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weasleys-wizard-writes · 2 months ago

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Latency Lingering {F.W}

Chapter II - Cold Comfort

Synopsis: after your run-in with Molly earlier in the afternoon, things come to a head when the very man you'd hoped to never see again shows up at your front door, breathless and demanding answers. And thus, your once so peaceful life comes to a sharp and grinding halt, rather likely for good.

When you looked back on it, your final happy evening with Fred was absolutely chock full of the kind of irony that could make a grown man weep.

It was something you'd scarcely considered prior to the birth of your children, the stinging pain of it all dulled by the persistent dread brought on by the promise of an unsupported birth and the overhanging threat of your ex finding out about the secrets you were keeping from him.

But, of course, that dread hadn't lasted forever, and mere weeks after the birth of your son and daughter you had found yourself suddenly consumed by the near hilarity of the tragedy that had befallen your love life, and the ever present sense of irony that hovered over it like a cloud.

After all, it had been on your last joyful evening with your former boyfriend that the then seemingly far off topic of pregnancy had come up, the weight of it manageable for what you had not then known would be the final time.

It had been a warm spring night, and although the weather had been pleasant enough as of late and the promise of your worst school year yet coming to a close never ceased to bring a sigh of relief to your lips, you couldn't help but feel completely miserable.

For weeks at that point, you had been dealing with utterly debilitating nausea (and the less than welcome side effects associated with it) all throughout your days, and though your love always did his best to support you, you could sense his hesitance and worry over your health as the date planned for he and his brother's conjoined escape drew nearer.

Thus, when you'd found yourself in the gryffindor common room pulled tight against his chest, you'd simply melted into him like a scoop of ice cream dropped upon sticky asphalt.

It always made you feel at least a little better, you'd found, to have him near, and you could tell that he was put at ease whenever he felt your familiar weight against him, a subtle reminder that you were alright even in spite of the illness that plagued you.

He would never admit it, and for you, he didn't have to, but Fred Weasley was a worrier, and a skilled one at that.

So, in order to stave off that worry in favor of spending his second to final evening with you at Hogwarts in better spirits than he otherwise might, he'd begun rattling off utterly ridiculous theories regarding the cause of your long term illness, the likes of which ranged from not having received enough kisses as of late, to bearing witness to Draco Malfoy's face each day.

Though, it was your darling's final theory that had truly managed to capture your attention.

"Ugh, don't even joke about that, Fred. It isn't nearly as funny as you think it is."

You'd huffed out with a light groan of semi-exaggerated despair, unable to stop yourself from rolling your eyes as your then boyfriend had laughed in response, tossing a lithe arm, strengthened in part by his history with quidditch, no doubt, across your shoulders.

"Who’s joking?"

He'd inquired with a feigned sincerity, his hand raising up to splay across his chest as if appalled.

"This is a matter of utmost seriousness, I'm afraid."

At that, you'd scoffed.

Fred Weasley, engage with a matter of "utmost seriousness"? Unlikely.

"It’d most certainly better not be. I am far from ready to have your child, Weasley."

Your boyfriend had hummed in response, the look of gleeful mischief in his eyes hard to miss.

You braced yourself for whatever ridiculous thing he was about to say.

"Really?"

He'd questioned as if truly baffled by your (sensible) admission.

"Well, you certainly could have fooled me the way that you- ack!"

Suddenly realizing exactly where he was going with that statement, you’d all but lunged to cover up his mouth before he could finish, not too keen on the idea of random passerbys hearing of your (admittedly rather active) sex life.

Still, Fred had dodged your "attack" quite easily, grinning wide as you'd fixed him with your most intimidating glare,

"I'm being serious, you git. You'd have to be mad to find something so disastrous amusing enough to joke about."

To that, Fred had simply shrugged, pulling you ever closer with the arm he'd kept wrapped around your now slightly tensed shoulders.

"I think we may just have different interpretations of what is disastrous, my dear."

He had teased, breaths tickling the baby hairs that grew atop your head,

"I have it all planned out, you know."

You'd hummed at that, eyes twinkling with curiosity as you turned your head to better see the man sitting beside you.

"Oh?" You'd asked, "Do tell."

Fred had chuckled, leaning his cheek against the top of your head as he spoke.

"First, we get the bloody hell out of here."

He'd teased, knowing full well just how much closer his impending absence was in comparison to your own.

"And then, as we'll doubtless be wealthy and well adjusted men by the time you graduate in a few weeks time, you'll move in with George and I, doing whatever job you please until I either convince you to work at our wildly successful shop, or you really do fall pregnant. Whichever comes first."

You'd burst out laughing and smacked your boyfriend's shoulder at that comment, noting with joy the way that he shook with his own laughter against you.

"A child before marriage, Mr. Weasley?" You'd teased once your amusement had been quelled enough to allow for speech, "I fear your mother would just about flay you for such a thing.”

The ginger had hummed in subtle confirmation at that, shrugging slightly as he replied,

"Perhaps, but I reckon she'd be utterly besotted with you for it, so you've not much to lose there besides your future husband."

"Future husband and the father of my child in this hypothetical scenario, I'll remind you." You'd teased, "I'd be rather cross with you if you fell to your mother and left me to raise Fred Jr. all by my lonesome."

Your love had grinned wide at that, raising a brow as he considered your words further,

"You think you'd give me a son first then?" He'd asked teasingly, "Because I have a feeling our first will be a girl."

You'd outright laughed again at that admission, baffled and highly amused by your boyfriend's utter certainty in regards to your future.

"Ah, my apologies. Fredette then."

The man sitting beside you scowled as if you'd said the most absurd thing he'd heard in weeks.

"I think not. Frederica perhaps."

To that, you'd groaned, shaking your head back and forth in utter exasperation.

"Absolutely not. If you'd have our daughter named after you then I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more creative than that."

"Oh, not to worry, love."

Fred had quipped back immediately,

"As I said before, I've got it all planned out."

You opened your mouth to question the man further, but already knowing what you were going to ask, your love had spoken up before you could,

"Winnie for a girl, and Augustine for a boy."

You'd all but gawked at that, shocked by the sincerity of the man's tone as you pulled away to see him already smiling down at you.

"Why Winnie?"

You'd asked gently, watching as the gryffindor sitting beside you shrugged his shoulders,

"It's a rather cute name, isn't it? I think it would fit an adorable little ginger girl splendidly. I can already hear you calling it out across our home, chasing her down to rub sunscreen on those doubtlessly freckled cheeks of hers as she fights tooth and nail for her right to roast in the afternoon sun."

Laughing, you nodded semi-exasperatedly at the rather vivid scene presented to you,

"If she's yours I'm sure I'll be doing that and many similar tasks quite often."

You'd paused for a moment to think further before speaking up again,

"And Augustine?"

Fred smiled softly,

"I've always rather liked the name, but have never heard it used much." He began before continuing almost hesitantly, "And it certainly helps that I fell for you in the month of August, as well."

Your eyes had widened slightly at that, brow raising alongside them as you'd urged Fred to elaborate.

"August?" You'd asked, "We didn't even have school in August, Freddie."

The man sitting beside you nodded in confirmation to your words.

"I know. It was summer, I was free of schoolwork and able to terrorize Ronald, Percy, and little Ginny as much as I well pleased, but even so, the only thing I could think about was you. Can you imagine, fourteen year old me desperate to get back to Hogwarts all because I wanted to see a girl? It was not an easy realization to come to terms with, I'm afraid."

You'd scoffed at that, hand reaching over to squeeze his own where it draped across your shoulder in spite of your seemingly nonplussed reaction as you considered the proposed names further.

"Winnie and Augustine." You had murmured aloud, tasting the two names together on your tongue for the very first time. "I quite like those."

And just as he'd begun to fiddle with the promise ring adorning the hand that rested gently atop his own, your love hummed softly in confirmation.

"I knew you would."

And then, smiling as you'd closed your eyes contentedly and leaned against him, you couldn't help but let out a pleased sigh.

In spite of all the stress you'd endured as of late with Umbridge's rule, your sudden and unexplained bouts of illness, and Fred and George's impending absence, the future, it seemed, was bright.

Until, that is, the very next day, when you'd learned alone in the girls bathroom that some aspects of it would be coming far sooner than you ever could have planned for or even imagined.

That night, just over twenty-four hours after your hopeful conversation, you had broken things off with Fred Weasley, and you hadn't seen him since.

That is, of course, until today.

Because even in spite of your insistence that she not tell him anything earlier that afternoon when she'd caught you on your way out of that accursed doctor's office, it seemed that Molly Weasley had paid your pleas little mind, for it was only a few hours after you'd arrived home that Fred had turned up at your front door.

And truthfully, you knew that it was partially your own fault that he had found you with such ease.

After all, you still lived in that same flat your aunt had rented out to you during your summers away from Hogwarts, the one she used to supplement her income as she persisted with her freelance photography abroad.

Your mother, her sister, hadn't spoken to her (at least to your knowledge), since she'd refused to kick you out of it after your graduation, but the woman in question had never seemed to mind.

In truth, you hadn't yet found it within yourself to miss your children's maternal grandmother much either.

But still, even in spite of your aunt's kindness, you couldn't help but wish you'd had the forethought to move elsewhere as you stared helplessly at the man standing on the other side of your door.

He looked positively frazzled, and utterly determined.

"Fred I-"

"Tell me that she's mistaken."

The young wizard half demanded, half plead, his hand coming to rest upon the inner lip of the door as if afraid you might close it on him at any moment.

You would be lying if you said you hadn’t considered it.

You swallowed thickly at his words, opening your mouth in search of a reply only to have him cut you off once more before you could even begin.

"Or better yet, tell me that she's lying and that this is all some utterly ridiculous ploy to get me to see you again after all these years. Tell me anything Y/n, just not that she's right."

Unsure of what to say, you cast your gaze downward toward the floor and away from Fred's prying eyes, and immediately he drew in a sharp breath and cursed above you, bringing his unoccupied hand to rub across his face.

The silence that descended upon the two of you afterward was thick and cloying, the absence of all sound so harsh that it nearly made you shudder, an urge you only held back because you refused to come across as weak to the man standing before you.

Which, as things went, happened to be rather difficult considering how absolutely terrified you felt.

"Truly?"

He breathed out after several long seconds of nothing,

"All this time, and you were just never going to tell me?"

Slowly, and with a shameful certainty, you nodded at that, hands clasping in front of you as your fingers worried away at the spot on your finger where your promise ring had one sat.

Old habits died hard, you supposed.

"Fred, I..."

You trailed off for a few moments, desperately seeking out the right words, only to give up with a sigh when you realized they would likely never come.

There were no "right words" for you to say in this situation. There was only the truth, as ugly as it may have been.

"I didn't know what else to do."

At that, a short burst of harsh and humorless laughter that was jarringly similar to that which he'd let out on your final night together in the astronomy tower pushed passed your ex's lips, and despite your best efforts, you couldn't help but flinch back from it, a movement which he either didn't notice, or chose to ignore entirely.

"You didn't know what else to do besides dump me with no real explanation and hide my own children from me for nearly three years of their lives?"

He scoffed, looking down at you as if in utter disbelief,

"Does that seem like the most rational decision to you, Y/n?"

In response to his mocking tone and blatant disregard for your reasoning, you looked up to meet your former lover's eyes once more, glaring daggers into them as a hand came to rest upon your hip.

"Was it a rational decision for you to set off fireworks in a school, Fred? Or for you to drop out mere months before graduation?"

You snapped, taking a step closer to the man as you pointed an accusatory finger to his chest, the space between you decreased enough now that you could smell the familiar cologne he'd always worn, the very same one you'd described while smelling amortentia all those years ago in Snape's classroom.

Fred glared right back at you after a moment of what appeared to be surprise at your sudden displeasure, but before he could even think to open his mouth again, you continued.

"How about when you decided to fight in a war that from what I heard, very nearly killed you, huh? And let's not forget to mention this very moment here, where you've turned up to my aunt’s flat in search of your ex girlfriend while looking half a mad man instead of thinking to send an owl first to at least make sure that I even still live here. How rational does that seem, Fred?!"

Your voice was raised now, having been increasing in volume since you'd begun the second half of your rant, and while he had never been one for shouting, it seemed that Fred Weasley was far too concerned with not being outdone to care today.

"You're saying I should have sent an Owl?!" He asked incredulously, the laughter that left him just as barren of humor as the bout before it.

"Oh that's rich coming from you, love, because you could stand to learn a thing or two about sending important owls, it would seem!"

You scoffed, arms crossing atop your chest as you opened your mouth to reply once more, a no doubt biting remark already primed and ready to go at your lips.

As unfair as it was, after all, there was some long buried part of you that felt angry at the man standing before you.

Because even if it was entirely your own choice, you had endured nearly nine long months of pregnancy completely alone, before laboring just under two weeks early all by yourself, which of course had preceded you then raising both of your children all by your lonesome, exhausted and afraid of whatever it was that would come next, because as you'd soon discovered alongside the existence of your children, there was always something else looming on the horizon.

And it just wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair how desperately you yearned for the touch of a man now supposedly unknown to you as you laid in bed each night,

It wasn't fair how curiously your little ones asked about other children's fathers,

It wasn't fair how obviously and agonizingly they took after their dad,

It wasn't fair how you saw him briefly each time you looked into their beautiful little eyes or brushed your fingers through their soft ginger hair,

None of it was fair, not in the slightest.

But just as you were about to open your mouth and express these long buried and ignored feelings of yours, a small and painfully poorly timed voice called out from behind you.

And when you shifted your gaze to see your ex's face more clearly, all you saw expressed upon it was a deep and sorrowful dread as he stared just past you at the once empty door frame, which you hoped against all hope and sense was still bereft of life.

Of course though, you could already tell from Fred's face alone that this was not the case.

"Mummy?"

The young voice that you immediately identified as that of your son questioned curiously from behind you, and finally you swallowed your hopes and fears and turned around to face the music for what felt like the one millionth time in that day alone.

And of course, standing there, backlit by the slightly yellow glow of the bulbs from the kitchen that sat just inside, was your boy, your darling Augustine, looking the very picture of the man that stood just a few feet away from him.

His hair was an absolute mess from his clearly restless sleep, and he was rubbing at his eyes in a manner that made it nearly impossible to make out their color, but even so that inarguable likeness was there.

He looked every bit the quintessential Weasley child, and it made your heart flutter in your chest when you noticed the way that your former love seemed to take this in, as if it were a knife to the gut.

Clearing your throat to rid it of the sudden thickness that you found there, you were quick to reply.

"Yes, love?"

You murmured softly, reaching out gently to help guide the young boy to you when he began to fumble all but blindly in your direction, eyes still blurred by sleep.

"Can sissy and me sleep with you? We've had another bad dream."

At that, you frowned immediately, maternal instincts quick to take over in spite of your stressful situation.

For nearly a year now your twins had suffered from nightmares, often on the same nights, though thankfully from what they had shared with you, they at least seemed to be about differing things.

That said, it did cause you rather significant grief as a parent to see your children suffering so with something you could not even hope to control or change.

It made you feel weak, helpless, and above all else, afraid of your own potential errors or failures in raising your little one's to have something like this plague them for so very long.

Several nights a week you would awaken to the sounds of pattering feet on hardwood, petrified voices crying out your name from down the hall, or little fingers poking at your body to rouse you as one or both of your children sought out the comforts of their mother.

Most often during times like this though, you'd found that it was Winnie who came to get you, her brother (younger by a whopping nine minutes and twenty-three seconds), typically favoring bundling up beneath his covers until you went off to gather him up in your arms and carry him to your bedroom before cocooning him alongside his sister within the blanket that smelled soothingly of you and the detergent you used on it once weekly.

So, naturally, it worried you to note that it was August who sought you out on this particular evening.

Sympathetically, you cooed to the boy standing before you, reaching down to pick him up with ease before setting him familiarly upon your hip with a skill that was rather jarring to the nearly forgotten man standing with his back to the wall just opposite you and your son.

"Of course you can sleep with me, darling."

You assured him gently, rubbing his back with your still free hand as you allowed your voice to take on that soft and soothing tone that all mothers seemed to master at one point or another,

"Does sissy need me to go and get her tonight?"

Your son had just begun quietly shaking his head when the sound of small feet on tiled floors caught your attention, and you immediately turned to better see the source of it as your daughter came into view.

There, backlit in the very same way that her brother had been, stood your ever so brave and dreadfully witty Winnifred, whose hair was still up in messy pigtails from earlier that day due to her refusal to allow you to take them out at bedtime.

You often claimed that she didn't get such stubbornness from you whilst you were teasing her, but you knew deep down that such a statement was far from true.

She was, after all, just as much your daughter as she was Fred's, and it seemed that the apple did not fall far from the tree in that particular regard.

"There's my sweet girl,"

You began, squatting down to offer your unoccupied arm to her,

"Would you like a cuddle as well, then?"

And immediately, the elder of your two children all but launched herself into your arms, muttering softly of her nightmare and the fading details she recalled of it as she buried her face into your neck, relaxing herself with any and all familiaritites you carried about your person.

You shushed her gently, swaying your body back and forth with a practiced rhythm until all of the sudden, Fred's voice snapped you straight out of your reverie.

"They truly are real then."

He said softly, as if in utter disbelief of the sight unfolding before him.

Unsure of what to say, you simply nodded, avoiding his gaze to the very best of your ability as you prayed he didn't notice the quiver in your bottom lip upon hearing the hurt and confusion in his voice.

"I-"

Seeming to choke a bit on his words, Fred faltered for a moment, floundering in place until finally, he simply shook his head and sighed.

"I should go."

Your eyes widened at that, and your head quickly snapped up as the man standing before you pulled a small pen and notepad set from his back pocket, the front of it clearly stained with ink and worn from use.

No doubt for his ideas, then, you realized idly before putting a stop to any familiarity you felt for the individual standing before you.

He was a different man now, a totally new person.

You had no right thinking of him as if you still knew who he was today.

Scribbling out a few lines of text in writing that you knew all too well, the ginger sighed before tearing the piece of paper he had been using out and handing it to you.

"That there is the address to mine and George's shop and our apartment just above it. If you don't find me there, I'm likely at Mum's or somewhere just down the road. Have someone let me know if you ever stop by while I'm not in."

Shocked, you nodded absently before finally finding it within yourself to speak up once more.

"So I'm guessing you'll be wanting me to come to you about all of this sooner rather than later?"

Shrugging in a manner that you would almost describe as hopeless, Fred looked to you briefly before quickly glancing away, as if pained by the mere sight of you alone.

"I would have wanted you to come to me about our children years ago, but better late than never I suppose."

Opening your mouth as if to argue with his statement, you found that nothing worth saying would come.

Once again, it seemed he was rather justified in how he felt.

Once again, it seemed you were the bad guy for doing what you had felt was right all those years ago.

What a mess.

Seeing your apparent speechlessness, Fred simply nodded in farewell before apparating out of your apartment complex without another word, leaving you to wonder how today could have begun so typically and ended in such a life altering manner.

Such was life with twins, you supposed.

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athenamikaelson · 4 months ago

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Klaus Mikaelson x Soulmate!Reader x Elijah Mikaelson Pt. 8

Word Count- 7.8k

Warnings- Swearing, violence, blood, unhealthy thoughts when it comes to pain

A/N- Klaus in Alaric’s body will be referenced as Klaric since it’s easier for me to remember and easier than putting, “Klaus in Alaric’s body,” 100 times lol. ALSO it was so uncomfortable to write Klaus in Ric’s body when he and the reader are interacting. So good luck.

-3rd Person POV-

Katherine sat shaking in her chair as she watched Klaus, who was currently residing in Alaric’s body, riffle through Alaric’s closet. Katherrine’s fear was evident to both parties as she watched the man from a small distance.

“Ugh! Who is this guy? Safari Sam,” Klaric said disgustedly as he went through the dozens of flannel and khaki shirts.

Klaric sighs as he grabs two shirts from the rack and holds them up in front of the younger vampire, “Okay. Bad… Or badder?”

Katherine scowls as she answers him, “The dark colors suit you better.”

“Oh thank you, honey. Okay,” Klaric throws the dismissed shirt onto the bed and then begins to put on the dark one, “Pop quiz. The dagger and white ash are in the Salvatore's possession, correct?”

“The dagger was used to kill Elijah. You’ll find him in the basement of the Salvatore house,” Katherine answers the question with about as much excitement as one can have in her situation.

“Okay, that dagger needs to stay exactly where it is. The last thing I need to do is resurrect Elijah,” Klaric scoffs, “Oh, that guy’s a buzz kill.”

“Don’t forget you’re on the outs with your girlfriend Jenna.”

Klarics eyebrows raise and he nods along as if he actually cares, which he doesn’t, “Right. Elena’s aunt. For, uh, all the lies about Isobel. What else?”

“That’s it,” Katherine says but her breathing betrays her. Klaric takes a step forward and brings his hand up to brush a finger over her hair, resulting in a frightened jump from the latter.

“So jumpy,” Klaric’s mocking tone breaks the silence.

“Please,” Katherine’s voice comes out desperate, “Just kill me. I’ve told you everything I know.”

Klaric leans down to be eye to eye with the doppelganger, “See, I believe you believe that. But what would you not know? What could they be keeping from you? Anything? Tell me,” Klaric’s pupils enlarge as he compels the younger vampire.

“They were trying to see if Bonnie could find a way to kill an Orginal without a dagger.”

“Bonnie the best friend?”

Katherine nods as Klaric stands up and crosses his arms in annoyance, “I thought you said she didn’t have her powers anymore.”

“She doesn’t. Or didn’t. I don't know,” Kathrine tries to reason, “You kidnapped me, remember? I’m kind of out of the loop.”

“Well, we’ll have to get to the bottom of that,” Klaric glances down at Kathrine again, “Anything else I should know.”

Katherine appears to be fighting back her words but Klaric’s compulsion proves to be too strong, “There’s a girl.”

This perks Klaric’s interest as he gestures with his hand for Katherine to continue, “Oh please, do go on.”

“She’s a friend of Elena’s,” Klaric rolls his eyes at this statement getting bored of Katherine’s dodginess.

“Katerina, please tell me you aren’t wasting my time with the knowledge of a teenage girl who holds no means to my plan.”

Katherine opens and closes her mouth a few times before lowly biting out her words, “Elijah was quite fond of her. Before he was daggered.”

At this comment, Klaric’s eyebrows furrow, and a small smirk covers his lips, “You mean to tell me my older brother has a little crush on some teenage girl,” The amusement in his tone is evident.

Katherine shakes her head as if Klaric should understand better what she’s talking about, “No it’s not like that,” She frowns, “Well, at first I had thought so too, but it’s deeper than just some crush. From what I’ve heard and seen it’s not just some random bond between them. It’s something deeper, something supernatural. Elijah is overly protective of her and he looks at her like,” She pauses as if talking about this hurts her, “Like, she’s all there is.”

At Katherine’s last sentence, the smirk from Klaric’s face promptly drops and is replaced momentarily by a look of disbelief.

“You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting,” Klaric’s tone darkens.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, I mean I’ve only seen that kind of bond a handful of times in my entire life but,” Katherine sighs, “That’s the only possible explanation I can find for an Original vampire latching himself to a human girl like that.”

Klaric appears to be in thought for a moment as he processes Katherine’s words. Realizing that if the younger vampire were right, it would cause a slight hitch in his plans.

Katherine, taking Klarics silence as a threat speaks up hastily, “Please, just kill me, Klaus. Be done with it.”

Klaric turns around and frowns mockingly at her, pushing the new information he just learned into the back of his brain for the current moment, “And show you kindness? I’ve searched for you for over five hundred years. Your death… is going to last at least half that long.”

Katherine’s shoulders tighten as Klaric pulls a pocket knife out from his jeans and opens it, “I want you to take this knife…and stab yourself.”

Katherine slowly picks up the knife and without a second thought plunges the knife into her thigh.

“And while I’m gone, I want you to do that over and over and over again. And if you get bored,” Klaric smiles at her with nothing but malice, “switch legs.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna go lay eyes on my precious doppelganger,” Klaric thinks for a moment before smirking, “and maybe my future sister-in-law.”

Klaric presses a kiss to the top of Katherine’s head, “Oh, don’t look so glum, Katerina. The fun is just beginning.”

—

Y/N POV-

My hand shakily grips my shifter as I put my car into park. My hand continues to rest there as my vision goes in and out and my breathing rises as I stare at the Salvatore house in front of me. I can see Stefan and Damon sitting on the brick porch but I don’t seem to have caught their attention so that gives me a moment to collect myself. I try to calm my breathing, by doing deep breaths in and out, the longer I do this though, and prolong going into the boarding house, a coil of anxiety builds in my stomach. The last time I was here was days ago when Alaric killed Elijah.

“He’s only temporarily dead. As long as the dagger stays in his chest he won’t wake up.”

The information Elena had told me the morning after the dinner party bounced around in my head, just like it had since the first time I heard it.

-Flashback-

A sharp pain jolts me out of the comforting dream I was having. It was one I don’t remember ever having before and it felt more like a memory than anything else. I remember sitting on a rock overlooking a small glistening brook, the smell of forest air and wildflowers surrounded me. I remember feeling the warm sun caress my skin and then hearing footsteps beside me. A man, or who I believed was a man, I couldn’t tell since his face was blurred. It was like when you look at your reflection in water but then the current comes and causes ripples, distorting your reflection. When staring at his face I would think for a moment that I could place together some of his features but whenever I believed I got close, his face would ripple again.

Thinking back to it I knew I should’ve been unnerved by the faceless man but I felt nothing but a certain kind of comfort. As if I was meeting an old friend that I had known longer than life itself. The man's blurred face would look back at me and from his staring I wondered if my face was just as blurry as his was and he was trying to decipher my features just as I was with him. I never found out though because right when he appeared as if he were to start speaking I was awoken by the pain in my chest.

“Hey, hey! You’re ok, everything is ok,” Elena’s comforting voice comes from beside me as I feel her pull me into a hug.

I shake her off and then look at her quizzically, the dull ache in my chest still present, “What happened? Why are you here?”

Elena’s face falls from a worried look to one of shame as she glances down at her hands.

“Elena?”

She sighs and looks back up to me, “How much of last night do you remember?”

At her question I frown and wonder what she could mean by that but then quickly memories of the dinner party and Elijah catapult through my mind. Elijah picking me up because of my flat tire, hearing him talk about Salem and the dead witches, him holding my hand, and…, “Oh God. Elijah! He died,” I know I shouldn’t care so much about a man I had just met but something in me shakes, “Alaric he killed him.”

Elena shakes her hands and head, “No! Well…I mean technically, yes, but not really.”

Elena must see the evident confusion on my face because she begins to retell everything that happened after I had passed out. From Alaric and Jenna taking me home, to Elijah waking back up and going after Elena, and then to Elena tricking Elijah and daggering him. Even though Elena’s my friend, when she told me that, anger rose throughout my body and I wanted to yell at her for what she had done. But from the guilty look on her face, I could tell she was already mad at herself.

“He’s only temporarily dead. As long as the dagger stays in his chest he won’t wake up,” Elena tells me, and a deep breath I didn’t realize I was holding escapes my lips.

“When I heard about you fainting I came here as soon as I could. I got here a few hours ago,” She motions to my bedroom door, “Your mom let me in. I’m really sorry you had to witness that Y/N, if I knew what Damon was up to I would’ve warned you not to go. But, when has Damon ever let any of us in on his master plans,” She tries to crack a joke but it doesn’t land.

“So Elijah isn’t dead?”

Elena shakes her head, “Nope, just temporarily.”

-End of Flashback-

Temporarily. Not dead dead. Well I mean technically he’s already dead but… never mind. A light knock on my car window makes me slightly jump, but I relax when I see Stefan standing there with a small comforting smile on his face. He slowly opens my car door, “Are you ok, Y/N?”

I want to tell him, “hell to the no,” and put my car in drive and never come back to this godforsaken house ever again, but I can’t do that to Stefan.

Days have passed since the dinner party and each one Stefan has somehow checked on me and my mental state. At first, it was him showing up at my house because I couldn’t get myself to go to school, but then when I finally did push myself to go he would somehow always find me in the hallways and walk with me to my classes, even those that we didn’t share. Some of those times Elena would join us, so I thought it was him just following her around but then when Elena wouldn’t show up at school or she was somewhere else he’d still walk with me. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but it was kind of nice. I know it’s just pity but I began to look forward to our walks since we’d just talk about anything and nothing. I’d found that Stefan, unlike his brother, is quite personable when he’s not overtaken by his lust for blood. Which is something he admitted to me one day after school. I found it odd how someone who seems to be as moral as he is, can succumb to that kind of monster.

I want to slam my door and leave but instead, I send Stefan a small smile, turn my car off, and step out of my car. Even though I think he’s only being nice to me out of pity, I don’t really want to ruin any chance of messing up whatever “friendship” we have going on.

“Elena’s waiting for you inside,” Stefan smiles at me again as he leads me up the walkway to the stairs where the Demon is perched. I glare at him as he smirks devilishly at me as I walk up the stairs.

“How was your trip?”

Damon’s question has me shaking my head in annoyance, “What are you gabbing about, I didn’t take any trip.”

“I mean the trip you took to the floor,” He laughs to himself like he’s the funniest person alive, “You know when you fainted.”

“Go to hell, Damon.”

Stefan and I echo each other as we both roll our eyes at the dark-haired vampire who just shrugs his shoulders, “Just playing around. It’s how Pukie and I’s friendship works.”

My lip curls up in disgust, “We don’t have a friendship.”

Damon fakes a gasp as he places his hand on his nonbeating heart, “You wound me.”

“Too bad not fatally,” I say under my breath but both vampires catch it, resulting in a small snort from Stefan and a scowl from Damon. The latter appears like he’s about to say something else but when the front door opens and a bald man who looks like he just walked off a Monopoly game board comes out, he stops.

Elena appears beside him and shakes his hand, “Thank you, Mr. Henry.”

Mr. Monopoly sends her a smile and then leaves. I walk with Damon and Stefan to the front door and as I walk through I hear them both halt. I turn around to see them both standing at the entryway of the door.

“Did I miss something? Who was the bald guy,” I question Elena who stands next to me and laughs at my question.

“That was Mr. Henry. He just gave the deed to the house,” Elena smiles as she looks around the room as if she hadn’t been here a thousand times before.

“Wait. This house,” I point to the ceiling confused.

Elena nods, “Yep. Damon and Stefan signed over the house to me so no uninvited guests can enter without my approval.”

Oh. Vampires. Right.

“Oh, well that’s smart, I think. Must’ve been Stefan’s idea right?”

“You’re hilarious, Pukey,” Damon says with no amusement covering his face.

Stefan seems delighted though as his shoulders move up and down in laughter.

Elena turns to Stefan and smiles at him, “Stefan. Would you like to come inside my house?”

“I would love to. Thank you,” Stefan smiles at his girlfriend and comes to stand next to me as we watch Elena and Damon having a stare-down.

“What are we, twelve?”

“One of us is,” Elena’s jab has me snorting.

“If I let you in do you promise to obey the owner of this house?”

Damon face contorts in disgust as if that was the craziest thing he’s ever heard, “No.”

“Seriously, Damon. My way. You promised. I call the shots. No lies, no secret agendas. Remember?”

“Yes, Elena. Sure.”

Elena looks like she’s about to invite him in but then she looks back at me momentarily and then back to Damon, “One more thing.”

Damon rolls his eyes, “Of course.”

“No more calling Y/N those nicknames. Stop being an ass.”

Damon looks at her for a moment before glancing at me and sending me a fake smile, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Then please, come in.”

Damon walks through the threshold and by Elena and Stefan but when he passes me, he leans down slightly to whisper to me, “Always gotta cross your fingers, Pukey,” Damon raises his hand to show his middle finger crossed over his pointer finger.

“Ass.”

I follow the three into the living room but then notice Bonnie and send her a small smile, her face brightens as she sees me and sends me a friendly wave. Bonnie hands Elena her jacket who puts it into her bag.

“Wait,” Stefan interrupts, “Where are you going?”

“To school.”

“Huh?”

Damon chimes in, “No, no, no, we didn’t create a safe house for you to leave it.”

“Yeah, guys. Klaus is out there. We know that.”

“Right. But where? No one knows. Look. I really appreciate what you guys are doing. And I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that I’ll be safe here but I’m not going to be a prisoner,” Elena stares at both the men and Stefan glances back to his brother.

“Your way, Elena.”

“Don’t worry, I’m ready. If he shows his face, I can take him. I know how,” Bonnie’s words send a sense of comfort through me. Always stay next to the all-powerful witch. Noted.

“The way I see it next to Bonnie is the safest place I can be.”

“Come on,” Elena gestures for us to follow her to our cars.

I wait at the door for a moment though, pretending to be grabbing my keys from my bag. Stefan walks past me and follows Elena and Bonnie. I turn to Damon who stands in the same spot and send him a small smirk as I bring my hand out of my bag and show him the singular finger I’m holding up.

Damon scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Real mature.”

“Later, Demon.”

—

The first-period bell rings as I quickly run to my seat next to Bonnie. I stopped for an iced tea and didn’t really know how long it would take me. So thankfully going ten miles over the speed limit the entire way got me here just in time. I turn and smile at Elena who is sitting behind me and Stefan who is sitting to her right. Elena brings up the paper in her hands and shows it to me and Stefan with a smirk. The paper is a flyer for the 60’s dance tonight and both Stefan and I share the same face as we both shake our heads at Elena. She just rolls her eyes and shows it to Bonnie who smirks even more than Elena and nods her head. I laugh slightly at my new friend and she leans over to me, “Caroline will kick your butt if you don’t come tonight.”

I debate it over for a moment if I’d rather spend two hours in a gym with sweaty teenagers or face the blonde wrath of Caroline Forbes.

“Yep, I’ll be there,” I say and hear Elena whisper-yell a small yay and Bonnie smirks triumphantly.

“Hello, class,” Ric’s voice has me turning to the front as he walks in. I frown though when I see his current apparel. Unlike before, where he usually opts for something casual, today something about him seems different. He almost looks kind of attractive. Wait. Ew, hell no.

Ric thumbs through the book he’s holding as he asks the class what we’re learning today, which I find quite odd since that’s kind of his job. Maybe he’s day drinking again?

“With the decade dance tonight we’ve been covering the ‘60s all week,” Dana’s voice has me inwardly groaning. Ever since I got to this school she’s been a total pain in my ass, always commenting on how I dress or how little I talk.

‘Right the ‘60s,” Ric turns to the class but stops for a moment. I follow his line of sight and frown as I watch him watch Elena closely for a moment before clearing his throat.

He turns back around to face the chalkboard, “The uh… The ‘60s wish there was something good I could say about the ‘60s but, they actually kind of sucked.”

I slightly snort at Ric’s jokes because honestly, he’s not wrong. I stop laughing though when I realize he heard me. I meet Ric’s eyes and I frown in confusion when his eyebrows furrow and his eyes search my entire face practically a hundred times over as if this is the first time he’s ever seen me. He watches me for another moment before he clears his throat and turns back to the board hastily. Well, that wasn’t weird at all.

“Um, ya. The uh, Beetle’s made it bearable,” Ric turns back around and faces the classroom his gaze finds me once more and I frown at him to which he darts his eyes away. Ya, definitely day drinking.

“Um, what else was there, The Cuban missile thing, the uh. We walked on the moon, there was Watergate.”

“Watergate was the seventies, Ric,” Elena corrects him stopping him from his pacing, “I mean, Mr. Saltzman.”

“Right, all kind of mushes together up here, the ‘60s, ‘70s. But thank you, Elena.”

The rest of the class goes on like this, Ric half-assedly teaching, or more like listing things that happened in the ‘60s. Thankfully after 45 minutes the bell rings and I go to follow my friends out of the classroom but stop as I glance at Ric who is wiping away the writing on the chalkboard. Elena, Bonnie, Stefan, and the rest of my classmates exit the classroom leaving just Ric and I. I don’t think he realizes I’m here as I walk up towards his desk.

“Uh, Ric?”

At the sound of my voice, Ric’s hand pauses on the chalkboard and for a moment I could’ve sworn I saw his grip tighten on the brush. I hear him release a breath before he turns to look at me. His face is remote from any emotion as he stares at me.

“Yes?”

His monotone voice has me slightly annoyed, “I just wanted to check if you were alright?”

My question has him slightly narrowing his eyes at me, “Why would you think something is wrong?”

I shrug my shoulders, “I don’t know you just seem a little out of it. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I mean I heard about Jenna and I know it’s none of my business but-”

“You’re right, it is none of your business,” Ric’s harsh tone has me frowning as I look at him. The way he’s talking to me is almost like I’m talking to a complete stranger.

“Don’t you have a class to be going to, instead of bothering me?” I open my mouth to question why he’s being such an ass but these past few days I don’t really feel like I have any fight left in me at times. Right now being one of those.

“I’m sorry,” I say pulling my backpack closer to me as I begin to walk out the door, “I’ll make sure to not bother you again.”

—

The rest of the first half of school goes by slowly and I practically have to trudge my way into the cafeteria. Elena notices me and waves at me. I look over to the lunch line but can’t seem to find the appetite to eat so I slowly make my way over to Bonnie and Elena. I throw my bag on the table, lay my head on it, and close my eyes with a sigh.

“Long day,” Elena questions from beside me.

I just wordlessly nod.

“Aren’t you going to get lunch,” I hear Bonnie ask me, and I shake my head.

“Alright, wakey-wakey,” Elena uses her index finger to lift my head off my bag, “You need to eat, here,” She rips her sandwich and half, and I kind of find it gross her fingers are touching my share but the gesture is still sweet. She places the sandwich in my open hand and gestures for me to eat it. I stare at it for a moment then slowly bring it to my lips and take a minuscule bite.

“Yummm,” I say sarcastically which makes Bonnie giggle and Elena roll her eyes playfully.

We’re interrupted though when the she-devil appears, “Hey, Elena, there you are,” Dana’s squeaky voice fills my ears and I fight the urge not to throw my head back down on my bag, “Okay, this is gonna sound freaky but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight.”

I throw up a disgusted look as Elena laughs and Bonnies speaks up, “Tell him she has a boyfriend.”

“You could at least meet him. He’ll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus.”

At the mention of Klaus, all three of us freeze up and a wave of nausea washes over me.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“His name’s Klaus? I know the name stupid but I swear he’s hot.”

I’m frozen as Bonnie starts questioning Dana for his whereabouts. Then Bonnie enlightens us by saying Dana’s been compelled.

“But he wants to know if you’ll save him the last dance. How cute is that?”

Oh shit.

—

I sigh as I approach the front door to the Salvatore’s for the second time today. Elena called me a little while ago saying they were meeting there to talk strategy about tonight. I told her we should just use the Salvatore’s vampire money and get the hell out of dodge, but she didn’t agree with me. So here we are. I shove open the wooden door and look at the five figures already standing in the living room. Bonnie and Elena stand to one side of the room, opposite the Salvatore’s, and Ric stands at the end of the entryway.

“Sorry I’m late,” I apologize to Elena as I come to stand next to Ric, “My brother needed to be dropped off at practice.”

“No worries, Ric just got here too,” Elena gestures to the man standing next to me and I slightly glare at him when I remember how he acted this morning. His eyebrows furrow slightly as he notices my unapproving look. I look away from him and walk down to sit on the sofa.

“What’s our plan of attack,” Elena questions the group. I actually don’t understand why I’m here. I mean when Klaus comes for Elena the most I can do is probably make fun of his split ends or something like that. Without being supernatural there’s not much to do here.

“Me,” Bonnie answers, “I’m the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him. I can kill him.”

I fight the urge to say that this all could��ve been an email and I didn’t have to waste the gas money to get all the way over town since most of us don’t have generational wealth to fall back upon, but I fight my inner demons and stay quiet.

“That’s not going to be easy,” Ric chimes up, “I mean, he is the biggest baddest vampire around.”

“Kinda sounds like someone has a crush,” I snarkily whisper under my breath but I must not have been quiet enough since Ric’s eyes flash towards me and for a moment his upper lip twitches but then falls back into a flat line and he looks away.

“Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he,” I flinch backward as Damon is thrown across the room by Bonnie. I loud laugh escapes my lips and I slap my hand to my mouth to try to cover it.

“Well, I was impressed,” Stefan says amused.

“I personally think you should try it again,” I say to Bonnie, “Y’know just to make sure you really know how to do it.”

Bonnie smirks at my suggestion and I hear Damon swear at me under his breath.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can.”

This really could’ve been an email.

—

Another dance. Alone. God I have no game.

I stare at myself in my hallway mirror and brush my fingers against the orange fabric of my dress. Because I didn’t plan on going to this dance, until this morning I didn’t have anything to wear, but after complaining about it to Stefan he dropped off one of his spares he had lying around in his attic about an hour ago. I don’t even want to know why he has a bunch of women’s dresses in different sizes in his attic. So I did not ask. And I don’t think I ever will.

“Alright let’s get this show on the road, the ladies are waiting for me,” Theo’s voice comes from the living room as he adjusts his tie. My younger brother is dressed in a suit and tie that seriously needs to be ironed.

“Where the hell did you even get that?”

At my question, Theo tenses up slightly, “It was in Dad’s things.”

At the mention of our father, we both go quiet, which is something Theo always seems to struggle with. I take a deep breath and shake my head away from the thoughts of him.

“Ok let’s go,” I try to fake a smile for Theo, “Wouldn’t want to leave your date waiting.”

Theo’s demeanor instantly changes as he smirks evilly, “Dates, plural my dear sister.”

I freeze and whip around to him and fight the urge to wring my little brother’s neck, “Please tell me you're not cheating on some poor girl.”

Theo raises his hands up, “Hell no, I’m a player, not a cheater! I’ve got morals,” He puts his hand on his heart as if I’ve insulted him, “These two girls asked me and I told them I can’t be held down by just one woman, so I told them I’d share myself for the night with them.”

I fight the urge to throw up on my brother, “How generous of you.”

Theo smirks at me as he opens the front door and gestures for me to exit, “You raised me right.”

—

Not even a minute after entering the gym, where the dance is being held, and Theo has already been swept away by his “dates.” God that kid is going to give me an early death.

I glance around the gym staring at the masses of students all laughing, dancing, and having a great time and I envy how carefree they all appear. I’m about to be struck by a tone of self-pity when that sharp pain from before has me gripping my chest. I hunch over in pain and try to work through it by doing stupid breathing exercises my mom taught me, but the pain only gets harder to bear. I take a few steps so I can lean against the nearest table, and close my eyes trying to wait out the pain. What if I’m having a heart attack? Oh god, can someone my age even have heart attacks?

“Y/N what’s wrong, what happened,” A frantic voice comes from beside me and I turn my head slightly and open my eyes to see Ric hunched over next to me. His emotionless features from before are long gone and replaced by what almost looks like fear. God, do I look that bad?

“My chest,” Is all I’m able to breathe out as I point to the center of my chest where the pain is coming from.

Alaric’s eyes go from my eyes to where I’m pointing and I could’ve sworn a look of realization flashed through them but it’s gone within a moment. Ric places his arm around my waist and he leads me to a nearby chair. He tells me to sit still for a moment and then he comes back with a glass of water.

I shake my head and scoff because I know a simple glass of water isn’t going to do anything but Ric’s face flashes with annoyance and he grabs my left hand with his and puts the cup in it. He wraps my fingers around the cup and lifts it to my lips, “Drink. Now.” I sigh and go to argue but he uses that to send the water down my throat. The cool liquid goes down my throat and I swallow it harshly. After a moment Ric brings the cup down from my lips. I go to bitch at him only to realize that the pain is gone. What the hell?

I begin to question if he added some supernatural magic juju to the water but he quickly drops my hand as if it were on fire, gives me a once over, and walks away without another word. What the actual hell?

—

I let out a loud laugh as I dance with Caroline who swings me around as a slow song plays on the speaker.

“Keep up girl,” Caroline squeals as we go around in circles. Even though the couples around us are all shooting us dirty looks, Caroline who saw me sitting by myself 20 minutes ago and has made me dance with her ever since, doesn’t seem to care. Matt who is supposed to be her date left us to go get drinks so it left Caroline and I to slow dance to some old song. And I mean we did start out slow dancing, she lead of course, but then we just kind of kept spinning around faster and faster. So here we are laughing our asses off as she practically flings me around the dance floor.

The song comes to a close and Caroline and I can’t stop laughing even as Dana takes the stage, “Hey everyone! I have a special shout-out to Elena, from Klaus.”

And no more laughing.

I look through the crowd and spot Elena, Jeremy, Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan all standing in a circle glancing around the gym. Thankfully Matt comes back and I bid Caroline and him a farewell for now, ignoring Caroline’s “WTF” look she shoots me.

Another slow song starts to play as I make my way through the crowd and fight a scream as I feel a hand grab mine and I’m pulled to someone's chest. I prepare for the worst but once I see who it is I just roll my eyes.

“Oh, it’s just you,” I say to Damon who smirks down at me.

“Someone’s jumpy,” I roll my eyes at him and go to walk away when he pulls me back, “Dance with me.”

“I’d rather jump off a cliff, thank you very much.”

“Y/N, one dance,” I turn to look at Damon and try to find any evil intent in his look but am surprised to find none.

“Why,” I question him skeptically.

Damon slowly pulls me into him, puts his hand on my lower back, and raises his other for me to take, I glare at him as I slowly place my hand in his and he slowly starts to sway me to the music.

“I’m only saying this because no one can overhear me, with the music playing,” I start to get frightened at what he’s about to say, “But, I’m sorry.”

Holy shit. Maybe I did have a heart attack and am hallucinating now because I could’ve sworn THE Damon Salvawhore was apologizing.

“What did you just say,” I ask amazed.

Damon just rolls his eyes and scoffs as he spins me around, “Don’t make it a big thing. And if you tell anyone I’ll deny it. But yes, I’m sorry.”

“For what? Calling me names?”

Damon shakes his head and makes a face as if that was a crazy suggestion, “No of course not. I will never give that up…I’m talking about the dinner party.”

At the mention of that night, I turn to stare at anywhere other than Damon, “I’ll always protect Elena and I don’t care who I have to kill to do that,” He pauses probably realizing his apology sucks ass, “But, I could’ve done it without you there. You didn’t need to see that. I know you and Elijah were friends or whatever,” I go to deny it but he stops me, “Don’t even try to deny it. I saw how you were with him. With everyone else, you’re more timid but with him,” He pauses, “I don’t know, you were just more comfortable, more you.”

Damon’s words hang in the air for a moment as we continue to sway to the music, “Does this mean…we’re friends now,” I look up to him with slight disgust and he sends me a smirk.

“No way in hell, Pukerella.”

“Oh, thank god,” I say with a breath of relief. At that Damon lets out a huff of a laugh and for a moment I think I can see past the angry vampire facade he has going on and it makes me wonder just what happened to make him this way. The song comes to an end though and Damon’s hands drop from my back and hand, he goes to walk away but I call out to him.

“Thank you for the apology,” Damon turns around and slightly nods, “You’re not that terrible for Hell’s gatekeeper.”

Damon’s deep laugh echoes through the gym as he walks away from me. And for a moment I let a small smile fall onto my face. That is until Elena comes rushing over to me with Bonnie in her grip.

“Y/N, come on,” And there goes the rest of the night I think to myself as I follow an angry Elena out of the high school and into the parking lot. Not quite sure why, but what the hell?

“How could you not tell me,” Elena questions Bonnie and I start to get even more confused, “No way, it’s not an option.”

“What’s not an option,” I chime in feeling like a little kid watching her parents argue.

Elena turns to me, “If Bonnie channels all that power to kill Klaus, it’ll kill her too.”

At this new information, my eyes pretty much fly out of my head, “Seriously?! Bonnie, what the hell?”

“It’s our only option.”

“Then we’ll find another way, okay? Bonnie you’re not dying to save my life.”

“I agree, this is a suicide mission, Bonnie.”

“I have the power to save you! If I don’t use it and something happens that would kill me more.”

Elena shakes her head in denial, “I can’t let you.”

“Just answer one question…If this situation was reversed would you do it for me?”

Elena goes quiet and Bonnies has her answer, “So you know why I have to.”

“No, No!” Elena’s voice cracks and I feel a tear slide down my cheek at the realization that I’m going to lose my new friend.

“Elena,” Alaric runs up to us and I quickly wipe away the loose tears.

“What is it?”

“He has Jeremy,” Ric’s words have all three of us shaken.

“Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy. Come on,” He hurriedly gestures for us to follow him. Without a second thought, we run through the metal door and into the school.

“Ok, so where are you taking us,” Elena hastily questions Alaric but as we run through the hall something in the back of my mind is telling me something isn’t right.

“Just a little further,” Ric says but something in his tone makes me halt.

“Wait,” My voice has all three of them stopping and I look wearily at Ric and he watches me carefully.

“Ric,” I pause and realize that I’m about to sound crazy for even questioning Alaric, the same Alaric who has been nothing but good to all of us kids, until today at least, “How did you know Klaus took Jeremy?”

Ric stares at me and for a moment his face looks like he’s almost proud of me for questioning him, but then he just shrugs his shoulders, “Stefan told me.”

He turns around and starts walking some more but Elena, Bonnie, and I don’t follow him. They must’ve caught on to what I was feeling since they started questioning Ric themselves.

“Where’s Jeremy,” Bonnie yells to Ric and a chill runs up my spine as he lets out a long sigh.

“I just had to get away from that dance. The ’60s, ugh. Not my decade. I mean whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the ’20s. You know, the styles, the parties, the jazz.”

I watch unnerved as Ric speaks as if he has no care in the world.

“Alaric,” Elena calls to him, “Are you on vervain?”

With every step Ric takes towards us, we take one away from him.

“Now why would you ask me that question, Elena?”

Bonnie stands in front of both of us and Elena pushes me to stand behind her, “He's being compelled.”

“Nope! Try again,” When Ric says this my eyes start to water at the realization.

“That’s not Alaric,” I say which has “Alaric’’ sending me a satisfied look.

“I knew there must’ve been a reason he liked you,” “Alaric” almost bites out, “Well, except for the obvious reason.”

I frown at what he says, confused about what the hell he’s talking about.

“Who am I, Little one,” “Alaric,” asks me, and Bonnie and Elena look at me still confused.

“Klaus…You’re Klaus.”

“Bingo! Aren’t you a smart one!”

“No,” Elena shakes her head, “It’s not possible.”

“Just relax, Elena. I’m not here to hurt you. You’re not on my hit list tonight,” He shoots me a look, “Neither are you.”

Then he looks back to Bonnie, “But you are,” He runs towards Bonnie but she uses her powers to push him into a wall. I watch horrified as he gets back up.

“Now, did I mention that I know a witch? You’re gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that.”

Bonnie shoots him back again and just like before he gets back up, “By all means if you kill this body. I’ll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy.”

Bonnie turns back to both of us and yells at us to go, all three of us sprint down the halls. Our heels squeaking on the newly washed floors. We run to the end of the hallway and Damon comes rushing towards us.

“What happened?”

Elena is the first to speak, “Klaus is in Alaric’s body.”

“What?”

“He’s possessing it. Or something.” What has my life come to?

Damon turns to Elena and I, “Go find Stefan, Now!”

We nod and Elena grabs my hand as we run through the halls to find Stefan.

We get to the gym and Elena and I frantically search around, we split up as we go to separate sides of the gym. How hard is it to find a bunny-eating vampire? Thankfully I get a glimpse of hero hair and I run up to him. At the sight of me, Stefan's eyebrows furrow, “What’s wrong?”

“No time to talk, teenage witch to save,” I grab his suit sleeve and drag him to where I see Elena talking with Caroline and Matt. Elena runs over to us and we drag Stefan out of the gym.

We begin running but my breathing starts to get heavier and heavier, making me stop and clutch my chest. Not this again. Please not now!

“Y/N what’s wrong?”

Elena comes to my side but I push her away, “I’m fine you need to go help Bonnie,” She shares a look with Stefan who doesn’t look convinced that I’m ok.

“Go!”

They both nod and then take off. Once they turn the corner and are out of sight I drop to the floor and lean my back against the lockers. I fight back a cry as waves of pain wash through my entire body. Where before it was just my chest, now it feels like my entire body is breaking.

Tears stream down my cheeks as a sharp pain hits my knee and a scream escapes my lips. I look down at it expecting it to be broken but visually nothing seems wrong. What the fuck is happening to me?!

After what feels like an hour I hear footsteps come down the hallway. With tear-stricken eyes, I glance up and see Stefan practically carrying a sobbing Elena. The latter practically dives for me once she sees I haven’t left my spot on the floor. I’m about to push her off since her body is pressing into my throbbing knee but what she sobs into my ear has me stopping.

“She’s dead! Bonnie’s dead,” Elena's shoulders shake as she pulls me tighter into a hug. My gaze looks up to Stefan who won’t meet my eyes and that’s all the confirmation I need for a sob to escape from my mouth. I wrap my sore arms around Elena and feed into the pain since it’s the only thing grounding me from processing what has happened.

—

Elena and I sit wrapped in a blanket as we watch the fireplace in front of us. Elena’s sniffles are the only noise heard in the room. My crying stopped about 30 minutes ago and all I’ve been doing since is staring blankly at the orange flames.

Stefan enters the room with two cups and he holds them out for us to take. Elena tells him she can’t, but I don’t even move my eyes from the fire. I can’t. I don’t want to drink whatever soothing tea he has, I want to watch something burn. Or someone, Klaus. I want to watch Klaus burn.

From behind me I can hear the front door open and can only assume it’s Damon. I can hear Elena get up and start arguing with him but I don’t turn from my seat. The sound of a slap jolts me slightly from my stupor and I find myself turning slightly to hear better, but never fully taking my eyes away from the flames.

“You need to listen to me and prepare for what I’m about to say. Klaus was a total surprise. She wasn’t prepared for that. And he wasn’t going to stop and we weren’t going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to believe it. She cast a spell. Bonnie’s okay.”

—

Bonnie’s okay. Bonnie’s okay. Bonnie’s okay.

Damon’s words repeat in my mind as Elena and I sit in front of the laptop screen waiting. After another moment Bonnie’s face enters the frame and she smiles at us with tears in her eyes.

“Elena, Y/n, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Elena says with tears of her own and I smile at Bonnie.

“There wasn’t enough time to tell you,” Bonnie says with sobs that make my chest cave in.

“It’s okay, seriously. Damon explained it all.”

The call ends shortly and Elena smiles at me happily, as she throws her arms over my shoulder and once again pulls me into a hug.

“She’s okay,” Her happy words should fill me up with feelings of bliss but as my gaze moves towards the dying embers the only feeling I have is anger.

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curryshesus · 1 year ago

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bts fics that give me life in a drought

(aka my favorite fics of all time) pt. 2

didn't expect to make a part 2 so soon but seeing how much recognition the first one got, here we are! some of these contain a hearty amount of angst, and oh they're just simply divine :( once again, please make sure to show your love and support to these lovely authors if you enjoyed any of these reads as much as i did!

➺ knife’s edge - by @readyplayerhobi

| jungkook x reader, jimin x reader | 141.8k

mafia au, fluff, angst, smut, violence, series

>> summary: "the jeon clan is family, built on blood and loyalty. it’s been an unspoken fact that one day you will marry the heir to the clan, jeon jungkook. you would be a fool to deny that you love him, but what happens when you meet a blue haired man who offers you a chance at normality?"

this fic absolutely BROKE ME. i was so conflicted all throughout and deadass went through all the 50 stages of grief. the angst was unparalleled. the fluff had me giggling like a madman cuz jk is an absolute sweetheart :( jimin is too :(( y/n is dumb and so is her situation :((( i cherish this fic sm

➺ novocaine - by @kinktae

| jimin x reader |

1990s au, exes au, angst, eventual smut, series

>> summary: "going home was hard – painful even. but falling back in love with jimin, the boy you left behind? downright gut-wrenching."

➺ ghostin him- by @adonis-koo

| namjoon x reader (taehyung x reader) | 26k

angst, angst, as well as angst. comfort too dw, one-shot

>> summary: "life is nothing more than dull colors for you, your world shattered and laying in the shards of what once was rather than focusing on what is. that is until you meet kim namjoon, who is immediately taken by you without realizing you’re a girl with a whole lot of baggage, through tears and many sleepless nights you’re faced with a choice of hanging on with bleeding hands, or accepting what is, and letting go."

ohmygod the writing hello? the amount of soul, depth, and sheer utter beauty in missy's words are beyond me. had me sobbing every other line and my heart aching all throughout and boy was it worth it.

➺ take five - by @jiminrings

| yoongi x reader | 10k

angst, fluff, unrequited love, pinning

summary: "dr. min yoongi's a board-certified dermatologist; skilled, renowned, and in-demand - oh and also, he's divorced."

➺ page turner - by @gukslut

| taehyung x reader | 13.6k

teacher!tae/ librarian!reader, fluff, smut, minor angst

summary: "corny romance and a zillion cheesy Romeo and Juliet quotes and references."

my tainted hopeless romantic heart ugh. they're so cute.

➺ bloom- by @hobidreams

| namjoon x reader | 20.7k

assassin!reader x florist!namjoon, smut, angst, action, sprinkles of fluff

>> summary: "family is who you kill for. who you die for. in this society, you and your kin are shadows, clinging to the darkness to obey orders absolute. but when such orders command you to abandon what little honor remains for wealth and notoriety, you find yourself lost in lonely uncertainty about the only vocation you’ve ever known. that is, until you meet a man with gentle hands, a poet’s heart, and a love for coaxing the world into bloom."

➺ counterfeit culture - by @ggukcangetit

| seokjin x reader | 29k

modern day au loosely based on jane austen’s pride & prejudice, e2l, fluff, smut, comedy

>>summary: “for as long as you can remember, you’ve always known right from wrong, good from bad, and woke from entitled/ignorant. but when you continue to cross paths with Kim Seokjin - the apparent antithesis of everything you believe in - certain walls begin to crumble. and over time, you come to realise that the world isn’t black and white, first impressions can be misleading, and that you are just as guilty as each person you’ve judged so harshly. realisation brings acceptance, and maybe, just maybe, acceptance can bring something more.”

➺ if i told you - by @gukyi

| jungkook x reader | 22k

friends to lovers!au, college!au, fluff, comedy, angst

>> summary: "in order to pay for university, jeon jungkook decides to market his most valuable asset to the wealthy socialites of campus: himself. donning a suit and tie, tousled hair, and glasses (to look smarter), he becomes every rich daughter’s dream: the perfect boyfriend to bring to balls, dinners, and business gatherings. all while you watch from the sidelines, only able to dream of having that much money to buy yourself what you really want: him."

➺ to hold a dragon's heart - by @softlyjiminie

| taehyung x reader | 19.1k

dragon prince!kim taehyung x warrior princess!reader, smut, angst, fluff, forbidden romance, dragon shifter!au, royalty!au, enemies to lovers!au

>> summary: "two kingdoms, two hearts and the world between them. your whole life has been a challenge, never an easy moment on your road to becoming queen but will one decision, one encounter with the man you were destined to hate, change the fate of your worlds, forever?"

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literaila · 9 months ago

Text

sick

gojo satoru x fem!reader

summary: satoru does not get the 'flu' that you have, or why you can't take megumi to the bookstore

warnings: symptoms of the flu, satoru is a bastard, cute kids

last part | next part

year two.

you: can you take megumi to the bookstore? i can't make it

"megumi wants me to ask you what you mean by 'i can't make it.'"

your phone rings as soon as the message is sent, making you groan and roll over in bed. your palms are sweaty, and your body feels a bit like you got eaten alive.

you probably shouldn't have answered, but honestly, how can you be expected to make smart decisions in this state?

you sigh into the phone. "it means that i can't make it, satoru."

usually, his voice would make you smile but right now it just makes you want to die. and sleep for a couple... billion years, at least.

"megumi wants me to ask what you mean by that?" satoru says again like you can't tell he's grinning.

"just let me talk to him," you sigh, turning over on your side, which does nothing to ease the ache in your abdomen, by the way. you feel briefly nauseous like you might need the bowl you dragged under the covers, but it eases. you swallow bile.

"what's wrong?" satoru asks, still teasing, and doesn't put megumi on the phone because he has never, not once in his life done anything without an argument.

really, why do you put up with him?

"nothing."

"well you just forgot that both of the kids are in school right now, like they are every day, so..."

you close your eyes, pulling the covers up even higher. "oh. yeah."

"did you get hurt, or something?" satoru asks, no concern evident in his voice, "going on another mission?"

"no."

satoru is silent, waiting. and you really truly do hate him. anyone else would just do you this favor.

but not your best friend, no, he does nothing you ask.

"i'm sick," you tell him, after a whole minute of silence.

you can almost hear it as his brows furrow. "what?"

"i have the flu or something," you cough into the receiver, hoping that it hurts his ear.

"how?"

"ugh," you groan, trying to rub the ache out of your jaw. "not all of us are immune to getting sick, you freak. will you take megumi to the bookstore for me? please?"

"i don't think he wants to go with me."

"satoru," you whine.

"...and also i'm not allowed to enter the premises anymore."

you sniff, wishing that you had more tissues, "what? since when?"

"a couple weeks ago," he answers, nonchalantly. you can hear him moving around, probably wreaking havoc on the house you'll have to deep clean in a couple of days.

not to mention your room. seriously, getting sick is the worst.

"why?"

"nuh uh," he says to you, very seriously. "that's between me and the children. they swore me to secrecy, and you're the one that's always going on and on about trust and how easily it's broken..."

"you mean that you swore them to secrecy."

"i bribed them," satoru agrees as if it's not an insane thing to say about your seven and eight-year-olds.

"with what?!"

"tsumiki took the offer of picking whatever takeout she wanted, and i think megumi was just glad i couldn't bring him anymore, the brat."

you can hear his eyes roll, and the mention of the little boy's name reminds you of why you're having this discussion in the first place.

"satoru... i really can't take him and i promised we'd go today," you groan into your pillow, voice feeling very sore. you shouldn't be talking to this insane man right now, you should be asleep.

he pauses. "i can wear a disguise, i guess?"

you groan again, hopefully, louder. "no, you're right about him not wanting to go with you."

"rude."

"i guess i'll just..." you attempt to sit up for the third time, feeling a bit dizzy as you do so. "i'll take some medicine and see if i feel better by the time they get out of school."

you're already mentally checking your medicine cabinet, not even sure if you have anything to help this ease by later in the afternoon. just some pain relief would be nice, but if you're contagious...

"what? no."

"well, you can't take him," you answer, still annoyed.

"he doesn't need to go..."

you hope that satoru can feel your scowl. "i promised."

"he's a reasonable kid..." satoru says, clearly not remembering the brooding that happened the last time megumi had to re-read one of his books. "i think."

you're silent.

"look, i'll talk to him, okay?" he settles on, finally. "and i'll give him a couple hundred yen, it'll be fine.

your mouth opens, and you cough, before, "no, satoru--"

"get some rest," he exclaims, unpleasantly.

"have him call me when you pick them up, satoru--"

"don't die of the flu or anything."

and then he's gone, and now you've got a headache, too.

you think you might be dreaming when you open your front door.

the knocking had woken you up--you think--but with how long it took to walk from your room, into the hallway, and then the door, honestly, you might've fainted. or decided to take another nap against the wall.

because once you open it, it feels like you've done this before.

once again, three people are standing in front of you, two of them already arguing before you even take a step back to swing the door all the way open.

the light hurts your head as you squint at the three of them.

"it was my idea--" megumi is saying to satoru, grumpy, you know, from all day at school, and because he's talking to satoru.

"you're not taking all of the credit," satoru says back, "i bought everything."

"'cause you're rich."

"wow, so you're objectifying me?"

"yes," megumi answers immediately, even though you doubt that he even knows what objectifying means (actually, you're pretty certain satoru doesn't even know). you cough, and it feels like something has died inside of you.

the three of them turn towards you, tsumiki with a pleading look.

"it was my idea, okay?" megumi tells you before anyone else can say anything, and then he pulls tsumiki along with him as they move past you, through the door, into your apartment.

yes, it's clear that satoru has raised them.

"i said we should bring soup," tsumiki looks up at you, waiting for the praise she knows you'll give her.

"our idea," megumi amends, easily.

then they're out of your reach, going to sit on the very same couch they'd slept on a year ago, probably trying to escape satoru.

who you turn to, with a frown. his hair is so white it hurts to look at.

he points into your apartment, "those are devil spawn."

you cough. "don't call them that."

he raises a brow at you. probably at how soft your voice is, or the fact that you haven't hit him in the thirty seconds he's been standing there.

it's a new record.

"why are you here?" you rasp out, wiping some snot from your nose.

"no 'hello?'"

"hello, satoru," your voice is retched, "why are you here?"

"you look kinda rough, kid,"

you sniff, leaning against the doorjam. you could fall asleep here in an instant. "i'm sick, you jerk."

"so this is sickness..." satoru says, intrigued, pretending to inspect you closely like you're some lab experiment.

"i distinctly remember a cold that had you shaking on the floor of your dorm, begging shoko to heal you."

satoru points a finger at you. "that was an uncurable illness."

"and yet we're still stuck with you."

satoru just smirks, pretending to be an angel he is not.

you cough again and then sigh. it's cold with the door open. "are you just here to annoy me?"

"no," satoru shakes his head, giving you a ridiculous look, "well, i was telling megumi that you couldn't take him to the bookstore, cause of your disease or whatever," he ignores your weak protest, "and then i suggested that maybe we could see how you were feeling, bring you a little gift basket--"

"no, he didn't!" megumi calls.

satoru frowns. "devil. spawn."

you snort, somehow amused at all of them, finally moving aside so he can walk through the door.

satoru passes, suddenly brighter, but not before leaving an obnoxious kiss on your cheek--a resounding smack following. to which, you promptly wipe off.

he frowns, and you push him so you can close the door. and then you trail into the kitchen, sitting down immediately before you fall.

it's so embarrassing that just standing for too long has made you this lightheaded.

satoru sets a bag on your kitchen counter and begins to unpack it.

you try to see over his hands. "what did you bring me?"

"you guys are so unappreciative," satoru tells you, pouting, "you only want me for my goods."

"and the view," you answer, easily. "what'd you get?"

megumi and tsumiki comes over to you, both of them giving you a short (megumi) and tight (tsumiki) hug. you've trained them well.

"soup!" tsumiki tells you, grabbing the container from satoru's hands, despite his look. and then she walks over to your stove, looking in the cupboards for a pot to heat it in.

because she's used to taking care of herself. they both are.

"satoru," you nod to her, and he frowns, but reluctantly takes over, pushing tsumiki away from the stove. you're both familiar with this behavior from her.

most days when you make dinner, tsumiki is trying to sneak into the kitchen, refusing to let you take care of it.

she pouts a little now, but lets satoru handle the soup.

"gojo got you all of these," megumi tells you, bringing your eyes away from the other man, pushing a stack of pill bottles and medicine containers your way. "i don't think he knows what any of them are."

"hey! that's a great selection," satoru pours the soup into a pot and sets it on the stove, returning to the counter with the three of you.

"this is a muscle relaxant," you tell him, frowning as you look at the packages--most of which are not for the flu. this is why he's not allowed to go to the store without you.

"well, your muscles need to relax, don't they?" satoru asks, dryly. "wish we could find some of those for your brain..." he mutters, afterward, and you throw the packet right at his face.

"i found those little sour things you like," megumi continues, smirking just a moment at satoru. "they didn't have a big bag."

"thanks, megs."

"there's tissues, and chapstick if your lips get dry. and i picked out the cough drops because gojo wanted to get chocolate flavored or something--"

"strawberry!"

megumi rolls his eyes.

tsumiki steps to your side again. "and we got flowers, but those are still in the car."

"no, they're not," satoru suddenly has a bouquet of roses in his hands, almost covering his entire face. "they're right here."

"when did you do that?"

"when you guys were ridiculing my excellent taste," he pouts, white hair falling over his glasses.

you laugh.

"where's your vase?" he asks, going through every cupboard before finally listening to your answer. he settles on the other end of your kitchen, cutting and arranging the bouquet.

tsumiki taps you. "are you feeling bad?"

"just a little out of it, sweetie, don't worry."

"did we get everything you need?" megumi chimes in, giving you a brief moment of eye contact before looking away.

"yes. you guys did great, thank you both. you're very sweet."

satoru ahems loudly. "and what about me?"

"you could've done better."

the kids both laugh and you push them into the living room, telling them to go sit down for a bit--knowing that satoru dragged them from school to the store to here without a break--and that you'll find a snack for them.

and then you sigh, a bit nauseous from sitting up for so long.

"do you need to lay down?" satoru peers at you, setting the bouquet on your table. "you look green."

"thanks. how'd you learn to do that?" you gesture to the flowers which are arranged beautifully. honestly, you're surprised he didn't leave them on the counter for you to deal with.

"i am a gentleman."

"ha. no, seriously."

"...i may, or may not have looked up what to bring someone who has the flu--and the flowers were extra, but!" he pauses as you laugh at him, resting your head against the cool counter. "i only had to do that because i don't get affected by stupid things like the flu or whatever you have."

"of course," you whisper, closing your eyes.

and then there's a hand on your forehead. "you're really warm."

you press your head into his hand, which is also pleasantly cold. "yeah."

"did you sleep all day?"

you nod.

"really? that's so lazy."

you push him away, and he laughs, just loud enough for you to hear it. you open your eyes again when you hear him move away, watching him stir the soup on the stove.

"you probably shouldn't have brought them here," you tell him, gesturing to the living room. "i don't want to get them sick."

"they missed you," satoru shrugs. "you wouldn't want them to be sick alone."

"yeah, but..."

"i'm the worrier today," he interrupts, wrapping his hand around your wrist so he can pull you. "go lay down on the couch with them and i'll get your soup ready."

"you'll burn it, you mean?"

"as a punishment for all of the cruel things you say to me," and satoru smiles as he nudges the top of your head with his nose.

his eyes are almost stern (almost, but not quite) as he watches you lay down on the couch, your hands gestured in defeat, and nods when you're settled in.

when he walks away, you call, "bring us some water!"

there's no response, but you know he'll do it.

tsumiki just slightly nudges you with her hand and you smile, opening your arms for her to cuddle under.

megumi doesn't do the same, but you don't fail to notice when he scooches just a little bit closer to you both, his thigh touching yours.

your head still hurts and even the smell of the soup is making you a bit sick, but you'll deal with it as long as they're all here.

you're arguing with satoru about dinner, several days later, when tsumiki and megumi sneeze at exactly the same time.

it took a couple of days for you to recover, but now you're better than ever, happily fighting with satoru over the stupidest things and watching over both of the children for any defects that happened while you were out of sorts.

they're mostly okay.

but now the both of you look over to them, your eyes wide, satoru almost wincing.

and then you look back to him, already scowling.

"hey, it was just a sneeze," he tells you, quickly, already knowing what you're about to say.

"i told you--"

and then he sneezes, taking a step away from you.

you groan, giving up on dinner. it looks like the next few days are going to be spent coddling all of your children.

next part

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mochinomnoms · 6 months ago

Note

Gremlin ass yuu who has one of those realistic ass dreams that them and jade actually got together and they still believe when they wake up, so naturally, like a normal person, they see jade and go up to hug him and give him a little kiss on the neck only to get body slammed with J-Brain and everyone else around them is horrified as they realize that they and jade are not in fact, dating

🦩

(screaming and pounding on the floor THAT'S CUTE)

You woke up with a dry mouth and a sore back. Trying to stretch your legs out made a sharp pain run up your leg and lower back.

Ugh, Jade. You were too rough last night…

Turning around to confront said man, you were surprised to see the empty bedside next to you. Like no one had slept there in the first place.

Even more surprising, you were in your room at Ramshackle instead of Jade's dorm room in Octavinelle. He'd been having you stay over more often since he didn't need to share a room with Floyd anymore.

“What the fu…Did he take me back?” You groaned, getting up and out of bed, wincing at the ache in your legs and lower waist. “Why the hell? Ugh, Jaaaade.”

You were still weary eyed as you finally made your way down the steps into the main hallway, turning into the kitchen to get something to drink.

Mmm, maybe an energy drink, that tastes good with lavender right?

You blinked in surprise at Azul, Jade, and Floyd, along with a few other Octavinelle students, were in the hallway entrance and kitchen area. They were carrying some bags of food and paperwork.

It was then you remembered that you agreed to let Azul sell snacks and drink from Mostro Lounge for your carvinal themed haunted house. They were bringing the items to have them ready to go before the gates open this week for the Halloween festivities.

Oh yeah, that must be why Jade brought me back. He's always thoughtful, isn't he.

You were still half asleep when the trio noticed you, waving politely. Though Jade was having his usual excitable thoughts. Something about your pajamas and sleepy face being cute.

Don't you see me in pjs all the time? Silly.

“Good morning, Prefect, how are you?” Azul starting gesturing to the students putting the food products away. “As you see, we've come to help you and your dorm get set up, as agreed.”

“Mm, Shrimpy looks real tired, don't they Jade?” Floyd nudged his brother with his elbow, watching as you walked up to them.

“They do, perhaps they went to bed rather la—”

Jade stopped mid-sentence, shocked into silence as you wrapped your arms around his back, nuzzling into his neck.

“Mmh, sounds good…just put the stuff…wherever.” You tilted your head up to press a kiss against his neck, feeling the way he swallowed as you did.

“Mornin' Jade…you left me…” You tightened your hold on him, though he didn't return your embrace. “…Jade?”

You were just now noticing just how quiet everything had gotten. There was no movement, no sounds, you couldn't even hear anyone's thoughts.

You moved a bit away from Jade to look at everyone with confusion. They were all staring at you, some with mild horror, some with confusion like yours, and Floyd in particular looked ecstatic, eyes darting between you and Jade like he was waiting for sometime to happen.

Azul just gave you a questioning stare as he raised his eyebrow.

“Should we...know something?”

“Whaddya mean?” you mumbled, resting your head against Jade's chest. His heartbeat was going fast, like it was trying to burst out his case.

“When did you two become a thing?” Floyd cooed, giggling as he rocked on his heels.

“You rubbed your eyes again, more alert now as you started answering, We've been together for a ye—”

The sudden feeling of Jade's arms tightly wrapping around your back, and the sudden influx of his thoughts hitting you like a train, brought you back to reality.

DARLING! MY SWEET PEARL! I JUST KNEW THAT YOU LOVED ME BACK!

His grip on you tightened as the sleep suddenly vanished from your body.

“We're together? News to me, my dear.”

Kiss me again, my pearl! You'll let me, won't you? After all, you did it first~

The feeling of Jade's body moving, leaning down to return the favor you gave him, sent the dear of God in you.

“Wait, wait WAIT WAIT!” You shrieked as you shoved Jade away, collapsing backwards as you crawled away. “DREAM! IT WAS A DREAM I HAD A DREAM!”

You felt your entire body go hot, as Floyd started cackling his lungs out. Azul was still in the kitchen, holding his hand to his mouth, hiding his own laughter.

Even Jade looked mildly amused, though you could hear the disappointment in his thoughts.

Ah, I see. How tragic. Though…

Jade's smile grew slightly, as he gave you a sly wink.

Might as well make use of this.

“A dream? Was it a pleasant one?” Jade tilted his head as he watched you grow more flustered with glee. “It must have been, if you were so ready to be affectionate with me. Would you like to recall it for me?”

The contents of your dream were coming back to you like a tidal wave, hot breaths and clothes flying off flashing through your mind as you remembered just how pleasant that dream was.

“NO!” You scrambled up the staircase again on your hands and knees, like a spooked cat, ignoring the cackles coming from behind you.

Oh goood, I'm never living this down.

#mochi asks #🦩 anon #twst #twisted wonderland #jade leech #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #jade leech x reader #ptm #floyd leech #azul ashengrotto #KSJDLAKJSLNWEL;OW #suggestive

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reddesires · 3 months ago

Text

Tethered (Logan Howlett x Reader)

Summary: Memories are hard to get away from, especially while asleep.

Logan Howlett x (Implied mutant) Reader

Rating: Angst 🤧 (Implied happy ending)

Fandom: Wolverine (X-Men) (Deadpool and Wolverine)

A/N: I just had to start with Angst, didn't I?! LOL, I'm planning on doing more fics, including fluff and some smut 🤭 ugh this man has me in a headlock, istg. I've had the BIGGEST crush on this man for YEARS, so THIS IS THE TIME TO BE ALIVE!

ALL HAIL LOGAN HOWLETT.

The flashes of memories that appeared before you in your restless sleep tore through your mind unlike ever before, memories of times that were far behind you. The remnants of your life from before torturing you and nipping at your vulnerable body, the tremors racking your sleeping body doing nothing to knock you from your unconscious state.

You can feel his skin, the warmth seeping into yours as he held the back of your neck as he hugged you into his body, the action itself knocking the breath from your weakened lungs, the taste of iron on the tip of your tongue overwhelming your senses as you struggle to cling on to him desperately.

“Hold on, baby, I got you.”

You can’t see his face, but you know his voice.

Logan.

A sob climbs up your throat, threatening to break the silent atmosphere surrounding you. This isn’t the present. It's just memories.. Your eyelids refuse to part as you're bombarded by the next memory of a past you're desperately trying to escape.

“Can’t sleep again?”

His hunched over figure was leaning over the kitchen counter, a beer cradled in his hands. There's a slight smile that pulls at his lips at the sight of you. It's weakened as unreachable sleep clings beneath his tired eyes, but he seems relieved by your presence.

“Yeah.. You too?” His voice is gravely with exhaustion. You can feel the worry tugging at the back of your brain, but you bite it back as you sit in the stool next to him. “I guess it’s just that type of night..” He offers you his beer, and you stare at it in contemplation for a second before accepting it, it’s not like theres any better alternatives to it at this hour, so you minus well indulge.

You plop your head on his shoulder after taking a sip. He lays his head on top of yours with no hesitation, a sigh escaping him.

“Long day, huh?”

“You have no idea, bub.”

No, no, no. This isn't fair! Why must you go through it all over again? He's haunting you, lingering in your very soul, and no matter how much you try to cut those pieces of you out, it’ll just heal over again and again. You’ll remember him for as long as you live and he’ll come to you in sleep again and again.

“Listen to me, doll. You need to go.”

You grip on to his forearms as you force him to look you in the eyes, his hazel meeting your own, the pain was evident in his face and it only caused the tears start to well up in your eyes as you take him in, your heart pounding heavily against your chest.

“Please don't do this. We both know how this ends! Come with us! Come with me!”

The commotion behind the both of you only grows louder and he looks back with a set brow before looking back to you, his lips quiver with words that he can’t bring himself to say and you can see it, the waver in his body and it reels a sob from you.

“This is the only way, I'm sorry.”

The kiss he presses to your forehead is swift as he rips himself from you and runs back into the chaos, you're held back by your teammates as they regretfully watch their Wolverine sacrifice himself for the greater good.

“LOGAN! NO!”

The gasp that pulls from your body forcefully awakens you brutally as you panically look around the room you're in. Nothing is out of place, and the air isn’t riddled with ash and debris. Your blankets were kicked to the side while you struggled with your memory addled dreams. You can feel the moisture of your sweat covering your forehead as you sit on the edge of your bed.

You sigh tiredly as you stand from your bed, opening your bedroom door. You step over Wade's dirty clothes in the hallway like you were walking over a mindfield, you roll your eyes as you think back to how the idiot barged into the apartment singing ‘I Need A Hero’ at the top of his lungs while stripping to the bathroom after he was done with a job.

You grab the water bottle from the fridge, relieved the cool liquid soothes your seemingly raw throat, and press your forehead against the cold surface of the fridge. As you turn your head to the living room, your eyes flutter open, only to see a burly figure sitting on the window frame of the apartment, and you feel your heart completely drop into your ass.

You totally forgot about the Logan variant that Wade’s harboring along with you in his apartment, it seems like Wade enjoys picking up strays of all kinds including yourself, your also a variant of yourself, the version of you from Wade’s universe bit the bullet long ago and he was more than happy to proclaim you his ‘Snookums’.

You know that Logan is aware that you're there but he makes no effort to acknowledge your presence and you're half tempted to ignore him too but you're familiar with that distant look on his face and it tugs at a nerve you have long haven’t felt since you lost your Logan.

You pull a beer from the fridge and walk over next to him, holding the beer out to him. You know he's often broody and keeps to himself a lot of the time but this is your olive branch to him, your aware that you existed in his own world due to wade’s big mouth and you figured that had a lot to do with his distancing himself from you but you’d rather not maintain a awkward atmosphere between the two of you for as long as you're both living in the same space.

When his gaze meets yours, you can feel your heart skip a beat as the familiar hazel looks back at you. It’s been so long since you truly got to look at the features that enraptured your very being, how close but so far he is to you, you know he isn’t your logan but he was a version of him and you couldn’t help but love him. You never truly got to love your own Logan, your romance dying off too soon as you both just realized your feelings for each other.

He accepts the beer from you, his fingers grazing your own and it sends a shock up your spine as you register that he’s just as warm as your Logan, his lips twitch as he maintains his gaze on you and you wonder if you remind him of the version that was his.

“Thanks..Kid.” He mutters as he takes a swig, that gives you a pause but you choose to not to speak on it as you sit across from him looking out at the view he was so invested in before, this was completely different from your former life from when you lived in the Mansion but it was definitely a upgrade from the void.

“No problem, Bub.” You couldn’t help the small smirk that pulled on your lips, and you're relieved when he chuckles at your tease.

You two were variants from two different universes with endless means of rekindling a bond that tethered every version of each to the other.

#wolverine x reader #logan howlett x you #logan howlett x reader #logan howlett oneshot #wolverine fic #wolverine oneshot #wolverine #x men wolverine #logan howlett #reader insert #fanfic #fanfiction #deadpool & wolverine #deadpool and wolverine #deadpool 3

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richardsgraysons · 6 months ago

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Heyyy…. May i request a wife reader x dick grayson… she is mad at him and is giving him a silent treatment, but he is so done with this that he starts annoying her by saying Mrs. Grayson after every sentense and closing tightly lids

anon this is so adorable. i am going feral. also i am so severely sorry for my IA-ness.

tags — just overall fluff. some light swearing

In hindsight, you should've known that this would entail not just dating, but also marrying a vigilante. How could someone blame you, anyways? You were sitting at home, about to go to bed, when Nightwing crashed into your apartment after being chucked across the city by some villain or the other.

He had a major concussion. You didn't know how to treat thrown vigilantes who definitely had a couple of broken ribs and a torn ACL.

What you did know was how to comfort a man who was clearly in pain, who was trying to stifle his screams, because let's face it, the vigilante life should clearly not be glamorized.

He felt bad for the wreckage in your apartment. Every week, there'd be thousands of dollars at your doorstep from him, ready to pay it off. He had to be rich. There was no way he was giving your entire salary in four months and a half.

Eventually, you figured out his secret identity. And instead of being angry about it, Dick Grayson felt awfully in love with a girl who was as intelligent as he hoped she'd be. Sure she wasn't a supermodel, but she made him laugh. She made him think. She wasn't easy to get along with at times, but she made him better.

Three years later, he put a ring on it.

"I told you," you snapped, "you just keep going in stupid situations, and normally, I wouldn't mind, but it's like you refuse my help or anyone else's."

Dick knew he had a really bad hero complex. He couldn't stand anyone else getting hurt because of his issues. "I can handle it," he responded. "And isn't it just annoying that you've been mad at me for the past two days? Can't you just give it a rest?"

"I'll give it a rest when you start accepting help from others," you responded, your brows furrowing. "God, you're so—you're so—ugh!"

Dick rolled his eyes and then smirked at you, that stupid boyish smirk that made your heart tingle and everything else disappear. "I'm so what, sweetheart? What am I, Mrs. Grayson?"

You glared at him. "Dick!" You huffed, both saying his name and the insult. "That's it. I want a cooling down period. Leave me and the kitchen alone!"

He grinned, looking back at you, a mischievous glance in his eye. "Oh, I will, Mrs. Grayson. I will."

* * *

Making dinner was one of your forms of therapy. Dick was starting to go out for patrol, much to your distaste, no doubt about to pick a fight with someone who would give him considerable damage.

You didn't want him to go, you wanted to keep him here and kiss him forever, but he would leave anyways. It's my moral duty to the people of Bludhaven to keep them safe, he had said to you one night. I could never bring it to myself to disappoint these people. To make them unsafe. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure people are as safe as can be.

And though you really disliked it, you knew that was one of the core reasons why you were so undoubtedly in love with him.

You turned around to grab the jar of pickles, still steaming from the fight, only to find that it was incredibly hard to open.

"What. The. Hell?" You hissed. You had opened it up just a day ago, and put it easily back, making sure it wasn't that hard.

Your face turned red and you looked at it again before trying to open it up, straining and groaning, only for your muscles to give out. There was only one explanation for this.

Your stupid, lovable, husband.

And after a few minutes of recollecting your pride, you stomped over to your bedroom where he was dressing. He was in the midst of putting the top half of his suit on, and your mouth turned a little dry when you saw him shirtless.

You were pretty sure that when the first time you saw him shirtless, literal heart eyes came out of your eyes. You gawked for a couple of seconds, admiring the contour of his muscles, only for him to turn around and smirk at you.

He knew what you were doing. Dammit.

"Hi, Mrs. Grayson," he teased. "Enjoying the view?"

"Shut up," you snapped, and held out the jar. "Open this up right now and stop screwing with my jars."

He smirked at you. "What's the magic word?"

"The magic word is 'I will beat you up if you don't open the jar up right now'," you responded, glaring at him. "Now. Open."

He laughed, tossing his head back, his voice echoing off the room before taking the jar. You watched intently as his triceps flexed when he opened the jar up with ease and returned it back.

"Thank you," you said, your voice having an edge to it. You were about to turn around before he grabbed you by the arm.

"What, no good luck kiss?" Dick asked huskily in your ear. It sent shivers down your spine.

"Even if I give you one, you'll still end up badly injured."

"C'mon," he murmured, planting a light kiss on your neck, his hands dancing on your waist. He squeezed your sides slightly. "I always fight better when my girl kisses me."

You looked up at him and snorted. "In your dreams," you responded, but he took this moment to crash his lips against you. You felt dizzy and couldn't help but to wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

When the both of you stopped, he laughed, looking at you breathless, his blue eyes twinkling in the night sky.

"Knew you couldn't be mad at me for that long, Mrs. Grayson."

"Shut up," you grumbled, punching his shoulder lightly. "Go save Bludhaven, Boy Wonder."

He stepped out the window and then turned back at him, smirking. "You know I am, sweetheart. And when I come back, I'm gonna finish what I started."

#dick grayson #dcu #dick grayson x reader #dc comics #nightwing #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x you

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stargirlo · 9 months ago

Text

somber fem!reader

i just can imagine how much ur boyfie misses you after u two break up :(

he'll go to a seedy bar and drink up until he feels numb on his body, his musky colgone is now replaced with a reeking scent of jack daniels whiskey as he looks completely wasted. holding the whole bottle lazily on his hand before he pours himself another cup of the brown liquid onto the well designed glass cup.

he even babbles about you to the bartender, showing him a picture of yourself that he keeps in his wallet everyday. "you see this- *hic* fine babe? yeah- *hic* i-i lost her two days ago..." he slurred out, eyes dropping low as he looks like he was about to throw up. the only response the bartender could make is either awkwardly chuckling or just saying a small "aw..." because really, he doesn't have the time to have a therapy session with a drunkard.

"s-she like uh-... broke up with me for i don't know what reason, uhmmm- ugh, i miss her s'much..." he whines, acting like he was about to cry. he misses you, he really does. numbing all his pain away from endless amount of shots from the whiskey cup and just slurring out incoherent words that clearly don't make sense. someone comfort this man :(

but as he tips over the barstool, he finally manages to leave the bar and head over his car. murmuring incoherent words and stumbling over the pavement flooring before he finally slams his body against the car door. he struggles a little bit, letting out a strained groan as he sits down at the drivers seat. poor man is tired, and he feels so lonely without your presence beside the passenger seat. you were his passenger princess, and he can't seem to get over you.

he's acting like a total loser right now.

he takes out his wallet again, flipping it open to reveal the picture of you. you were peacefully sleeping on his bed, hair tousled around the plush pillows, and a little puddle of drool seeping into the pillow covers. he chuckles at the picture before it was replaced with silent cries, tears dripping down his cheeks as a few droplets drip down to his jeans. he can't believe he lost you, over god knows what argument you two had both had.

he misses you so much that while he was crying he could feel his cock throbbing against his jeans. he was craving your touch, the way your hand palms his cock and stroke him so deliberately and deliciously with such delicate hands. god he misses it.

so without further ado his cock already sprung free from its confines, one hand holding the wallet while the other worked its way down to stroke his cock. he felt so desperate that he spits on his cock as a use of a lubricant, letting out a throaty groan and string of whispers, talking to himself and praising himself as if you were still there with him. pathetic whimpers fill in the spacious car, the windows slightly fogging up as his vision was already at haze.

all that his mind was clouded of was with images of you.

he still feels empty, even if he's bringing himself close to an orgasm. but he tried, he really tried to think that you're the one stroking his cock instead of he himself. "g-god i... ugh- i miss you s'much baby, holy fuck- please come back..." he murmurs under his breath, jaw clenching as his eyebrows pinch together, letting go of his orgasm. it wasn't particularly the best he could've had but... at least it was something he could do while thinking about you.

but honestly, he just wishes you were there with him. he wishes he could go back in time and fix things properly instead of being put up into this situation. but i guess time will tell, and it's how god had written its story between you and him.

💌: gojo satoru, geto suguru, nanami kento (who would break up with him?), hiromi higuruma, toji fushiguro (hear me out...), dazai osamu, odasaku, chuuya nakahara, manjiro sano, draken, rafe cameron, jj maybank, shinichiro sano, ++ your favs!!

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safination · 9 months ago

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Partners in Death...and Life.

Part I: Radio's not dead

| Part 2: Radio Will Be Dead if He Doesn’t Explain Himself. | Masterlist| ao3 Pairings: Alastor x wife!reader Tags: fem! reader, established relationship, human!alastor, hopefully not but just in case ooc!alastor (I'm trying my best to keep him as canon as possible) acroace!alastor

"Alastor! Pleasure to be meeting you. Quite a pleasure!” One hand reset on his chest, and the other shoots into the air. It’s the bow you did in high school, back when you wanted theater to pay your bills. A performer’s bow. You chuckle. “I don’t think it will be quite the pleasure you think.” “Is that so?” Alastor’s smile remains constant. “And why would that be?” You show him the tray you’re holding. “I’m here to do your sutures.” [Or after a seven-year absence, you find the man you were married to in life, not only back in town, but also helping . . . *checks notes* . . . the Princess of Hell run a hotel aimed at rehabilitating sinners who were sent to the bad place for a reason.]

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

You pass the tissue box—the third one already.

Your patient blows his nose, rubbing snot off his snout. He has to stretch his arms to reach his nose. Alligators are known for their long snouts. His nostrils flare when he sniffles.

Used tissue is discarded on the pastel-pink floor despite a pastel-pink trashcan stationed by his webbed feet. It’s been the same pattern for the last fifteen-minutes. Tissue, Sneeze. Floor.

“—and I have this . . . uh . . . like this real bad itch on my eye. I keep rubbing and rubbing but it doesn’t do shit! My eyesight’s gotten worse—It’s already fucked up but this is just different. My roommate hissed at me about getting blood all-over the carpet floors if I kept scratching my scales. Oh. Oh! I’ve been snee—achew!” Alligator snot lands on the pastel-pink floors of the clinic.

Your eyes twitch.

He takes another tissue and waves it around his head. “The top of my head is killing me. Ya’know where that is right?” He blows his nose. “It’s right here,” he says, inching his head closer to you. “The last nurse I went to was blind as a bat! Literally, she had the wings and everything. It was kinda hot.”

“I’m well aware of the location of your head,” you say. “You can lean back now.”

Tissue. Sneeze. Floor

Tissue. Sneeze. Floor.

Pastel pink floor.

Underneath the mix of feathers and hair strands, the bustling of the waiting room catches your ears. Someone curses, booming and violent at another waiting patient. A cough, a sigh, a barf. Painful curses erupt after that. You bring a hand to your ears, wincing as your eardrum ring. Pentagon City’s best and biggest hospital needs better doors, but those lazy sloth fuckers at the top invested at the first material they found.

The alligator sneezes into another tissue. He flicks it with his wrist, and it hits the pastel-pink wallpaper adorned with closed eyes. Maybe Belphegor should be the sin of Pride instead, considering all items are covered in her symbol.

“I really feel like t’was those exterminators ya’know?”

You do not, in fact, know. Half of what this young man says is incomprehensible.

His snout sways left to right when he shakes his head. “It’s only my second one, and this was a close call, and uh . . . well, ever since then I’ve been like this. One even got to my roommate. “

You hum, leaning back on your chair. You should petition to for thicker doors. And while you’re at it, better interior design, and better paint—something that isn’t pastel pink.

“Ugh, and it’s so not cool that this new roommate of mine’s been shedding since the day they moved in,” he says. “Speaking of shedding, do you think it’s because of those exterminators? Do you think they like spread some sort of weird pollen to make us sick? They’re totally the type to do that.”

You take your pen—your pastel-fucking-pink pen—and poke his alligator sinuses.

Hell does have its own brand of humor. You gave your 20s to studying human anatomy, only to die and find yourself with the need to re-learn the boring part of biology. (Two books on reptiles, four on mammals, and fifteen on sea creatures.)

“YEOWCH!” His teeth stick out again. You do not know what this means. “What kind of nurse ar—“

“Doctor.”

“—you? That’s not the top of my head!”

You push back on of the feathers on your head. “Your roommate ‘hissed’ at you? And they’ve been shedding fur for two weeks now.?

“Yeah . . . ?”

You stare at him. “Have you ever considered that you’re allergic to your roommate?”

“Ooooooooooh,” he says. ‘Yeah, I was allergic to cats back when I was alive.”

You grab your (pastel-fucking-pink) prescription pad from the desk drawer. “Control it with some antihistamine. Four pills every 12 hours.”

His teeth start showing. You’re not sure if he’s frowning. It’s hard to tell. “Pills, really?”

You toss what you were writing into the massive pile of germs, mucus, and tissue. “I can give you a nasal spray. I’ll flush the mucus then insert a spray that prevents build-up,” you say. “They last for two weeks and then you’ll need to come back.”

He grabs the last tissue from the box. It still lands on your floor. “Ma’am nurse, do you have any more of this?”

You sigh and reach for a fourth box of tissue. “It’s doctor,” you say. “We keep nasal sprays here in the clinic. I’ll just grab one and you’ll be out in fifteen minutes.”

“No can do,” he says. “Before I died, my coach told me to stay away from that non-organic shit. It’ll mess us up real bad apparently. All those steroids.”

“You have phencyclidine sticking out of your coat pocket.”

“Pheny—what?”

“ . . . Angel Dust.”

“The porn star?”

“The drug. You have drugs sticking out of your coat pocket.”

“Come on, nurse—”

Threads erupt from your fingers. It snakes around his wrist, coiling and twisting.

He jerks his arm away and cries out when you tighten your hold. Your threads wrap around his legs. It pulls against his waist. Magic binds his arms, and tightens around every joint he owns.

You stop, only when the alligator struggles, trashing against the clinic chair. His teeth bare and he snaps at whatever he can reach. You tug on one of the thousands of strings digging into his skin. His jaw snaps shut, and it will stay shut. Another tug and his back stretches to straighten. You move your fingers as if a piano laid before you, and he sits up like a good puppet.

Another month of clinic dury will be your punishment if those sloth from down below are lucid enough to do their jobs.Sadly, killing this idiot would have you suspended for three months.

“I am a doctor,” you tell him. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

The tension on your strings marks even the few scales scattered on his body. He’s a real idiot if he continues to struggle.

Delicate movements of your fingers bring him forward, his back still strained, and tilt his snout at a forty-five-degree angle.

Your threads elongate as you move toward the clinic drawers. It loosens around you, careful at keeping you able to move freely. It’s one of the handier parts of your magic. You shake your hands and the threads detach. It sticks to the floor to keep the alligator as your puppet. You scrub your hands thoroughly before taking the nasal spray and filling with with distilled water.

You place on nitrite gloves. It’s always best when dealing with bodily substances such as mucus.

You place a pan underneath and jam the tube up his nostrils, hosing his sinuses with water. The tension of his binding keeps him still. (If you ignore his whining, then that’s your business. The brawl you heard from the waiting room drowned it all out anyway.) He starts breathing better when all the snot flushes to the pan.

“Finished,” you say with satisfaction. You grab your prescription pad and write one for a nasal spray. “I cleared the mucus buildup so you shouldn’t feel any more headaches. The spray will keep your nose clear for as long as you use it. Come back if you start to feel any discomfort. For the rashes just get cream.” You point at the pastel pink door. “The exit’s right there.”

The threads dissolve in the air. He rubs his wrist, trying to soothe the red marks that your strings bring. You hand him the signed prescription.

He doesn’t close the door on his way out.

The broom and dustpan are hidden in one of the taller cabinets—pastel-pink like everything else in the room.

(Well, not everything. The radio sitting on the corner of the counter gives a splash of red into the room.)

You sweep the tissues into the dustpan. Your control over your strings is much more proficient when living beings are involved. Inanimate objects whip around when you use your magic on them, and radios have been difficult to purchase recently. It’s more convenient to clean using your own hands.

“Tagatha,” you call out when the floor is clean. “You can bring in the next one in.”

Silence is your reply.

“Tagatha?”

Your ears quirk. The noises are faint—an occasional cough, silent weeping, and muted voices coming from the television. You peek out the door, eyeing the crowd formed around the corner of the hall where a pAstel-pInK television mounts on the wall.

The door closes with a faint click. You sink into the cushions of the office chair. Vox’s yapping bore you. It was probably some man-child debate about the new extermination date.

Although . . . those serialized dramas he produces, sadly, are interesting enough to be consumed. If asked for your honest opinion, you’d tell them that they were a hot pile of smelly garbage, but you like to leave it playing mindlessly in the background.

Your husband will throw the television out the window the first chance he’ll get.

Too bad he’s occupied.

You grab a piece of paper from the drawer. Management is forcing you to write a thousand-word formal apology. There are about three-hundred words left to write.

Getting caught dissecting the dead bodies from the morgue is a mistake that won’t be repeated. One dead body and suddenly those lazy fuckers have diligence weaved into their DNA.

The body was already dead, and it’s not every day a chance to poke around a chimera’s entrails appears.

The sinner would contribute to something meaningful at least. You’re stuck on clinic duty until you dot your last sentence, and not a moment before

The coffee’s cold now, but consumable.

You reach across the desk, feeling for the knob of the radio. You twist until you feel the clink. Music fills the air—the same twenty-five songs on a loop. You stare at the radio for a moment. Just . . . a small . . . single moment.

. . . On your kitchen counter, that second cup of coffee should be cold by now. It’s always cold when you trudge through the door. It’s been cold and untouched for years.

Yet, without fail, that second cup you brew will always be waiting for its owner.

“Salutations!” You snap your head to the radio. “Good to be back on the air.”

Huh? The feather on your hair preens. You swipe the radio, your hold on it feather-light. You turn the knob responsible for volume. The static noise stings your eardrums.

“—ile since someone with style treated hell to a broadcast. Sinners rejoice!”

Murmurs erupt outside your door. You blink and find yourself slamming it open. One foot after another, one step after the other, brings you closer to the television. Your shoulder throbs when you bump into someone, but you keep pushing until you see Vox and his tacky suit enlarged on the screen.

“What a dated voice!”

A reply comes from the radio. “Instead of a clout-chasin’ mediocre video podcast.”

Your feather rises higher. Laughter escapes your lips, it leaves a dry taste. That . . . that ṁ̵̭͔̲̙̦͎̝̜̲̠͙͇̂̏̃̐̂̓̊̂̕̕o̴̢̭̝̙̤̬͚͐̅͗̌̇̂̌̕ţ̷̛̝̂̿h̶̯̟̙̲̘̟̟͙͔̔̋͊̋̿̐͘͜͜ę̶̗̰͔̫͔̗̝̘̻̰̓̓̈̊͜r̵̨̂̏f̶͖̻̱̺͕̹̫̭̠̚u̸̬̺̯̟̦͖̅̂́́̌̚͝ć̴̖͙̰͈͕̉͌̈́́̈̔̀̉̍́͜͠ḳ̴̨̧̗̫̗͖̞̟̑͌̂̀̈́̀͆͒ę̷̛͓̼̟͍̆̆́͆̾͛͝r̵̹̮̤͓̗̹̈́̎̉͌̾͌̏͑̋̚͝.

“Doctor!” Tagatha screeches when she spots you. “I am so sorry. I’ll bring in the next one right away!”

Your eyes are trapped by the screen and your ears by the radio. “It’s alrig—”

Tagatha grabs the closest person to her and shoves you back into the clinic. The door slams shut just as everything goes dark and silent. (Well, it’s not completely dark, once your eyes adjust you can still see as if the lights were open. Another small perk to this body). Your radio, along with the power, stopped working.

“Oh my!” Your new patient bleats.

“We have generators,” you find yourself saying. “I’m sure the power will come on in a minute.”

The cushions of the chair do little to ease your nerves. You pat your hair, trying to get it in control. A pile of feathers starts forming on the PASTEL-FUCKING PINK FLOORS. T̴̹̜͇̅̅͗͜H̶̰̗̄Ơ̶̡̡̻̗͖̋̎̓̓S̴̨͉̝̻͋̽̆́͆Ẹ̸̡̢͐͐͠ ̷̨͚̞̙̀͒̆̆͊Ŭ̵͕̲̪͇͓͐̚G̷̹̝̦̬͊͒Ḷ̶̭͓̎̏̈͘Y̶͇̟̍̉̚ ̷̟͎͕̞͂͑̂̇À̶͉̍̄̈̚S̸͖̖͕͑̏͛̈́S̶͚̤̼̯̀ ̶̻͆P̷̬̝̉Ä̵͕́͊̌S̸̢͍̆̓͝Ṫ̸͖̲̠̾̉͜͝E̷̺͆L̷͖̏͐́͝ ̶̛̟̽͝P̷̪̔͜I̴̹̥̹͖̮͒́̏͘N̸̳̙̼̾̆̿Ķ̶̟̞̜̉͊̓̂̚ ̵͈̬̃̿̄̈́̋F̵̨̨̼̫̘͘L̸̙̠͎̓̆́O̷̧̘͚͉̤̓O̷̤̟̱̼̤͋̍͐R̷̰̝̓͌̌Ș̵̲̝̈́ “Excuse me?” You will paint this room red with the blood of management. You tap your foot again, and again, and again. “ . . .Doctor?”

Your neck snaps in her direction, eyes wide and staring.

“The . . . uh . . . the lights are back.”

You blink at your patient—huh, she’s a goat. “I apologize,” you say, smiling. “Please, tell me, what brings you here in this hellish afternoon.”

She holds up her bleeding arm. “It’s been like this since the extermination,” she explains. “Some angle got me. Luckily, I was able to run off before I was finished. I thought it would heal on its own like it usually does but it just hasn’t. It keeps bleeding.”

“Well, angel-induced injuries are my specialty,” you say. Tucked away to the side, a mirror hangs. You catch your reflection, and you blow your hair away from your vision, your red sclerae “This will cost you. Injuries caused by angels are . . . difficult to stitch, but not impossible—not for me at least.”

“Oh, yes.” She bleats one more “Dear God, where are my manners? I’m sorry can I ask for your name?”

Your smile widens. “Of course. I’m—"

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“Alastor! Pleasure to be meeting you. Quite a pleasure!” One hand reset on his chest, and the other shoots into the air. It’s the bow you did in high school, back when you wanted theater to pay your bills. A performer’s bow.

You chuckle. “I don’t think it will be quite the pleasure you think.”

“Is that so?” Alastor’s smile remains constant. “And why would that be?”

You show him the tray you’re holding. “I’m here to do your sutures.” He steps closer to take a peek. You watch him as his eyes gloss over your matches then your needle driver, then the alcohol lamp. His smile wobbles when he lands on the syringe.

You move the tray, dropping it down on the little cart by the examination chair.

“There’s no need to worry.” You beam at him. “I have the steadiest hands in this city.”

“Hmmmm,” he says. “You must be the other doctor then.”

“Not at all.” You point to your uniform, where the initial ‘NP’ is embroidered next to your name. “Just the nurse practitioner.”

He takes a closer look and reads your name. “Then I have no reason to fret. None at all! In my experience, doctors usually have their noses buried in their books. It’s the nurses that actually get the hands-on experience.” Alastor’s hands move when he talks. “What’s such a talented practitioner doing in such a dinged-up clinic?”

“Management caught me in the morgue dissecting the dead—It’s how I practice my stitches.”

“Really, now?”

You bark a laugh. “Not at all—I’m far too smart to get caught.”

“A witty sense of humor and a steady hand! I am in good hands, indeed.”

You take a seat on the rolling stool. “Yes, yes,” you say, waving your wrist. “You make fine compliments, Sir. I’ll be sure to be extra gentle.” You point towards the examination chair. “But, please hurry to the chair. You’re dripping blood on my floor.”

Alastor glances down. His eyebrows furrow as he glares at where the blood seeps from his sleeve . . . almost . . . almost as if he’s angry. “My apologies,” he says, allowing his blood to drip to the floor.

Alastor shrugs off his coat. It’s rare to see such a dark red—only a few choose such a color. You hum. Alastor is a well-dressed gentleman. Lovely. Those are your favorite kind. He drapes his coat over the spare chair, ignoring the coat racks the clinic provides.

You turn away and wheel yourself closer to one of the drawers on the counter. It takes two attempts until you find the stash of sterile gloves. “Take your seat when you’re ready,” you say. “I’ll take a look once you are.” You place the gloves on the little green cart, right next to your tray.

Alastor takes his seat, landing with an audible ‘humph’. He smiles at you, sleeves rolled and arm ready. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

You hold your palm out. “May I?”

His smile wobbles—it’s a small change in expression that you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t looking. “Of course.”

Along his forearm, a long and sharp cut wounds him. The sight of grime that covers the opened abrasions makes you inwardly cringe. You need to clean these as soon as possible. “Why was this not checked sooner?” You rest his hands on the armrest and use your foot to bring the cart closer. “This looks old, and not at all like a freshly deep cut. I prefer it when patients come to me with fresh wounds.”

You grab a bowl with distilled water and pour in a sterile solution. “I assumed it would heal on its own,” he tells you. “It was quite a surprise when it did not.”

“I need to clean this before you die of infection.” You dip his arm into the bowl. He remains silent, but you feel the tension of his muscles under your fingers. “Hopefully there will be no next time, but just in case, next time, please don’t wait a month.”

He laughs, and there, you faintly see it—a twitch in his eye. “It was only a week actually.”

You smile to yourself. “I’d prefer it if it was only a few hours.” You dry his arm with a soft towel, his arm still tensed underneath your touch. “There, much better.” You release your hold to go to a shelf filled with different labeled vials and select the one you need. With the clean syringe, you draw the contents of the vial. “You’ll feel a bit of a pinch,” you say. You tap its side. “It’s morphine— wouldn’t want you screaming and writhing”

You study his face for a second. There’s just that same dismissively polite smile.

“You can look away if you wish,” you tell him. “It’s why we pin such . . . er . . .interesting decorations around. . . . May I?”

You feel it again when Alastor inches his arm closer. His muscles tense under your touch. It’s almost as if he wishes to pull away. You keep your hold feather-light, but firm.

“Are you a hunter by any chance?” you ask. You don’t prick him—not yet. Not when tension coils in your hold.

“You could describe it that way,” he says, chuckling like he’s told a humorous joke. (You don’t understand why.)

“I figured you were.”

Alastor slides his glasses up the bridge of his nose. You inject the morphine into his skin, right inside the soft pink tissue. Good. Alastor relaxes when he speaks, it seems. “I do love a good hunt,” he says. “How ever did you know.”

You release your hold and discard the syringe. “Your hands are rough,” you tell him. “And hunters always have this silly notion that injuries magically heal given enough time—along with farmers, actually. Although, farmers are usually much more deluded.”

He flashes that same polite smile. “I'm guessing you’re not a hunter then?”

“How ever did you know?”

You watch his eyes flicker to your palms as you re-arrange the needles. “Delicate hands.”

You flash the same polite smile right back at him. You take a match, and light the alcohol lamp.

Soap spreads all over your palms and up your arm as you scrub your hands. You slip your hands into the sterilized gloves, careful not to contaminate the surface. “I’ll begin now.”

Alastor hums in reply.

You take a scapple and pass it over the flame. You poke him, lightly, but he doesn’t react. Satisfied, you cut back fibrous tissue underneath the skin. You replace the scapple with a needle driver. There was a quiet click when you pinch the tiny curved needle. You pass it over the flame as well. “Can you do me a favor? Can you tell me how many stars are on that wall over there?

Alastor turns to look at you, but you block his eyes with your palm, shielding him from your stiches.

“The wall isn’t over here.”

“I assure you, I’m not afraid of a silly needle.”

“I’m sure you are,” you say. “However, you’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. The last three people who said that took one look and started squirming. One even fainted. It makes your life miserable, and my job harder.

He counts.

“Out loud please.”

He does as he’s told, rather reluctantly.

Hands steady and determination set, you pierce the soft pink tissue with your needle The tissue nearest to the surface is always delicate. You’re certain not to catch any fat in your suture, for fat dies, and a loose stitch is useless. “Well, isn’t this fun!” he says. “I really feel nothing.”

Your concentration does not break. “I don’t remember there only being twenty-six stars. I’m positive there are more.”

“Why is someone as talented as you only a nurse practitioner?”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a nurse,” you reply, tugging on the needle. “Well . . .we . . . we certainly could be paid more.”

“Why not become an actual doctor then?”

“My father couldn’t afford it. He wouldn’t send me . . . and . . . hmm.” You smoothly pull the suture thread and begin the next stitch. “And I enjoy this.”

He looks down at you. “Is this all you’ll be satisfied with?”

You focus back on your stitching, hiding your glare. You bring your needle underneath the flesh, making sure to catch the soft tissue. You’re doing an uncommon stitch, but it would be a shame to leave a scar. “You sound familiar.”

You pause to look at him, His smile brightens, and it actually looks like a genuine elated smile. “Why, I’m a radio broadcaster. You might have heard me there.”

“Oh yes,” you hum, turning back to your stitching. “Alastor . . . I remember now. The ladies and I listen to your broadcast as we do our crafts.”

“Knitting?”

“I personally prefer embroidery,” you say. “I get to practice my stitching and make beautiful art.” You pull the thread and begin a new one, stitching his skin like they were shoe laces. “You’re quite the humorous gentleman, I must say, and quite a lovely taste in music. We enjoy your broadcast very much”

“Do you have any of your artworks here?” he asks you. “I would be eager to see them.”

“Maybe next time.” You tug the suture, and his laceration snaps to a close. You tie a knot and snip the end. “Unfortunately, I’ve finished your stitches.”

“Next time then.”

You discard your gloves and go back to the shelf with the vials. You fill up another syringe. You jam the needle into his skin, not enough to hurt, just enough to scare him a bit. “To prevent infection.”

He jerks away from you. “What happened to that gentle touch of yours?”

“It’s still a sharp object, Sir. They tend to hurt.” You smirk and carefully clean the remaining blood on the skin around the sutured wound. You take a bandage from your cart and begin wrapping it around his forearm, covering your sutures. “Don’t forget to drink your pills every 8 hours, with a meal in your stomach, preferably. Replace the dressing every three days. You can come back here or if you’re able to do so, you can change them yourself. Any by the good God, please, visit the nearest hospital should this incident repeat.”

Alastor slides off the examination chair. He grabs his coat as if you didn’t just stitch him close. You start packing when you notice him fixing his bow tie, and smoothing his hair. Huh . . .There’s blood on his coat, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Like he’s used to having it there. Like it’s just something he’s learned to live with. “You were wrong by the way.”

“Pardon?”

“It was quite the pleasure to meet you.”

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Next Part |Part 2: Radio Will be Dead if He Doesn't Explain Himself| Hello, welcome to the hell that's been plaguing my head. In case you didn't know Belphegor is the ruler of the sloth ring, and she seems to be in charge of medical-related stuff in Hell. I have the story mostly plotted out, it's just a matter of writing it down. If you have any questions, ask away

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