you lied.” You cut him.

“I didn’t fucking lying! I told the truth! I didn’t even do anything that night, God!”

“Then why else would you be locked in here if you really didn’t do anything Mr. Shin?”

“Listen. I– i didn’t know what actually happen, alright? I was unconscious, i– i, i felt someone’s taking me to a dark place and– and the next thing i knew, i woke up in this place.” He explained, desperately.

“Yeah. I’ve heard that story before. Mrs. Lincoln told me this would happen.” You took a note on your book.

“Oh my God.” He sighed as he leaned back to the wall. “She is the one who’s insane. She kept sending me psychiatrist, alright? She kept saying that i am a psychopath when the truth is i—“

“You are.” You cut him. He mouthed a what. “You are, Mr. Shin.” You made it clear. “Why else would a normal person killed five innocent people and skinned them and stored them in a styrofoam box?”

“Okay, here we go with this amazing story.” He rolled his eyes. “Tell me what else did she tell you? I ate their flesh, too?”

“Alright, Mr. Shin. Enough with that. Let’s get back to the test.” You tapped the picture with your pen.

“Do you really believe what she told you?” Ignoring his words, you kept tapping the picture. “Tell me. Do you really believe it? Do you believe i did all that by myself? In one night? It doesn’t even make sense at the first place. Do you really believe that?”

Silence. You leaned back and sighed.

“Yes. I do believe in her story and i do know that psychopaths are able to do all that in one night. Alone.” You said.

“So, you really do think i am a psychopath?” He asked. “Then why bother asking me to do this fucking test?” He stood up and threw a powerful fist on the metal desk, startling you. “Why fucking ask me to do this if you were so sure i am a psychopath?” He shouted. “Why?” He shouted louder.

You saw his knuckle reddened and there was a fresh bruise from hitting the metal desk.

In no time, Hyunwoo came in and rushed to Hoseok, forcefully putting him on his bed and injected him with something.

You saw Hoseok calmed down in just seconds. He blinked slowly as he crunched his nose. He could feel the substance flowing through his system. It made him feel weak, sleepy, made his head felt heavier and soon, he drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

“He could be doing something terrible if i didn’t come in just at the right time.” Hyunwoo smiled at you as he left the poor Hoseok laid on his bed, leaned on his side with legs hanged down and hand still cuffed. “Thank you so much.” You smiled.

“Please, don’t kill me. Please.” A girl begged and sobbed as she crawled back until her back touched the wall behind.

The man towering in front of her licked his lips before he squatted down and cupped the girl’s jaw. He traced down the girl’s cheek with a sharp knife.

“Please. Please, don’t kill me.” She begged. Tears rivered down her cheeks. The man ignored her fully and began tracing his knife further down to her stomach. “Plea—se,” she sobbed. “Pl—“

Her sobs turned into a hopeless, weak groan as the cold sharp object ripped the skin of her small figure. Tortured her from the inside. She could felt her flesh froze cold being in contact with the object and soon enough she lost her consciousness. “Please!” You shouted. You sat up from your sleep in abrupt. You were covered in cold sweat, making he t-shirt you wore to sleep sticked on your figure. “God.” You covered your face, buried them tightly in your palms.

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a/n here goes chapter 2! How was it? Do you enjoy reading it? Got your emotion stirred up? Oh, by the way, i am not a Psychology student so... i am sorry, if i was wrong about the Rorschach test. I only did read about it on google, so no proper education about it ehe.

Anyway, thank you for reading, don’t forget to share this story if you like it and share how do you think about it! 

♡, b0blegum.

[sending-the-message]

The creatures of Mammoth Cave by KyBlu_I_s

Its recently been brought to my attention what Gunney has started to tell a few of our stories from when we ran the Kentucky Office of Paranomalies[sic]. That's actually the name of our branch. Each state has an office that's a perfect counterpart to ours. Well they did. Until a few months ago. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Keith. I'm a Chief Petty Officer, and these are MY versions of the stories. Gunney did a decent job of telling the Gluttony story. Although the first half was better than the second, but that's because he told it exactly like it happened. A little personal background;

I grew up in a broke ass family. My dad wasn't home because he worked two jobs to keep a roof on our heads. Mom was a drunken whore that was in and out of our lives. I couldn't play sports in school, because where I'm from that type of thing costs money. So, I read. And I read everything I could. I really loved to read about the macabre and the paranormal. By the time I was thirteen, I had read the local libraries entire section on paranormal and supernatural beings, rituals, magic, and ghosts. A little over four hundred books. But I started when I was seven. I would walk the eight blocks from my home to the library once a week with dad on Saturday morning, because he only had one job on the weekends. I would check out my limit, and usually find a way back to the library before Saturday for my next limit of books.

I graduated High school at the age of sixteen, having skipped sophomore and junior years. I waited for two years and joined the Navy. I knew Gunney from school, and we would hangout after school sometimes and play stupid kid video games til we passed out. So, when he told me he was enlisting, I figured that I would as well. Hell, they pay for college, train you for a career, and pay you while your active. Why not? Well, if not for Gunney I would have died. Several times over. So when he found a way for me to get off of that fucking ship, I was hella happy. I had wanted to study demonology in college anyway, and this way the government would actually pay for it!

Our first case was bad. Real bad. But you already know about that. See, what you don't know, is that even after Gunney left a year ago, I stayed. I'm here now. Alone. A single smartass against the evils of the wilderness. Let me tell ya, there's some freaky shit in Kentucky. Especially in the caves.

It was a crisp April morning when Gunney ordered us to assemble in the wretched bullpen. The overhead monitor displayed a torn and broken corpse. The head lay face down, the body chest up. The head had been twisted all the way around. Left arm ripped off and , and this is sick, shoved down the throat. The right arm lay broken, twisted and bloody barely attached. The legs were shredded and mangled so badly they no longer remotely resembled legs. The shredded remains if the legs looked more like a bad plate of chipped beef and raw burger meat.

" This was young miss Christa Jonas. She was seventeen years old. She was part of a six person group that took a discount tour of the Mammoth Caves. During the tour four of the six members were lost. Christa was the only one found. Her remains are on the way here so that Jerry here can perform an autopsy." Gunney paused, to point at our lone medical officer. He continued " Keith, do you recognize the injuries? Maybe have any idea what the hell got to thus poor girl?"

I shook my head as I wracked my brain for information, " No sir, I don't Gunney" I answered. I felt bad for leaving him in the lurch like that, but I really didn't have a clue what would have mutilated that girl so badly. Well, I didn't know what would multilateral her, and not eat more of her. Maybe we were looking at some type of previously unknown creature. My heart rate increased at the thought of being responsible for cataloging and naming a previously undiscovered animal, or being if another type...

As Gunney talked about the cave system, and ordered the others to get packed and armed, I went to the library of our new compound. We had more books on my favorite subjects than I had ever believed were printed. I quickly looked for anything that lived in caves, mines, or subterranean passageways. I found the book I was looking for, and carried it to a table. Taking a deep breath, I began to speed read, until I stopped on a description that chilled my bones. The creature was named a Cave Dwelling Ghoul. According to the book, the last one was thought to have been exterminated in the year 1909. However the way it kills is quite unique. Its known to take pleasure in the torture of young girls, often making them choke on pieces of their own bodies. It would then chew, but not eat a large portion of the body while the person choked to death, at witch point it would twist the head around twice. I quickly stood up and almost ran back to the bull pen. Gunney stood there waiting, and reading the case file.

" Gunney, I think I know what we have here. His many times was thus girls head turned? " I stammered, excited and full of dread.

" Uhm...It looks like twice. Yeah..twice. Why? What's that got to do with anything?" He looked at me like he expected some big speech, but I didn't have one.

" Its a CDG. A type of Ghoul that solely lives in caves. They were thought to be dead for over a hundred years. They can be killed, but its not easy. Iron bullets and thermite. Shoot them with iron, and then burn em. They'll be alive when the fire starts, just frozen. Iron to those fucks is like a massive dose of sucks to a human. It will paralyze them. However it won't wear off, til their bodies heal and the bullet is pushed out. Thermite is about the only thing that burns hot enough to kill them. They have poison glands in the base of their claws and in that mouths. A bite or scratch will knock a full grown man out for hours. When he wakes up he will be sick as a fucking dog for a few days. Nasty little bastards. Never even rumoured to be in Kentucky. Kinda weird that a species that's not indigenous and thought to be extinct suddenly shows up. So soon after...ya know."

He knew. We tried not to talk about what happened to our group, but it was an unspoken book mark in time. Like a piece of corn in a turd, just there, rather you want it to be or not. We knew that what we fought that day wasn't human. Even the civilians weren't human anymore, but it was still a tough loss.

Gunney told me to go get the thermite and try to find a source of iron ammunition while he briefed the rest of the men on what we were going to be fighting this time. I went to the armory and found the thermite. Iron ammo was another story. See, the last thing to use iron projectiles were civil war cannons. Well, a few other large bore weapons after that, but very few. I had an idea that maybe salting the lead with iron powder might work, but I couldn't risk our remaining troops on a might. So, needles to say I was fucking through the roof thrilled when I found a local black smith. I called and gave him the measurements of the projectiles that we needed and he agreed to make them. On barter no less. He wanted a hundred grams of thermite to speed his forge up and that's all. Well, it still took the man twenty eight hours to make four hundred rounds. Then I had to load them into shells. So, It was thirty three hours after the debriefing before we were actually ready to go. Since it was late, we decided to get up at 0430 and head out. We all went to bed at a little before 2300.

At 0445 the next morning we were up,loaded and heading out. It was a four hour drive from base to the Mammoth Caves state park. We arrived as the police that had closed the property off to tourists were changing shifts, so getting in was a fucking chore.

Almost an hour after arriving, we were unloading the black Humvees and heading for the main entrance. The cave we entered was honestly...Mammoth! No shit, right? The ceiling was almost thirty feet up, stalagmites and stalactites reaching up and down like crooked teeth in a rotten maw. The silence of the caves was deafening. I could hear the others hearts beating. Well, maybe it was in my head.

We walked to the coordinates that the tour guides provided as the last place the entire group was together. We set our GPS lock to those coordinates, and split up with our night vision activated. We decided to walk in a single direction for five minutes before returning to the point we marked. We did this four times before the first blur of movement was seen. Johnson saw a small man shaped thing run just out if his field of view.

" Report to my position. I have movement. I think its a single entity, but I can't be sure." He called out through the com unit. We all looked to our phones to see where he was on the map. He was less than fifty feet from me, so I was the first to arrive. When I got to his position, he was visibly shaken. His pants leg ripped in three slices torn horizontally across his right calf. Thankfully the thing hadn't touched skin, because Johnson was big ass dude, and I didn't want to be the one to evacuate his ass from the caves.

Gunney was next arrive, and quickly spotted the torn leg. After asking if Johnson had been scratched, he decided to call the tour guide on the radio to turn off the tourist lights. The cave went dark as Gunney told the others to remain in NV. The rest if our crew arrives one at a time a minute or two apart.

When we were all in the same spot, I whispered " Listen guys, these things are fast as lightening on crack. They're venomous and vicious. They want to torture us and then chew our flesh. That's how they feed. They chew, but only drink the blood and liquefied fat that they spill from our mangled bodies. Shoot them anywhere. It doesn't matter. The rounds shouldn't pass through them, they're low power and heavy bullets. Once the iron is in the skin, they're frozen solid. Then we have about eleven hours to burn them. The bodies won't burn unless we can powder them with the thermite and use the magnesium strips to start that on fire." I summed up as " Be careful, aim true. We don't have a lot of ammo. "

The men all nodded in agreement and left off across the caves. The next time I would see any of them, three would be unconscious, and badly beaten. But that's for tomorrows post.

[sparklywitchmoment]

Hell And Silence || Chapter Eight

MASTERLIST

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 5,009

A/N: YESSS IT’S ME I’M BACK FROM THE DEAD WITH A NEW CHAPTER!!!! Unfortunately, it’s just a filler nothing interesting is really happening but IT’S SOMETHING I’M PROUD OF MYSELF. I was actually going to finish and post this last week but forgot I would be on a cruise for spring break with NO WIFI. it was torture. ALSO! Hell and Silence is coming up and double-diget chapters and I think once that happens I’ll have to move this party to my wattpad account! I would highly recommend if you read it on my wattpad to go back and skim through the new versions of the chapters because I have been making a few changes and edits and I might even switch a few chapters to a third person point of view? Change things up a bit. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!!! I love hearing from your guys!!!! NOW ENJOY CHAPTER EIGHT.

Chapter One     Chapter Two     Chapter Three     Chapter Four         Chapter Five     Chapter Six     Chapter Seven

CHAPTER EIGHT

DEREK

I knew when I came back to Beacon Hills that the pack was going to find out about me turning Vanessa at one time or another- I just thought I would have more time to get myself back on their good side. The fact that it happened this quickly completely destroyed any sensible plan I had for them finding out. I’m the Hale alpha, I shouldn’t be scared of Scott- true alpha or not- but when it comes to his family or his pack, he becomes a different person- someone capable of taking down Deucalion, the alpha of all alphas.. It’s like he turns into the beta everyone thought he was going to when Peter bit him- ruthless and uncontrollable. If she told him what I said to her last night on top of the fact I turned her and abandoned her… Vanessa’s just as much his sister as she is Stiles’.

It’s been almost eight hours since I kicked Vanessa out, and there’s still no word from any of the pack.

“Dare I say that the girl didn’t snitch on you?” Peter said, voice breaking the silence that I’d used for comfort. I glared, flashing my red eyes and growling at my uncle who decided he just needed to be a sarcastic asshole right now. Peter held up his hands, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “Someone’s sensitive…”

I groaned, running my fingers through my hair and standing up, hoping walking would help my mind focus on something- anything. Both Peter and I flung out heads in the direction of the door when we heard the elevator bell echo through the hall and into the loft. The bell was followed by footsteps- heavy ones- coming closer by the second.

The footsteps stopped for a second then a knock strong enough to make me jump in my skin a little rang out through my cavernous living space. I rushed the door, quickly sliding it open, silently preparing myself to be tackled to the ground at any second- bracing myself for the pain knowing that I couldn’t fight back against part of Scott’s pack- or Scott himself. Instead, I was met by the overwhelming scent of cheap alcohol, and a pale(-er than usual), messy haired Isaac.

He stumbled through the door, reaching out to grab my arm for support. “You, asshole,” Isaac grumbled, wagging his finger in my direction. “Took my girl,” He pulled his hand off me, continuing to wobble his way across the loft. “Stole her right out from under me.”

Peter stared at Isaac, pure disgust coating his features before he craned his neck to look at me, then back at Isaac. “Are you drunk, Scarfy?”

Isaac spun on his heels, pausing for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Me, drunk? No, why would I be? Is not like my handsome alpha over here screwed my girlfriend or anything!” The laughter turned into slurred shouting, Isaac throwing his hands up and seeming to be surprised by the weight of them. “Then again, a girl has needs and I was to afraid of hurting her to meet them. Sue me!”

“I feel like this is something I shouldn’t be involved in…” Peter said, standing from his spot on the couch with his arms raised. I shot him a glare as he tried to make his way towards the front door. “Sorry, Der- your puppies are not my problem.”

I groaned, watching as Peter left the loft, leaving me with Isaac who had once again started laughing. He must have been drinking all night. It takes a lot of booze to waste a werewolf this bad.

“Do you love her, Derek? ‘Cause I do- I may not tell her, but I show her! I deserve her!” His voice turned into  growl, eyes glowing a bright yellow, canines forming over his teeth.

“Isaac, you need to calm down,” I tried to coax him, reaching out to grab his arm but he just yanked it back, nearly tripping over his feet.

“Calm down? You can’t be serious.” He huffed, biting down on his lip, enough to draw blood- I could smell it. “Vanessa is the only person I have left, and just like everything else I’ve ever loved, she’s been taken from me- by you!”

Isaac rushed at me, slamming his hands against my chest and shoving me back against the coffee table between the couch and armchair. His shifting continued, hair growing down the side of his face, claws ripping part of my shirt after he pushed me again.

“Isaac…” I warned, feeling a heat growing in my chest, but he didn’t stop.

“She’s the only good thing to happen to me since I got the bite, and you needed to take her too!” His voice had shifted from that of a tree-like teenager to that of some sort of demonic man. My eyes flickered red as I felt my canines growing out over my teeth. Isaac continued to push, despite noticing how I had started to shift myself. “Vanessa’s too good for me, which means she’s certainly too good for a poisonous jackass like-”

The heat in my chest continued to grow, and before I could even think, my voice erupted from my throat. “Isaac!” I howled, voice echoing through the cavernous loft making the light in Isaac’s eyes go out. He let out a small whimper, taking a few steps back away from me. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. “There’s an extra room upstairs, first door on the right. Sober up, then we can talk.”

Isaac hesitated for a second, then nodded his head starting to make his way to the stairs, shoulders hung in shame. I know his drunk ranting to me is probably the most honestly I’ll ever get out of him, but he needs to be sober to have that conversation. I wish I knew what to say to him- the kid who’s been like a brother to me for years. How do I explain to him why I slept with his girlfriend, or that I’m her alpha? How would she explain it? This was so much easier when I didn’t have to see how it affected Isaac; when I could just say “screw him,” because with Vanessa, I finally felt like a missing piece of me had been put into place. But now that I see him… it changes things.

Just as the door right of the staircase clicked shut, I felt my phone start to vibrate in my pocket.

And there it is, I thought to myself, digging for the phone. The call I’ve been waiting for.

The screen illuminated in my hands, Erica’s caller ID popping up onto it. Not the person I was expecting to hear from, but she’ll probably be more merciful that anyone else in Scott’s pack. I quickly slid my thumb across the phone, holding it up to my ear.

“Erica, is something wrong?”

Her breathing was ragged on the other end of the line. “Oh no, Derek- in fact I’m just peachy. Although, Boyd and I just attended the weirdest little meeting at the Stilinski house… I assume you know what the topic of discussion was?”

I groaned, rubbing my temple. “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea,”

“Seriously man, Vanessa Stilinski? I’m starting to think you’ve got a deathwish.” Boyd’s quiet voice rang through the phone- Erica must have put me on speaker.

“She was dying, I did what I had to do.”

Erica groaned, “Yeah whatever, that’s the least of our problems right now. Scott wants to meet with you, probably to rip your head off and Isaac’s been MIA since last night.”

“And we’ve been calling him all morn- Erica, slow the hell down!” Boyd shouted, making me pull the phone away from my ear. Erica’s driving skills were never the best, hence why I don’t even let her look at my Camaro.

“Relax, Boyd- we crash, we’ll survive. Don’t be such a wuss!”

I tried to hold back a grin, listening to the two of them bicker just the same as they did two years ago. Some things never change, I guess.

“You two, stop arguing and get to my place. Isaac showed up this morning after a night of binge drinking, and he’s fine. Just get here.”

“Isaac found his way to your house in the middle of the woods while shit-faced?” Boyd accused, Erica making a loud mmhmm sound.

“I don’t live in the woods anymore- big black building on the corner of Caige and Franklin. I’ll tell the doorman to let you up.”

“Ooh, doorman? Look at you, Derek Hale- stepping up your game.” Erica laughed, Boyd joining in with quiet snickers.

“Shut up and drive, Reyes. I’ll see you both soon, in one piece I hope.”

“No promises!” Erica said, before hanging up the phone. God, those two are a piece of work.

It wasn’t even another ten minutes after I’d hung up the phone that Erica had- without knocking, might I add- stormed her way into the loft, Boyd trailing behind her. Erica had a bright smile across her face, Boyd laughing a little.

“Something funny?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“No, nothing,” Erica managed to say clearly through her fit of laughter. “Your doorman was just telling us about some of the weird shit Peter’s done. Did you know that he trips over the doorframe almost every time he enters the building?”

Boyd pretended to fall, his massive body hurdling forward. He must have lost his footing because that mocking fall became real and he couldn’t stop himself from pushing over the tall lamp I had resting near the couch on the floor. Of course, that just made Erica laugh harder while I glared at Boyd and the remnants of my stained-glass lampshade.

“Sorry, man…” Boyd said, rubbing the back of his neck and picking a piece of stained glass out of his forearm. Not even a single drop of blood dripped out of the wound before the skin stitched itself shut, leaving little to no trace that the glass was even there. Erica was still laughing her ass off, and Boyd looked like he was about to shit himself.

“Whatever, it was just a lamp.” I said, Boyd calming down from the thought I might murder him ever so slightly. “So what happened at the meeting? I’m guessing Vanessa told you-”

“Oh she told the whole pack, and Scott? He’s livid. Might as well have just let the bitch die, he’d be equally as pissed.” Erica said, crossing her arms and sitting down on the couch, Boyd still trying to regain his balance.

“Hey- she’s not a bitch. Lay off, will you?” Boyd tried to defend Vanessa, but Erica just huffed and brushed him off.

“Please, she’s a bigger bitch than I am, but only on the inside. On the outside, she’s a sarcastic do-gooder just like her damn brother.”

“Enough, Erica.” I growled at her, crossing my arms and fixing my posture so my shadow cast over her. Erica slumped down in the couch, slight amusement coming over Boyd’s hard features.

“Well,” Boyd said, clearing his throat. “I’m going to head out- gonna be late for work. Derek, call Scott and talk to him. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think it’s going to be.”

“Hey, hold on- I’m coming with.” Erica called after Boyd who was already half out the door.

“Fine, but you can’t drive,” Boyd said, huffing and continuing his walk to the elevator. Before Erica shut the loft door, she peered her head back inside.

“Nice to have you back, Der,” She said, grinning and biting her lip. “Call Scott- I’m sure he’s eager to hear from you.”

VANESSA

After I’d briefed Lydia and Allison on what had happened, Scott eagerly escorted them out of the house, Allison giving everyone rides home. Through my entire spiel about Derek, last night and argueing with him (minus the angry hate sex), Lydia managed to keep her snarky comments to herself which I was thankful for. This was hard enough as it is, and I can’t take any of her snark at the moment. Isaac is still MIA, no word to anyone since last night.

Now it was just Stiles and I sitting opposite of each other in the living room, silent. Stiles elbows were on his knees, eyes glassy and just… staring at me. He hasn’t said anything since the rest of the pack left.

“If you’re going to say something, just say it.” I said, leaning back into the couch and crossing my arms.

Stiles sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “It’s nothing about you, Vin. It’s just…” He sighed, slumping back in the chair. “I used to think Derek walked on water, you know? All powerful Hale alpha ‘n stuff, but… God, Vin, how could he do that to you? Leave you for dead?”

I sighed, taking my brothers hand in mine. Stiles looked up, tears brimming the edge of his eyes.

“Derek thought he was doing the right thing by leaving me with Scott… And I’m okay now, right? It worked out in the end.”

“It worked out?” Stiles shot up from the chair, sending my balance back. “Vanessa, you’re practically human. It didn’t work out!”

For a second we were both frozen, staring each other down.

“Practically human? Seriously?” I raised my eyebrows, crossing my arms. “That’s the card you’re going to play.”

When I first turned, Deaton told me I would never be as strong as the rest of the pack because I didn’t have my real alpha training me, and at first it didn’t really bother me. It only started to bother me when Erica made it a joke, when the rest of the pack was out fighting and I was forced to stay out of the action with Stiles. Scott tried to get me involved as possible, but he never put me anywhere close to danger- if he tried, Isaac wouldn’t let him. My brother knew how sensitive the practically human thing is… and I guess that’s why he used it.

I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear, clapping my hands against my legs and standing up.

“I’m going to take the Jeep and try to find Isaac. I’ll…” Grabbing the Jeep’s keys from the rack by the door, I started to make my way outside. “I’ll be back later.”

“Vinny I’m-” Stiles started to say but before I could hear the rest of his sentence I was out the door, his voice muffled through the brick wall.

Driving the hunk-of-shit Jeep around is always scary because I never know if and when it’ll break down. I drove through Beacon Hills with the windows down, slowly making my way downtown. On the way, I tried to see if I could sniff out even the faintest trace of Isaac’s scent anywhere. Unfortunately, it’s spring and the breeze carried every scent you could possibly imagine, so finding Isaac is like a needle in a haystack. Even so, I continued to drive and tried to push my brother’s words out of my head.

Vanessa, you’re practically human.

He’s not wrong. It kills me that I’ll never be as strong as Scott, Erica or the rest of them. I just get the curse, none of the plus sides. I heal somewhat faster, but not fast enough to call it supernatural.

I turned the radio up, soundwaves filling my ears, leaving me too distracted to over think Stiles words.

After not catching a single scent in the the Suburban blocks of Beacon Hills, I made a bee-line for downtown. Sunday afternoon, not many people were out on the streets. The occasional family and busy shopper, but not too many people. It made my job easier when trying to sniff out Isaac. With all this time alone in the car, I tried to think about what I’m going to say to Isaac when I find him- if I find him. I must have been driving for at least an hour already before I caught a familiar scent. It wasn’t distinct yet, but familiar. I tried to follow it, and the scent got stronger each block I went down. I turned the corner onto Caige, and then I could clearly see where the familiar scent was coming from.

Peter, v-neck and all, strolling down the street. That’s the scent I’ve been chasing, not Isaac. I groaned, starting to pull over the car to where Peter was walking. Seeing as I’ve got absolutely no leads as to where Isaac is, what can asking Peter hurt?

I rolled down my window, leaning out as I drove slowly next to Peter.

“Stilinski, you better not be interrupting my morning walk with some dumb bullshit. This is my peaceful time, it’s how I keep from becoming homicidal.” He said without even looking over at me.

“You might want to start taking more walks then,”

Peter rolled his eyes stopping and turning to face me, pushing his sunglasses up his head.

“What do you want?” He growled, blue eyes flashing at me.

“I’m looking for Isaac- He’s been kind of MIA since last night. Have you seen him?”

“As a matter of fact, I have. Came stumbling into the loft this morning like a drunk idiot.” Peter grumbled, crossing his arms and holding his head up high.

The loft, I thought, silently scolding myself for not thinking about that sooner. Of course he would go to Derek.

“How drunk was he?” I asked

“He was shit faced- looked bad, even for a werewolf.” Peter said, starting to resume his walk down the street. “Can you really blame him, though? I heard you and Derek going at it last night. If I were him I would have gotten shit faced too.”

I rolled my eyes and started to drive faster down towards Franklin Street. “Fuck off, Peter!”I shouted out the window, turning the corner, seeing that tall black building at the end of the block.

DEREK

I took one of the pages from my book between my fingers, waiting to turn the page when I heard the spiral staircase start to creak from behind me.

“Look who’s finally up,” I set down the book, turning around to see Isaac coming down the stairs, blonde hair strewn in every direction. “You look like shit.”

Isaac groaned, wrinkling his nose. “You look…” He tilted his head, squinting as he carefully made his way to the ground. “You look like someone my girlfriend would want to screw instead of me.”

“Ouch,” I winced at his words, trying to come up with the right thing to follow up with that wouldn’t make things worse. Nothing came to mind.

“Well it’s not like you don’t deserve it, right?” Isaac said, running his fingers through his mess of curly blonde hair as he finally reached the ground, heading right to he kitchen. I got up from the couch, slowly migrating over to him in hopes that in his hungover state he might not be murderously pissed at me. I sat down in one of the creaky stools, leaning over the counter towards him.

“Listen, Isaac-” I’d started to say, but he held up his hand.

“Save it, I don’t care. Whatever you have to say doesn’t change what you and her did, so I really don’t care.” He said with a strange sense of serenity that I would not expect him to have. Isaac calmly poured himself a glass of orange juice, drinking the full cup in one gulp then pouring more. I knew I couldn’t necessarily argue with him because he’s right. All I could do is sit here and watch him drink some three month old orange juice out of a dusty glass cup and hope maybe he would listen to me.

No, I thought to myself. I have to try and make him listen.

“Isaac, you need to let me explain what happened. It’s not as simple as you think it is, I-” I tried to say but could hardly get one sentence in.

“Derek!” Isaac slammed the glass cup on the countertop, shattering it under his grasp. He didn’t even flinch. “Is what you’re about to say going to take back the fact that you had sex with my girlfriend? Because not even I have done that,”

“No, but-”

“Is it going to make Vanessa stop pulling away from me? Is it going to make her love me again instead of you?”

“That’s insane! She doesn’t love me, she loves you.”

Isaac shrugged, picking out a thick piece of broken glass from his palm. “I thought she did, but the whole balance of the universe is fucked, so who knows?” His blatant snark and distaste for such a serious conversation pissed me off. Before I could stop myself, I could feel myself starting to turn and I had stood up, banging my fists on the countertop, grabbing Isaac’s attention.

“Maybe if you could fucking satisfy her instead of being a skinny blonde bitch she wouldn’t have needed to come to me in the first place!”

“Maybe if you weren’t such an asshole you wouldn’t have slept with my girlfriend anyways because that’s not what decent people do!” Isaac’s eyes were glowing yellow, features changing as well.

Before I could get another word in- as if on cue- the elevator bell rang from down the hall. Isaac and I both turned our heads to the door, faces shifting back to their normal state. Isaac brushed some of the broken glass into his hand and throwing it out calmly, as if two seconds ago he wasn’t wolfed out and screaming at me.

Footsteps moved quickly down the hall to the loft before there was a fist pounding at my door. I slid it open before whoever was on the other side of it could do any permanent damage to the oak finishing on the wood, expecting to come face to face with Boyd, or at least someone with his mass and strength. Instead, I was met by Vanessa’s gleaming amber eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

“Is Isaac here?” She said, crossing her arms, shoes clicking as she tapped her foot.

“Hi Vanessa, it’s nice to see you too,” I said, crossing my arms, but she didn’t even wait for my response before pushing past me into the loft, searching for her boyfriend. When her eyes met with Isaac’s, she looked far more relieved than he did.

“Oh, thank god,” She ran into the kitchen, draping her arms around Isaac’s neck, holding him in a tight embrace. Isaac was surprised at first, but I could see that all the anger he had in his eyes melted away the second she grabbed him. His arms draped around her, holding her tight and burying his face in her shoulder. I turned my eyes away, grip tightening on my own arm as I tried to keep my cool.

“Well now that you’ve found your puppy, take him the hell home.” I growled through my teeth, starting to feel my eyes shift from green to red. There was a second of silence before Vanessa and Isaac’s footsteps started to move through the loft and out the door, sliding it shut behind them. Once I heard the elevator shaft start to move down towards the lobby, I broke out of my controled stance, taking the closest table lamp and chucking it across the room, shattering it on a brick wall. My claws were out, fangs replacing my normal teeth. I’d almost fully shifted, and to think:

All she had to do was touch him.

VANESSA

The car ride back home has to be one of the most awkward experiences I’ve ever had. The tight embrace I wrapped Isaac in back at the loft did not mean that all was forgiven- far from it. Isaac sat in the passenger's seat, hands in his lap sitting straight up tall. We’ve been driving for ten minutes and he hasn’t said a single word.

“I was driving for hours looking for you,” I tried to start up a conversation. “It was actually Peter who told me you were at the loft. Who would have thought?” Laughing to myself, I glanced over at Isaac whose expression remained unchanging. Instead of making any further advances, I just sighed. “C’mon Isaac, you’ve got to give me something to work with here.”

Isaac snapped his head to face me. “You want something to work with? Fine- let’s start on the explanation for why you fucking slept with Derek.”

Anger radiated off him like a red light- seeing him like this scares me, but not enough to cower away into the corner

“Listen, if you want to talk about this like adults, fine. Just maybe not while I’m driving a piece of shit Jeep down city streets, hm?” I said, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

Isaac didn’t talk again for another few seconds, giving me time to steady my ragged breathing.

“Pull over,” He hissed under his breath.

“What?”

“I said pull over.” Isaac shouted, gripping the steering wheel and yanking it to the right, driving over the curb. If I hadn’t stepped on the break when I did, we would have wrapped the Jeep around a pole.

“What the fuck?” I screamed into Isaac’s face, but he didn’t even flinch. “You could have just got us both killed.”

“Tell me everything- now.” He said, completely ignoring my shouting.

“We can talk about this when we get back home-”

“No, Vanessa.” His eyes flashed yellow for a second. “I’m going to asked you questions, and you’re going to answer them with total honesty. Not when we get home- right now.”

Each breath he took came out as a low growl. I can’t fight him on this- he deserves to know. He needs to know.

“Fine,” I sighed. “Ask away.”

Isaac took a deep breath, the growling starting to stop. “How long has it been going on?”

“A few weeks…” I looked down at my hands, unable to bring myself to look him in the eye.

“A few weeks? Jesus Vanessa, how the fuck…”

“Can we save the judgement for later? This is already hard enough.” I could feel tears starting to well in my eyes. I tried to push them back, but I couldn’t resist.

“Okay.... How many times have you slept with him?”

I screwed my eyes shut, a tear slipping out. “Twice.”

Isaac’s growls got louder again. “So it wasn’t just a one time thing? It wasn’t just a ‘I was drunk, regret it, and will never do it again,” thing?”

“It’s not like that Isaac, I do regret it, just-”

“Just not enough to not do it again.”

“Baby, please-” I finally looked back up and saw that tears had started to go down Isaac’s cheeks as well.

“No, you don’t get to ‘baby’ me.” He unbuckled his seatbelt opening the door to the Jeep and pulling himself out. “I’m going to walk the rest of the way home- actually, I’ll probably stay at Scott’s tonight. Maybe see if I can get back there full time… Wouldn’t want it to be awkward for you when you start bringing Derek home.” He shut the car door behind him, starting to walk. My heart was racing so fast it felt like it wasn’t beating at all. I reached for my necklace, holding it tight in my hand, trying hard to think of something to say.

The bond. I haven’t told him about the bond.

“Isaac, please, just let me explain!” I leaned out of the open window, calling after him.

“What is there left to explain? I’ve heard all I needed to hear.”

I tried to find the words to say to him, tried to shout but my voice caught in my throat. Nothing would come out, so all I could do is watch Isaac disappear into the foggy city streets.