#well someone not my elderly mom when she needs to move in with me anyway | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ushidoux · 4 years ago

Text

Someone Else’s - Sakusa x Reader x Ennoshita

Summary: Ennoshita hasn’t completely moved on, but the love of his life has. NSFW. (~3148 words +/- due to editing)

A/N: I’m so sorry to Ennoshita stans. Also special thanks to @bokutosmommy for helping me bounce off ideas.

---

“Thank you so much, Ennoshita-san!”

Ennoshita smiled warmly as he helped the elderly woman he was treating off the examination table. She wobbled ever so slightly as she got onto her feet, and gripped tensely onto his arm but Ennoshita held her steady, reassuring her that she had him.

“Oh, you truly are such a kind young man. And my, it is truly a shame that you haven’t yet been snatched up!”

He let out a small pacifying laugh - this topic was frequent during their sessions, and as sweet as she was, the old lady had offered up everyone from her grandchildren to her nieces around his age, and he truly wasn’t in the mood to politely look at another stranger’s picture off her flip phone on this particular afternoon.

Especially not when the first thing that had come to mind when awakening this morning was the woman who had broken his heart, someone he had actually planned to propose to just days before she broke up with him before disappearing without a trace.

“I’m too busy working hard in order to take care of patients like you to think about dating!” He joked as he helped lead her out to the exit. As he walked her down, he snuck a glance at the clock in the hallway, noting that he was a couple minutes late for his next patient.

He let out a sigh internally. The young man to be seen next on his list was particularly impatient and wouldn’t be happy to wait even for a second. He hoped that by the time he made it back to the room, the technicians had at least turned the room over and taken his vitals.

By the time Ennoshita made it back to the room, he could see that the professional volleyball player he had been working with for the past month had already arrived, and was sitting in the corner of the room with legs crossed and fingertips pressed together.

“Good afternoon, Sakusa-san,” Ennoshita greeted formally.

Sakusa Kiyoomi did not answer immediately, peering up at him with dark eyes over a white surgical mask. He then gave a brief nod and stood up, pulling off his jacket and draping it neatly over the back of the chair, before sitting on the examination table.

He now looked at Ennoshita expectantly. Ennoshita kept his face kind as usual - even though Sakusa did grate on his nerves just a little, doing his best to sympathize with his cold behavior. Patellar tendon injuries were common in volleyball players but they were also incredibly frustrating, and Ennoshita, having played volleyball himself back in high school, knew something or another about frustration. Plus Sakusa was known for being more than a little abrasive at baseline, at least based on what his old high school teammates had told him.

“Did you do the exercises?”

“Mm.” At least Sakusa was willing to follow instructions.

The session went smoothly as usual, and because Sakusa made little effort to engage in conversation, Ennoshita found his mind wandering briefly intermittently.

It’s hard to believe that you were once part of the team that beat Shiratorizawa that year, Sakusa had told him flippantly the first day they’d met. Of course, he thought that; aside from the old ladies he worked with, Ennoshita wasn’t particularly outstanding and he was painfully aware of that fact.

Even she had told him this right before he and his last girlfriend had broken up. She had been so harsh then, but even he recognized it was true. He was a safe choice, someone you don’t hesitate to present to mom and dad but don’t also brag about to your friends, someone who was dependable but you could never be desperate to be with. He had worked on that over the past year, attempting to be more outgoing, picking up a few hobbies that would make him “interesting” like mixed martial arts and salsa dancing.

Maybe he’d impress her if they ever met again.

But for now, his life was pretty routine, unlike guys like even Sakusa before him who commanded attention (whether unwillingly or not) whenever they entered a room and were still entrenched in the fast-pace and exciting world of volleyball.

“We’re done here, right?” Sakusa said, abruptly.

Ennoshita looked at the time, and noted that the thirty minutes were almost up. “Yeah, let me go get the sheet for your next set of exercises,” he said, turning around to go through a set of folders on a shelf.

While he rummaged, behind him, there was a brief knock on the door right before the door swung open and soft, light footsteps ran in.

“Omi, we’re going to be late!”

“I told you to wait outside, stop being so clingy,” he snapped back.

And Ennoshita turned around so fast he almost got whiplash - he could recognize that voice, your voice anywhere - and stared right at you, your arms affectionately wrapped around Sakusa’s shoulders while he was trying to shake you off with irritation.

You froze, the smile on your face fading, replaced with your mouth opening just slightly in shock. Ennoshita froze, the packet of exercises he was prepared to hand Sakusa slipping out of his fingers as he stood still, falling to the ground in a loud flutter.

“Chi-kun,” you whispered under your breath, your eyes wide and your heart thumping in your chest.

“___...”

You inhaled sharply, and reflexively your arms withdrew from where they rested around Sakusa’s neck, and while Sakusa had made a big deal of resisting your affection, the fact that you stopped so quickly at the sight of another man awakened a different type of discontentment in him.

“Why…” Ennoshita started, but the rest of his sentence died in his throat. Why were you here? Why were you with him? Why did you leave?

Why now?

“I… um… fuck,” you started, then stopped, shame now washing over you as you remembered how cruel you were before and how cruel you were being this very moment. You had no explanation for the fact that you had refused to answer his calls or texts, and barely offered him any type of closure aside from You’re frankly kind of boring, and I’m not sure I want to be with you anymore.

And to see each other again, right in front of your boyfriend who was quite... particular? This wouldn’t end well.

You found yourself rushing to leave the room, but suddenly Sakusa’s hand clamped around your wrist as you turned and he pulled hard, almost yanking you back to his side.

“Where are you going, babe?” He asked with a smirk, not looking at you but instead directly at Ennoshita who had in mere moments turned from unwitting ally to absolute enemy. He seemed to shake like paper, and Sakusa could almost read the unwritten history between you all written all over his face, and it made him angry. Maybe even furious.

Had his precious little girl also fucked this guy? Really?

Clearly so, because you never resisted his touch usually, in fact you craved it, and now you were all but worming your way out of his grasp which he kept like iron, obvious panic in your eyes as you pleaded for him to let you leave the room.

“L-let me talk to you in the car,” you half-whispered, half-begged.

“About what?” Sakusa replied coolly, his voice much louder than needed to be.

The way you looked now to Ennoshita was like a trapped mouse and he could no longer bear it. Why couldn’t Sakusa be gentle with you? Didn’t he know you liked to be treated softly and with care? He had always treated you like you were gold, after all.

Were you the girlfriend Sakusa complained about every so often? The one who was very sweet but overbearing? The only reason why he showed up to this place session after session after all instead of bearing the discomfort and heading back to the courts as soon as possible?

“P-please let go of her,” Ennoshita eked out in a small voice, keeping his gaze down. “It’s just that s-she and I knew each other from before and… it must be very awkward-”

Sakusa suddenly cut in with a laugh.

“Shut the fuck up. I didn’t ask.”

Ennoshita looked up with shock mirroring your own as you both watched him in surprise. Sakusa let go of your wrist, and you subconsciously rubbed the sting out of the tender skin. He walked across the room, stopping right before Ennoshita who again tensed reflexively, and bent down to pick up the dropped packet.

“This was mine, right?” He confirmed as he rose to his full height, his smile again dark as he looked down towards Ennoshita. Ennoshita nodded slowly, and you could almost hear him swallow hard.

“I’ll just take what’s mine and leave then,” he said, now moving past Ennoshita to grab his jacket. Reaching into his pocket, he replaced his face mask then walking towards you, pulled out a second one to hand to you before gripping your hand firmly again.

“Thanks for all of your help!” His voice stunk of mock cheer. For you, he unwrapped the individually wrapped face mask and dangled it before you by the tips of his fingers.

“I told you to wear these, at least when you’re in the hospital. These people are disgusting.”

And with that, Sakusa walked out hand in hand with you, the love of Ennoshita’s life.

---

“Why did you do that, Kiyoomi?”

You had spent most of the ride back to Kiyoomi’s apartment in silence, but you knew by how tightly Sakusa was gripping the steering wheel and the furrow in his eyebrow that he was probably scowling underneath his face mask the entire time. Any other time you would have reached for his free hand, and maybe he would have scowled about the unnecessary physical contact and asked you if you had sanitized your hands first before begrudgingly accepting your touch, but you would have smiled anyway and gently stroked the palm of your weird, grumpy Omi.

Any other time. But right this very moment, he deserved the opposite of compassion.

Sakusa gave you a very brief, aggravated look, then turned back to the road before him. He scoffed, noticing your pursed lips and the crossed arms over your chest. You were practically as angry as he was, stewing quietly in the passenger seat.

How dare you.

“Oh, did I hurt your ex’s feelings? Is that why you’re upset?”

“Omi…,” you said in a small, yet stern voice.

“Don’t ‘Omi~’ me. He looked at you like you fell out of the sky. Like you were an angel from above. Not like the dirty slut you are-”

“Kiyoomi!”

He scoffed, gripping the steering wheel even tighter with both hands now.

“Don’t act like you don’t beg me to call you that when you’re bent over and I’m balls deep inside your guts. What’s the difference right now? Aren’t you always my dirty slut? Do you want me to respect you now? Is that what he did? Give you respect? Who the fuck does he think he is?”

The blood was starting to rush to your face and you wanted to scream at him for being an asshole as usual, but you could tell he was only getting more riled up by the second. You bit your lip and held your tongue, ready to unleash the moment he parked.

But before you could say a single word the second he turned off the ignition, now that you were in the quiet, covered lot outside of his apartment complex, he reached across to your side of the car, all but ripping off the mask on your face (and his). Jerking your chin to his with the tips of his fingers, he smashed your lips to his in a kiss that was so intense, you were sure it contained most if not all the violence he had held back just minutes earlier.

Minutes that felt like seconds passed as his tongue forced itself down your throat and teeth grazed against lips and you lost the ability to breathe and to think and you were mad on whose behalf?

All that mattered was that you got more from Omi, you wanted more from your Omi, and now you had traversed the car’s console to straddle your Omi in the driver’s seat and you were now grinding against him, and he was now pulling away -

Oh, why was he pulling away?

Breathy pants now parted your swollen, red, wanting lips and your half-lidded eyes took in the lustful eyes staring at your lips and the half-smirk now on his visage, the one that made it obvious that he knew he had already won you over and you were absolutely powerless to him, that you were his.

You paused, your arms draped around his neck, waiting, knowing that if you didn’t stop now to start up again, once you were inside, you’d fuck in the car in this dim garage and who knows who would see you?

“Since I didn’t get to beat his ass, I’m beating your pussy up instead.”

---

You had really moved on.

Now that Ennoshita had seen you in the flesh for the first time in nearly a year, he realized how much he had been holding on to the possibility of ever seeing you again, in a future where he was something other than the boring and safe choice, someone you tolerated but your heart didn’t tremble for.

And to see you with one of Japan’s top aces... Someone who had been better than him for you before you even knew of his existence. It was unbearable to think about.

He continued to stare at the ceiling dejectedly. He’d been crying literally the entire way home from work, and now on top of being sad for the love that never was, he was doubly upset for how freely his tears flowed tonight. The fact that he couldn’t even stand his ground when threatened, that he had even flinched when Sakusa got close (Was he this much of a bitch? Did you see him? No wonder you dropped him.).

He let out a cough as phlegm stuck in his throat and rubbed his eyelids. He had been laying sprawled on his back ever since he came back from work, staring at the ceiling and he was pretty sure his eyes were puffy and red.

Pitiful.

He reached for his phone and considered making a profile on Tinder, his finger hovering over the program in the app store. That would have been the right move. Move on like you had.

Instead he pulled up his photo folders, and settled on his favorite picture of you. One where you were alone and smiling for him, your face tilted just so towards the camera, and happiness crinkling your eyes. He always loved your eyes.

Reaching over his end table for the lone bottle of lotion, he pulled down his underwear with the other hand, freeing his semi-hard cock. Maybe… just maybe if he could think of you as you were when you were his, like in this picture; if he could ignore the fresh memory of you looking at him with regret in your eyes, he could feel you again with him.

---

“O-Omi… Omi! Oh my… fuck, Omi!!”

You reflexively pushed at his face as you squirmed, then trembled then flailed wildly as Sakusa slurped the absolute life out of you, tongue circling and swishing and flicking everywhere from your clit to your vestibule to inside your vagina… In fact, at some point, you were sure he’d bit ever so slightly at your labia and you let out a yelp, only for him to stuff you quiet with two of his fingers, already sopping wet with the juices dripping out of your soaking cunt.

“Suck if you can’t keep your filthy mouth shut,” he scoffed.

You moaned through the taste of his fingers, the taste of yourself. Sakusa had a way of being even meaner in bed that lit a fire inside you; the abrasiveness only seemed to get worse the more horny he got. And yet, you knew right now he was so aggressive because of the mere fact that he loved you and his pride had been shaken just thinking that someone else had once claimed you as theirs. The very fact that, germaphobe as he was, he was so deep in your thighs that parts of his skin shone with your slick was already proof of that.

“You’re moving too much,” he said sternly, his grip tightening around your thighs. You muffled an apology through a full mouth, only to be attacked with a long stroke of the tongue on your core which sent a shockwave through you and had you at a loss for words.

“Is this how you moaned for him?” Sakusa stopped suddenly, his breathy words sending a shiver of cold through your spine as they landed on your moist cunt.

You shook your head frantically.

“Good,” he said as though it were business as usual, rising to drop his pants and let his cock spring free. Even his cock looked angry, tumescent, dusky at the head and at attention, and you could feel your core ache in anticipation already.

He flipped you like a pancake on the bed, hooking one arm around your midsection (you were already too fucked out just from his fingers and mouth to move yourself unfortunately), and positioned you into a tripod position before lining himself behind your already semi-abused entrance.

“Stay still. I’m going to fuck you like every man you’ve ever had is slamming you all at once, you dirty, dirty girl.”

---

In the dim light of Ennoshita’s bedroom, all that could be heard were soft sobs and the sound of flesh stroking flesh, and soon there were cries of your name and the sobs grew louder and more pained until release which came out as a deep, guttural, desperate groan. He was aching for someone who no longer existed. A you from the past that no longer existed.

The you of the present moaned, sobbed, and convulsed, screaming Kiyoomis, Omis, Oh mys, Oh Gods, I love yous, Don’t stops, Never stops to Sakusa who pounded you relentlessly, slapping every inch of skin on your buttcheek, marking every part of your body with kisses, bites, pulling your hair, closing his fingers around your throat - doing anything and everything that Ennoshita could no longer do. He touched you in ways your ex never could, rough, then eventually soft the moment he finally, eventually, and to your relief, came inside you, coating your clenching walls with hot cum coming out in so many spurts. He unseated himself, and you could feel some volume of him spilling out of you immediately - he had come so much, probably more than he ever had before, and you expected him to immediately disappear to shower, but maybe there was something about his jealousy that made him both harsh and gentle for you today.

He whispered your name as he lay beside you, his fingers intertwined with yours. He pulled you closer, and your pleasantly exhausted, sweaty, sticky face found its way into the crook of his neck. Your breathing evened, the room was now quiet, but the very air was loaded with the transient echoes of your sinful dance just moments ago.

“I love you.”

Your heart sped up. It was so hard for Sakusa to say something so frank, so honest and so vulnerable, but before you could say you loved him too - oh you knew, you were sure you did - he kept going, and with this he held you tighter:

“I don’t ever want to look at you like I lost everything. No matter what I say, no matter what I do, promise you’ll always love me, and you’ll always be my side. I will do my best to be good to you.”

And that’s when you realized that Sakusa’s greatest fear was Ennoshita’s reality.

#sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa x reader #ennoshita chikara x reader #ennoshita x reader #sakusa kiyoomi #kiyoomi sakusa #ennoshita chikara #chikara ennoshita #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #mae.writing

374 notes · View notes

komfortkiri · 4 years ago

Text

HELP WANTED (PART 2)

WOLF QUIRK F!READER x HANTA SERO x EIJIRO KIRISHIMA WORD COUNT: 2,997 TW/CW: ABSENT PARENT MENTION (I know some people get really bothered about absent parents)

NOTES: No banner yet. And yes, I posted two parts in one day BECAUSE I’M LIVING FOR THIS. The next part I’ll include things from Kiri and Sero’s POV. I got tired toward the end of this one and wanted to finish and post it before going to sleep.

Your alarm went off at 6:45 AM, allowing you more time to actually get ready and look like a decent human being.. well, sort of. You laid there for a moment, though, thinking that if this really went well, you could be leaving within the next week. You’d have to tell your father and though he’d be hurt, it wasn’t like you wouldn’t come back to visit. With a deep breath, you threw your legs off the side of the bed, holding your arms over your head to stretch. The stretch was so good that you almost fell back into your mattress and went back to sleep but you shook your head and rose to your feet, proceeding to your bathroom to shower.

After you took your shower from Hell, you walked out of your bathroom and back into your room, making your way to your closet to browse over the clothes you had. You realized quickly that you should probably do some upgrading to your wardrobe but you’ll worry about that another day. Your eyes scanned over everything and nothing really stood out to you so you pulled out your phone to check the weather, seeing that it was pretty cold out— roughly 23 degrees. Coffee definitely sounded luxurious right now and that thought alone made you check the time to see that it was now 7:15 AM. You took a little longer in the shower but the scorching water felt like Heaven to you.

You sighed, taking a long-sleeved, burgundy turtleneck half-shirt off of a hanger along with a pair of black high-waisted jeans. You tossed both articles of clothing onto the bed then went to your small dresser in the corner of your room to open the top drawer, pulling out a white colored bra and a matching pair of panties to go with it. You closed that drawer then opened the second drawer, getting some black socks that rose to just under your knee. Once you had everything, you dropped your towel then threw your undergarments on, along with your socks.

During your dressing, you received a text message from the Kiri person so you rushed over to it, hoping they weren’t cancelling the get together. Relief washed over you whenever you read the message.

FROM KIRI: Morning! Wanted to send you a text to tell you that me and my roommate are getting ready and should be at the coffee shop closer to 8:30 AM. We still on?

You replied rather quickly, it was almost creepy.. like you were waiting for a text.

TO KIRI: Good morning! Yes, of course! I’m getting ready right now as well.. I may be there earlier than you both since it’s right around the corner from me!

Once the message delivered, you threw your phone back onto your bed then put on your shirt and pants, which had a special made hole just for your tail, then walked over to your full body mirror hanging on the wall. “Not bad.. Not bad at all.” It was almost like you were hoping these were men that you were meeting. You scoffed at your thought, nah. You walked back to the bathroom to grab your hair brush, one for the hair on your head and another for the fur on your tail. It was weird in a way.. you had to color coordinate what you used for your tail because the fur wasn’t as soft as your actual hair was. Once you finished grooming yourself, you put on a pair of flat-bottom, over-the-knee, black boots.

Time, what was the— shit! Your damned tail, taking so much time to brush through. It was now 8:05 so you had to rush a little bit if you wanted to be extra early and order what you needed so you grabbed your black trench coat off your coat rack, grabbed your phone then your backpack that held your wallet and other necessities that you may need throughout the day and booked it out of your room and out of your front door. Your dad must have had to work this morning, considering his car wasn’t out front but nonetheless, you expected as much from a police officer.

NO TIME TO THINK, you thought so you turned in the direction of the coffee shop and started walking. Your walking turned into walking fast then into.. running, which doesn’t affect you much considering it’s part of who you are. You thankfully had a bottle of perfume with you, just in case you smelt like a wet dog and you sprayed a few pumps amongst your coat and a few on your neck. You took a minute to catch your breath right outside Camille’s front door then walked in.

“My, my.. Look who it is! If it isn’t my dear Y/N! I haven’t seen you in a few weeks, must be pulling extra shifts at the animal shelter, huh?” Camille practically rushed to you, bringing you into a hug. All you could do was smile and accept her embrace then return it. If you were being honest, you really needed the hug. “Hi, Camille! I’m sorry I haven’t been visiting like I normally do. I have picked up a few more shifts so I can save up for a place of my own.” You took a seat at your usual spot, right up close to where she made most things. There was a small little bar, in which, Camille practically saved your seat every morning when you started coming in. She was like a mom to you, which was nice in its own way considering yours wasn’t worth a shit.

Camille knew just about everything about your life so you felt awful knowing that you hadn’t been around in a few weeks but you had to do what you need to first. “You know, darling, whenever you stopped coming in, these two very handsome boys started coming in every morning. It was almost fate in a way. They kept me company while you were gone, but don’t get me wrong, I’m glad my favorite girl is back.” Boys? Was this elderly woman really trying to hint at hooking you up right now? All you could do was shake your head and laugh as she set your usual in front of you— hot hazelnut coffee, extra sweet. You lifted the glass mug to your lips, speaking from behind it, “Boys, huh? Camille, are you trying to set me up?” A smirk formed along your face as you took a sip of the coffee, humming softly in satisfaction, your ears falling back some. She always did make the best coffee, it never failed.

The older woman laughed then leaned back onto the counter opposite from the one you were at, “Now, you know I wouldn’t meddle into your love life, dear. All I’m saying is, they are complete gentleman.” She leaned forward on her elbow, whispering her next statement. “If I was year and years younger, I’d probably take both of them.” This made you snort then double over in laughter, “Camille! Shame on you!” All she did was shrug then before she could respond, her eyes lit up when she realized who was entering her shop. You noticed this look and raised an eyebrow, sipping your coffee. Camille realized your eyes were on her and she nodded toward the door, mouthing that’s them. You tried your best not to make it obvious but you turned your head just enough to the side to peer over your shoulder and boy, she was not kidding. However, these were definitely not boys.. they were pure men.

You quickly turned your head before they realized you were ogling them, your insides heating up. All you could think of was how the good Lord above took his sweet time crafting both of them. Your heightened sense of hearing allowed you to listen in on what was being said between both of the guys and Camille so you just barely turned your left ear to the side, lifting your coffee again to take another sip.

“My boys! Where have you been? Fighting crime as usual?” Camille greeted both with a big hug each before one of them answered her. “Yes ma’am, you know us. We have to make sure nothing happens to your wonderful coffee shop.” Your heart skipped a beat at that statement. Smooth. “Always such sweethearts, come. I want you to meet another regular of mine.” Please don’t, please don’t, plea— “Y/N?” Your face was probably as red as a beet at this point but you turn anyway with a smile that was semi-forced. You hadn’t much prepared well on talking to… very, very attractive men. “Boys, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is Eijiro and Hanta.” You shook each of their hands, your insides felt like they were being lit on fire at this point.

The man known as Kirishima smiled, “You can call me either Ei, Eiji or Kiri, though.” The fire was immediately put out by his statement. You were thanking all the Gods that you didn’t have your coffee in your hand because you would have dropped it. “D-Did you say Kiri?” You cleared your throat, scratching the back of your head nervously.

“Yeah, do you know me? I mean, I’m a pro-hero but do you know someone I know or—“ You cut him off, not meaning to, but you had to get it out. “No, I.. I inquired about the roommate ad you had put up. We texted this morning and last night?” Kirishima and Sero’s eyes widened and they looked at each other. Something tells you they really weren’t expecting the person they were meeting to be a woman, but you were in the same boat because you didn’t expect for the two people you were meeting to be two gorgeous piece of asses either.

Sero spoke this time as he looked back at you, “So you are looking to be our roommate?” You blushed a soft shade of pink, not really knowing how to properly answer that but you did anyway. “Well, I-I didn’t really plan on you guys being, well… guys.” Both men laughed then Kirishima sat next to you, Sero sitting next to him on the other side. Camille put their coffees in front of him, Sero’s was partnered with a bagel. She gave you a wink then rushed back to the kitchen, peering out the little window in the door. All you could do was shake your head with a grin. “If it makes you uncomfortable, you definitely don’t have to move in with us but we’d like to be your friend.”

You smiled at that but thought of the trouble you’d get yourself in just by being their friend. It was almost impossible not to yank both by their collars to the bathroom and— “Wolf quirk, eh?” Sero’s voice shook you out of your inappropriate thoughts. It’s almost like he knew where your head was spiraling to. “Y-Yeah. My dad is also part wolf as well.” You nodded, clearing your throat even though you really didn’t need to as there was nothing to clear.

“What about your mom?” Sero pressed, not knowing that talking about your mother was something you hated doing. You sighed quietly, eyes darting in front of you to a blank space on the white wall in front of you. Your ear fell back, tone filled with… hatred when you spoke, which you didn’t intend for, but your burning rage for her was not controllable. “Don’t know her. She left not too long after I was a baby. Just up and left in the middle of the night and nobody has seen her since.”

Kirishima looked at Sero, eyes saying way to go, idiot. He wanted to lighten the mood so he changed the subject quickly, “So, uh.. about your quirk..” You three sat there for what felt like hours just talking, having casual conversation. They asked about your quirk, showing high interest in every aspect of it. You reassured them that you didn’t shed hair so they didn’t need to worry about any of that. You didn’t realize that they were pro-heroes until they told you their hero names and you almost choked on your semi-hot coffee. You had heard of both but you never really are around the action to put a face to the name. They both do a lot of good work around your city, in which, you are thankful for with your father being on the police force. Without them, your dad would probably have been hurt or worse.

Your anger about your mother had withered away and you were really enjoying yourself with the two men next to you. Your tail was moving to-and-fro the entire time, meaning you were happy. It got silent at one point and that prompted to Sero clear his throat then bump his elbow into Kirishima’s own, basically trying to push on this conversation. Kirishima turned his body a little toward you, his tone was soft, “Um.. This roommate thing.. It’s obvious you aren’t a serial killer, unless you’re a really good actor. You don’t have to give us an answ—“ You held your finger up with a smile because it was clear he was about to start rambling on due to nerves and not wanting to overstep. “You don’t have to say anymore. I’m super down for being your roommate.” It seemed like relief washed over the both of them because they smiled at you. “Hell yeah, you can move your stuff in at any time. Just let us know when so we can help you.” Sero nodded in your direction and you nodded back with a smile.

Moving in.. with two insanely attractive men.. What could go wrong, right?

#Hanta Sero x Reader #Sero x Reader #Eijiro Kirishima x Reader #Kirishima x Reader #Hanta Sero #eijiro kirishima #mha x reader

37 notes · View notes

moonbeambucky · 5 years ago

Text

Hey Neighbor (Part 2)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 3997 Warnings: mentions of cheating, mentions of death/loss

Summary: You had a plan and then life came along with one of its own. With your future almost derailed you worked hard to get yourself back on track and finally everything seemed to be going right… that is, until your new neighbor moved in.

A/N: A huge thank you to my wonderful beta Sam @buckyofthemyscira Feedback is always appreciated!

PART 1 | HEY NEIGHBOR MASTERLIST

A soft knock at pulls you away from the computer. Twisting your stiff head towards the door you smile, seeing Steve Rogers standing with a tray of coffee and a paper bag in hand marked with the logo of your favorite nearby restaurant.

“You’re a lifesaver!” you chuckled, though you meant every word as you invited Steve to sit at your desk for lunch.

Steve worked security for Stark Industries and you developed a close friendship in the years since you’ve been there. Though he was undeniably good looking, with the build of a Greek God and long lashes you were incredibly jealous of, you never saw Steve as anything other than the brother you never had.

At the time you met he was dating a girl from the building, Lillian Nguyen from accounting. You hadn’t seen much of her in person, just through the photos Steve showed you with adoration on his phone. When he began talking about looking for engagement rings you were thrilled but that excitement was replaced with anger and confusion when Steve found out Lillian was cheating on him.

He was extremely hurt and became guarded afterwards, not wanting to put himself out there again. His lack of socializing worked with your lack of a social life and on the rare occasion you had a moment free from school work Steve would often come over and hang out to binge watch shows you needed to catch up to on Netflix while you ate pizza.

The paper bag rustled as he pulled out a large sandwich, cup of soup and a salad, distributing napkins across the desk as he knows how much of a messy eater you can be. You grabbed the sandwich, tearing open the paper wrapping and sinking your teeth into it with a bite full of food too large for your mouth.

Steve laughed, as he stirred the broth of his soup. He’s witnessed you eating before, unapologetically shoveling food into your face especially when you were starving.

“You know the sandwich isn’t goin’ anywhere, right?” he joked.

Chewing a large mouthful, you grabbed a napkin to wipe the corner of your lips that you felt had a piece of food sticking to it.

“Steve,” you paused to take a sip of coffee, “I’m fucking starving. I ran out this morning and all I had here was a package of almonds that are not filling despite what you say.”

He asked the reason for your tardiness and you explained how you stayed at the cafe until closing to finish up your work, all because of your stupid neighbor.

“Have you tried talkin’ to him?”

You stared at Steve incredulously. “Haven’t gotten a chance. I gotta wait for the right moment. There’s no way I’m knocking on his door, not when he’s banging all of New York, who knows what I’d end up seeing.”

“D’ya want me to do it?”

It was in Steve’s nature to help and though you appreciated his offer you wanted to handle this yourself. You were the one that had to live next to the Music Man, it would be better to confront him alone.

“I understand,” he said, taking a swig from his water bottle. “You down to hang tonight?”

“Wish I could but before my time is sucked away by the next paper I really need to research where I could do my internship. I’m all registered for school but I need to submit the paperwork for where I’ll be doing my hours and I’m running out of time.”

“You should talk to my buddy Sam. Maybe he could get you in at the hospital.”

Sam was Steve’s friend from the gym. They’d work out together, turning everything into a friendly competition to see who could run faster or lift more. Sam was also a doctor in the emergency department of Metro-General so he might have connections. It was worth a shot so you asked Steve to text him. Still you planned on searching for more backups to be safe.

Before the hour was over Steve left to head back downstairs to the security desk and you continued your work for Ms. Hill. You had evolved to working closer with Ms. Hill, becoming more like an executive assistant to her and when necessary Ms. Potts.

In between coordinating a meeting your phone goes off with a text from Wanda, asking if she could see you over the weekend for brunch. Ironically, she ended up moving to the city after all. There was only so far she could go with her degree at home and with her mother’s blessing she came to New York to work for The Jewish Museum.

She lived in a trendy loft on Bleecker Street, decorated with her signature eclectic style. Woven rugs hung like tapestries on the wall, plants hanging down from macramé holders in front of the large windows. Her furniture was an odd mix of plush velvet tufted cushions and smooth leather arm chairs that somehow worked with the mid-century touches and industrial shelving.

Her apartment had more space which you envied, although you loved everything else about where you lived. The neighborhood was amazing, with great shops and a lot of different food options right at your doorstep. Everything was perfect, except your neighbor.

Responding to Wanda you let her know you could most likely make it depending on the workload you’d be getting from your Saturday class. You could not wait until that was over. Spending all day in a small, windowless room instead of enjoying the summer weekend made you miserable but you were close to the end, so, so close.

When the work day was over you went to meet Steve downstairs, walking over to the desk to say goodnight to the elderly security guard who’s been with the company since its inception.

“Any plans for the weekend Mr. Lee?”

The wiry white hairs that made up his mustache moved as he grinned. “Well, Joanie thinks my hair’s getting a bit long,” he smiled, running his fingers through his greyish-white strands. “She’ll have it trimmed before supper, I'm sure,” he laughed.

A smile graced your face whenever you listened to Mr. Lee, admiring the adoration he had for his wife. Steve has heard all of his stories more than once but he never tires of them either. Everyone loved Mr. Lee, especially Tony Stark, who continued to pay him a full time salary for the part time hours he worked.

The job was easy enough as he greeted visitors to Stark Industries, and signing them in to the building while Steve and some other employees did most of the security checks.

You and Steve bid Mr. Lee goodbye as you made your way to the subway. Steve didn’t live far from you and though he could have gotten off at a further stop he always walked with you to your building, partially to make sure you got home safely but also because he needed a distraction to get out of his head.

There were many times when you suggested he go out, not with the purpose of meeting someone but just to break up the monotony of his routine, but Steve lost his confidence after the breakup. For now, he didn’t want to be told what to do, he simply needed a friend and so you were there for him.

Wanda sat back against the chair beside the bistro table covered in shade. Her always changing hair color was light brown today, parting the silky strands perfectly down the middle. She was the definition of cool, despite the heat, wearing a loose scoop-necked tank top, slim ripped jeans and topped things off with a pair of motorcycle boots. Her neck was adorned with a few necklaces of varying lengths, one of which she never took off, a silver lightning bolt in honor of her late brother.

She and Pietro were twins with distinctly different personalities. Wanda was laid back, even as a child. She would actually stop to smell the roses that lined the garden of their backyard, whereas Pietro was always moving. He was an extraordinary multitasker that could not sit still.

Pietro had so many dreams, a full list of things he wanted to do in life but he was taken from the world too soon. Wanda wears the necklace as a reminder to live life to the fullest, knowing how quickly things can change.

Squeezing through the other tables to get to Wanda, you huff as you sit down and catch your breath, apologizing for being late.

“Wanda, I swear I’m going to kill him.”

“Who?”

“The fucking Music Man! I had to leave my own damn apartment again because of his stupid playing. Like, dude, could you not? You live in an apartment. Everyone hears you, everyone!”

Grabbing the glass of ice water you quickly drink most of it to soothe the dehydration of your mouth.

“And another thing, like does he not realize that we can all hear the girls he’s banging? Wanda, they’re so fucking loud. If they were still there right now I bet you could hear them from here.”

Wanda laughed at your accusation. “Oh, so they don’t stay the night? He’s a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ kinda guy?”

“I guess! I hear them leave, whining at his door as they’re begging to stay over. It’s so pathetic. What’s so great about this guy anyway?” you scoffed. “I wish he never moved here!”

With a final humph you opened the menu, your anger dissipating as you read the descriptions for everything you wanted, mouth salivating as you tried to decide what to choose. Wanda opted for the frittata while you decided to take out your frustrations on yourself with delicious Challah French Toast.

Wanda’s eyes widened as she watched you drown your meal in syrup. You hummed in satisfaction as you took a bite.

“Hmm, it’s not as good as the kind your mom makes,” you said.

Wanda laughed, “Uh, yeah, because she never used a whole bottle of syrup. Geez Y/N can you taste anything other than sugar?”

“Shush Wan, let me enjoy myself here.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at you. “Well, anyway, I wanted to tell you something exciting...” she sang, grinning widely. “Director Coulson asked me to curate an exhibit on prejudice told through Romani-Jewish art!”

“Wanda this is perfect! I’m so happy for you!” you beamed, getting up from your chair to wrap your arms around her in a proud hug.

“I know! I’m so excited. Mom’s gonna come up for the opening. I mean that’s a long time from now but fuck, I can’t wait!”

After finishing brunch you went back home to begin working on your final. It was a research paper that was worth half of your grade so you really needed to concentrate. And yet the moment the elevator doors opened to your floor you heard it, the sound of music flooding the halls coming from none other than the apartment next to yours.

Jamming your keys into the door with frustration you grunted, grabbing all the things you needed to do your work at the cafe. Your foot tapped impatiently as you waited for the elevator again. With your arms crossed over your chest you could feel your blood boiling beneath your skin, beating to the stupid rhythm of the stupid song that your stupid, inconsiderate neighbor wouldn’t stop playing.

The elevator dinged before the doors opened and you were like a bull, grunting and blowing puffs of air from your flaring nostrils as you were ready to charge into it. As the doors opened you stopped yourself from barreling into your neighbors that were inside.

“Whoa, Y/N!” Clint said, raising his hands up defensively, “Easy there.”

Clint lived on the floor above you along with his fiancée Natasha, whose arms were looped through his.

“Sorry guys,” you apologized. “Oh, wait.” Making your right hand into a fist you ran it across your chest in a few circular motions.

“Someone’s been practicing,” Natasha chimed in, signing her words along as she spoke to you.

Clint was partially deaf and though he used hearing aids he often signed, especially when he didn’t feel like talking to people, although you were one of the lucky ones he considered a friend. Still, you wanted to be able to communicate with him, even if he didn’t want to actually speak.

Clint was a history teacher who already tried to get you into his school for your internship but doubted you would be brought on board. There were apparently a lot of issues going on with the principal and Natasha surmised there was a big lawsuit in the works.

Natasha was an attorney, hoping to make partner at her current firm Nelson & Murdock. Clint never failed to praise her, nicknaming Natasha the Black Widow as he claimed watching her dismantle a witness was like watching a spider sink its venomous fangs into its prey.

“Where’re you guys off to?” you asked.

“Just going out for some ice cream,” she replied.

Clint laughed. “Some ice cream? No, I’m going out to eat a lot of ice cream,” he chuckled, rubbing his eager stomach.

Natasha poked the small protrusion of his belly through his shirt. “Listen buddy, we’ve got a wedding to plan. Easy on the ice cream.” Natasha brought her full lips to his for a kiss they both smiled through, knowing she was teasing him.

“What about you Y/N?” Clint asked.

The elevator doors opened and you walked out with them, explaining how frustrating it’s been that you’ve had to leave for the cafe to do your work all because of the new neighbor.

“Oh the Guitar Hero?” Clint joked. “Yeah, we can hear him too. Well, actually…” he drifted off smirking.

“Clint takes his hearing aids out so no, he doesn’t hear him,” Natasha filled in the information that had you bursting out with laughter.

“Can you hear the women too?” you wondered, considering their apartment was right above his.

“Yeah, kind of, that’s more muffled though. It’s probably a lot worse for you.” Natasha grimaced, catching the way she didn’t mean the words to come out.

It was true though, sharing a wall with the man that made your string lights bounce with every thrust. The sound was bad enough and thankfully your headphones helped with that but every night you had to shut your eyes, hoping you would fall asleep before he was through with them.

You had to give it to the guy though, the man had stamina. Still, you wanted to kill him. At least you were friends with a lawyer...

The next few days have the same result, with you coming home dead tired from work, hoping you’d be able to stay home to work on your final to no avail. You tried using the headphones in your apartment but it didn’t help. The sound was mostly blocked out but your mind couldn’t focus on anything but the anger you held towards the neighbor, knowing he was playing that same song over and over again.

You might as well live in the cafe since you’ve practically paid them your rent in coffee and pastries over the last month. You were burning out quickly and Steve decided you needed a break, bringing over pizza and beer.

Opening up the box, you smiled, staring at the bubbling cheese.

“Ahh, pizza, my one true love,” you said, plating slices for you and Steve.

Your small table was always covered in textbooks, mail and other paperwork you needed to tend to, so you and Steve took your usual spots on the couch.

After working at Stark Industries for a few months you made enough money that allowed you to finally buy much needed furniture. You adored your light grey couch, adorned with blush colored throw pillows. You threw the fuzzy white blanket over the side of the couch, not serving much purpose during the summer months other than to look like it was naturally left on the cushion in a perfectly styled manner for display.

Pushing aside the candlesticks that sat on your coffee table, you set down actual coasters for the bottles Steve opened, not wanting to ruin the veneer of the grey wood top of your rustic coffee table. A small accent rug helped define the space you declared as the living room, despite having your bed within arm’s reach beside you.

Against the brick wall is your TV, sitting atop a modern white stand with shelves for storage you’ve packed to the brim. Beside it, a large antique floor mirror leans against the brick. It was as tall as Steve who helped bring it to your apartment after you found it at a flea market. However, the thing you cherished most was the artwork of the Brooklyn Bridge that hung above your couch, painted by Steve as a gift to you.

“So,” he said, chewing quickly to swallow the food in his mouth. “I talked to Sam. He said it would be cool for you to call him about the internship.”

“Oh yeah. You really think he could help or is this just a rouse to give him my number?” you half-joked.

Steve laughed deeply, wiping away a bit of oil the pizza leaked onto his chin. “Nah, it’s definitely about the internship but I wouldn’t put it past Sam if he tried to take you out. Lord knows he’s been on my case about it with you since I met ‘im.”

“Does he not think guys and girls can have a friendship without romance involved?”

“I can’t speak for him… probably not though.”

You laughed before getting up for another slice. You hoped Sam would be able to help with the internship, no strings attached. He didn’t seem like that type of guy anyway, and all of Steve’s friends were good people so you weren’t worried.

As the Music Man began his one man band you had to gradually increase the volume of your television; your anger rising with every click of the remote. It was no longer enjoyable to watch the action movie you and Steve put on, having to raise the volume for higher to hear the dialogue and scramble to lower the blasting noise of car screeching and explosions. When you couldn’t take it anymore you called it a night.

“Guess you haven’t spoken to him?” Steve asked the question he clearly knew the answer to.

“Soon,” you said hopefully, not knowing when the day might come.

As the sun began to rise on the early Saturday morning you were getting ready for class. With your closet open you debated on what to wear when you heard a voice from the other side of the wall.

“Hi ma… Things are good… and Dad…”

He must have been walking around the apartment as you heard most of the words.

“I know…Leaving now…”

You heard the undoing of his locks and the front door creaking open. Shit! Your first moment to speak to the Music Man alone and you’re standing in your underwear. There’s definitely no way you would approach him now. Instead you raced to the door to try and catch a glimpse of what he looked like but it was too late.

Huffing in frustration you continued to get dressed and within fifteen minutes you were ready to leave. The elevator dinged as you shut your door, inserting your key to turn the deadbolt, unaware of the form that was moving closer towards you, not until you heard the whistling of a familiar tune.

Your heart pounded furiously in your chest, as if that tune was part of a psychological experiment, like Pavlov’s dog but instead of salivating you wanted to punch something.

“Hey neighbor.”

The soft voice of the Music Man broke you from your vision of punching through your shared wall and destroying his instruments. With a calming inhale you turned around to face him.

“I’m Bucky.”

You didn’t respond, you couldn’t. The breath was stolen from your lungs as you stared directly into the kindest, bluest eyes you had ever seen. All the anger left your body, replaced by the softness of his pink lips that reminded you of flowers in full bloom.

He was tall and lean, but your eyes did not miss the bulge of his biceps that showed through his cotton t-shirt. In his hand was a coffee cup, gripped under his long fingers. His hair was dark and pulled back into a low sloppy bun, with a loose piece falling beside his smile.

His hand was extended towards you and you weren’t sure how long it had been. It felt like you were staring at him for hours, or was it only seconds. Did time really stop moving the moment you finally saw him? You broke yourself out of your trance to shake his hand and introduce yourself.

“It’s nice to meet you Y/N. I just moved in. Well not just, but not long ago,” Bucky said.

Yeah I know. I hear you every night. You remembered your frustration and tried to assemble the sentence in your head of how to confront him.

“You ever get coffee from the place on the corner?” he asked, gesturing to the cup in his hand. “The line was crazy long but worth it, it’s delicious.”

“Yeah, once or twice but I’m usually at the Grind House. They’re open late and that’s where I have to go to study because… uh…” you stammered for a moment, “...your guitar playing is too distracting.”

You chewed on your bottom lip, wondering why you felt uncomfortable when he was the one who was being a bad neighbor.

Bucky’s face dropped with guilt. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea.”

“It’s alright,” you lied, not knowing why you said that. Pulling more confidence out of midair you continued, “It’s just that the walls are so thin and I’m in school, well I work full time too, but I’ve just got a lot on my plate and honestly I’m not sure how much longer I can afford the coffee shop every night.”

You chuckled to lighten up the conversation, continuing to ramble before giving him a chance to speak. “So, um, if you wouldn’t mind, maybe you could practice during the day instead or weekends are mostly fine. I’m actually heading to class now so I’ll be gone all day.” Great, give him your whole schedule why don’t you.

With nerves getting the better of you, you turned on your heel quickly saying it was nice to meet him. Briskly making your way towards the elevator you pressed the button furiously in hopes it would get to your floor faster.

Once inside you let out a big sigh and waved your hand in front of your slightly sweaty, heated face. Bucky seemed like he genuinely wasn’t aware of the noise he was making, and the way you passive aggressively called him out on it made you feel like shit.

But what was worse was knowing there was a face, a drop dead gorgeous face that is responsible for making the women of New York scream in ecstasy every night. It was going to be very difficult to concentrate in class today.

Getting home later that afternoon you were anxious to make something to eat, but more anxious about Bucky, hoping you wouldn’t run into him again. As you opened your door your foot slid on something and as you looked down you saw a small envelope with your name written on it.

Inside was a $50 gift card to The Grind House with a little note. I’m truly sorry about the noise. –Bucky

Your mouth opened in shock at the realization that Bucky did this nice gesture for you, and worse, you were going to have to thank him.

PART 3

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes series

915 notes · View notes

schnitzelbutterfingers · 4 years ago

Text

To Someone Special (Ethan Ramsey x f!MC)

notes: happy holidays! please take the time to celebrate with your family and friends. 2020 was an egregious year, but let’s thank god for letting us survive through the whole COVID pandemic. let’s pray for everyone to get through this.

anyways, here is my christmas present to you all, wrapped with some angst and fluff! ethan’s ex-girlfriend from his med school days who cheated on him with another ‘friend’ (and no, it’s not tobias :)) makes an appearance hehe. forgive me if there are any spelling mistakes and grammar errors, and as always enjoy! (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥

(i felt like this was similar to @jamespotterthefirst ‘s fic ‘Fake Husband/Wife’, so i asked permission to write this, and she gave me it. shoutout to bree!)

summary: On Christmas, 10 years ago, he gave his heart to a girl. The very next day, she gave it away. This Christmas, to save him from tears, Ethan will give it to someone special.

pairing(s): dr. ethan ramsey x f!mc (dr. abigail ‘abby’ chacko) || mentions of past dr. ethan ramsey x dr. aubrie zavala

warning(s): angst (mentions of cheating) and fluff (mentions of proposal)

word count: 1999

** i suggest you listen to ‘last christmas’ by wham! :) **

_______________________________________________________________

‘The most wonderful time of the year.’

If it were years ago, Ethan would chuckle at the preposterousness of this statement.

To everyone else, the Christmas season is full of jubilation, nostalgia and generosity. Giving and donating had become a peculiarity of the days neighboring the observed holiday, street-corners crowded with Santas ringing golden bells.

Houses twinkled with multi-colored and pulsing lights, bouncing off the crystalline white snow. Inside the houses, trees glimmered with more colorful lights and various decorative ornaments. Christmas colors added sumptuousness. Classic poinsettias are tied, and candy canes add some idiosyncrasy, dangling from the mouths of exhilarated children. Joyful music and golden bells can be heard from everyone’s car.

To the senior doctor, it’s dissimilar. Christmas means more work to do at the hospital. Emergency rooms are filled with injured patients who were looking forward to blithesome moments with their friends and family. The roads are slick with shiny ice, vehicles slipping across the road to hit the one next to it or a broad tree. And the mistletoe. On one occasion, he had to escape an elderly grandmother with wrinkly skin and gray hair, who was convinced that he was Bob Dylan. Yet he wasn’t even an accurate replica and they didn’t sound the same.

Seeing other interns and derisory people kiss under the mistletoe makes him turn away with disgust. He cordially hated PDA. Well, that is, until he met her.

When Ethan met Abigail, however, he felt some sort of attraction to her, something he couldn’t escape from, no matter how hard he tried. Her compassion, her wit, her charm, her intelligence, her everything.

It felt like some sort of grip she had, her usual chocolate aroma, big brown eyes, wavy hair, and her milky skin all holding on to him like a police officer would do to a criminal. And it’s addicting.

But now, looking at his Rookie from across their luxurious bedroom, getting ready for the Christmas Gala hosted by Bloom Edenbrook Hospital, he started to look forward to the breathless moments under the mistletoe. On second thought, why does he need to kiss Abby under the mistletoe when he can kiss her anywhere? They are officially dating, after all.

He wanted to satisfy her and hear her singing goofily along with the carols in their cars. He wanted to see her tastefully decorate their penthouse with stockings, ornaments, a garland. He wanted to see her making sticky toffee pudding and her longtime favorite gulab jamuns, even if he claims he doesn’t like sugar. She, in return, would constantly mock him, prompting him of the day when he focused his eyes on the delicious chocolate bar in the vending machine at the hospital. He wanted it all with her.

Abby was adorning a long sleeve crimson velvet dress, strikingly showing some cleavage. She wore a generous split from her right thigh down, parading her creamy legs. She looked divine. She looked like heaven. The red gown made her look scandalous.

She cleared her throat, smirking at him staring at her. “Are you finished?”

“You look...” The more conventional doctor was at a loss of words, looking at her up and down. He started from her soiled velvet heels, moving up to her wavy cafe hair.

“...sinful.”

Abby flashed him a sly grin. “Why, thank you, Doctor. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Indeed he doesn’t. Ethan sported a matching outfit, a suit with a red velvet coat black shirt and a crimson bowtie.

“I can’t wait to come back after this gala. You’re making me lose my patience.”

She chortled, lovely music to his ears. “Then what are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gala invited all the hospitals in Boston, including Mass Kenmore. It was being held at The Seaport World Trade Center, one of the largest venues in the city. Ethan and Abby arrived at the front of the venue, walking towards the entrance. Inside, a waiter took them to the very front table, the one where their seats were reserved.

They were recognized as the ‘rich couple’ and the ‘power couple’ of Edenbrook. It was no surprise that some of the doctors decided to gossip about them, stating how they match and look excellent together. Some women were jealous, and Abby could feel covetous eyes burning behind her back. The male doctors were also envious of Ethan, that he got to be with the young graceful doctor. In return, Ethan winded his protecting arm tighter around her slim waist, a clear mark that she is his. Only his.

The front table additionally included Naveen, Harper, Tanaka, and Tobias Carrick. When Ethan and Tobias faced encountered other at the front table, the Mass Kenmore doctor somehow took his hand out, waiting for the famous diagnostician to shake it. Ethan was stupefied at first, but then he remembered what Tobias did for them, saving his Rookie from the maitotoxin. After a rare moment Ethan shook it, sending the latter a faint smile, to which he returned. Abby beamed at their interaction, glad that they finally cleared the air that had been surrounding them for more than a decade.

Naveen greeted both of them with a hearty hug, and Harper sent both of them a pleasant smile. The Chacko looked around the decorated room to discover her friends, all relaxing at a table. When she spotted them, she gave them a huge wave, to which they imitated back. It relaxed her to have Ethan and her friends in the same room, forgetting about the upcoming discussions with the money-eating scumbags who only care about wealth and not for the wellbeing of their patients.

Tobias and Ethan sat between Abby, and all the seats were filled except for one.

As if interpreting her thoughts, Tobias sought a confused question. “Are we expecting someone else at our table?”

“I believe we are,” Naveen answered.

The young doctor wanted to talk to her friends for a little while. Otherwise, everyone was roaming around, mingling with people.

Ethan seemed to detect this because he leaned in to whisper to her ear. “If you want to hang out with your friends, you can go ahead. It’s understandable, if you’re bored, as am I. Besides, I’ll just talk to Tobias.”

Abby sent him a grateful smile, not only for excusing her, but because he wanted to talk to his old (former?) friend. She was genuinely happy that their relationship is getting better and better.

In return, she bestowed him a kiss on his cheek and went to the table across the room, where her colleagues are.

Her friends said the usual. Bryce and Kyra are dating, and they adopted a puppy after moving in together. Sienna doesn’t think she will move on from Danny, and that her heart will always belong to him, but the enormous pain had subsided. Elijah and Phoebe went on another date which had gone really well. Jackie’s debt is under control, and she said that she felt at peace and tranquility.

After she had finished socializing, she looked back to her reserved table, where she saw a woman, a rather charming one, probably in her 30s. She had raven hair and porcelain skin, and was assuming a royal blue dress with an elegant split across her left thigh, displaying her beautiful legs. Standing next to her boyfriend. Being too touchy with her man. Abby was ordinarily not the type to be jealous, but looking at the woman made herself feel ugly.

Her eyes went to Ethan, who had a horrified look on his face. They moved to Tobias who had a similar expression. Naveen and Harper both had uncomfortable looks.

The latter captured her eye and came up to her.

Abby was confused, so she decided to convey this confusion to Carrick. “Is everything alright at our table? Is that woman the last person to occupy the empty seat?”

Carrick sighed deeply. “She... is Dr. Aubrie Zavala. Another famous diagnostician... She is also Ethan’s ex-girlfriend.”

That’s when she glanced back at their table and saw both of them arguing.

Tobias must have noted this because he replied, “Ethan and Aubrie are both arguing now. Back in Hopkins, she cheated on with another med student named Dillan, I think. And it was at Christmas. Now Aubrie wants him back.”

The cacophonous racket heard in the auditorium drained away from the ears of the young doctor, and the sounds of warning bells replaced it.

What the hell am I supposed to do to grab her butt off the table?

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. She examined her bag and found a fake diamond ring. Her mother gave this to her; she saw this at the store and found it pretty. Abigail always kept it in her bag, a reminder that her mom loves her. It looks real, so this can work. The Chacko placed the ring on her left ring finger. Tobias, knowing what Abby was about to do, gave her a wink. She smiled back and walked over to their table.

“Babe? What’s wrong?” Abby asked innocently. Ethan’s oceanic eyes widened as he saw the mischievous gleam in her coffee eyes.

The woman, who was now dubbed Aubrie, turned around to look at her with a grim expression.

“Babe?” Aubrie threatened lowly, “Who the hell do you think you are, calling my Ethan ‘babe’?” Oh, this girl has it coming.

Abby offered her a fierce smile, showing off her properly ‘engagement’ ring. “Well, I’m pretty sure I called my fiancée babe, right Ethan?”

Instantly, Ethan understood. She wanted to play as his wife-to-be now, did she? Well, that can be easily arranged, Ethan smirks, deciding to play along.

“Well, you see, Dr. Zavala, you do remember how I love hearing the opera, don’t you? I took Abby to one of my favorite operas named Carmen, and I proposed to her there. She cried happy tears and said ‘yes’.”

Aubrie’s furious face slowly drained of color, as she realized they are engaged. She now has to live with the regrets from the past. Her violent hands started to shake a little as she realized who she was arguing with the whole time.

“Wait, are you Dr. Abigail Chacko? One of the youngest doctors in America, Sister of the famous surgeon Sebastian Chacko, the youngest member of Edenbrook’s diagnostic team, and the person who cured Dr. Naveen Banerji?” Zavala asked slowly, her shrill voice starting to grow tense.

Abby, on the other hand, was having too much fun with this. “Bingo! You got it right!”

Right away, when she said that, Aubrie reluctantly left the whole table, stomping on the way like a teenager. Naveen and Harper both had amusing smiles on their faces, Tobias tried not to choke on his wine, and Ethan had the biggest smirk ever.

Abby took off her fake ring and placed it in her bag. At once, Ethan gave her a sounding kiss on her plump lips, not minding anyone any attention.

“How did you know I had a pretty rough time here?” Ethan asked curiously.

She smiled triumphantly. “Well, I saw all of your uncomfortable faces at the table when Aubrie was here. Tobias saw me and gave me an explanation to what was happening. I’m so sorry you had to go through that during your med school days.”

Ramsey gently stroked her smooth and delicate cheek. “It’s fine. Besides, I got an even better woman right here.”

Tobias cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, but can you please just continue this later at home? I’m tryna drink some good wine here.”

Everyone snorted, but Ethan’s mind went back to the actual engagement ring he bought for her at their penthouse, stored inside one of his worn-out shoes. He was actually planning to propose to her tomorrow, on Christmas Day.

Taking her to one of my favorite operas named Carmen, proposing to her there.

Oh, he can’t wait for this chaotic day to be over.

_______________________________________________________________

notes: if you’ve made it this far, thank you!

tags:@missmiimiie @aylamwrites @starrystarrytrouble @udishaman @caseyvalentineramsey @queencarb @choicesstan1 @newcolonies @arcticrivers @angela8756 @takemyopenheart @rookie-ramsey @ohchoices @ohvamsey @ohramsey @natureblooms24 @drariellevalentine @maurine07 @lucy-268 @thanialis @drakewalkerfantasy

@openheartfanfics

@choicesficwriterscreations

#pixelberry choices #choices stories you play #open heart #open heart choices #pixelberry #pixelberry open heart #ethan ramsey #playchoices #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan ramsey fanfiction

113 notes · View notes

youralternantpersonality · 4 years ago

Text

Hello My Dear Friend

Warning: Talking about Texas (I'm from here, chill bro lol), panic attacks, Phonophobia: the fear of loud sounds.

A/n: Hello! How have yall been? I hope you are okay and are taking self of yourself. I'll be 100% with yall, I guess I just had to get out what was wrong with me because out of nowhere (with the help of medication) I had a need to start writing.

Also, I DID NOT KNOW MY LINKS WERE NOT WORKING! I’m so sorry. I realized the best way to get to my masters list is to go to my description bar. I don't know why it isn't. if you know how to fix it, please let me know!

Anyways, I never put summaries, but here's a little snip—Y/n is best friends (100% platonic) with Jared and will be with Embry. The end. Enjoy!

***

Y/n POV

Finally! I'm finally coming back to the place I grew up at and loved. The place where nature is at every corner. I never thought I would miss the muggy and rainy state. I miss my friends on the Res and the few friends I had in Forks. I especially miss my little brother-from-another-mother, Jared.

Jared and I grew up together on the Reservation. We befriended each other instantly in second grade after making a bet that one of us could eat our rainbow popsicle faster than the other. The winner gets the strawberry scented eraser and a mechanical pencil that the other grabbed from a 3rd grader. Needless to say, I won. Granted, I had a brain freeze, but it was 100% worth it. But now I was on my way back to La Push to finish my Junior year with my friends after leaving in Freshman year.

Pulling up to the house I grew up with, I was welcomed by my grandparents and my aunt Lydia. My grandmother and aunt were already outside washing what looks like something green; I'm assuming she's making collard greens tonight. My grandfather just came from around the side of the house with some more logs to make a fire. As soon as the car is parked, they look up with smiles on their faces, and I jump out to embrace my family.

"Nana, Papa, Aunty!" I say as I run up to them as they get ready for me to embrace them. After Nana had a minor heart attack, Aunt Lydia came to La Push from California to assist her since she was a nurse for the elderly. She eventually moved in with them after she divorced her bastard of a husband. Their marriage is an example of what happens when you don't communicate well with your partner beforehand. Aunt Lydia never wanted kids—she liked them, but she also liked giving them back to their parents. Her ex-husband, Justin, wanted kids. He's always wanted kids, and knowing that she never wanted them, he still tried to sabotage any way for them to get one. Hiding her birth control, poking a hole in the condom, arguing that she'd change her mind eventually. Not understanding that she did not want one. At some point, he claimed he was okay with it, but as soon as they got married, I guess he figured she'd change her mind.

Three years later, she filed for divorce. Not long afterward, she moved back up here; then, when Nana had a heart attack, she moved in with them. It's been a year since all of that happened. She is now dating a man in Forks who already has kids and doesn't want anymore. The kids are in fifth, seventh, and ninth grade, so she's content and happy. They all love her, and she loves them equally, if not more.

"Hey, baby! How's my Ladybug." Nana asked. Ever since I was little, she gave me that name. I was adopted by the Nomalose at two, and the second my Nana came up to me in her kitchen, somehow a Ladybug flew in and landed on my shoulder. Thus, granted me the name Ladybug.

"I'm good, Nana. How are you feeling?" I asked, hugging her as she continued to sit in her chair then moving to my aunt.

"Oh, baby, I'm fine. Always am, and always will be." She says with a smile. So optimistic as always. After greeting everyone as we moved inside, we all sat around to catch up on what has happened since we were gone. Dad had a job transfer in Texas, so we had to pack up and head out. At first, leaving La Push and moving to Dallas was (obviously) terrifying, but I was repulsed by the thought of it. But after a while, it wasn’t too bad. I mean, yes, it's hot as hell, some people are questionable, the pollen is horrific, and the redlining system is as evident as can be. However, I grew to love the heat and get a tan, made some friends, and the food…. oh, the food. What kind of threw me off is that they have to state the Texas flag pledge in class every day. What the absolute fuck.

After finishing up, we head back to the car and head to our home. Grabbing our stuff and unpacking it before the rest of our furniture arrives tomorrow. It's only mid-July (imagine moving in the middle of the summer from Texas to Washington. It was absolute hell), so I take this time to explore the area I once knew and get acquainted with. I plan on calling up some friends before I see my A1, the Jelly time to my Peanut butter, the Tom to my Jerry, the Magenta to my Blue, Jared Cameron. We kind of fell off within the last couple of months, but a little show-and-tell never hurt anyone.

I text some of my old friends I kept in contact with, and we decided to meet up at the beach. I put on my shorts, grab my beach gear, and head out.

"Be back before the streetlights-" mom started,

"-Come on. I know, I know. I'll text you when I'm on my way home." I finished. I kiss my parents and jump in the car to head to First beach. When I arrived, I see my sister-from-another-mister, LaCienega.

"Y/n/n!" She screams, running to me.

"Cien!" I scream back. We hug each other as tightly as possible before laughing like a bunch of crazy women.

"So, you're just going to forget all about us? Well, bitch, fuck you too." I look behind Cien and see her twin brother Javier and our other two friends, Leilani and Damion. I go up to them and hug the absolute shit out of them, and we all head towards the beach. We spent the day laughing, crying, playing soccer, and playing chicken before calling it. I planned on seeing Jared tomorrow but was warned by Leilani.

"Jared isn't Jared anymore, Y/n/n," she says, looking down at her hands with a deflated expression.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking at everyone else too.

"Did Jared stop talking to you recently?" Javier asked. I nod my head slowly. They looked at one another, and he continued. "He did the same to us too. He randomly disappeared one day, and the next thing we know, he grew a whole foot and a half, gained muscle, got a tattoo, and just ignored us. He started to hand it out with Sam Uley. Now when we see him, he just ignores us and moves on like we are nothing to him." I shake my head. That can't be right; Jared wouldn't be like that—he can hardly ignore starting random shit with people, especially if there's money involved.

"I mean, yeah, he did fall off the face of the earth, but…no. I'm going over there tomorrow. I'll talk to him to see what's up. That just doesn't sound like the Jared I know." I say, packing up.

"Well, if you can get him to talk, ask him for that $20 he owes me. Bastard never paid me back after winning a bet that I could out eat an XL pizza against him." Damion laughs. I nod my head and head to my car. On the way home, I think about what they said. I just can't fathom that Jared would be like that to anyone. It just doesn't sound like him at all.

~~~

The next day, I text the crew that I was on my way to talk to Jared. I decided to surprise him, and because I knew he didn't live too far, I decided to get my steps in and just walk to his place. Once I was there, I knocked on the door, and his mom answered.

"Oh my…Y/n? Is that really you?!" she exclaims with a smile on her face. She instantly pulls me into a hug, and tears swell in her eyes.

"Hi, Mrs. Olivia," I say back as I hug her. She invites me in, and we talk until Jared's sister and dad walk through the door.

"Y/n!" Kaylee, Jared's sister, screams and runs to me. I hug the now 12-year-old girl.

"Hey hon, hi, Mr. Kevin," I say, giving a wave across the room.

"Hey Y/n, how have you been? When did you get in?" he asked.

"I’ve been good. Just settling in. We came in yesterday morning. I came by to see you guys, and I was wondering where Jared was.” His demeanor changed. He cleared his throat and said Jared is with some friends and now isn’t a good time seeing him. He basically rushed me out of the house after that. As I was walking home, I thought it was strange, but I didn’t want to question it…for now.

It was only one in the afternoon, so I decided to walk to the diner not far from his house. I go up to the counter to order something to-go and sit on the barstool. Taking out my phone, I text Cien and Leilani what happened. They found it strange, but they weren’t too shocked by it. When I looked around the small diner, my eye caught a pair of familiar eyes.

“Kim?” she looks at me, and her eyes widen instantly. She gets up from her table and walks over to me and hugs me.

“Holy shit! Y/n?! What are you doing here? When did you get in?” she asked. Kim and I weren’t necessarily “besties,” but we were friends. More like the type to hang out around school, but not so much outside of it.

“Hey! I moved back. Came in yesterday. How have you been?” I asked. Before she could say anything, my food comes out, and she offers a ride to drive me home.

“Oh, you don’t have to. I don’t mind walking.” She looks at me hesitantly,

“Come on, we can talk on the way. Plus, daylight or not, you never know what's lurking.” She says.

“What do you mean?” I ask. She grabs her stuff from the table she was sitting at alone, and we walk towards the door.

“Well, lately, there has been a lot of bear sightings in the area. People coming up missing or dead. And, I just don’t want you to be the next victim.” She says as we head towards my place.

“Damn, so, let me guess, no hiking?” she nods her head.

“Please, please, please! Do. Not. Go. Into. The. Woods. Especially by yourself. The last thing we need is someone going missing again.” She emphasizes. I look at her with shock and just nod my head. At the light, she turns to me. “I’m serious Y/n. I know you have a habit of being a daredevil and taking risks. Don’t do it.” I look back at her with a shocked expression and just nod my head.

“Yeah, okay. I promise.” I say being serious. She nods her head, and we continue onward in silence. When we get home, I tell her bye and head inside. I now want to know what the fuck is going on, and what did I miss?

~~~

The next morning, I try calling up Jared, but I got no response. As I headed to the kitchen, I could hear Mr. Kevin’s voice laughing and talking to my dad in the living room. Heading in that direction, I welcome him then head into the kitchen to make myself some food. Once I was done, I head back to my room and get ready to head to the beach. I overheard Mr. Kevin saying that Jared and “the guys” would be at first beach. So, why not take a trip there for the fuck of it?

I tell my parental guiders that I will with some friends and head to my car. I text Leilani and Cien to meet me up at the beach for a little girl's day out. As I’m setting up, I run into Jacob Black, Embry Call, and Quil Ateara.

“Holy shit! Y/n!?” I turn to see Jake, and I smile at them and wave. We were classmates up until I left. I look at them, and I still see Quil looks like a baby, and Embry has gotten a little cuter, yet awkward and shy, but cute as can be.

“Hey, guys! How are you?!” I say, hugging them. Maybe hugging Embry, a little longer than I probably should’ve. They were a grade younger than me, but I still would hang with them when they were around.

“Not too bad, can’t complain. How about you?” Quil exclaims. Embry just looking at me and giving me butterflies in my damn stomach.

“I’m good. You know, just moving back, living life, trying to not get killed in the process. The usual.” I say, smiling. We talk until the girls come up. I tell them to text me some time—mainly hinting at Embry—and we parted ways. A couple of hours later, the girls head home, and I stay for a little while longer while La Push is still welcoming the sun. Not long afterward, I’m cut from my daydream with loud hoots and hollers. I turn to see who it was, and I can only make out a few of them. One of the girls turns to me and waves at me. I look behind me to see no one, and I slightly wave back, having no idea who she is. She runs up to me, and I see it's Kim.

“Oh, shit. Kim, hey. Sorry, I can't see shit.” She smiles and laughs but brushes it off. She invites me over to play soccer with her friends, and I politely decline. I suck being around new people. She smiles and encourages me, but I hear the voice I’ve been looking for before I could say anything.

“Y/n?” I look up to see Jared. But not the Jared that I remember; this Jared is entirely different. Someone I have never met before in my life. This Jared looks like he belongs on WWE or some shit.

“Jared? Holy shit! You’re fucking huge!” I say, walking towards him. But before I could do anything, he cuts the reunion short.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Hold on. Pause. What the fuck?

“Um, I live here. What’s wrong? Is that a bad thing?” he rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

“No, I meant here. On the beach. I thought me not replying meant not to contact me or follow me.” I looked at him, shocked. Kim steps in the middle.

“Woah, babe, chill. You guys cool?” I nod my head.

“Yeah, we’re friends.”

“Was.” What the…

“Woah, what the hell J. Did I do something? What the fuck is your problem? Last time I checked, this was a free beach.” What the hell was his problem? Who is this? This, this is…They were right, Jared has changed.

“Y/n, you shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have come back!”

“Jared, what the hell!?” I walk up to him, confused. I look behind him and see 2 more guys and a female.

“Leave Y/n. Just to make everything clear to you and to all of your friends, leave me alone. Don’t talk to me, don’t text me, don’t contact me. Don’t come to my house to bother my family, and don’t bother my girlfriend. Come on, Kim.” I stood there in shock. Kim looked as puzzled as I did but looked back at me and walked off. I stood there until I felt something fall on my face—a tear. Before I could react cognitively, I go back to my stuff and head home. I honestly felt like my heart has been ripped to pieces.

As I pull up to the house, I run inside and go straight to my room. I sit on my bed and text everyone in the group text what happened and just shower and lay in my bed again. It wasn’t until later that evening that I came out of my room for dinner at my grandparents’ house that I communicated with everyone. Why would Jared act like that? Did he do that with everyone? Is this what everyone was talking about? Something is up. I’m not going to say it's ‘roid-rage, but… I can’t pass up the thought that it might be drugs.

The following week I keep myself busy doing little things and going out with my friends, hanging out with Jake, Quil, and Embry. Mainly attempting to not be bothered about my last interaction with Jared. Coming home from Port Angeles with everyone that evening, my parents are arguing again. I retreat my stuff upstairs and try to silence them out. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had a horrible reaction when it comes to people screaming at me or arguing with or in front of me. I eventually narrowed it down to a time where I don’t remember before I was adopted. It didn’t help that my parents did it frequently as I grew up. It was worse when I was a kid. Before I would be able to leave and go to Jared’s house, he would calm me down. Now? I have no one. I can't necessarily go to my other friends because they don’t really get how bad it is. Jared is the only one who knows and who has seen the horror.

As much as I try to block it out, nothing is working. I grab my speaker and head to the bathroom to shower, trying to calm my nerves and tune them out. Hoping that they would stop by the time I get out. But I was wrong. It seemed like it has only gotten worse. And when I listened in, it was my fault.

“If you weren’t fucking yelling, she wouldn’t need to hide and turn up the music to block us out!” mom said.

“Why is it MY fault? Like EVERYTHING ELSE! Jesus! I told you to stop when the car pulled up! BUT NO! YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE THE LAST FUCKING WORD!” Dad said. And it was just like that back and forth. I slide down the back of my door and put in my headphones while trying to even my breath. Attempting to not have a panic attack. But it seemed as if the more I try, the louder they got. The louder they got, the more I cried. I couldn’t take it. I threw my headphones on the bed, grabbed my coat, put on my sneakers, and ran past my parents and out of the house. Even as I’m running away, I can hear them yelling about how I’m now leaving. It’s times like these that make me wonder why I can’t be normal.

Not realizing where I’m going, I just run. No stopping, no looking back, not thinking, just running. I don’t come back to the realization until I am in front of Jared’s driveway. I stop, thinking back on his hurtful words that I start panicking and running away from his home. Mindlessly running away, I trip and fall from a tree root sticking out of the ground. I look at my surroundings and notice that I somehow ended up in the forest. Confused and unsure, I look for a sign of familiarity, and I can’t find anything. Trying to not put myself in an even more state of panic, I take multiple deep breaths and calmly walk back into the opposite direction I tripped. But after a little while later, I notice I was lost even more. The sun is setting quickly, and I have no idea where I’m at.

Panic starts rising as I try to calmly and carefully walk out of the woods. I reach for my phone only to discover that I don’t have it. I either left it at home or dropped it when I fell. I stop by a nearby tree and just try to relax. But of course, life likes to go against me and scare the shit out of me. It wasn’t a second later that I heard the crunching of leaves and a branch snapping. I looked around me and didn’t see anyone. The rustling of the branches above me had me look up and saw nothing. But it was the figure in front of me that scared the living shit out of me.

In front of me stood an average height woman with chopped short black hair; she was skinny, pale skin, and beautiful. But what was creepy was the red eyes. I was so shocked by her appearance that I didn’t notice the man next to me. He towered over me. He looked six-feet, with silver blond hair, pale as the woman, and blood-red eyes.

“Well, well, well, look what we have here, Vanity. A little pet, I see.” The man says, stepping towards me.

“I see. Awe, she looks so adorable! I just want to eat her up! Can we keep her Leo!?” the female, Vanity, said. She gets a disapproving look from Leo, who turns to me, and the next thing I know, I’m up against the tree with this hand around my neck. This, by no means, is helping with my anxiety. I froze, unsure what to do.

“This is interesting, no fight back.” Leo says, “Well, where’s the fun in that?” he snarls. He throws me across the forest. I land on my shoulder and scream out in pain. “Run.” Is all he says before I get up and take off. I run as fast as I could while screaming for help. Hoping anyone is out there and available to rescue me from this hell.

“SOMEONE, PLEASE! HELP ME! HELP!” I yell, running as fast as my legs could carry me. If there's one thing I’m grateful for, it's being thankful for having the gift of balance. Without it, I would have tripped and fallen by now. I hear laughter above me, and as I look up, I see Vanity and Leo jumping from tree to tree, terrorizing me more. Nightfall has hit, and I can't see shit. I turn in another direction to get away from them, only to enter into an open field. I run across this little open area only to be cut off by Vanity on one side and Leo on the other.

“Now! We’re having fun. Right baby!?” Leo screams to her.

“Son of a bitch! What are you guys!? Please don’t hurt me!” I say, tears coming from my eyes.

“Well, since you asked so nicely. We’ll make it quick, hon.” Vanity says. She shoves me to the ground and moves my head to the side, but I hear a growl from across the field before she could do anything else. We all turn to look, and I see wolves. Giant wolves. What the living fuck is going on? A more enormous black wolf is leading two more of them, looking at us.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here. I thought you guys died off.” Vanity says, turning to Leo, “The game just got interesting.”

“Game? What game? I don’t want to play.” I said in a quivering voice. One of the wolves looked at me; the one next to him stares back at him, then at me.

“Seems to me that one of them recognizes our little friend here, Leo.” The bitch pops my shoulder out of place, making me scream out in pain, begging them to let me go. The wolves growl and take a step closer.

“Gotta catch us to get her,” Leo says. Next thing I know, I’m tossed over his shoulder, and we’re taking off into the deep dark forest. Before I can react, I find myself moving at an inhuman speed. My mind catches up with my voice, and all I can do is scream.

“Let me go!” I yell to someone. I look up to see the wolves right on their tail. A second later, I'm being tossed in the air, and I was caught by Vanity.

“What the fuck! Please! Don’t kill me! Please!” they ignore my plea, and she starts jumping up from tree to tree along with Leo. She tosses me again, and I barely land in Leo’s arms. At this point, I'm crying. I have no idea what’s going on technically. Wolves are chasing us. I feel sick to my stomach. I just want to go home. I turn to look behind Leo and see a wolf right upon him. He senses it and tosses me to Vanity. She catches me, and I look ahead. We are coming up on a clearing, I recognize. It’s the cliff.

“NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T SWIM! I CAN'T SWIM! HELP! HELP!” Those were my last words before I’m thrown over the cliff and into the pacific. Everything slowed down at that point. I looked back and saw Vanity diving after me, and behind her, I saw one of the wolves looking at me, and before I hit the water, it howled, and I blacked out.

Part 1: Hello My Dear Friend

Part 2: Goodbye My Dear Friend

Part 3: Welcome My Dear Friend

Part 4: Why My Dear Friend

Part 5: End My Dear Friend

Request Open!

59 notes · View notes

pizza-soup · 4 years ago

Text

Sorry I've been missing in action.

Long story short I got very injured at the labs, but I've been making a fast recovery. For the more detailed, graphic version, you can read below. Warning: Mention of hospital, blood, car accident.

As I mentioned, I got really injured at work beginning on February 21 at around 9 PM. It was during a routine check at some of the sites, one in particular needed our higher clearance because there had been a breach at a fence that past week, so I, and two other guards went to check out any tampering of the fence again. They say it might be vandals but a lot of them say it was some kind of large animal. The road to those sites are a single path through the woods, lit with a few lights, no curves, just a flat road with a hill on one side. It hadn't snowed that week either, so no fear of ice or anything. It was just a routine jeep trek.

It happened so fast. Our vehicle was knocked over, I'm not even sure how, but we were rolling in the dark down a hill, hitting trees. I remember the shouting, holding fast, and the glass. I remember crawling toward a tree and trying to sit up against it or maybe I was put there by the other guard, Dolores, I remember her telling me to stay awake. I asked her if I was dreaming. It didn't feel real. I asked what was happening to me because I couldn't move right, everything felt so slow and muffled. I passed out by the time they got us into the medical ward. I don't remember them putting me in a gown or putting in an IV. I woke up later, I buzzed the call button out of fear and pain. My whole left side was throbbing. A nurse was relieved I finally came to. She gave me pain meds and called the doctor in.

I was told there had been an accident, that much I already knew, but no one was killed, just injured. I lost a lot of blood, my uniform was soaked in it and they had to cut it off me. Part of the metal from the door frame folded in and pieced my left shoulder and I had minor cuts on my hands and arms from the glass. My blood pressure dropped so low they were scared my heart might've stopped. I was given blood, hooked up to a lot of things and I would have to stay under watch for a few days. There was a lot of tests they needed to do to figure out just how bad my injuries were.

For the next few days I was just sleeping, I couldn't sit up without feeling dizzy. I had to lay semi flat, my blood pressure was still very low. My left side was still throbbing and the stitches itched. A lot of bruises developed from being tossed around like I was, mostly on my arms because I was shielding my face and head. My minor glass cuts stung while batheing. Nurses came in every few hours to check my vitals, help me use the restroom, shower, help me eat, ect. I got so tired from the smallest things. I couldn't call anyone, my phone was in my locker. I finally got someone to help me call my brother to tell him what happened. My brother was naturally scared, he thought something happened to me and he was sad to know he was right. He wanted to see me, but he couldn't, I was in the medical ward on lab property. He wanted to call our mom to tell her but I told him to wait, there was a possibility that I might be transferred to a local hospital where they can visit me, and I didn't want her panicking and trying to drive up here in bad weather. It's best she waited til things cleared up.

After the first week I was transferred to a local hospital after getting a bunch of tests done. No brain trauma, no broken bones, no blood sugar issues or thyroid problems. I could sit up in bed by then and eat on my own. I still couldn't walk very well without feeling really dizzy, again, low blood pressure. A lot of minor bruises were fading away. I never had my anemia officially confirmed, but they confirmed it and had me take daily iron and placed on a blood building diet in the new hospital. I was tested for covid, I came out clear.

My brother and mom visited me daily, and the other doctor said I was recovering really quickly, that gave us a lot of hope. I could be out of there by a few days, though my blood pressure was worrying her. Seems it wasn't so much the blood loss, but that it might have been an underlying condition already linked to my untreated anemia. She would get the in-house dietitian to include a bit more natural sea salt to my iron rich diet, as well as tell me what I should eat at home and that I need to drink a lot more water than I normally did. This is a problem I've had for awhile, I forget to drink enough water. The doctor warned me I better remedy that immediately especially with low BP. My mom was already taking notes. She really wanted to just take me home already. I really liked her being there, I'm not that shy about my body, but I honestly felt better having my mom bathe me and comb my hair instead of strangers doing that. She was also a lot more gentle around my stitches and bruises.

Eventually I did come home, I still needed a lot of rest and help getting out of bed. I had to fight the urge to clean house, help with groceries, ect. I'm so used to being self sufficient. I felt so frustrated that just walking around the room would tire me out, when I'd hike for miles just a few months ago. I was tired of sleeping and sitting down. But there wasn't much else I could do. I did a lot of origami, my bro got me a coloring book, I watched a lot of movies, took my iron -which is nasty btw-, ate meals that were saltier than I normally would prepare but my taste buds would have to adjust. I was happy my new diet included a lot of fish though.

I did have some close calls. I really thought I could stand up in the shower instead of sitting, and wound up calling for my mom to help me up after collapsing. I collapsed again when I was trying to cook dinner for myself. My face, according to my mom, was drained of color and my breathing was shallow. I felt so dizzy and nauseated. She nearly wanted to call the hospital again. My bro said I was pushing myself too hard and I always had a problem with not asking for help. That I needed to learn to stop being so damn stubborn and rest. To anyone else, that sounds harsh, but he knows me way too well, probably better than our mom. I do have that problem, I do push myself too much. After that, I decided to be more patient with myself. I was sick and might be sick for awhile.

This week I'm doing a lot better. I can do my daily things now, I even went to get groceries and take a little walk to the river. But I can't over do it, I can't stand up or walk for too long, and I can't lift anything heavy, otherwise I get bouts of dizziness and need to sit down. The pain isn't as bad on my back anymore though it's still very sore, my arms, especially my left side, have a dull pain. I can't sleep on my back and left side, only my right and on my stomach. A lot of the cuts on the back of my arms and hands have scabbed over, minor bruises are gone but major ones on my shoulder and neck are still pretty dark and tender. I'm still finding glue spots on my chest and stomach from the medical tape and the EKG patches they put on me, but a bit of lotion is taking it off. My stitching, according to my mom, is definitely going to leave a pretty bad scar above my shoulder blade, but it's fine. My body has a lot of scars here and there from close calls, but I consider them ' Marks of Life'. They're proof I survived and thrived.

It'll take time for me to really feel like I'm back to normal. My mom refuses to go back home until I make a full recovery. She hasn't tended to me like this for a long time, mainly because I rarely get sick. I trait from my dad's side. We don't get colds or flus for years, no history of cancer, heart issues or diabetes, and his family usually remain active to their elderly years, not to mention our graceful aging. My dad used to say it was our native blood, we're just built tougher. The only thing that could kill us is getting injured like this. God, he'd be so worried about me though. I remember how he'd fuss over me when I skinned my knee as a child or got my allergies. If he was alive, he'd probably refuse to let me do anything out of bed, but then that's exactly what I should be doing anyway.

I got a report on the other guards health yesterday. Dolores and Elijah. She was the least hurt out of all of us, just a dislocated arm, mild whiplash, and some really bad glass cuts on her chest and arms, she's home recovering with her husband and kids. Elijah was the driver and got knocked unconscious with a bad concussion, his entire left arm was sliced by glass and metal, he lost a lot of blood like me and is recovering just as slow as I am. He opted to stay in the lab medical ward because he doubts his roommate can care for him at home, he's on a lot of pain meds, so he sounded distant on the phone. I think out of all of us, he's going to take the most time to recover. I told him I'd pray for him and if he wants, I can visit. He appreciated that a lot. I thanked Dolores for helping us that night, she was the one trying her best to keep us alive and sent the distress signal on our ARK devices so they could find us in the dark. Without her, I think we would've bled to death.

God, it feels like a distant nightmare. I still can't figure out how we were knocked off the road like that. Something hit us out there and it was strong. I felt the impact in the backseat, but I didn't see it. Dolores says it looked like a bear, but bears aren't that strong. Eli says he saw horns, so maybe a bison. Bison are that strong, especially against a little jeep. The incident is still under investigation. The lab is also very concerned about how this happened. It's possible the same thing that hit us, has been tampering with the fence.

One less thing to worry about is the hospital bill, the accident happened on lab grounds, everything is taken care of through them, probably because they don't want to get sued. They are giving us another two weeks before we report back in to the doctor for another round of tests and physical tests, as well as check to see if my stitches were still secure. Our return to work solely depends on our results, we may not be able to come back until late April. They really want to be sure we're okay. Because I'm an 'Ophanim' aka Tier 3 guard, I'll also be given a mental test before being hooked back into Selene. They just want to be sure there's no cognition issues and I can sync properly to her. I may have to do a refresher since I've been away for so long, but I'll worry about that when it comes.

Well, if you read this far, thanks. I hope I didn't scare you all too much. I am doing a lot a better though, I promise. I'm getting stronger everyday, though activity on this blog will be slow. Send me some prayers, good vibes, whatever. I'd really appreciate anything. Hope you've had a good month, better than mine hopefully.

#Update #medical trauma #accident tw #injury tw #daily update

16 notes · View notes

i-am-ironic · 5 years ago

Text

Daminette arranged mariage au part 7

**************************

Damian arrived right on time as usual, to pick Marinette up for dinner. In the car they went over the plan one last time.

"So the plan right now is just to tell your brothers that we are dating until the papers go through confirming you are Xander's father, right?" Marinette said watching the city fly by.

"It shouldn't take long." Damien replied, "Rich families tend to get things done faster then anyone else. Everything should be in order before the end of dinner."

"But what about when they start asking questions?"

"We avoid the questions until the paperwork goes through, then we can tell them the whole story." He Paused thinking back. "When I got back I didn't talk about what happened. I didn't tell anyone so they should be interested enough in the story to leave their questions till the end."

"This might not go well dames," Marinette started Fidgeting with her bracelet, "what if they don't like me? Or they think I'm helping your mother? Or what if-"

"No, mari." He said, his voice bringing her away from her anxious thoughts, "it will be fine. i promise. they will love you and once we explain, everything will be fine. We are here are you ready?"

She nodded and stepped out of the car. The manor was even more extravagant then she had imagined. She was going to need to come back to sckech just the doorway not to mention the rest of the house. Thinking about the architecture helped to calm her nerves.

"Here we go" she said stepping up to the door. It opened before dhe even had the chance to knock. Behind the door was an elderly man in a suite.

"Hello Ms my name is Alfred, I am the Wayne's butler and your name is?"

"Just call me marinette.”

“I must insist it wouldn't be proper to call you anything but your last name.” Alfred said.

“Just marinette for now but you will probably know my last name by the end of the night.” he looked at her curiously, why didn’t she want him to know her name yet?

“Very well ms marinette,” he said before turning to damian, “master damian your family is waiting for you in The sitting room.”

the two of them walked into the room and marinette was expecting a lot of things, but not this. damian just looked so done with his family.

“Ahem.”he said drawing attention to himself. “Marinette these are my brothers Dick is the one hanging from the chandelier” she waved at the familiar man. “Tim is the one drinking straight from the pot of coffee and Jason is the one throwing knifes at Dick. Oh and cass is the only normal one sitting on the couch.”

“Hey!” the boys all yelled in unison.

“Its a pleasure to see you again marinette.” bruse said before the boys could start arguing “I presume that our other guest will be here after dinner?”

“That is correct Mr Wayne.”

“Its Bruce as I have told you.”

marinette rooled her eyes smiling. She wasn't going to call him Bruce

“Hold on what other guest?” Jason said confused.

“Dinner is served.” alfrid said from the doorway as he lead the group out of the room.

“Damian wait!” Dick said reaching out for his little brother. Damian turned glancing at marinette who nodded.

“What do you want Grayson?” he siad eager to get back to marinette.

“I don't think you should be seeing marinette you know how dangerous our 'job' is and-”

“She can take care of herself” he cut his brother off turning to follow were the rest of the group had gone.

Dick grabbed Damian’s arm makeing him stay this was importent.“I'm sure she can but she has a 2 year old son who can't take care of himself and I don't think-”

“Richard.” that got his attention damian never called anyone by their first name.

“Yes?”

“Xander is my son.” that took a moment to Process before-

“WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE IS YOUR SON!”

without answering Damian walked out of the room. Dick folowed him into the dining room, where evryone looked at the two.

“Dick whats wrong? we heard yelling and you look like you saw a ghost.” Cass said conserned.

“Its nothing,” Damian replied sharing a meningful look with marinette. “I'm sure Grayson is fine. so marinette do I need to take any of my brothers to the garden”

evryone looked shocked at the implicashons but marinette just giggled.

“No they have all been wonderful. besids you know i can handle your brothers.”she smiled.

“Listen, marinette, if damian kidnapped you blink twice.” jason said in a sereous tone.

she gigaled again, “He didn't kidnap me besides we both know I can beat damian in a fight.”

“take that back! i have beaten you plenty of times before.” this made the boys and cass very intrested, if damian was defending himself he must have actualy tried to beat her, and falled.

“Dames I beat you 68% of the time.” interesting.

“so you admit i have beaten you before!” he said triumfently.

“Yeah when I let you win.” damians mouth fell open in legitament showk. he looked over at his father, who nodded, before making a statment that would change this family forever.

“Marinette Anne dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne you take that back right this minute!”

the reactions were very mixed. Dick was shocked. not only did his baby brother have a child but it apered that he was marred. Jason didnt know what to think. he had begun to coneckt the dots, marinette had foud the father of her chiled, she then showed up with his brother and she had the same last name as him. $#*! Tim alerdy knew about all this from his reserch and cass decided to wait for an explanation.

“No.” marinette said scrunching up her noes playfully. "I refuse to take it back."

there was silence for a moment before Bruce spoke.

“Maybe we should continue this discussion in the sitting room”

“So would you like to explain why marinette has the same last name as you?” cass said once they reached the other room.

“Not really but-”

“dames be nice, we knew we were going to explain when we came here tonight. I'll text luka.”

.”Who's Luka?” Tim said, he hadn't read anythig about a ‘Luka’.

“Its a long story so let's start from the beginning,” marinette started.

“Three and a half years ago I was walking back to my family's house after hanging out at a friend's house. Before I got home I saw a man who needed help, so I went over to help. him i cant remember what he was doing but when I got there I felt a prick in the back of my neck. I pulled the dart out before I hit the ground. The next thing I knew I was in a room laying on a coute. the door was locked and I could hear yelling from someone else in the building. I could tell it was a man but I couldn't make out what he was saying. it wasn't in french I later found out he was speaking Arabic. After the yelling stopped i heard the door unlock and got ready to run but when the door opened a woman was standing there with two big men behind her. She walked in and because of the two men I couldn't run. She started speaking to me in french she said 'my name it Talia. I need you to put on this ceremonial dress.' To which I replied as any sane person would that I wasn't going to put on the dress and they needed to take me back home. She asked 'did you hear that man yelling a moment ago?' 'Yes?' I said though I wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. 'if you don't put it on and do what I say I will kill him.' So I put on the dress. They tied my hands behind my back and blindfolded me before leading me out of the cell I was in. When they took the blindfold off I was kneeling at an alter. Talia began speaking in french so I could understand. She was saying things about the strongest bond known to man, and a queen for the future king. I didn't understand what she meant until I turned to see a boy my age bound and kneeling next to me. Thats when it hit me we were getting married. She made us drink something from a chalice before we were ushered into a different room. We were both untied and left alone. the door locked behind us. The only thing in the room was a bed. The boy introduced himself as damian and said that he wasn't sure why his mother made us get married but that he was going to get some answers. He looked pretty cute when he said that.”

Damian blushed at her compliment.

“Anyway Talia's explanation was that damian was 16 and for the league that meant he was a man and had to get married. And I had the great honor to be the one he married. I, was pissed. She said that as such a powerful magic user i was worthy to marry the future king of the league of assassins. I was even more pissed. She had the audacity to say that getting married, AT 16, to someone you had never met was a good thing. That little-”

“Alright mari I'll take over.” Damian said resting a hand on her sholder. “Anyway she said that after a year of mari training with the league we could go back to our normal lifes until we turned 18, at which point if we didn't at least move in together they would kill one of us. best mom ever. After that we were left alone to talk. Every day we trained and talked and worked hard. Once a month they would move us to a different compound and give us a huge array of blood tests. We became good friends. it was us against everyone else. Since we were already married we decided to give this whole romantic thing a try. But after six months I was sent to meeting with Talia she said I was going home and knocked me out sending me back to you. I searched and searched but I couldn't find any sign of marinette. so I had to asume Talia killed her. I couldn't think about France without thinking about her so I blocked all news from France. I didn't say anything to anyone for a month. And evrey year for one day I couldn’t speak, the anniversary of the last day I saw her alive.”

“I wasn't dead incase you were wondering.” marinette said picking up where damian left off,” I was sent to the med bay. No one would tell me what was happening or were damian was until Talia came in and said damian had fulfilled his usefulness. she exsplaned The only reason i was there was because damian had spent to much time with his father and had gone soft. The league needed a new heir to the throne. They picked me to be the mother of that heir. I was stuck there for months. I knew they weren't going to let me go. After the baby was born they were going to kill me. One day something big happened, I don't know what but it was big enough no one was watching me. I escaped. I hiched rides to France and snuck across borders. When I finally got back i saw a doctor as soon as I could. I didn't know if the baby was ok. He was born when I was 17.” she turned to the door where a young man stood holdng a toddler who scrambled down and ran over to his parints. “Everyone I would like you to meet Xander Thomas dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne.”

“Damian you have a son.” cass said wide eyed.

“I'm aware” damian said handing the boy his phone with a game already opened up.

“Xander is my nephew??????” Dick said staring at the boy like he had grown a secend head.

“Yes.” marinette said simply.” It took a year to defeat Paris' villain. After that I moved here to find damian and tell him about Xander.”

“Dang. So you know about Robin then?”

“Yep”

“Why didn't you say anything??? I've known you for over a year and you said nothing????” the betrayed jason said.

“I didn't want to explain anything until I could tell damian. i thought He should be the first to know about his son.”

“We have a break in at gatham museum.” alfered said over the intorcom

“We are not done with this conversation.” Bruce said.

“Suite up!” called Tim.

“Marinette do you want to come?”

she smiled at her husband “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

************

I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever written yay me. Pro tip if you see a centipede in your house DON'T TUCH IT it can and will sting you and it will hurt, my little brother just got stung by one. Anyway im glad so many of you like this story thanks for all the love! If you want to be tagged please let me know you can ether message me or reply to this. And if anyone can explain how to link things the pretty way with just "here" underlined that would be great. if you asked to be tagged and you weren't then ask again and ill put you on the list.

@thestressmademedoit

@abrx2002

@depressedrainbowcake

@myazael

@toodaloo-kangaroo

@bisha43rbs

@ur-average-reader

@crystalangelluna

@animezodiac707

@thenillabean

#arranged marriage au #batfam #damian wayne #damien #maridami #marinette cheng #marinette x damian #miraculous marinette #maribat #marriage #marinette x damian happy #daminette

107 notes · View notes

eveningcatcher · 5 years ago

Text

Main six + courtiers arguing with MC

I wasn’t really happy with how this post turned out. I planned to write it again, so when I got a request to write something similair, I got an opportunity for that XD

Asra

"MC," they said as they put on their shoes, "I'm going."

"Where?" they asked, however, once they saw Asra's travelling bag, they knew the answer, "You could have at least told me you were going..."

"I, I'm sorry MC, I have just realised there are some herbs we are running out of."

"OF course," they nodded with an irritating smile, "Since our shop usually gets so many customers that we are in a constant need for more and more items. They are most certainly not collecting dust in the back."

"MC, it's not like that," they reassured.

"But it is," they continued, annoyed, "If you needed some space you could have just told me, instead you decide to go travel God knows where for weeks!"

"It's not about me needing space!"

"Then what is it about?!?"

They were silent for a moment, their head dropping, "I, I have to go."

MC stared at them in disbelief. Asra is just going to leave like that?!?

"Fine, go then," MC responded, nearly pushing Asra out, "Have fun."

Asra felt the doors slam behind him, accompanied by the sound of the key turning in the lock. They turned, wanting to go back inside, to explain themselves, however, there was no light in the shop anymore. After knocking a tad bit loudly, they waited a minute, however, there was no sign of MC. Feeling insulted, Asra decided to go travelling; they'll explain themselves when they return home.

The whole journey didn't feel as good as it used to. Everything seemed bland and boring. In the mornings they would always get surprised when they wouldn't see MC's sleeping figure beside them, who would gently talk in their sleep whenever Asra would get out of the bed. Something, someone, is missing. Asra walked in the markets, blending in the crowd, only turning their head from time to time when they thought they saw MC. They got out of the crowd, going into one of the perfume shops. MC is quite fond of this fragrance, aren't they? They took the glass bottle, paid for it and then quickly put it in their backpack. Just on the other side of the road was a shop where they usually buy all of the herbs. After they were done with that, they headed back to Vesuvia, to MC.

"MC, I, I'm home," they said as they took their shoes off, putting the backpack right next to the doors, "Everything went much faster than I expected," they said sheepishly as they went up the stairs to the bedroom. However, MC wasn't there. Asra walked into the kitchen, downstairs in the shop, but still, there was no sight of MC. "MC... MC!" they called out, however, there was no response. They couldn't even feel MC's aura in the entire shop.

Asra didn't let that put them down. Maybe MC felt lonely and went to Nadia? After paying the Countess a quick visit they realised that wasn't the case. MC wasn't seen in the theatre, nor the Rowdy raven, not even in the market. The only person who has seen MC was a baker, however, the last time he saw them was two weeks ago, when they went shopping with Asra...

They returned home, once again, without MC. It's been a week and there was no sign of them. At this point, Asra had to reconcile with the truth, MC left them for good. They regretted not staying that day, asking MC to talk it all out, but now they can't change anything. With that devastating thought, they sunk into a dreamless sleep.

"Good morning sleepyhead," MC said as they pecked Asra's cheek, "Didn't expect to see you home so quickly..."

Asra rubbed his eyes, hugging MC, holding them tightly as if they would disappear any moment.

"Hey, what's wrong?" they asked, rubbing Asra's back, "What's with all the hugging?"

Asra gently sighed, inhaling the familiar scent of MC's hair, "You had me worried sick. Where were you anyway?"

"A few days after you went away I got a letter from my parents. They were sick and I went to take care of them, "they plainly explained as they played with Asra's white locks of hair, "Didn't you read the message I left you?"

They broke the hug, getting out of the bed, "What message?"

"You know," MC said as they made the bed, "The message on the counter."

Asra frowned, shaking their head. They went through the whole shop and they can't recall any message. Together they went downstairs, to the said counter, however, much to MC's surprise, there was not a sight of the note. They crouched, looking under the counter, then, after a couple of coughs from all of the dust, they picked up the dusty note, handing it to Asra.

"Oh, well that explains a lot of things," MC chuckled as they stood back up.

Julian

It was late and MC has just brushed their teeth, ready to go to sleep. They took the burning candle, carefully walking through the hallway, walking past Julian's room. Inside, the candles were still burning Julian didn't even notice them when they entered the room. It was only when they started talking that he turned his head to them.

"You know, you should go to sleep. It's late," MC said, wanting to add how they wished they could sleep together for a change.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, nodding, "Right after I finish with this!"

"No, how about you go to sleep now?" they asked, playing with his hair" Come on, don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"But this is very important to me. I can't just stop now!" he gestured to his notes about some medical topic," Sleep can wait."

"No, it can't, and you know that. Come on, just, take better care of yourself."

"Soon. I promise,” he added as he gently pecked MC’s cheek, ” Right after this."

"Why do I feel like you're saying that just so that you could get me off your back?” they asked, moving away from him,” Please, please, just go to bed."

"Why does it matter so much?" he asked, annoyed, "I said I'll sleep. Don't make a fuss over nothing."

"Caring about your health is not making a fuss."

"Yeah, just like how you taking me out of the Rowdy Raven right at the moment when the fun started."

"It was two in the morning," they reminded him, huffing in annoyance," That's pretty late..."

"Don't be such a killjoy. I swear you act like the elderly sometimes," he said as he returned to his work, cleaning the pen off the dry ink," You're not happy when I'm having fun, you're not happy when I work. When will you be satisfied?"

"It's not about me being happy. It's not about me at all," they insisted," It's about you. I just want the best for you..." they looked at him for a moment, "Yet it looks like you don't want the same for yourself."

"Well then, I have an idea," he said with an irritated smile, "Why don't you just let me do whatever I want from time to time? You're restraining me too much, sometimes it's driving me insane!"

"Fine," MC said, irritated, as they left his room, going back to their room.

Who knows how long Julian spent working. He's not sure about it, either. All that he knows is that he woke around lunchtime on his desk. Thankfully this time ink didn’t spill. It would have been a catastrophe. He stood up, rubbing his eyes as he walked in MC’s room. Strange, they weren’t here. Right, they ran out of eggs last night, they must be in the marketplace right now! He gently hummed some melody that only he knew as he made himself a coffee. An hour has passed and MC still wasn’t home. He knew something was off, so he quickly drank anything that remained of his coffee, going to the town to look for them. Upon asking every shop owner, he realized that none of them knew where MC is. He felt worry overwhelm him as he went looking for them elsewhere.

After spending the whole day outside looking for them, it was time to return home. He hoped that MC returned home, but that was not the case. The next morning he hoped to see MC but they still haven’t returned. Several days later he spent like that, roaming the city streets, asking everyone he knows if they’ve seen MC. What if MC left them because they argued? Did they leave for someone else? Or even worse, what if something happened to them?

He kept thinking about it all as he tried to unlock the door, but they were open. Shit, he must have forgotten to lock it. He quickly went inside, expecting to find a burglar trying to take his expensive books, instead, they saw MC who has just started to unpack.

"MC, where have you been?” he said as he took off his cape, tears forming in his eyes,” Why did you leave me?"

"What?” they asked as they hugged him,” I didn't leave you, Sam has given birth and she needed my help with maintaining her business. That’s why I was away."

"Sam is a mom?!?" he asked, quickly brushing his tears off, feeling joy for her.

"Yeah, the baby is so adorable,” they smiled, “His cheeks are so rosy and, and soft! He is an angel, except when he cries at 4 AM..." they giggled, then got more serious.

Julian felt the tension between them, not knowing what to say. He did mean everything he said, however, he does believe he could have worded it a bit better.

"So, about that night..." he trailed off.

"I'll be serious with you Julian," MC started, "You're not a child, but there are times when you act like one. It would be nice if you took care of yourself from time to time. You’ll end up like Tudor by the time you turn 40!"

He felt a shiver run down his spine upon hearing the grumpy merchant’s name. “Fine…” he trailed for a moment, then quickly added as he kissed MC on the forehead, “I’m glad you’re back.”

Nadia

This evening MC and Nadia have spent their time in the palace garden, drinking tea and enjoying each other’s company. However, Nadia couldn’t help but notice how there is something wrong with MC. Not just now, it’s been like this for several weeks, maybe even a whole month. MC would spend copious amounts of money and Nadia had no clue where all that money went. Sure, she also loves to spend money here and there, but it has never been so bad that she didn’t have what to eat the next morning.

“MC…” she started talking, knowing she couldn’t dismiss the topic any further,” You can’t just spend so much of your money…”

MC stared at her for a moment, surprised by her remark. They looked down for a moment, then started speaking in an annoyed tone: “Nadi, please, I can do whatever I want! It’s my money, after all.”

That sort of rude reply took Nadia back. It didn’t sound like MC at all. It reminded Nadia of a person she would never want to think about again – Lucio.

“I never said you couldn’t,” she responded with the same tone as MC,” I just said that you should ration it. For God’s sake, act like an adult.”

MC looked at her with sadness in their eyes as they opened their mouth, wanting to ask something, however, they decided not to. Instead, they stood up, walking out of the palace, silently saying their goodbyes.

Nadia watched them leave in frustration. Once they were out of sight she took a deep breath, returning to her rooms, going to sleep.

In the morning, as she was having breakfast, a certain man demanded to see her. She has never seen him before, but by the looks of his expensive clothes, they are here business-wise.

He sat in front of her, wishing her a good morning, then asked what he came here for, “Do you know anything about MC’s whereabouts?”

She nearly spits the food out of her mouth upon hearing MC’s name. What does this man have to do with them? “I, I do, they live in the shop-”

“I went there, they’re not home,” he interrupted her mid-sentence, growing impatient.

“But why do you ask?”

“They’re in big debt,” they simply stated as he took the cat hair off his suit.

“Debt?!?” she asked, furious. MC’s gone too far,” How?”

“I’m not sure, it’s not in my interest,” he admitted with no shame,” But it has something to do with their brother’s medicine. I don’t know, but neither do I care.”

She stopped for a moment to think about it all. MC did mention how their brother hasn’t been feeling well, but they never told her about this. It seems like she figured out where all that money went.

“How much do they owe you?” she asked after a moment of silence.

He chuckled, “A lot.”

“I’ll pay.” She simply stated.

He looked at her, surprised, but upon remembering that she indeed is the Countess, he accepted the offer. As soon as he got all of the money, he simply left, wishing her the best.

Nadia thought for a moment about the whole situation. Why didn’t MC tell her anything? They knew that she could just pay it all off. Yet, they still wanted to do it all themselves, suffering in the process. God, why are they so… so destructive to themselves. Do they enjoy seeing themselves suffer?

Over time, seeing how MC still didn’t come back to their shop, her feeling of anger turned into worry. What if they did something to themselves because of the money? What if they turned to theft? No, MC would never do that, would they? Every day she came up with new scenarios of what MC could have done just to get their hands on the money, neither one of them looking good.

However, as soon as she saw MC after a couple of weeks walking in the Palace hallways, the anger Nadia felt returned.

“MC it seems that you have forgotten something,” she said, not even bothering to ask them where they were.

They looked down to their feet, feeling ashamed. “I, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

She stared at them for a moment, trying to think of what they meant. Oh, right, they thought she was still angry at their rude remark.

“No, I didn’t mean that, though I do appreciate the apology,” she admitted,” I meant that we are a team and you should have told me your problems. You know I could have always paid for your brother’s needs.” They stared at her, surprised, “But… how do you know?”

“That’s unimportant right now,” she shrugged it off, still angry,” Just know that I paid off all of your debts.”

“You did?” they asked with small tears forming in the corner of their eyes. They gave her a tight hug, burying their head in her hair,” Thank you so, so much. I’ll give you the money back, I swear.”

As soon as they hugged her, everything she wanted to tell them was forgotten. All that mattered right now is that MC is back.

“No need.”

Portia

Portia stormed into MC's shop, walking upstairs where they found MC happily folding their clothes. Usually, she would offer to help them, however, they were not in the mood to even see MC, let alone confront them, "MC, what the fuck did you do?" she asked, disappointed with tears forming in her eyes.

"I, I-" they turned, surprised, not expecting to see Portia here.

"Do you know what it's like to be asked by the other maids when my brother is going to get hung?" she brushed her tears off, "Why would you do this?"

"I thought it would be good if you just, let it all get off your chest."

"You thought it would be a good idea?!? Do you know what could happen to Ilya because you thought this was a smart idea?" she started sobbing in frustration, not being able to get a breath, "What if, what if they find him and, and…"

MC tried to comfort Portia. They tried to gently put their hand on her shoulder, to talk it out.

"Don't touch me!” she shoved their hand away, ”You, you've ruined my life, you've put my brother in danger and, and you don't feel any guilt. Get out of my sight. I have to deal with the mess you've made. Did you not understand? I said now."

She looked at their hurt face, then at her surroundings. Right, she was in their shop. With a deep breath, she stormed out, preparing herself for confronting the Countess. She went back into her home, petting Pepi as she thought about it all. What will happen to Julian? Will Nadia force Portia to tell her about his whereabouts. If only she knew where he was, she could warn him, tell him to go far away from Vesuvia, but she can’t.

"Portia, are you alright my dear?" Nadia asked as she walked in.

She looked at Nadia, trying to think of something, anything she could tell her.

"I suppose you already know that MC has informed me about everything," she broke the silence as she let Pepi play with her hair.

"Countess,” she started to explain herself, fidgeting with her fingers,” I can explain-"

"No need,” she said with a smile as she took Portia’s hands, trying to soothe her,” I already had my suspicions a long time ago."

"You, you did?" she asked, surprised.

"Slippery hands?” she added, repeating the words Portia told her when she tried to hide her brother,” I'm not angry, I completely understand why you did it, “ she let go of Portia’s hands, taking a glance at the scenery outside, ”But I have to let you know that I can't guarantee what might happen to your brother. He'll face a trial and if people proclaim him innocent he'll-"

"He'll live?” she asked with hope in her eyes. Once Nadia gave her a reassuring nod, she hugged her,” I, thank you, thank you so much. I couldn’t have asked for more. You've really” her smile faded, remembering the words MC told her,”...lifted a weight off my chest."

After Nadia left, Portia went outside, going back into the shop.

"MC,” she called out, however, the only person that was in the shop was Asra,” Oh, hi Asra, is MC home?"

They shrugged, "No, they've just left. The two of you must have crossed paths."

She looked down, feeling guilt, "Where did they go?"

"I don't know, they just said they might be away for a few days."

“Few days,” she repeated, feeling guilt devour her, "I, I see... Thank you for telling me that." she said her goodbyes, going back to her cottage. As soon as she entered, Pepi gently meowed, sitting right in front of her. Right, she should feed Pepi. Might as well make a lunch. She would usually eat with MC, talking about all of the juicy gossips in the palace. She was an asshole to them. What if they went away, not thinking about returning? It’s all her fault. She could have just thought a bit more about it, or if she went straight to Nadia, none of this would have ever happened!

A week flew by with Portia being occupied with work, only visiting the shop in the evenings to check whether or not MC has returned. She knew that Asra said MC will be away for a couple of days, but there was still little hope in her that they’ll return soon. The thought of MC going away because of her was eating her up, but she couldn’t do anything about it. She knew she was in the wrong. After she returned from the shop, once again, she took off her shoes, going into her small living room, only to be greeted by the sight of MC gently petting Pepi. They turned their head to Portia, then lowered their gaze.

"Look, Portia,” they walked to her, wanting to gently put their hand on her shoulder, but they stopped, remembering what happened last time, ”I'm so sorry. I didn't know how much that could-"

“Shush,” she told them as she gave them a big hug, rubbing their back, "Why are you the one apologising if it's supposed to be the other way around? I was so terrible to you, even though you helped me out, a lot."

“You, you’re not mad anymore?” they asked, hopeful, “What will happen to Julian?”

“He’ll face a trial,” she said, with a bit of fear in her voice, “But if they proclaim him innocent, everything will be fine!”

“Then, shouldn’t we look further into it? To make sure that he is innocent?”

She smiled, happy that everything is returning to its place, “Yeah, we should.”

Muriel

Muriel had done feeding the chickens just before MC crept behind them, jumping as they tried to put on a flower crown they made for him. He twitched in surprise, touching the flower crowns filled with forget-me-nots.

"I have just found a whole field filled with these," they said with a smile plastered on their face.

He smiled, gently petting MC, “Did you finish the business you had to do in the palace?”

They nodded, smiling, “Oh yes, the plans are done. It’s not the most perfect, Lucio told me that, but he’ll try his best to-”

"You, you've seen Lucio," Muriel repeated, shocked, "Why would you do that?"

"Well, the thing is,” they started explaining,” I helped him with something last week-"

"You've helped him?!?” he repeated once again, taking a step back, ”Last week! Are you, you can't be..." he stared at MC, feeling his eyes getting watery, "You're friends with him?"

"Yeah,” they nodded, ”Don’t worry, we're just friends."

"That's too much,” he frowned, looking at MC with sadness, ”Don't you know what he did to the whole Vesuvia, to Asra, to me?" He asked MC with desperation in his eyes.

"I, I know, it's just that-"

"It's just what?" he cut them off.

"He is trying to change, he is trying to fix all of his mistakes." They wanted to continue explaining, but Muriel stopped them.

"Nonsense. Someone like him could never change."

"Just give him a chance,” they continued, trying their best to explain,” Wouldn't you want to be forgiven if you truly regretted-"

"You still don't get it...” he sighed, feeling like he has no more nerves to talk about all of this, ” If Lucio meant so much to you, then go to him. Just don't return here."

They looked at him, feeling broken, "Muriel, it's not like that, you know it."

"I clearly don't," he said as he went back into his hut, making sure MC doesn’t follow them.

After closing the door after himself, he took a glance at his surroundings. Inanna has just waken up from her nap. She got out of her soft blanket, gently walking to Muriel, then looking behind him.

“MC’s not here,” he simply explained, trying his best to suppress the feeling of sadness. He looked at Inanna who looked just as sad as him, “I don’t know when they’ll return, or if they’ll return…”

Upon hearing that, Inanna whined, taking a glance at MC’s shirt that she accidentally tore yesterday.

“No, no, it’s not your fault,” he patted her behind the ear as he walked to the chair, picking up MC’s shirt, “It’s… something between the two of us.”

Inanna stared at him for a moment, looking disappointed, then went back to her corner to nap, leaving Muriel on his own. He took the flower crown off his head, wanting to throw it in the fire, but he just couldn’t bring himself to. It’s not that he’s angry at MC, they’re just… disappointed. After a moment of debating, he decided to ask Asra for advice. He left the forest, slowly walking in the town, trying his best to avoid people. After a while, Asra’s shop was in sight. He quickened his pace, going inside without knocking.

"Asra, have you seen MC?" he asked straight away, not bothering to greet them.

"No,” they shrugged, a bit surprised by such question, ”Why, did something happen?"

He looked to the side as if he was ashamed to admit it, "They're friends with Lucio, and we argued because of it."

"Oh, you also argued with them?" they stared at Muriel's surprised face, continuing, "When I found out I also gave them a piece of my mind, but later on I...” they stopped for a moment, picking Faust up on the counter, ” Acknowledged that he is trying to change,” Muriel wanted to say something, but Asra stopped him,” Don't get me wrong, I still hate him, but at least he is trying."

He stared at them in disbelief, but decided to change the topic, "Do you think they went to him?” he started as he imagined one of the worst scenarios, ”What if, what if they-"

"Don't be like that,” they reassured him,” Why don't you go to the palace and check yourself?"

"And see him?” he looked at Asra, frowning, ”No."

"But MC might be there, “they insisted, ”Besides, don't you think you should have paid a visit to Nadia?" After giving it all a bit more thought, he sighed in defeat, heading to the palace. Portia let him in as soon as she saw him, walking along with him in the broad palace hallway.

"Good evening Muriel,” Nadia smiled as soon as she saw him,” It's certainly a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"Good evening Nadia,“ he responded in the same manner, looking down, ”Sorry for bothering you this late."

"Nonsense, it's always a pleasure to have such good company around."

"Noddy, who is- oh hi Scourge," he took a glance at Nadia's death glare, immediately correcting himself, "Er, I mean," he stared at Nadia who mouthed Muriel's name, "Muriel, yes, Muriel."

Muriel just rolled his eyes, not saying a thing.

"So, um, how are you?"

"Since when have you cared?" he frowned, looking at him, then at Nadia, realising that he may have been too cold, "I'm fine."

Lucio stood there for a moment, watching Nadia leave the room, "So, how is MC? The two of you are together, right?"

From his talk, Muriel realised that MC isn't in the palace, "They're doing fine."

He nodded awkwardly, looking to the side, “Great. That’s great,” he stopped for a moment, feeling the air stiffen around him. With a deep breath, he said, “Look, I, I made some oopsies.”

“You think?”

“I, I know. I’m trying to, to make it right. The coliseum won’t be used for the battles ever again. I have been thinking about-”

Muriel stared at Lucio, trying to hide this shock. He wasn’t used to Lucio showing any kind of empathy for anyone other than his dogs. Luckily enough, Lucio didn’t seem to notice as he spent a couple of hours rambling about all of the changes and the flooded district and whatnot, but Muriel didn’t care. He was thinking more about how much more bearable Lucio seems to be. After Nadia joined in the conversation, Muriel felt more comfortable, he even started a few topics himself, however, MC just couldn’t help but linger on their mind.

He left, going back to his hut with a faint hope that MC would be back, but they were nowhere in sight. With every passing day, he became more worried, replaying the argument the two of them had in his head. What if MC listens and goes to Lucio? Why wouldn’t they? Lucio and they seem to be close and, let’s be real, Muriel can’t even compare to a Count… It seemed that the more he thought about it, the worse it all seemed. He was lamenting in his problems that he didn’t even notice how Inanna was gone for a while.

After a couple of minutes spent looking for her, he found the wolf dragging MC along with her. As soon as they saw him, they dropped their head, not knowing what to say.

“MC… “ Muriel decided to break the silence, hating to admit it, ”I…overreacted…”

“Please, I was the one in the wrong,” MC said, softly petting Inanna, ” I completely forgot about your feelings. I’ll cut the ties with Lucio.”

“You, you don’t have to… just, don’t let him use you…” he added as he held their hand, slowly leading them back into the hut, knowing all is well.

Lucio

“Look at them Volta, they’ve been talking with Valerius for an hour!” Lucio said as he walked in the hallway, looking at how MC and Valerius happily chat.

“It seems like they are having fun,” she admitted as she ate cherries, not bothering to spit out the pits.

“No, no, that’s terrible!” he told Volta,” What do they think they’re doing with him, look, look how they smile,” he gestured to MC,” Ugh, it’s driving me insane.”

“Maybe they are just having a fun chat,” she said, continuing with her little snack.

“A fun chat!” he repeated, devastated,” Ugh, why did I even bother to talk with you,” as soon as he saw Volta’s eyes water at his comment, he continued,” No, no, please don’t cry, I, I just have to settle this on my own,” he stopped midtrack, wanting to go to MC to settle it all out, however, he didn’t want to hurt his fragile ego publicly,” Do you know how to write?” he asked out of nowhere.

“Mhm.”

“Great,” he clapped his hands in joy,” Could you write me a letter. Please?”

She looked to the side, pretending like she is in deep thought, “Volta doesn’t know if she could. She is quite busy…”

“I’ll order baker to make you three cheesecakes.”

“You son of a bitch, I’m in.”

He smiled happily as he led her in the library. As soon as he gave her some paper, ink and a pen, he started: “Okay, so, write it like this. MC.”

“Shouldn’t it be dear MC?” she asked.

After giving it a bit more thought, he shrugged, “Just MC.”

Once he saw Volta write that down, he took a deep breath and continued: “Why do you give so much damn about Valerius all of a sudden?!? Did you forget about how much you gossiped about him last week? What’s with all of the friendliness all of a sudden? Do you need anything? Am I not enough? Look, I love you, but sometimes, you’re just… driving me insane! Why do you pour wine for him, you’re not his slave! Stop giving so much damn about him… Look, I know, he is a Consul and all that, and you have the right to be friends with whoever you want, but not with him… Ugh… I’m just… so pissed! You don’t give a damn about my feelings! You can be friends, but that is way too fucking close for friends to act! You can’t give me any, any excuse for that!”

He took the letter from Volta who complained about how her hand went numb from all of the writing. Upon reading a couple of words here and there he was quite happy with the outcome. He thanked Volta, ordered one of the servants to take the letter to MC’s shop. After that, he went downstairs, looking for a baker, ordering him to make Volta three cheesecakes. And then he proudly went into his chamber, only to find a well-wrapped present. They took the card that was next to it, taking an embarrassing amount of time to read it.

‘I wanted to give you a little surprise. Hope you like it, MC’

“What’s this?” he asked himself, confused, as he unwrapped the gift, revealing a beautiful velvet cape. He was so confused that he went to Valerius, asking for an explanation.

“MC asked me for advice on what they should buy for your anniversary. They just left as they gave me a gift for helping them choose,” he said as he happily held the bottle of expensive wine. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was quite surprised how a mere witch could afford such expensive gifts.

“They, they did that…” he trailed off, feeling guilt for sending them the letter,” And where are they now?”

“How am I supposed to know that?” he said as he sipped his wine, signalling that the conversation is over.

Lucio left Valerius, trying to think about anyone who could know where MC is. Right, Asra would know! He took the carriage, heading off to the shop.

“Asra,” he said as he entered the shop,” Do you know where MC is?”

They lifted their head, looking at him, frowning, then going back to writing, “No.”

“You know where they are,” he said, annoyed,” You just don’t want to tell me!”

Asra just shrugged to that comment, not lifting their eyes off the book, “Perhaps.”

“Come on, tell me, tell me, please,” he begged.

“Let me think for a moment…” they put the pen down, resting their head on the hand, pretending like they are deep in thought. After a moment, they looked at him, saying with a smirk,” No.”

“Why not?!?” he protested,” If Noddy asked, you would have told her right away!”

“Yeah.” They admitted with no shame, giggling like a little girl.

“Don’t be so… calm about this!” he said as he walked back and forth,” What if MC is in danger? Who knows where they might be?”

“I know,” they blatantly said, enjoying the scene.

“You’re so… so… “he raised his artificial hand, feeling his face getting redder and redder, ”Ugh!”

“Alright, I’ll tell you where they are, so listen closely,” they said as they put the pen down, waiting for Lucio to lean closer,” The truth is that…” they stopped for a moment, enjoying Lucio’s suspense, then continuing,” I have no clue where they are.”

“WHAT?!?”

“I don’t know where they are,” Asra repeated, laughing,” They just told me they’re travelling.”

“When will they be back?” he asked, worried.

“I don’t know. They weren’t sure themselves.” They admitted.

“Well, thanks for nothing!” he said as he left the shop.

“Always!”

Well, this was a waste of time… He went back to the palace, letting his thoughts eat him out. If they didn’t tell anything to Asra, then they must be angry at him. Why couldn’t he just ask them directly about it? If he did that, none of this would have happened. What if they don’t return? What if he never sees them again? He just couldn’t bear the thought of it.

Most of the time he spent inside of his chambers, only going outside if it was necessary. Once he thought he got over it. He wanted to go outside, he even put on his makeup, however, as soon as he went through his wardrobe, the sight of MC’s cape crushed that will. And so, he continued to spend the time in his chambers, until he saw MC walk inside.

“MC, oh my dearest MC,” he said as he hugged them, careful not to hurt them with their golden hand,” I… I acted on impulse,” he admitted sheepishly,” I should have asked you about it, instead of assuming the worst.”

“What do you mean?” they asked as they hugged him back.

“I mean, I shouldn’t have sent you that letter,” he admitted.

“What letter?” they asked, turning their head to him.

“I… you didn’t read it? Oh…” he chuckled nervously, “Well, just don’t read it. Trust me.”

“Okay,” they said with a frown, then changing the topic, ”Did you like the cape I bought you?”

“Oh, yes, I loved it. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much,” he said as he lifted them in the air, giving them a big, tight hug. It was at that moment that he realized he didn’t buy them anything. Shit.

Volta

It was early morning and Volta was excited about everything that is supposed to come today! Let's be real, she was excited about the food. She quickly got out of her bed, rushing downstairs like a little kid. She happily greeted MC, remembering their promise from yesterday.

"Did you make Volta breakfast?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.

They pat her head, putting another tray of food in front of her, "Of course I did," they said as they organized the table, trying to make it look better, "Hope you'll like it."

She didn't wait a moment, devouring the food in front of her. After every bite, she would praise the food. True, sometimes, she could taste egg shells, and some foods were a bit too salty, but she didn't have the heart to tell MC. It was only once she got to the sweets that she tasted something odd. The taste was horrible, however, she didn't say anything, at first, then, it hit her. The food was poisoned.

Of course, poison couldn't do anything to her, but still, it hurt her that MC would do something like that.

"What's wrong?" MC asked her, "Do you not like the food?"

She gently brushed off the tears that were forming in her eyes, "No, no, the food is great and Volta appreciates it, but," she couldn't get the words out because of the constant sobs, "But why would you do this to me?"

"What did I do?" they asked as they tried to confront Volta.

She jerked away from them, waving them off, "Please don't disturb Volta. Who knows what else you might do..."

"But I, I don't understand," they moved away from Volta, giving her some space, "What did I do?"

"You, you," she looked at them, but couldn't find the right words, "Just, just please leave Volta alone, please."

They just stared at her, not knowing what to say. Realizing that continuing with the argument won't do much good, they walked out, adding, "I'm going to travel - "

"Volta doesn't care," she said bitterly, not having the strength to look at them in the eyes.

MC stood in front of the doors, waiting to see if Volta wants to say anything else. Once they realised that she said everything she wanted to say, they left, apologising for anything they've done. Once she couldn't feel their presence in her mansion, she stood up, not even feeling like finishing all of the food. She flopped herself on the bed, trying to think why MC would have done something like that to her. Didn't they love her? She started to bite her nails at the thought. Does MC also care about Volta's position? But, aren't there better courtier positions than hers? She's pretty sure Valerius has a higher position than her, or maybe he doesn't, she didn't know, nor did she ever care about that anyway. Most of her life she only cared about the food, and then MC came to her life and after all these years, they just, they shattered her trust like that!

"Procurator," her head chef walked in, "My apologies for disturbing you," he said as he tied his hair into a ponytail, "Your first lunch is ready."

She quickly wiped off tears, hopping out of the bed, "Did you throw away the food from the breakfast?" she asked, leaving her room.

"Yes," he nodded, walking right behind her, "Maids did it not too long ago."

She didn't say anything, just nodded as she sat in her chair, being in this same position just this morning, doing the same thing - devouring an inhumane amount of food. This time, she couldn't feel eggshells crunch in her mouth, after all, even the worst chefs could be turned into professionals due to the amount of food they'd have to make for Volta every day. Just before she was about to eat her third roasted chicken, she noticed an odd liquid drooling down the wing. She gently removed that wing from the chicken, putting just a little bit into her mouth. Sure enough, the chicken had a familiar bitter taste of the poison she had eaten this morning.

But, MC hasn't been in her mansion since the morning. The realization hit Volta as tears started to form in her eyes once again. She made a terrible mistake. Immediately, the memory of this morning flooded her mind, the picture of MC's gloomy expression being the strongest one.

"Is something the matter with the food?" a maid asked, leaning on her side.

“Dear, let’s make a deal,” she said, trying her best to be serious for a moment, “Someone poisoned the food. Find the culprit and Volta will pay you generously.”

At such offer the maid couldn’t do anything but to accept, getting to business right away.

Now that thing was out of the way, she had to go and apologize to MC. She quickly went into her carriage, twitching in her seat, trying to think about how she'll apologise. Does she start explaining what went on first? No, no, then MC will wonder how Volta didn't die; that can't do! Then Volta will have to admit that she is a demon, and she can't think of how MC would react. Oh, this can't do, it just can't! She is already in front of their shop and she has no clue what to do! She sheepishly got out of the carriage, standing in front of their shop, quickly knocking. She waited for a moment, trying to hear their footsteps going down the stairs, however, she couldn't hear any of that.

She nervously bit her nails, wondering where MC went. She knocked again, this time a bit more forcefully, calling out for MC. Nothing. She got even more nervous, knocking again and again, walking back and forth, waiting for any kind of response. Was MC not responding on purpose?

In all her worry, she accidentally broke a vase. Oh no, that was one of MC's favourite plants! She quickly picked up what was left of the plant, wanting to put it in another vase. Sure, she has never done that before, but she saw MC do it, so it's not that difficult, right?

She gently picked up what was left of the plant, trying not to ruin it any further, when she noticed a key shining in the light. Oh, MC did mention something about having a secret key! In one hand she held the plant and they key in the other, unlocking the doors.

"MC," Volta called out, "MC, Volta, Volta is so sorry," her eyes became glossy, however, as she looked in every room for MC she realised they were not there. She was all alone. For a moment, she kept herself together, however, as soon as she put the plant in some vase she burst into tears. MC left and who knows if they'll come back. What if they return and they are still mad at Volta? They'd have full right to be mad! Volta was terrible, terrible to them...

"Sir, are you here?" Volta's maid asked as they walked into the shop, seeing her boos on the ground, crying.

"What is it?" she asked through tears.

"I um, wanted to inform you that I've found the culprit. He was taken by the guards."

"Good."

"Also, cooks have prepared your three dinners. Let's return before the food gets cold."

Volta looked at her maid, then at the shop. She'll come back tomorrow and every day after that. For now, she decided that it would be for the best if she went home.

Days have passed and MC still wasn't back. At this point, Volta was sure MC had left her for good. Once coming with this realization, she couldn't cry, she already cried so much that there were no more tears that she could shed. She sat in MC's room, alone. With her hair buried in MC's pillow, she felt tears returning to her eyes and thus, she continued another crying session.

"Volta," MC called out to her as they took their shoes off, "What are you doing here?"

She quickly raised her head, her watery eyes finally taking a look at MC she missed so much, "MC," she burst into more tears as she ran to them.

"Volta is so sorry, she didn't mean to," she said through her sobs, "Volta thought you were the one who poisoned her-"

"You were poisoned," MC wiped off her tears, "Are you alright?"

She buried her head into MC's chest, "Volta is fine but she missed you so, so much," she continued with her rambling as she rubbed their back, "Volta is so sorry, she didn't mean to."

"It's okay," MC pat her head, their fingers gently playing with her soft hair.

Vlastomil

Upon hearing that Vlastomil has had a rough week because he spent it away from his worms and doing the actual job as the Praetor, MC decided to give him a visit in his estate, bringing some food for his beloved worms.

"MC," he said, surprised when he saw them in front of his mansion, "What a pleasant surprise!" he moved to the side, letting them in.

He led them to the living room where Vlastomil's favourite girl was. "Oh, Wiggler is quite lively today!" he said as he gently scooped her, putting her on MC's lap. Vlastomil left, ordering some servants to make MC coffee while he went to check on his other beloved children.

On the other side, MC was vibing with the worm, occasionally petting it. Once the maid brought them coffee, MC extended their hand to the cup, however, Wriggler bit them. They screamed in pain, pushing the worm away from them.

"Why did you hit Wriggler," Vlastomil screeched as he saw his poor dear on the floor, "What is wrong with you?!?"

"What do you mean?!? That fucker bit me!" they said, showing Vlastomil their bloody hand.

"That still doesn't mean you get to hit them! Why would you do that to my poor, poor, baby Wriggler! You monster!" he shouted, tears forming in his eyes.

"You, you're more worried about a fucking worm than me!" MC shouted back, standing up, sighing, "I have to go and find some bandages because of what your little angel did to me. Bye."

He didn't say anything to MC, focusing all of his attention to the worm. He gently picked her up, giving her words of reassurance that everything is fine and that MC won't hurt them ever again! Once he was sure that his baby wasn't hurt, he gently put her on the sofa specifically made for her and went looking for her favourite toys. His poor little angel is hurt and stressed and he needed to fix that.

The next week Vlastomil focused all of his attention to the worms, especially the poor Wriggler, who was still 'recovering from the trauma'.

That day he spent his time cleaning Wiggler's room, trying to get MC out of his head. Even though they were the one who hurt Wiggler, Vlastomil couldn't help but feel pity for them. He decided to push the thought aside, focusing on readjusting Wiggler's favourite pillows. Gently as always, he took the worm into his hands, however, Wiggler responded to that by biting him.

He twitched, staring at his beloved pet who still had its teeth deeply buried in his arm. Of course, the bite didn't hurt him, however, such an act broke his heart. "Wriggler?" he asked her as he tried to move it away from him, "Why?"

The little slimy worm took out its bloody teeth and everything became clear to Vlastomil. One of its poor teeth was rotting! He quickly called for the doctor who was in charge of taking care of his children, explaining the problem. The doctor said that the tooth will have to be removed, however, his face turned pale once he saw Vlastomil's hand. They quickly took some bandages and disinfectants, treating Vlastomil's wound. He stared at the wound, remembering that MC’s hand looked the same. Oh, MC! Poor MC! Their hand was in a worse state and nobody helped them... He stared at his cold blood dripping down, reminding it of how MC desperately held their hand, trying to put some pressure on the wound.

And how their eyes stared at him when he shouted at them! They were angry but had a hint of sadness at the same time. He was so, so rude to them. They couldn't even explain themselves as Vlastomil shouted.

He quickly went to MC's shop, ready to ask them to forgive him, but, as soon as he was in front of the shop, he didn't feel MC's presence at all. Did they die because of the wound?!?

He quickly opened the door, unable to find MC anywhere. He was devastated, going to the palace, asking Nadia if she knew anything about it, he even asked that pesky magician with whom MC was close, but nobody knew.

For the first time in decades, he was scared, but not for his safety. He was scared by the thought of what might happen to MC, the image of them lying on the cold, dirty ground, still bleeding from the wound. He would have drowned in his misery and imagination more if one of the maids hasn't approached him.

"Um, sir," she started, "I know what happened to MC."

He jerked his head to her, staring directly in her soul, "Then why haven't you said anything?!?"

She silently gulped, ready to get fired, "Well, you were angry at MC and I assumed you didn't want to associate with them until recently."

"Let go of that!" he stopped her, feeling guilt from remembering how rude he was to them, "Where are they?"

"After I treated their bite wound I requested them going to Nevivon so that they could get better treatment."

"Nevivon?!? Why all the way there???"

"Well-"

"Oh, let go of that now. I need to go there, I need to find a ship and, what else do I need?"

"Maybe a person who knows how to manoeuvre it?" she suggested.

"Yes, yes," Vlastomil nodded, "I'll get to it right away!"

He walked to the Vesuvia's port, looking for a ship. His footsteps were inaudible in the noise from all of the tourists. Amongst that crowd, he noticed a familiar face.

"MC!" he walked to them, giving them a big, tight hug, "My dear, are you alright?" he asked as he grabbed their bandaged arm, "Does it still hurt?"

"Only when I carry heavy things," they simply responded.

As soon as he heard that, he grabbed their backpack, carrying it for them, "MC I'm so, sorry. It was never your fault. Wiggler had a rotting tooth."

"Is she better?" they asked a bit coldly.

"Yes, yes, but that matter aside, are you better?"

MC was surprised by the question. They looked at him, a small smile forming on their lips, "I will be."

Vulgora

Vulgora has been proudly walking in their mansion, as one does, taking a hateful glance at all of their war trophies. They were pissed and unfortunately, their staff realized this, too, thus they didn’t have anyone to whom they could vent out. By venting, of course, they meant shouting and threatening to take the poor person’s life. It seemed that their prayers for finding a victim have finally been heard. Some noise came out of their favourite room in the whole mansion- the room where they kept all of their dear weapons. It didn’t take them long to realize MC was in the room, doing God knows what.

“Yo, MC, what’s with the noise?” they asked as they went into the room, shocked, ” What the fuck?!?” they stared at their favourite weapon, at the axe they considered their child, broken into half.

“I, I’m sorry…” MC started explaining themselves as they picked up what remained of the weapons, ” I didn’t mean it, I, I know a spell-”

“Get your filthy hands off of it!” they said as they took the remaining pieces away, holding them like a newborn child, ”This baby has killed more people than you’ve seen and you, you’ve just,” they couldn’t bring themselves to shout at MC, so they just whispered in frustration, “Stupid magician.”

“Vulgora,” MC said, feeling a bit frustrated themselves, ”You break the things all the time and I’m the one who always fixes it. So just let me-”

“NO,” they responded, persistent as always. They don’t care how unreasonable they may sound, this is an opportunity to vent all of their anger.

“God, why are you so stubborn?” MC finally said, snapping.

“Because, because, I don’t know,” Vulgora responded with a tone of sarcasm, putting their index finger on their temples, pretending to think, ”You broke my weapon?!?”

“But, but, you break your weapons all the time. Hell, you even come to me so that I could fix it!”

“This time, it’s different!” they insisted.

MC stared at them in annoyance, “Is it because I’m the one who broke it this time?”

“YES!”

“I… I don’t have the time nor nerves to continue with this,” they said as they moved past Vulgora.

“What do you mean?!?” they said as they walked to them, ”GET BACK!”

“See you next week,” MC finally responded as they moved their hands gently in the air, chanting something.

Just as they finished, purple smoke surrounded them and it seemed that as soon as the smoke disappeared, MC did as well. Vulgora stared in shock, walking forward, then opening the doors next to them, looking for MC.

“MC… MC!!!” they shouted, looking for them, ”Ugh…” they groaned in annoyance as they walked back into the room, looking at their axe once again. Maybe, just maybe, though they would never admit it, they overreacted. They wanted to change the handle anyway, and the blade doesn’t seem to be damaged at all… BUT MC STILL BROKE IT. Who are they kidding, they’re not mad anymore. They had their share of anger and now they have to face the consequences.

With a bow and a sword in their hands, they prepared for the hunt. It was a little habit of theirs that they considered being ‘spiritually healing’ for them. If they can’t spill the guts of people then they’ll settle with hunting animals. And just like that, the whole evening flew by and it seemed that they calmed down a bit. They returned to their mansion with enough dead animals to serve for five hungry people, or as a snack for Volta.

MC was nowhere in sight. They got all of their frustration back once the staff said how they didn’t see the magician either. The whole situation didn’t sit well for Vulgora, so they headed to Asra’s shop, looking for MC.

“HEY MAGICIAN!” they said as they entered the shop.

Asra shook in surprise, staring at the Pontifex, “We’re closed for today-”

“Where’s MC?” they asked, impatient.

“I don’t know.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW?!?”

“I mean,” Asra stared at them, not knowing what to say, “That I don’t know where MC is.”

“How do you not know?!? The two of you live together!”

“How do you not know?” they responded, a bit annoyed, “The two of you are together.”

Vulgora stared at them with their eyes wide open. They didn’t move, instead, they used all of their will to stop the urge to rip Asra to shreds for such a comment. They silently left, however, as soon as they closed the door behind them, they shouted a rather detailed description of what they’d love to do to Asra, not knowing that Asra can hear them very well in the shop.

Once they were sure that pontifex left, they locked the doors, putting on the protection trinkets on the doors, as well as on all of the windows. With that, Asra could sleep well at night.

On the other hand, that’s not what Vulgora could do. They didn’t want to admit it, but they were worried. Not even Asra knew where they went. What if something happened to MC? They tried, but they couldn’t sense them anywhere in the Vesuvia. Did they die? No, if they did, Valdemar would have said something. Wait, didn’t MC said they would see them next week? Oh, so that’s it, they need some time for themselves. Vulgora understood that they did that all the time. It is only once the whole week has passed that they started to get worried. MC said it was supposed to be away for a week, so where the fuck are they?!?

It was time to visit Asra once again. But then, just as they were about to open the door, they noticed that there was a sigil preventing them from entering.

“What’s this?!?” they asked themselves, staring at the doorknob, “MAGICIAN, EXPLAIN!!!” they shouted as they looked through the window, seeing Asra who held several protection trinkets. They stared at the magician in disbelief, shouting at them to let them in. Asra, however, kept on shrugging as they chanted some protection spells.

Several next days Vulgora spent either hunting or going back to the shop, demanding to be let in. Each and every time, Asra wouldn’t dare open the door, they only seemed to have more and more protection sigils each time Vulgora visited. On one occasion Vulgora carried the whole dead deer by its neck back to the Asra’s shop, telling them how this is what Asra will look like if they don’t let them in.

One day, as they were going to visit Asra once again, they sensed them. They sensed MC in no other place than their own mansion! They sprinted back, tackling MC.

“Aw, I missed you too Vulgora,” MC said as they turned, properly hugging Vulgora.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘I MISSED YOU TOO’?!?” they said, trying to sound annoyed, “I didn’t miss you,” they said determined, however, as soon as they saw MC’s sad face, they whispered a tad bit sheepishly, “Maybe a little bit.”

Valerius

Lucio’s party have always been a bit extra, and this one was no exception, however, what made it stand out from the rest was the amount of alcohol. Of course, like many, Valerius was enjoying that part the most, drinking only the most luxurious wine. By the time the party was done, the Consul had the same posture, however, by his talk you can say – he’s drunk as fuck.

Once he returned with MC to his estate, he started, "Say, witch..."

MC rolled their eyes as they led him into his mansion, "I thought we were over with that nickname."

He ignored the comment, asking them something that sober him would never do, "Are you just using me for getting yourself up in society?"

MC stared at him for a moment, shrugging, "Of course not,” they said as they moved a strand of hair out of his face, ”Don't tell me that's what you were worried about. Why would I even do that? You know I never gave a damn about that."

"Well, you sure do enjoy the company of the nobles..." he noted as MC helped him sit down at the edge of the bed.

"Am I not allowed to?” MC asked, clearly annoyed,” I don't understand your point."

Valerius didn’t seem to be satisfied, so he repeated, more clearly in his opinion, "My point is that a talentless witch such as yourself could never get to this point on their own. So, you're enjoying the position that should have never been yours."

MC stared at him in shock. They didn’t know if they heard him correctly. Tears started to form in their eyes. They didn’t want to cry in front of him, but he was drunk anyway so who cares? Some quiet sobs first left their lips, then tears slid down their cheeks. That comment hurt them much more than they expected it to. It just seemed that once they started crying, they couldn’t stop.

“Stop crying,” he said in annoyance,” You only regret that you’re caught.”

“How, how can you be so rude…” MC finally said it after they calmed themselves down.

“I’m not rude, I’m just…” he stopped for a moment, trying to find the right word,” Honest.”

“Well then,” they said as they wiped the tears off, taking a deep breath,” Guess I’ll be honest as well,” they stood out of the bed, leaving. ”Fuck you, Consul.”

The rest of the night was a bit foggy to Consul. The only thing he remembered in the morning, after MC left, for a reason he couldn’t remember was a faint flame of a candle. He woke up with a painful headache. He searched through his sheets, trying his best to find MC, however, they weren’t there.

“MC…” he softly called out, waiting for a response,” MC!” he called out once again, opening his eyes to look for them. Once he realized they weren’t beside him they got out of the bed, looking around his room.” MC, where are you?”

They walked out in the hallways, not even bothering to change, looking in each and every room for them. Once he saw the staff, he asked for some information.

“Um, they left last night,” the maid admitted.

“What,” he asked confused,” But why?” they recalled very well that MC was enjoying their time.

“You don’t remember?” she asked, tilting her head a bit to the side,” I, I don’t know exactly what happened,” she sheepishly admitted,” But I saw them leave, crying.”

“Crying?!?” he asked, worried. Even though he wanted to find answers, he knew that she didn’t know anything else. He said his thanks as he went back into his room, trying to remember something, anything that happened last night.

So he started recalling the moments before he started drinking. He entered the party, with MC besides them. The first thing they did was talk with some diplomats, then MC started talking about some casual topics, whether it was the weather or the muffins he couldn’t recall. Anyway, after those diplomats left God knows where a certain noble asked you for a dance. Valerius didn’t want to sound protective, so he was okay with it. That is until he noticed how the noble seemed to lean too close to MC, which made Valerius’ blood boil. He tried his best to calm down as he chugged down a whole glass of wine. Once MC returned, seemingly oblivious to it all enraged him, making him chug down another glass of wine.

Then, several more glasses later, his memory started to get foggy, however, once he tried, he started to put some pieces together. They returned together, the two of them left in the same carriage. MC talked about how Valerius spilt a bit of wine on himself, or maybe they didn’t. Unimportant. Then, it took him a bit more time to remember what he did.

“Shit, what have I done…” he frowned as he buried his face in his hands.

He wanted to go to them, to apologize, but could he? What he said was so ignorant. He understood if MC wouldn’t want to associate with him again. God, did he have to talk about that? But maybe, just maybe, there is still a bit of hope left. Maybe they’ll return. Sure, they’d be pissed, but Valerius just wanted to see them. He wants to make it right. Then, MC should make the decision.

Days have passed and he didn’t hear a word from them. Nothing, not even a letter. This was driving Valerius insane. He left his room, picking up a glass of wine, locking himself in his library, trying to take his mind off of everything. Of course, he would get out of the room from time to time… so that he could get a new bottle… It was during the one time he left his room that he saw MC being let in by one of the staff.

“MC…I, you’re back,” he said as he walked to them, giving them a longing hug, “Please, please don’t go,” he said as he buried his head in their hair,” I, I’m so sorry,” he whispered in their ear.

“It’s okay,” they reassured him as they rubbed his back, “You were drunk.”

“That doesn’t excuse my behaviour.”

MC softly smiled, kissing him on the forehead, “Let’s just get over it.”

Valdemar

Valdemar walked around Vesuvia, looking at all of the shops in the centre of the city with annoyance. Why does Vesuvia try to appease to tourists so much? They frowned in annoyance, trying to avoid even the smallest crowds of people. Their footsteps were fainter and fainter as they walked in the more abandoned streets, hearing a faint meow. They tilted their head, staring at an abandoned, dirty kitten barely standing on its feet. Once Valdemar was in front of it, the kitten stumbled as it walked to them, gently sniffing their legs. It meowed once again, gently bumping into Valdemar’s left leg, as if it were afraid of hurting them. Valdemar grinned from ear to ear at the sight. They gently picked up the cat, bringing it with them to the dungeon.

They knew that they couldn’t vivisect a dirty cat, so they gently picked it up, washing it. After the cat was cleaned, it happily meowed, licking Valdemar’s gloves. Valdemar however, didn’t appreciate the gesture, as they grabbed the cat as if it were some dirty, smelly rug, putting it onto the vivisection table, ready to get to the fun part.

They were cleaning their scalpel as they listened to the elevator rumble. Oh, MC is coming, even better! They could examine this fine specimen together.”Mc, put on the gloves, we’ll have some fun today~” they mused, cleaning another scalpel for MC.

“Oh, you found another dead animal?” they asked, giggling a bit uncomfortably.

“Even better,” they responded with excitement in their voice, “I found this thing, splendid, isn’t it?”

MC glanced at the vivisection table, expecting to see some dead animal, as they would always see, however, that wasn’t the case. A little kitten stared at MC, meowing happily, not knowing what awaits it. “Valdemar, what do you think you’re doing?” MC asked Valdemar in a cold tone, not taking their eyes off of the small ball of fur.

They stared at them, not seeing anything bad in their intention, “Preparing to vivisect this thing, of course.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Hm,” they tilted their head, “Why not?”

MC walked to the kitten, softly petting its head, “Because it’s alive. Would you go and vivisect a child?”

“Of course not,” they simply responded. After all, Valdemar is a quaestor, they knew very well that vivisecting people is highly frowned upon. But there is no harm in experimenting on the abandoned animal.

“Tell me where you found it,” MC gently picked the cat up, walking to the elevator, “I’ll leave it there and we’ll forget about this whole thing.”

“Absolutely not,” Valdemar walked behind them, not letting them leave, “I have already prepared everything for the vivisection.”

“You can’t be serious,” MC turned to them in disbelief, “I don’t give a fuck if it’s abandoned, you can’t do that. That’s morally wrong!”

“So what? It’s just a cat. Please Mc, stop being so dramatic over the smallest things. You’re starting to act like DR.069.”

“I’m the one being dramatic?” they repeated, not believing what they were hearing, “You’re unbelievable! You know what?” MC put the kitten in Valdemar’s hands, “Here, do whatever the fuck you want with it,” they stared at Valdemar, fury clear in their eyes, “But don’t come to me ever again if you kill this thing, or any other animal for that matter.”

They walked into the elevator, not even bothering to glance at Valdemar.

Valdemar was left alone, with a cat purring in their hands, gently nibbling on their fingers. What are they supposed to do with this now? The image of furious MC came to their mind. After a bit more thought Valdemar sighed and went inside the elevator. Once again, they were on the streets of Vesuvia, putting the cat back where they found it. They walked back to the dungeon but stopped midtrack once they felt something bump their foot. It was the cat who continued meowing, trying to find some food. Valdemar frowned at the sight of it. What a bother. If only they left it on the streets…

“Excuse me, sir, is that cat yours?”

Valdemar turned to the little girl, “You want it?”

She was surprised by the question, but she nodded slowly, “If I may…”

Valdemar picked the cat up, nearly throwing it in the girl’s hands, “It’s yours,” they quickly added as they walked as far away as they could, almost as if they thought the cat would follow them.

Now that thing is out of the way they walked back to their estate, waiting for MC to return. Sure, they argued, but it never got this serious. MC would always come at around this time, usually bringing tea with them, so that they could enjoy it with Valdemar. It was a little habit of theirs that Valdemar loved. Minutes turned into hours, but Valdemar didn't bother. MC's just a bit salty over it. They'll knock on the doors of Valdemar's mansion, telling them about how they thought about the whole thing, finding it irrational. They'll apologise, and Valdemar will do the same, they would admit that they acted immature on their side as well. So, in conclusion, MC's on their way here.

They'll be here. At any moment.

The sun began to lower, being replaced by the moon and countless stars, yet MC was nowhere in sight. This disturbed Valdemar more than they wanted to admit it. They'll have to visit MC, but not now. They knew that humans would sleep during the night and they didn't want to disturb MC by their sudden visit. So, they returned to their studies, writing some of their research about human behaviour.

Time flew by and it was time to visit MC. Once there, they noticed a sign on the door: Will return this Friday. They sighed, tearing the sign off the doors. MC should know better than to put such signs. What if someone were to break in? Valdemar took the extra key MC gave them and went inside the shop. They quickly noticed that something was off as they walked behind the counter, inside MC’s kitchen. Then it hit them – MC would usually be here, baking some goods. Now, there wasn’t anyone but Valdemar in here. They brushed the thought off, going upstairs, into MC’s bedroom. No, they weren’t here either. So, they went to travel? Valdemar thought as they sat on MC’s bed, grabbing one of the pillows, How long was their travel supposed to be? Three days?

Yes, three days, they thought, But, considering how mad MC was at them, the travel might be a bit longer. Oh well, be it three days, a week, or maybe a whole month, it doesn’t matter, because MC will come back.

Valdemar knew they had nothing to do in here anymore, so they left, locking the door after themselves. They came back three days later, in the early morning, knowing MC usually returns before the shop opens. They didn’t knock this time, they just unlocked the door, gently opening it.

“MC!” they looked around, however, the shop looked the same as three days ago, except that some of MC’s plants started to wilt. That can’t do. Valdemar went into the kitchen, taking a glass of water, pouring it onto the plants. No, that’s not right. They thought for a moment, remembering how MC would water below the plant, the soil.

After they’ve finished with that, they rearranged MC’s books in alphabetic order, something MC always promised they’d do, but never found the time to. Soon enough, Valdemar also finished with it. What could they do now? They would spend more of their precious time just thinking, had they not heard MC’s old clock ringing. It’s five already and MC is nowhere in sight… Oh well, this was expected, wasn’t it? They thought as they made themselves tea. They sat in MC’s room, watching the streets of Vesuvia. Was it always so crowded outside of MC’s shop? They must have never noticed. They guessed that MC never minded the crowd. After all, that’s great for business, no?

Once they’ve finally taken their eyes off of the crowd outside, they realised MC was not there. Instead, they were alone with the cold tea. They took the cup, gulping the whole thing in one go. Weird, it tasted better when MC made it. Probably because Valdemar hasn’t made anything in decades. They took the cup, washed it, put it back into the cupboard. Now what?

They pondered about what they could do until they heard the sound of keys rustling. Valdemar happily observed the doors, happy that they can finally see MC, only to be greeted by the sight of their bleeding arm. Once MC realized that Valdemar was in the room, they debated whether or not they should leave their own home.

“Mc, come here,” Valdemar gestured at Mc’s chair as they went to look for some bandages and disinfectants. It wasn’t long before Valdemar returned, “Seriously MC, you need to do something about this,” they added as they cleaned MC’s wound, “How did you get hurt this badly?”

They waited for a response, however, MC never gave it. Valdemar didn’t understand why they decided to give the silent treatment, some might say that they were even hurt by the gesture. Then, as they noticed MC’s improvised bandage on their leg, remembered, MC’s still mad at them.

“Some kid took the cat,” they simply stated as they unwrapped MC’s leg, “You didn’t disinfect this, did you?”

MC shrugged, whispering as they gently pat Valdemar’s cheek, “I’m glad you didn’t kill it.”

Valdemar stopped midtrack for a moment, appreciating the gentle touch that they longed for. After a moment they gently moved MC’s hand away, focusing again on treating the injuries.

138 notes · View notes

hazbbyhaz · 4 years ago

Text

sleepless || harry styles

fifteen

pairing: Harry Styles x OC

synopsis: beach things

disclaimer: the beach, cameras, minor injury, talk of childhood, mentions of death

Everything is different by the sea

“Look!” Avery lets her shoes drop as she runs towards the open sea. “We’re right on time!” The sun was just beginning to rise, painting the sky in a beautiful coral, as Harry met her at the shoreline.

“I told you this was a good idea. Quite frankly, I think that I only have good ideas.” Harry smirked, his eyes fixed on the horizon in front of them. The beach was relatively empty, only an elderly man and his dog passing them when they had first arrived. It was easy to imagine that this place belonged to them, and only them. Their safe space where nothing could hurt them.

Avery rolled her eyes at his remark and placed the blanket that she had brought down onto the sand, flattening the strawberry colored material. Finally settling, she laid with her legs stretched out and her arms bent behind her, supporting her weight. Soon Harry was sat by her side, legs crossed while he fiddled with the small stones in the sand. Neither of them felt the need to speak. The air around them was feather-light and enjoyable. Seagulls started to circle above them, their cries echoing over the beach.

“This is my second time at the beach,” Avery’s eyes fell shut as the sun rays illuminated her skin. “I shall come more often.”

Harry chuckles, now leaning back on his elbows next to her. “Sometimes you talk like you are from the Victorian age.”

She blushed at his words, but quickly caught herself, trying to not get embarrassed by the teasing. “Well, making a statement like that is awfully rude Mr…”

“Styles?” He suggests with a quirked brow.

“Styles. Mr Styles.” She let out a hearty laugh, allowing herself to blush. “I've never heard that name before… it suits you.”

“What does that mean?” He questions, joining in with her laughter.

“It fits your personality, I think so at least.”

“Well, thank you.” Their eyes meet for a moment before they both turn back to face the sea.

“Who took you to the ocean last?”

“My dad,” She said. “I was around five I think, I don’t really remember a lot of it. My parents are divorced, but he had insisted on spending this particular weekend with me. We flew a massive kite and had a bonfire on the beach later that night. Have you ever had a bonfire?”

He finds her question a peculiar one. A bonfire seemed, to him, to be a thing that people did often. It didn’t seem like some amazing thing that only a couple of people had the chance of experiencing. “Yes, quite a few.”

“Oh,” She frowns. “I've only ever had the one, but it was really nice.”

“Where is your dad now?”

“He’s dead. Car accident.”

He looked over at her, but she didn’t meet his gaze. “Oh Ave… I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“It's okay. It was a long time ago. I don't think about it much anymore, there isn't much to hold onto anyway.”

She shrugged. He tried to look for the slightest sign that would tell him that there indeed was something more. Trying to see if he had bothered her in any way. He found nothing.

“What about your mom?” He nearly jumps as Avery immediately stood up, brushing the access sand off of her clothes.

“Can you take a photo of me? Just one.” She said quietly, the request nearly a whisper, looking down at him with a troubled smile.

“My camera is in the car.” He continued, getting up. “But I can get it, one minute.” Hary made his way back to the car, leaving Avery by the sea. He could swear he saw a tear slip down her cheek, but, just like with Francis, he acted like he didn’t see it. Being blatantly ignorant to the problems he knows exist.

“What should I do?” Avery asks as Harry appears with his camera, the device hanging around his neck. At this moment, it was obvious to her that he was a photographer. It was the way that he looked at their surroundings, trying to give the best suggestions as to what she would do that showed her that he was passionate about the matter. He took a lot of care in the photos he produced, and it was nice to see someone so in love with what they did.

“Well, what are you offering me?” He holds up the camera, looking through the viewfinder to regulate the lens.

“Uhm… I can do a cartwheel!” She stretches her arm up high, her shirt riding up in the process. She shudders as the cold air hits her exposed stomach. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

She lifts her leg to gain some momentum, and before she can complete the trick, her shoulder connects with the ground. Avery sits up, rubbing her now aching shoulder and wiping the sand off of her pullover. “Fuck.” she sighs, Harry runs towards her, kneeling down by her side. His camera dangling loosely around his neck.

“Are you alright?” His eyes scanning over her frame in search of any injuries, bringing his hand up to gently rest on her shoulder. “Does your shoulder hurt?”

“Yeah, but it's fine. It's probably just going to bruise.” She grimaces but lets out a breath as she notices that she can move it without any major pain. “Did you get the shot?”

“No, sorry. I was more concerned about your health,” He gets up first, giving her his hand to help her from the ground. “Careful.” He murmurs lightly under his breath.

“Let's do another one.”

“But no cartwheel.”

“No cartwheel,” Avery promises, so Harry will get back into his previous position, adjusting the camera to the lighting. “Now that I don't have the cartwheel option I don't know what to do… what about a handstand?”

“No, Avery. You have the balance of Vincent Van Gogh.”

She rolls her eyes at his joke but agrees with his statement. A handstand is a bad idea. Instead, she turns her back to the camera, looking out at the ocean. “Take one like this.”

“But then I can see your face?” He begins to argue.

“I don't want my face to be in it.” She takes the scrunchie out of her hair, letting it flow freely in the wind. Harry sighs, but nevertheless, he takes the photo. A little bit after Avery hears the shutter sound, she turns back around to face him.

Harry is looking at his camera, presumably at the picture he had just taken. Out of nowhere, this worry overloads Avery. She had let herself go. She had been too bossy with her statements, she had been rude, and ungrateful. Was he mad at her? Is that why he sighed? Was this a warning sign for her to not take anything further?

“I'm sorry.” Avey grabs onto her hand, attempting to cease its incessant shaking as Harry raises his gaze.

“What? Sorry for what?”

She visibly swallows. “I was being rude and bossy towards you. I didn't mean it and I'm really sorry, Harry. I swear it won't happen again. I swear.”

“Avery, what are you talking about?” He lets go of his camera, letting it hang around his neck while he slowly makes his way to where she was standing.

“You aren't being rude. You were just talking about the picture. I'm not mad at you, why would you think that?”

Her eyes dropped from her own, now embarrassed at her assumption. “Because of your sigh, I thought you were annoyed with me…”

“I'm not annoyed with you, Ave. I just… it doesn't matter. We’re fine, we’re okay. I'm not mad or annoyed, okay?”

“No. Why did you sigh?” She asks, and she could slap herself for how she sounded. This is not how she was raised at all. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just, please tell me.”

Harry's eyes drop for only a moment before he is staring directly into her irises. His green eyes meeting her blue ones. “It's just… there is no reason for you to look away from the camera, Ave… and I guess this is just a long-winded way of saying that I think you are beautiful.”

✨ next

✨ previous

✨ masterlist

✨ wattpad

Taglist: if you would like to be added, please tell me!

@serenametanoia @magicalmongerherringfan @caliqueenbed

12 notes · View notes

sassyduckqueen · 4 years ago

Text

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 40

Here's heroes day!!! God, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! A whooping 17,000 + words :O so if you decide to read this chapter, get a drink and get ready for a long read. Anyway, this was super fun to do. As for the akumatized heroes, I've got some fun facts about their chosen names in this. Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback become Void Fox, Frelona and Tortue Serpentine. Void Fox is a reference to a type of Kitsune, known as the shadow fox, the void kitsune or dark kitsune. Frelona comes from the french word for Wasp and Tortue Serpentine is Snapping Turtle in french, which my friend Naruwitch suggested then we have Ryuko and Aspik. Ryuko becomes Okami and Aspik becomes Aapep. Now Okami is a legendary dragon who tends to be portrayed as evil and Aapep is another name for an ancient Egyptian deity who is the personification of chaos and takes the form of a giant snake. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter :D

Oh and also I recommend going back and re-reading Reverser. I've edited it a little to work in with this chapter and Volpina.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Forty: Heroes Day

"See you next time, Bug a boo!" Lady Noir called out as she ran off in a different direction then him. He smiled and shook his head before running off towards the Seine. He jumped off the building and threw his yoyo, swinging across the water and towards the Liberty. He landed on the roof and backflipped off before jumping through the porthole to his room. He landed on the floor as his transformation dropped before catching Tikki. Both of them let out a yawn before Luka stumbled to his bed and fell onto it almost instantly before crawling into it. Tikki helped him pull on the covers before gently kissing his forehead before curling up on his stomach as he breathed in, having fallen asleep straight away. However, his alarm went off two hours later, causing him to groan and hide his head in the pillow.

"Five more minutes," He mumbled as it kept ringing. He groaned and slammed his alarm, silencing it before trying to go back to sleep. However, his second alarm went off, making him groan even more. Once again, he turned it off and went to fall back to sleep but the final alarm went off, turning on the radio. As the person on it talked, Luka groaned, wanting nothing more to sleep and was mentally cursing Hawkmoth for creating an akuma at 3.30am. However, his eyes widen when the host mentioned Heroes day and he jolted up, wide awake. Tikki gasped and jumped as he did before he grinned at her and jumped out of bed.

"Are you ok?"

"It's Heroes day!" He gasped, getting dressed and grabbing his school bag before he stopped with wide eyes. Tikki rose an eyebrow. "Oh no! I forgot to plan a good deed! Uh!! I am an awful human being,"

"And the fact that you were up all night saving Paris isn't enough of a good deed?" She asked, causing Luka to shake his head.

"Unfortunately not. You see heroes day is when everyday citizens preform a good deed for everyone's benefit " He explained, making her pull a thinking expression. "Besides, it's not like I can't tell anyone about been a hero and two it would count as Anatis' good deed, not mine... well, I'll just do what I did last year,"

"What was that?"

"See what happens and improvise," He grinned, making her smile. "Last year, Rose ended up needing help with something so I helped her. I'm sure there'll be someone I can help this year too,"

"That's a great idea, Luka," Tikki smiled as he handed her a cookie. She happily bit into it as he made sure he has his books before pulling on his usual hoodie. He glanced over at the jacket Marinette made him and smiled to himself before turning to Tikki, who had finished her cookie. He opened his bag for her and she flew in before he closed it and left his room. He grabbed a piece of toast from the kitchen and gave Anarka a kiss on the cheek before heading up to where Juleka was. Almost instantly, he was hit with the emotion of the city, making him grin. All of Paris was singing today and it was a gorgeous song. For a second, he closed his eyes and let himself bask in it's crescendo before Juleka cleared her throat.

"What are you doing?" She asked, as he looked at her.

"Listening to the music of the city," He replied, making her roll her eyes before he grinned at her. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure," She nodded, walking off. Luka shook his head and followed, smiling to himself. They passed several stores and saw lots of balloons. Luka smiled a little as he saw Juleka go bright red when she noticed several Culpeo themed things.

"So what's your good deed for today, sis?" He asked, making her look at him.

"Oh... well, me and Rose are sharing a good deed," She mumbled, moving the bangs from her eyes a little. "We're planning to doing a collection for Prince Ali's charity,"

"That's a great idea," He grinned as they came to the school, along with some of the other kids. Rose was already there, waving happily and Ivan was stood with Mylene. They greeted Luka and when inside almost straight away. Luka looked at his phone and decided to linger for a little bit. He closed his eyes and breathed in, once again listening to the melody of the city. He opened his eyes as he heard a familiar melody. Marinette was running over, causing him to look at his phone again. She was on time but only by a few minutes. She stopped to take a breathe, causing him to smile. "Hey, Melody, you ok?"

"Luka!" She gasped, jumping. The box she was holding flew out of her hands but he caught it, causing them both to let a sigh of relief as he handed them back to her. "Uh sorry,"

"No, no... I'm sorry," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to make you jump,"

"Ooh, it's ok!" She grinned before holding up the box. "Want a macaron?"

"Sure," He smiled, taking a chocolate one before gently kissing her cheek. She blushed and smiled shyly. "Thank you,"

"N-No problem," She gasped before jumping against as the bell rang. "Ah that's class! We have to go!! See ya for lunch! I have a favor to ask!!"

"Ok," He nodded as she ran off. He shook his head and smiled a little as he walked to his classroom. He walked in and took his seat as Kagami waved at him. He smiled and waved back as Aurora rushed over with Jean and Mireille and wished him a happy heroes day. He wished them one back as Ms Mendeleiev walked in and clapped her hands.

"Alright, students, we have an assembly so let's move it to the gym," She ordered, causing them to get up and grab their bags. They walked over to the gym and took seats as the other classes came in. There was a stage at the front with a couple of teachers stood on it already. Luka took a seat next to Aurora, who smiled at him. He smiled back as the rest of the classes took their seats. Marinette walked past with Alya, shaking her head as she walked behind her.

"I don't get it, Marinette... I know you and Lila don't get on but she isn't lying about this," She sighed, making Luka frown as Marinette turned to her.

"Not lying?! Alya, you know she's a liar!" She gasped, clearly stressed. "It is literally on your blog,"

"Ok so it was a one time thing and who wouldn't want to know the heroes?" Alya gasped, shaking her head. "Besides, I asked her about that and she apologized. Sure, it wasn't cool to do that but she just wants friends, Marinette and she promised not to lie again so why would she be lying that she's in Achu?"

"Because she's a liar, Alya," She gasped, looking annoyed. "Even Miss Bustier questioned her!"

"Yeah and Lila literally showed us that she had permission from both her parents and her therapist," Alya sighed, pinching her nose. "Been away has been good for her. You know it's stressful getting akumatized. I mean you took a day off after yours,"

"Exactly! I took a day! One day! Not weeks!" She gasped, making Alya roll her eyes. "And none of us got a 'trip' around the world to deal with our stress,"

"True but her mom is also there and she's the Italian ambassador," She stated, making Marinette roll her eyes. "Look, why don't you give Lila a second chance for your good deed for heroes day? I know she was lying but trust me, girl, she's turned over a new leaf,"

"No! She hasn't because she's lying!" Marinette gasped, sitting down and crossing her arms. Alya sighed and shook her head as Miss Bustier walked in front of the school and clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.

"Hello everyone and welcome to our annual heroes day assembly," She grinned, causing everyone to look at her. "Now I know everyone may have a hard time working out what good deed to do for today but let's not forget today is about been able to be a hero for one day and your good deed doesn't have to be something huge liking helping save planet earth. It can be anything from making small donations to a local charity to helping an elderly neighbor. All we need is..."

"A little imagination! Hoo, hoo!" Mr Damocles called as he ran onto the stage in his owl costume. "This year, Anatis and Lady Noir have been our heroes, protecting us from the terrible Hawkmoth. They have shown us that heroism is beyond comic books and fairy tales! Heroism is real and it is up to you to show how Anatis and Lady Noir have brought out the best in all of us, by been every day heroes! Now a few of our students will tell us their eyes to be everyday heroes! For those of you who have yet to work out a good deed, their suggestions may be able to inspire you! Over to you, Miss Bustier!"

"Thank you, Mr Damocles," She smiled. "From my class, we have Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire. Care to tell what you two have planned for heroes day?"

"Of course, Miss," Nino grinned, standing up. The whole student body faced him, causing him to take a deep breathe. "I gotta admit. I never use to do anything for anyone before but Anatis and Lady Noir have showed me what been cool is really about... so, this year, I'm gonna visit the elderly down at the retirement home and play them all their favorite songs!"

"Excellent, Nino," Miss Bustier smiled, clapping along with everyone else. "Alya?"

"Last year, I wrote an article about public buildings providing disabled access," Alya stated as she stood up. "But after seeing Anatis and Lady Noir going that extra mile every single day, I decided that I too could do better... so I got the mayor's approval to improve facilities so disabled kids can actually attend our school!"

She sat back down as she got a round of applause. Mrs Mendeleiev stood up next as the applause died down.

"From my class, we have Aurore Beauréal and Kagami Tsurugi," She stated, causing both girls to stand up. "Girls, care to tell us what you have planned?"

"Yes, Mrs Mendeleiev," Aurore nodded as everyone looked at her. "Me and the others at the Kidz plus tv studio will be doing a live show with celebrities guests and all proceeds we get will be donated to a number of children charities,"

Everyone applauded again, making her smile as she sat down.

"Kagami?"

"I have signed up to volunteer at a soup kitchen for a couple of hours on the weekend," She stated, getting a round of applause but she held her hand. "My family will also be making a considerable donation to a number of charities who help the blind and the visually impaired,"

She got a huge round of applause for that one. She sat back down as the other teachers introduced to of their students who proceed to tell them what their good deed would be. Luka frowned to himself as a little as the whole thing made him feel like he wasn't doing enough. It wasn't that he was jealous of the other students. Far from it but compared to what they were doing, just helping a person out seems so small and trivial. He let a sigh out and looked around. He frowned a little as he saw Marinette didn't look happy either. He decided he would ask her what was wrong for lunch. Aurore leaned over to him and gently poked his arm, causing him to look at her.

"You ok?" She asked, making him nod.

"Yeah," He whispered back. "Just not sure I can match up to whatever one else is doing,"

"I'm sure you'll do a cool deed, Luka," She grinned, making him give her a small smile as Mr Damocles took to the stage again as the lunch bell rang.

"Alright, everyone, now don't forget that we have the parade this evening," He shouted before dismissing everyone. Luka got up and headed over to Marinette but before he could reach her, she bolted off causing him to frown but she did say she needed to talk to him. He took out his phone and messaged Juleka, saying that he was going to grab dinner at the bakery before heading there. He hummed a little as he walked there, glancing over and smiling as he saw the huge balloons of Anatis and the other heroes. His phone vibrated, causing him to take it out and read the text. Apparently, Marinette was going to be hosting a massive tasting party after the parade tonight and has invited everyone. She and the rest of Kitty Section will be going so she thought she'd inform him off it. He texted back, saying he'd love to go before walking over the bakery door. He knocked on the door and entered, causing Sabine to look up and smile. Marinette was talking to her father, who was looking at a list nervously.

"That's not the same as every year, Marinette," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How about just half then?" She asked, looking at her hand. "500 Macarons, 100 pies, 300 sweet buns and just a thousand croissants! That should be enough!"

"Is that for the party at the park tonight?" Luka asked, making her jump and turn around. She grinned and nodded before turning back to her dad.

"You can do that... right?" She asked but Tom frowned and sighed, scratching the side of his head.

"If I didn't have this giant Anatis cake to finish by tonight, I would gladly rise to the challenge but there's simply no way I can do both," He replied, making Marinette frown and look down. Luka frowned a little too. "I've committed myself, Marinette. I can't let the mayor down,"

"I committed myself way over my head and now I'm gonna let everyone down," She sighed, slumping down on a stool. Luka frowned a little and moved over to her. She looked up at him with a sad expression. "Sorry, Luka,"

"It's ok, Marinette," He smiled in a reassuring manner.

"You know it's not too late to tell your classmates the truth. I'm sure they'll understand like Luka has," Sabine smiled at him, causing him to nervously look down.

"But it won't be very heroic..." Marinette muttered, looking down.

"Of course, it will," Sabine smiled, trying to reassuring her. "Been brave enough to face one's mistakes is heroic,"

"You're right!" She gasped, jumping up and grabbing an apron as Luka rose an eyebrow. She rushed over to the door before turning to them as Luka rose an eyebrow. Her parents on the other hand appeared to be use to this. "If I get to it right away, I'll have enough time to make the macarons myself!"

With that, she disappeared into the apartment, causing her parents to sigh as Luka shook his head a little. While he loved how passionate and enthusiastic Marinette was, he worried about her a little bit. Sabine cleared her throat, making him look at her as she held out two bags.

"Would you mind making sure she's eaten, dear? Tom needs a hand with the cake," She smiled as he took the bags.

"Of course, Mrs Cheng- I mean Sabine..." He muttered before nodding and heading into the apartment. Marinette was mixing something in a bowl and appeared to have already started to make the macarons. She grinned at Luka who placed the bags down before giving him the bowl and checking on the macarons in the oven. However, they were burnt, making her groan and sink to the floor, tears filling her eyes. Luka put the bowl down and knelt down next her as she sniffed.

"This is just one big failure," She sniffed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm a terrible everyday hero..."

"No, you're not,"

"But I haven't done any heroic at all today... all I did was bring macarons to class wherever else is doing so much more. Alya is helping disabled kids, Nino is going to visit old people, Adrien is helping his classmates and all I've done is brought in stupid macarons," She mumbled, looking down as tears roll down her face. Luka frowned and gently wiped them away. She hugged her arms and let out a small sigh. "I doubt that made anyone's day..."

"It made mine," Luka stated, causing her to look at him. She narrowed her eyes a little, looking for any sign of pretense or lies but her eyes widen when she didn't find any. Instead, she saw sincerity and honesty.

"T-That really made your day?"

"Yeah," He smiled, causing her to blush as he looked to the side. "No one's ever offered me a macaron before... anyway, I think the bravest thing you can do is just tell everyone the truth... they'll understand,"

"But that will ruin the whole party..." She mumbled, looking down as he frowned.

"It's not the end of the world if it doesn't happen," He replied, making her sigh before he gently moved a stand of her hair. "I don't want to see you burn yourself out just to please everyone else, Marinette,"

"Luka..." She muttered, blushing before gently leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Thank you,"

"Let's have our lunches,"

~Meanwhile~

"Lila?" Mrs Rossi stated as she knocked on her daughter's door. A few minutes later, Lila opened it and smiled falsely at her, though she was more focused on her phone. "Were you on the phone earlier?"

"Oh, yes, it was my boyfriend, Adrien," She gasped, making her mother nod. "He just misses me so much,"

"You weren't lying to me, were you?" She asked, briefly looking at her. Lila mentally cursed Anatis as his live interview with Alya had almost revealed her for the lying fox that she was. However, she did damaged control as best as she could. With Alya, she claimed that she just lied to be popular as she was afraid that no one would like her, especially since Marinette seemed to have it in for her. Alya was weary at first but she also was too willing to give Lila a second chance, especially Lila 'promised' not to lie again. She also convinced her that she didn't realize that she had overstepped boundaries with certain people and was learning how to understand social interactions with her therapist. Alya lapped it up and easily forgave her. The school, on the other hand, wasn't as easy but Anatis and Hawkmoth unintentionally gave her the perfect reason. She was far too stressed out to possibly come back to school right now. She knew she couldn't get it to last forever but it was a temporary solution. As for her parents. Well, that was the easiest. Her father dotted on his little princess, refusing to believe a word of Anatis' interview as he believed the ladyblog was ran by an amateur tabloid writer. He wasn't exactly wrong but this man is believed that Elvis Presley was abducted by aliens so pulling the wool over his eyes wasn't exactly hard. When he questioned it, she just turned on the water works and since he didn't want to upset his precious princess, he would drop it and ignore it. It helped that he worked aboard a lot of the time. Her mother on the other hand wasn't as easily convinced and she was forced to take a similar route to Alya. Of course, she promised not to lie again and to go to a therapist to get help but her mother's job worked to her favor as well. Since she was constantly busy with her job, she trusted her husband to arrange a therapist for Lila and since Lila was his little princess who could do no wrong, she was able to convince him to send her to a very basic therapist who was certainly not equip to deal with a teenaged pathological liar who knew how to exploit people's weaknesses and strengths to her advantage. She had even convinced the 'therapist' that she needed time of school to help her deal with the trauma. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn't the first time she had been exposed. The only difference was it wasn't a superhero who called her out last time. It was some snotty nosed kid who thought that people actually cared about what he thought. That's where she came up with the whole been bullied thing. It did wonders for her that time but she would have to play her cards a little differently this time. Most because she was dealing with a superhero but there's also the fact that someone else might catch on her lies and get akumatized. "Well?"

"Of course not, Mama," She sighed, making her mum frown. She began to 'cry' as tears rolled down her face, causing her mother to gasp. "Y-You don't believe me, do you? I'm trying so hard to be a good person and you d-don't even believe me,"

"Of course, I believe you, mia bella," She gasped, looked distressed. Her phone vibrated, causing her to looking at her phone as the sound of cheering caught Lila's attention. She moved over to her window and frowned as she saw people cheering in the streets. Huge balloons of Anatis, Lady Noir and the other heroes moved past, making her scowl as she closed the blinds. Her mother walked over to her. "It's just... Well... that interview Anatis did..."

"B-But I didn't even do half of those things... I know I told the principle that Marinette had stolen off me but I really thought she had because of how she was treating me and because of what Chloe Bourgeois told me," Lila replied, making her mother frown as she took in her points. Seeing her chance to poison her mother's mind, she smirked a little. "It's not like Anatis is competent anyway..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he lost a miraculous which ended up in the hands of Chloe Bourgeois who used it to cause a crash and then was akumatized but he didn't take responsibility for his actions," She pointed out, noticing her mother had a thoughtful look. "I don't hate Anatis but he could at least own up to his mistakes instead of blaming someone else. After all, he blamed the Style Queen for it. I understand that Chloe is her daughter but none of that would have happened if he hadn't been careless..."

"You have a point, mia bella," Her mother replied, making Lila smirk a little. "And these akumas are concerning. I'll bring it up in the next embassy meeting. Ciao, mia bella. Your lunch is in the fridge. I'll try not to be home too late,"

She kissed her hand and walked off, failing to notice Lila's wicked smirk before she glared at her closed blinds. She turned on her heel and walked over to her laptop, logging back on. She went onto a news website and the ladyblogger, growling as she saw the recent video from Alya that was devoted to Anatis and the other heroes. It was showing a bunch of floating balloons that had the faces of the heroes on it. She growled as she saw the Anatis one and rolled her eyes at the Culpeo one. She was the better and the original fox. Volpina was the best and these were just second rate heroes compared to her, especially that pretender Anatis. He may pretend to be the kind hero that everyone loved but she knew the truth. He was a cruel and malice bully, who deserved to fall for calling her out. Sure, she lied but it wasn't hurting anyone and he didn't have to ruin her chances with Adrien. He would be hers by now and she would be worshiped by all of Paris as the true hero if it wasn't for that goody two shoes and his dumb sidekick, Lady Noir. She nearly had him at her mercy with that Marinette illusion but that stupid cat worked out it was an illusion. She didn't think it was possible to hate someone more then Marinette but that was before she met Anatis. At least, Marinette was easy to torment and it was child's play to get her expelled. Targeting Anatis wasn't going to be as easy. In fact, it would be the most challenging take down of her life, which is why she had prayed every night that Hawkmoth would choose her again. She longed to have her powers back and squash that nasty bug.

"Liar," She growled, flicking through different channels as she glared every moment. All of them showed something on Anatis and his pathetic team. They showed him stood next to the mayor, waving shyly at the cameras or standing with some little kids in Anatis themed merchandise. "Traitor! Coward!"

"In honor of the wonderful Anatis, who has saved my son, Adrien, and myself and who has relentlessly protected us everyday, I have financed this tribute to him and his team of heroes," Gabriel Agreste stated, causing Lila to stay on that channel as she stared at the screen. Gabriel moved his hands together and looked up at the camera. "Anatis is clearly a true hero... unlike false heroes such as Actis, Lady Copycat and Volpina!"

Lila gasped and threw her laptop against the wall in rage. How dare Anatis think he is better then her?!

"I hate you, Anatis!!" She screamed as she began to trash her room. She would give anything to be Volpina again right now. Then she could show Paris who Anatis really was. She would reveal him for the monster and fake he is. After all, he ruined everything for her and she was yet to have her revenge. She swiped her desk before sinking down to her knees before hugging them. "I hate you, you stupid bug!"

The sound of fluttering got her attention, causing her to look up and gasp in surprise as she saw an akuma right near her. It flew into her bracelet, causing it to turn dark as a connection with Hawkmoth formed. A wicked smile came across her face as she felt him inside her head.

"Volpina," He stated, making her grin even more.

"Hawkmoth,"

"Your dreams were once a reality until Anatis turned them into a nightmare," He declared as she stood up. "Reclaim your power of illusion and make this heroes day a nightmare for all Parisians,"

"With great pleasure, Hawkmoth," She declared, moving her arms up in front of her face before moving them to the side. The purple smog engulfed and transformed her into Volpina. She climbed out the window and jumped across the rooftops until she got to the Eiffel Tower. She jumped up and landed on top of it before stepping onto the fencing. She narrowed her eyes as she looked down at the city, happily celebrating their heroes. Noticing a helicopter near by, she smirked and listened to what the reporter was saying with her fox hearing.

"Look at these Parisians," The blonde reporter stated as they filmed live. Volpina's smirk increased. "So happy to be parading in honor of their heroes,"

"Well, that won't do," She stated as she narrowed her eyes. "That won't do at all,"

Smirking to herself, she took out her flute and placed it to her mouth as she envisioned the illusion she wanted. When it was clear in her mind, she played a tune on the flute, creating a ball of light at the bottom of it. She threw it towards the parade, causing a bright orange light to cover it. When it disappeared, there stood Lady Noir facing a very scary looking Anatis.

"Look, Mummy," A little girl stated, pointing to the balloons. "Annie looks weird,"

"Come on, sweetie," Her mother stated, kneeling next to her. "That's not Anatis... that's..."

She gasped as she looked over and saw Anatis and Lady Noir. Only her daughter was right. This Anatis didn't look like his normal self. Unlike the normal one, he had pure black hair and his skin was a little paler then usual. His outfit was reversed with red spots and sides on a black back ground instead of red background with black spots and sides. He also had long black gloves that showed off his hands, revealing his nails were black and his boots were completely black and styled like combat boots. His mask, yoyo and earrings were reversed as well, along with his boots but the bit that really sealed was the dark smirk on his lips and his eyes. His normally blue eyes were replaced with black scleras and crimson irises. Not only did he look terrifying but he wasn't standing with Lady Noir. He was fighting her. Luckily, the cat girl was giving it as good as she got but it was a scary sight.

"Anatis?!" She gasped, causing other people to look as he grabbed Lady Noir and threw her his shoulder, sending her flying across the Culpeo balloon. She managed to recover and landed on it, taking out her baton as Anatis let out an evil laugh that send shivers down the spine.

"Move out of the way everyone!" Lady Noir shouted, panic clear in her voice. "He's been akumatized!"

He jumped across to the balloon she was on and laughed again before looking at her with a psychotic grin.

"What's the matter, Kitten?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. She growled but didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Annie, this isn't you!" She gasped, clearly not wanting to fight him. "You can fight this! You can fight against Hawkmoth!"

"Aww, such sweet words, kitten," He replied, playing with his yoyo. "But you didn't take one thing into account!"

He threw the yoyo at her, causing her to knock it back as he grinned.

"Oh and what's that?" She asked, charging at him.

"I don't want to!" He grinned back, jumping up and slamming his fist towards her. Luckily enough, she jumped out of the way before he could hit her, making him growl before he straightened up and narrowed his eyes. She narrows her back as he threw up his yoyo. "Dark Charm!"

"D-Dark Charm?" She gasped as he summoned a huge blade and grinned evilly at her. She gasped as he charged at her, trying to cut her into tiny pieces before she managed to grab the sword and threw it away from the scene, causing him to growl.

"You think that will stop me?!" He roared, trying to kick her and hit her. She dodged and blocked his attacks before he threw his yoyo at her. She managed to move her head but he brought it back and threw it again, causing her to move and jumped back as the helicopter filmed them. Distracted by the yoyo, she didn't see his foot coming until he kicked her, causing her to fall back. She landed on her feet and faced him as he spun the yoyo, walking towards her. She backed away as he smirked evilly. "It's over, Kitten. You know I can't be beaten so give me your miraculous!"

"Never!" She screamed, running away from him. He smirked evilly and ran at her, spinning his yoyo. She jumped up and he followed, clashing with her in the air. She intentionally got the upper hand but he headbutted her and hit her with his yoyo, sending her flying onto the Leatherback balloon as he landed on it. Blood was dripping down her chin as she weakly looked up at him.

"I'll tell you one more time," He started as everyone gasped, looking at them. "Give me your miraculous,"

"No," She growled, getting back up and taking a fighting stance. "If Hawkmoth wants a ring so badly, he can go to the jewelers like a normal person,"

"Now, now, Kitten," He scolded, glancing at her. "It's rude to deny a request from a friend of a friend. Clearly, I'm going have to teach you some manners,"

"We're not gonna be friends until you're deakumatized, Annie," She shouted back, causing him to growl and throwing his yoyo towards her. She caught it around her arm and held her hand to it. "Cataclysm!"

"I don't think so, Kitten," He growled, yanking her towards him and grabbing her hands, holding one behind her back and one in the air. She struggled against him as he moved his lips closer to her ear. "I've always wondered what would happen if your cataclysm was used on a person... let's find out, shall we?"

"No!" She cried out as he slammed her charged hand onto her chest, causing her to gasp as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her body appeared to turn to coal and disappeared into dust as the wind blew. He laughed and picked up the ring, holding it up as he looked at it as a purple mask appeared over his face.

"You've won, Hawkmoth. I have both the ring and the earrings!" He declared, making everyone panic before the mask disappeared. He held up his hands like a typical villain and laughed evilly. "Fear, people of Paris! Your heroes have fallen and there is no one left to save you!"

He let out a wicked laugh before swinging away, leaving devastation in his wake. Volpina smirked to herself as she grinned from the Eiffel tower. That when even better then she expected. A purple mask appeared around her eyes, making her smirk.

"My dear Volpina, you've performed your role very well for the time being," Hawkmoth declared as she smirked. "We will meet again, very soon,"

"I'll be waiting, Hawkmoth,"

~Hawkmoth's Lair~

"So much sadness! So much disappointment!" Hawkmoth declared as he looked up at the window. "I can feel the chasm of despair and fear able to open about to open and swallow up every single Parisian... my dear Volpina, you've performed your role very well for the time being. We will meet again, very soon,"

"I'll be waiting, Hawkmoth," She replied, causing him to call back the butterfly he used to grant her powers. With that one called back, he took another one and corrupted it before turning to Nathalie.

"Are you ready, Nathalie?" He asked as she walked over.

"They've been keeping you from achieving your dream for too long," She declared, looking up at him. "I will go to any length to end the reign of Anatis and Lady Noir,"

"Good," He declared, looking at her before he placed his hand on the tablet she was hold and lifted it up. He placed the akuma on it, causing it to enter the item and set up the psychic link before him and Nathalie. "Catalyst, you've always been my most loyal supporter. I give you the ability to boost powers,"

She nodded, transforming into a strange looking akuma. She had periwinkle skin and wore a black helmet with a red visor with black edges and a red spike pointing towards the back of her head, leaving her mouth exposed. She was also wearing a black dress suit. It had stiff shoulders, a dark red front and swan neck collar with red arrow-shaped sections in the center. The sleeves covered her entire arms, with the tips of her fingers fading into red. She also had pocket-like ridges on each side of her hips, and her pant legs came down to her feet, turning into red high-heels with red soles and tips. She took Hawkmoth's arm and placed her other hand over the top of his cane, infusing it with a crimson energy.

"Hawkmoth, I give you the power to release as many akumas as you desire," She declared as he looked at her. "From now on, you are the almighty scarlet moth,"

A red energy traveled up from his feet, transforming his outfit into a crimson version. He grinned as the transformation was complete. He took out his cane, spinning it before tapping multiple butterflies with it. Each one turned into a scarlet akuma, causing him to smirk even more before addressing them.

"Fly away my little akumas!" He declared, continuing to tap more butterflies with his cane. "Find the Parisians as they despair over Lady Noir and Anatis' final hour and evilize each and every one of them!"

He threw his arms out, causing the scarlet akumas to flutter out of the window and decent on Paris as he smirked at them. Once they had left, he turned to Catalyst.

"Stand here while I head to the Eiffel tower," He ordered, getting a nod of her before he dropped his transformation and left as Gabriel Agreste. It would be much easier to get to the tower as Gabriel Agreste then as Hawkmoth after all.

~At the Bakery~

"You ok?" Marinette asked, causing Luka to look up from his phone. "You keep looking at your phone... Am I boring you?"

"Oh, no!" He gasped, shaking his head. "I was just keeping an eye on time so we're not late for the rest of school,"

"Ah, ok," She smiled a little as she cleared up their lunches. They had disposed of the burnt macarons as well. "What time is it anyway?"

"Nearly time to head back actually," He replied, getting up. "Shall we head back to school? I've got double art,"

"Lucky you," She huffed, grabbing her bag and walking with him into the bakery. "I have double maths,"

"Ouch," He replied as they waved to her parents. Sabine gave him a grateful smile and a thumbs up before grabbing something for Tom as they left. Almost as soon as they stepped out of the bakery, Luka was hit with an intense amount of fear and despair that it actually caused him to stumble back and grip his head in pain, causing Marinette to look at him with worry.

"Luka?" She gasped, moving over to him. "What's wrong?"

"I.. I don't know... I just... never mind..." He muttered, looking to the side. While she knew he was a musical empath, she didn't actually know how deep his empathic abilities went. Most people would think that the music is his empathy but they are far from it. The music is simply how he projects it into the world but it's not the ability itself. For him, the feelings that he plays, he actually feels them as if they are his own. He can feel other's pain and symptoms when they are sick or their sorrow when they are down. Music was an outlet for him as it can become too much to have everyone's feelings as well as your own. It especially helps with the whole akuma thing. Marinette gently took his hand, making him look at her.

"You can tell me," She smiled, making him look at her before nodding.

"The world sounds different," He replied, making her frown. "Like this morning, the song of Paris was glorious this morning. Everyone's hearts were singing happily at their fullest,"

"And it's changed?" She asked, making him nod. "To what?"

"It's fear..." He muttered, making her frown. "Something isn't right..."

Before she could question him any farther, he grabbed her hand and ran as fast as he could to the school. As soon as they walked through the door, Marinette realized he was right. Everyone was in the courtyard but they were completely silent and looking at their phones with horrified expressions. Marinette looked at Luka before the two of them rushed over to Juleka, Rose and Mylene.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked, causing Rose to look up at her before she showed them a news broadcast on her phone.

"Lady Noir defeated," Nadja Chamack stated, looking heartbroken. "Anatis in the clutches of the terrible Hawkmoth! This is Paris' worst nightmare!"

"What?!" Marinette gasped as Luka frowned deeply. "I... I don't understand..."

"A-Anatis was akumatized..." Mylene sniffed, making her frown deeply. "Lady Noir tried to stop him but he used her cataclysm on her..."

"No..." Luka gasped, looking what the girls mistaken for distraught as they nodded. Marinette covered her mouth as Jagged Stone appeared on the video.

"Anatis defeated?" He gasped, playing a sad song on his guitar as Clara Nightingale looked heartbroken. "Nothing will ever be rock and roll again!"

"We'll have to cancel the concert?!" She gasped, causing him to play his hand on his head dramatically and pull her in for a hug.

"You're right, Clara," Nadja gasped, sadly. "There's no sense in celebrating Heroes Day either,"

She closed her eyes sadly as Luka frowned and Marinette looked afraid before she turned to him.

"You were right..." She gasped but the sound of screams came from the video, causing them both to look back as the camera turned, showing red butterflies fluttering towards everyone. Clara and Jagged ran away from them as Nadja attempted to swat them but then one of them went into her mic and engulfed her arm with a red energy, causing her to fall back before the video briefly cut off. Marinette looked at Luka, who was frowning deeply.

"Akumas?" She asked, frowning.

"Red ones..." He muttered as the video went back online. This time showing Prime Queen.

"Dear viewers, what does makes sense is getting ready for the coming of..." She declared, gesturing to the side as Guitar Villain rose up, causing Luka to grit his teeth a little.

"Our New Lead Rockstar..." He stated, playing his guitar as Frighteningale spun onto the screen.

"Scarlet Moth!!" She sang, making both Marinette and Luka gasp. Literally as hundreds of Scarlet Akumas fluttered over the school. One of them aimed for Marinette but Luka grabbed her and pulled her to him, glaring at it and daring Hawkmoth to come at him. He would keep his promise and hunt him down. The butterfly seemed to know what he intended as it fluttered away from him, causing Marinette to look up at Luka with awe as students and teachers began to get akumatized as they panicked. One flew over to Mylene, turning her into Horrificator. Ivan backed away as one came towards him but Luka ran over and pulled him away from it as a number fluttered over to Juleka and Rose, who were backing away from them. Adrien and Kagami backed away and ran from the school as fast as they could. He didn't blame them.

"T-This is bad..." Juleka gasped as she and Rose backed away from some. "R-Real bad... Aah!"

"Juleka!" Luka gasped, causing one to come at him again.

"Don't let fear get a hold of you, Juleka!" Marinette called out, causing his heart to flutter. The akuma stopped, confused about his conflicting emotions and giving him a chance to came down. He took a deep breathe before glancing at his sister and Rose.

"Marinette's right!" He shouted. "Don't let fear control you, Jules!"

"Remember, there's a hero in everyone of us!" Miss Bustier added in as they moved in closer to people.

"As long as we show we aren't scared! Hoo, hoo!" Mr Damocles added in as Nino ran past. Almost instantly, he got turned into the Bubbler, causing Alya to cry out before she turned into Lady Wifi. Luka frowned as more people panicked, creating more fear. He climbed onto a bench and looked around before he placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Everyone, listen!" He shouted, making people look at him in surprise. "We can beat this because they are nothing but stupid little butterflies and we are Parisians and we do not go down without a fight! Jules, you are not easily scared! And Rose, thinking of pink and fluffy kittens!"

Juleka took a deep breathe and began to calm herself down, glaring at the akumas at it.

"That's it!" He grinned. "Don't let fear get the better of you,"

Rose nodded and took a deep breathe too, glaring at the butterflies as well. Luka jumped down as Dark Cupid swooped down, terrorizing a few people and allowing them to turn into akumas. Marinette was helping a few people escape as Luka rushed over to her, along with the others.

"We can't stand here," She pointed out, making him nod. "Or we'll end up been akumatized,"

"It might sound crazy but we need to split up and find a safe hiding place in the school," He points out, making everyone nod and split. He rushed over to the boys bathroom and opened his jacket, causing Tikki to fly out.

"This is bad!" She gasped, causing him to nod.

"There's too many to fight at once. We need to see Master Fu right away," He muttered before transforming into Anatis. He slipped out of the bathroom and made his way to the roof, keeping low as he saw the akumas. They were leaving the school, making him let out a sigh of relief but he did wonder where they were going. He had a feeling he would find out but he needed to get to Master Fu's. He jumped off and swung off, landing on the rooftop. He swung down to the ally but stopped as he felt like he was been followed. He glanced around but saw nothing. However, he didn't go to Master Fu's shop. Instead he opened a manhole and headed down there. He moved around the corner and frowned as the manhole was opened and closed again. He narrowed his eyes as Vanisher moved down and threw is yoyo at her but to his surprise, she dodged it and charged at him, knocking him back. She dived at him but a baton knocked her back, causing her to dodge. Taking the chance, he got his feet and grabbed her glasses, breaking them before catching the butterfly and purifying it as Vanisher turned back into Sabrina. He let it go as Lady Noir grabbed her baton and rushed over to him.

"Annie!" She gasped, hugging him. He hugged back. "God, I was so worried when I didn't see you on the roofs,"

"I'm sorry, Kitten," He gasped before glancing to Sabrina, who was confused. "I had a tail to get rid off,"

The two of them looked at her before Lady Noir let go and Anatis walked over to her. She gasped and backed up a little, causing him to frown but he knelt down in front of her as Lady Noir walked over. Sabrina gasped and looked at her in surprise.

"Lady Noir? You're alive?!" She gasped, making both heroes frown before she looked at Anatis. "And you're not akumatized?!"

"Akumatized?" He asked, making her nod before looking at Lady Noir.

"Y-Yeah, everyone saw it on the news!" She gasped, making him frown even more. "You were akumatized and you killed Lady Noir... but it wasn't real because she's here right now and you're you... you are you, right?"

"Yes, Sabrina," He smiled, causing her to hug him.

"I'm so glad!" She gasped, tears rolling down her face. "It was just..."

"An illusion," Lady Noir muttered before Sabrina jumped on her. "Whoa!"

"An illusion..." Anatis muttered, standing up before his eyes widen. "Volpina!"

He turned Sabrina, who had let go of Lady Noir.

"Sabrina, head back to the school. It's probably the safest place right now," He stated, making her nod as he walked over to Lady Noir and began climbing up after her.

"I will do, Anatis!" She grabbed. "And when I get there, I'm gonna tell everyone not to lose hope, cause the real Anatis and Lady Noir are still going strong!"

"Well, it is heroes day after all," Lady Noir grinned as she opened the manhole.

"And we wouldn't miss it for the world," Anatis continued before the two of them climbed out of the sewer and ran to Master Fu's shop. Checking that no one was around, they headed inside and knocked on the door. Master Fu answered it, looking afraid.

"I always knew that Hawkmoth would one day realize how powerful he could be," He muttered, letting them in. "That day has come,"

He walked over to the phonograph and took out of the miracle box, placing it in front of the two heroes and opening it.

"Anatis... Lady Noir... you must pick an ally you can trust to fight along side you this mission," He stated as the draws popped open. Anatis reached for them as he looked at him, working out some sort of plan. "Once the mission is over, you will get the miraculous back from them and return it to me,"

Anatis nodded and looked around at the miraculous. He honestly didn't know what to expect. Lady Noir leaned near him.

"Take them all, Annie," She whispered, making him look at her. "They're need to be as many of us as possible..."

"No, Kitten. In this case, less is more," He stated, surprising her. "We don't have time to find new holders and explain everything again. We need allies who already know what they're doing,"

He grabbed the bee, the fox, the dragon and the snake before looking up at Master and gesturing to his bracelet.

"May I, Master?" He asked, causing Master Fu to take off the bracelet and handed it to him. "Hawkmoth wants miraculous and that's exactly what he's gonna get,"

"You got a plan?" Lady Noir asked, leaning on her baton as Anatis took out his yoyo and checked something before she walked over to the draw with the little boxes in. She grabbed enough for the miraculous as he walked over to her.

"The akumas are all heading to one place," He stated, showing her. "The Eiffel Tower... we're gonna head there too... as soon as we have help that is,"

"Calling in the cavalry?" She grinned as he placed the miraculous in the boxes. He put the fox, the bee and the turtle in his yoyo before handing the snake and the dragon to her. She took them and put them in her pocket.

"Once you've collected Ryuko and Aspik, head to the Palais de Chaillot," He stated, getting a nod of her as he walked over to the window. She moved over and quickly gave him a kiss on his cheek, making him blush before he saluted her and dived out of the window. He landed on another building and saw Lady Noir heading to the neighborhood where Kagami lived. He smiled a little before diving off that building and swinging through the city. He landed on the school building and jumped down into the courtyard before looking for Ivan, Rose and Juleka. He found Juleka and Rose in one of the locker rooms, trying their best to fend off scarlet akumas. Juleka was holding Rose and gently talking to her while trying to keep her own emotions under control but he could tell they weren't going to last much longer. Just as two akumas fluttered towards them, he burst through and caught them with his yoyo, causing both girls to look up and gasp. "I don't think so,"

"A-Anatis?!" Rose gasped as he let the two purified butterflies go. Juleka stared speechless as Rose began to cry tears of joy. "It's really you?!"

"Yes," He smiled, causing her to hug him. He gently hugged her back as Juleka walked over before sighing. "I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do. I know that I'm able to reveal your secret identities but I haven't got time to find excuses to give them you separately,"

He took out two of the boxes from his yoyo.

"Culpeo and Abeille," He stated, holding them up to them. "I need you both,"

"You're Culpeo?!" Rose gasped with massive eyes as she held her face, causing Juleka to blush as she took her box. "So cool!!"

"And you're Abeille?" She asked back as Rose nodded with enthusiasm as she grabbed her box. "Awesome,"

"Why didn't you tell me though?" Rose asked as Juleka opened the box and allowed Trixx to manifest.

"It was suppose to be a secret, right?" Trixx grinned as Juleka put on the necklace.

"Trixx, let's pounce," She mumbled before swiping her necklace as Trixx got sucked into it. She swiped her hand over her eyes, creating her mask before holding out her arms as the orange energy spreaded over them and her body, creating her outfit. She swiped her hands over her hair, creating her ears and changing it to orange and black before swiping her hands down her back, creating her tails. An orange light appeared on her back, creating her flute and completely the transformation. Rose squealed in pure excitement as Culpeo nodded at Anatis. "Ready when you are, Boss,"

"Good," He smiled before looking at Rose, who nodded and opened her box. Pollen manifested and bowed to her.

"Greetings, my queen," She smiled, making Rose smile. "It is good to see you again,"

"Same here, Pollen," She replied before fixing the comb into her hair before holding her hand up. "Pollen, Buzz on!"

She threw her head back as her hair turned honey blonde and black strips appeared in it before holding up her arms as a golden light traveled up her body from her feet, creating her suit before the second light appeared, giving her gloves and adding the black detail to her suit. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask as her transformation completely.

"Let's go kick some akuma butt!" She declared, causing Culpeo to giggle and Anatis to shake his head.

"Head to Palais de Chaillot but stay low," He ordered, making them nod. "Lady Noir is collecting Ryuko and Aspik and I need to find Leatherback. I'll meet you there as soon as I've got him... be safe,"

"You too, Anatis," Culpeo nodded before taking Abeille's hand and leaving through the window. Anatis turned on his heel and left the locker room.

"Now if I was Ivan, where would I hide?" He muttered to himself before clicking his fingers. "Of course,"

He ran to the music room and looked inside before opening the door and looking around. He found Ivan hiding under the table as best as he could as he hugged his knees but as soon as he saw Anatis, he jumped up.

"Is it really you?!" He gasped, making Anatis nod. He lifted him off the floor as he crushed him in a hug before putting him down. "I'm so glad you were deakumatized.... but Lady Noir..."

"Is alive and kicking," Anatis grinned, making Ivan look at him in surprise. "And I was never akumatized. It was just a cruel illusion, engineered by Hawkmoth and excused by Volpina, to create mass panic and sorrow,"

"That's awful," Ivan gasped, looking disgusted. "Mylene was re-akumatized... I would have been too if my pal Luka hadn't helped me... you know you should consider him for a miraculous. He's really brave,"

"I'm sure he is but right now, we need to focus on the task at hand," Anatis replied, trying not to give away how happy he was that Ivan saw him as brave. He took out the last miraculous box. "I need Leatherback's help. You up for it?"

"You bet ya, Anatis," Ivan grinned, taking the box and open it. "Sup, Wayzz,"

The two of them did a secret handshake before Ivan slipped on the bracelet.

"Wayzz, shell on," He declared, causing Wayzz to be sucked into the bracelet before stomping his feet on the ground and pushing his arms out, causing a green energy to creating his outfit. The green energy burst from the center off his chest, creating his emblem that resembled a turtle's shell attached to a harness. The energy traveled down his arms, leaving a gray strip in it's place before causing green spikes to burst from his gloves before he pulled down a pair of goggles over his eyes as the blonde tuff of his hair turned a forest green, completing his transformation. "Alright, Boss, what's the plan?"

"We're heading to Palais de Chaillot," Anatis declared before the two of them ran out of the music room and jumped up to the roof, heading to the Palais de Chaillot.

~Meanwhile~

Lady Noir jumped across the roofs until she came to Kagami's house. She dived down into the garden as Kagami practiced her fencing. She stopped as soon as Lady Noir landed in the garden and rushed over to her.

"You're alive?!" She gasped, causing Lady Noir to nod. "And Anatis? Is he... still akumatized?"

"No, he never was," Lady Noir explained, making Kagami frown deeply. "It was an illusion,"

"An illusion?" She asked, frowning deeply. "That was an extremely cruel one,"

"Indeed but part of Hawkmoth's plan," She replied, reaching into her pocket and taking out a box. "Which is why we have a plan. You in?"

"Of course," Kagami grinned before taking the box from Lady Noir and opening it, causing Longg to manifest. "I'm honored to see you again, Longg-sama,"

"The honor is mine, Kagami-san," He replied, nodding and making her smile as she put on the choker. "We shall accomplish great things together.

"Indeed," She replied before holding her arms out. "Longg, bring the storm!"

Longg got sucked in her choker. She held her fingers in the peace sign and moved them across her eyes, creating her mask. She threw up her left hand, creating a dark light that created her glove. It traveled down her arm and body, creating her outfit as she held out her other arm. She held her head up as a golden light covered her hair, creating her horns before the same golden light created her sword on her back and the tail detail on her suit, completely her transformation.

"Alright, let's go find Adrien," Lady Noir grinned.

"I believe he should be at home with his bodyguard," Ryuko stated, getting a nod of Lady Noir. "As soon as the red akumas hit, we escaped. Both of our parents have been akumatized and we wanted to make sure they were ok,"

"Understandable," She nodded as they jumped across roofs, coming to Agreste Manor. Lady Noir held out her hand, causing Ryuko to stop. Adrien was there in his room but he was been guarded by Gorizilla. The two girls dived off the roof towards them. With Ryuko keeping Gorizilla busy, Lady Noir grabbed Adrien and jumped to the roof with him, placing him down before joining Ryuko and breaking his akumatized object before grabbing a jar and capturing it in a jar. The two girls jumped back on the roof as Adrien started at them.

"Lady Noir! You're alive!!" He gasped with relief. "And Anatis?"

"Not akumatized and never was," She smiled before she handed her the akuma jar to Ryuko and took out the snake miraculous, holding it out to Adrien. "Annie needs help. You in?"

"Anything for my friends," He replied, taking it and opening. Sass manifested and nodded to him as he slipped on the bracelet. "Sass! Scales slither!"

He held up his hand as Sass got sucked into the bracelet. He moved his hands over his face, creating his mask and giving his hair green streaks. The teal green energy moved down his body creating his outfit before a ball of teal light turned into his lyre. He grabbed it and placed it on his back, completing his transformation.

"So what's the plan?" He asked, looking at the girls.

"We're meeting Annie at the Palais de Chaillot," Lady Noir replied, spinning her baton. "Shall we go?"

Ryuko and Aspik nodded before the three of them jumped off the building and headed to the Palais de Chaillot. They ran across the buildings until they came to the Palais de Chaillot and jumped on it. Lady Noir grinned as Culpeo and Abeille was already there. Abeille was gently leaning on her and Culpeo was patting the bee's head, making Lady Noir smile. They were very cute together.

"Hey, foxy," Lady Noir grinned, causing Culpeo to gasp and look up. "How's it going?"

"Lady Noir," She gasped as Abeille looked up as well. "I'm really glad to see you're ok. Anatis told us it was a trick but still,"

"I get ya," She nodded, looking around. "Where is my handsome partner?"

"Getting Leatherback," Abeille replied, smiling as they moved over to the edge of the building and looking at the akumas. Lady Noir frowned a little as she looked at them but they didn't seem to be planning anything, just waiting. She wondered why. "They've just been stood there for about 15 minutes,"

"Strange," She muttered as she heard the sound of a yoyo. She turned around as Anatis landed on the building with Leatherback. "Hey, Turtle, good to see you again,"

"Lady Noir!" He grinned, hugging her as Anatis smirked. "I'm glad you're alive!"

He put her down as Ryuko threw the glass jar at Anatis. He caught it and looked at it before he opened it and caught the akuma before releasing the now purified butterfly before he signaled for all of them to moved over to the edge and hide as he looked down at the akumas. He narrowed his eyes as it reminded him off Princess Justice's reign but it appeared that she wasn't here. However, almost every akuma that ever was had turned up yet they weren't running wild like they did with Princess Justice. They were just stood there. Lady Noir moved over to him.

"So what are they doing?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"They're waiting," He muttered back, making everyone frown as they moved a bit closer to him.

"For what?" Aspik asked as an extra person jumped onto the Eiffel tower, causing Anatis to narrow his eyes and clutch his fist a little. The rest of them gasp in shock as they stared at the person. "Is that-"

"Hawkmoth," Anatis stated, causing his mini army to look at him. "In the flesh,"

They watched as Prime Queen sent up one of her flying camera, causing Hawkmoth to look at it.

"Anatis! Lady Noir! Behold my powerful army!" He shouted, gesturing to the akumas. "And have no doubt that today belongs to Scarlet Moth!"

"Not for long," Anatis muttered, glaring at him.

"He better not get too cocky or I'll slam my shield into his face," Leatherback grinned as Aspik smirked.

"It's only like ten villains to everyone of us," He grinned in a chilled back way. "Who wants Hawkmoth? How about we rock, paper or scissors for him?"

"No need for that game, danger noodle," Ryuko smirked, holding her sword. "For he shall taste my blade,"

"I'll protect you no matter what, Culpeo," Abeille gasped, determined.

"No, I'll protect you," Culpeo gasped as Lady Noir leaned next to Anatis as they both glared at Hawkmoth and his Scarlet army.

"So what's the plan, Annie?" Lady Noir asked as Anatis narrowed his eyes. The akumas had started to chant 'hail, scarlet moth' repeatedly, causing Anatis to frown even more as questions popped into his head. Scarlet Moth held up his arm, silencing his akumas. He smirked as Prime Queen's cameras focused on him before addressing them.

"Anatis! Lady Noir! I can feel your close present," He stated, smirking as he brought down his arm before lifting his other into a fist shape. "If you want to save Paris and all it's people, I'll give you one last chance!"

He threw out of his hand dramatically.

"Give yourselves up and bring me your miraculous!" He shouted as Anatis watched with a worried expression. Lady Noir moved a little closer to him and gently placed her hand on his arm, causing him to flinch a little before looking at her and his team.

"Annie?" She asked as he looked back over. "Want to share what's on your mind?"

He frowned before sighing a little.

"It's like he's been preparing for this for a long time...." He sighed, making his team frown as he glanced at them. "But we... we're not prepared for this..."

"Yes, we are," Lady Noir stated, making him look at her in surprise. "We've faced all of these akumas before... this is just like Princess Justice's reign but on a slightly grander scale. Only this time, you're not alone. There's seven of us this time,"

"Yeah, Hawkmoth doesn't stand a chance," Aspik grinned as the rest of the team nodded. Anatis looked at them all, seeing nothing but determination in their eyes.

"Alright but if we're gonna do this, we have to have a plan," He muttered, glancing back over to Hawkmoth and his army. "If we want to win, we have to fight Hawkmoth even though we've never fought him before,"

The team nodded as Anatis stood up and climbed onto the edge of the building.

"Hawkmoth!" He yelled, getting the villain's attention. "I hope you liked Volpina's illusion... because me and my team will never hand over our miraculous!"

"And we've got a better idea!" Lady Noir shouted, joining him before she pointed at Hawkmoth. "You're gonna give us your miraculous!"

Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback stood next to them, on Anatis' side.

"You may have an entire army of akumatized warriors!" Leatherback shouted, clicking his hands.

"But we're a team of heroes!" Abeille added in, taking out her spintop.

"And we're gonna kick ass..." Culpeo added in, albeit quieter then the rest. Ryuko and Aspik jumped up and stood next to Lady Noir.

"So bring it, old man!" Aspik shouted, making Hawkmoth frown a little.

"We're ready for a fight!" Ryuko added, smirking before tilting her head. "Are you?"

The seven of them took their fighting stance, making Hawkmoth laugh.

"I understand you want a fight," He stated, smirking. "Then so be it. Guitar Villain, Frighteningale.... Music!"

The two musical villains began to sing and play as some of the scarlet army charged towards the heroes. Anatis nodded and jumped down with his team, charging towards them. They could hear Prime Queen narrating the fight as they ran towards them. Anatis narrowed his eyes as he couldn't see her around. He could see Lady Wifi, Pharaoh, Mime, Timebreaker, Style Queen, Troublemaker and Desperada running towards them on the ground while Bubbler, Stormy Weather, Reverser, Sandboy and the Puppeteer flew towards them. Rogercop and Malediktator stood at the back, along with the giants.

"Don't forget our main object!" Anatis yelled towards the others. "We want to get to Hawkmoth!"

"Well then let's go for the big, bad boss," Lady Noir grinned, getting a nod of Ryuko and Aspik as Stormy Weather lifted her parasol towards the sky.

"Cyclone!" She shouted, creating a whirl wind that lifted up Desperada, Trouble Maker and the Mime.

"Horus, give me your wings!" The Pharaoh shouted as his head transformed. He flew down towards Lady Wifi and picked her up. Timebreaker smirked and sped up on her skates as Style Queen turned into glitter. Stormy Weather directed her parasol towards Anatis, shouting Thunderbolt as she did.

"Leatherback, shield!" He shouted, causing Leatherback to throw it as a bolt of lightning headed towards him. It blocked it, causing Stormy Weather to growl and pull back her parasol. The wind disappeared, allowing the akumas to fall. Desperada went to hit Anatis but he jumped back as Ryuko ran over and held out her sword as Mime and Troublemaker landed behind her. Mime mimicked a sword while Troublemaker clicked her pen before the three of them charged towards them. "Your weapons are no match for Ryuko's sword. Show them what you've got,"

"Lightning Dragon!" She shouted, transforming into a bolt before repeatedly attacking the three akuma, keeping them busy as Anatis dived back as Lady Wifi fired at him. Leatherback jumped in front of him and blocked her attacks.

"Abeille! Pharaoh's pendent!" He shouted, causing Abeille to throw her spintop and break it. Pharaoh transformed back into Jalil Kubdel, causing him to drop Lady Wifi. Anatis captured the butterfly as Lady Wifi threw a symbol and landed on it, flying upwards. However, Jalil was still falling. "Culpeo! Rescue!"

"Good aim, mon cherie," She smiled as she slid and caught Jalil before turning around and throwing her flute at Lady Wifi's phone and turning her back into Alya. Abeille jumped and caught her as Anatis captured her butterfly too. Bubbler dived towards Ryuko as she blocked Mime's invisible sword. Lady Noir jumped over to her and used her baton to pop the bubbles he created as Apsik slammed his lyre into Desperada, which caused her to fall onto Troublemaker, who was attempting to fight Leatherback. Unfortunately for her, she clicked her pen at the wrong time which allowed Desperada to knock her down. In turn, she dropped the pen, allowing Leatherback to break it as Apsik grabbed Desperada's guitar back and slammed it into the ground, breaking. Anatis captured the freed akumas as Lady Noir blocked Bubbler's sword with her baton. She grinned and stomped on his foot before grabbing him and throwing him towards the mime, who was too distracted by Ryuko to notice Bubbler flying at him. Both villains fell to the ground, causing Mime's hat to fall off. Ryuko impaled it as Lady Noir jumped and landed a kick at Bubbler's sword, crushing it. Anatis captured those butterflies next before jumping back as Stormy Weather started to fire at him. He caught Timebreaker skating towards him, causing him to backflip and throwing his yoyo, destroying her skates as Lady Noir extended her baton, allowing Abeille to balance on it as Stormy Weather fired a bolt towards Anatis again. She threw the Bee heroine towards the weather witch, who used her parasol to protect herself. Abeille brought her leg down on it, breaking it and freeing the akuma. Lady Noir dived and caught Aurora as Anatis caught the loose akumas. Leatherback and Culpeo ran towards Rogercop, using Leatherback's shield to protect them from been hit. Culpeo threw her flute over Leatherback, causing Rogercop to dodge it but Anatis broke his whistle while he was distracted, capturing that akuma too. He jumped back as Style Queen went to slam her staff at him. Lady Noir dived at her and began to fight her as Ryuko ran towards Leatherback, who held out his shield. She jumped on it, causing him to throw her into the air and towards Reverser. She cut his plane and caught Marc before dodging Sandboy's attack. Aspik jumped over them and threw his lyre at Sandboy's pillow, ripping it. He caught his Lyre and the little boy who fell to the ground. Anatis caught their akumas as Lady Noir wrestled with Style Queen. He jumped over them and threw his yoyo, breaking her rose and capturing that akuma.

"By the power invested in me, I declare your miraculous are mine," Malediktator shouted, throwing balls of light at them as Puppeteer charged towards them. Since she didn't have her dolls with her, they couldn't be used in battle but it appeared she could control people she hit with her wand as she got Alya to try and attack Lady Noir.

"I'm sorry!" Alya gasped as she tried to punch the heroine, allowing Malediktator to fire a ball of light towards her. Anatis jumped over and blocked it as Leatherback threw his shield at Malediktator, who knocking him back. Abeille jumped at him and grabbed his sash, tearing it and freeing the akuma as Leatherback grabbed his shield and held it up again. This time, Abeille ran and jumped onto it, flying towards Puppeteer. She wrapped her spintop around her wand and pulled it from her hands, snapping it when she caught it. Manon flew from the sky but Leatherback caught her and put her down as Anatis caught the rest of the lose akumas. Lady Noir pushed Alya towards the other civilians.

"Your days of attacking innocent people will soon be over, Hawkmoth!" Anatis declared, throwing up his yoyo. "Lucky charm!"

He frowned as he caught a tennis racket before he glanced around, working out what to do with it. His luck vision lit up a canal boat, a lamp post then finally his team as a plan came into his mind. He smirked before nodding to his team.

"Get ready," He stated, turning to the akumas. "I'm gonna need all of you,"

The team nodded but before they could do anything, the sound of arrows been fired caught their attention. The people they rescued suddenly turned angry and aggressive, showing off black stained lips as they glared at the heroes. Anatis' eyes widen as Hawkmoth released and handful of akumas that turned them all back into their akumatized selves, causing Anatis and his team to go the defense. Lady Noir glanced up at the sky before gasping.

"Hawkmoth is using Dark Cupid to create all the negative emotions he needs!" She gasped as Dark Cupid flew up into the sky and aimed his arrows at Anatis, causing him to jump out the way and the fight to start up again. Ryuko was fighting against the Mime while Aspik was up against the Bubbler . Culpeo and Abeille were going against Style Queen and Malediktator as Leatherback was trying to fight off the Pharaoh and Troublemaker. Anatis was blocking Desperada's attacks while Lady Noir was fighting Lady Wifi, all while Dark Cupid led the air bound villains in an assault on the team.

"This is a nightmare!" Aspik called out as he dodged an attack from Reverser and hit Bubbler with his lyre before grabbing it and kicking the mime as Ryuko cartwheeled away from Stormy Weather's attack.

"Stay focus!" Anatis shouted as he jumped down and tripped up Desperada before blocking an arrow aimed at Leatherback. "We can't let them win,"

"Fall on them like rain, my scarlet akumas!" Hawkmoth shouted, causing Anatis to look at him as he thrust his cane into the air. A huge swarm of Scarlet akumas fluttered up from behind him, causing Anatis' eyes to widen in horror.

"Oh no," He gasped as they fluttered towards them. He turned to his team as they continued to fight. "Watch out!"

Lady Noir gasped as she looked over before pushing back Lady Wifi and landing a kick on her, sending her flying. Lady Wifi smirked at her as Puppeteer and Sandboy flew down towards her, shooting at her. She jumped back as Aspik fought with the Pharaoh, who managed to knock away his lute and grab his arms. Aspik managed to get free and kicked him back, glaring at him.

"Aspik! Watch out!" Ryuko called out, causing him to look behind as Dark Cupid fired an arrow at him. His eyes widen as she dived in front of him, taking the arrow. He caught as she fell and gasped as her lips turned black. She shoved him back and glared at him. "Keep your hands off me, you snake!"

"Ryuko..." He gasped as an akuma fluttered towards her. Anatis caught it before it could hit her.

"Ryuko! Don't let any negative emotions over take you or you'll get akumatized too!" He shouted, blocking Rogercop's attack as she sunk down, trying her best to fight it as she held her arms. "That's what Hawkmoth wants,"

"It's going to be ok, Ryuko," Aspik gasped, moving closer to her and causing her to look up.

"Coward," She growled before trying to attack him. "You're not worthy enough to be a hero!"

He grabbed her and restrained her as she struggled against him. One of the akumas tried to take advantage of the situation but Abeille dived over and blocked out the attack as Culpeo fought against the mime. Style Queen and Malediktator began to attack Abeille, causing her to move away from them. Ryuko slammed her fist into Aspik's rib and threw him over her shoulder before opening her arms and allowing an akuma to flutter into her choke.

"I am now... Okami!!" She declared, turning into a scarlet version of her self as Apsik looked up at her in horror and fear. Almost instantly, an akuma flew into his bracelet, covering him in a red smog as Anatis looked over.

"Apsik!" He shouted before blocking an attack from Pharaoh.

"There is no more Aspik," He declared as the smog disappeared, showing a scarlet version of him. "There is only Aapep!"

He then dived at Anatis, causing him to jump back as he slammed his fist into his ground. Leatherback threw his shield at him but Aapep dodged it as Okami charged at him. Abeille dived out of the way but Despair Bear jumped at her and forced her to stop. Culpeo jumped and landed in front of her, spinning her flute to deflect Dark Cupid's arrow but Lady Wifi threw a pause icon at her, trapping her too. Dark Cupid fired two arrows, hitting her and Abeille then akumas landed in their miraculous.

"Culpeo! Abeille!" Anatis called out, getting knocked back by Pharaoh. He kicked him back as they turned into scarlet akumas.

"Culpeo is no more, pest!" She growled, charging at him and trying to fight him. "Only Void Fox exists!"

He blocked her attack as she tried to attack him relentlessly. He managed to kick her back and jumped away but the akumatized Abeille jumped at him, trying to sting him with her now unlimited venom.

"Stay still, cockroach!" She growled as he back flipped away. "Frelona orders you to!"

Malediktator smirked and held up his fingers to his mouth.

"By the power invested in me, I order to stand still," He declared, throwing it towards Anatis. However, Leatherback pushed him out of the way and took the hit, allowing Dark Cupid to fire an arrow at him and a scarlet akuma to fly into his bracelet.

"Leatherback..." Anatis gasped before jumping out of the way as the newly villain threw his shield at him.

"Don't call me that!" He growled, catching it. "I'm Tortue Serpentine now!"

"Annie!" Lady Noir gasped as a number of akumas dived at her. She fought them off as Anatis blocked and dodged the attacks aimed at him. "Now would be a great time to use that lucky charm!"

"I need all o us for it to work!" He called out, rolling out of the way of Frelona as she tried to sting him again and block several attacks with his yoyo. "I can't do anything with it now,"

He jumped over and landed next to her, holding up his fists as she held up her baton. All of the akumas began to move in on them, causing both heroes to try and look for a point of escape. However, there wasn't one. The two of them blocked the attacks as best as they could but they really needed to get out of there.

"How are we gonna get out of this?!" Lady Noir gasped as she blocked another attack. Aapep managed to get pass their defenses and dived at Lady Noir but Anatis grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back, in cased he had already activated his second chance. Anatis nodded at Lady Noir, who threw up her hand and summoned her cataclysm before slamming her fist into the ground. Anatis threw Aapep away from him as the ground cracked beneath them and gave away, causing the two heroes to fall into the sewers. Wasting no time, they swam away from the scene and climbed out of the water. Anatis helped Lady Noir out of the water before the two of them took off. Judging by the fact that they were still running and hadn't been ambushed, Aapep hadn't activated his second chance. They ran as fast as they could, heading deeper into the sewers as they did. Anatis frowned as his earrings beeped before glancing at Lady Noir.

"I'm about to transform back," He declared as they saw forked tunnels up ahead with a wall between them. "I'll take the side of the left, you take the right,"

"Kay!" She nodded, jumping across to her side. He jumped across to the other side and sighed as his transformation dropped. He caught Tikki and took out a macaron for her. She happily took it as he heard Lady Noir call off her transformation and give Plagg some cheese. "Enjoy it but don't take too long,"

"Let's share it," Plagg replied as Tikki suggested the same thing with her macaron. Both holders thanked their kwamis before eating their halves.

"You ok, Annie?" Marinette asked, causing Luka to sigh.

"Hawkmoth has never akumatized so many people in one go. The amount of akumas was... worrying to say the least and he looked different..." He frowned, thinking about it. He called the akumas scarlet akumas and he was referring to himself as Scarlet akumas. Not just that but the amount of them was well in the hundreds. "Something's changed,"

"He must have worked out how to boost his powers," She sighed, thinking. "Just like we did. Though I don't think he did it with magical food or potions.... Annie?"

"Do you still think we can win?" He asked, making her frown a little. He sounded small and so unsure of himself. Despite the fact that she couldn't see him, she knew he was holding his arms and looking down. She placed her hand on the wall as he let out a small sigh.

"We can't give up hope," She declared, causing him to look at the wall. "People are relying on us,"

"But our whole team crumbled," He sighed, looking down. "I failed to protect them..."

"Annie, listen to me. You did not fail. Hawkmoth cheated and that's all there is to it," She stated in a firm voice. "As for a crumbled team... well, let's go back to what we know works. A duo! You and me against the world, Annie,"

"Thank you, Kitten... I needed to hear that," He muttered, making her smile a little before they hear the sound of snarling and running. "They've found us,"

"Time to make a quick escape," Marinette grinned before noticing the flowing water. "You like Water Rides, Annie?"

"Don't forget to put your diving gear on," Luka replied, taking out a green macaron as they both ran towards the edge and dived off with their eyes closed. He threw it towards Tikki, who ate it as Marinette did the same with Plagg. "Tikki, power up!"

"Plagg, Power up!" She shouted as they free-fell towards a pool of water. "Aqua Plagg, Claws out!"

"Aqua Tikki, Spots on!" He shouted. They both transformed then hit the water. Once underneath, they opened their eyes and swam into a tunnel but Syren appeared to block their way, grinning. They heard a splash, causing them to look behind them as Animan in the form of a fish swam towards them. Anatis grinned as Syren charged at them. Lady Noir grinned back as she blocked Syren's attack. She knocked her weapon out of her hand and broke her bracelet as Anatis tied Animan up with his yoyo and broke the button on him before catching the akumas. Animan and Syren turned back into their civilian selves, causing Anatis and Lady Noir to give them their weapons so they could breathe before swimming off with them into the Seine.

"It's gonna take a long of time to deakumatized these villains one by one," Lady Noir pointed out as they swam.

"Which is exactly why we have to take on Hawkmoth directly," Anatis replied as they swam. "I think his cane is the source of his power up. I'm not sure how he did it but if we can destroy it, it should revert him back to normal and free everyone from his control,"

"Good plan but we can't do it from the water," Lady Noir pointed out as they both swam up and jumped out of the water, landing on the ground as they transformed back into their normal forms. As soon as they did, Timebreaker skated towards them, holding her hand out. However, Anatis clocked her before she could get them and broke her skates again, capturing her akuma before jumping to the bridge in front of the Eiffel Tower, causing Hawkmoth to glare at him. Ondine and Otis ran off as Anatis faced Hawkmoth with Lady Noir stood next to him, holding her baton behind her back.

"Hey, Hawkmoth! You're not gonna wanna miss what happens next! Time to show everyone that the real Anatis and Lady Noir are back!" He yelled out before taking out his yoyo. He pressed it open and threw it up in the sky, releasing all the purified butterflies he captured and causing a white beam of light to escape from it. Almost instantly, he could feel the change in the city's song and smirked as he closed his yoyo, knowing Hawkmoth could feel it too. "You feel that, Hawkmoth?! It's called Hope!"

"No more escaping for you, Knaves!" Dark Blade called out, causing Anatis and Lady Noir to face him and his army. "Down with the enemy!"

"Time for a little detour, kitten," Anatis suggested as they began to back away.

"Couldn't agree more, Annie," Lady Noir nodded before they ran off, causing the akuma army to follow them as they ran as fast as they could through the streets of Paris, trying to avoid the akumas that followed them. The ones from the sewers climbed out and joined the hunt. Lady Noir looked at him as they ran. "Got any ideas?"

"Besides running and surviving?" He asked, glancing at her before they both look ahead and saw a barricade of cars and a bus. The two of them jumped over it, rolling as they landed before noticing those behind it. Both heroes blinked as none of other then Nora Cesaire climbed onto the bus and lifted a broom up. Chloe and Nathaniel joined her, along with Tom, Sabine and Gina. Alya's mother was there too as was Anarka, Tomoe and a number of others.

"Parisians!" Nora shouted, getting their attention. "We can be heroes just for one day!!"

"What?! A revolution!" Dark Blade yelled before pointing his blade towards them. "Charge!"

"Charge!" Chloe shouted back, causing the Parisians to run into battle. A number of them grabbed the akumatized heroes from windows as Gina moved over to them, along with Anarka and Marlena Cesaire before helping the heroes to their feet.

"Are you two ok?" Anarka asked, causing Anatis to nod.

"It's awesome seeing you two again," Marlena grinned, clearly happy to see them as Gina placed her hand on Lady Noir's shoulder.

"Parisians are all on your side,"

"We're slow them down, Lad," Anarka grinned, clearly thriving in the chaos. "You two go save the world!"

"Leave the akumas to us," Gina grinned, causing Anatis to smile.

"You guys are amazing," He gasped as Lady Noir nodded.

"Thank you so much," She added as the two of them turned and ran off before jumping onto the rooftops. They came to a stop as the giant akumas arrived but the Parisians distracted them too, giving Anatis and Lady Noir a chance to get to the Eiffel tower. The two of them worked together against Glaciator and Gamer, causing them to take out each other before they jumped up and landed on the Eiffel Tower, rushing over to where Hawkmoth was standing, causing him to gasp as he turned around. Lady Noir held out her baton as Anatis spun his yoyo.

"It's just us three, Hawkmoth," He declared, causing Lady Noir to summon her cataclysm before he threw up his yoyo and summoned his lucky charm. He caught the little box and opened it before glancing at Hawkmoth, stopping as he got a shiver. This was too easy but he knew he couldn't let Hawkmoth catch on. He lifted his arm in front of him so the box reflected what was behind him before grinning. "It's a sign, Hawkmoth. That your miraculous will end up in this box,"

"Are you sure you're not making a mistake?" Hawkmoth asked. "How do you know that my wish wouldn't be beneficial for everyone?"

"Hm! I doubt that!" Lady Noir gasped as Anatis stepped forward. He moved his hand behind his back and pointed to his shadow.

"Even if it was, there would be a price," Anatis shouted, hoping Lady Noir got when he meant. Using the box, he saw her glance downwards towards Hawkmoth's feet. "Why don't you tell us your wish, Hawkmoth?"

"Give me your miraculous and find out," He replied as Lady Noir flicked her hair in a way that made it look like a nod. Anatis hid his smirk. "Unlike you, I'm not afraid to use these powers. Since you're so good, why did you never bother to change the world for the better?"

"We are changing it... by our actions..." Anatis stated, making Hawkmoth frown. "Instead of just wishing for it or taking advantage of innocent people,"

They moved forward to him as Anatis held out his hand with the box so he could still see behind him.

"But it's not too late.... you can fight for good with us," He stated as the real Hawkmoth climbed behind them with two akumas in his hand. Anatis placed his hand on his yoyo, waiting til he released the akumas. "Now!"

Lady Noir destroyed the Hawkmoth illusion and blocked Dark Cupid's arrows as Anatis captured the two akumas. She threw her baton at Dark Cupid, breaking the button on his chest. The akuma escaped and Anatis captured it, returning Dark Cupid back to Kim before he caught him with his yoyo and lowered him to the floor before the heroes faced Hawkmoth.

"No!" Hawkmoth growled.

"You're such a coward," Anatis growled. "But did you really think we were stupid enough to fall for that?!"

"No where to hide now," Lady Noir smirked as Hawkmoth growled. The two heroes charged at him and began to fight him. Anatis blocked his attack with his yoyo before he knocked him back. Lady Noir instantly took over, using her baton like a bo staff and attacking him relentlessly, annoying Hawkmoth until he got annoyed enough to try and beat her with his cane. Seeing his chance, Anatis threw his yoyo and snatched his cane out of his hand as Lady Noir flipped over to him. Hawkmoth charged at him but Anatis threw to Lady Noir, who caught it with her charged hand, destroying it. Hawkmoth returned back to his normal form as a number of white butterflies fluttered away. "As Annie said... it's over!"

"Alright, Kids," Hawkmoth growled with a look of determination on his face before he got into a fighting stance and held up his fists. "Watch what a man who has nothing to lose can do,"

The two heroes charged at him as he ran towards them, fighting him as best as they could but Hawkmoth was so much stronger then they were. He used his limbs and height to his advantage, beating them as he did until he knocked them onto the floor. Anatis tried to push himself up as Lady Noir's ring beeped. Hawkmoth smirked as he walked towards them.

"You're never going to win," He declared, walking towards them. "You're still so green, young heroes. You can't even stay transformed after you use your powers!"

He went to grab Lady Noir but before he could, Anatis slammed his foot into him, knocking him back before he got up, surprising Hawkmoth as he held up his arms in a strange position, similar to a snake.

"Annie..." Lady Noir gasped as he stood in front of her.

"I'm not done yet," He snarled, making Hawkmoth smirk before charging at him. To his surprise, Anatis managed to hold his own, using his hands to hit Hawkmoth with powerful jabs but gradually Hawkmoth got the upper hand, knocking him back. Hawkmoth smirked and lifted his arms to beat the knocked down heroes but he went flying when a shield was thrown into him. Leatherback jumped with the other heroes and caught it, allowing Anatis and Lady Noir to jump. Anatis threw his yoyo around, creating a net around the Eiffel Tower that trapped Hawkmoth. Ryuko clicked her fingers as the seven of them stalked towards Hawkmoth. Abeille held up her spintop and called upon her power, ready to sting him as he backed up. "It's over, Hawkmoth,"

However, a blue mask suddenly appeared around his eyes, causing his expression to change to one of genuine surprise. Anatis frowned deeply as they moved closer.

"No, don't do that!" Hawkmoth suddenly gasped, making everyone confused. Who was he talking to? The mask disappeared and he sunk to his knees, apparently admitting defeat. Anatis took another step forward but as he did, a giant moth suddenly appeared, causing the heroes to gasp before it began to flap it's wings, causing a gush of wind that sent the heroes flying. Anatis tried his best to hold onto his yoyo as he grabbed Lady Noir's hand, stopping her from been blown away.

"What is that monster?!" He gasped as his yoyo's string up wrapped, sending him flying. He threw his yoyo and wrapped it around the moth's tail, pulling himself and Lady Noir towards it so they could attack but it vanished as soon as they got near. They landed on the Eiffel Tower and looked around as the others returned. Anatis moved over to the broken cane as a darkened feather escaped it but as it fluttered away, it turned back to white. Lady Noir walked over and looked up at it as the others looked around for Hawkmoth.

"A feather?" She questioned as he frowned before his eyes widen.

"Master Fu mentioned that the Butterfly Miraculous wasn't the only lost miraculous," He muttered, making her look at him. "There's another one... the Peacock and I think we just saw it's power,"

"Anatis, Hawkmoth is gone," Culpeo stated, making the team move over and look around.

"He must of have escaped when that monster appeared," Lady Noir sighed before they moved over to the broken cane. Abeille leaned down and picked it up as Aspik and Ryuko frowned deeply.

"The timing of that monster was too good," Ryuko muttered, frowning.

"But where did it come from?" Aspik asked, getting a nod of the rest of the team.

"Another miraculous holder," Anatis answered, standing next to them. "Which means Hawkmoth is no longer working alone. He had help from the owner of the Peacock miraculous,"

"Well, maybe this can help us track him," Lady Noir muttered, taking the cane from Abeille but it disappeared, making them all gasp.

"There goes our chance at tracking him," Leatherback frowned as Anatis sighed.

"He must have detransformed," He muttered as his earrings beeped along with Lady Noir's ring. "We've gotta split, guys... but first..."

He held up the box and threw it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybugs!" He shouted, causing it to burst into the magical swarm and fix everything before the heroes headed back into the city. Leatherback, Abeille and Culpeo followed Anatis while Ryuko and Aspik followed Lady Noir. Landing back on the school roof, Anatis jumped down, followed by Leatherback who detransformed and gave back the bracelet after saying goodbye to Wayzz. Anatis thanked him before jumping up to the roof, where Abeille and Culpeo were waiting. They detransformed and said goodbye to their kwamis before handing back the miraculous. Anatis thanked them before swinging off into the city back to Master Fu, briefly de-transforming on his way there. Meanwhile, Lady Noir dropped off Ryuko and Aspik at Kagami's house. The two of them detransformed and said goodbye to their kwamis before handing her the jewels without hesitation.

"Thank you for your help, you two," Lady Noir smiled.

"Thank you for trusting us," Kagami replied, bowing a little before her ring beeped again. "Send my best to Anatis,"

"I will," Lady Noir nodded before jumping off into the city. She briefly found somewhere to hide before her transformation dropped. Taking out some cheese, she threw it towards Plagg and headed to Master Fu's place. Arriving there, she re-transformed and entered through the open window, smiling as Anatis placed the fox and bee back in the box. She moved next to him and placed the dragon and the snake back, allowing Master Fu to close the box and lock it away.

"You both did very well today," He stated as he moved over to them. "But I sense something is troubling you, Anatis. Would it help to share what's on your mind?"

"The owner of the peacock miraculous helped Hawkmoth escape..." He muttered, frowning. "And I feel like Hawkmoth was planning this... I think Princess Justice was his inspiration for this attack... since she was arguably one of his most successful and intelligent akumas, he took her plan and evolved it... he was calling himself Scarlet Moth and had amplified his own powers... it was concerning..."

"Yes, it does seem that way," Master Fu agreed, making both heroes frown. "We were lucky that she did not make an appearance though... however, I think you two have earnt a well deserved rest. Go and celebrate this victory. It is heroes' day after all,"

"That's a good idea," Anatis nodded before getting up. "I have something I need to do,"

~After the Heroes Day Parade~

Marinette frowned to herself as she walked towards the park. She wasn't sure why but Alya asked her to meet her there at 7 pm, despite the fact that she told pretty much everyone that she couldn't do the party. Alya also insisted she bring a box of macarons. Luckily, because of the time, she was able to make some from scratch and these ones didn't burn. She saw Alya stood outside and waved towards her, getting her attention. Alya rushed over and smiled.

"Did you bring the macarons?" She asked, confusing her but she nodded. "Good! Right, close your eyes!"

"Uh.." She blinked. "Alright?"

She closed her eyes and allowed Alya to lead her into the park. She frowned as she felt Alya leave her side, making her nervous.

"Ok! Open your eyes!" Alya gasped, causing her to open them. She gasped as she took in the scene in front of her. Fairylights had been put up and tables had been set up. All kinds of food covered them and there were several picnic blankets with people on. Everyone who she had invited were there and it was exactly how she imagined it. Tears filled her eyes a little as she looked around.

"Oh my gosh..." She gasped. "But... I don't understand.... I cancelled the picnic because I couldn't provide the food I promised,"

"We know," Kagami stated as she walked over, holding a tray of food. "Which is why we all brought a dish each,"

"You're always helping people," Rose gasped as Juleka nodded.

"Like when you helped me with my photo curse," She muttered, pushing her hair out of the way as Nathaniel and Marc came over.

"Or when you helped me and Marc meet so we could create a comic book,"

"Or the time when you helped me escape so I could see my mother on the big screen," Adrien piped up as she looked around. "That's why we all jumped at the chance to help you. You do some much for us so today it was our turn to help you,"

"B-But... I still don't understand..." She gasped, confused. She was sure she cancelled the picnic. "Not that I'm not grateful... cause I am but I definitely cancelled the picnic so who asked you all to help?"

"I did," Luka stated, making her turn around in surprise as he walked over. "That's why I was looking at my phone all lunch,"

"Y-You did this for me?" She asked, tears appearing in her eyes as he nodded. She suddenly hugged him, causing him to stumble back a little as he caught her. "Thank you so much,"

"It's fine," He muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's heroes day so this is the least I could do,"

"You're my hero, Luka," She muttered, causing him to blush before she kissed his cheek and looked at him before the two of them joined the rest.

~Later that Night~

"Hey, Annie," Lady Noir grinned as she joined him. He was sat on a rooftop, writing down something down. "What ya doing?"

"Working out a code," He muttered, looking up at her as she sat down next to him before he handed her the note pad. He had written down several colour codes on there. Each one corresponded to a threat level. The lowest threat was Code Gray for weak akumas like Mr Pigeon. Code Black were for akumas like Lady Wifi. Code Yellow is for akumatized miraculous holders that weren't them. Code Orange was literally reserved for Volpina. Code Blue was for the peacock holder and Code Purple was for Hawkmoth. "I'll be adding more as time goes on but what do you think so far?"

"It works but what's Code Red?" She asked, making him frown a little.

"It's the warning if I'm ever akumatized..." He muttered, making her look at him. "The list isn't finished yet but I think it helps to have codes. That way we can prepare... speaking of preparing... I think we should train the newbies and look into calming techniques,"

"That's a good idea," She nods before looking at him. "You are ok right?"

"Yeah, I'm good, Kitten," He smiled, placing the notepad in his yoyo. "Are you?"

"Yup,"

---------------------------------------------------------------

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/638625574156419072/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-41

19 notes · View notes