#this whole time we were waiting for Viktor to make the choice and 'get rid' of his disabilities

[dontyoulistentome]

I can't believe Jayce was the one who created the Machine Herald

[moodyvalentinestories]

Direction – Thirteen | Hunt x HWU MC (Danielle)

Warnings: Discussion of Viktor being a sexual predator; not being able to stop a sexual predator because proof is fucking hard to come by.

Summary: Hunt and Danielle’s conversation continues...

Words: 1700+

Notes: I'm pretty sure y'all are smart enough to know this but, um, Danielle is kind of an idiot and her idea was a very, very bad one. So, like, don't do that.

❥ Previous Chapter: Twelve ❥ Moodyvalentine’s Masterlist

Thomas wanted to believe her more than anything in the world as she stood before him, looking so utterly miserable. He so wanted to reach out and take her into his arms, tell her he was sorry and beg for her forgiveness, but he needed answers first, and irrefutable ones at that. He wouldn’t let her fool him with a trembling lip and a voice no louder than a whisper again. It could have very well been another act. He was tempted to believe her without so much as an explanation, now that he’d looked at the contents of the box, wondering why she would have given something that could have landed her in prison for life to him if she’d thought there was any chance he’d release it. But that was just it – it could have been a well-calculated risk, knowing him as she did. Perhaps she’d thought he wouldn’t be that cruel and, had he known just how incriminating the evidence was, she would have been right. He would have burned the whole thing and never even thought about releasing any of it.

“How?” he asked her. “How were you going to fix anything by going with him?”

Danielle looked away and began chewing on her lip. “I offered him a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” Thomas asked, though he could imagine.

She huffed, still not meeting his eyes. “The kind he would have accepted. Asked him to get rid of what he has on you.”

“And you thought he’d uphold such a deal, did you?” He couldn’t believe she’d be quite so naïve. Then again, if what she was saying was true, she’d already proven how naïve she was by entering into a contract with Montmartre in the first place.

Danielle made a noise that wasn’t quite a laugh but was perhaps supposed to be one. “No, I didn’t think he would.”

“Then why—”

“He needed to believe me, didn’t he? I couldn’t have him be suspicious,” she explained, her hands fiddling with the hem of her dress. “Would have worked if Ethan hadn’t interfered, too, I’m sure.”

There was a knot forming in his stomach as Thomas started to piece everything together, though he didn’t understand quite yet. “What would have worked?”

“I had Dean call in some favours. Got into the security cameras in his office. We would have had the footage, then,” she told him and he felt like he was going to throw up. He almost wished he hadn’t eaten just now. “It would have worked, I know it.”

Thomas was once again floored by just how naïve she appeared to be. “It wouldn’t have. I’m certain he’s had people try to blackmail him like this before, Danielle, you wouldn’t have been the first one. You would have—”

“You don’t understand,” she interrupted him, and he did have to stop speaking to hear her, her voice having gone quieter again. “I’d have told him I’ve changed my mind. I’d have asked him to stop.”

That made even less sense to him. How would that have helped anyone? Let alone her, because if there was one thing Thomas was sure about, it was that Montmartre would not have cared a bit. “Danielle, I don’t think…” He cleared his throat. “I don’t think he would have listened.”

She finally looked up at him when she spoke, holding his gaze. “I know. I was counting on it.”

It was then that the penny dropped and Thomas gained a new appreciation for Mr Blake, who, as it appeared, had prevented what would have been a rather ugly outcome to Danielle’s insane plan. “No. No, that’s not – no, you – no.”

“It’s the only way I could think of that would have stopped him for good,” she said, clearly trying for a nonchalant tone but he knew better.

The trembling of her lower lip caught his eye and before he could change his mind or she could protest, he’d rounded the counter and wrapped her up in a tight embrace. It was no later than her face was buried between his neck and his shoulder that tears began to fall from her eyes again, and Thomas could feel them soak through his shirt.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he whispered into her hair, the endearment slipping out unbidden but he couldn’t quite bring himself to care. “What were you thinking?”

She sobbed against him once more before she told him, her voice barely above a breath, “I just wanted to fix everything.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she wouldn’t have fixed anything – that she would have only put herself in harm’s way – but he found it would be best to wait to tell her that. So he simply pulled her closer then, resting his chin on top of her head, and whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, Danielle, I didn’t know.”

He’d never felt quite so terrible about not having had all the facts, and he cursed himself for not having talked to her before he’d gone and tried to ruin her life. He almost couldn’t believe he’d acted in such an impulsive way but, then again, it wasn’t so usual for him to have any type of feeling that could cloud his judgement. And the disappointment – the betrayal – he’d felt when he’d seen her go with Montmartre had been one hell of a cloud.

Danielle wasn’t sure just how she had ended up in Hunt’s arms after the day they’d had, but she most certainly was not going to complain. He was warm and comforting and she wished she’d never have to leave his embrace again. Unfortunately, she knew he had more words for her – a proper scolding about how stupid she was, and how wrong it would have been to go through with what she’d planned – but just now she decided to cling to him a little while longer, at the very least until her tears would subside.

Eventually, they did, and she pulled back a little, feeling that Hunt was just as reluctant to let go as she was. He did, though, once she took a step back, and she couldn’t help feeling a little bereft. She had half a mind to just step back into his arms again right away and clasped her hands behind her back to stop her from doing so.

“Are you all right?” Hunt asked before she could even get a word out.

She nodded. “I am. I’m fine,” she confirmed, taking a moment to consider her next words. “I would have been fine, too,

“Maybe so,” he said, though the exasperated look that told her he didn’t believe that in the slightest didn’t escape her. “But it was a bad idea all around.”

Danielle huffed. “Was it? You just told me you didn’t think he would have listened. You know he’s a creep and a… a fucking predator. You know.”

“There’s a difference between suspecting and having proof,” he argued, his eyes pleading with her to understand.

And she did understand, which made it all the more infuriating. “I could have provided proof!”

“And what if your plan backfired?” he asked, his voice raised now. “What if someone found out what you’ve done?”

She didn’t have an answer for that. “Well, I…”

“At best, it would have been a crime in and of itself,” Hunt said, shaking his head. He spoke quietly now, his voice serious. “At worst, your actions would have discredited any real case that could be made against him. You would have discredited his victims.”

He was right, she knew. It would have been wrong in many ways, but she was so sure it would have worked, and if it had, they’d have had a way to make him go away for good. Not just for their sake, but for everybody else’s, too. “What was I supposed to do, then?” Danielle asked. “Wait for some other young actress to fall into his trap for real and hope to catch it on camera?” She shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like the height of morality to me.”

“There has to be another way, Danielle,” he said and she felt like a chided child.

Hanging her head, she said quietly, “It wouldn’t have just been for you, you know.”

“I know,” he assured her. She could see him lift his hand from the corner of her eye, letting it hover above her shoulder before he took it back, not touching her. “He will get his just deserts one day. He will. But not like this, sweetheart. Not like this.”

She hadn’t been sure if he’d noticed he’d called her that earlier, but this time she was. This time it was intentional, and she felt her heart flutter the tiniest bit. It didn’t change anything about the situation, though, and she sighed. “It’s not like I could try it again, anyway.”

“Good,” Hunt said with a nod, and then she felt his hand on her shoulder after all. “I’ll do anything in my power to help you bring Montmartre down if that’s what you wish to do. This time, I’ll be there to help.”

There wasn’t much of a choice but to accept that that was the best option now, and she nodded. “Okay. We will find a way to get you out of this project, and we will find a way to bring Viktor down. Whichever comes first,” she said determinedly.

“We will,” he agreed and gave her a small smile.

Danielle returned that smile, then, feeling as if now was the time to lighten the mood, said, “I do have one question, though.”

Hunt regarded her, eyes narrowed, and she was sure her semi-cheerful tone had made him suspicious. “What kind of question?”

“Were you jealous?”

The smile that tugged at one corner of his lips – though it never quite made it into a full smile – told her everything she needed to know. He didn’t dignify her with an answer, though, and instead asked her, “How would you feel about a little campfire in the backyard?”

“A campfire?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

He grinned then and nodded to the box and papers that still lay on the counter. “We better get rid of those, don’t we?”

“Can we make s’mores, too?”

Hunt chuckled. “I’m afraid I’m all out of marshmallows.”

“I suppose just warming our hands over it will do,” she said as she put everything back into the box and tucked the thing under her arm to carry it outside.

Tags: @flyawayboo​ @lilyoffandoms​ @oneemofungirl​ @trappedinfandoms​ @i-bloody-love-drake-walker​ @alleksa16​ @alj4890​ @silversparrow02​

[kazliin]

16) things you said with no space between us Please make it fluffy you killed me with the previous prompts!!

Prompt #16 please? 😊

16 (=

Part of my ‘Percy Jackson AU’. Part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here. This will probably not make much sense unless you’ve read the previous parts

16) Things you said with no space between us

“I miss katsudon,” Yuuri signed mournfully, resting against Viktor’s shoulder as he stared out at the black, rocky landscape in front of them. The air was bitter with fumes, mingling with his breath and making his voice rasp on every word. All around them, he could hear the faint cries and shrieks of the monsters who inhabited the pit. So far, none had found the hiding place that he and Viktor were camped out in but it was only a matter of time.

“Here, have some ambrosia,” Viktor offered, pulling a small square from the pouch around his waist. Yuuri just shook his head, pushing the food away with a regretful sigh. Their supplies were limited and rapidly dwindling with each passing day. They couldn’t waste a single crumb.

He didn’t want to think about what would happen once they ran out.

“You need to eat,” Viktor insisted, pushing the square into Yuuri’s hand with a look of determination on his face. “It’s my fault you’re stuck down here. At least let me do this for you.”

Yuuri knew the look on Viktor’s face all too well and decided not to protest any further. He bit into the ambrosia, sighing happily as the familiar taste flooded onto his tongue. As he chewed, he felt the numerous cuts and bruises scattered across his body begin to heal, their sting gradually fading to nothing. Tartarus hadn’t been kind to either of them and it was a relief to finally be rid of the ever-present ache.

“You need to eat too,” he added, turning back to Viktor and offering out the rest of the ambrosia. Viktor took it without protest, although there was no relief in his expression as he ate. Instead his eyes were fixed on Yuuri, full of concern. Just as they had been from the minute Yuuri had followed him into the pit of nightmares that they were now trapped in.

Yuuri turned back to the unforgiving landscape in front of them, watching as clouds of sulphur drifted across the rocks and the black river spat and hissed in the distance. He would never regret his choice to follow Viktor, not ever. But even that didn’t fully cure the ache in his chest for the world above and everything that they had left behind.

“Do you think we’ll ever get out,” he asked quietly, still pressed against Viktor’s shoulder and feeling the rise and fall as he breathed.

“I do,” Viktor replied and there was nothing but complete certainty in his voice. Viktor was almost boundlessly optimistic, as if he could will success into existence just by believing it hard enough. And sometimes, he even could.  

“We’ll find a way,” Viktor added, lacing his finger through Yuuri’s as they sat side by side. “I promise.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, staying alert and keeping watch for any sign of danger. They had already learned the hard way that Tartarus was not the place to let your guard down.

“Do you remember how we first met?” Viktor asked after a while, breaking the silence.

“You know that I don’t,” Yuuri replied, feeling a slight smile twitch at his lips. He knew what Viktor was doing, trying to distract them both from the reality of the situation, but he didn’t mind. Happy memories were far better than the bleak present.

“You danced like you were making music with your body,” Viktor sighed, a little dreamily. “You lit up my whole world that night. Then the oracle told me to choose a partner for my next quest, to choose wisely, and I already knew exactly who I wanted.”

There was something in his voice as he spoke, words full of emotion as he lost himself in the memory.

“I used to think that the gods must have cursed me for all the sorrow that’s happened in my life.” Viktor continued. “But then I met you and I knew that I could never be cursed, not if the world let me keep you by my side.”

Viktor turned to face him, hand reaching for Yuuri’s face to stroke reverently down his cheek as Viktor smiled.

“No matter what happens, you made it all worth it,” he finished, eyes never leaving Yuuri’s own.

“You changed my life too,” Yuuri replied, leaning in closer and reaching up to rest his hand over Viktor’s. “When you took me on that quest all those years ago, it changed me forever, in the best way. And ever since then, you’ve been an endless string of surprises. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. I always want to stay by your side.”

Viktor smiled at him, as bright as the sun they might never see again, and then his lips were on Yuuri’s and they were kissing. Viktor’s lips tasted like sulphur but Yuuri didn’t care. He had kissed Viktor a thousand times before and would a thousand times again and it always felt like coming home.

“I just wish we’d had more time,” he murmured when they finally broke apart. A few short years in the world of mortals was hardly enough to experience all the thing that he had wanted to experience with Viktor. “I wished we had had the chance to live a normal life. To grow old together. To get married.”

“Who says we can’t still get married?” Viktor asked unexpectedly. Yuuri blinked a little in surprise, thrown off by the sudden question.

“There’s no-one to marry us,” he pointed out. “And we don’t have any of the paperwork.”

“What, are the hoards of monsters trying to kill us not suitable legal witnesses?” Viktor laughed, eyes shining brightly in the half-light. “We’re stuck in every demigod’s nightmare, I’m asking you to marry me and you’re worried about the paperwork?”

“I…” Yuuri fumbled for words, trying to make sense of the sudden new path that the conversation had taken. “Wait, Viktor? You’re asking me to marry you?”

“Of course,” Viktor’s voice might have been light but his eyes were deadly serious. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and any life I have beyond. I always have. And you followed me into hell to protect me and stay by my side. I’d say this is as good a time as any, don’t you think?”

“I do,” Yuuri replied, without hesitation.

“I do too.”

Viktor smiled, face soft as he stared at Yuuri. Reaching out gently, he took one of Yuuri’s hands in his own and pressed a kiss to the knuckle, on the exact spot where a ring would sit.

“I don’t have a ring to give you,” Viktor added. “So this’ll have to do for now.”

“I’ll buy you a ring when we get out of here,” Yuuri promised. “So that everyone will know that we belong together.”

He still wasn’t sure that they would make it out alive. But he had followed Viktor to protect him. They would escape together or not at all. And if they were stuck in Tartarus for eternity, there was no-one he would rather have by his side.

“You know, Phichit and Chris are going to be so mad that they missed the wedding,” Viktor joked and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh, the sound echoing off the cavern walls. They sat together, pressed close with no space between them and, just for a moment, the world felt at peace.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU GOT MARRIED WITHOUT US!” came twin shrieks several months later, Phichit and Chris looking at them both in horror. “We’ve been planning the wedding for years.”