#we were all sitting there with the candy slowly dissolving in our mouths wondering who the next victim would be

[volcanodumpbox]

this is exactly what it feels like to try zotz for the first time when you don’t know what zotz are

When it happens

[elisaphoenix13]

Road Trip (Ch.2)

All it took was one sign. One sign to get his kids to talk over each other and beg Tony to take the next exit to the county festival and that's what he did. What was the sign? The top part of a ferris wheel. That he didn't even see until he drove another mile. The excitement was so contagious that even Lucy squealed happily and Tony really had no choice after that. It was a good excuse to get out of the car and spend some time doing something else besides getting uncomfortable in a cramped car.

He just knew the kids would be getting back in the car later with too much sugar in their systems. Tony doubted Stephen would stop them as long as they didn't consume enough to give themselves stomach aches. The second he parked, the older kids started unbuckling and climbing out of the car to stretch and let Athena out.

"Hey, hey, it's not going anywhere you guys." Tony says as he turns off the car.

"It's not that." Thomas makes a face.

"I think Lucy got a little too excited." Cassie laughs and Tony sniffs.

Oh yeah. The car didn't smell like that five minutes ago.

"Oh dolcezza. You are your mother's daughter." Tony sighs.

"Excuse you?!" Stephen says as the kids cackle.

"You know I'm kidding. I'll change her." Tony laughs as he gets out of the car and walks around to join the kids at the side door.

"You wouldn't have had a choice." Stephen grumbles, getting out and taking the wallet Tony hands over to him. "I'll go buy the tickets."

As Stephen walks away, Athena dutifully follows him, and Tony digs Lucy out of her car seat after laying down the portable changing pad on the floor of the car. Diana and Valerie had climbed out beforehand and went to stand with either Cassie or William and from what he could catch from Diana's excited rambling, she already had plans on what she wanted to do. The kids would probably split up a little but he knew Diana and Valerie would be safely supervised so he wasn't worried about losing any kids. Tony was still a little surprised that Valerie was okay with the idea of staying with William, but it was good. Her attachment to the younger twin was (very) slowly helping her not rely on Stephen's presence which would be extremely helpful when she was old enough for school.

Tony had a feeling Diana and Val would eventually be pawned off on Tony and Stephen so the teens could do their own thing without having to worry.

"Okay, Lulu." Tony says as he picks up the freshly diapered infant and holds her against his shoulder. "Let's go find a trash can to dispose of your biological warfare."

"There's one by the entrance." Stephen says as he approaches them again and holds out the tickets and some money for each of them. "Don't give yourself stomach aches and keep an eye on your sisters. We'll get together for lunch around 2."

"Thanks Mom!" Harley says and the kids grab their tickets.

All except Valerie who looked confused when Stephen didn't have one for her.

"You don't need one darling." Stephen says with a smile. "You get to go in for free. Are you going to be with William?"

"Yes Mama."

"Okay. Be good for him."

"She always is." William says and picks up the toddler. "Come on. We'll go see if they have face painting."

Tony chuckles as the kids take off, shouldering the diaper bag before closing and locking up the car. He and Stephen head for the entrance as well, and only then does he notice Athena with her service vest on. Probably a good idea. It was unlikely pets were allowed, but they weren't going to leave her in the car, so the vest would let her in with no questions asked. She was legally licensed as a service animal anyway. With how much their family had gone through, anxiety and PTSD were unfortunately a part of their lives. At the very least.

But they had a good handle on that so the worst case scenario would be that they really did lose a kid in the chaos, and Athena would be able to sniff them out.

"I need to dispose of the evidence." Tony reminds Stephen, and the sorcerer chuckles.

"Right over there." Stephen motions with his hand, and waits for Tony to come back before saying, "we probably should have all put some sunscreen on."

"I think there's some in the diaper bag. We'll snatch the kids as we see them and apply it with a mop."

Stephen snorts. "I think we should ban Lilo and Stitch for a while. There have been too many references."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asks.

"Stupid head, Pudge, applying sunscreen with a mop--" Stephen says while ticking off his fingers.

"Two of those were Diana." Tony points out.

Stephen chuckles as they walk through the front gates of the fair and they both kind of reel back from the amount of noise they walk into. Even with seven kids and living in New York, some things just couldn't fully prepare them for the variety of noises the fair had. Carnival rides, kids screaming, those people at the rigged games trying to attract a sucker out of their allowance...and it all fascinated Lucy. Well, her fascinated look consisted of looking over Tony's shoulder while drooling on it, but she was unbothered. Not even the sudden noises startled her. She did have six older siblings that were pretty noisy.

"Just a second." Stephen suddenly says and Tony rolls his eyes when the sorcerer seems to grab Thomas out of thin air. "Sunscreen please."

"I'm too fast to get sunburned." Thomas says.

"Did you get that idea from Pietro? That's not how it works." Stephen huffs and takes the diaper bag from Tony to place it on a nearby empty table and dig out the sunscreen.

A full thing of it to Tony's surprise. Though he probably shouldn't have been. Stephen was on top of things like that and it still amazed him that the sorcerer could keep up with that kind of stuff. Stephen really was a mom...or maybe his eidetic memory had a hand in it? Maybe both.

"Thank you." Stephen says once Thomas is finished. "Send your brothers and sisters our way if you see them."

"Okay, okay!" And Thomas was gone in a flash.

"You know, just last year, he and William would have cowered at the thought of sassing you." Tony says as he sits down at the table.

"I'm glad that's not the case anymore." Stephen says as he squirts some sunscreen into his hands, then starts applying it to Lucy. "Can you get her hat out of the bag?"

"Yup."

Tony grabs the bag, doing his best to dig through it with one hand, and finally gets his hand on a yellow sun hat with bears. He immediately places it on Lucy's head and helps rub in the rest of the sunscreen on her face.

"I don't remember buying the hat."

"That's because it's from Pepper." Stephen says.

"When did she give it to us?" Tony asks, kissing Lucy's cheek when she's properly protected from harmful sun rays.

"I think you were in the lab with Thomas figuring out something with his suit."

"Oh yeah."

It took a little while, but they eventually got a hold of all of their kids to apply the needed sunscreen, William and Valerie surprisingly being the last. As William promised, they had found a face painting stand and now the little girl's cheek had a group of stars on it. William even helped carefully apply the sunscreen so it wouldn't ruin the paint but she would still be protected, and then they were off again. It really made Tony and Stephen happy to see a teenager willing to spend time with a two year old for so long. But then again, Valerie was almost always so well behaved and adored William almost as much as her mother. Tony wondered if Lucy would follow one if the older kids like a duckling when she was a little older too.

"Tony!" Stephen exclaims. "Don't give her that!"

Tony looks at Stephen and smiles. He had gotten up to buy some cotton candy and came back, giving Lucy a tiny piece. No bigger than the nail on his pinky finger. Of course she loved it and opened her mouth for more…and of course Tony obliged her.

"It won't hurt her. It'll dissolve and I'm not giving her anymore." Tony brushes him off and holds out the cotton candy to Stephen.

"What are we going to do about lunch?" The sorcerer sighs.

"Uh... the closest thing to healthy I've seen were burgers or corn dogs." Tony replies, looking around.

Stephen grimaces. "Not the greatest choices but the kids won't want to leave to find a diner."

Tony snorts. "They'll be fine."

"Hey, Mom!" Peter walks over with an enormous teddy bear and sets it on the bench next to Stephen, with Cassie and Diana close behind. "Got you something."

"Are you taking lessons from your father? I heard about the rabbit from Pepper." Stephen rolls his eyes.

"I'm kidding. Lucy can have it." Peter laughs and leans over the table to grab the baby's foot. "She doesn't have one yet right?"

"If that thing falls in her, we'll never find her." Tony says as the other four kids finally join them, and he hands his wallet to Peter. "Hamburgers or corn dogs. That's what you guys have to choose from."

"Hamburger." All of the kids say in unison and Peter shrugs.

"Makes that easier for me."

He kisses Cassie's cheek as he turns and grabs Thomas's wrist to drag him along to help, and the rest of them sit down and wait once Harley and Cassie pull a second picnic table closer. Peter knew how everyone liked their burger so their lunch arrived pretty quickly without Thomas running it over. Both boys came back with their arms full of burgers and then made a second trip to bring cups of lemonade for everyone. They ate their lunch with loud conversation to be heard over the noise of the fair, and then when they were finished, the older kids (sans Thomas) took off again to do their own thing. Diana was content to hit the games with Thomas for a little while, and Valerie was happy to stay with her parents and sister.

"You've got some ketchup." Stephen mumbles and wipes Valerie's cheek with a napkin. The unpainted one. "How's your hamburger?"

"Yummy."

"Did you have fun with William?"

"Uh-huh. Took me up there!" She points at the ferris wheel.

Stephen and Tony smile as the sorcerer digs out Athena's bowl and places it on the ground before filling it up with some water Harley had gotten from a food stand before he left with William. Of course they had fed her too, but Stephen had to discreetly retrieve her meal through one of his gateways since there wasn't a good chance of finding some decent meat at the fair. Stephen sort of spoiled his wolf.

"We'll give them a couple more hours to enjoy the fair before we hit the road." Tony says. "We need to find a place to stay the night."

"There's a hotel in town. We can let the kids stay until they're either ready to go or it starts to get dark." Stephen says.

"It'll give them time to digest all the crap they ate today, I guess." Tony nods. "Works for me."

"Maybe we'll find somewhere decent to eat for dinner. Some place that sells salad." Stephen says and Tony laughs.

"Sweating grease over there Duchess?"

"I feel disgusting."

"You get first dibs on the shower." Tony cackles. "No matter how many rooms we end up with."

"Watching the kids eat those hamburgers…" Stephen rubs his eyes. "I need to eat five salads."

"Might as well get one of those deep fried Snickers bars then."

"They have that and you're telling me now?!"

Tony laughs again when Stephen gets up from the picnic bench to go searching for a stand that made his chocolate treat. They were at the fair so it only made sense to join in on eating ridiculous amounts of junk that would possibly clog their arteries and make up for it later with salad for dinner.

"Get me one too!" Tony calls after him.

[joshslater]

The Adoption

A rewrite of a story from changes-are-coming. Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

“Fuck! I told you it would happen!”

The car made a final cough of pitch-black smoke, and came to a rolling stop in the grassy side of the road. The ground was damp from the shower, but the sky had cleared and the air was warm in the summer afternoon glow.

“No service” his brother announced, waving his cellphone around, as if it would catch some stray reception.

“Of course not. No one here has any money to bribe an operator for coverage. I told you we should stay clear of bum-fuck nowhere.” He hit he wheel in rage infused frustration. Their cross country adventure had started out great. They were of one mind, as twins often are. So much so that they couldn’t agree on who came up with the idea of a road trip adventure before college senior year. But now, a few days in, their relationship had deteriorated just as fast as his brothers car, as it became obvious he had not maintained it properly.

“At lest we don’t have to starve.” He said, making a gesture towards the corn field. “You fucking moron. They are not edible for months.” He exited the car and walked some steps away from the car. Why did he always do this? His careless non-planning had caused trouble for them since forever. He took a deep breath of county air, with the smell of recent rain. He knew there was a word for it. He turned towards the car to ask, when in the distance he saw the glint of an approaching car.

He stood still for minutes, watching the black truck getting bigger and bigger and really big. Once it started to get close he begun waving it down. It didn’t slow down much, but made a sudden brake once past him. The truck stood still for perhaps a minute until a door opened.

Out of the passenger seat climbed a hunk calendar caricature of a cowboy. Big hat, boots, tight blue jeans and shirtless, showing of his smooth, chiseled upper body physique.

“Howdy, what seems to be the trouble?” “Our car is fucked?” “Who ya got with ya?” “My dumbass twin brother.”

The driver door opened, and an equally striking, similarly clothed man climbed out, gave them a nod and stood resting against the side of the truck.

“You’ve been working on the fields?” “Something like that. Let’s get you and your brother some miles before dark.”

He rapped the window, shaking his brother out of a losing round of Candy Crush. “Hey, step out. We’ve got a lift.” “What? With them?” “College students with fucked engines can’t be choosers.” “Fine. But there’s only one row in those, aren’t there?” “Take the flatbed then. This is all your fault.”

In fairness he didn’t mind the flatbed over sitting between those two half naked dudes, like a patty in a burger, or perhaps more like bread between two beefcakes. The truck was large enough he thought the car might even fit on the flatbed, not that they could get it up there. The guy with the cowboy hat helped him up. Doing that he got a whiff of musky sweat and was immediately happy with his choice, but no sooner had the other three packed themselves into the truck and rolled away, did he feel the stale rain water on the bed soaking through his pants. Dammit. The nearest town was 50 minutes away.

Inside the truck his twin brother had the opposite thought. The driver was of few words and had simply smiled and gunned the engine, speeding away from the stranded car. The car was barely out of view when he wondered how he would be able to stand the smell of cologne and sweaty bodies for so long.

“How far away is it?” “We’ll be there in 30 minutes tops.” “That close?” “Yeah. Hey, you drink coffee?” “Yes. Thanks.”

He did not want to drink coffee, but anything else to keep his mind of the smell and what these two dudes might have done together would be a godsend. The guy in the cowboy hat unscrewed the top of a thermos bottle and filled it with hot coffee. It was black and bitter, unlike anything he had had before. There was a funny aftertaste as well, he thought. He did relax though, feeling lucky that someone passed them buy so quickly. Trying to cut the suffering short, he downed the rest of the coffee, handed back the top, and slumped in his seat. Staring out at the fields passing by he realized he was exhausted. Fighting with his brother always drained him.

Slowing down, the truck pulled into a long driveway which led to a group of farm buildings on an island of grass and trees in a sea of fields. It hadn’t really been cold on the flatbed, but he couldn’t wait to find some way of drying his jeans, and an explanation for why there weren’t in town. Both hunk #1 and hunk #2 jumped out of the truck, but his brother lingered for some reason. “Hey, I’ll catch you” the guy in the cowboy hat shouted. Fuck that. He jumped over the side and landed a bit away from him. Someone, the other guy, grabbed his arms from behind.

“Hey, let go! LET GO!” “Scream all you want. There isn’t even a public road for a mile.”

He was firmly marched towards the main building, resisting at at first, but soon realizing the futility of fighting two men, especially men as muscled as these. There was no where to run anyway. He caught a glimpse of his brother inside the truck, seemingly unconscious with earbuds in his ears.

“What have you done to my brother?” “He’s just taking a nap.”

He was led through the dark interior of the farmhouse and was soon securely tied to a wooden chair in the kitchen, facing the wrong way as to leave his back free. He looked around in confusion. It seemed like the men had a young child, but one that was the size of a teenager. Just opposite the table from him was an oversized high-chair, and they had passed a too large bouncy swing in the living room. Or did they use them for some gay shit? Was that why he and his brother were kidnapped?

“Let me go!” he pleaded. “We had only planned for one kid, but when life gives you twins you...” he was searching for some ending to the saying. “...make twinks?” the other man suggested. “No, that’s not it. Anyway, I think our boy will love to have a pet to play with.”

None of this made any sense to him.

“But for that to happen, you need to take this.” He pulled out an over two inch long, white object from a plastic case. “That’s massive! I can’t swallow that.” “I’m sure we can find a way to get it in you.”

He could do nothing but squirm and shout as they removed the belt and cut his jeans and boxers from his body. Then one of them slowly inserted the suppository up his asshole. Once in place it didn’t take many seconds until it started to sting and feel kind of warm, like it was made out of icy hot and sriracha. He again squirmed, only this time it was involuntary.

“See how well it fits your boy pussy” “Fuck you!”

Through the door frame, for a split second, he could see the other man carrying his brother. He was still sleeping, and with earbuds, but was now naked except for some adult diapers.

“It’s starting to get real intense, doesn’t it?” “Let us go. We won’t tell anyone.” “You don’t want that. It’s just going to get worse, unless you get a tail. This will make it better though.”

The man was offering up a glass of clear liquid to his lips. Feeling out of options he decided to drink from it. It tasted like water, with something bitter dissolved. It had a weird aftertaste, Then everything went black.

He liked the bouncing. It made his stomach feel funny on the way down. It made him giggle. There was something important he needed to do, but he couldn’t remember what. Every jump was just too funny.

Then a man with a funny hat entered the room. What was the name of the hat? The man was somehow important. The man didn’t have a shirt on. He wanted to touch him. To taste him. Put him in his mouth. Now he remembered!

“bowboy” “Yes, a cowboy. Good. Did my big boy sleep well?”

Why did he use such difficult words? It was almost impossible to understand him.

Then another man entered, and following him, on the floor was something black. A big black rubber dog walking on all four. He had a tail that was wagging as he walked, and under him, between his legs, was a big red rubber pee pee. He recognized the face somehow.

“Dod!” “Yes, it is dog!”

The dog suddenly recognized the teenage sized baby hanging in the bouncy swing, and excitedly ran up to him and started licking him in the face. He could barely contain his joy.

“Dod!”

The two men beamed, and put an arm around each other. There were still so much to do. The car in their barn had to be stripped to scraps, VINs filed down, fabric burned, plates destroyed. They already had a fire going with all the clothes and personal items. The boys needed much more attention, but in a month, maybe two, they would be totally transformed, utterly helpless and barely physically recognizable. A new family.

[thegoodgayshit]

Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lillith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter 1: I Steal My Bully's Necklace

“Get up, you freak!”

Luz coughed as she struggled to breathe after being thrown into the lockers. The wind had been knocked out of her and she already felt a lump forming on the back of her head where she had smacked it.

She was having the worst day at school, and that was saying something. Somehow, by some miracle, she had made it through the whole year at this one. But she had a terrible feeling that her luck wouldn’t last. Especially if the mean girl in her biology class wasn’t going to leave her alone.

She looked up to see the girl in question standing over her, grinning sadistically at her. She rubbed her hands together like some kind of mobster villain, her dog tag necklace hanging from her neck, and Luz fought the urge to roll her eyes. Lina had tormented her all year, and no matter what Luz did she couldn’t seem to shake her. Her dark amber eyes, (Luz swore sometimes they were almost red) were watching her like the next thing she would do to her was eat her. Her posse, two other girls her age, watched with their own small smiles.

She winced as she got to her feet, trying to control her anger. Terrible things happened when Luz got upset. She didn’t like this girl, but it wasn’t worth getting expelled over. Again.

This was Luz’s fifth school in twelve years. Ever since she started kindergarten, Luz was the problem child. She always managed to land herself into trouble, and she never really knew why. Half the time she hadn’t even done anything, weird things just seemed to happen to Luz. The other kids thought she was weird, so they never hung out with her, and so Luz had never really had any real friends. Teachers didn’t really like Luz either, her ADHD made learning really difficult, and so she always got bad grades. So when weird things would happen, the principal wouldn’t think twice. She would usually get expelled on the spot.

She didn’t want to get expelled again. Her Mami would be so disappointed in her. When Luz and her Mami had to move to New York City, her Mami had threatened her really good when they finally found a school that would take her.

“This is it, mija.” She had said. “I’m not doing this anymore. You either stay at this school and graduate or I’m sending you away to camp.”

That’s when Luz knew it was serious. Her Mami had not wanted to send her away to this camp. She had always threatened it when Luz was a little kid, but her Mami had never actually wanted to do it. She was stern, but Luz was all she had.

Besides, Luz never really understood why a summer camp would help straighten her out. If the military school she had gone to when she was ten was any indication, even they couldn’t get through to her.

Regardless, Luz wasn’t going to disappoint her Mami. So she got to her feet and did the first thing she could think to do.

She ran.

Breaking through the crowds of students who had been watching Lina bully her in the hallways, Luz ducked under the crowds and made a break for the staircase.

“Run, Luz Noceda!” Lina cackled as she fled. “Run from me!”

Anger flashed through Luz. She hated running. She wanted to stand and fight, to tell Lina off and get her to stop being a jerk. But she was outnumbered, and nobody would believe her anyway when something inevitably went wrong. It’s like her Mami said, “just keep your head low, Luz. Don’t engage, don’t fight back. Don’t give them a reason to punish you.”

So, despite the shame bubbling up in her chest, she kept running. She heard a commotion behind her, and Lina saying something to her friends before there was a cry of shock. And something that sounded strangely like hooves clamping along the tile.

Lina yelled something that definitely wasn’t English, but Luz understood it perfectly. Lina was following her, and the weirdness was starting again. She had to go before somebody blamed it on her.

Tearing down the stairs and pushing open the side exit to her school, Luz bolted down the alley she uses to get to the bus stop she takes home. It was her lunch period, so she’s hoping that by the time she gets back to school Lina will have long forgotten about her and she can get to her English class in one piece.

But then there’s a crash, and a furious scream from behind her and she realizes that Lina is following her. She begins to panic, picking up speed and darting into the new alley behind 94th street. There is a chain-link fence up ahead, and she breaks into a fresh sprint, launching her body up against it and over to the next street ahead.

Luz doesn’t know when she decided she wasn’t going back to school, but she knew that she needed to get away from Lina. She spared a glance back as she darted into the trafficked street, weaving through cars. Lina was still following her, her red eyes boring in fury into Luz’s back.

Luz gets onto the first bus she sees and fumbles for her MetroCard in her back pocket, slamming it down on the pad without looking back. She breaks for the back of the bus, crouching into an aisle seat and shrinking her whole body away from the window. She pulls the hood of her cat hoodie over her head, praying she wasn’t seen. The bus starts to move, thankfully without Lina on it, and Luz tries to let her body relax.

She zones out, wary of everyone getting on the bus. After some time, the realization that she doesn’t actually know where she’s going hits her like a truck. At the next stop, she gets up and darts off the bus, passing a quick thank you to the driver. When she steps out into the street, she realizes she has traveled all the way down to 34th street, and the Empire State Building is glaring down at her several blocks away.

Luz isn’t quite sure what to do now. She wasn’t going back to school today, that was for sure. Her Mami could be mad at her for skipping later. It was the end of the year, and Luz had unofficially made it all the way through.

Deciding she should celebrate, Luz walks around the city for a little while. Her Mami would never want her to wander off on her own, but she decided after the incident with Lina at school she deserved it. She remembers the awesome candy store her Mami took her to when they moved to the city, and pulls out her phone to punch Dylan’s Candy Bar into her maps.  It’s only 20 minutes away, so she begins the trek through the city, putting in her earbuds and shuffling her favorite anime playlist.

Once she’s inside and picks out five chocolate bars and a pack of lemonade gumballs. As she approaches the register, the girl working the counter likes Luz so much, she throws in an extra bar for free. Luz thanks her enthusiastically, and she pays with the money she was going to use for lunch. She leaves the store and sits, beginning to chow down on her snacks on the street curb outside, but her eyes are still wearily scanning the streets as through Lina might appear at any moment. As she does this, she catches sight of the two strangest looking women she’s ever seen.

They’re both middle-aged, the first with black hair and piercing green eyes. The second is a little taller, with huge silver-grey hair. But what catches her attention is that both women are wearing huge, cosplay style cloaks – white and maroon respectively.

The woman with the huge hair and maroon cloak has a strange bird on her shoulder. Luz thinks it might be an owl. Not only that but when she squints Luz is almost positive the one with the white cloak has a weapon strapped to her belt. Her mouth immediately drops, and she gets up off the curb just as the pair duck into an alleyway. Tucking the remaining three chocolate bars into her blue backpack, (which has miraculously stayed on through her whole fight with Lina) she weaves through the streets to follow them. Luz wonders to herself if there’s some kind of Comicon or other convention she was missing.

She sneaks through the alleyway, peering at the two behind a dumpster. They are talking in low voices, so Luz slowly creeps forward to listen in.

“- called us to Olympus, it must be serious, Edalyn.” The first one says lowly.

“Don’t sweat it, sissy. We’ve been called in by dad before. It’s probably just another one of those check in’s.” The second says, shrugging.

“You must feel it.” The first mutters urgently. “The tension between the gods is only going to grow from here.”

“We have to stay patient, Lilith.” The second woman, Edalyn, responds. “Of course I’ve felt it, but until we’re told to summon the Oracle-”

“There you are!”

Luz squeals dropping her gumballs all over the alley, spinning around the dumpster to come face to face with Lina. She is furious, her red eyes boring into her, and she snarls at her angrily. Luz shrieks, realizing that Lina’s mouth is stretching to expose a pair of vicious and sharp looking fangs.

There is a commotion from behind her as the two women have realized they have been overheard, and Luz begins to feel guilty for eavesdropping. But she doesn’t turn to look at them, she has bigger problems right now.

“I have been hunting you for months, Luz Noceda,” Lina growls, baring her fangs. “You will not escape me again!”

“Please!” Luz exclaims, holding up her hands. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Hurt me?” Lina laughs, taking a few menacing steps forward. “You cannot hurt me, little demigod. I will kill you before you get the chance!”

Before Luz can process anything that is happening, Lina shifts, her body changing rapidly. Her feet morph out of her tattered jeans into one metallic leg and one with hooves, and Luz can’t help but scream. Lina leaps at her and out of pure instinct, Luz rolls. Lina flies past her and Luz presses her back against the brick building behind her in terror.

“What are you?” She yelps, her whole body vibrating in horror.

“That’s an empousai, kid.” The woman with the red cloak says calmly, and when Luz turns her head, the two women are staring down Lina with disinterest. Luz can’t believe how calm they are.

“A what?”

And before Luz can pinch herself to make sure she isn’t dreaming, the dark-haired woman reaches under her cloaks and draws the weapon that shimmers the shiniest bronze Luz has ever seen. The blaze shifts and forms right in front of her eyes from a knife into an eight-foot sharp staff. The grey-haired woman plucks the bird off of her shoulder and it coos (Luz is certain now it’s an Owl) before the bird shifts into a seven-foot bronze tipped spear.

Lina the empousai, or whatever she is, hisses at the sight of the blade.

“Daughters of Zeus,” she says, trying to remain composed. But Luz has been bullied by Lina for months now, and she knows she looks nervous. “This is no business of yours.”

“Actually, I think this is our business.” The dark-haired witch, Lilith, says coldly. “Any half-blood we find is under our protection. What is a servant of Hecate doing hunting a child of the gods?”

Lina shuffles her legs – or…hoof and metal leg – and is now visibly nervous. Edalyn smirks, exposing a single gold tooth that sticks out like a fang.

“Unless… Hecate doesn’t know you’re here,” she singsongs, and Lina growls ferociously and lunges towards the woman.

“I will kill you before she ever finds out!” She roars, and both women sidestep from the lunge. Edalyn stabs with her spear, which Lina deflects off of her metal leg. Lilith swings with her staff, and Lina ducks. Luz has been forgotten, and she is shaking violently against the wall, trying to get a grip as to what the heck is even happening right now.

What did Lina call her? A demigod? The Lilith called her a half-blood… that was a really insulting insinuation for someone who was biracial, Luz thought. Besides, she wasn’t biracial, her Mami told her that her father had been a businessman visiting from Brazil. But those women… she had called them the daughters of Zeus?

Even if Luz was confused, she recognized what was happening. Those women had jumped to her aid despite Luz eavesdropping on them. These women were protecting her, even if she was a complete stranger. So despite her shaking body, and the fact that she was probably bordering an anxiety attack, she leaped in to help.

While Lina’s back was turned, Luz took a running leap and lunged, wrapping her arms around Lina’s neck and squeezing. Lina roared in frustration and did her best to shake her off, and Luz heard Edalyn cackling in the background.

“Alright! Get em’ kid.”

“Edalyn, focus!” Lilith snapped before she swung her own staff.

Lina tucked backward, but she wasn’t fast enough to totally dodge the blade, and it skimmed her stomach. She roared in pain and anger and finally knocked Luz away from her, and she went skidding across the ground. Coughing, Luz got to her feet and looked up at Lina’s stomach. The slice stretched across her stomach, but there was no blood. Instead, the slash seemed to be slowly dissolving her body. Lina looked down on it and hissed, glaring her red eyes up at Luz with absolute hatred.

She screamed again and charged at Luz, who scrambled backward in panic, but Lina never got closer. Edalyn spun her spear around her back and lunged, stabbing Lina right through the side. With a final scream, her whole body began to disintegrate into dust, before all that was left of her was a small pile of ashes and Lina’s dog tag necklace.

Spinning the spear, it shifted back into the owl which perches itself on Edalyn’s shoulder. Lilith spins her own staff, turning it back to a knife and clipping it to her belt. Luz was left staring at the pile of dust with a wide-eyed, and totally shocked expression. Her adrenaline was starting to fade, and it was beginning to change into full-blown panic.

“What just happened?” She said, but it came out as more of a breathy squeak. “Did we just kill her?"

Edalyn shrugged and held out her hand to help Luz up, which she took. “Yes, and no. Monsters don’t really die, they just return to Tartarus and wait to respawn.”

“They go where to do what?” This sentence was so high pitched she was surprised either of them heard it.

“Edalyn, give her a minute to process,” Lilith mumbled eying Luz like she was broken glass about to shatter.

“She doesn’t need to process, she’s probably been through it all by now.” She retorted with a roll of her eyes. Looking down at Luz with a knowing glint in her eyes, she pulled her to her feet and reached over to brush some of the dirt off her hoodie. “Let me guess, kid. You’re a bit of a problem child, always moving from place to place… weird things happen to you that nobody else can explain?”

Luz blinked. “Yeah, exactly like that. How’d you know?”

She laughed as if Luz had just said the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “Because we’re all like that. You’re an older one too, you’ve probably been on the monster's scent for a while. I don’t know how you possibly stayed alive without any help from camp.”

Luz felt a chill go up her spine. “Wait, camp? My Mami mentioned a camp… she always threatened to send me there if I didn’t straighten up…”

Edalyn and Lilith shared a look before they turned back to her.

“That monster said your name was Luz right?” Edalyn said, a little softer this time.

Luz nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s me. Luz Noceda.”

“I’m Eda, and this is my sister Lilith,” Eda said with a smile. “We’re the co-directors of Camp Half-blood.”

“Camp Half-Blood,” Luz said in a monotone voice. “Half what? I’m Latina.”

They shared another look.

“Half-blood doesn’t have anything to do with race,” Lilith said slowly. “It means people who are half-human, and half god.”

Luz’s mouth dropped open. She stared blankly between the two of them, not even sure what to say.

“God? Like…. Jesus?” she stuttered out, and Eda chuckled.

“No, like Greek God, kid. Half-bloods are kids with one human parent and one godly parent.” She reached under her cloak and pulled out a necklace that had been concealed previously. It had a gold pendant the shape of a thunderbolt. “Lily and I are sisters, but we have the same godly parent. Zeus.”

Luz’s brain began to finally work again, and she did her best to just try and process what she was saying. Nodding slowly, Luz does her best to recall her minimal knowledge of Greek deities she’s learned from books and movies.

“The god of the sky.” Luz nods, and Eda shrugs.

“Sure, among other things.”

Luz begins to pace, as she always does when her brain is moving too fast for her body. “Lina called me a demigod. Are you saying that my dad is a Greek God?”

“Well, that helps narrow down the possibilities,” Lilith said, keeping her voice calm and mellow. “A while ago the god’s made a promise to claim all of their children by the time they turn thirteen.”

“I’m fourteen,” Luz said. “Does that mean my dad forgot about me?”

“Nope, you just haven’t come to camp yet,” Eda said with a grin. “Most demigods come to Camp Half-Blood for training to defend themselves against monsters. The older you get, the stronger your scent is to them. You’re lucky you’ve been able to stay so inconspicuous for so long.”

Luz was suddenly presented with a lot of options for the first time in her life. Despite everything she had just learned, she wasn’t scared, or afraid. It actually made so much sense. All those terrible memories she could never explain, like the man with one eye who had tried to get her into his car when she was eleven. Or the women with leather wings who had watched her from the playground in first grade. All those weird things, that nobody had ever believed, finally clicked.

And sure, her Mami always told her not to trust strangers, but she figured this was a bit of an extenuating circumstance. Eda and Lilith were weird, but Luz liked it. She finally felt like she was seen and understood.

Plus, they had just killed her high school bully. She owed them one. Not that she needed much convincing anyways on what she wanted to do next.

“Will you take me?” Luz asked quietly, looking up at them slowly. “I mean... if you aren’t too busy or anything?”

Eda and Lilith shot each other a little smile, before nodding.

“Sure kid, we did have a meeting at Olympus, but Lily can go in my place.”

“It’s our job to make sure demigods get there safely, it’s our first priority,” Lilith added, clasping her hands together. “Edalyn, do you have your Pegasus whistle?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve got that here somewhere…” Eda mumbled, digging through her cloak pockets. Luz was still trying to fathom the fact that they had a meeting at the actual Mount Olympus when Eda pulled out a little bronze whistle and blew it into the sky.

After a second, there was a swooshing sound coming from above us, and the most beautiful horse Luz had ever seen glided down in the alley. It was a pure white horse with gorgeous wings that it tucked back into its sides as it came to a stop next to Eda.

“Oh wow!” Luz said in awe, and the Pegasus snorted almost bashfully.

Lilith walked over to the pile of dust that was once Luz’s bully and picked up the dog tag necklace still lying on the ground. She handed it to Luz, who took it hesitantly.

“It’s a spoil of war,” Lilith explained, giving Luz a small smile. “Your first kill as a half-blood.”

Luz didn’t really want it, she didn’t have the fondest memories of Lina. But she didn’t understand a lot of this half-blood stuff yet and wasn’t going to start by refusing Lilith.

“Err… thanks.” She ended up saying, and thankfully, Lilith laughed.

Eda leaped over the horses back, extending a hand to Luz. “Well? Are you coming?”

Luz hesitated for only a second. She thought about her mom back home, and how she was going to be wondering in a couple of hours why she wasn’t home from school. But she quickly pushed it down as she thought about what awaited her. She could call her when she got to camp.

Throwing the necklace over her shoulders and taking Eda’s hand, the women helped Luz sit behind her on the horse. Waving goodbye to Lilith with the promise to see her later at camp, Eda urged the Pegasus into a run down the alleyway. The horse began to pick up speed as they almost hit the busy street, before it leaped into the air, taking flight. Luz whooped in glee, feeling the wind blow through her face as she gripped the back of Eda’s cloak.

She looked down at the busy moving streets in Manhattan and realized with the confusion that nobody seemed to be looking twice at them.

“If I saw something as cool as this, I would have stared,” Luz mumbled to herself, almost offended nobody thought this was as awesome as she did.

She heard Eda laugh, and Luz’s cheeks flushed red. She hadn’t meant to be overheard.

“Mortals don’t see things the way we do. There’s a layer that covers their eyes from seeing our world. We call it the Mist.”

Soon, the Pegasus had left Manhattan, and the pair were flying over Queens. The view, while still being amazing, was starting to not be enough to keep Luz’s thoughts at bay. Turning to Eda, she realized she still had so many questions. Her eyes trained onto the little owl tucked onto Eda’s shoulder. Now that she’s looking at him, she realizes he looks 100% real. He coos softly into Eda and blinks it’s gold eyes brightly at her in a way that looks friendly.

“Owlbert is waiting for you to pet him,” Eda comments offhandedly, and Luz jumps back as though she was shocked.

“Owlbert?” She repeats back, and Eda nods her head. Taking that as enough encouragement, Luz hesitantly reaches forward and tickles the owl's tummy. He feels soft and warm, just like a real tiny owl. When she strokes him, he coos again happily.

“Owlbert's both a great weapon and a great companion,” Eda says with a smile, shooting Luz a wink. “A gift from a goddess after I helped her on a quest when I was just a little older than you.”

Luz lets herself process that information.

“My Mami said she didn’t want to send me to camp,” she eventually says, as though it’s some scandalous secret. “If it’s supposed to be a safe place for people like me… why wouldn’t she want me there?”

Eda hummed, and Luz picked up that Eda had been wondering the same thing. “Some parents want to protect their kids from this world. It’s dangerous, and the less you know the safer you are. That’s probably why you’ve been able to evade monsters like the empousai.”

“Lilith said the empousai was a servant of Hecate,” Luz commented, leaning over to look at Eda’s face. Her gold eyes were looking back at her playfully. “If my dad is a god, why would another god’s servant attack me?”

“Gods have been around much longer than us, Luz,” Eda said with a shrug. “They have a history that precedes any of us. Maybe your dad angered Hecate at some point.”

“But she looked scared when you said Hecate didn’t know she was there,” Luz pointed out, and Eda broke into a grin.

“You’re smarter than you look, kid. And I can’t say for sure why she was there, but a lot of weird stuff has been going on in our world recently.” She hummed thoughtfully, turning her eyes to look ahead once again. “Lily thinks it’s the reason we were called to Olympus. Your monster friend might have something to do with it.”

“She’s not my friend.” Luz retorted, biting her lip. “I don’t have any friends. People at school don’t like me.”

“You’re not the only weirdo out there,” Eda said, shrugging her shoulders. “None of us at camp fit in with the other mortals. That’s why Lily and I work so hard to keep the camp safe. Us weirdo’s have to stick together, you know? Camp Half-blood is our home.”

Luz felt her heart warm up at that, and she broke into a smile of her own. She liked the thought of that, being with people just like her in a place that genuinely felt like home. She had moved around so much, and been outcasted by so many kids her age, she had never known what that truly felt like. All she had was her Mami.

After the Pegasus left Queens, Luz wasn’t really sure where she was or where they were heading. But soon the smell of saltwater began to fill her nose, and Eda perked up in front of her.

“We’re close now. The camp is near Long Island Sound. Get ready to descend.”

Luz peaked over Eda’s shoulder, her stomach flipping in both nervousness and excitement. Eventually, the Pegasus swooped into a downward glide, and Luz got her first glimpse of the camp.

There were camp cabins stretched across what looked like a pavilion and a beach where she could see a few canoes. It looked like people eventually caught sight of the Pegasus, and when they saw Eda, they waved up at them. Most of the campers she saw were wearing orange t-shirts, and Luz noticed that a lot of them had some kind of weapon strapped to their belts.

Finally, the Pegasus touched down on a grassy field, and Luz could see a huge house with sky blue sliding sitting on top of a hill surrounded by strawberry fields. Luz breathed in a gasp. The place was beautiful.

Eda leaped off the Pegasus, and a crowd began to gather around them. Luz began to feel anxiety at the number of eyes staring at them, but then Eda extended a hand to her, shooting her a warm and excited smile.

“We're here, Luz. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”

[greekowl87]

Angst 5 and/or 10 I’m craving some angst

“I can't believe you did this, how could you?” / “This, us, was a fucking mistake and I should have known the second things went further than planned.”

A/N: I love me some good, old-fashioned angsts. Diana fueled angsts are my bread and butter so I thought I would try my hand at it. Again. So set around ‘Two Sons.’ I suck at smut so sorry if it sounds dumb :( And I apologize for it sound rushed. No beta. I just wanted to get this idea out while it was in my head. @today-in-fic @suitablyaggrieved @improlificinsarcasm @baronessblixen

On the bottom of the world in winter sunlight, Mulder gambled and won the thousand to one odds. He had found Scully in the maze of an alien ship, given her the vaccine, and somehow, they still escaped with their lives. Except, when they arrived back in D.C., they still didn’t have their old office back. The events in Dallas resulted in them being relegated to the bullpen where they were stuck doing background checks.

Mulder was certain, that despite the dire situation, Scully would have been transferred to Quantico either by the higher-ups or of her own accord. But each day he dragged himself to the office, she was sitting right behind him in the bullpen performing endless background checks. And things remained glacial between them; cold and frigid and unlikely to change anytime soon.

But he sensed it; they both did. They wanted to change. Whatever was left unspoken in the hallway of his Alexandria apartment before that blasted bee ruined everything hung in the air between them. You don’t go around professing that the person is their one and five billion without meaning it. But the tension between was palpable.

This Monday was no different.

Scully was already at her desk that morning when Mulder came in. He smiled and offered her a paper bag proudly. “What is that?” She arched her eyebrow. “A peace offering?”

“Breakfast. I stopped by the bakery you like so much in Old Town and picked it up on my way in.”

She took it cautiously. “What do you want?”

“What makes you say that?”

“No catch.” 

She took the offered pastry wearily. “Thank you, Mulder.”

“I actually wanted to see if you wanted to come over tonight,” he said slowly.

“Why?”

Mulder sat in his chair and choose his next words carefully. “No reason. Maybe watch a movie, enjoy a six-pack of Shiner Bock…discuss what I told you in the hallway.” He looked down at his hands. “I want there to be an us,” he finished.

“Mulder, not here,” she whispered sharply. She averted her gaze to focus on her computer.

“Scully, come on. We both can’t dance around what happened.”

Mulder watched her body language as she sighed and barely nodded. “Tonight. Seven. I’ll be there.”

He recognized the need for her control; if she at least came to his place, she could also choose to escape back to her Georgetown apartment if she wanted. He would take it. “Sounds great. I could order takeout? Italian?”

“Just pizza, Mulder,” she whispered. “Pizza and beer.”

He smiled and turned his chair around. Victory.

*****

The morning progressed agonizingly. Neither Mulder nor Scully was able to break away from the phone and the endless background checks. By eleven Mulder wrote, ‘I’m going to get something from the vending machine. Want your usual?,’ on a post-it note. Scully nodded shortly and mouthed ‘Thank you.’ “No, ma’am. I would never insinuate that. It’s a regular question,” she said softly.

Mulder smiled. A trained medical doctor who could easily leave the FBI and pursue a career in medicine choose to stay and with him no less. She really was his one and five billion. He got up and padded his back pocket for his wallet. Scully slammed the phone down angrily. “Everything okay?”

“I don’t remember my own background checks being so nasty,” she told him. “The woman basically called me a bitch and hung up on me!”

“Well, forget about it. Do you want a Butterfinger instead of the M&Ms?”

“No. I get that stuck in my teeth. Milky Way?”

“You got it,” he laughed. “Be back.”

“Thank you, Mulder.”

He was truly blessed with her. As he made his way to the vending machine, debating what to get for himself, a soft voice called, “Fox!”

He stopped dead in his tracks. No one called him that except one: Diana. He turned and gave a feeble smile. “Hi, Diana.”

“What are doing down here?”

Mulder awkwardly gestured to the vending machine. “Grabbing something to eat for Scully and me. Doing those background checks is hard work.”

Something changed in her demeanor. Diana stood taller, straightening her back so that her chest (and breasts) jutted out slightly. Mulder took a step back automatically, unused to someone else sharing his space beside Scully. “Well, if you are free today, I was wondering if you wanted to catch up over your lunch break down in the cafeteria today?”

Mulder was quiet for a second briefly thinking about Scully. He wasn’t stupid; he knew there was some tension between his partner and ex-wife. But Diana could be trusted. She had been there at the beginning. He understood that. Scully’s suspicion was in the wrong place. “Um, give me fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you there.”

Diana smiled and squeezed his arm affectionately. “See you in fifteen.”

Mulder quickly got his wallet and bought Scully’s candy bar. He walked back to his desk and deposited the candy bar on her desk and grabbed his jacket. She arched an eyebrow in surprise and put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “Where are you going?”

“Ran into an old friend that is only here for a day. Gonna have lunch with them.” One little white lie couldn’t hurt. “I’ll be back at one. Don’t worry, we’re still on for tonight.”

“Mushrooms and green peppers?”

“And pineapple for me.”

She wrinkled her nose with a smile. “Have fun.”

God, Scully could torture him with her little quirks.

*****

Despite the Milky Way Mulder had gifted her at 11 that morning, by noon, Scully’s stomach was grumbling. She eyed the clock as the bigger hand hovered at 12:02. She was entitled to her lunch break and didn’t have to worry about it since she no longer worked out in the field. Scully typed a few quick things out before she grabbed her card and headed down to the Hoover’s employee cafeteria. 

Her stomach continued to grumble and turn as she took the elevator to the first floor. Scully decided against her yogurt and bee pollen and wondered what healthy options she had. She checked the menu and decided on a Cobb salad before she proceeded into the line to get her lunch. Her mind was fluttering around the meeting with Mulder that evening. Were they going to finish that conversation? Her blood rushed with excitement.

As Scully went through the motions to purchase her Cobb salad, she clenched her lunch tray when she saw Mulder laughing with Diana.

Diana.

Scully prided herself in not trying to cast judgment, blame her Catholic upbringing. But she couldn’t help it. It was something about Diana that crawled under her skin. Then she saw Mulder laughing, grasping her hand as she leaned against his shoulder laughing too. Then there was the hand holding. What did it for her was the chaste kiss on the cheek that Diana did and Mulder didn’t stop it. Her blood crawled, growing icey. Suddenly, Scully’s appetite was lost and she dumped the contents of her lost lunch in the trash can wastefully. Scully wondered if she was dumping her lunch or her baggage regarding her potential relationship with Mulder.

*****

Mulder smiled at Scully as he came back from lunch. “Hey, Scully,” he greeted.

“Mulder.”

It was the change in her tone that caught him off guard. “Everything okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Sure?”

“Peachy, Mulder.” She looked up from her work. “I can’t make it tonight. My mom called. I’ll be in Bethesda tonight.”

Mulder did a double-take. “What about our plans?”

Scully didn’t look at him as she replied, “Maybe next time.”

Mulder sat down at his desk. What had gotten into her? “What about our plans?”

“I can’t tonight, Mulder. Maybe next time.”

Mulder frowned as she avoided him completely for the rest of the at.

*****

Scully’s apartment was her refuge. It was her domicile, her kingdom; it was all in her control. As soon as five o’clock hit, Scully quickly left and took the Metro back home to her apartment leaving a puzzled Mulder behind. As soon as she locked her door that evening, she dropped her briefcase by the door, kicked off her heels, and immediately went to their bedroom, changed into black leggings and an FBI gray sweatshirt and collapsed on her overstuffed couch and flipped it to HGTV. Let her be dissolved in fixing and flipping houses rather than fixing her relationship with Mulder.

*****

Mulder knew she took the Metro that day but instead of going straight home, he sat in his car, watching her apartment building before the light in her living room turned on. He downed a miniature he had gotten at a Virginia ABC store. Liquid courage. He took a deep breath, locked his car, and marched to her apartment door.

She pulled it open before he could knock.

“I saw your car,” she answered. She stood aside so he could enter. “What is it that you want?”

“I thought we had a date tonight.”

“We had no date,” she answered cooly.

Mulder scoffed accusingly. “I can’t believe you did this, how could you?”

“What on Earth are you talking about?”

She went to her fridge and dug out a bottle of white wine.

“So my mere presence drives you to drink?” He snapped.

“You’re being selfish. No. What I saw at lunch did it for me.”

Oh, Scully was ready to scorch and burn everything between them. “Lunch?”

“Diana.” She cast her typical questioning left eyebrow before pouring her own glass. “Want some?”

“Sure you won’t burn it?”

“Quit being an asshole.”

She pulled down a second glass and poured some wine into it as well. “I’m not.”

“You are.”

Mulder took the full glass wearily as sipped the pinot grigio. “You aren’t helping.”

“I’m mad.” She gestured between the glasses. “This doesn’t help but at this point, I’m sick of your shit and backtracking.”

“What the fuck, Scully,” he asked.

Mulder was still standing in the doorway with a glass of wine. He groaned and set it aside. He stormed toward her couch as she sat down and crossed her legs. Scully murmured, “What the fuck indeed.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She sighed and pinched her brow. “This, us, was a fucking mistake and I should have known the second things went further than planned.”

“What further things?”

“Beer? Talking? The hallway?”

“You aren’t making sense.”

Scully stared at him, narrowed her eyes and huffed. “You fucking kissed her, Mulder. Don’t give me bullshit lines that I’m your one and five billion when you’re off kissing other women.” She set down the glass of wine on the table with a thud. “If you want there to be an us, Mulder then come clean with me.” She stood up. Even without her heels, she was a giant. “I will fight for us but I won’t do it unless you’re all in too.”

Mulder eyed the glass of wine enticingly. “Diana is my ex-wife.”

“She’s your what?”

Fuck it. He downed the wine in one gulp. It numbed him briefly against Scully’s verbal assault.

“And you didn’t think that was important to mention?”

“Scully…”

She was on her feet now, pacing like a shark. “Don’t.   Mulder, I’m pissed. You’re dragging me along for months, pretending that I’m the only thing that matters and then boom, out to lunch with your ex.”

Mulder found himself floundering, stuck in the moment. “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to be honest with me, Mulder. What happened to trust no one???”

“I trust you,” he defended.

“Trusted. Past tense,” she shouted. 

Mulder was stunned. “Scully…”

“There is no us!” She continued. “You know I don’t trust her. I don’t like her but go around strutting with her.”

“Scully, she’s my ex-wife. She was there when I got the x-files.”

“And I was just assigned.” She scoffed. “I get it, Mulder. Loud and clear. You can leave.”

“I’m not leaving, Scully.”

“Mulder, leave. Please.”

“I’m not.” In frustration, Mulder stormed across her living room and grabbed her. He tried to use all his expertise to put his feeling into his body language. A kiss. They were both breathless. “I’m not leaving, Scully. There’s you and you only.”

Scully was dumbstruck. The power of their kiss paralyzed her. “How can I believe you?”

What followed was a hurricane of clothes being removed and six years of tensions being resolved. On her overstuffed couch with all the lights on, in Georgetown, of all places, The tv was playing something that seemed irrelevant to what had just perspired. Mulder coiled around her bare body and pulled her afghan closer. “I got to admit.” He kissed the back of her ear soothingly. “Your couch might be more comfortable than mine.”

“Hmm…” she hummed.

From literally tearing out their throats to post-coitus, neither could complain. “You know, I meant what I said in that hallway, Scully.”

She turned to face him and gripped him tightly. He felt himself tighten with pleasure (or was it fear?). “Say it.”

“Diana is the past. We’re the future.”

“Again.”

“Diana is the past. We’re the future.”

After a moment, Scully released him. He nuzzled her hair. “Satisfied?”

“I will be once we go to bed. I hate sleeping on this couch.”

“Even with the company?”

“The bed is better with the company.”

“Where does this leave us?”

“To be determined?”

“Better than a no.”

For the moment, all anger was forgotten and they could move forward, even if for a moment into her bedroom. And of course, the pizza was forgotten.

[mycatshuman]

I Put A Spell On You

Chapter 3

Down the Scary Path to the Sanderson Cottage

Previous | Next | More Chapters

Masterlist

Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality, Remile.

Warnings: I don't think there are any? Let me know if I missed any.

Thank you so so much to @civilsounds17 and @icequeenoriginal for beta reading! You are angels!💚💜💚💜💜💚💜💜💜💚💜

🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻

Roman cautiously picked up his costume and took one final look before he began to pull the costume on. First the pants, then a white t-shirt and then the jacket. Finally the sash and then he pulled on his shoes. He took a few moments to prepare himself before he turned around to look in the mirror. He was nervous. Incredibly nervous. He wasn't sure if what he saw in that mirror would be good. He wasn't sure that it wouldn't hurt him. He was terrified. What if he saw exactly what his ex saw? A childish immature teenager trying to play house.

He took a few moments to dig through the boxes in his closet, keeping his attention away from the sheet of glass sitting ready on the wall. After a couple of minutes of rooting through all the "childish" things, he took a deep breath and stood up, turning towards his reflection.

Roman inspected himself in the mirror. He looked good. He actually liked it. The costume felt right. But it also felt different. Despite having been working on the costume moments before his ex came in to break up with him, Roman had little to no reminders of him in the costume. Sure, when he looked at the gold stitching on the cuffs, he remembered the way his ex had come into the room. But it didn't really bother him now. The costume actually made him feel happier. He liked that. He liked feeling happy. He just hoped it lasted.

Roman adjusted the jacket again while he waited for his friends. The jacket was mostly white, with gold epaulets on the shoulders and gold stitching over his chest and on the cuffs. It had a high neck collar and a royal red sash laying across his chest. He paired it with a pair of black dress pants—pressed of course—and nice dress shoes. He had even attached his sword to his hip to complete the outfit. He was going out as a prince. It was a nice play on his last name. Patton would appreciate the pun. He let out a sigh and leaned closer to the mirror and fixed his hair for the tenth time before pulling back. The sound of the doorbell rang out through the house. His friends. Roman left his room and ran down the stairs, two at a time, he was excited. He did a quick peep out the peephole just to confirm his friends were in fact here. He opened the door with a broad grin.

"Awwwww!" Patton immediately squealed. "You look so amazing!!" He exclaimed. He bounded forward and gave a quick hug before pulling back and inspecting Roman's costume. "You look so princely!"

Roman grinned wide. A real smile this time. His first real smile in a while. "Well, you know a prince has got to slay." He chuckled. Then, "You guys look great!" He took in his friend's costumes. Patton was in a light blue polo, a grey cardigan wrapped around his shoulders and tan slacks. He had even traded his normal glasses for a pair of rectangular black framed ones. He looked like the embodiment of a typical dad.

Meanwhile, Emile was wearing his normal cream-colored sweater over top a white dress shirt. He paired it with a blue and pink tie and his normal glasses. He had a pair of nice slacks and some pretty comfortable looking shoes. In his hand, he held a notebook and pen and he had his backpack over the shoulder with him. (Hopefully empty of school books.) Roman smiled. He really loved his friends.

"Thank you so much, kiddo!"

"Thanks!"

Roman stepped outside and closed the door behind him. "So, are we ready to go?" He asked.

"Yes!" Patton exclaimed. He linked arms with Roman and Emile before beginning to walk down the walkway and out onto the sidewalk. "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of all!!!" Patton sang out with both Roman and Emile joining immediately. They began skipping down the sidewalk and made it about halfway down the block before they dissolved into giggles. They broke away and stopped to take a breath and rid themselves of the giggles.

"Maybe next year we should dress up as Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow," Roman suggested through giggles, his eyes smiling.

Patton let out an excited gasp. "That would be so much fun!" He exclaimed.

Emily's eyes lit up. "Oooo! We can work on our costumes together too!"

"And we can watch The Wizard of Oz while we work!" Roman chimed in as they set off walking again. Patton let his mouth pull into a content smile. It was good to see Roman smiling and laughing again. Really good.

The three walked down the sidewalk as other children ran by giggling with bags swinging, heavy with the sugary sweets gathered from their hunts through the neighborhoods of Salem. The three friends entertained themselves with random conversations. The type of conversations that don't always have a point of meaning to them but are enjoyed anyways due to the people a part of them. Eventually, they fell into a comfortable silence, simply opting to listen to cheerful shrieks from younger kids running around with bags of candy and fun costumes. Roman was happy his parents still had the key to the witches' cottage from their failed attempt to open a museum in the house all those years ago. He was actually looking forward to seeing the inside, and the fluttery feeling this being a life-changing adventure brought him more optimistic thoughts than he guessed it would.

However, the closer they got to the road leading to the Sanderson house, the colder it got. The trees held fewer leaves until eventually, they were all dead and dull brown and orange, burying the ground so that with each step, the crunch crunch crunching of once green leaves sounded beneath the three sets of feet as they traveled further and further from the fun-filled screams of trick-or-treaters. A mournful breeze blew past the group and they startled to find the tall, imposing wrought iron gates laid out before them. The three shared a nervous glance. "Looks like we're here," Roman whispered. It's not like there was anyone who could overhear them. It's not like there was a law that demanded a person had to whisper near any spooky home, but he still felt the need to whisper anyway. Patton nodded.

Emile glanced between the two. "So...who's going to open the gate?" He whispered.

"But what if it squeaks?"

The three glanced between each other for a few moments, a silent conversation passing between them. Logically, no one would be able to hear them open the gate, however, the fear still nipped at their hearts. Roman bit his lip as he turned towards the tall gates. He reached forward, his hand landing on the cool metal. He took a deep breath before pushing the gates open. The creak from the old hinges rang out, a deafening sound in the otherwise chilling silence. The three friends winced and shivers ran down their spines. After taking a few moments to gather their courage, they all took one step forward. Slowly, the group inched their way forward. Once they got to the steps they stopped. "Are you guys ready?" Roman whispered as he pulled the old key out of his pocket and waved it lightly. The other two nodded and then they stepped right up to the front door. Roman pushed the key into the lock and turned. Then he placed his hand on the knob. He took a deep breath. Then he pushed open the door to the Sanderson House, unaware of two sets of amber eyes staring at them from the darkness.

🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻

I Put A Spell On You Taglist: @maryann-draws @kittycake574 @partypoison1923 @i-need-you-buddy @ksallyyt

Everything Taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce @lyditist

[maedarakat]

Hrøkkva ——-

Summary: Tuff must deal with a death in the family that is personally painful to him, and feels alienated when his clan refuses to follow funeral tradition. A surprise visitor helps him come to terms with the loss.

———

The Hall was still and quiet, save for the scrape of benches across stone floors and the groan of the great doors opening to allow people inside. Chief Stoick had summoned the entire Thorston Clan, barring anyone else not part of the family. Such was the way with death-tidings; they were meant to be private.

This was hardly the first time either of the Twins had been here for such a thing. They had been younger then and death by dragon was just a normal part of life. Stoick, as their chief, had always led the families on Berk in such events, and he did so now - though his red hair was peppered with more grays than before. He made a large, protective figure with a calming voice that could just as quickly turn thunderous to break up squabbles.

Each time, as well as now, the Chief had made hot tea, blankets and sitting pallets available for the elderly and very young children. Slightly older children, if cold, were free to find the comfort of laps to rest on.

Tuff’s own legs were currently going numb, as well as his sister’s. Their four year old twin cousins, Tallownut and Candlenut, had wasted no time flopping across them in sulky exhaustion. Apparently their mother, Agnut, had been a bit cross with them on the way to the Great Hall.

He absently ruffled Candle’s golden locks and glanced over his shoulder as the Hall doors opened one more time, allowing sour-faced Cousin Lars and Uncle Londer. Tuff didn’t look at them long, turning to his sister. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to - she understood what he was thinking.

Those two only showed up if blood money had been sent along with the death-tidings, mostly to try and claim a greater share of it. Tuff’s curiousity was definitely piqued, and he wondered whose lips had been loose enough with such details that it reached their ears.

A death-tiding was a simple enough affair, made so in consideration for those who would grieve. As early as ten, Tuff recalled being ushered with his twin into the Hall to hear the saga of how valiantly the fallen had fought their enemy. People talked long if they had witnessed it, and anyone with even a minute detail was encouraged to speak up. Last words, honorable deeds if any, whether they suffered - all of these things were important to the family.

Following that, a kinsman, kinswoman or sometimes even a child was allowed to stand and vow to avenge the fallen - by taking up the same weapon that had killed them. In Berk’s case, it was simpler; the avenger promised before their Elders and Odin to take down the same kind of dragon on the next raid.

After that, they went home, sometimes with people weeping all around and sometimes just quietly numb. It wasn’t that uncommon for people to stay over at the Twins’ house. On many occasions he and Ruff helped Mom put pallets and blankets on the floor, and dragged their father’s chair away from the fire to let the elderly and little ones keep warm.

Children would cry usually, because the adults were and it scared them. By circumstance, Tuff had become the one who snuck them candy and told silly stories and jokes until they fell asleep in his arms. It had become his favorite task to do, with the added benefit of having an excuse to sit closest to the fire. Ruff would have been jealous, only she hated getting her hair yanked on by sticky fingers.

Seven days after, the family feasted together, with as much food and mead as everyone could spare during the lean times. They shared memories, laughed, raged, cried, brawled, drank toasts to the fallen and hoped they had reached Valhalla.

That was the Viking way, and the Thorston way - because it was so perfect already it didn’t need changed.

Now that there were no dragon raids however, a death-tiding was rare. And Stoick had specifically asked the Twins to make sure they were seated in front. Which didn’t happen unless . . .

Feeling Candle start to drool against his knee, Tuff absently wiped the little boy’s mouth off with a corner of his vest. He once again ran through lists of relatives in his head, trying to think of who they knew directly who hadn’t been accounted for or seen lately.

One name stood out stubbornly obvious above the rest, but he just as stubbornly refused to consider it.

Ruffnut elbowed him before he became too lost in thought and inclined her head toward the Chief, who was carrying something respectfully. He couldn’t make it out before it was set down though its shape was sickeningly familiar.

No.

Tuff’s body tensed and he looked away from the object to study the flagstones of the Great Hall instead. Candlenut shifted a bit, but thankfully remained asleep, as he heard his Aunt Hazelnut gasp.

Ruff nudged his shoulder repeatedly, though gently, until he looked up again to witness what he didn’t want to.

“To all your clan I bring this news,” Stoick was saying, “Death has taken one of your own, Gruffnut Thorston, aged but twenty summers. He was slain by dragon hunters. We have not recovered the body, but certain effects and an offering of gold have been returned to your clan as a gesture of recompense..”

Murmurs erupted through the Hall and even through the rush of horrified grief, Tuff felt an uncomfortable number of eyes fall upon him. Candle lifted his head sleepily, blinking, and Tuffnut felt his sister grasp his hand.

“Dragon hunters?” Hazelnut cried, standing. “My son has no dealings with dragon hunters! Why would they have harmed him!? He’s a good boy, he was just commissioned by a captain to join his crew in search of a lost treasure!”

Some people groaned, others snickered. Many of the Thorston clan were wise to all Gruffnut’s stories, but it was an impossible task to convince the boy’s mother that any of his tales were falsehoods.

Hazelnut was undeterred and pointed at Tuff, who flinched. “That’s the one who dealt with dragon hunters - my nephew - and no doubt he and his sister provoked them on his dragon! They must have mistaken my boy for him, and I demand further compensation from him!”

Immediately the Hall descended into arguing, some agreeing with Hazelnut and demanding justice, while others spoke up in Tuff’s defense - his sister being one of the loudest.

She had stood up so abruptly it nearly sent poor Tallow to the floor, but Tuff caught him with one arm and set him next to Candle on his knee. Both children looked around, read the angry mood and scurried out of Tuff’s arms, running to the safer haven of their mother’s. Although he couldn’t blame them, he was sorry to see them go.

Lost, Tuffnut looked to Stoick, who was looking right at him, expression somber. He held up a hand to bring silence to the quarreling voices. “Yes an identity was mistaken. However - HOWEVER -“ Stoick roared, and the voices again quieted. “It is not Tuffnut’s fault.”

“How is it not?” Aunt Hazelnut’s voice was full of venom and Tuff shrunk down a bit, unwilling to challenge her.

He felt someone sit between her glare and himself and smelled the familiar aura of comfrey and cloves that surrounded his mother, Madge. Likewise, Ruff sat back down to guard his other side, leaning her bony self against him in commiseration.

“Sister -“ Madge started calmly.

“Don’t you dare call me that!”

“Let our Chief shed further light on the matter, unless you are too afraid to hear it.”

That and the sudden razor sharp edge to Madge’s voice shut Hazelnut up, at least for the moment.

Stoick cleared his throat, looking beyond grateful he didn’t have to raise his own voice to a grieving mother.

“As I was saying, Gruffnut was already being pursued for crimes of his own - gambling with loaded dice it would seem.

“They mistook him for Tuffnut because that was the name he gave to them when he was caught cheating. And it was because of that false name that the men decided to kill him as a spy, rather than keep him hostage for repayment of his debts.”

A general murmur of dismay went up, and Aunt Hazelnut’s face turned slowly white with humiliation. She crossed her arms and went deathly quiet, glaring at the floor. Tuff almost felt sorry for her.

“His death was swift, I’m told, and there were no words. The tribe of hunters’ new leader wants no quarrel with Berk and so he sent along these tidings, Gruff’s belongings, and three of the arrows that killed him. He also sent gold, enough to recompense - “

“How much?” Hazelnut transformed from a grieved mother to a coldly shrewd one in less than a second flat. Beside him, Ruff snorted and muttered something under her breath, but Tuff went cold with horror.

Being humiliated in front of everyone was harsh, but still . . . she was his cousin’s mother.

“That much?” One elder spoke, and Tuffnut realized he’d missed the Chief’s answer. “That’s more blood money than I would have ever asked for that lout!”

“Right, and now I think some of it should go to me, to replace all the grapes that boy ‘sold’ from my vineyard two summers ago. Don’t shake your head at me, woman! You’ll have more than enough left over -“

More arguing, and instead of over who would attend Gruff’s honor - who would avenge him, lay him to rest with fire, host the feast - it quickly dissolved into a cacophony of who should get what percentage of gold.

Tuff shook off his sister’s hand and jumped to his feet, face white.

“Send it back!” he yelled, so furiously and suddenly that Stoick actually blinked in shock. The arguing tapered off into stunned silence, but Tuffnut looked nowhere else but at the man in front of him. “Send the gold back, Chief, and give me an arrow. I take responsibility and I’ll avenge him myself!”

He held out his hand, and ignored the sound of Londer and Lars laughing  uproariously from the back of the Hall. “Go ahead, boyo! Maybe they’ll send us more gold if it’s really you they kill off this time!” Lars called.

Stoick gave the man a cold glare, then turned back to regard Tuffnut kindly. “I’m sorry, son. When blood money is sent, it is the entire clan that must decide whether vengeance is to be meted out, and the gift of peace to be rejected. What happened was an accident, and had Gruffnut been truthful, then he would be sitting here alive among all of you.”

Tuff lowered his hand, eyes stinging. He turned to face his sister, mother, the rest of his clan. “And what does the clan say? Was Gruffnut not our kin? Are the dragon hunters not already our enemies? Does he really mean so little to all of you that you’d forget your own blood to accept this guilt money?”

He grit his teeth against the memory that played out in his head: his abandoned cousin shouting up from the beach that they were of the same blood. The last time Tuff had ever seen him alive.

“Sit down, boyo,” called Uncle Filbert, waving his arm. “As you’ll do well to remember, Gruffnut never even passed initiation into the clan. Furthermore he died by his own cheating hand, as the Chief said. Mistaking him for you was unfortunate, but again his own doing. That’s two ways he brought his own death upon himself, those arrows that pierced his flesh were fully provoked. Avenging him would only further our family’s humiliation.”

Tuff’s stomach dropped as Filbert’s words made others raise their voices in agreement and even prompted some applause. His chest hurt and he sat down when his sister tugged him to this time.

“Hey, bro, it’s not your fault,” she murmured. “Apparently Stoick had us sit up front so he could protect us if things turned into a free-for-all. Guess he overestimated how upset everyone would be.”

That only made him feel worse. Their cousin was dead and again voices began to raise, haggling, bartering, arguing over the gold - creating a nauseating din.

“ENOUGH!” roared Stoick, all but splitting the table with a crash of his fists. Immediate silence descended. “I cannot believe what I am hearing! Deciding against vengeance is wisdom in this case, but haggling for blood money is a disgrace in the eyes of the Gods!

“If no vengeance is declared for Gruffnut Thorston and the gift of gold accepted by Gruffnut’s mother, then you will now discuss preparing your clan’s feast as you return to your homes. I want no reports to come back to me of any harassments, brawls or fist fights over this matter, or by Odin there will be cracked skulls to contend with!”

There was no arguing with that. People began to rise and collect their children, fold up blankets.

Stoick said nothing as Hazelnut walked up and took the pouch of gold, pausing to look at the collection for a moment before coldly turning to leave. She did not take anything else of her son’s.

Tuff stared miserably at his cousin’s lopsided helmet, sitting forlornly next to the bloodstained arrows, a few armbands, and the familiar tooth necklace. He found that he suddenly couldn’t see anything through his tears.

Swallowing hard, he covered his eyes with his hand, trembling and barely aware of Ruff and Madge’s attempts to soothe him. A large presence made him look up to see his Chief, features gentle, though slightly distorted through the wetness.

“I’m sorry, son. Hiccup told me what happened out there on the Edge. I know despite everything he did, you cared for him. You spoke bravely for your cousin’s honor today, and I want you to know I’m proud of you. Here.”

Stoick took Tuff’s hand gently and set the toothed necklace Gruff had always worn in his palm. “I think he’d want you to have this.”

Tuff said nothing, but he closed his hand around the pendant tightly.

Gruffnut wouldn’t have wanted him to have this.

There were no words to describe how much that hurt.

——-

He didn’t come out of his room at all the next day, not even to eat.

Ruff had tried only once to get him up. When she saw his face, she sighed and left him to do their chores.

At some point he woke up to a plate with a piece of boar bacon at his bedside table and a fried egg on toast. He didn’t even remember eating it, but it was  gone when he next looked.

Tuff wasn’t really aware how long it had been, lying curled on his bed, clutching the tooth pendant so hard it left imprints in his palm.

In jagged bursts throughout the day, he cried until his head hurt, not fully sure why but unable to stop. For once, Tuff hadn’t wanted his sister near him, which she had seemed to understand, reluctantly giving him space. He’d barely even wanted Chicken, who Ruff had taken great pains to smuggle in past Hardsell.

This wasn’t something he felt right to accept comfort for.

Not when he was safe in his own bed, staring up at his own darkening ceiling, with his hen snuggled against his ribs.

Not when Gruff’s body was Loki-knew-where, possibly fed to Whispering Deaths. Or sunk in the ocean, ice cold and nibbled by sharks, with nobody to care to see him off to . . . wherever he was supposed to be going.

Tuff sat up suddenly, breath catching and making Chicken tumble off the bed, squawking and ruffling her displaced feathers back into place. He padded over to the window with bare feet, opening it wide and letting cold air and snow rush in. He took a breath and recited the prayer to the night sky, to any god still awake to listen.

It was useless - he had no arrow, no fire, and no boat -  but the prayer he could at least say out loud.

“There do I see my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters -“

He recited it perfectly, all the while unable to stop thinking about where Gruff physically was right now.

Was he scared? Could he still feel cold after he died? Could he feel the pain of torn flesh? Worst of all, had he seen and heard his own kin - his mother - turn their backs on him in the Hall?

Freezing air made Tuff’s breath turn into clouds. He stood at the window shivering and thinking of unpleasant realities for far too long, before finally giving into despair and closing out the cold.

Head pounding in dehydrated misery, he crawled back under the covers and fell into an exhausted sleep.

———

“Tuff!”

The voice wasn’t angry but it was loud, enough to jolt him back into guilty awareness. Bright blue eyes peered into his - not the right shade to be his sister’s.

“Hey, are you okay? I heard what happened. I’m sorry.” Astrid hugged him, and he awkwardly hugged back. “You know it wasn’t your fault, right? If anyone told you it was, you tell me and I’ll deal with it.”

Her tone was fierce as well as worried and it made him look away, suddenly wanting nothing to do with this interaction. It wasn’t Astrid’s fault, he just . . .

It was his fault. He’d left Gruff behind, he’d been so angry with them. Granted, he hadn’t left him penniless, but still - trouble was his cousin’s currency and Tuff should have known he’d find more of it than he could handle.

His friends refusing to admit it didn’t change a thing.

He heard Astrid sigh and felt her loop her arm around his, taking him to the Great Hall where the others were likely eating breakfast. Tuff barely remembered getting out of bed and dressing to leave the house. He wasn’t sure if he wanted company, but he also didn’t have the energy to refuse.

Dragging his feet only a little, he let her lead him to their table, not looking up. Fishlegs moved to make room and Tuff’s mouth went abruptly dry as his friends greeted him. His mind scrambled for an excuse to break free and run home, but of course he couldn’t think of one. Miserable, he sat down, refusing to look at anyone.

“Hey, Tuff,” Hiccup greeted amiably. Tuff simultaneously wanted to punch and hug him. Hiccup had been there when Gruff betrayed him - each time. He was probably relieved their cousin couldn’t hurt him anymore.

Tense as a wire, he nodded back at him in greeting. “Hey.”

A meaty arm pulled him into a side hug. That would be Fishlegs, who gave the best comforting hugs, but Tuff didn’t feel like one. When he didn’t react other than freezing up and going expressionless, Fishlegs looked at the others worriedly. “I think he might be in shock,” he said quietly and Tuff very nearly snapped at him that he wasn’t.

“So, dragon hunters, huh?” Snotlout said, not bothering to be subtle. Tuff was almost relieved. “Come on, spill - what stupid thing did Gruffnut do to- OW!”

There was a shriek and sure enough, when Tuff looked over Astrid had Snotlout’s arm twisted behind his back and his face pressed against an empty, greasy dish on the table. “What is wrong with you!?” she snapped, livid.

“He pretended to be me,” Tuff said, surprising himself by answering. “While swindling them out of their money. He got caught. So they thought not only was he a thief, but also a dragon-rider, sent to spy on their operation and free some dragons. They killed him, and figured out he wasn’t me, so they sent home his helmet and some gold.”

“Did you get any?” Snotlout asked, still pinned. Astrid dug her elbow viciously into his spine. “Hey, ow! I’m just asking!”

“I didn’t want the stupid blood money, I wanted vengeance!” Tuffnut snapped, heatedly. Fury had made his voice far too loud. There was a brief silence in the Hall as other heads turned. He dropped his face into his hands, not able to take the shocked expressions before him. “Sorry,” he muttered faintly.

Astrid let go of Snotlout to sit next to him. “It’s okay. You probably have a lot of mixed emotions right now,” she said, trying to soothe him. “Gruff was your cousin, but . . .”

“He scammed you guys over and over,” Fishlegs put in. “He tried to steal your dragon, ruined your coming of age trials, not to mention your birthday, and he nearly got you killed on that Hunter ship.”

“That doesn’t mean he deserved to die,” Tuff muttered defiantly. “And it doesn’t mean he deserves to go unavenged either.”

“Of course it doesn’t, that’s not what we’re saying.” Hiccup reached over to take Tuff’s hand. “We just don’t want you to blame yourself for any of this. This is obviously very hard on you, given how much you trusted and looked up to him your whole life.”

Tuff didn’t reject Hiccup’s hand, but he shook his head. “You guys don’t get it. This isn’t about me, it’s about him. He’s dead - he was killed by these guys. He’s never going to get to come home and visit his mom, he’s . . . he’s gone. Am I really the only one who cares about that?” he asked plaintively.

His friends looked taken aback. “Well, it’s sad,” Astrid said hesitantly. “But we’re honestly more worried about you. Stoick told us how you stood up to your entire clan for him. Tuff, you have more kindness in you than you like to show sometimes, and we all know it’s there. It’s no surprise to anyone that you’d feel so much pity for Gruffnut.”

“Pity?!” Tuff abruptly got off the bench. “I don’t pity Gruffnut! I’m not a ‘kind’ or ‘nice’ person for mourning for my own cousin! For eighteen years of my life, Gruff was the one who would make time for me. He answered my dumb kid questions, showed me where to steal the best food, got me into all kinds of trouble! And if it was all him lying or just using me, I don’t care! I still felt happiness from it, because he was paying attention to me!”  

Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Astrid were staring at him in guilty dismay, while Snotlout was strangely wet-eyed.

“I’m angry at him for lying and doing what he did. I want to punch him in his stupid face and demand why he didn’t just ask me for help with his stupid debts instead of endangering me, my sister and our dragon, and then I want to help him get his shit together and lead a normal semi-honest life! But now? I can’t, because he’s dead, and I will forever wish death and painful dismemberment on the ones who took his life before we were through!”

His eyes were stinging and more than just the dragon riders were staring at him at this point in his tirade, but Tuff didn’t care. He wiped his arm across his face angrily. “And I don’t care if it makes me a fool. H-He still matters to me if no-one else.”

When his friends remained quiet, not knowing what to say, Tuffnut turned and swiftly left the Hall, refusing to look at anyone.

--------

Whether a man was sick, dead, or grieving, the chores of keeping a house never went away. 

Animals and dragons still needed fed and tended, pens and stalls kept clean. This winter was as cold as any and right now the house was low on chopped firewood.

Hardsell had one job other than hold down the chair and drink his ale, and that was making sure the fire didn’t go out - and it was only his job because Madge had no trouble letting him sit like a fool in front of an empty hearth to freeze.

He was fat and hungover and in no mood to swing an axe this morning, so he boxed Tuff’s ear at the table on the way to retrieve his fur cloak. “Get off your arse and come help me chop.”

Surprisingly instead of arguing, Tuffnut got up and followed him. The boy had been like that for days now, sullen and quiet and while Hardsell didn’t miss the cheek Tuff normally showed, he couldn’t help but feel unsettled by the change. There were dark circles under the boy’s eyes, which had lost their brightness and become dull. His casual smile had gone, replaced with a thin line, and he barely ate, despite his sister and mother's fervent attempts to make him.

Hardsell no longer felt like shaking the mischief out of him everytime he saw him, mostly because there was none. Though he hated to admit it to himself, that gave him some niggling sense of concern.

“You haven’t flown that dragon lately, which explains why that sister of yours is in such a foul mood. You’re going to take her out on that beast this afternoon and do something other than sulk, understand?”

Tuff nodded, wordlessly picking up the axe that leaned against the woodshed. Hardsell didn’t press the issue, looking oddly embarrassed, and started hauling big logs out of the shed, setting them on the ground and going back for more.

He kept an eye on the boy, watching him pause to tie his hair back and up out of his face, twisting it so those stupid braids of his stuck out every which way. Tuff picked up the axe and began chopping.

He was awkward at first, unused to the job, but soon the pile of split wood started to fill the wheelbarrow almost faster than Hardsell could haul out the logs. The man glanced at Tuff’s face after a half hour and saw a cold rage that he’d never seen before.

Up went Tuff’s arms, and then down the maul crashed, splitting the logs with almost too much force now, sending the halves flying. It was vaguely worrying, and Hardsell watched him for a long moment before going back for more logs. On the plus side, the boy’s anger would split enough wood for the whole week, and Hardsell was going to take the opportunity to be lazy.

He almost missed the black haired girl approaching, so intent was he on watching Tuff, that when she was suddenly addressing them, he was startled enough to drop a thick log on his foot. Wincing and grumbling, Hardsell stepped aside, arms folded over his chest and watching her come closer, softly speaking his son’s name.

Tuff paused and looked at her in surprise, maul still over his head to swing down. He set it down slowly and turned to face her -the first time Hardsell had seen the hint of a smile on his face since before the death-tiding.

A quick glance at her waistline assured Hardsell that she wasn’t in the family way, and he shrugged, going to pick up the scattered wood to throw into the wheelbarrow. Let Tuff talk to his sweetheart or whoever; it saved him the trouble of trying to deal with the boy's feelings. Hardsell refused to address the slight relief he felt as he carted the wood back to the house to stack it.

He did however glance over his shoulder with a sly grin, impressed despite himself. Whoever she was, the girl was a beauty.

He was going to be nice for once, and take his sweet time stacking the wood.

---------

“Heather,” Tuff said, voice quieter than she’d ever heard it. Fishlegs hadn’t been wrong to worry in his letter. Tuff looked stretched thin and exhausted, and she recognized his expression all too well.

It had been the same one she saw in the mirror, every day after Dagur had sprung the trap early at the shipyard, had left that farewell note on her bed  . . .

“I thought I’d come visit Berk, but you weren’t with the others. Everything okay?”

“. . . no.”  Tuff’s voice was brittle and it made her draw closer. He stared at her, looking oddly lost.

Heather sat down on the stump, leaving enough room for him to sit next to her - an invitation which he took without prompting.

“So, tell me about it.”

Haltingly at first, he told her everything. Heather listened, watching tears run down her friend’s face and at times putting an arm around him, but letting him vent.

“The family’s n-not holding a feast for him. Not going to take vengeance, not going to send a boat off, not going to remember him at all. He’s the cautionary tale now - that’s how he’s being remembered.

“I tried - I really tried yesterday to talk Aunt Hazelnut into taking his helmet back, maybe putting it somewhere in a window, just so he can kind of, sort of be home again,” Tuff was saying, wiping the heel of his hand over his cheek and leaving a dusty smudge. “But she shut the door in my face and she wouldn’t open it again and I couldn’t just leave it there because what if she throws it away?”

Heather bit her lip. Tuff was heartbroken by his family’s decision, on top of Gruffnut’s death, on top of his cousin’s betrayals. She couldn’t fix it, but she could understand where a good part of his pain was coming from.

“That’s not all that hurts, is it? You want to yell at him and hug him at the same time because he was an idiot, and you want to understand why he did the things he did. So you can forgive him.”

A sudden intake of air, and then a sob was her answer. Tuff buried his face in his hands.

Heather took no joy in the fact she’d hit the mark, and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said gently, feeling guilty. And it wasn’t because her brother had survived, had turned his life around, had been able to mend their relationship.

It was because she’d also felt hollow and dead inside for weeks afterwards, thinking of how it was her fault. Thinking she’d turned away the only family she had left, and angrily rebuffing anyone who tried to make her feel better.

She hadn’t felt as though she deserved to feel better. 

When Astrid had finally gotten through to her that night, had finally made her talk and cry it out, and grieve - it had been both cathartic and horrifyingly miserable.

Right now she was doing the same necessary evil to her friend, and his sobs hurt to listen to.

Heather adjusted her wolf-trimmed cloak so that she could drape some of the heavy warmth around Tuff.

“Tell me about him,” she coaxed after he’d quieted a bit. “I never did get to meet your cousin. Who was Gruffnut Thorston to you?”

“H-He was a jerk. But he was cool and weird and everything I wanted to be. I used to follow him everywhere, and he just let me. Once when I was five, he showed me how to sled on Dad’s old shield,” Tuff offered, after a silence. “I went too fast, crashed horribly, broke the shield and part of the neighbor’s yak pen. Got my ears boxed but it was still fun. Gruff laughed so hard his face nearly turned purple.”

He was smiling faintly. Heather nudged his shoulder with hers encouragingly, until he started telling another story, and another.

As he talked, he painted a picture for her of how things had been between them. It hadn’t mattered to him that Gruff’s heroic stories never seemed to line up; they’d been awesome because Tuff had loved him.

“How . . . How did you not go after those hunters when you thought Dagur was dead?” Tuff asked eventually. “I mean, I was totally expecting you to sneak off, both of us were. Hoping you would, actually, because then we would’ve helped.”

“I figured that much,” Heather smiled, feeling warmed by that. “And I did want to, but I also didn’t want to put all of you in danger. I knew it would change nothing, it wouldn’t bring Dagur back. But Gods, did I want to wreck them. In the end, whenever we went on missions, I just kicked a little more ass and a little harder than I normally would. I thought of Dagur every time I did, and to tell you the truth? Even though he’s alive and well, I still go just the tiniest bit overboard for almost losing him.”

Tuff relaxed against her, looking tired but more like himself.

“It’s three more days to when we would’ve had a feast. Gruff knew this place by the Eastern markets, where they have lots of great food and very unsavory people coming into port. Those Hunters have been known to sell trapped helpless dragons there to avoid certain tariffs,” he mused, and Heather raised a curious eyebrow. 

“And Hiccup never said we couldn’t - I don’t know, free captive dragons whenever we saw them caged up. Also, the question of collateral damage just seems kinda open for interpretation.”

She saw where he was going with this and grinned sharply. “Count me in. I’m sure Dagur is definitely good for it. My brother’s been spoiling for a fight.”

“Well, I’m not going to say no to two attractive Berserkers. Especially if one of them’s a redhead.” He winked.

Heather cracked up and lightly punched his shoulder before getting up. Tuff stood with her, though he looked serious.

“Hey, Heather? Thank you.” He wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace and she hugged him back just as tightly. “Thank you for everything, for listening to me.”

She kept him in the hug, the moment only ending when Tuff’s stomach growled. “Anytime. Now go eat something.”

Laughing sheepishly, he waved goodbye to her and started down the slight hill to his house. Heather watched him go, glad she could do something.

——-

The raid had gone rather well, actually. The riders had freed at least ten dragons, four of them being Zipplebacks with beautiful rare blue markings. It had cost the hunters far more than the blood money they’d sent to Berk, as had the two ships the Twins completely decimated, via Barf and Belch’s explosive gas.

That would teach them to mess with a Thorston.

Exhilarated and singed, once they landed on the relative safety of a sea-stack, the Twins lifted Heather off her feet in a bear hug. They tried to do the same to Dagur, but he smirked and went deadweight, knocking them all over and nearly flattening them, sending Heather into a fit of laughter.

“I gotta hand it to your cousin,” Dagur said later, once they were flying back to Berk. He popped another crab cake into his mouth and hummed with appreciation. “He definitely knew where the best grub is. Mmm, it’s so spicy, I love it!”

Tuff smiled at him, oddly shy. A light punch on his arm made him look at Ruff beside him, who was smirking. “Thanks for coming with me, sister.”

“Are you kidding? I may not have been as fond of Gruffnut as you were, but I’m not gonna turn down a chance to blow shit up and bring some honor to the Nut name.”

She grabbed his collar and headbutted him, making their helmets spark.

“So how mad do you guys think Stoick is going to be when he finds out where you two have been?” Dagur teased. Being Berserkers, he and Heather naturally had immunity.

Ruff chuckled. “I got it covered. I’m just gonna tell him you and my brother went on a romantic moonlit flight, and Heather and I had to chaperone you two.”

Dagur promptly choked on his next crabcake and Tuff burst out laughing, guiding Barf and Belch closer so he could pound the man on the back. He horked it out and wiped his mouth. “Thank you, Boynut,” he croaked, face tinged red with more than coughing. Tuff’s face was honestly no better.

They flew off toward home, already making plans to do it again next week.

Below them, gleaming in the flames of the last Hunter ship, a lopsided helmet perched on the mast, sinking slowly toward Valhalla.