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boogiewrites · 2 years ago

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Seeing Stars Pt. 21

Part 1 if you missed it!

The aftermath of Star and Eddie's big fight spills over into the lives of those around them. It takes them a few tries before they're able to talk again, both feeling hurt and defensive. What will it take for Eddie's stubborn nature to be derailed? What will be the thing that makes Star realize she has to confront her fears to grow? Eddie finds out from the source what Star went through in her past relationship. Star is left with no more reasons to deny that she's in love with Eddie.

CW: Descriptions of events that happened in an abusive relationship given by the victim. Not graphic but I still wanted to mention it. The abuser uses hurtful language toward the victim. Use of gay slurs by the abuser. A short conversation on men and women and their differences, it's a bit black and white and outdated so I wanted to mention that as well, gender roles and that. More fighting and more hurt. But also a light at the end of the tunnel.

Star survived the long lonely night after her and Eddie’s fight. She drove to school, painfully aware of the fact that she was very alone. She had only taken her sunglasses off if commanded by teachers. She was hung over, she felt like hell down to her bones. New depths of feeling hurt and terrible had been discovered.

She was shaking, watching the clock tick to lunch. She was starving and somehow also nauseous. She didn’t know how to face him. Would he act like nothing happened? Would he tell her to fuck off? She had no idea. So she acted in the way he had called her, and she hid in the bathroom for lunch. She wasn’t proud. She’d try again tomorrow.

Feeling defeated already, the universe felt it suited to further punish Star for withholding her feelings. If she wouldn’t open up and be vulnerable on her own, it could always beat her into submission. So it started with her car. Except that’s exactly what it wouldn’t do. Start. She was on the side of the road out of town and banging her head against the steering wheel. Unlike the guys in her life, she didn’t know much about cars. When your older brother is a great mechanic you never have to learn anything. She let out a groan before popping the hood to make it feel like she was doing something. That way when Robbie inevitably asked her what happened she could say she looked and that it wasn’t on fire at least. She grabbed her bags, locked up the car, and started the walk home. The dark clouds were a middle finger from the universe as it started to rain.

“I would say it can’t get any worse but I know you’ll prove me wrong and hit me with lightning or something so okay I GET IT!” She shouted alone on the side of the road with her arms in the air in annoyance. Luckily it wasn’t too long of a walk.

Tomorrow came, and she’d found Eddie completely ignoring her in their classes like the day before. He made her wonder if she’d gone invisible. She didn’t know he could act like that. But then again, she hadn’t expected him to blow up like he had either. Even if she was starting to understand it. She felt really strange about it. As heartbroken and sad as she was, she felt oddly… calm. She didn’t know that it was acceptance creeping in. Deep down she agreed with everything he’d said. She just had to realize it for herself now.

Greeting her was a not-unusual collection of mail on her counter Robbie had politely sorted for her. She knew the news couldn’t be any worse than the one she’d already got about Bobby so she flicked through them without much thought until one from a Chicago address came into view. Holding it with unsure hands she realized it was from the art scholarship group.

“I don’t even have to open this with the week I’m having do I?” She said aloud.

Sure enough.

“We regret to inform you you were not selected to receive-“ she sighed and tossed it into the trash can not bothering to read the rest. “Fucking great. So I’m stuck here with a guy I love that hates me now and I can’t even escape after graduation to be some shitty artist. Great.” She kicked the cupboard and immediately regretted it. “I guess this summer I’ll be working doubles until I collapse to save up, huh?” She plopped into the bed, full of disappointment in herself.

The next day she made it halfway to the Hellfire table. Eddie still ignoring her, she thinks she would’ve preferred if he was been glaring at her. Indifference hurt more somehow. So she turned at the last minute and sat with Robin. She didn’t ask why. At least not at the table. She did demand answers when it was just her alone, so Star gave in and went to Family Video to spill the beans to both her and Steve. Both were disappointed in her. Both were surprised at Eddie.

After rehashing everything with the Family Video duo, she felt a new wave of gloom wash over her. The bad news of the scholarship and an out-of-service car was enough to push her into old habits. She fell back on the old coping mechanisms she’d taken comfort in before and found herself at The Hideout. She wasn’t proud of it.

Unlike his usual behavior, Eddie took to the confines of the dive too. He knew he could be left alone to brood and have a few drinks. Fulfill some aesthetic of a heartbroken man wallowing in his self-pity for a bit. But he’d been wrong. Now he was trapped, unable to leave the corner booth where he’d hidden away because Star was busy drowning her sorrows across the bar. He had his hood up, zip-up black hoodie, and thankfully no major identifying articles of clothing like his vest. Star had been quiet at first, sulking and somber, sipping away at hard liquor and making small talk with the bartender she liked. The longer the night went on, the louder she got. In 2 hours she was singing karaoke and although it wasn’t bad, the articulation of her words was certainly lacking. Sad song after sad song she went, being ignored by the few other bar customers. It wasn’t hard to tell the poor girl was going through something, so they let it be. She was finishing up a Queen song, trying to sing every part, which was physically impossible, but that certainly wasn’t stopping her from trying. To Eddie’s surprise he saw Steve enter the bar, a noticeable sigh, then a fond smile, a shake of his head as he watched her perform. He took in the space around him. A leftover paranoia from his trauma always compelled him to know where exits were, see who was in the room, and check for danger. He missed waltzing into a room without a care, thinking he was untouchable.

He met Eddie’s eyes, and despite his hair being pulled back into his hood to make himself less noticeable, Steve recognized him. At first surprise, a step back and glancing quickly around the room. His face then shifted and gave him a look that Eddie had seen him give the kids. It was full of irritation and disappointment. Eddie’s eyes widened as he saw he’d been discovered, quickly shaking his head no, pleading with Steve through his eyes to not draw attention to him. Steve picked up on the situation quickly, crossed his arms, and rolled his eyes, head still shaking back and forth as he ran his hand through his hair and left Eddie’s line of sight to retrieve Star.

He was being gentle despite how annoyed he was, Eddie could hear him politely telling Star it was time to go. He heard Star perk up at his voice, saw her melt, and hug him around the neck tightly.

“Oh, Stevie. M’so glad you’re here.” she cooed, kissing his face.

“Alright, there hun.” Steve pat her back and rubbed it as she nuzzled into his chest.

“God you smell so good.” she groaned. Eddie felt heat rise in his face.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, knowing any response from him wouldn’t truly be heard. “Let’s go home. C’mon. Get your coat.” he instructed the wobbly lady.

“We gonna go to your place?” she asked.

“Do you want to?”

“Whatever you wanna do Stevie, baby.” she pat his cheek and Eddie scowled. “Wherever you wanna take me I’ll go,” she said with a bright smile and a nod. She was fully giving in, throwing her misplaced affections at Steve. He was handsome and sweet, and she was craving intimacy something awful. Of course, Steve had no intention of letting her try anything. Eddie was his friend, and Star was drunk. That wouldn’t stop her from acting out though.

“Let’s get you back home then,” he said putting his arm around her shoulders and directing her out of the bar. He shot daggers at Eddie one last time, a look of, 'see what you’ve done'. But to his surprise, Eddie was shooting them right back at him this time. Steve scrunched his face in confusion, shaking his head and turning his attention back to Star who had slid her hand into Steve’s back pocket.

“You gonna stay with me? I don’t wanna be alone.” he heard her whine as they walked out the door. Eddie didn’t hear Steve’s reply but he could certainly hear the blood rushing in his ears with jealousy.

So the next day she sat with them at lunch. Eddie was surprised but from a lifetime of hiding his emotions he didn’t give away anything at first. She tried to talk to him, fleeting moments of eye contact as he’d lower them to the table and give her sharp, short answers. He could see her hair hadn’t been washed that morning or the night before, he saw the way it lay flatter in the back because she’d slept on her back. Or had she been on her back for other reasons? He took in every inch of skin he could, any mark of redness or bruise pulling his attention and fueling his delusion that she’d slept with Steve. There was a red splotch on her neck, it wasn’t like the ones he’d left on her before but his mind wasn’t listening to reason. He was fuming, grinding his teeth down to nothing. Star could feel the anger coming from him now, assuming it was from her. The conversation kept moving among the other people at the table.

“I don’t know, I’ll ask Steve after school, I couldn’t get ahold of him last night.” Eddie’s eyes shot to Dustin, snapping the pretzel he had in his fingers.

“He was with me,” Star said casually and Eddie wondered if she was crueler than he had ever imagined she could be.

“Oh, did he say anything about this weekend?”

“No, sorry. Not that I remember anyway. But we weren’t really talking about him taking you all to the movies so I doubt it.”

“What were you talking about then?” Eddie hide his emotion, looking down as he asked then a pointed swing up as he saw Star turn her head with hopeful eyes that were matched with his, black with anger.

“We-uh.” she stuttered at the surprise of the question, and more so the fact that he was speaking to her directly at all.

“Or were you two not doing much talking?” he accused and she tilted her head in confusion. Everyone felt the wave of anger now, looking at Eddie with the same expression.

“I don’t-? I was…” she huffed, her cheeks turning red. “I didn’t wanna talk about it but I was drunk and he took me home,” she confessed, looking down, her hands fidgeting. She was ashamed. She looked at him defensively, turning in on herself, feeling hurt from his stinging accusation. Dustin glared at Eddie.

“Dude,” Jeff said sympathetically to Star at Eddie’s tone.

“Why are you talking to her like that?”

“If you’re so sore-assed about it maybe you should’ve taken her home.” Gareth, a surprising voice of reason caught Eddie’s attention as they stared each other down. No one knew exactly what had happened, they only knew Eddie was being a dick this week.

“Thankfully Steve was there to take care of me last night,” she said looking down, gathering her things as Dustin reached to stop her but she shook her head. “You’d be surprised what a little support and kindness would make a girl wanna do.” She stared right into Eddie's eyes as she stood. She was seething with anger. She wanted him to hurt, wanted him to think his friends had scorned him by sleeping together. She walked away with her tray and Eddie was left to be gawked at.

So naturally, the next question Eddie asked Steve when he went to Family Video the next day was direct and full of venom.

“Are you fucking her?” He almost growled at an unsuspecting Steve in the empty store. His eyes blinked rapidly, his hands raising between him and the glaring man across the counter.

“Woah, Woah. What?” Steve sputtered out.

“Don’t play stupid, sweetheart. I know you well enough to know you aren't.”

“That’s the weirdest compliment I’ve ever gotten,” Steve said bewildered.

“Stop avoiding the question.”

“No!” Steve shouted, now moving into being offended. “What the hell, man? You think I’d sleep with Star? Now? You’re off your meds, man. Don’t be crazy.”

“I saw her all over you at the bar.”

“She was drunk. You saw her. You know how she gets. She’s very friendly.” his nose wrinkled at the underselling of Star’s physical affection needs when intoxicated.

“And she’s pissed at me. Plenty of reasons to try it with you. I know she wants to fuck you. It’s the perfect storm to fuck me over.”

“Calm down,” Steve said in a drawn-out deep voice, leaning on the counter. “We didn’t do anything like that. I took her home, and all she did was cry over you.” he shook his head, his hair bobbing at the force.

Eddie blinked and leaned back in response.

“You think I’d sleep with her knowing you loved her? Good to know you think so highly of me, shit.” he leaned back and crossed his arms.

“I-” Eddie shook his head and put his hands to his face. “I’m sorry, Steve. Fuck.” he groaned. “I accused her at lunch and she-”

“You didn’t.” Steve groaned, his chin leaning forward “You idiot! Why would you do that!” he shook his hands at the run-down looking man across the counter.

“I don’t know. I’m all messed up. I saw her all over you and I saw red, man. I’m sorry.”

“All she did was sling snot and blubber on about how much she loved you but she couldn’t say it because what if she fucked it all up? What if she’s a terrible person and you find out and leave her? And you go and accuse her of sleeping with me? No offense but- you know, NO, FULL offense that’s bullshit!” Steve was angry on his behalf as well as Star’s now.

“I see that now,” Eddie muttered and hit his head on the counter in front of him.

“Get your shit together man, Jesus.” Steve scowled. “Go talk to her. Apologize. Don't be a dick. She’d never do that to you. I can’t believe you’d think that. And about me! I thought we were friends!”

“We are! I’m sorry. Old habits die hard.”

“You’d gonna die alone with your old habits if you don’t stop being such a stubborn jackass.” Steve pointed out, leaning down to Eddie’s mushed face on the counter.

“I know I hurt her, I thought she was trying to hurt me. I know she used to-”

“Yeah. USED TO. She even said that. That before she would’ve tried. To distract herself for a minute with someone else. But she wouldn’t anymore because of you. That she didn’t want to take a step back or hurt you. She was already upset she got so drunk.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. Fuck… you.” Steve said with a joking tone but there was truth behind it.

“Yeah, fuck me.” Edie groaned and hit his head a few times on the counter.

“Stop that shit. Someone’s gonna come in and 5150 you.” he shoved Eddie’s shoulder and he stood up.

“The Van Halen album?” Eddie asked, a bit dazed.

“Did you hit your head that hard?”

“Sorry I-”

“The more you say that the less it means you know.” Steve glared.

“What?”

“Sorry doesn't mean shit if it doesn’t come with changed behavior.”

“You sound like her.”

“Good! Because she’s smart! She’s trying to get better despite you being a baby and saying you were done with her because she couldn’t say she loved you back.”

“Wouldn’t you wanna hear it?” Eddie hit his hands on the counter, the weight of them making a heavy sound.

“Of course! But when she tells you she can’t because she’s afraid she’ll fuck everything up and then YOU go and leave, proving her right…what does that accomplish? Nothing! You need to see how much she loves you. She needs to be brave enough to say it and not think everything is gonna go to hell when she does. You’re both wrong and you’re both right.”

“I have the right to want to hear it from her. I’m not wrong.”

“That isn’t wrong, no. It’s how you’re going about it.”

“I deserve to hear it. I said she has to say it for me to be able to keep doing whatever it is we’re doing. I’m not even asking her to be my girlfriend, I just want to hear her say it.” Steve sighed, seeing the circles under Eddie’s eyes and the hurt behind them. He was just as sensitive as anyone else. So much for the whole macho tough routine. “If I don’t stick to my guns, then nothing I say means anything.”

“Yeah, you’re stubborn.”

“I’m not stubborn, I’m sticking to what I said.”

“Dude! That’s THE definition of stubborn.”

“Ugh!” Eddie threw his arms up. “It’s like everyone’s gone crazy this week.”

“If everyone around you is an asshole…. Chances are you’re the asshole.” Steve said with a lecturing face.

“I’m not the asshole here. Neither is she. I’m stating what I need from her. That’s it. That doesn’t make me the bad guy.”

“It doesn’t… not.” Steve bobbed his head side to side in thought. Eddie stared with a deadpan expression back at him. “Look, you’re asking her to do the one thing she can’t. That’s the issue. If you can't get past that then you need to tell her and drop it. End it. Completely.”

“But I love her, I don’t want to lose her.”

“You can’t have both.”

“Yes, I can. She’ll say it.”

“At least stop being an asshole to her in the meantime then? Just treat her like she’s your friend.”

“I can’t. If I’m around her I'll give in. I can’t act like she’s just my friend anymore I don’t know what that feels like. I’ve loved her for months now and I don’t know how to act.”

“Sounds like a you problem.”

“Now you’re being a dick.” he grumped at Steve.

“Yeah. That was me being a little bit of a dick.” Steve grinned. "Cut me some slack I’m stuck in the middle of you two. It’s not fun for you? Imagine how much it sucks for me to have to hear you both bitching and moaning?”

“Nothing about this is fun.”

“No shit,” Steve said sarcastically. “Love hurts, man. It sucks. It’s also the best thing that exists. It’s…” he sighed.

“Yeah. I know what you mean now.”

“First time, huh?”

“Yeah,” Eddie grumbled.

“I don’t have any happy metaphor for you man. My first love ended in flames. I won’t bullshit you.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Then don’t accuse me of sleeping with your…girlfriend…person situation.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, you should be.” Eddie sulked. “You’re a good guy.” Steve slapped his arm. “But even good guys can be assholes sometimes.”

“Not an asshole.”Eddie lilted, raising his head, his mood lighter but not chipper by any means.

“You’re not… not an asshole.” Steve clarified.

Thursday was awkward. Eddie felt like an idiot after what he’s said the day before. But Star braved his misplaced anger and sat with them anyway. If anything, she could use spite to be brave even if she was still hurt and sad. Eddie was apologetic with his eyes. They didn’t say much, but the intensity was certainly more tolerable. The group conversation flowed with no issue this time, Eddie answering like a sane person and Star doing the same. They exchanged a few words and kept it civil. She felt hopeful.

At the end of the day when Star shut her locker, she jumped at the appearance of Eddie after the door moving gave away his approach.

“Shit!” she squeaked and grabbed her bag. “You scared me,” she said, looking down immediately.

“I didn’t mean to,” he muttered, hands shoved into his pockets.

She stood with her face downward, fingers picking at the yarn in the strap of her bag, her eyes turned upward to meet his. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t know what to say.

“I wanted to apologize for what I said yesterday. At lunch.”

“Okay.” she nodded slowly, eyes wandering again.

“I saw you two in town that night and you looked… awfully cozy together.” he groaned out, eyes now losing their bravery as he too looked away.

“I was drunk. You know how I get,” she answered quietly, but the tone wasn’t lost on Eddie’s ears. I was drunk because of you, is what she’d wanted to add.

“Yeah.” he kicked at the linoleum floor with his sneaker.

“We didn’t do anything. Not that you’d have any right to be mad at us if we did." Eddie tilted his head and his nose twitched.

“I think I would have the right,” he muttered.

“You essentially told me to fuck off,” she stated plainly. “Or do you not remember storming out and saying you were done with my bullshit?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“It’s burnt into my memory because I’ve been crying about it for days, I’m pretty fucking sure that’s what you said.” she hissed back.

“Then that’s not what I meant! Okay?” he said back with the same defensive attitude she had.

“Then what did you mean?” the snarky attitude she was giving him wasn’t helping their situation.

“I meant…” he lowered his voice. “That whenever you were ready to give me the validation I needed to hear that I’m here. I didn’t mean I’m done with you, like, totally. I..” he groaned and sighed. “I love you, I don’t want you being with anyone else,” he mumbled, eyes paranoid and seeing if anything else was around to hear. “I meant I was done with… that conversation. There was no point in fighting more about it. It wouldn’t have helped.” he added with his exhaustion showing through.

“And I still can’t give you that,” she said entirely annoyed with herself and the situation, but Eddie took it for her not caring. He felt like a dagger had been shoved in between his 4th and 5th rib. “I’m sorry,” she added quietly. “I’m… trying,” she whispered, less angry as she saw the hurt in his body language. “I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never done this… felt this before. I’m not... equipped to deal with this level of shit.”

“So what we have is shit now?” he blurted out.

“No.” she whimpered, “You know that’s not what I meant.” she huffed and closed her eyes.

“That’s what you just said.” he bit back.

“Shit as in the overwhelming amount of emotions I’m having. Everything little fucking thing is triggering the hell out of me!” she admitted with a crack in her voice.

Eddie didn’t say anything, he sighed in response. They stood in painful silence for a moment.

“Well, I’m gonna go. This clearly isn’t going anywhere. I wanted to say sorry for accusing you of sleeping with Steve. And I did. What I said still stands. When you want to give this a real try, and man up to how you feel then come talk to me. Otherwise…we’re just going to argue.” he threw his hands up.

She didn’t respond as he turned and walked away. She felt the exhaustion hit her all over again. She missed him so much. She missed how he used to bring her comfort and not pain. She was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Something had to give.

Star was dehydrated she’d cried so much. She thinks if she tried again dust might come out of her eyes. She was drained. So she did what she knew, and sat at her kitchenette, her cards in her hands.

“Alright. Hit me with it.” she sighed.

The Star reversed slapped onto the table.

Star let out the first laugh she’d had since the argument.

“Yeah.” she let out a deep breath. “Fuck me, right?” she snorted and chuckled, rubbing her face. “Okay… Two card pull here.“ She says aloud, another shuffle. “If I tell him I’m in love with him. If I let myself be vulnerable enough to very likely fucking up... What’s gonna happen?”

The Lovers.

Star rolls her eyes and pulls another card.

10 of cups.

“If I had a dollar every time I pulled that when I asked you about him.”

“Then maybe you should fucking listen, you dumb bitch.” She heard in her head and laughed again.

“It’s too good to be true though. But… every time.” she tapped the 10 of cups card. “Is he really it?” she whispered, holding up The Lovers card. “Did you really send me a soul mate?” her face was sad, tired at even the thought of the effort it’d take for her to digest such a weighted statement. “Okay, so if I don’t tell him? At this point... why pull these? You’re going to hand my ass to me.” she slapped down a card.

Two of swords.

“Yeah, no shit.” she cringed.

Five of cups.

“Ugh.” she leaned away from the table, concerned. “Fuck.” she frowned and looked around as if something was going to jump out at her. “Tell me how you really feel.” she slumped back in the booth. She lovingly put the cards that had just rode her hard and put her up wet into their velvet holder. She sat, elbows on the table, chin on her hands, looking out the window. She wasn’t being left with a choice. Not if she was going to grow and change. What Eddie had said had hurt. Deeply. She wasn’t denying that there was truth to it though. How long was she going to stay like this? She wasn’t happy. It wasn’t working. And according to the cards she’d handed a gift she was shunning. So of course her life was going to shit. She had to adjust. She’d extend the olive branch, she’d figure out how to tell him. Somehow.

So then came Friday. She wore her Hellfire shirt, the same as the rest of them and Eddie was visibly tense. More so than usual before a session. She could feel it coming off him from where he sat at the table adjacent to her. Lunch was civil enough again. She hoped he wasn’t as angry as he had been the previous afternoon. She stopped him, waiting him out to be the last two to leave the table.

“Eddie?” she asked, his back facing her as he was walking away. His eyes screwed shut at the way she said his name. Man, he missed that.

“Yeah?” he asked, turning, his shoulder shifting with anxiety.

“I just wanted to say I’m really looking forward to Hellfire tonight,” she said with a subtle smile.

“You are?” he met her eyes, surprised.

“Yeah. I was looking forward to it as a distraction at the least. I’m sure you’ve come up with something brutal. Plenty of… fuel for that sort of thing.” she laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I’ve put a lot of time into it this week,” he confirmed with a small nod.

“I was looking forward to seeing you too.” she offered, losing her nerve halfway through the sentence and looking away.

“Yeah?” a hint of hope in his upturned voice.

“Yeah.” she nodded chewing her lips. “I mean, it’s weird not seeing you. Talking to you.” she quietly added.

“Yeah.” was all he was managing to say. “I’ll see you tonight then.” he nodded and turned away. It wasn’t the warmest of interactions but it helped fuel Star’s optimism.

So she showed up early to Hellfire. She hoped to extend that olive branch. To show him she was trying. She wanted so badly to move past whatever this was that they were stuck in. If could just get through to him she was certain things could get closer to normal.

“Hey,” she said with bright eyes and a hesitant smile as Eddie was putting out the grid and making his control center.

“H-hey,” he said looking around, then to his watch seeing she was early. He hadn’t expected her to be early or alone.

“I thought I’d come early to talk.” she hesitantly stepped farther into the room. “Is that okay?”

“I mean… you’re doing it so…” he shrugged, anxious about her appearance. He saw the dejected look on her face at his response.

“I was hoping I could maybe… extend an olive branch, you know? I hate this weird disconnect, this animosity between us. I know it’s not good for anything, especially the campaign.”

“Yeah I’d been thinking about that.” he stood still and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I wanted to say that I get where you’re coming from, you know? I was hoping you had had time to think and see things from my point of view too. So maybe we could go back to talking to each other like…not like we used to but more like normal.”

“Star…” he sighed, and rest his hands on the table in front of him. “I said what I said. If you’re not ready, I can’t.” he saw the lump in her throat, and the shine in her eyes grow.

“I’m trying to meet you halfway. I’m trying. I want you to see that I’m trying.”

“Trying isn’t doing, sweetheart.” he shook his head.

“Don’t call me that,” she whispered, wiping away a tear before it fell. “Not like that.”

“I’m not trying to be difficult,” he said in an exhale.

“That’s good to know because it feels that way,” she admitted with a soft laugh, rolling her eyes and sniffling. “You have to try to do. And you being so cold and distant is making it harder. I can’t respond with love when I don’t feel it back.”

“You’ve been feeling it for months. It’s there. It’s just... I’m having a hard time too.” he admitted.

“Then we could make it easier on each other by trying to be normal again.” she offered with upturned hands.

“I can’t do that, Star.” he rubbed his face. “I’ll go back on what I said if I do.”

“And that’s SO terrible?” she snapped, covering her face after the outburst to hide the way it contorted with a building sob. “It’s so hard to see you and not be able to be myself,” she whispered, sniffling.

“Then maybe you should go?” he said calmly, his eyes sad as he looked up to find hers full of tears. “We’re both still emotional about this and I don’t want it to affect the session. It’s not fair to everyone else.”

“You don't want me in Hellfire?” her voice broke and her lip quivered.

“I mean you’re crying already and we’re not even fighting. It’s going to make you play poorly. It’ll distract me. Maybe sit this out until you figure your shit out?” he shrugged.

“Y-” she choked and stopped, looking away. “Fine.” she bit back, tears now proud on her cheeks. “I don’t see how I’m supposed to want to be with you when you’re picking this game over me.” she motioned to the table.

“Star, That’s not-”

“If you say that’s not what you mean one more time I’m going to fucking scream.” she hissed in a loud whisper. “Start saying what you mean instead of backtracking and maybe we could get somewhere!” she said fists balled and shaking.

“Maybe you should take your own advice,” he said back, his exterior so calm it made her infuriated. She said nothing, a huff, and a choked sound left her as she turned her heel and ran.

She sobbed in the girl's bathroom. She couldn’t control it. She’d run out of the theatre, and into the far wall of the bathroom where she slid down it into a lump on the floor.

Eddie hit the large wooden table so hard he worried he’d hurt his hands. He hadn’t meant to be so angry still. He was so cold. Too cold. She was trying but he couldn’t meet her in the middle. All he had was his word, and if he went back on what he said he’d do then his word would be nothing. He slammed himself into the throne, covering his face and groaning into his hands.

Dustin and his insatiable curiosity followed the sound of crying into the girl's bathroom. He hadn’t expected to find Star there, hiccuping as she was crying so hard. She met his eyes as he appeared, lip trembling before a cry broke from her throat, a wail that quietened only when she shoved her face into her sweater to dampen the sound.

“Holy shit, Star. What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he ran, sliding on his knees on the tile floor toward her.

“No.” she sobbed.

“Do I need to call an ambulance? The police? I’ll go get Eddie.” he began to rise and her hand shot to jerk him back into the floor so fast he was startled.

“No.” she said, wiping her face and raising her head. “He’s why I’m crying.”

“What’d he do? I’ll kick his ass.” he meant it and it broke Star out of her self-hating cycle.

“It’s my fault too.” she shook her head.

“I’ve never seen you like this, man. This isn’t normal. This seems like his fault.” he put his hand on her arm.

“We had a fight.”

“Oh.” he grimaced.

“Yeah.” she let out a wild-sounding laugh. “He kicked me out of Hellfire,” she said, looking at him and trying to stop her sobbing.

“He fucking WHAT?” he shouted.

“I tried to make amends. But he didn’t wanna hear it. He told me if I wasn’t there to apologize and do what he said that I shouldn’t come back. That me being there was too much of a distraction for him.”

“Eddie said that? Shit.”

“I fucked up, Dustin.” she whispered, shaking her head.

“Nothing could warrant him kicking you out of Hellfire.”

“Maybe it does.” she shifted and leaned against the wall, her eyes far away and unfocused.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know if he’d want me to say.”

“C’mon. Let me help.” his eyes were so kind, and his hand was so warm and comforting as he rubbed her arm. Star took a deep breath.

“He told me he loved me. But I couldn’t say it back. Even though I do. With the parole thing and the abuse from before I just… I’m having a really hard time. He got mad and told me I was a coward. And he’s right.” her lashes fluttered and she sniffled, wiping her face. “He told me he was done. Until I was ready to say it back he didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“He’s being a fucking asshole,” Dustin stated plainly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

“He’s right though. It happened over the weekend and I’ve been thinking a lot you know. And I thought that by coming here tonight I could start to make amends. But he…” her lip trembled and she whined, wiping her face again. “Don’t tell him any of that, please. I don’t want him more mad at me.” she grabbed Dustin's jacket and looked desperately into his eyes.

“I won't. I won’t. Don’t worry. I’m going to talk to him though.”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe I could do it you know. Stop listening to my ex’s voice in my head and maybe I could be with someone. Maybe I was worthy of it. But now he’s making me feel like I was right all along. That I’m not. Why can’t I just fucking say it back? It makes me feel like the world’s gonna end if I do. I hate it so much.” another sob grew.

“Star you’re a badass.” Dustin grabbed her face and shook it, her eyes went large from surprise. “You’re great. You’re a good person, you’re a great friend. I know you’d be a great girlfriend. You practically are Eddie’s girlfriend already. He’s just being a dick right now and I’m sorry. He’s a sensitive guy. I think he’s just acting out because he’s hurt too. But he needs to realize he’s not the boss. He can’t just demand things from you.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled from squished cheeks. “He was really mean tonight.” she whimpered.

“You should go home. I’ll talk to him. You shouldn’t have to be here while you’re this upset.”

“Okay,” she said meekly and it broke Dustin’s heart. She truly was defeated.

“Is there anything you want me to say to him? I can relay a message since he wasn’t willing to listen to you. I’ll make him fuckin’ listen.” he said angrily.

“Yeah I made him some things,” she muttered and dug through her bag. Dustin's shoulders slumped, seeing the formerly strong girl broken down to next to nothing in front of him. “I mean you can have it.” she handed a large cookie to Dustin, wrapped in plastic cling film. “It’s his favorite,” she whispered.

“It’s a D20.” Dustin grinned, hard icing tracing out numbers on its surface.

“I thought it was cute. He likes the hard icing.” she swallowed audibly. “I thought if I made him something he’d see I cared.” her bottom lip trembled.

“I’m so sorry he was such a dick.” Dustin looks at her with pity and she hated it but she needed it.

“I know.” she nodded, wiping her face and sitting up straight. “I also made him this but I wanted to give it to him myself. I don’t know if he’ll talk to me.” she shook her head and held out a cassette. “Don’t open it. There’s a letter inside for him. It’s… personal.”

“I won’t. Promise,” he says holding her hands as she extended it to him. “I’ll make him take it. And promise me he’ll read it. Okay? It’ll be okay.” he promised her with a nod and crooked smile.

“Thanks, Dustin. I don’t know that I deserve all this but thank you.”

“Don’t listen to him right now. He’s just hurt. He’s a stubborn dick when he’s got his feelings hurt.” Dustin rolled his eyes. “You go home and rest okay? I’ll handle this.”

“Thanks. You’re a really good guy. A really great friend. I mean it.”

“Shush, I know.” he grinned and stood, holding his hand out to help her up. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“What’s your fucking problem you absolute dick head?” Dustin strutted into the Hellfire Club chest first.

“Excuse you?” Eddie said with high brows.

“He kicked Star out of Hellfire.” he stood and declared it to the group, jerking his seat back and not taking his eyes off Eddie. He wanted him to be publicly shamed.

“You what?”

“What the fuck dude?”

“She was really good!” all came in a chorus of annoyed members.

“Shut up!” Eddie screeched and everyone leaned away, surprised. “That’s not what happened. You shouldn’t be throwing around accusations when you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Eddie gritted through clenched teeth.

“I do know. I just talked to her. I found her crying in the bathroom because of you, you asshole.” Dustin was pissed, and Mike was side-eyeing him, impressed and also scared at what Eddie might do. “She came here trying to make amends.” he raised his voice at the glaring man opposite him at the other end of the table, now standing with his hands on the table. Dustin looked at the group. “They had a big fight over the weekend, that’s why she’s been so weird and Eddie’s been such a pain in the ass,” he announced to the other members, meeting their eyes as they nodded and groaned, now understanding. “She brought you this.” she tossed the cookie down the table and it slid to a stop in front of Eddie. “But you were too busy being mean for her to give it to you.” It split on impact, and he looked just as sorry as he felt at that moment. “It’s your favorite.” Dustin spits out.

“Did she tell you what happened?” he asked, now less boisterous. Eyes not leaving the rifted cookie.

“No. She said you fought. She wanted to respect your privacy even after you were a grade-A piece of shit to her tonight.” He crossed his arms. The exact comment hit Eddie like a knife. That’s what he’d called her ex. That’s what he said he wasn’t. Shit. “I’m here to play. But this isn’t over. I’m talking to you after this.” he pointed his finger angrily at Eddie.

“She would’ve been a distraction from the campaign.”

“C’mon.” Gareth, to everyone's surprise, groaned. “So you and your girlfriend had a fight. Put on your big girl panties and deal with it.” Gareth gave a much-needed pushback to Eddie’s stubborn stance. “She’s a member of this party. We get a say in who comes and goes. You’re the DM, you aren’t God.” he sassed back and Eddie blinked with a blank face. “I’m here to play too. But this is about D and D, not your feelings.”

“Okay then. She can come back next session.” Eddie raised his hands in defeat.

“If she’ll come back.” Jeff says with a more subtle lecturing look toward Eddie.

“If she doesn’t I’m gonna be so pissed at you, dude,” Gareth says with a shake of his head. “Her stats were just getting good,” he mumbled.

“Fine!” he slapped the table to break the subject. “Let’s get this fucking going.” he said loudly as he plopped back into his throne.

The session was fine, Eddie went a little too hard on them but no one fought him about it. They understood why.

Dustin sat in his chair with his arms crossed, waiting for everyone else to clear out.

“So?” he says with a sassy bob of his head. “Since when do you make girls cry, huh?”

“I didn’t mean to. Not really. I might’ve gone a little too hard on her.” he said, sitting on the tabletop beside the judging younger guy.

“A little? She was hiccuping on the bathroom floor from crying so hard. That’s not you being “a little too hard” on her.” Dustin scowled and use air quotes.

“I couldn’t have her here tonight. I wouldn’t be able to think straight. I’m a fucking mess about all this. Is that what you want to hear?”

“YES!” he screeched, his arms going up in the air. “Maybe if you’d brought this kind of honesty, to begin with we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” Eddie rolled his eyes and slumped, his hands on the edge of the table by his thighs. “Look, she gave me this,” he said pulling out a cassette and Eddie’s brow lowered in surprise and hesitation. “I told her I’d give it to you and I told her I’d make you promise to listen to it. She said there’s a letter in it.” he held it out and Eddie took it, looking it over. “She’s really sorry. I’ve never seen her like that, man she was fucked up over you. She really loves you, Eddie.” Eddies eyes snapped to Dustin's.

“She said that?” his voice gave away a certain desperation.

“Yes.” Dustin leaned forward and nodded.

“Then she should say it to me. Why is she saying it to you?” he deflected again, back to brooding.

“Well, she’s not in love with me so I don’t think those two things are comparable.” Dustin snarked.

“I just want her to tell me,” he whispered and Dustin softened his approach.

“She would if you’d give her the chance. She said some super depressing stuff about her ex. She’s still really messed up from that, you know.”

“And how long am I supposed to just wait and act like I’m not in pain every time I’m around her? Huh? It physically hurts to be around her I love her so much.” he gritted out, still looking angry despite the soft subject. “And I know she loves me. She did everything but say it when she was drunk. She even said she feels it but can’t say it. What the fuck does that even mean?” he groaned and hung his head.

“I think you’re being selfish,” Dustin said calmly.

“What the fuck, man? Are you hear to make me feel like shit or talk about this?”

“I’m not trying to, you feel guilty and you’re feeling that way all on your own.” he said with a confident turn up of his chin. Eddie turned away and glared at nothing in particular.

“What if I am? Don’t I have the right to? I’ve been the dirty little secret for most of my love life, do I not deserve to hear it if it’s true now? I feel like she’s being selfish by not saying it to me. Because she knows it’s true. She’s being a baby about it.”

“You’re in so deep you don’t even know it.” Dustin chuckled.

“What?”

“You’re in love bad. You’re getting possessive. That’s how being in love goes bad. You think you’re entitled to something from her. You know better.” Eddie glared, unhappy with the truth coming from the little shitty sage. “You’re acting just like one of these assholes that bully us.”

“That is NOT fucking fair.”

“I think if you were honest with yourself you’d agree.” Dustin stood, leaving Eddie to sulk. “Maybe do that meditation stuff she talks about. Really think about it. Listen to what she has to say.” he motioned toward the cassette. “Maybe what you want is right there.” he shrugged, grabbing his bag.

“Unless it’s a recording of her saying she loves me back it’s not.”

“Quit being such a stickler for rules. I can’t believe I’m saying that to you.” he rolled his eyes.

“I said what I needed. I’m sticking to my word!” he said with a pointed finger.

“Rules are made to be broken, man. What can I say? Think of it this way, would you withhold affection from an abused dog?”

“That’s a messed up comparison, Henderson,” he said feeling defensive of Star.

“No! Hear me out. A stray shows up and it’s scared right, it's clearly been abused by someone before. Do you get mad when the dog snaps or cries or runs away? No. You understand that it has to learn that YOU won’t hurt it. YOU have to be in control and not get mad and hit it when it snaps or growls. You have to be patient with it.” he chopped his hands at Eddie. “Star had a bad owner before. He taught her she was bad and wrong and to expect to be hit. And how are you fixing that point of view for her right now by doing this?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Is it not?” Dustin said with a low brow, his head tilted and a tone full of disappointment. “You show her you love her by loving her, dude. It’s that simple. You can't demand she all of the sudden open up after she’s been told that opening up is the worst thing that she could do. Do you get it? She’s scared. That’s why she was such a tough nut to crack when she first showed up. You see how much she’s changed. If you’d keep supporting her like you have, she’ll be able to change. Just like she has with other stuff.”

Eddie looked away, not knowing what to say because he knew the child genius was right.

“It’s Psych 101 man.” Dustin continued to rub salt into the wound with his words.

“Okay! Fine. I get it. Shit, man.”

“No shame in being wrong. You can apologize,” he said walking back towards the door. “I’m looking forward to telling you I told you so!” he called out as he walked out of the room.

Eddie snarled, his nose wrinkled as he glared at the cassette. He put it in his bag and went on to put away everything else before heading home.

The tape mocked him that next day. He went to band practice, ran errands, and ignored it. He was now mad at himself and not just her. He smoked himself stupid and fell asleep. If he’d had more money he would’ve added some drinking to the mix. He hadn’t felt so emotionally drained in years.

He woke up sweaty, Wayne was already asleep, back from work in the living room. The sounds of the first frogs he’d heard since summer ended were croaking in the puddles around the trailer park. He shut his window, taking his comforter with him across the room. He sat back down on his bed and his bag sat there looking back at him.

“Okay.” he sighed and stood, still dramatic even alone. “Let’s do this.”

He took his portable radio and sat with it on the bed, plugging his headphones into it. He opened the cassette with its pink broken heart on the front and a letter, folded up tumbled out. He saw the label on the cassette, C120, and became more interested. This was two full hours of music. She’d put work into this. What he didn’t know was that she’d been working on it for days, from the time she got home to her falling asleep listening to the radio for inspiration. She’d put her heart and soul into the flimsy plastic rectangle.

He snapped the tape in and unfolded the sheet of paper. One side was simply a tracklist. It was written out beautifully in ink, he’d always admired how pretty her handwriting was with its loops and leans. The other side was a simple message.

“We know I’m not good at saying these things. The songs can say it better than I ever could. Listen to the lyrics. Please. I hope they tell you all you need to know.”

Another chunky square had fallen out of the squeezed-in paper. He dug around it, unfolding the intricate bends. He saw a flash of orange. He pulled out the Get Out Of Jail Free Card he’d given her. He cracked a smile, feeling a hint of tears in his eyes. He’d practically forgotten. On the inside of the paper around it, concealing it until he took he time to open it was also simply stated.

“Forgive me.”

He sighed, looking at the card, he put it to his mouth, tapping it against his lips in thought. It even smelled like her. He wondered where she’d been keeping it all this time. He had to play by the rules of the card. He had to forgive her. She’d held onto his silly little gift and remembered it this whole time. He owed her for the sentimentality it showed in the gesture. She really did love him, didn’t she?

Eddie clicked the tape on, mouth dry and fingers fidgeting on the edges of the paper. Looking over the track list it was apparent that this mix was not for him. It wasn’t music catering to him, it wasn’t metal or thrash or a collection of songs he liked. It was all songs that were distinctly Star. He could feel her in the choices. First, a gut punch of nostalgia with Fleetwood Mac. He recalled her singing and dancing, how he’d spent so much time learning new songs just for her. And she was always appreciative of each one. Even if he didn’t quite get every chord just right. A throwback to an evening with Wayne with her favorite Dion song.Then Maggie May. She memorized every song and every emotion attached. He felt a little nauseous, she had remembered. She’d remembered that post-Valentine’s night this whole time. Moving out of nostalgia he listened to songs that spoke to him directly in the lyrics. Stumblin’ In, Right Down the Line, I Saw the Light. They all told him what he needed to hear. He sat there, unmoving for hours. He rewound and listened to some over, he read her letter again. He finally laid back, Otis Redding in his ears. He looked to the window and the sun was up, he didn’t even know for how long. He stared at the stain on his ceiling, hand to his chest, hearing Star tell him how much she truly did love him through someone else’s words.

“But it seemed so natural darling, that you and I are here. Just talking over cigarettes and drinking coffee. And oh, my whole heart cried out love at last I’ve found you. And honey won't you just let me build my whole life around you?” he let the tears fall. Finally. The warm brass sounds pulled them out of him. He wiped them away, but not denying their existence this time. He sat up, switching off the tape, his ears suddenly cold from being housed in his headphones for hours. He put the papers in his bedside table, somewhere to keep them safe and close to his other prized possessions. He snapped the tape back into the case and put it into his bag. He stretched and took a deep breath, shaking off the anger he’d felt before. He had to go to her. He‘d forgive her and he could take it slow. Music was a love language for Eddie. It was also Star’s. By showing him in a way he could hear and feel, she’d been able to get through to him. He could feel she did love him. There couldn’t be lyrics like that that resonated with her if she didn’t love him. For her, he would try to be patient. He would apologize. He’d probably have to beg and maybe deservedly so. For her, he’d do anything.

Eddie had jumped into the shower, leaving without a word to Wayne, speeding to Star’s house with the tape in the console. To his dismay, she wasn’t there. No one was. Everything was locked and shut. He took the key he had, and let himself in her trailer, there was an old suitcase out, and a letter on the countertop.

“Shit. That’s tomorrow,” he whispered. The parole hearing. “Fuck.” he shouted out in frustration. They’d left early. He’d missed her. Being back in her space made the last words he’d said there smack him in the face. He’d promised her he’d be there for her for that. He felt another wave of nausea. “Oh god I really am an asshole.” he whispered.

Wayne was awake when Eddie returned, another morning just like the last, sipping his coffee on the front porch. He was no stranger to Eddie driving like a maniac. But Eddie leaping from the van and stumbling up the stairs was new.

“You okay?”

“I'm going to Chicago.” he said before disappearing into the house.

“What in the Sam Hill?” Wayne muttered as he followed him inside. “Now?” he followed Eddie to his bedroom, dumping the school contents of his backpack onto the bed and shoving things he’d need for a long drive in. “I didn’t think ya’ll would head out until later, maybe leave before dawn tomorrow.”

“Yeah, neither did I. I’ve been so caught up in being mad at her that I forgot. I didn’t forget I just… I didn’t think about it.”

“So that’s why she’s not been here and you’ve been sulking.” he nodded and took a drink.

“Yeah. We had a big fight. And she wrote me a really sweet letter and apologized and I’m seeing that I’m the asshole in this situation.” he shook his head, scoffing at himself. “I didn’t get it until this morning and I went to her place to apologize and she’s gone. So… I’m going to Chicago.”

“Do you know where to go?”

“I know the name of the prison. I can figure it out.”

“I'll grab a map.” Wayne said, calm amongst Eddie’s chaos. Eddie soon bound into the living room with his bag on his shoulder. “Here.” he handed Eddie a folded-up map. “Just in case.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back sometime Monday afternoon I think. I’ll call if I need to.”

“Take this too,” he said with a fatherly tone, holding out a 50-dollar bill to him. Eddie stared at it for a moment.

“No way, that’s too much. I don’t need that.”

“Take it.” he shook it at him.

“No, that’s too much Wayne, I’ve got gas money, I’m fine.” he insisted. Wayne took it and shoved it into his boy’s pocket.

“You say thank you when people give you things, Eddie. I raised you better than that.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s better.” he grinned and fixed Eddie’s collar. “Mind your manners when you find her, alright?”

“I will.” he nodded. “I”m gonna fix this. I’m gonna come back with her. It’ll be okay. It’ll work. Like you said. Me and her we’re… we’re supposed to be together.”

“C’mere.” Wayne said bringing him in for a hug. Eddie felt small in his father figure’s arms. They didn’t NOT hug, but it wasn’t a daily occurrence by any means. Eddie hugged him back, slow on the draw. Wayne pat his back. “You’re a good man. You’ll figure it out. Plenty of time on the drive to figure out how to beg her forgiveness.” he grinned at him, pulled away, and slapped his shoulder supportively.

“Yeah. Lots of that.”

“You be careful.” he wagged a finger at him. “And remember what I taught you about women. Don't make me look bad.” his tone was serious but he said it with a smile.

“I won’t let you down.” a promise to his uncle and himself.

“You never do.”

Eddie drove with Star’s tape blasting, shaking the metal of the van for hours. He cried, screamed, and talked to himself. The long hours of the highway gave him plenty of time to playback everything everyone around him had been saying. He could eat the I told you so’s with a smile if it meant having her back and happy again. He hoped his ego hadn't done irreparable damage.

He drove for hours in the city, finding the prison then seeing the parking wasn’t 24 hours. So he went on another adventure to find overnight parking somewhere. He figured a parking garage with a security guard at the gate was the safest bet to not get carjacked. He took a short walk, some blocks to find a place to eat. He took it back to the van where he played her tape at a much lower volume in his portable stereo not wanting to drain the van battery too much. He ate what might’ve been the best pizza of his life and talked to himself for hours. He had a method to his madness. He practiced apologizing, going over what he might say when he saw her. He tried to cover every retort and response he could think of.

Star had one place in mind she wanted to go upon returning to Chicago. She was someone Star’s mom had liked. She was part of the reason her name was Star. Robbie waited outside, not willing to leave Star alone or get involved with any of her hippy-dippy shit. His words.

The place smelled like incense and years of cigarettes. It smelled like home to Star. Through beaded curtains and shimmery drapes, she walked down the floor of stairs and into the small business.

“Would it be to cliche to say I was expecting you?” An older woman with wise eyes and a welcoming demeanor sat at her small round table. The entire space was covered in jewel tones and occult paraphernalia. The neon sign with a palm and the word psychic across the top buzzed and gave a glow to the sacred space.

“Just a little.” Star smiled and was welcomed into the arms of the woman. She was someone she’d sought out during hard times for guidance, especially after her mom had passed. She was a big part of who Star was now.

“Are you okay? I thought you were running when you left? Oh, wait no don’t answer that. You know I like a challenge.” She said spiritedly with her long layers of skirts and shawls flowing with animated arms. “Is this business or pleasure?”

“Both as always.” Star sighed contently and sat in the worn thatch chair across from the whimsical woman.

“Do you want your cards?”

“No, I’ve been doing them a lot and they’ve been very rude.” Star chuckled.

“You’ve kept up your studies?” The woman perked up at the news.

“I’ve never been more into them.”

“But?”

“I still need guidance.”

“Are the cards not clear?”

“Too clear. I kinda wanted to see what my guides had to say. I’m not good at tuning into them and certainly not like you can.”

“They’re annoyed.” She laughed. “Proud and annoyed.”

“Can’t blame them. Things have been weird lately. I’ve been struggling.”

“They’ve been trying to take care of you.” She looked around the room at times and others shut her eyes. Star sat amidst a realm she couldn’t touch yet. “But you’re fighting it. They don’t like being ignored when they work so hard to reach out.”

“I should say it shouldn’t I?” A question vague enough for the woman to not know what she meant. But her guides did.

“A resounding yes.” She nodded. “I’m seeing… two things?” She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she tried to see something more clearly. “Whatever these two things are they’re okay. Oh, it’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”

“Good news.”

“They’re showing me…” she held out her two hands as if she were weighing something. “A good thing and a bad thing. They’re not being very clear sorry.”

“Outcomes?”

“No.” She paused.

“Oh, men.” Star nodded. “A good man and a bad man.”

“They seem to be happy with that answer.” “One is being tossed over the shoulder and forgotten. The other..” she giggled. “The other they're acting like they’re kissing something in their hand.” Star laughed.

“Eddie.” She grinned.

“Oh, they like him.” The woman laughed. “Tell me more about this Eddie.” She leaned in like a gossip. “There’s a man in your life already? So soon.” She seemed happy but curious.

“I said the same. I thought he was too good to be true.”

“Smart girl.” She nodded her hand to her chin. “You can ask them about him. They’re open to it.” Star pondered for a moment.

“I know the cards have told me I should be with him. Soul connections and whatnot. We’ve channeled each other before. It’s very intense. Is that all true?”

“There’s a box with a bow. Like a Christmas present.”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh! He’s a gift!” She laughed, amused.

“But am I the same for him? Or am I a lesson for him?”

“Don’t shoot the messenger but I’m being told to tell you to not be stupid.” Star snorted out a laugh.

“I’m trying.” She sighed. “So I should go against all my instincts and go balls deep, deep end of the pool with Eddie? Full in love and believing in soul mates and all that?” Star didn’t look convinced.

“Oh hello, darling.” The woman cooed. Star sensed she wasn’t talking to her. “Yes. Live the life I couldn’t.” The woman sighed. “She was always so sweet, wasn’t she? She loved you so much. Still sacrificing even now to give you good things.” Star softly smiled.

“I miss her.” Star pouted unintentionally.

“She knows.” a warm smile and nod from her mentor to ease her fear.

“I’ll do it for her, I’ll believe in fairy tales.” Star huffed out an uncomfortable laugh and wiped at her cheek.

“Believe in yourself.” The woman confidently said. “Open up your heart. That’s where your higher self is.”

“And becoming my highest self is the goal of this trip, this realm.”

“What scares you most shows you where you need to grow the most. You’re still cynical. For good reason, my dear but letting go of that and trusting the universe will care for you is the next step.”

“Hard to take the next step when you can’t see the stairs” Star sighed and stared at nothing.

“That’s why love is blind, sweetheart. You don’t have to see the stairs to know it’s there.”

Eddie set his watch for dawn, not knowing when to expect Star. So, he was going into the prison lot as the workers were. He parked out of the way, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Just being at a prison made him nervous. He thought the weird metal guy sitting in his van alone was suspicious enough, it’d be worse to stand at the gate and wait or be parked in the middle of everyone else and have them stare him down. Again, he waited hours.

9 am was the start of the parole hearings for the day. Like the prisoners, no one else knew when they would be called. So Eddie waited with burning eyes, watching the entry gate. Eventually, Robbie's truck pulled in. He saw him taking up a good portion of the cab and Star with her head against the window. Unlike the last time she had to speak in front of people she looked like herself today. He watched as they pulled in like him, a little out of the way. Eddie got out of the van. Taking a deep breath and then checking it to see just how bad it was. So a stick of gum was shoved into his mouth at the last second.

Star was feeling numb. Only because she was feeling so much she couldn’t compute it anymore. Robbie held her around her shoulders, half comforting and half making sure she didn’t run. She’d been so quiet the whole ride. The whole night in the hotel. She’d barely eaten and the one thing she missed the most about the city was the food.

Robbie saw Eddie before she did. Even his jaded heart lept a little at the site of the goofy guy. His hands were clenching and unclenching, slowly walking away from the entrance and toward them.

“Star?” Robbie said softly to not startle her.

“I’m fine.” She mumbled, still looking at the ground.

“Star.” he demanded again, this time in a deeper voice.

“What?” She said with a tired voice, looking up at Robbie.

“Look who showed up.” He had such a warm smile on his face Star was gobsmacked. Robbie didn’t smile like that. He nodded his head toward the already very apologetic-looking man tentatively approaching her, almost tripping over his feet as he dragged them.

Star turned with a low brow and her eyes landed locked with Eddie’s as if she’d been aiming for them. She stopped moving, involuntarily. Her face fell, mouth dropping open as he approached. She could swear there was a faint ringing in her ears from the shock. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt a wave of tingly ice move across her skin. Robbie stayed by her side as she shakily took steps forward. A sob erupted from her throat, but for the first time in a long time, it was accompanied by a smile. She took another step, another sob rocking her torso. She held her hands out with no shame in her desperation for Eddie who started jogging towards her, his frightened body language switching seamlessly to caregiver. She picked up her pace, leaving Robbie behind as her knees gave out on impact with Eddie’s chest. He lifted her into a hug, her feet leaving the ground and kicking up. She gripped him with white knuckles and sobbed loudly into his chest. He held her as tightly as he could and pressed his face to her hair. His tears fell then too, he didn’t sob like her but his cheeks were wet in the early light just the same. He held her, letting her sob. Ugly choked gut-wrenching sounds left her small body. It was a release she’d needed desperately.

“Man am I glad to see you.” Robbie said with a hand to Eddie’s arm.

“Wouldn’t miss it.” He smiled back, only his wet lashes giving away he was crying too.

“I told you not to give up on this idiot.” Robbie grinned, rubbing Stars back.

She cried something unintelligible.

“You’re gonna have to use your words, kid. Breathe for a second. It’s fine. Your knight in shining armor is here.” There was no ill will towards Eddie for Robbie. He’d known from the moment Star cried about their fight that he’d come back. Eddie wasn’t a quitter. He knew the guy that much. Everyone has fights, and he knew Star was admittedly hard to love sometimes. But she had people around her that were the same way. When you found your people like that you didn’t give up on them. He knew Eddie was one of their people. First loves were intense and these young fools were no exemption to the rules of messing things up when emotions ran high. Robbie's years of experience told him that with time, the two bumbling goobers he had watched fall in love would be just fine.

“I’m here.” He spoke softly in her ear. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“M’Sorry.” She blubbered out as he smiled wide at her pitiful little red face. He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped her cheeks then squeezed her snotty nose. She cracked a smile through her quiet tears and took the cloth to clean herself up.

“There she is.” He put his hands to her cheeks. “There’s my pretty girl.” He watched her face screw up into a comedically deep frown as he laughed and kissed her forehead.

“Y-yours?” She shakily breathed in.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Okay? We can talk about it later. Today's about you right?”

Y-yeah.” She nodded.

“Just know I’m here for you, okay? I’m sorry I made you doubt that.”

“Did you get my tape?” She asked with big bright glossy eyes.

“That’s what snapped me out of it. I'm sorry I doubted you. I was just so used to being a secret, a backup plan, a story to tell, you know? But I’m here now. I hope that counts for something.”

“It does.” She said finally losing her quivering voice. “I’ll fight you later, kay?” She gave him a soft smile and she saw a tear fall down his cheek as he beamed down at her, squishing her cheeks and kissing her pooched lips.

“You can hit me with your car if you want, I know you’re good at that.” He joked and got a laugh out of her.

“That would make me feel better.”

“Yeah? It’s a date then.” He kissed her forehead and squeezed her.

“No sex on the first date but murder is okay.” She said into his chest as she felt him warm and laughing around her.

“I missed you so fucking much.” He said pulling her away to kiss her cheek.

“I missed you more.” She admitted with a crooked smile, it and the statement made Eddie’s heart flutter for good reasons now.He kissed her briefly again.

“I’ve got you today alright? Whatever you need I’m your slave. Got it?” He smoothed her hair down and wiped some errant mascara off her cheek.

“Hold my hand and don’t let go until I say.” She stated as her first order. He stood next to her and laced their fingers together. He stood up straight and she mirrors him. He lifted her chin back up.

“Lead the way, boss.” He said with an approving nod, holding his free hand out for her to take the lead.

They sat on the uncomfortable wooden bench outside the room for hours. Star had her headphones on for a good part of it, Eddie sat next to her, only breaking their handhold to put his arm around her and take her hand with his other. She’d fallen asleep on him, he’d been stroking her hair and rubbing her back and she’d fallen into the missed lull of safety only he could bring her. Eddie looked down at her for the longest time, smiling and kissing her head.

The woman across from them watched them with an adoring smile.

“She have to speak against someone too?” She asked, giving the information that she too was there for the same reason.

“Yeah,” Eddie said softly, rubbing Star's arm.

“First time?”

“Yeah.” He nodded again.

“She’s lucky to have you “ she gave a sad smile.

“Nah.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I’m lucky she puts up with me.” He said wholeheartedly.

“You’re the boyfriend then?” The woman grinned. Eddie paused, his mouth open trying to figure out how to answer that.

“He is,” Robbie answered. “More like the husband.” He smirked from behind his magazine. The woman looked over at him in surprise as he joined the conversation. “I’m her older brother.” He added to give context. Eddie had blushed at Robbie's words. “I’m here for moral support since I dealt with her going through this the first time around with her piece of shit ex.”

“Ah yes. Same here. She reminded me of me my first time back here.” She gave Star a sad smile even though she couldn’t see it. “It won’t be so hard next time.” She said kindly, looking to Eddie. “It won’t be easy but there’s a fear that first time.” She shook her head. “You don’t get the same fear after that.” She sighed. “If she can get through putting him in there she can do anything. Remind her of that when she needs it.”

“Thanks,” Eddie said softly to not wake her. “I never know what to say because I can’t relate you know? It’s hard to understand sometimes.”

“Because you’re a man.” The woman chuckled. “No offense, but you can’t understand what it’s like dealing with a man like that unless you’re a woman. There are certain things you just can’t understand. It’s something that makes us different.” She shrugged. “The world is different for us. It’s harder in ways you don’t have to deal with. Just be there for her, listen to her. Believe her.”

“That’s what I plan on doing.” it was Eddie’s turn for a sad smile as he thought about how he’d failed her.

The woman let out a content sigh. A small sign of hope in the young couple.

She came and went before them, Star waking up as the doors opened and the next was called. She’d turned to read the list she’d written. She didn’t know if she’d stick to it, not knowing how she would react when she saw him. But she felt better to have it. There were only bullet points and words on the page, they didn’t make much sense to Eddie. It was funny, it was a list of reminders of the most heinous things he’d done to her. And he couldn’t understand a word of it. He would understand far more than he bargained for very soon.

The next steps ensued, the warning call of the name. Her standing by the door waiting to be let in. Her hand trembled in Eddie’s and he squeezed it tight.

“I’m gonna throw up.” She whispered.

“No, you’re not. You’ve got this.”

“What if I can’t?”

“You can. I know you can. You can do anything.” He meant every word and she felt it.

“You had to put that bastard in there last time,” Robbie said from her other side. “This time he’s already in. You’re just helping keep him there.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. The door started to open.

The funniest thought she had walking into the room to sit at one of three tables in a rather anti-climatic conference room, was that orange looked terrible on him. She wasn’t in any spot to chuckle about it, but seeing him and not feeling fear or conditioned attraction made her feel a huge wave of relief. Part of her was worried she’d fall under his spell as soon as she saw him again. But she stood a little straighter feeling the old her slipping away.

Eddie was flabbergasted at the guy. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it hadn’t been this. This guy was very possibly the best-looking guy he’d ever seen in real life. He had two realizations, one, he understood why a 16-year-old girl would fall for whatever he said, and two, he looked nothing like Eddie. They both had dark hair, that was it. This man had hair that hit about his ears, swooping back thick and shiny. His eyes were a soul-piercing blue and stood out like some lich king around his dark lashes and brown skin. He had a jaw that could cut glass and a strong nose that suited his intense appearance.

He didn’t look in the guys' direction much, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, Bobby's eyes were only set on Star.

They all three sat down at a table as his name and charges were read.

“We have Florence Reynolds. The plaintiff in the case that sentenced him to prison.”

Eddie’s brow lowered, confused, and looking at Star who didn’t flinch. He turned to look at Robbie and he nodded. Eddie hadn’t know Star's real name.

There were formalities. Name stating and the relationship to the prisoner. She was asked to stand and did so without stumbling or projectile vomiting across the room. She considered that a win.

“As she said I’m Florence, I go by Star.”

“I always like Flo better.” Bobby smirked.

“Please refrain until she’s done speaking.” The woman who was calling out the formalities said and gave Star the nod to continue.

“I’m Star.” She stated again just for the reason of making him hear it again. “I was the victim of Bobby, as I knew him. He was found to have a narcissistic personality disorder and one we now both share, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I’ve been in extensive therapy since leaving the violent and manipulative relationship I had with him. My therapist has given me many diagnoses that affect my life every day because of the mental, emotional, sexual, spiritual, and physical abuse I endured while with him. I was only 15 when we met for the first time. A minor and a child. He was over a decade my senior and I believe that speaks to how he chooses his victims. If you let him out he will do it again. I know this because after I left him he did the same thing to one of my peers. He told them I was trying to get back with him and she believed him. That’s how I got the scar on my head, from a brick the girl and her friends hit me with. After a fire was set to the outdoor area of the school where I was knocked unconscious, I got these.” She held up her arm. “I have these and had to go through painful surgeries and physical therapy on top of mental therapy because of this inmate in front of you. I hesitate to call him a man because I don’t believe he’s human after the things he did to me and my family.” She put the paper down and took a deep breath, Eddie put his foot next to hers, she could feel it. She put her hand on the table, fingertips brushing the surface and she felt Eddie’s with its signature cold rings slide into hers. “He will tell you whatever you want to hear to get his way. That's what he does. He can act however the situation calls for. He'll lie and pretend and he’s so good at it that you won’t know it. Which is what I know is happening here. I went from a young teen who wanted nothing more than to be loved and dance with her friends on the weekends. I turned into a shadow of myself, alone and isolated and turning to drugs to make it through the day. He made me need them by tearing me down piece by piece for years and then supplied me with the drugs. He assured that I wouldn’t go anywhere. Control and isolation were his end goals. He framed me for stealing from my brother who knew of the trouble I was in and had warned me from the start about Bobby. But I didn’t listen because Bobby told me everything I ever wanted to hear and made me dependent on him for everything. Before I was able to escape I would be locked in our apartment with no key and no phone. He took my money and at one point my shoes so I couldn’t leave. As I said he made it look like I stole from my brother, both money and material possessions that belong to our mother. Robbie believed him and gave up on me. He thought I was a lost cause. This is what Bobby wanted. I was truly alone. He proceeded to keep me in the apartment after getting me fired from my job. I escaped by smashing a window and leaving via a fire escape. I made my way to Robbie where I told him the truth and seeing the state I was in and that I was sober he believed me. Without him, I wouldn’t have escaped. He had to physically defend me and himself to retrieve a few prized possessions I had left from my apartment, that’s when the original assault charge started. With that, I told everything to the cops, and trauma dumping as they asked me what happened, they took me to the station and asked if I wanted to press charges to which I said yes. I hope you believe me and the court's decision that he isn’t fit for public life. I hope you don’t make the same mistake I did and believe his lies. I hope you don’t force more women to be victims like I was by letting him free.” She nodded and sat, looking at the surface of the table in front of her and breathing through her nose. She’d done it.

“The board will take a recess to make a decision.” Was announced. Bobby was staring, unwavering at Star.

“You’ve looked better, Flo Jo.” The man smirked, spread legs, and sat back in his chair. Star met his eyes, glaring. “Was I so bad I turned you into a dyke? Who is this?” He laughed nodding at Eddie.

“It is a priviledge you get to stay out here while they deliberate. That can be taken away just as quickly.” The woman snapped as the officer standing off the side took a step forward.

“We’re just talkin',” he said with a smug face. Eddie and Star's hands were both shaking now. “This your boyfriend? That’s cute.” He looked them over. “Did she tell you what she told the courts that I did to her?” He asked sucking his teeth. “I didn’t do it of course.” He raised a brow. “But if you’d heard the things she told them you wouldn’t be able to hold her hand right now I’ll tell you that. She’s a dirty… filthy little girl aren’t ya Flo?” He winked.

“Robert! Last chance.” The woman says having the officer approach him.

“Nothing she doesn’t know. Don’t worry. I’m good.” He said with his hands up in cuffs.

With a united front of indifference, they didn’t give him the reaction he was hoping for. Nothing upsets a narcissist more than seeing they don’t have control over you anymore.

“Thank you ma’am it’s fine,” Star said as calmly as a glass lake. “He's trying to get a rise out of me.” She rolled her eyes and blinked lazily.

“You too good now?” He laughed. “You ran away from your home just like you do your problems and you think you’re too good for me now? That it?” He kept it lined with a huff of laughter to not seem angry and stay in the room to try to mess with her. “I hope you’ve your fun with Mr. Trianon over there because once he finds out what you’ve done he’s gone, baby girl.” He threw his head back and laughed. “I don’t know how she’s not the one locked up in here man. She's done some wiiiild stuff with me, my man. She’s a good time. Especially when you get a few drinks in her. I’ll give her that… but save ya some time and let me tell ya, that kitty cat ain’t worth it. If ya catch my drift.” He snickered and leaned into the table, despite being far away. They all three gave him a stone wall in response. They could see him get angrier, nostrils flaring. “You’re really gonna be with that pile of damaged goods?” He went for hurting them both again. “He must be as pathetic as you if he knows how messed up you are and he’s still with you.”

Star raised her hand to the woman who opened her mouth to stop him. “He’ll tire himself out eventually.” Another wave of reddened face from the handcuffed monster.

“You can’t talk to me like that alright? Just because I’m in here. You aren’t better than me now little Flo Jo. These?” He raised his hands in cuffs. “Don’t mean anything alright? They don’t make you right. They don’t make you okay now. Because I know you, Flo. I KNOW you.” He leaned in as far as he could and glared. “And you’re always gonna be that stupid little girl. The one with a sick mommy who can’t do anything right. You were born stupid that’s not your fault.” He lashed out. Star held a finger up as the woman caught on to what was happening. “Your mother was stupid for fuckin around with those queers and gettin' sick. She knew better, and so should you. But it never stopped ya. Your daddy was the only smart one because he got a jimmy free ride off ya mom and left!” He laughed again, deep and menacing, eyes growing slightly erratic.

“When you’ve said the same thing so many times it becomes boring.” Star responded, a perfectly timed yawn appearing afterward.

“There’s the mouth. There’s that smart mouth again, eh?” He nodded. “This guy isn’t hittin' you enough.” He growled. Star saw the door the deliberations were happening behind start to open and she smiled. “You’ve gotta keep this bitch in line. If not she’ll think she runs the place. She’s got a bad attitude and no respect, you need to remind her of what a little fuck up she is. How everything she’s touched has turned to shit. She’ll take your money, she’ll fuck your best friend then have the nerve to cry about it when you hit her for it. You gotta hold her down and-“

“I think we’ve heard enough to make our decision.” The man speaks as Bobby jumps and turns with wide eyes.

“You’re back just in time. She’s been out here trying to make me mad this whole time! It’s like I said before, check the papers, she’s a lying little snot. She’ll push you to the edge until you pop.” He rushed out to place the blame on anyone else.

“Ms. Reynolds thank you for your time we know this wasn’t easy. We appreciate your candid nature and you’ll be happy to hear we agree with you. The board will not be granted parole. The case will be revisited in 5 years' time.”

“FIVE YEARS? You fucking kidding me with shit?” He shouted as he was being stood up and moved away. “You did this to me Flo! Look what you turned me into! You’re taking a man’s life away here!”

Star stayed sat until he was gone, his voice fading behind a now closed door.

“Thank you.” She said with a nod and stood.

“I'm sorry for him speaking to you like miss. But I believe you knew how he’d respond and it seemed to work in your favor today. I'm glad.” The woman with a very sharp and cold suit said but he eyes were warm.

“Thank you, ma’am. The one good thing to come from all my therapy is I know what makes men like him tick now. It’s not hard to upset them.”

“Good luck. Enjoy the rest of your time in the city. ” She nodded and gathered her files. Onto the next one.

Not a word was spoken as they walked out of the prison. Eddie had so much information thrown at him so quickly he felt like the words were falling out of his ears.

The early afternoon sun hung high but not harshly over the drab grounds of the prison. Star stepped out feeling the familiar wind on her face and in her hair. It was at its longest she couldn’t ever recall it being, a grown-out choppiness with a few of her home-style cuts in the mix. Breaching the gate she walked calmly until she reached Robbie's truck where she slowed to a stop. The two men trailed behind her, letting her set the pace for the next move. Eddie moved beside her to observe but not disrupt. He couldn’t help but be compelled to treat her like she was fragile. She had every right to be. Plus, focusing on her needs let him ignore the avalanche of epiphanies and questions the last hour had brought down on him.

She closed her eyes and took in a chest-rising breath she felt into her toes. A single tear tan down her cheek to meet the corner of her mouth that curled into a smile. Her closed lips were tight before she turned them in to chew at them for a moment. Fluttering her eyes open she released her second audibly exhale. She turned, knowing she should address her support system. She didn’t meet their eyes, mouth opening to speak before she tilted her head, brows rising and falling as she tried to pick which words to come out of her mouth like a ball being plucked from a bingo cage. That’s how her brain felt anyway, rattled and spinning. She didn’t know how she felt, she knew it was good but, it didn’t feel real.

She decided to meet Eddie first, he knew she had on her thinking face. It always made his hands want to mush her cheeks with the way her lips pouted and her nose took on a bunny-like characterization. He mirrored her loss of words, both blinking as if they were trying to remember how to speak.

The silence stretched over a minute. After which Robbie decided to be the adult and guide them in a direction. Any direction.

“You two have a lot to talk about.” Both a factual statement and a jab at how they were looking at each other like fish out of water. He put a hand on both their backs, putting them both into the shade with his large silhouette. “I assume you’re gonna drive back with Eddie?” He asked with a gentle tone.

Star had been looking up at Robbie like she had when she was small and listening to his advice, eyes full of trust and awe. They quickly flicked to Eddie’s as he too looked away and to her.

“I’d like that.” He stuttered out, leaning forward a little nervously. “If you want to. That is.” He nodded and looked away leaning back again with his chin pressed into his neck. This decision came much faster and not to mention easier as she nodded before affirming with words to accompany it.

“Yeah. I’d like that.” She looked down with the same bashfulness and took his hand into hers.

“Are you gonna stay up here a while or get on back?”

“We’ve got school tomorrow we should just get back.”

“Eat first,” Robbie instructed.

“Oh right.” Star became aware of the painful empty feeling in her stomach. For once it was from a physical cause and not an emotional one. “That okay?” She asked Eddie.

“Whatever you want.” He nodded with high brows.

With that Robbie wrapped her up as she smiled into his shoulder.

“Proud of you kid. You should be too.” He kissed her cheek and she pouted, almost tearing up again. “Shush you know I love you don’t make me say it.” He grinned and shoved her shoulder to knock off her balance. With the order to drive safely and not be stupid, Eddie and Star found themselves side by side in his van again. It felt like months they’d been apart. Both scrambled to recall the last time they’d been in his van together.

“You need to talk about it?” He asked before turning on the van. Star shook her head and looked at him with a subtle smile.

“Not yet. I’m still processing it. It’s not hit me yet. Not really. It’s been a hell of a week, I don’t think my brain's caught up yet.” She huffed out a quiet laugh.

“It really has.” They both stared at nothing, eyes out toward the front of the van. “I’m sorry, you know. For… everything. For me and this today and just..” he sighed.

“It’s okay.” She put her hand on his arm. “We have all the time in the world to talk about it now don’t we?” She said with hopeful eyes. He put his hand to hers in his arm. He gave her a smile that showed his dimples and she softened even more. He took her hand into his and kissed it.

“Yeah, we do.” It was a tender moment they both needed. A moment of recognition and reprieve.

“But food first.” Star said seriously then she shifted into a light-hearted smile.

“Of yeah duh, obviously. Food first. Always.”

PART 22

If you enjoyed it, reblogs, likes and comments help IMMENSELY.

Here's the playlist for the mixtape mentioned in the chapter if you're interested.

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115 notes · View notes

galos-writing · 3 years ago

Note

Age gap headcanons for Artie? Maybe he has a crush on someone in their 20s? How would he feel about a relationship?

Hi! I have to admit I had particularly fun in writing your request, yk haha...and I admit, I made it angsty a liiil bit-

I hope you will like it ^^

• For his social status, Arthur has always felt lonely. His colleagues have created groups among each other, hanging out off their work shifts and excluding the skinny man. The three places he usually goes to are his workplace, the studio of his therapist and his house with his mother Penny. Life doesn't give him any surprise at all.

• Or that's what he thought.

• The truth is that he always looks down in public, already knowing that nothing new is about to happen. But he's wrong.

• He would meet you in a train, you would be with your group of friends who were joyfully chitchatting and teasing each other, someone complaining for the lessons hours you all would be about to attend, on talking about your shy friend's new crush.

• Your soft voice would have caught Arthur's attention, looking for you among all the tired faces inside that wagon, finally a sunlight beam in such a grey and sad day as usual. For some reason he had never heard you, how was that possible?

• When he would have managed to find you, he would remain totally amazed. You are so stunning and shiny that he would genuinely doubt you're from the dark, gloomy, shitty Gotham City. You were glowing of your own light to him.

• Indeed, the direction where the train was going wasn't the usual, they all would have moving towards the next town, where an academy was. Here's why he met you! Oh, how he would have blessed that day when he took the wrong train!

• From that day on, Arthur would take more that train, just to see you the most possible; his mother would start to get worried, her son would be out more than usual, and he would be spending more money for trains.

• His constant watching you would make him start to fantasize about you, asking you out, accompany you to school, kissing you and helping you the best he could with study. But a terrible obstacle would always roughly stop his dreams: if you're at school, you must be way younger than him! This fear would hold him still, just making him look at you. But, oh, how much he wants - no, craves - for his fantasies to be true.

• After whole weeks of just staring at you inside the train, your friends would warn you that a man was insistently stalking you, of course you would be scared of him, since you would never suspect someone to do that at you, you didn't want that kind of attentions, you just wanted to go to school...

• The fear would make you stop taking the train, your mom would take you to school by car. But your friends would tell you that Arthur, your stalker, was still showing up, looking very sad.

• Soon Arthur would become the protagonist of your chats with your friends, since they would see him very sad since the day you decided to avoid the train. But it's not a normal sadness of a creepy stalker not finding their prey but keeping living his day normally; Arthur would fall into numbness and depression even more at not seeing you cheering his day, his life, up again. He would be, quote of your friends, 'hopelessly in love with you.'.

• You would ignore, and soon forget about this story. Finally, you can live your life peacefully.

• Until the day your mom would tell you she couldn't pick you up for school, so you would be forced to take the train again. What a disgrace, meeting your stalker again.

The bell of your school rang to announce the end of lessons, you lazily packed your things and left; your friends wanted to cheer you up and distract you from the thought of your stalker waiting for you in the train, with famished eyes and malice in his soul, eager to do unspeakable things to you.

The only thought made you shiver; however, you didn't know how this threat was made, you didn't actually see Arthur's face...yet.

You finally entered the train, hesitating a bit at first, but your friends convinced you to be brave, also roughly pushing you inside insistently, you groaned in protest as if you were entering the cage of a lion.

"Come on, it won't be so bad." Gabriel encouraged you, lifting his glasses up his freckled nose.

"Yup, if that sicko tries anything to you, we all will kick his ass!" Freddy added with anger, cracking his knuckles. you giggled and caressed your friend's shoulder to calm him down.

"Thank you, Freddy, but I need to face the stalker myself. I will be okay, I promise." you reassured him witha smile, hiding your worry.

That day the train wasn't too crowded. Actually, it was almost empty, excluding you and your friends, then was just an old married couple, some businessmen and a lonely man sat in the last seat in the corner of the wagon. He seemed ...gloomy, too much, his arms tightly wrapped around himself and his yellow dirty hoodie covering his lightly long and curly dark hair.

Martha elbowed you after having noticed that man as well.

"It's him...!" she whispered, you gulped as you realized that the man threatening you for weeks, that man with no face, was right in front of you, looking sad, helpless. It couldn't be.

Arthur saw you with the corner of his eyes, he avoided looking straight at you, after having heard your friends whispering about how creepy he looked, he didn't want to make you uncomfortable again.

"Are you sure?" you asked Martha in a whisper, as you saw Arthur blush a bit under your intense, inquisitive gaze. Martha nodded.

"I swear to Freddy's mom, it's him." she replied, gaining a push from the boy. You looked at Arthur almost softened, and decided to ignore your friends' warnings, so you approached the man, hiding your fear, or rather, fighting it.

Arthur gulped again, turning pale but acting totally neutral, ready for a scold from you, or a slap. He closed, then squeezed his eyes the more you were close.

He was taken aback by your total calm, as you sat next to him, and reached your hand out to shake his. His big eyes managed to look at you, finding an awkward smile on your face, your other hand scratching the nape of your neck.

"K-Kinda rude spying on me without introducing yourself, huh?" you joked, letting out a giggle, a little smile started forming on his scarred lips. He blushed even more at your next question:

"I'm Y/N. What about you?"

Arthur finally took your hand, enjoying the softness and the warmth of your skin.

"Arthur. I'm Arthur."

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@darknessisafriend @indieblair

@peakyfuckingblinders21 @ajokeformur-ray @buttergirlie @fly-like-a-phoenix @five-miles-over @fandoms-are-my-friends-1321 @jokerownsmysoul @pursuit-of-comedy

#joker #joker x reader #joaquinphoenix #joaquin phoenix #imagine #arthur fleck imagine #arthurfleck #arthur fleck x you #arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck scenario #joker headcanons #joker x you #joker movie #joker 2019

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skloomdumpster · 2 years ago

Note

I made myself cry writing my last prompt fill so I'm going to be a gremlin in your inbox. Andreas/Saul/Sebastian + "why don't you put something pretty on for me?"

dont cry Pen!! Have some gremlin garbage

(sorta not safe for work)

----

Sky isn't coming home for Yule and albeit, Beatrix is, Saul also hasn't seen his daughter in about five days. Her bed has been made for five days, so when Sebastian asks him if he "and the missus" want to spend the 7th night of Yule with him, Saul has no reason to say no.

He's expecting Andreas to scoff at the request, it's no secret that there's no lost love between Andreas and Sebastian, but his husband is in a sullen shitty mood lately and he lights up at the invitation, which sends alarm bells ringing through Saul's skull.

He doesn't like Andreas hating his friends, but he likes the prospect of them being in cahoots together even less.

Sebastian's place is nice, he's got no partner, roommate, pets or children, so all of his money circles back to him and gets spent in incredibly comfortable furniture, a spacious - although lonely - flat, high tech lamps that turn on at voice command. It's self indulgent in the best way, a bachelor waving his lifestyle in front of their eyes all night.

Andreas' is in a better mood than he's been all week, hand lazily resting on Saul's thigh and chuckling here and there at Sebastian's jokes, refraining from his rude and gruff commentary by only raising a judgmental eyebrow when Sebastian mentions he traveled to the depths of Kilwell to get the roast pork recipe they're eating right now.

Saul exchanges an amused glance with Andreas, silently communicating he's not crazy, he can see Sebastian is putting on effort to try and impress them.

Impress him, he realizes when Sebastian dismisses Andreas' attempt of conversation, eyes locked on Saul's face.

"So you were saying, Saul?" he asks eagerly, as if Silva's slightly tipsy rant about the direction Alfea is heading on is the most interesting thing he's ever heard in his life.

"I was saying I don't think the donations from the alumni will be enough this year, we might need another fundraiser..." he tugs at the collar of his sweater, keenly aware of the fact Sebastian is looking at him like he's a meal, but most importantly, that Andreas is not red in the face and huffing like he does when he gets jealous, but watching. Amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips, swishing the whiskey around his glass, one arm thrown over Saul's chair.

"We could do that" Sebastian agrees, overly eager, "I'll call up my contacts in the morning, we could set up a meeting with Artie- Forgive me, with the prince..."

Andreas raises an eyebrow at Artie, says nothing. Saul's blushing, as if he's the one making a fool out of himself flirting with a married man, not the opposite way around. He's starting to feel trapped.

"Saul?" Sebastian calls, sounding unsure, "did I say something wrong?"

Next to him, still with an arm thrown over the back of his chair and legs spread out, glass in his free hand, the image of coolness, Andreas turns his head to look at him, smile dancing in his eyes, "Silva?"

He sounds so smug and so amused.

"What is going on here?" Saul squints at him, then back at Sebastian, "what are you two up to?"

Since when do these assholes talk?

Sebastian splutters, looking so shocked and floored by Saul's implication that for a second the older man feels bad for his accusation. That is, until Andreas is leaning in, planting a kiss on his neck and tracing up his nose, until his lips meet Saul's ear.

"Sorry, I did not have time to wrap it" he says in a teasing manner, "I hope you'll take my yule gift anyways."

Saul looks at him, eyes wide, heart racing - cock pressing against his slacks in an uncomfortable manner and he knows that Andreas can already tell he's half mast, it's like that man can sniff his boners, always had.

"Andreas-"

"I can put a bow on my head if you'd like," Sebastian says, sounding like he's about to burst open with smugness, all sarcastic sharp smiles "Andreas said lingerie would be overkill."

Saul looks between his husband and his long date friend, ex lover. How many nights he had rolled in bed with Sebastian, during those painful sixteen years where he thought everything had gone to hell, and buried his face on his skin? How many nights he had spent with Andreas, after his grand return and wanted to fess up to it all, say last we fucked you were the only one who had ever touched me, but now I'm an adult, now I know everything I love.

How many fantasies-

And Andreas, the jealous, possessive brute that he was, was giving him this. Sebastian served up on a plate, ready to share, ready to compromise, to make any filthy thought come true.

He squares up, collects the morsels of dignity and self confidence he let slip in the last two hours of this play pretend dinner and levels Sebastian with a glare, "Andreas is often wrong. Why don't you put something pretty on for me?"

#saundreas #fate the winx saga #fate: the winx saga #i regret nothing #otp: hand in unlovable hand

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simeons-sinful-saint · 3 years ago

Text

Which Card Belongs to Which Event

so me and my friends in my discord server were discussing about the events that were on LD. Depending on what you’re wanting out of the event, that can decide which one you should choose. The events themselves are kind of mixed but most are meh (in my opinion) so the biggest thing is getting them UR cards. So if you’re looking for a card of a certain character, below is the list for you (IDK if this was done yet or not, but I’m posting this on my blog to help people out with the event order)

Some notes before I begin:

1. They are biased towards Lucifer

2.A lot of the first events only had UR memory cards

3. Dia’s is kind of sad considering the title of his UR card

4. Ofc this doesn’t include birthday events bc those will never come to LD 5. I did all of the events, even ones that aren’t on LD yet. Just so you know what to expect. So expect the next event to be the first kid event

6. Idk how balanced all the cards are actually cause I didn’t include nightmare summons that go with events

7. The ones with question marks are events that haven’t been added to LD yet and I have no idea what Solmare is going to title them

Now then the cards are below the cut

Lucifer (9)

Glory Days(Pride)- Chapter A

Full Moon(wrath)- Paws and Claws event

Greed and Pride(Sloth)- Swap event

Before the Big Day(Sloth)- Wedding event

The Devil Wears Makeup(Greed)-Dame event

Emergency Date Mission(Gluttony)-Spy event

Spray Paint!(Wrath)- Arty/Colors? Event(Not on LD yet)

A Brief Respire(Sloth)-Beach 2 event(Not on LD yet)

Happy Haunted Houses?(Gluttoney)- Halloween 2 event(Not on LD yet)

Mammon(4)

The Guardian Demon(Greed)-Chapter A

Even if You’re Far Away(Lust)-Calling Event

Beach Flag Race!(Pride)-Beach Event

Abundant Accessories(Envy)- Gem Event(Current)

Levi(6)

My Cursed Friend(envy)- Chapter A

Pieces of a Puzzle(Lust)- Games Event

The Lord of Shadow(Pride)- Musical event

The Game of 100 Poems(Gluttony)-Countdown event

You, Me, and Ruri-chan(lust)- Blossoms event

Levi’s Challenges(Pride)- Kid event (not on LD yet)

Satan(4)

The Search for Self(wrath)-Chapter A

The Flower of Love(Wrath)-Flowers event

Group Hug!(Lust)- Escape event

Cats and Rabbits(sloth)- Bunny Show event

Asmo(3)

That Special Someone(Lust)- Chapter A

Time for the Main Event!(Greed)- Slippers event

Party Hopping(Gluttony)-Halloween event

Beel(3)

Say His Name(Gluttony)-Chapter A

The Gluttonous Builder(Envy)- Jobs event

Beelzebub’s Battle(Wrath)- uhhh the water gun event(not on LD yet)

Belphie(4)

Hide and Seek(Sloth)-Chapter A

Our Summer Festival(Lust)-Festival Event

Not Taking it Off(Gluttony)- Angel event

Chocolate for You(Lust)- Chocolate event

Diavolo(1)

It’s Lonely Being Me(Pride)- Chapter A

Barbatos(2)

A Butler’s Private Lesson(Greed)- Chapter A

Barbatos the Mechanic(Envy)-Toys event(not on LD yet)

Simeon(4)

Nectar of the Gods(Wrath)-Chapter A

Lured by a Majestic Deer(Greed)-Paws and Claws 2

The Legend of the Stars(Envy)-Star event(Not on LD yet)

Animal Tea Party(Lust)- Kid 2 event (Not on LD yet)

Solomon(2)

Spread Our Wings and Fly(Lust)-Chapter A

Candy and a Circus Date(Greed)- Circus event

Luke(1)

Caring for Lucifer’s Dog(Envy)- Chapter A

Cards Broken Down By Sin

Pride-5

Greed-6

Envy-5

Wrath-6

Lust-9

Gluttony-5

Sloth-5

If I got any wrong or if I counted them wrong, I’m sorry!! This list took quite a bit to make. But hopefully this can help you decide on what devil points/tickets you use.

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amberwild420 · 4 years ago

Text

one step back, two steps forward (pt. 23)

masterlist

the secrets came to light 3

Ladybug swing around on the familiar route before landing on the rooftop of their designated place. Taking a deep breath, she smiled. Today’s events were ……..good.

She never thought that Chloe of all people would apologize. Can’t say she was that much surprised. Hearing multiple footsteps landing behind them, she greeted them with a smile.

Seeing one missing, she sighed in annoyance before turning to her teammates again.

No Chat again.

He isn’t coming at all, ladybug.

Ryu snarled. The other two were in good mood again. There is no way they are going to keep this guy in team for longer.

Anything new? Your song is rather happy.

Python pointed out making Ryu stare at her.

Now that you have mentioned, you look lighter. What happened?

Ladybug smiled before re-telling the whole story. They have a good laugh at Kaylan’s awkward ability to defuse the emotional tension. The said girl looked away muttering ‘how she would kill them if they said a word to anyone.’

Just as they were about to start leaving Luna stopped them.

I have another thing to tell you guys. There was a stillness in the air. The feelings of something big happening fluttered in her chest.

I called justice league.

There was pin-drop silence. One could hear crickets in the distance. The trio processed the short information before chaos started.

What do you mean you called them?! (Ladybug)

Do you mean the same justice league who thought we were pranking them?! (Ryu)

Luna, you didn’t even asked me?! (Ladybug)

Sighing, Luna snapped her fingers before their mouths were taped.

If you’re done, maybe I can tell you what happened.

The low growl of her voice shut them up before they shrunk. Well ...ladybug shrunk.

Anyway, I did that because I was expecting you to react like this. Considering what you told me about justice league, I realized that the only person you have faced is green lantern.

Well.....you’re not wrong.

From what Wolff had told me, Amazonian and Atlantian are the race that had wielded miraculous before. Especially the creation. Queen Hera of the Amazon was one of the bugs.

Listening to her, ladybug jolted before standing up. Waving her hands around, she pointed towards the tapped mouth of hers. Luna snapped her fingers before the two girls were released from torture.

You...... ladybug vigorously pointed at Luna. .....can you take us somewhere for ........you know?

Abaeo Exorior!

A blue colored dome covered the four before the scene around them changed. The colored lights and familiar kanji on the buildings around them made Ryu jump.

Are we in Japan?

We’re in Japan. On top of the apartment complex where we used to live before moving.

Luna said as she called off her transformation. The others follow the lead and the Kwami joined them in the conversation before.

Hera was one of my bugs! That’s how Diana was made out of clay! I can’t believe I didn’t thought of that!

Tikki gushed making the others sigh at her behavior.

Anyway how did you know about that? Wasn’t wolf active about centuries ago?

Well we did told her a lot when we were looking for a proper miraculous for Kaylan.

Tikki flew around before gushing over Kaylan for using her creative side after using her destructive side on many occasion.

And how did you manage to get hold of wonder woman? Marinette finally asked. There no way she had this much luck. She was balance. She used destruction in battle field and her life outside the mask was lucky. (Especially when she got out of Lila’s tricks and easily pranked her without getting caught.)

I saw in my divination.

Another pin drop silence took over before they all sighed.

Of course, you would.

Marinette helplessly muttered. Having extra ability sounds so good. If only she could use her ability to be able to stop time and get all of her commissions done in no time at all.

The divination told me the date, time of which I should make a call. I did. And imagine my surprise when wonder woman said that green lantern have never told anyone of the situation or anything about a prank call.

Wait he didn’t!?

Shaking her head she watched as the three frowned at the news.

Flashback:

Luna waved at the trio as they left after patrol, before taking out her weapon and turning on the communication. With a deep breath to gather her nerves, she dialed a number.

“Hello? Justice league watchtower. How may I help you?”

“Wonder woman?”

There was a pause before she answered.

“This is me. May I ask who am I talking to?”

Sighing, Luna used the miraculous magic to connect to the video. As soon as both parties saw each other, their reaction was polar opposite. Luna was calm while wonder woman was shocked.

Shocked beyond words.

“My name is Luna. I’m the wielder of miraculous of wolf.”

As soon as she heard the words, she kneeled immediately.

“Wielder of balance. How may I assist you? Where is the danger? Tell me I’m ready to give my life if you ask for it.”

If anyone from the league was able to this, they would have signed themselves for mental hospital. There is no way that a child would make wonder woman kneel like this.

“Please stand up. We don’t have time to waste. I’m sure you know what it means to have wolf in circulation.”

“Yes, my mother told me. The balance had been upset and it would go beyond repair if it isn’t restored.”

Luna nodded before retelling the events of Paris. Wonder woman was horrified .....................and angry.

Well anger was a small word.

She was furious.

How dare Hal do something like this? Did he not know who and what he is messing with?

“Wonder woman.”

She broke out of her stupor when Luna called her. She looked at her like she knew what she was thinking.

“It would be best if you do not and I mean DO NOT come to Paris or bring any teammate here. You and many others use your emotion to fuel your strength. And in a place that is emotional hostage you might become the first victim. We barely have strength to take down akuma and senti-monster. We won’t be able to take down a trained hero.”

Hearing that, she looked down. To think it would escalate to this much that she would be advised by a young. But then again, miraculous users are above her, her mother’s teaching had been drilled in her mind.

“I will do as you advice.”

“I was hoping you would discuss this with the league and see what we do. Once you have a general idea of the situation, we can set a meeting between two parties and discuss what you can offer and what we need.”

“I will do as you say.” Wonder woman bowed.

“One more thing wonder woman. You need to know that the cat has been corrupted. We might need a new cat.”

“Great Hera! How bad can this situation get?”

“..............The peacock miraculous is damaged and the enemy is still using it.”

“Great Hera have mercy!”

Luna smiled a little before turning away to look at something.

“It would be in our great interest to gather information before we can move forward. Keep an eye on the Paris local news. Better gather all heroes. The more you know, the better solutions might come up.”

“Of course. Please take care.”

Flashback ends

So yeah that’s happened.

The teammates looked away and sulked. Who wouldn’t! Kaylan get to meet wonder woman. Even Tikki sulked. She wanted to see the child of her creation.

Seriously guys.

You get to meet wonder woman. No fair.

Marinette whined before turning away. While Luka and Kagami looked calm, their aura were too sad to ignore. Rubbing her temple she told them to get ready to return, like hell she’ll let them sulk in front of her.

Bonus:

Kaylan woke up suddenly. Her breathing was heavy. Looking around she saw her miraculous wasn’t with her and neither was Nova.

Oh yea, I’m in the dream.

Looking at the calendar, she saw a date marked with black. Standing up she looked out of her balcony. The night sky was illuminated with bright stars. Looking around, her eyes fell on the toy shop window. Or rather a lone action figure.

Her eyes stayed on the figure which posed for the lasso to be thrown. Just as she thought she had seen enough, the loud whooping of the familiar voice was heard. On the rooftop in front of her, three heroes said goodbyes to the fourth one.

Kaylan looked at the wolf hero, who was clearly her but not at the moment. She stayed on the rooftop for a while before turning. Their eyes met before Luna gave a smirk.

A cold chill went down her spine before she woke up. Patting her neck she was relieved to see the miraculous around her neck. Nova slept on the fluffy pillow beside her. It was (not) just a dream.

taglist

@marinettewayne07

@mega-angry-cloud

@thanos-rules

@arty-shadow-morningstar

@ianisallama

@arcticfox847

@captainmac6

@miraculous-ninja

@thestressmademedoit

@michaelshadow7779

@chaoticanimesceneryeverglowbagel

@adl96monthnotaseason

#One Step Back #two steps forward #ml ladybug #ml salt #chloe redemption #justice league #Miraculous Team #miraculous ladybug #kaylan is sly

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mythicalcanary-literature · 3 years ago

Photo

FanFiction - Crossing the Stars

Hetalia (c) Hidekaz Himaruya

FTL: Faster Than Light (c) Subset Games

[CHAPTER LIST]

Author’s Note: This FanFiction is a crossover between the sci-fi strategy game ‘FTL: Faster Than Light’ by Subset Games and the manga/anime called ‘Hetalia’ by Hidekaz Himaruya. The story will follow closely to the events of the rougue-like gameplay in FTL and the human characters will be replaced with the human versions of the national personifications in ‘Hetalia’. This is a fun personal project and it requires no knowledge of either fandom to enjoy this story. I’d encourage checking the original sources out though! Use of screenshots in this FanFiction are to supplement the storytelling to help plot the course of our heroes’ journey in the universe. Whatever the outcome of the gameplay I base this story on (as each playthrough is very unique) will be translated into the plot of this story. i.e. If the spaceship gets damaged, it gets damaged in the story. If a character dies in the game, they’re dead in this fiction. (Please note that I find this kind of storytelling entertaining to play/write and I plan to do more in the future if time allows!)

Chapter 1

The Federation was struggling with the advancing Rebel fleet. One lone ship carried some vital information that could turn the tides of the war and the Federation allied Star Ship APH was going to be their champion.

At the helm was Captain Alfred Jones, a spry young American whom fit the Golden Boy persona to a tee. Sure, he wore square-rimmed glasses but he was still awesome. Don’t let his cute blue-eyed, blond haired, ripped body mislead you! He had the courage to lead his crew to the very end. He was the youngest of his crew and had a Hero Complex but his heart helped him to make some decent moral choices. His friends might disagree and say that his Hero Complex leads to some very immoral choices, but how could he be wrong? He’s great!

Stationed at weapons was his best friend from the academy called Arthur Kirkland. He was an officer from England and was keen to aid in an international project. Arthur was rather lean in build with messy blond hair that matched his sassy personality. His piercing emerald eyes held a wisdom beyond his years. He was tasked with weaponry because of his strategic skills and fearless judgement. Unfortunately his friends and colleagues often made fun of him for his bushy eyebrows, apparent inability to cook, and his obsession with the occult.

Last but not least was the Frenchman Francis Bonnefoy, a flamboyant friend of Arthur’s and on-and-off enemy of his. Much like Alfred, don’t let his looks fool you! Francis’ long, golden hair, sea blue eyes and wispy blond beard could charm many but he was a calculated thinker. He graduated with flying colours in engineering, which is why he was manning the FTL (Faster Than Light) Drive in the engine room.

The blond trio were in their twenties, young and wise together. If they could avoid their normal bickering maybe they would survive this after all!

“This is the awesome Captain Jones speakin’! Get your butts over to the Bridge, we need to figure out where we’re goin’,” the voice on the PA system called in a chirpy American accent.

“We’re already here, dipshit,” Arthur countered as he and Francis joined him on deck. “We’ve best be quick about this, the Rebel fleet is gaining speed.” He pulled up the Beacon Map on screen and surveyed their options. “Unfortunately we have no data on the properties of each beacon towards the exit into the next sector, but hopefully we can acquire that as we go along. The faster we get to the exit the better, our mission is too important to mess around.”

Alfred was sipping some coffee. “Psh, who’s messin’? I won’t lead you dudes astray! Hero’s promise!”

Francis sighed. “Let’s avoid battles if we can, ze stress gives me wrinkles.”

“We’re in a civilian sector! How bad could it be?”

Arthur glared at him. “You’ve best be joking. This area will be littered with Rebel scouts. We need to get a move on.”

Alfred dumped his coffee cup in the rubbish bin and winked. “Fine. Back to your stations! Off to our first stop! Warp us there, Francis!”

“Aye, sir,” Francis responded as they all returned to their posts.

The S.S. APH warped to the next beacon. If they were expecting a calming tour of space they were greatly mistaken. Alfred’s voice carried over the announcement system. “Hey, y’all! We have a hostile Rebel Scout attacking a small refuelling outpost here. That’s totes uncool so we’re gonna kick their asses! Kirkland, fire up the weapons! Try out our Burst Laser II on their weapons!”

“Aye, Captain! Locked on and charging.”

The small ship was quick with a laser drone circling the S.S. APH. An alert blared. “Shields took a hit!” Alfred informed them quickly. “Just an ion blast, it’ll be back online soon, stay at your posts!”

Francis’ voice joined him on the announcement channel. “The drone knocked out our door controls!”

“That’s alright, I destroyed their weapons room,” Arthur chipped in confidently.

“Good work, Artie!” Alfred cheered. “Lock on the drones now.”

“Roger that!”

The ship shook and Alfred’s voice called out in concern. “Yo, Francis? Are you okay? The shields are back online but it says the engines got hit.”

“I’m fine, mon ami! Minor damage to ze FTL Drive, I’m working on a fix. I’m not hurt.”

Arthur switched focus from the enemy drones to the helm. He cursed as he saw that the interior scan of the enemy vessel had repaired their weapons in the time his lasers charged. Luckily, his final few attacks took out the scout and they could safely proceed. He sighed with relief. “Danger has passed, let’s pull in the loot.”

Alfred congratulated them over the announcement system. “Well done, dudes! Artie, join me in the door room. We’re not moving on until that system is running again.”

“On my way!”

Francis kept an eye on the FTL charge as his friends repaired the door functions.

Arthur hummed as he replaced some fried wires and Alfred ran the diagnostics. Oddly enough, they didn’t chat the entire time. It was nice working together. “Alright, let’s get back to our posts. Who knows how many of these automated ships are lurking?”

“Just don’t lead us into a black hole or something.”

“Hahahaha! Noted.”

Back on the Bridge, Alfred pulled up his upgrades panel. They had enough scrap to give them a new edge. He grinned as he added an extra unit of power to their reactor and instructed the Frenchman to monitor the upgrade. He also treated himself to a more slick piloting upgrade. Having auto pilot help him to dodge attacks with a fifty percent advantage was too amazing to pass up! “I’m gonna jump to the next beacon. Hold on to your asses!”

The crew warped into the aftermath of a battle. The battlefield was littered with debris from Federation ships and Rebels alike. Their allies had been sadly outnumbered but it was clear they fought valiantly and Captain Jones respected that. He began performing a more detailed scan of the wreckage when his sensors picked up an enemy ship. He gasped and switched on the comms. “To battle stations! We have a Rebel Disrupter in our vicinity!”

The orange spaceship faced the S.S. APH head-on and momentarily knocked out the shields, just in time for the orbiting drone to shoot their door systems.

“Why do they always target our doors?” Francis complained over the communications system. “It’s hardly a vital system.”

“I think it was potluck,” Arthur answered as his return fire knocked out the enemy weapons. “Got the weapons room! I’m going to knock out that drone and then alternate. I wouldn’t put it past them to begin repairs.”

“As you are, Kirkland!” Alfred chimed in as he kept an eye on the enemy movements from the helm. They made quick work of this battle and reaped the rewards. “Good job. You know the drill, Artie. Gotta get those door systems online again. Meet me there.”

“Aye, sir!”

The next beacon jump was nothing special. Beautiful, but nothing interesting. Francis stared out of his nearby airlock windows to view the dancing binary star before they warped to the next point.

“I’m gonna do a triangular-shaped loop here, dudes. I detect a merchant nearby and I wanna see what they have,” Captain Jones announced to his crew.

“Don’t let us get caught by the Rebels, Alfred!” Arthur’s voice warned him.

“They’re not close enough yet. We’ll be fine. We can’t risk running low on supplies and if we can get this hull fixed that would be great.”

“Good point. Carry on.”

The next jump led them to a destroyed space station. Alfred had reservations about this as life signs could be detected onboard. He bit his lip and weighed up the options of investigating. On the one hand, if he could recruit a new member that would be useful! Although he was well aware that doing these kind of investigations could risk damage to his current crew’s lives. After a moment of hesitation he decided not to risk his friends. They collected miscellaneous debris to repurpose for their own mission and jumped them to the next beacon.

The crew assembled on the Bridge to witness the hails of a Rock Scout. The Rockmen were a powerful race but these aliens seemed to be relatively friendly. “Hey, this is Captain Alfred F. Jones of the Federation Star Ship APH. How can we be of service today, my dudes?”

Arthur stared at his friend unhappily. “You could use proper English, idiot. Did you learn nothing from etiquette lessons when dealing with foreign entities?”

“There was nothin’ wrong with my lingo, Artie! Don’t make me pull rank.”

“Insufferable git.”

The Rockman Captain simply stared at these weird humans before gaining their attention. “We could really use some help.”

Alfred saluted. “How can we help?”

“Our FTL navigation system is shot. Can you help us to a nearby station for them to patch us up?”

“Sure thing, rock friend! I’m receiving your fuel down payment right now and I’ll key in the co-ordinates you sent.”

“Thank you. We will be one step behind you, following your jump signatures.”

Francis beamed at his Captain as their communications shut off with their neutral acquaintance. “That was very kind of you, Alfred!”

The American beamed. “If we can help anyone in distress on the way we damn well will! We’re still gonna do our planned route unless we’re forced to change direction, but those Rebel scumbags ain’t gonna take all of us down.”

Francis patted him on the back and returned to his post. Arthur shook his head. “I wish you’d let me deal with the foreign comms once in a while, Alfred, but you did well. I’m heading back to weapons. Try to get our hull fixed at the shop.”

The next jump led them to an outpost that certainly had merchants selling some wares! Arthur and Francis volunteered to be the away party as Alfred kept an eye on the advancing enemy fleet from the Bridge. Their tailing Rockmen friends also spent a bit of time gathering resources for the journey ahead.

Aware of the encroaching danger and their limited supply of scrap to trade for goods, the European representatives agreed that they should spend all of it on an Advanced FTL Navigation Augmentation that would allow them to leap to any previously visited beacon in one hop no matter the distance and the rest of the scrap was allocated to hull repairs. They promptly beamed back on deck and installed their new augment and checked with the Rockmen to make sure that they were ready to follow.

The S.S. APH jumped back the way they came and immediately leapt to the subsequent beacon. It was a tough decision because they had to completely ignore a distress call. The Rebel fleet was advancing far too quickly, they had to put as much distance between them as possible. Alfred felt terrible but his crew and the Rockmen following them depended on forward thinking. There was no helping those in distress right now.

“Rebel transport ship detected!” Captain Jones announced on the communications system. “It doesn’t seem to wanna fight but we can’t take risks. Plus we need the scrap, we’re kinda poor right now.”

“Engaging weapons, Captain!” Arthur replied, powering up the Burst Laser II to lock onto their weapons room. He was going to target the drones next as those little bastards were a pain to deal with.

“CANCEL THAT INTERACTION, KIRKLAND! ATTACK THEIR ENGINES, THEY’RE GONNA JUMP AND WARN THE FLEET!”

“Fuck, really?! Alright, locking both the lasers and missiles onto their FTL Drive!”

It was a tense moment as their weapons warmed up and as they celebrated decimating the enemy FTL Drive, a missile hit their own engines.

“ENGINES, DAMAGE REPORT!” Captain Jones cried.

“Ze bastards damaged ze FTL Drive. I’m working on a fix but my head…”

“Focus, Bonnefoy. You can heal after we destroy these idiots!” Arthur chipped in urgently. He switched the lasers to focus on the Rebel weapons room whilst keeping their Artemis missile locked on the enemy engines.

An explosion rocked the Bridge and Alfred coughed through the smoke. “Dammit, they’re breaking my controls. Kirkland, finish this now.” He gritted his teeth as he repaired the system damage. His wrist was pretty sore but nothing too dire.

“Aye, Captain!”

Fortunately, the battle was over with soon after and repairs could be finished to both the engines and the piloting systems. Jones and Bonnefoy met up in the medbay to heal their injuries before moving on. It was becoming clear how dangerous this mission was.

Back on the Bridge, Alfred instructed his crew that to get to the quest marker they needed to enter a nebula. Nebula zones were always risky as they knocked out sensors but they could also be beneficial in slowing down the enemy fleet. “We’re heading to the nebula. Be prepared for anything! Warp ahead, Bonnefoy!”

This felt like a mistake. Nebulas can be rather peaceful but today was not their day! A plasma storm was active so not only were their sensors dead but their reactor was crippled to half-capacity. The crew was in a mild panic trying to figure out what systems were down as a Rebel automated scout swooped in to cause them hell.

“GUYS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. SEVERAL PROBLEMS,” Alfred yelled through the communications system.

“No shit!” Arthur shot back as he examined the diagnostics from his post. “Our oxygen isn’t powered, we’ll suffocate!”

“Heat up the weapons, Artie, we have company! I’ll divert power from the medbay to the oxygen room!”

“SHIELDS ARE DOWN AND THEY HAVE A DRONE!” Francis cried from the engine room. “We’re sitting ducks!”

“Divert ALL power from engines to the shields NOW!”

“Aye!”

“I’m locked on their weapons, Captain!” Arthur informed them. “The shield is holding off the drone, thank God.”

“Fire on that and then the drone. Destroy it as quickly as possible.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

Thankfully the battle was over swiftly. Shaken and worried, Alfred gave the order to drop the shields and restore power to the FTL Drive. They would drop off their Rockmen friends at the next beacon and make their way to the exit.

“Approaching the quest marker,” Captain Jones announced keeping the ship steady, ready for a break. “I’ll inform our little convoy back there.”

“Can one ship in addition to ours really be considered a convoy?” Francis responded contemplatively.

He didn’t receive an answer as the Rockmen’s ship zoomed away without warning and Alfred flipped the Red Alert siren. “AGH! IT’S A TRAP! How could they? We trusted them!” He turned on the power to all systems after they were clear of the plasma storm and glared at the Rebel Disrupter ship. How dare they! HOW. DARE. THEY.

Ignoring the possible melodrama his best friend was stewing in, Arthur had already locked their weapons on the Rebel weapons and drones with their Burst Laser II and the Artemis missile. DIRECT HIT! That’s getting business taken care of. He disabled the Artemis and focused the laser onto enemy shields. He needed no consultation on this strategy, they would not be made fools of! With the shields down and the enemies focused on repairing the damage he dealt to the drones, he fired once again at the weapons room. The Rebel scum would not get a say in this!

VICTORY! The crew celebrated briefly as they collected the remains of their enemy vessel.

“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Alfred urged, turning them towards the next beacon. “I don’t want to try my luck with another one of these guys.”

“We can make it to ze Exit Beacon in two jumps, Captain!” Francis informed him over the comms. “With ze Rebels gaining ground we shouldn’t take anymore detours.”

“Agreed, buddy! Full speed ahead!”

The Rebels were determined to control this star system! The subsequent beacon greeted them with another Rebel Rigger patrol. It stood between them and the exit. This could not be tolerated.

“I’m way ahead of you, Captain!” Arthur called over the communications. “I’ve locked on their weapons and drone rooms. I’ll target their FTL Drive afterwards, we can’t let them get away to inform the Rebel fleet of our location.”

“Show no mercy, Kirkland!”

“Aye, sir!”

Direct hits!

“The enemy is powering up it’s FTL Drive!” Alfred informed them urgently. “This could be bad!”

The landed hits on the enemy vessel weren’t enough to destroy the hull and the Rebels were an inch from jumping out of reach. Fortune dealt them an unexpected hand, though.

Alfred opened up the screen to receive a hail from the Rebel Rigger Captain. “Captain Jones speaking. Stop right there!”

The enemy Captain scowled but offered a metaphorical white flag. “The day is yours! Show us your honour by allowing us to leave with our lives.”

This was a very fragile situation. The enemy hull was weak but their FTL Drive was primed to jump any second. There would be no time to stop them unless they agreed to a truce. Alfred growled in frustration but knew there was no choice. “Kirkland, cease fire! We’re entering a truce.”

“What? Um, okay?” came Arthur’s puzzled response. There was probably a good reason to cease fire so he complied. He would demand answers later.

Captain Jones accepted the supplies from the Rebel Rigger and the enemy did not warp away. Phew, that was a close one. The advancing enemy fleet would not gain speed on them.

Tense, Alfred called a meeting on the Bridge. He turned to his crewmates gravely. “We’re getting real lucky with these battles, our damage has been minimal. With Rebels so close to our Exit Beacon we need to be ready for a possible interception between us and the warp point. Don’t let your guard down and we’ll decide which sector to head to next once the coast is clear.”

Arthur nodded and returned to the weapons room without any answers, but he didn’t need them. It was clear they were in trouble and Alfred made a solid judgement call. He would be ready to defend.

Francis remained by Alfred’s side as they made the final jump to the Exit Beacon.

There was an asteroid field not far from their destination. They decided to risk navigating it for some materials that would help them in the next sector. Luck truly was not on their side as asteroids violently knocked down their shields and damaged their hull!

“Fire in ze portside airlocks, Captain!” Francis cried.

“I’ll open the airlocks to extinguish it. Everyone meet me in shields! We’ll repair and move on!”

Once that crisis was averted, the crew met up to decide where to go next.

Would they jump to the Engi Controlled area, or the Zoltan Controlled area? Both were civilian sectors but carried their own unique risks.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT SECTOR...

Chapter 1 - END

[CHAPTER LIST]

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[Cover Art] This image was drawn in HB pencil and painted in watercolour paints on the 8th August 2021. It was digitally enhanced in GIMP Image Editor on the 9th August 2021. Paper type = 130 gsm

This chapter was written on the 8th August 2021.

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Please do not repost, modify, resell or claim this work as your own.

(Reblogging is fine, though!)

[Mythical Canary Info]

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distractedhistotech · 4 years ago

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Lewis Joins the Gang (Again)

As usual, Arthur was the first to wake up. He felt like he’d taken too much pain medication before going to bed and…there was something on top of him that was not Vivi or Mystery. It felt smooth and warm. He sat up. “What.” He stared at the pile of purple ghosts covering him, Vivi, and Mystery. On a purple bed. In…a large room. It looked like the entrance room of a mansion.

Wait, wait, wait…He was starting to remember. “Uh, ghost guy, you there?” Arthur started shaking Vivi. “Hey, hey, Vivi. Wake up. Something crazy. And ghosty. And maybe cursy. And I think you’ll need to drive today.” He picked up one of the Deadbeats. “Why are you not scaring me?”

Vivi groaned. “Five more minutes.”

“You are literally covered in ghosts,” Arthur said as he attached his prosthetic.

Vivi almost immediately shot up. “Oh my gosh! They’re so cute!” She started scratching one on the top of its head. “Yes, you are, yes you are.” She paused. “Hey, where are we?”

“Haunted house,” replied Arthur.

Vivi blinked. “Huh. Why don’t I remember that?”

“Ghost guy said…” Arthur paused and looked around. “Actually, where is he?” One of the ghosts popped up holding a pretty blue heart with orange filigree all over it. “Huh. Why does that seem familiar?”

“Hm…” Vivi picked up the heart. “Why is the color-”

Vivi was interrupted when purple fire shot out of the heart and formed a familiar ghost. Well, familiar to Arthur anyway. “Hey, ghost guy.”

Lewis blinked. “Uh, hey.”

“Whoa! You look so cool!” crowed Vivi.

Lewis blushed a little. “R-really?”

“Yeah, the suit, and the skull, and the fire, it’s awesome!” said Vivi. She frowned. “Uh, did you do something to our memories?”

Lewis quickly held his hands up. “Not on purpose! I tried to introduce myself, but whenever I said my name, you passed out and forgot stuff!”

Vivi frowned. “Maybe it’s a safeguard? Knowing someone’s true name can give you power over them…”

“But I really wanted to tell you my name!” protested Lewis.

“And we appreciate that, but given the side effects, you probably shouldn’t,” mused Vivi.

“And-and there was that other thing,” said Lewis. “See?” Lewis put his glamour back on. “This is supposed to be what I looked like when I was alive, and that’s what I see when I look in the mirror, but Artie said that’s not what I look like!”

Both humans winced. “Oof, yeah, that’s not a human face,” agreed Vivi. “Could you…” Lewis dropped the glamour. “Thanks. Okay, that makes less sense. Glamours are specifically for blending in.” Vivi hummed in thought for several moments. “This could take a while to figure out…But we need to get to Techno Con.”

Lewis blinked. “Techno Con?”

“I’ve got a booth there to show off my prosthetics,” explained Arthur. “And I’m hoping to pick up a few new things myself.”

“Oh, congratulations,” said Lewis as an idea started to occur to him. “But…Maybe…If it’s a not a problem, I could go with you. Then you’d have plenty of time to figure out what’s wrong.”

Arthur’s mouth fell open in shock and nervousness. Vivi thought a moment. “That’s a tempting offer, but I have some concerns.” She pointed at Arthur. “Firstly, Arthur has to agree.”

Lewis nodded. “Of course.”

“Secondly, how do we know you won’t try to kill us or drain our energy?” pointed out Vivi.

“I could’ve done that while you were sleeping,” pointed out Lewis. He paused. “Not that I would!”

“Hm…” Vivi nodded. “Good point. Secondly, why would you want to come with us? Most ghosts are tethered to a place.”

Lewis winced. “I didn’t want to stay there.”

Vivi winced. “Ah. Sorry.”

“And…I was lonely,” admitted Lewis. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“What about these guys?” asked Arthur, holding up a chirping Deadbeat.

“The Deadbeats are more like cats. I can talk to them, but they don’t give me a response,” explained Lewis. “They are my friends, and they helped me stay sane, but I missed being able to talk to people.” Especially these people.

“Bit of an unusual motive, but I can believe it,” commented Vivi. “But why us, haven’t you run into other people before?”

“I’ve only been dead for a few months.” At least Lewis thought it was months. He hadn’t been able to keep track of time during his trek to civilization. “And I kind of died in the middle of nowhere, and it turns out it can take a while to find a road if you don’t have a map or compass.”

“I think I saw an episode of Mythbusters about that,” commented Arthur.

Vivi nodded. “Okay, you want friends, but if you haven’t been dead that long, wouldn’t it make more sense to return home where your friends and family are? Or are you worried about how they’ll react?” she asked.

“Oh, I actually was on my way home,” said Lewis. “I just ran into you first, and I figured I could hitch a ride with you since I’m from Tempo too.”

“How do you know we’re from Tempo?” asked Arthur.

“You guys are kind of infamous. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in town knew who you were,” explained Lewis.

“True, random strangers will walk up to me and ask me tips about ghosts and stuff,” agreed Vivi. “What about you? Any chance we’ve ever met before.”

Lewis perked up. “Yeah! I was a chef at Pepper Paradiso!”

Arthur frowned. “Pepper Paradiso’s a restaurant?” he asked in confusion.

“Yeah, it serves pretty spicy food so you wouldn’t like it,” said Vivi. It was why she’d never taken him there for a date.

“Huh? You’ve both been there plenty of times though,” said Lewis.

“Nah, I can’t stand spicy food,” said Arthur. “If it’s mostly spicy stuff I’d avoid it.”

Oh, this was so much worse than Lewis had thought. “A-And we went to the same high school!”

“Were we in the same grade?” asked Arthur.

“Uh, I was in the grade below you,” said Lewis.

“Then you might be in some of our yearbooks,” reasoned Arthur. “Of course we don’t exactly carry those around.”

“Ugh, yeah, and it’s probably been long enough that you can’t look at it online,” muttered Lewis. “I went to Tome Tomb all the time…Why don’t either of you remember me…” Lewis finished sadly.

“Well, in one’s day-to-day life you don’t remember every single person you run into,” pointed out Arthur.

“I’m seven feet tall though!” shouted Lewis, getting frustrated. “I stood out like a sore thumb!”

“Okay, yeah, that’d be pretty memorable,” agreed Arthur. “You’d think we’d remember someone like that.”

“Hm…You know, I don’t remember anyone talking about a chef at Pepper Paradiso going missing,” mused Vivi. “I wonder if any memories were erased from everyone’s minds.”

The thought was so horrifying that Lewis could just stare at them in horror.

“Whoa, that’s a bit of a big leap!” pointed out Arthur. “I mean it’s weird neither of us have heard about a local giant, but we might just be clueless. Heck, maybe we could call home and ask while we’re traveling.”

“True,” agreed Vivi. “Although even if that’s wrong, I’d like to help this guy. Something really odd is going on with him.”

Arthur bit his lip and studied the nervous looking Lewis. He weighed the pros and cons. He sighed. “If you can’t disguise yourself, you can’t really go out in public. You okay with that?”

“Well, I could turn invisible,” pointed out Lewis, doing so for a moment to prove that was a thing he could do. “If I didn’t let other people know I was around, would that be all right?”

Arthur thought for a moment before sighing. “As long as you let us know where you are, yeah.”

Vivi gave Arthur a startled look, not expecting him to support this. Still, if he was okay with it, she wasn’t gonna give up this opportunity to get a ghost teammate who would maybe help them out on investigations and let her study him a bit. “Okay, so if you and your Deadbeats (Heh, funny name.) agree to behave and stay out of sight, you can travel with us until we got back to Tempo. Deal?”

“When will you be going back to Tempo?” asked Lewis.

“Well, we have like 8 days funds, but depending on if we earn anything we might travel around a bit longer,” explained Arthur.

Lewis was familiar with this traveling plan, so he nodded. “It’s a deal.”

“Great! Now we should probably head out,” said Vivi. “We don’t want to fall too far behind in our plans.”

Lewis nodded. “Sure thing.” He then proceeded to collapse the entire house into fire and absorb it into his anchor. He paused as he saw the other three staring at him in shock. “Uh, did I forget to mention I could do that?”

“Yes,” squeaked Arthur.

“Oops.” Lewis chuckled nervously. “Well, yeah, I can make houses. And other stuff.” He coughed nervously somehow. “So, that’s your van, right? I’ll just go settle into the back.” He zoomed off.

Arthur turned to Vivi. “I feel like we might’ve bitten off more than we can chew.”

Vivi shrugged. “Well, nothing we can do now. Wanna go grab some waffles?”

“Hm…I’d rather just have some yogurt and fruit. Not that hungry,” said Arthur as they walked back to the van.

#Mystery Skulls animated #msa #lewis pepper #vivi yukino #arthur kingsman #mystery the not dog #deadbeats #friendship!#misunderstandings #amnesia #They're coming to all the wrong conclusions

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sea-side-scribbles · 4 years ago

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Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/73379652

Chapter 52

Arthur was overwhelmed with feelings when he went back to his hideout. His life as a Downer had been changing ever since he met Nick. And now, he wasn’t alone anymore. He met Nick everywhere. He wasn’t only in the tunnel, but also in every shop, in every house he broke in - yeah, he had to admit to himself that he was breaking into people’s houses, not very often, but it happened, because he couldn’t find everything he needed in the Garden District - but also on the street. Nick’s music was playing everywhere. He was certain he had heard the entire new record multiple times now. Also the Wellies sang his songs while strolling around.

But most important was his own voice - it was as if Nick kept talking to him, comforting him.

On the one hand it made his lonely tours more pleasant, on the other hand, he had to take care that Nick didn’t distract him too much. There seemed to be a swarm of butterflies fluttering up whenever he heard just a single note.

While taking a shower, he caught himself humming one of his songs to himself. “Smile Again“ was somehow fitting, as if Nick had secretly written the lyrics for him.

One moment, he found it absurd that he was standing in a scruffy shower, in an abandoned tunnel where some time ago some workers had most likely perished from a bad badge of Joy, warbling a song to himself, and feeling happier than ever before.

The next moment he told himself to stop wondering at things in a town like this. The only one he thought he should wonder at was Nick.

How could a fucked up place like this create someone like Nick? Someone as innocent and peaceful? Everyone thought he was crazy, but instead he was the most sensible Wellie he had ever met.

Well, perhaps not that sensible, because he got involved with someone like Arthur.

Arthur was in fact surprised about himself, that he didn’t make a mess already. Nick seemed to bring out the best in him. With him by his side, he suddenly enjoyed everything in Wellington Wells, even the depressing Garden District. And he couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Arthur was in fact taking a shower because he didn’t want to approach Nick being all dirty and smelling of Motilene. In the old days he had been so rushed and afraid, that he hadn’t spent too much time on cleaning before running to the next hatch. He didn’t like the shower too much. The water was only lukewarm, and full of Joy.

Cleaned and properly dressed, he went to Nick’s suite, that he also kept clean. Only the surfaces of course, he wasn’t digging into Nick’s private stuff, but enough to keep this in it’s original state. The suite was the only pretty place in this tunnel and he didn’t like it when something so neat got dirty. And in a way, it was also his home.

“Nick?“, he asked carefully, but unfortunately he didn’t get an answer. He assumed the rockstar was still busy. Then his gaze fell on a silver shimmer that came from his bed. That was new. Arthur stepped closer and found a letter that had his name on it. Curiously, he lifted it up.

“Arthur, darling,

I brought you a little something.

I miss you too,

yours Nicky“

The message was written with a pink pen and circled with a heart. It looked incredibly kitschy, yet Arthur couldn’t stop staring at it. Then he eyed his gift and his heart missed a beat.

Chocolates.

No one had given him chocolates before. It was something you don’t buy for yourself, it was something romantic. Arthur carefully opened the box and marveled at the little pieces of chocolate that looked almost to neatly to be eaten. For a second he had to pause and fight the tears back that forced themselves on him.

By the looks of it, he now had his own kitschy and romantic relationship, with flowers and chocolates, strolls in the park, dinners in expensive restaurants and wild nights, the way he only knew it from the penny dreadfuls that had sometimes found their way into his hands in lonely evenings. The way he thought it would never happen to him, until he believed he would hate it anyway. And there he was, almost crying. He wanted to thank Nick for everything he did, for everything he had already given to him. But he assumed that would look rather silly.

Still, he thought about visiting the rockstar again. Mrs. Oliphant was pestering him anyway, telling him he should write another article soon. The “O“ Courant really had a crisis. Nothing happened, or at least nothing they could inform a decent Wellie about, so they had to exploit their old articles over and over, hoping that no one would notice. So Arthur could just as well come by with the excuse that he had more questions about the band’s new success. At last, that felt better than copying his old article.

He didn’t dare to touch the chocolate yet. He put it back on the bed, saving it for the moment he would come back here with Nick and try it with him. He hummed another song while walking to his house.

The Bobby at the entrance remembered him.

“Here, Constable, for your supply“, he said and handed him a sandwich. He didn’t want to knock him out after all.

“That’s too kind of you, Mr. Hastings“, Hunt said cheerfully. “I’m afraid Mr. Lightbearer is away, handling business with Mr Memento. But the rest of the band is here, in case you want to ask them out.“

Arthur wasn’t too disappointed. He knew it was never easy. So he could at least do his job while waiting for Nick. Hunt let him enter.

“Virgil, is that you?“, someone asked and came round the corner.

“No, it’s just me, Arthur. From the “O“ Courant. Do you remember me?“

“Arthur“, said the man he recognized as the drummer. “Of course I remember you. Could it be that you’re not here for entirely selfless reasons?“

“Oh, well…“

Now also the two guitarists joined them.

“You’ve come just in time to play a game with us“, they said.

“A game? Well, if you think…“

“Sure. First you help us, then we help you. Come on, it’s gonna be fun!“

“Don’t be a Downer, Arthur!“

”A Downer, me?“ Arthur laughed nervously. “How ridiculous.“

He looked into their faces, realizing that there was no way out. Games were almost sacred in Wellington Wells, you didn’t just refuse them if you didn’t want to raise suspicion. So he went along.

“So…what are we playing?“, he asked and then jumped backwards.

The lead guitarist had brought out an electric truncheon. Arthur prepared for a fight, but Chris calmed him down.

“Hey, don’t worry, it’s not a real weapon. It only tickles. It can be very useful though.“

He eyed the truncheon, almost lovingly.

“If you’re into that sort of thing…“ Arthur didn’t like where this was going. The last time he saw one of these was in the Reform Club.

„Come on, who doesn’t like Simon Says?“

Arthur laughed with relief. “Oh, I do. I love that game!“

“What did you think?“, Brad asked him grinning.

Arthur made an embarrassed noise.

“Nothing, I had no idea.“

He followed the band to the telly, that they turned on to watch Uncle Jack announce the game.

“Did he say we need an electric truncheon for this?“

They laughed.

“No, but we like to spice it up a little“, Matt explained.

“If everybody is a winner, where’s the challenge?“, Brad added.

“Heads up, it’s starting“, Chris said.

Arthur did his best to act like he had a blast. Uncle Jack’s instructions were quite easy. He remembered it to be a bigger challenge to follow his orders, but he guessed that the Joy had made it harder to remember them. He kept thinking about Nick and the moment he would finally come home and find Arthur like that. But he wouldn’t mind, right? It was the town’s most favorite game after all, no matter that it looked silly.

Suddenly something hard and cold hit his hips and a spark of electricity ran through his body. It was enough to startle him.

“What are you doing?“, Matt asked him laughing. “Are you even listening?“

“I’m giving my best, I swear“, he replied, adjusting his hair with his hands. He feared it would stand on end. Promptly, another shock hit him.

“Wrong order, or do you have your feet on your head?“

“I wasn’t finished !“, Arthur protested.

Now moving was harder.

“Are you sure this is harmless?“

He didn’t get an answer. Instead he had to turn around in a circle, so that they wouldn’t zap him again. Uncle Jack was now more mean, aiming at tiring the players out. Anyway, Arthur felt ridiculous. He remembered it being more fun, but now he couldn’t imagine it being everyone’s favorite game. Victoria Byng for example. In fact, she had never appeared to the breaks when they had played Simon Says, and that would have been a show indeed. He imagined her slapping her own face. A very funny image that made him grin widely. His grin vanished when another shock came upon him, making him gasp in pain. The shivering was more persistent now, so was the tickling.

“Poor Arthur, looks like it’s not the best of your days“, Chris teased him, not noticing that Uncle Jack was giving another instruction. Sniffing his chance for revenge, Arthur grabbed the tickler and gave him a charge that made his hair stand on end too. With his long hair it looked even more funny.

“You have to pay attention!“, Arthur shouted. But the tickler was soon snatched out of his hands and used against him.

“He didn’t say Simon Says!“, Brad informed him. Arthur skillfully wriggled the fake weapon out of his hands and payed him back.

“I think he did!“

Because of his carelessness, the tickler could change his owner again, this time it was Matt.

“This isn’t about what you think“, he said laughing and hit Arthur’s leg. For a second it gave up and Arthur fell on the floor, dragging the bass player with him.

“Holy shit.“ Arthur crouched away fro the other man, still shivering. The tickler rolled away.

“Oh, no no no…“ He followed it to make sure he wouldn’t get another shock from it. It was enough for today. But Chris quickly stepped on it.

“Not so fast, Artie. You have to give others a chance too.“

“Not in this game“, Arthur decided and turned on the electricity. It ran along Chris’ leg and he jumped away, moaning. With his loot in his hands, he planned to climb on the coffee table to ask for a break, but a moment later he lay on the ground again. Nobody payed attention to Uncle Jack, everyone just tried to get the truncheon from Arthur. Arthur, who wasn’t quite all there anymore, dealt out shocks until Brad shortly but effectively twisted his arm. Then he himself got his share. The typical scent of electricity filled the room while they exhausted their own energies. Some time later they all lay on the floor, moaning and scratching their itching spots.

„And that’s Simon Says for today! I hope you had just as much fun as me - but what am I saying - of course you had fun! And you’re sure to turn on tomorrow, at the same time, for another episode of Simon Says with Uncle Jack, that’s me!“

“Fuck off“, Arthur thought. He heard that a door opened in the corridor. His flight instinct came back, but he was too exhausted to get up. He only moaned a little louder. Footsteps came closer.

“What happened in here?“, he heard Nick ask. “Must’ve been a drop-dead program“, the rockstar giggled over it. Then he found him

“Arthur!“ Nick knelt down next to him.

“What did you do to him?“, he asked the helpless band that couldn’t answer. When he tried to touch Arthur, a spark flashed over his fingers.

“Ouch!“

“Careful!“, Arthur heard another voice say. It had to me Morrie’s.

“I won“, Arthur suddenly muttered. It had occurred to him as important for a second. Nick stared at him, but there were no more words.

“Looks like Simon Says to me“, Morrie said while Nick watched him pick up the tickler. “Does that belong to your special inventory, Nicky?“

Nick felt the tickle at the mere thought.

“I forgot I still have that.“

Then he shoved his hands under Arthurs back and knees and lifted him up.

“I…better put him on the couch…he’s my guest after all…“, he explained to Morrie and put Arthur down on fluffy cushions.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?“

Arthur made an incomprehensible noise as an answer.

“How did they get him to play?“

Morrie took it calmly. “I’m sure he came here all by himself to stick his nose in our business again.“

Nick sighed. He believed to know better.

“You’re probably right“, he however said.

Looking back to Morrie, he saw that he had lifted up Matt. Nick feared it would look suspicious if he gave Arthur to priority, so he helped Morrie to give the others a softer bed. Even though he thought they didn’t deserve it. He was sure they had planned to knock Arthur out so he couldn’t ask any questions. Teasing the journalist, as usual. He had to admit that most of them were a pain in the arse, but not Arthur. Nick would’ve loved to tuck him up, but that would’ve been even more suspicious.

“I guess we can only wait for them to wake up“, he told Morrie.

“Or we go upstairs and enjoy our peace and quiet“, his lover whispered.

Nick understood that he couldn’t watch over Arthur now.

“He’s safe here“, Morrie added, forcing Nick to set himself in motion. He took the tickler.

“I better confiscate this, just in case they plan to play another round.“

Morrie eyed the weapon. “Looks like this is going to be an interesting night.“

“I’ll do whatever you say, Morrie“.

His lover gestured him to follow him, before he went upstairs. Their day had been wonderful so far and Morrie was in a very good mood.

“But don’t over do it, like some people“, he added. His lover kissed him.

Arriving in Nick’s room, he said: “You worry about Arthur, don’t you?“

“Well…’worry’ is too big of a word, but they could’ve been more careful with him.“

“You like him“, Morrie said and Nick felt a shiver run down his spine.

“He’s okay for a reporter.“

He didn’t like Morrie’s look.

“What?“

“I don’t trust him“, his lover said thoughtfully. “He’s hiding something.“

“Oh, Morrie, everyone hides something. Us too.“

“Still…we shouldn’t allow him to come so close. It’s enough that he stays overnight.“

“Of course, Morrie. We have to wait until he can walk. Tomorrow, we answer his questions, so people remember us again, he goes home and all is well.“

“And then he’ll come back.“

“Sure…Any reporter would try to get at us sooner or later, there’s nothing we can do about it. And why not him? His article was smashing and the photos were stunning - especially yours. He must have a soft spot for you.“

Nick stroked Morrie’s half unbuttoned shirt.

“What’s that supposed to mean?“ Morrie gave a flattered grin.

“Well…it could be the reason why you don’t trust him.“

Morrie’s eyebrow twitched.

“What are you getting at?“

Their fingers played with each other.

“Perhaps that you don’t like to let people get close to you“, Nick said quietly.

“I let you get close“, Morrie whispered back.

“For that I am deeply grateful“.

They kissed again, explored each other as if they met for the first time. They liked what they found.

“Just be careful, okay?“, Morrie asked after a while.

“Yeah“, Nick sighed, searching for his lips again.

“You can decide who your friends are.“

Nick impatiently bit his jawline. He was done thinking for now. Pulling his lover into a tight embrace, he hoped that he would grant him some tickles.

A dazzling night later Nick awoke, wrapped into a pleasant cloud of sleepiness. He lay on Morrie, who was reading a book.

“Well, my long sleeper, how do you do?“, Morrie quietly said and kissed his forehead.

“Are you awake for long?“, Nick asked, eyeing the book.

Morrie turned back. “I guess, a few pages…“

“Why didn’t you wake me up?“

“Because you need your beauty sleep, my darling. And also I found it very cozy in here.“

Nick chuckled a bit. “I wonder if our manager ran away. I didn’t hear anything from him yet.“

“I’m sure he’ll come back soon enough with a last-minute appointment.“

Nick yawned and stretched extensively. Then he stayed in bed anyway.

“Wake me up when he’s back“, he muttered from under the blanket.

“Oh, I will.“ Morrie put down the book to look at him. “And I’ll protect you in case that reporter dares to bother you again.“

A sudden realization flashed through Nick’s body.

“Oh…right…he’s still waiting for me“, he muttered, trying to sound annoyed.

“Perhaps not anymore. It’s late after all.“

Nick felt remorse. “How late?“

“Almost 10 o’ clock“, Morrie said, looking at his watch.

Nick sat up.

“Are you getting up for him now?“, Morrie promptly asked.

“What if he’s still here?“, Nick replied. “The earlier I talk to him the earlier he’s gone.“

His lover had to agree to that. Nick left the room, adjusted his looks in the bathroom and went downstairs, following the sound of chattering. He found his band and Arthur sitting in front of the telly again, talking and looking alright.

“Good morning, lads“, Nick made himself noticeable. “Are you okay?“

“Nicky“, he was greeted happily. “You’re up so soon, what’s wrong? Is Kitty coming back?“

Another shiver ran down Nick’s spine. “Not that I remember…“

“You’re long awaited“.

Nick looked around, all alarmed until he noticed that they were pointing at Arthur.

“Oh, I guess I’m at your mercy now.“

“It won’t take long, if you haven’t got the time“, Arthur said.

“I have time“, Nick assured him. “Virgil isn’t here, right?“, he asked the band.

“No, I guess he has better things to do“.

“So there’s plenty of time“.

Nick led Arthur upstairs into the third floor, because he couldn’t invite him into his bedroom when Morrie was still there. He hoped that Arthur didn’t mind. They made themselves as comfortable as possible. At least they had a bar in that floor.

“Are you thirsty?“, Nick asked, pointing at it.

“Er, no, thank you.“

“Are you sure?“

“I don’t drink alcohol before noon…Not that I’m judging it or something…“ He stuttered, wishing he could kick his own shin.

“Okay“. Nick looked rather amused. Then he turned more serious. “Are you alright? I can help you if you’re hurt.“

He took his hands.

“Yeah…I’m okay…“ Arthur returned Nick’s squeeze.

“Listen, Nick, I only wanted to thank you. For your present. I was so happy to get a message from you after that lonely night…“

“Oh, Artie…“ Nick lifted his fingers up to his lips. “I don’t like to leave you alone. But I have to go back to my band now and then, or this won’t work.“

“I know. I see that you’re busy. This is a full house.“

“Yeah…but beautiful, isn’t it?“

“Yeah…it’s like a different world that I’m invading.“

“Arthur…you’re not invading, you’re welcome. There’s always someone to let you in.“

“Right, someone else who’s busy…“

“So what? You’re a reporter, you have to do your job. People have a right to read about me“, Nick joked to cheer him up. “Did they hurt you. Did they force you to play?“

Arthur shook his head. “No, they’re quite nice. I think they wanted to play anyway and I just came by. I’m surprised they didn’t kick me out. Anyway. When we could move again they downright swarmed around me to see if I was okay. Then they let me stay overnight even though it wasn’t curfew yet. And this morning they told me you normally sleep late and spent even more time with me. They answered my questions so I can give my boss something to read.“

Arthur couldn’t hide how much he wondered at that.

“See? They like you“, Nick said softly. “After all, what’s not to like about you?“

Arthur was flattered.

“I think Morrie Memento doesn’t like me.“

Nick gulped. “ Well…he…I think he feels that you are…different“, he beat around the bush. “I mean that you’re not taking Joy, maybe…“

Arthur tensed. “Shit….I should really go.“

“Oh Arthur, I’m so sorry…“

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I can’t stroll around like that and expect no one to notice…“, he said more bitterly than he had planned.

“I’ll come back soon“, Nick whispered. “You don’t have to put yourself in danger to see me.“

“I was so naive coming here…“

“Don’t beat yourself up, my dear. Nothing happened so far.“

Arthur nodded, looking like he was eager to leave.

“Hey, Arthur“, Nick held him back. “We still have some time. Morrie won’t watch us now and when I escort you to the door you’ll be fine. If you want your interview, you can get it.“

“You don’t have to…“ Arthur shyly pulled out his notepad.

“Nonsense“, Nick said cheerfully, putting his legs on the table. “I could talk about myself all day. What do you want to know?“

#we happy few #whf #wehappyfew #whfnick #whf nick #whfarthur #whfarthurhastings #nick lightbearer #nicklightbearer

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formeandmyfics · 4 years ago

Text

MELANCHOLY BABY

JUGENEA FAN FICTION

I’m back wth a new Judy & Gene fic. It’s got some major feels. Let me know what you think.

1943

Ciro's, the popular Sunset Boulevard watering hole, was very busy for a Thursday evening as celebrities & Hollywood elite were dressed in their best cocktail attire drinking, laughing and dancing to Tommy Dorsey’s band.

Gene stood up on the stairs chatting with Van and Evie Johnson nursing his Brandy sniffer, “…I’m telling you though, that Lucille is great. She’s really going to go places. I’m glad RKO let LB borrow her for this DuBarry picture we’re doing.”

As Van responded with his own anecdote about Miss Ball, Gene mindlessly looked down at the crowd. His smile faltered when he saw Judy sitting at a table. She was the only one sitting as men surrounded her all in their own conversation. She was looking down and obviously not having a good time.

Judy ran her perfectly manicured nail around the rim of her wine glass trying to stay calm but she felt anxiety rising. She glanced up but then did a double take as she saw Gene walking towards her through the crowd. Neither smiled as he approached. Without a word, he took her hand and kissed it in a comforting gesture.

He went to let go but she squeezed his hand in desperation, “Will you please drive me home?”

Without any questions, Gene did just that. Even in the car ride up to her and Dave’s house, neither spoke a word. It wasn’t awkward at all, as they were used to comfortable silence, but the fact that she looked so sad worried him. Rocks crushed underneath his tires as they slowly pulled into her driveway. The bright headlights of his car illuminated the pitch-black house as he parked, and for a few seconds, they continued the silence until he spoke up.

“Dave not here, I take it?”

“Another war bond tour,” she murmured uninterested and got out.

He watched a little stunned as she walked up to her front door without even saying ‘thank you’ or giving him a kiss on the cheek. This was not like her at all. He wondered if she was expecting him to follow her. But even then, she always invited him in. Gene went with his gut instinct and turned off the ignition.

Judy turned on the lamp in the living room, and tossed her handbag onto the lazy boy chair, before plopping down onto the couch. She leaned her forehead onto her hand as Gene walked up beside her.

Judy whimpered, “I’m just so tired, Gene,” she then started crying exhausted, “I’m so friggin’, tired.”

Gene sat down next to her and immediately took her into his arms. He knew right away that it was more than just physical exhaustion she was talking about.

“What’s going on, baby?”

Judy sighed lifting her head, tears falling down her cheeks, “It’s just everything.” Gene reached inside his breast pocket for his handkerchief and dabbed her tears. “I know we haven’t really talked, but did you hear about Dave and I?”

“That you’ve separated?” She nodded and he continued, “Unfortunately, honey, you can’t stand outside and smoke a cigarette at Metro without someone gossiping.”

“I know when you and I ended our affair, I was going to work on my marriage, but obviously that didn’t pan out.”

“Is that why you’re so upset?”

“Golly, no. I’m relieved. You know how different Dave and I are. And like I told you before, ever since he agreed with my mother to get rid of my pregnancy, it was never the same between us."

Gene nodded knowing how hard that was for her and how disgusted he had been by it when she had first told him.

"I was pressured by the studio and my family to work on our marriage. I never really wanted to."

“You didn’t tell me that. I thought you genuinely wanted to try to work things out.”

“Well, I did at first, to get everyone off my back.”

“So, what’s going on then, if you’re so relieved.”

“Because ever since we separated, he fired all the staff. The house is empty, every single night. No one is here. It’s lonely. At least when he was away before, I had you or a staff member to keep me company.”

“You still have me, Judes.”

“You know what I mean,” she said as if he were being blasé. “Things are the way they used to be. We used to be together all the time. I didn’t have time to be lonely…alone…with my thoughts.”

Gene took his arms from around her and clasped his hands together between his legs looking down and she went on, “At the studio, Mr. Mayer criticized me for initiating the divorce. He said that my image for the studio will be ruined by it. Can you believe that? They said the same thing to me when I wanted to be with Artie Shaw. I have an image to contain. When I told them I was getting married, it would ruin my image. They forced me to get rid of my baby because it would ruin my image," she ended with an angry, frustrated yell, "I'M SICK OF BEING SOMEONE'S IMAGE. I'M NEVER FUCKING GOOD ENOUGH!"

“You are.”

“No, I’m not,” she spat, “I may be to you because you see me as a person, as a real friend. To everyone else, even my own mother, I’m one of the MGM Queens. Queens have to perfect. Aside from that, because it was my decision to separate, Dave said he’s not going to make it easy. He said get ready for war when he returns."

"He threatened you like that?" Gene got angry, "Fucking bastard."

"I’m not scared of him, believe me, I have allies on my side like Uncle Roger, but I’m sick of everyone talking about me every god damn day and this will fuel that fire even more.”

“Fuck em’,” Gene said and rubbed her back.

“And at work, this Lili Mars picture is also exhausting right now. They’ve changed this extravagant dance routine a dozen times. At least I have Pasternak there to help me or I don’t know what I’d do. Everyone and everything is on my ass right now. I just want it all to be over with – this picture, my divorce, the gossip, Mr. Mayer, my mother…everything.”

She started crying again, this time harder, and Gene laid her down on the couch with no resistance.

“Gene,” she pleaded.

“Lay down here, sweet heart. That’s a good girl,” he covered her with the afghan on the back of the couch and sat down next to her, gently running his hand over her head as she wept.

The Los Angeles morning sunshine was bright as Gene stood by the living room window drinking a cup of coffee still in his previous night’s attire, now disheveled.

“Gene,” he heard Judy’s soft voice ask as she stirred awake still on the couch also in her cocktail dress.

“Yes, honey,” he said turning to walk back to her.

“What time is it?”

“After 8.”

“Oh my God,” she said frantically sitting up.

“Don’t worry about it. We don’t have to be to the studio until 11:30.”

“What do you mean?”

“I called off this morning and I talked to Roger. He took care of it on your end.”

“Really,” she asked still full of emotion.

“Really.”

She thought about it a moment but then stood up, “But...”

“Judy, it’s ok. You deserve a morning off. Don’t worry about it. Roger is taking care of it.” When he saw her trepidation, he took her hand in his, “Trust us.”

She looked at him like her life depended on it, “You’re the only two I do trust.”

He smiled and swept some hair out of her face that was now in disarray from her clip, “Good."

“You stayed here all night?”

“Right in that chair. We both slept hard."

“I really needed that.”

“I’m right there with ya, doll.”

“What will Betsy think?”

“That I drank too much, slept it off at Johnson’s and went to work.” Judy smiled sheepishly as she tucked some hair behind her ear and he continued smiling back, “I’ve actually done that before. She won’t ask questions. Now, why don’t you get showered and dressed. We can take advantage of this beautiful morning and get some breakfast before heading to the studio?”

Judy smiled and reached up kissing his cheek, “Thank you.”

“I’m always going to take care of you, I want you to know that.”

She looked up at him with those big, alluring eyes, “I do.”

Her voice, and that expression, melted his heart and he felt himself start to get choked up, “I'm going to, ah, get another cup of coffee. Do you mind if I use the guest shower and get cleaned up as well?”

It obviously wasn’t the first time he had been in her house.

“What’s mine is yours,” she casually responded walking past him and started up the stairs, but she stopped as he started to pass underneath, “You can always join me, too,” He stopped and looked up at her with no expression. She continued in a nonchalant, playful voice, “You know, to save hot water.”

Hearing the tease in her voice made Gene relax and he chuckled and continued on his way.

Bing Crosby’s ‘Melancholy Baby’ played over the radio as Gene’s car drove into Culver City. The passenger window was fully down as Judy rest her chin on her criss-crossed arms as she leaned on the door. The breeze blew through her washed, strawberry blonde hair as she watched the palm trees go by one by one. She felt completely different than last night. After sleeping an entire night and having the morning off, she felt more fully rested than she had in a long time.

Gene looked over at her and his lips curved into a little smile when he heard her humming the song, her head practically out the window.

“You should record this someday.”

“Maybe…someday,” she replied before sitting back straight up in the seat.

“Well, see to it that you do. It’s a great tune and with your voice, it would be lovely.”

“And Bing’s voice, not lovely, ay,” she asked with a giggle. He knew she knew Bing well so any wrong answer could get him in trouble.

“Different kind of lovely. Your take on a song always has a zing.”

“I’m a zing,” she flirtatiously quipped, clearly amused.

Gene glanced at her and her body with an appreciative look and cleared his throat, “Oh you’re a zing, alright. I don’t think I have to tell you that. But as nice a guy Crosby is, for me, it’s ‘Zing, went the strings of my heart’ not ‘Bing, went the strings of my heart’ alright?”

Judy laughed that delicious laugh of hers and Gene chuckled, smiling wide. She scooted next to him and he put his hand around her shoulder.

“Thank you for last night: for letting my vent and for staying with me. I think I slept so good because you were there. And for arranging this morning.”

“You’re welcome. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yep.”

“Sure?”

“I just have on set promotional photography today. When I called Roger before we left the house, he said that Joe actually called in sick so they were going to cancel the musical number for today.”

“Oh, good,” Gene replied happily for her sake, “It all worked out. It must be publicity day.”

“Why’s that?”

“We have photography today as well. Though, after that breakfast, I don’t know how I’m gonna squeeze into those French, 17th Century pants,” Judy giggled and he laughed, “They’re tighter than a fucking sausage casing, which is probably what my dick looks like when I got em on.”

Judy laughed hysterically, “You should be proud to show off.”

“Not on a giant movie projector!” he laughed back making her laugh even more.

Soon, their called pulled up to the west Metro gate, and Judy scooted away from Gene as they rolled up to the guard. Gene smiled and nodded as a hello towards the familiar face. Judy leaned forward and waved. Going in, Gene pulled into a parking lot behind a line of star trailers, including hers and his, only three doors down from each other as the Presenting Lily Mars & DuBarry was a Lady soundstages were next to one another.

“Ready to get all glammed up,” he asked opening the door for her.

“Ready to get wrapped like a sausage,” she teased back and got out.

Together they walked towards the trailers.

“I’d rather put on that pink Princess dress you’ve been wearing.”

“It’s not as much different than those pants, I’m sure. They practically have to sew me into that dress. It’s flowly on the bottom, but nothings moving on the top. At least you get a sword.”

“Well, there is that,” he said as they approached her trailer.

“Promise me, whoever finishes first, or gets a break, we visit the other. I don’t want our day to end yet.”

“You got yourself a deal. It’ll make something to look forward to, at least.”

She smiled and they mutually kissed goodbye before heading to their separate trailers.

Later that day, Gene was changed into street clothes, sitting on the couch in his trailer looking over a script, when his door slightly opened. Judy, also now changed out of her costume, poked her head in and giggled like a very amused school girl. Gene snickered and tossed his script down on the coffee table in front of him, “Well, that was fun.” Both on breaks from their publicity work on their respective films, the two had kept their promise met up outside the sound stages. One of the studio photographers walking by took the opportunity to start photographing the For Me and My Gal alum along with some others. There was a lot of chit chat, hugs and laughs. When a crowd started to form, the photographer asked Judy and Gene to go inside the empty sound stage next door to get more stills. He had them pose for a few staged photos but it was Gene’s idea to grab her and start dancing. Judy told him to twirl her like a Princess. There was no denying the playful spark between them.

Judy plopped down next to Gene positively giddy.

“It was fun,” she agreed, “And even though I had the morning off, I actually had a good day at work today. It’s been refreshing”

“Maybe it was the sleep you got. A good night’s sleep does wonder for your mental health.”

“Maybe it was because I was with you,” she softly corrected.

There was a bit of innocent seduction in her voice as she leaned her head back against his arm that was on the back of the couch. Gene looked down at her lovely face with a serious expression, only matching the reflection in her eyes.

“Why didn’t you come join me in the shower this morning,” she asked, very earnestly, and very quietly as if someone was in the same room with them.

“I thought you were just being playful,” he said looking down at her full lips.

“I was…but I miss you. Don’t you miss me?”

“I’ve never stopped missing you, honey, but that’s not the issue. It’s…”

Judy interrupted him, “Can we make another picture together?”

“Unfortunately, that’s not up to me, you know that.”

“But, you’re getting on so well with Uncle Arthur and Mr. Mayer right now. Maybe you can suggest it.”

“I’d love to work with you again,” he said sincerely.

Gene was well aware she wanted to work with him again so they could be close again. He, on the other hand, at this very moment, was already feeling closer as the warmth of her body pulled him in like a magnet. They both stared at each others mouths until their lips were inching closer. When his lips just barely scanned over hers, he pulled back to stop it, but Judy placed her hand on the back of his head and brought his mouth down to hers.

Gene didn’t know how many minutes they laid there making out, but it felt heavenly and oh so familiar. Soon, the heat picked up, and he felt her arms pulling him down onto her body as her back slid down onto the cushions. His breathing started to get heavy as he nestled between her legs and he instinctively moved his hand to cup her breast as their tongues fenced. When her whimper vibrated in his mouth, he felt his cock twitch, and he gave in. Gene pushed his body against hers and groaned as he started kissing her neck. Judy whimpered again before her hands went down to undo his buckle.

Feeling her hands push against his arousal brought Gene back into reality, and he grabbed them, “No.”

Breathing heavy, and confused, she stared at him a little taken back, “What?”

Gene looked at her as if to continue or not, but he made the decision quick and shook his head no, “No,” before he got up off of her.

“What do you mean,” she practically cried as she sat up.

“I mean, no,” he said sternly as he did his buckle back up.

“You never said that to me before.”

“Well I’m saying it now,” his tone was angry and he turned his back to her.

Judy got up, and remaining calm, turning him around to face her, “Why?”

“I just…I can’t…I won’t,” he looked back into her eyes and saw anger start to spew on her face.

“Are you not attracted to me anymore,” she asked placing her hands on her hips. Gene looked at her with such a ridiculous face that she was being the blase’ one now. “Then why won’t you?”

“I just don’t think us doing this again is a good idea, okay,” he said getting frustrated.

Judy’s eyes turned dark and wicked as she raised an eyebrow. It was so intense, he turned his back to her again. Not two seconds later, his trailer door slammed so hard one of his pictures fell off the wall.

The weekend had gone by fast as Gene stood on the studio lot Monday morning. He was happy that all he had to do was some voice over with Lucille from last weeks shoot. In casual clothes, he searched his pockets and realized he forgot his cigarette in his car.

“Shit,” he mumbled but caught Mickey Rooney walking by, “Oh, hey Mick, you have a cigarette?”

Mickey, all chipper, walked on over, “Ya, here you go, buddy.”

“Thanks, Bud,” Gene said taking one and Mickey lit it for him, “How you doin?”

“Good. Hows that new film doing? Red told me a little about it.”

“It’s going swell. It’s fun. Are you working on anything at the moment?”

“Doing pre-production for Girl, Crazy. We start shooting when Judy’s done filming her current picture which should be in a few weeks.”

“Speaking of Judy, how’s she doing,” Gene asked pretending like he didn’t know. He hadn’t seen her since last week, in his trailer, but knew she went out with Mickey and the gang every weekend. He knew because he used to as well when the two of the were doing My Gal.

“She’s been overworked, you know. If she’s not filming that Lili Mars then she’s recording or rehearsing with me for our next picture. That’s usually all of us though, right? I’m surprised they don’t have me doing two things at the moment. But at least she really loves the picture she’s filming right now, she just needs a break she said. I saw her on Saturday night at Ciro’s. She’s also been stressed with everyone nagging her and such but she had fun at the club.”

“Everyone needs to just shut their damn mouths about her personal life.”

“I agree, but in this town, buddy, that ain’t gonna happen. Oh, speaking of, here’s Dorothy now.”

Mickey nodded behind him and Gene turned around. He watched as Judy walked by across the way, with her assistant, and was all done up in hair and makeup and in her ‘When I Look at You’ dress. When she looked over and caught eyes with him, he exhaled his smoke slowly. She gave them both a funny look, realizing they were staring, but kept on walking.

“Between you and me, since we’re both her best friend, she had a little too much fun at the club.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know how she is. When she wants something, she goes for it.”

“Like someone else she knows,” Gene teased at him.

“Precisely. But I’m a bad influence. Personally, I think she needs to maybe be single for a while now that she’s separated from the asshole.”

“I agree,” Gene said watched as Judy disappeared into the sound stage, “Who she after to now,” he asked pretending like he wasn’t at all interested.

“You ready for this one…Johnny Mercer,” Gene looked at Mickey dumbfounded and Mickey nodded, “I know. She broke off their affair cause he was a mean drunk and she didn’t love him. Now, she’s all over the guy and even left the club with him. Figure that one out.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Gene said feeling anger and jealousy rise in the pit of his stomach.

Mickey shrugged, “I mean, he’s a nice fella when sober and one of the best lyricists out there, but considering their past history, you’d think she could do better. I get sometimes you just need to get laid, but I never go back for sloppy seconds.”

Gene sighed getting a little irritated thinking about it.

“I’m sorry, Gene, I don’t mean to be like the people gossiping around her, I was just confiding in someone who I know, knows her like I do.”

“No, no, I understand. I just wish she’d realize sometimes she’s better than all that. The girl just doesn’t know how to be alone.”

“Doesn’t want to be alone,” Mickey corrected.

“Yeah. Listen, I’ll catch you later. Thanks for the smoke.”

“You got it. See ya later.”

The Presenting Lily Mars sound stage was busy as cast, crew and stagehands buzzed around the set which was made up into a large, elegant restaurant. Gene was looking around for when Van Heflin, Judy’s co-star and an old New York peer of Gene’s, walked up.

“Hey, hey, Gene. How are you doing, pal?”

“Hey Van,” Gene said just as cheerfully and the two shook hands.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, wanted to catch Judy and talk to her before she got busy filming.”

“You have time. She’s in her dressing room over there I think.”

“Thanks. We’ll catch up soon, ya?”

“You got it.”

Gene walked over to the dressing rooms and knocked on the door that had the familiar Judy Garland in cursive monogram on it.

“Come in,” he heard her muffled voice say.

He opened the door, turning around to make sure no one was following him, before shutting the door behind him.

“Well, you and Mickey looked awfully cozy out there,” she simply said, not at all fazed by his sudden presence, as she traced her lips with a light pink color in the vanity mirror.

“Did you sleep with him,” he asked leaning back against the door with his hands in his pockets.

Judy giggled trying not to mess up her line as she continued to trace, “Uh, no, he’s got Ava for that, believe me.”

“Johnny Mercer.”

Judy snapped the top back on the lipstick pen before looking back up at him through the reflection. For a moment he swore he saw a tinge of guilt. She turned around in her chair upset, “I thought locker room talk was supposed to stay in the locker room. That’s what you two were were doing out there, huh?” Judy got up and head for the door, “Gossiping about me. You’re both like all the rest of them. Thank you very much.”

Gene continued to block her way, “We are not like the rest, and you know it.”

“Well you both sure as hell weren’t acting like it out there talking about me and staring like I was some amusement attraction as I walked by.”

She reached around for the knob but he continued to block her, “We are just concerned as your friend, that’s all.”

“And why is my love life any of your concern?”

“Love life?”

Judy sighed and gave up fighting for the door, “You know what I mean.”

“How about some clarification.”

“What did Mickey tell you anyways?”

“Enough. But why him, Judy? You broke it off with him ‘cause he got mean and you didn’t love him.”

“I do love him as a friend. I wanted to have fun and we had fun.”

“Why him,” Gene repeated.

“Because he wanted me back,” she hissed as their chests were now touching.

Gene ignored her comment that was a slap to his face and asked again, “Did you sleep with him?”

“Did you sleep with him? Why him? Jesus, Gene, you’re sounding like a broken record,” she said walking away from him.

“I’m asking as a friend.”

“And that’s all I’ll ever be now, isn’t it?”

“You’re not answering my questions.”

“You made yourself perfectly clear of how you feel about us so why do you deserve to ask me any questions?”

“Because I care.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” she softly mumbled her back to him.

“What did you say,” he said taking a step from the door as if he hadn’t heard her right.

“Nothing,” she said ringing her hands nervous.

He started to see red, “If you said what I think you did, then I am going to leave here and never come back.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,” she said genuinely, as she turned back around, “It just came out. I know you care and you do show it. You show it all the time, ever since we first met. You showed it to me last Thursday when you took care of me. I know,” she saw his face calm and she grabbed his hands in hers, “I know.”

“Please don’t ever say that again, Judy. That really hurts.”

“Well you denying me, really hurts,” she said his hands dropping from hers.

“Is that why you jumped all over Mercer, because I denied you?”

“I didn’t jump all over him. And no, we didn’t sleep together,” off Gene’s look, “We did other stuff, and something I’m not proud of, but I didn’t let him go that far.”

“Why not,” he asked curious.

“Because he’s not you,” Gene looked down and her voice faltered, “I want you. Why don’t you want me anymore?”

“Judy, I still want you more than you ever know. I want you so bad, I can’t even see straight. You’re one of the best things that ever happened to me, not just physically, but emotionally, professionally, all of it. I’ve told you that before.”

“I know. Then why won’t you be with me again?”

Gene looked up at her and exhaled through his nostrils before responding. His voice was raised and it actually startled her, “Do you know how hard it was for me to get over you?! I still haven’t gotten over you! When we mutually decided to end our affair, I knew it’d be hard, but I didn’t expect you to consume me. I tried to work on my marriage, be a new Daddy, and go on with my life. And seeing you try to work out your marriage made it easier for me to accept our decision to stop. But now you tell me you never really wanted to work on your marriage and you’re coming back to me like nothing ever stopped between us…like you didn’t have sleepless nights thinking about me like I did thinking about you. And you’re out doing God knows what with someone else like you weren’t just trying to fuck me the day before.”

“Because…” she wept.

He cut her off pointing to his chest, “No, it’s my turn to talk now.” She caught her breath and blinked a few times before he continued, “I denied you because it hurts too much. It isn’t just sex between us, we both know that, even as much as we were to pretend. I’m too invested in you. If we were to make love again, we’re going to get reeled back in. And I don’t know if it was hard for you when we split, but it was a knife to my fucking heart, even though I agreed to it. When we have to split again, I don’t think I can do it again. That’s why I said I won’t.”

Judy had tears in her eyes as she took his hand and walked him over to the small couch, “Darling, come here.” They sat down and she took his face in her hands, “I never got over you. I only agreed to end us because you wanted to and because they were pressuring me to work on my marriage. I told you that. It’s still hard for me not being with you, with my best friend, my lover, my equal. I don’t just want sex with you. I want you like before. When you denied me, it was like you were denying everything between us. Do you know how much that hurt me? So, I went out with an old lover to try to forget about you for a little while. It didn’t work. That’s why I didn’t go all the way. I didn’t want to. And why are you saying ‘when we have to split again.’ Why can’t it be ‘If’? Why can’t we just go day by day and just enjoy each other again? I’m single and I know you’re still unhappy with Betsy…”

“I am,” he interjected.

“So be happy with me,” she begged as a tear escaped her eye.

He chuckled and wiped that tear away, “Judy, you make me happy…you piss me off…but you make me happy.”

Judy laughed and embraced him in a hug. He held her tight as the laughter faded and buried his face in her neck smelling her perfume, “You smell good.”

“I taste good, too,” she whispered playfully.

He leaned back with a grin and she smiled, her nose crinkling, “I don’t remember,” he joked.

“Oh, you don’t remember?”

He leaned forward to kiss her but she stopped him, “Uh-uh. I just did my lips and I have to go out there soon.”

Without hesitation, Gene tilted her chin up and laid some slow and very delicious kisses along her jaw and down her neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back when there was a knock on the door.

“Your needed on set in two minutes, Miss Garland.”

“Thank you,” she called out to the assistant director, “Do you have to leave?”

“Not yet.”

“Come watch me sing,” she asked as she stood up smoothing her costume dress.

“Always. What are you filming?”

“A scene called ‘When I Look at You’. Lily is taken out by John, her director. She’s only an extra in his play but of course they get on better than he does with the main star. She’s brought on stage to sing a song, and she sings the main song in the play as it’s the only one she knows by heart. And John is completely entranced by her. He likes Lily.”

“I like Lily, too,” Gene teased trying to peek under her long skirt as she fluffed it.

She giggled and swatted his hand away, “It’s a very pretty song. You’ll enjoy it.”

“With you singing it, I’ll enjoy it anyway,” he said opening the door leading her out.

And then, he watched her sing the love song and knew she was singing to him.

NMP

#jugenea #judy garland #gene kelly #fan fiction #presenting lily mars #jg fans

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thirstforfleck · 5 years ago

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you belong to me~Arthur Fleck x Reader

summary: it’s a rainy day in gotham. you and arthur have a romantic dinner at home and slow dance to romantic tunes.

warnings: none? just lots of fluff

word count: 1,774

notes:Hello, all. This is my very first piece of writing I’m posting to this site. I’m not the BEST writer there ever was (some of you are absolutely amazing and my writing does not compare to yours) so please don’t be too hard on me. I was heavily influenced by You Belong to Me by Jo Stafford for this piece of writing. I think my writing went downhill at the halfway point because I’m three glasses of wine in and have just been writing from my feels. Been feelin’ romantic all day. (also I made this as gender neutral as possible) hope you enjoy :)

Gotham City was damp, chilly, and more uninviting than usual that night. The severe thunderstorm warning was not to be taken lightly. Bright flashes of lightening lit up the sky, followed by Earth-shattering rumbles of thunder. You watched out the window as the rain fell at a 45 degree angle. Debris and leaves in the filthy streets below danced in a funnel shape. You loved thunderstorms. The sound of the rain pelting the roof was soothing and the smell of petrichor delighted your senses.

The sky’s grumbles and the low vocals of Al Bowlly lilted through the apartment. Arthur hummed as he moved about in the kitchen. He was preparing fettuccine alfredo for dinner. Arthur was an amazing cook, preparing some of your favorite comfort foods on a weekly basis: blueberry pancakes on Sunday mornings, grilled cheese and tomato soup on Friday afternoons (provided he wasn’t working), and spaghetti with marinara on Wednesday evenings. You usually got off work earlier than Arthur, so most of the time you would fix a hot meal for when he got home from a long day at Ha-Ha’s.

“Darlin’, dinner is ready,” Arthur called to you.

You turned from the window and walked to the kitchen. “I’ll help you set the table.”

You set the table in the corner of the living room while Arthur poured the pasta into a bowl. In the meantime, you aggressively pulled the cork out of your bottle of Chardonnay. You poured yourself a healthy amount. Arthur took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the faucet. Alcohol messed with his many medications so he didn’t drink.

“Artie, this smells absolutely amazing,” you enthused, taking a seat.

“Anything for my love,” Arthur smiled from across the table.

You and Arthur ate in comfortable silence, exchanging sweet glances. The creamy sauce melted in your mouth. You hummed as you savored the meal bite by bite. Arthur was a self-taught cook, serving his mother for many years. There were stacks of recipe books throughout the apartment, from which Arthur took inspiration.

After cleaning your plate, you helped yourself to another serving. Arthur only enjoyed a small portion. He never had a large appetite. He lit a cigarette for dessert. “This is incredible,” you spoke. “Seriously.” You took every chance you could get to boost Arthur’s self-esteem. You have helped him so much in the past year you’ve been together. He was more confident in his comedy, his cooking, and even just in his daily interactions with the public.

Arthur was glowing. “Thank you, darling,” he smiled. He started to clear the table, when you reached your arm out to stop him.

“I’ll do it,” you insisted. “You cooked, I’ll clean.”

Arthur paused. “Are you sure?” Arthur hated asking people for help. In the past, he was always denied help from those he asked. He was always used to completing tasks himself. The only time he truly asked for help was from his therapist, and even when it came to her, Arthur didn’t think she truly cared to help. Arthur was still not used to you assisting him, whether it was with housekeeping or ideas for jokes, or even something as simple as trimming his hair.

You nodded. “Just let me finish eating and I’ll clean.”

Arthur gave you a toothy grin. He leaned across the table and planted a kiss on your lips. The blend of butter, salt, and cheese on your lips tasted heavenly to Arthur. You giggled into the kiss. “I love you,” he sang.

“I love you, too,” you said.

You devoured your second helping and started clearing the table. Arthur sat on the couch, relishing another cigarette. After storing the leftovers and washing the dishes, you poured yourself a second glass of wine. The thunder and lightening seemed to have left the atmosphere but the rain was still coming down strong.

The dim light of the apartment combined with the gloomy clouds just barely seen through the windows made for a romantic setting in the apartment. You walked towards Arthur, making intense eye contact with him. His legs were spread, feet flat on the floor. He put his cigarette out in the ashtray next to him. You placed your wine glass on the coffee table. Gently, you climbed onto his lap and straddled him. Your hands brushed the hair out of his eyes and gingerly held his face. His brilliant green eyes twinkled. For a man as young as he was, he had deep forehead wrinkles and crow’s feet carved into his face. You didn’t mind: in fact, it made him more handsome if that was even possible. You adored the scar above his lip, from an accident he was involved in as a child (he didn’t go into great detail). You pressed a kiss to his upper lip, then to the corners of his mouth. “You are so good to me, Arthur Fleck,” you sighed. Your hands found their way to the nape of his neck, entwining your fingers in his thick, dark curls.

Arthur’s breathing eased. Playing with his hair was his biggest weakness. He adored your tender strokes throughout his mess of hair and your fingernails giving him light scalp massages. “I could say the same thing about you, Y/N,” he whispered.

Your lips touched his. Kissing you was the closest place to Heaven on Earth for Arthur. The way you treated him and cared for him made him feel like the only man in the world. He never thought he would find his one and only, but he did. It was you.

You pulled away with a soft smile. You just noticed the Al Bowlly record stopped playing, the fuzz at the end of the record playing on loop. “Oh, geez!” You jumped off Arthur and on to your feet. Shuffling over to the record player, you began to examine the records. There were ancient 78’s from his mother, a few 45’s of his absolute favorite songs, and mostly the standard 33 1/3’s. You found your favorite album: the latest compilation album of Jo Stafford’s greatest hits. Arthur gifted it to you last Christmas and you listened to it on repeat for weeks. You’re surprised you didn’t wear out the needle on the turntable.

The first song of the album was ‘You Belong To Me,' arguably Jo Stafford’s biggest hit. Her deep, elegant voice sent chills down your spine. This song in particular made you shed tears many times in the past. It reminded you of Arthur. You placed the record on the turntable and set the needle on the first groove. The marimba and Jo’s vocals played softly through the speakers. You turned the volume up almost as loud as it could go.

“Come on, Artie. Dance with me,” you approached him with your arms extended. Arthur couldn’t resist dancing with you. Every night after Live! with Murray Franklin, he would dance with you to the closing song, ‘That’s Life’. He was truly a romantic at heart, and his actions proved it.

Arthur grabbed ahold of your hands and you tugged him off the couch. “How can I resist you, Y/N?” he smiled at you. Your right hand and his left hand clasped together. Your left hand snaked its way up his back and clasped onto his shoulder. His right hand found your waist and caressed it.

See the pyramids along the Nile

Watch the sunrise on a tropic isle

Just remember, darling, all the while

You belong to me

Jo Stafford’s passionate ballad carried through the apartment as you and Arthur swayed to the tune.

See the marketplace in old Algiers

Send me photographs and souvenirs

Just remember when a dream appears

You belong to me

You held your gaze with Arthur, never breaking the connection. He was stunning, caring, intelligent, gentle, talented, all the positive words in the dictionary. And he was yours. Your soulmate. Your person. The love of your life. Yours.

I’ll be so alone without you

Maybe you’ll be lonesome too and blue

You couldn’t help but tear up at that line. It was true. Before Arthur, you were lonely. Living a life that consisted only of work and sleep. You didn’t think such a love like his existed.

Fly the ocean in a silver plane

See the jungle when it’s wet with rain

Just remember ’til you’re home again

You belong to me

Arthur noticed the tears that created a film over your eyes. “My love, what’s wrong?” he spoke softly. His hands embraced your cheeks. His thumbs stroked over the tears that sparingly dripped from your eyes.

You shook your head, your eyes now making contact with his socks. “Nothing, I…” your voice trailed. Your eyes met his once again and you smiled tearfully. You could hear the thunder come rolling back in and echo throughout Gotham City. Jo Stafford’s beautiful voice was building with vigor, overpowering Mother Nature.

I’ll be so alone and without you

Maybe you’ll be lonesome too and blue

“Nothing is wrong, Arthur,” you spoke softly. “I just… I don’t deserve you and I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do with myself if you left me.”

Arthur’s right hand trailed down your shoulder as his left hand held your chin. He felt the exact same way. Before you, he was the shell of a man. In his mind, he had nothing left to live for. Until, he met you. You sincerely loved him for who he was. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve you, but he was grateful. He counted his blessings every day because of you. “Hey, silly. I’m not going anywhere. I am never, ever leaving you. You are the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. Letting you go would… well, it would be the biggest mistake of my life.” You chuckled shyly, more tears falling. Arthur kissed away your salty tears. “I love you, Y/N.”

Fly the ocean in a silver plane

See the jungle when it’s wet with rain

But remember, darling, ’til you’re home again

You belong to me

“I love you too, Arthur,” you smiled. You and Arthur locked lips. Arthur’s arms encircled you and squeezed, holding you as close as humanly possible. Your arms found their way around his neck. The warm, romantic embrace gave you both a fuzzy feeling inside, something you both couldn’t describe. Nevertheless, you both knew it was something you never wanted to let go of. You had found each other: you were soulmates. It was as simple as that.

tagging my girl @freewriterofdarkness bc she wanted to read it :) also, if you would like to be tagged in future works, please let me know :)

#joker #arthur fleck #joker imagine #arthur fleck imagine #arthur fleck x reader #joker x reader #Joaquin phoenix #fanfic

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jokerownsmysoul · 5 years ago

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A rainy night in the universe we belong to

Summary: you’ve always loved rainy days, especially this night where you’re enchanted by the thunderstorm you’re both looking out the window, yet it’s not enough for you not to end up in each other’s arms and enjoy your love.

Pairings: Arthur x Reader, Content: soft

Warnings: uuhm nothing?? Too fluffy

Word count: 2911

A/N: I wrote it while it was raining omggg also this is very self-indulgent lol I felt a bit lonely and sad and needed some cuddles, I started writing and this is the result.

A/N: english is not my first language so I apologize for any typos, I’m still learning.

“Artie, come here! You should see this!” Your apartment had only a few rooms, but you had to strain your vocal cords to shout enough for him to hear you since he was on the other side of the apartment, far from where you were.

Arthur was cooking dinner while you were staring at him bustling around the kitchen among pots and flavors by moving in a way which hypnotized you. You’d been together a long time, and you knew that music and grace were buried in his soul as if they were the roots of a land which doesn’t make them grow, so strong and sturdy they are, and yet, even though you knew it, every time you watched him even just exist next to you, you were amazed at how graceful he was, no matter what he was doing, as in this moment when you were wondering how he could dance making moves which totally enveloped you. Even while he was cooking he held grace and sophistication in his movements. He moved between the walls of the kitchen with such freedom that, if he had been a bird in a cage, he would have made a third wing of that cage and he would have used it for dancing, too.

When Arthur was dancing, he wasn’t just dancing with his body, there was another entity within him which had hypnotized you once again; you’d been staring at him ever since he started cooking in moves which didn't feel like they belong to this earth.

He didn’t belong to this earth, that’s what you thought while he was pretending not to know that you had been staring at him for a long time, though you knew exactly he was faking by the knowing smile he had printed on his face.

Only another powerful emotion like the one which invaded you as soon as the sound of a thunder covered the whole city could awaken your mind from his enchanted dance, and as much as you never wanted to take your eyes away from him, you couldn’t help but encourage the enthusiasm which you felt growing in your stomach and shortly after you were already running towards the window of the living room, with your face sticking against the glass.

“I’m comin’, sweetie!” He muttered with a curious voice and wiped his hands on the kitchen apron he was wearing in an impatient movement.

“Artie! Hurry up, you cannot miss it!” you felt the splash of the apron thrown on the table and his hurried steps reaching you. "I’m here, sweetheart". He stood behind you wrapping your waist and placed his chin on your left clavicle, naked and free from the grip of your hair which were falling on the other shoulder.

"Look! It’s so difficult to catch the very beginning of a thunderstorm. It’s beautiful." Arthur smiled popping a kiss on your left cheek, on his lips he felt your face wrinkle to let out a giggle while you tilted your neck, never taking your eyes away from the view, only to give him more space and allow his lips to reach also the corner of your mouth, before he moved away and resting his chin on your clavicle one more time and watching together the beginning of the thunderstorm which was rising in the night. The first thunder emitted a faint light but the more the minutes passed and the louder and brighter they became, the city began to turn yellow emitting a warm glow in the atmosphere while lights from the buildings became more and more numerous, betraying the silent movements of the inhabitants of Gotham returning home, blindsided by this sudden storm.

“It’s truly beautiful, love.” You would have sworn that Arthur wasn’t only talking about the thunderstorm but also about the warm feeling of holding you in his arms as he made you swing from right to left, back and forth, in a slow, almost imperceptible movement, but which awakened all of your senses as if his body were a single caress which wanted to wrap you entirely. Without ever taking your eyes away from the thunderstorm you let him cradle you into his arms hugging you in a gentle embrace, while a fun giggle made your shoulders tremble slightly and Arthur’s face vibrate, still placed on your skin.

“We can see also our faces on the reflection of the window, Artie.” You giggled one more time as your faces deformed in the rainy tears falling on the window glass, modifying the reflections of your faces in shapeless drafts and making you laugh. "Look at your nose!" You pointed out the spot where his nose twisted in the reflection by touching it with your finger and then you pressed the palm of your left hand completely on the window glass, letting the raindrops flow beyond the glass and beyond your hand; while you watched them walking through the glass, hiding under your hand and reappearing on the bottom of the glass shortly after, it looked like they were entering the skin and becoming rain yourself.

Arthur looked at the spot you had pointed out, now almost hidden by your hand on the glass and by his face reflected you noticed that he was smiling to himself. “It looks sort of like a wolf.” You felt Arthur’s chin curling over your skin in a giggle and then he put gently his left hand over yours, which you kept still open on the glass. "Your hand is distracting me from the thunderstorm." He said distractedly, as if his thoughts were speaking for him. He filled the spaces between your fingers with his own, his hand was so big compared to yours that when he planted it on yours he completely covered the back, now of your hand were visible only your fingers alternating with his and from your perspective it seemed that your fingers had blending in a single hand made by two separate bodies.

You were one soul in two distinct bodies and at this moment, finally, you shared even only one body, just as you have always dreamed of; stay in each other’s body for the rest of your life and feel your souls blending into one another. He leaned his head against yours, your cheeks touched each other as you both looked at the canvas painted by your hands held one on the other and on which flowed the drops of an invisible rain you couldn’t touch.

Each of you breathed the smell of the other that was mixing with the smell in the background of the dinner Arthur was preparing shortly before, but now seemed to matter little; you were feeding on each other’s love by witnessing a thunderstorm which had meanwhile become more powerful. Thunder ripped the sky like giant electric spiderwebs, and the city was a black spot dotted with earthly stars which illuminated the walls of the buildings in front of you.

“Oh, is that so? Is my hand distracting you from the thunderstorm?” You felt his cheek bend against yours in a knowing smile. Every time it rained you had the same childish enthusiasm that you had as a child and you got excited as if it were the first time in your whole life you saw the rain, and since you were together Arthur would have sworn that the look you gave to the thunderstorms had never changed. You pulled your cheek away from his to turn towards him enough to look him in the eyes, your bodies were still glued to each other in the embrace with which Arthur was still rocking you from right to left, swinging both of your bodies. He had music in him, and in this moment, as he held your waist with his right arm and cradled you, he turned even this hug into a slow dance.

“Is my hand even enough to distract you from… this?” You said indicating with an almost imperceptible movement of the face the explosion of colors and sounds that was taking place before of you, in a laugh which hid your disbelief. You obviously didn’t think it was true. "Y/N" he said, penetrating your face with his gaze, “every part of you is enough to distract me from anything, love. And yes,“ he kept, already knowing what your answer would have been, “even from any thunderstorm.” He held you even tighter with his right arm which didn’t want to leave your waist and kissed you, leaving the grip of your hand still on the glass only to wrapping your right cheek with his own.

As soon as he took his hand away from yours you felt on the back the freshness left by the absence of his skin; it was a feeling which made you feel uncomfortable, it felt just… wrong. Your body was created only to be touched by him; if he didn’t touch you, your senses wouldn’t work anymore and you were just wrong without him. This lack, however, was soon filled by his lips which had landed on yours. His lips were as firm and obstinate as he was in making you understand that those words were true. “I’m gonna need more kisses like this if you want to convince me that way”, you said reading his mind after you broke the kiss, without pulling away from him. Your lips still brushed one another as you spoke, the desire you felt for each other was so insatiable that you would always find a way to touch the other.

In fact, at this moment it seemed that your kiss had never been broken, so close you were. "We better get started, then." He smiled and followed the curve of your neck with light kisses, guiding you to tilt your head so he could kiss as much skin as possible; he would fill every inch of you with his kisses. You encouraged his moves and turned back to the window by slightly tilting your head to let him travel freely over your neck and behind your ear. Your eyes were caught again by the thunderstorm, which had by now flared up, majestic, with such a power that the sky of this gray night had assumed metallic blue shades which mixed with the ice color of the thunder, and then turned into lilac shades when those thunder reached the horizon, painted orange by the lights of the adjacent apartments. The sky was so full of different colors and lights that if you hadn't known they were caused by the thunderstorm, you would have thought that someone had thrown multicolored fireworks all over the city, until there was no more parts of the sky colored by its natural gray color.

Your window, at this moment, reflected those same lights on the glass and through the raindrops it looked like a speckled galaxy with planets of different colors, the frame of a constellation which had enveloped the whole city and your apartment in the same way in which Arthur was enveloping you in his warm body. You’d never seen a thunderstorm so colorful that it looked like fireworks and at this moment, as Arthur cradled you into his embrace in a slow dance and peppered your neck with soft kisses, you thought the universe really got mixed up in this storm for how much the view was beautiful. Those same lights were projected also on the walls of your apartment coloring them blue, violet, orange, so even yourselves were living inside a galaxy.

"Arthur," you said in a whisper still bewitched by that panorama, "do you think our love can be as all-embracing and outstanding as this storm?" Arthur lifted his lips from your neck slowly by replacing his head on yours and giving you a cheek to cheek kiss. He watched the thunderstorm explode upon you together and lingered before answering, enthralled as you by this vision. "I think," he said, his eyes fixed on the thunderstorm as if he wanted to talk not only to you but to the whole world from behind the window, "it really is, and even more. Our love is breathtaking." You felt your heart open in half and embrace Arthur, because for your heart beating only for him wasn’t enough and wanted to physically love him through the flesh. "I think so too, love." Through your reflection on the window Arthur noticed the smile that marked your face and your shiny and watery eyes filled of all the love you felt for him and that, somehow, he had to come out your body.

"Look how beautiful we are", he said as he watched your figures hugged in the window as vivid as if they were reflected in a mirror, your eyes locked in the reflection of the glass and you both laughed, sharing the same childlike lightheartedness that you had when it rained and that you had never let go even growing up.

You often wondered how a man who had such a turbulent childhood could still preserve the innocence that children are never taught, which they cultivate within themselves but growing up it gets lost. Arthur, though he had never been able to experience it, had kept this innocence within him, dormant, until he could bring it out of his body and finally feel it as soon as he met you and live it entirely with you.

You taught him to be the child he never had the chance to be, and he allowed you to be a woman without ever asking you to erase the lightheartedness you kept within you. Arthur, actually, had always loved your childlike lightheartedness completely. He could have lived a lifetime staring at you while watching the thunderstorm with astonishment in your eyes. “Yes, Artie. We truly are.”

You kept looking at the colorful and shapeless draw of your hug on the window glass. Your love and bodies reincarnated had found and were loving each other in every possible universe, in every already existing universe and in those which would be created in the years to come, and at this moment, observing an identical copy of your embrace wrapped by the thunderstorm, by the lights and the subtle rain which flowed over the glass, modifying as it pleases the soft silhouette of your reflected bodies, you both believed that what you were looking was one of the many parallel existences who belonged to one of the many universes in which you were existing.

You liked to think that, at this very moment, from their own universe they were looking at their reflection in the window, just like you, and seeing you, too, just like you were seeing them.

You have met one of your infinite and parallel lives and you were communicating with your other through the window of your apartment, which now looked more like a portal to other worlds, to every world filled by your other lives.

Your other live in front of you had by now turned your attention away from the thunderstorm and your looks were chasing each other in the reflection of the window for a few more minutes, your love was more breathtaking than this magical panorama which was taking place in front of you. Until you turned to him and still helding in his arms you wrapped his neck with your arms as quickly as he wrapped your waist with his own. As soon as you looked into his eyes, into his real eyes and not into their reflection on the glass, you noticed that the same lights and fireworks which previously colored the window and the sky were projected into his green eyes, his skin colored with the same bright shades of the sky; this was the only constellation which actually took your breath away and you cared about, making you forget the magic view in which you had been wrapped up so far by this suggestive thunderstorm.

"I love thunderstorms almost as much as I love you, Arthur," you got even closer to him and by your chest resting tightly on his you felt his heartbeat was racing as you spoke, and this sound was telling you more than your words could ever do, "and there will never be anything I could love more than you. Ever."

You placed your lips on his to seal this certainty between your bodies which were touching not only through this kiss, but in every possible way. Shortly after you went away to look at the only natural phenomenon for which you would never stop getting excited and covered, minimized, even erased the beauty of this thunderstorm and every possible thunderstorm to come, making them futile: his existence.

“I’m gonna need more kisses like this if you want to convince me that way”, he replied to you with a playful smirk, answering you with the same words you had just said to him. "We better get started, then." Immediately after you kissed him with passion, feeling his smile on your lips in the kiss as he recognized his words in yours. "Y/N, my love for you is so endless that my heart is struggling to hold so many feelings." He told you at some point, and a moment later your lips touched again and got lost in a kiss you would have sworn had lasted longer than the thunderstorm which had led you to meet one of your parallel lives. You were sure that at this moment every parallel live of yours were all kissing with the same intensity as you.

What else could they do but touch each other? All your parallel lives, past present or future, in whatever universe they were or would have been, were touching one another in an endless caress, just like you. By now you had begun to swing back and forth in a slow dance just like before and your tongues were talking to each other, surrounded by the storm behind you which was celebrating your love in every possible universe reciting a song which only you could hear, one in the other’s body.

No matter in which world you were born or would be born in the ages to come, both of you would meet the other in every possible existence because this is what each of your reincarnation was destined for: to find the other, to love the other, without being any more far apart. You spent, and would have spent every life, every reincarnations loving one another, and you wouldn't want it any other way.

#arthur fleck x reader #arthur x y/n #arthur fleck x you #arthur fleck imagine #joker #joker 2019 #joker x reader #joker x y/n #joker x you #joaquin pheonix joker #joaquin phoenix #joaquin phoenix x y/n #joaquin phoenix x you #arthur fleck

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thelittlesttimelord · 4 years ago

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The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 39

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 39 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 39/? SUMMARY: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.

[A/N - Oh my god. The series finale is next!]

The Doctor, Elise, Cyber-Webley, and the kids walked up to the castle. The platoon rushed out, their guns drawn.

The Doctor hid behind the chess board he was holding. “Don't shoot, don't shoot, I'm nice. Please, don't shoot!”

The moment reminded Elise of Rory when they dealt with the Minotaur.

Clara walked up to them.

“Hey, Clara, you haven't let them blow up the planet. Good job.”

“Did you get the kids? Are they all right? What's going on?” she asked.

“Er, a bit of a good news, bad news, good news again thing going on.”

Clara aimed her gun at him.

“So, good news, I've kidnapped the Cyberplanner and right now I'm sort of in control of this Cyberman.”

“Bad news?”

“Bad news, the Cyberplanner's in my head. And, different bad news, the kids are, well, it's complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

“Complicated as in walking coma.” He hid behind the chess board again as Clara looked at Angie and Artie.

“Please tell me you can wake them up.”

“Hope so.”

“Other good news?”

“Well, in other good news, there are a few more repaired and reactivated Cybermen on the way, and the Cyberplanner's installing a patch for the gold thing. No, wait, that isn't good news, is it. Er, so, good news, I have a very good chance of winning my chess match.”

“What?”

“I'll explain later. In a bit of a hurry. Get me to a table, and somebody tie me up! Need hands free for chess. And immobilize me, quickly.”

They went to the throne room where Clara tied the Doctor to chair with some rope.

“Right, that's good. I won't be able to move, but hands free. Good.”

“You're playing chess with yourself?” Clara asked.

“And winning.” He tore the golden ticket off and the Cyberplanner was back.

“Actually, he has no better than a twenty five percent chance of winning at this stage in the game. Some very dodgy moves at the beginning. Hello, flesh girl. Fantastic. I'm the Cyberplanner.”

“Doctor?”

“Afraid not. I'm working the mouth now. Allons-y. Oh, you should see the state of these neurons. He's had some cowboys in here. Ten complete re-jigs.”

“You aren't the Doctor.” “

No, but I know who you are. You're the impossible girl. Oh, he's very interested in you.”

“Why am I impossible?”

“Hasn't he told you? The sly devil. Oh, dear me. Listen, soon we'll wake. We'll strip you down for spare parts, then build a spaceship and move on.”

“More Cybermen.”

“They're waking from their tomb right now. You can either die or live on as one of us.” The Cyberplanner’s hand was moving. He wrote ‘Hit Me’ on a notepad sitting next to him. That was definitely the Doctor breaking through.

“The Doctor will stop you.”

“He can't even access the lips.”

Clara smacked him rather hard.

“Ow! Oh, that hurt. No, stop. Enough, Bit of pain, neural surge. Just what I needed. Thank you,” the Doctor told her.

“Why am I the impossible girl?”

“It's just a thing in my head. I'll explain later.”

“Chess game. Stakes?”

“If he wins, I give up my mind and he gets access to all my memories, along with knowledge of time travel. But, if I win, he'll break his promises to get out of my head and then kill us all anyway.”

“That's not reassuring.”

“No.”

“Please tell me you can fix whatever happened to the children.”

“Children. Yeah. They're fine. I mean, right now their brains are just in stand-by mode.”

“That is not fine!”

“Listen, right now they have a much better chance of getting out of this situation alive than you do.”

Both Elise and Clara could tell that it wasn’t the Doctor speaking anymore. He would have comforted Clara and reassured her that everything would be okay.

“Which one of you said that?” Clara asked.

“Me. Cyberplanner. Mister Clever. Now, if you don't mind, I have a chess game to finish.” He poked Clara between the eyes. “And you have to die, pointlessly and very far from home. Toodle-oo.”

Clara turned around and stormed out of the throne room.

The Cyberplanner turned his eyes to Elise. “Don’t you want to know?”

“Know what?”

“How he knows you.”

“He knows me, because he’s my father.”

The Cyberplanner laughed. “He knows you from before.”

“Before? What do you mean before?”

The Doctor jerked. “Stop it.”

“No. He doesn’t want you to know your future.”

Elise slammed her hands down on the table. “If he’s not telling me, then there’s a good reason behind it. Timelines have to be kept. We both know what happens when you know your future.” Elise stormed out of the throne room.

“What’s wrong?” Clara asked.

“He’s pissing me off.”

Clara rolled her eyes. “I’ll go deal with him.” Clara went inside the throne room and Elise heard yelling. Clara came running back out. “Watch him.”

“Watch him? I’m not a babysitter!”

“You are now!” Clara ran off and Elise groaned loudly before going back into the throne room.

“Ah, welcome back,” the Cyberplanner said.

“Finish your game and don’t speak to me,” Elise told him.

“I've learned so much from you, Doctor. It's been an education. But now, it's time for the endgame. They're nearly here. Now, you can take my bishop and keep limping on for a little longer, or you can sacrifice your queen and get the children back. But it's mate in five moves, and I get your mind.”

“Take my queen, and give me back the children.” The Doctor looked at Elise, who nodded.

“Emotions. Can't you see what a foolish move that was? You've lost the game.”

“Kids back now.”

Angie and Artie collapsed to the floor.

Elise rushed over to them and checked them over.

“Emotions, Doctor, all for two human children you barely know. And it was a pointless sacrifice anyway.”

Angie stood up.

“So, Doctor, do you think the children's death will affect your relationship with Miss Clara?”

Porridge ran in with a case.

“Welcome to Webley's World of Wonders, children. Now presenting delights, delicacies, and death,” Webley spoke.

“Doctor!” Angie yelled.

Porridge grabbed at Webley’s leg, but Webley threw him off. Porridge went sliding under the chess table.

“Angie, are you okay? Just look after Artie, okay?” the Doctor told her, “Your move. But before you take it, just so you know, sacrificing my queen was the best possible move I could have made. The Time Lords invented chess. It's our game. And if you don't avoid my trap, it gives me mate in three moves.”

“How? How?”

“Oh, come on. Call yourself a chess playing robot?”

“How!”

“You figure it out. Or don't you have the processing power, hmm?”

They heard the fighting stop.

“What are you doing?”

“Doctor. Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor. I'm pulling in extra processing power. Three million Cyberbrains are working on one tiny chess problem. How long do you think it's going to take us to solve it?”

“That's cheating.”

“No, no, no, no, no. Just pulling in the local resources. There's no way you can get to mate in three moves.”

“Three moves. Want to know what they are?”

“You're lying.”

The Doctor picked up Porridge’s hand pulser. “Move one, turn on sonic screwdriver.” The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and soniced the pulser. “Move two, activate pulser. Move three, amplify pulser. See you.” The Doctor moved to disarm the implants, but his other arm stopped him.

Elise rushed forward and helped him.

“That's cheating!”

“Just pulling in the local resources,” Elise quipped.

Clara and a few members of the platoon came running in as the Doctor sat up with no implants.

“Ah, hello. Can someone untie me, please?”

“Do you think I'm pretty?” Clara asked.

“No. You're too short and bossy, and your nose is all funny.”

“Good enough. What happened to the Cyberplanner?” Clara untied him.

“Out of my head and redistributed across three million Cybermen right now, and about to wake them all up, kill us and start constructing a spaceship.”

“We need to destroy this planet before they can get off it,” one of the platoon members said.

The Doctor ran over to the bomb case. “Okay, it has a fallback voice activation.”

“The Captain, but she's dead.”

“I think you should ask Porridge,” Elise said.

“Why?” Clara asked.

Elise pulled out the penny she had been given earlier. “He looks exactly like he does on the coin. The wax figure is taller than him, but I’m sure they did the same thing with Napoleon in his day. Any member of the royal family would have activation codes.”

“Porridge?”

“She's right. Clever girl,” Porridge said.

“So you can save us?”

“We all die in the end. Does it matter how?”

“What do we do?” one of the platoon members asked.

“I don't want to be Emperor. If I activate that bomb, it's all over,” Porridge told them.

“And if you don't, three million Cybermen will spread across the galaxy. Isn't that worth dying for?” the Doctor asked.

“Doctor…”

“Three million Cybermen!”

“The bomb, the throne, it's all connected. I just have to say this is Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, called Longstaff the forty first, the Defender of Humanity, Imperator of known space. Activate the Desolator. And it's done.”

The bomb turned on and started counting down.

“It'll blow in about eighty seconds. Easily long enough for the Imperial Flagship to locate me from my identification, warp jump into orbit, and transmat us to the State Room.”

They were transported in a second.

The Doctor looked around. “Oh yeah. Nice ship. Bit big. Not blue enough. Listen, there is a large blue box at coordinates 6-ultra-19-P. I need it transmatted up here right away.”

“Right. Did you get that?” Porridge asked an officer.

She nodded and typed the coordinates into the console.

“And that's that. Seventy six, seventy seven, seventy eight, seventy nine…”

The planet exploded, rocking the spaceship.

“Farewell, Cyberiad. You know, it was good to get away. Good to be a person and not to be lonely, or Emperor of a thousand galaxies with everyone waiting for me to tell them what to do.”

“Can't you run away again?” Artie asked.

“They'll be keeping a close eye on me this time. That's what happens when you're Emperor. Loneliest job in the universe.”

“You don't have to be lonely,” Clara told him.

“I don't.” He turned to her and knelt down. “Clara, will you marry me?”

Elise saw the look on the Doctor’s face and quickly covered her laugh with a cough.

“What?”

“He said…” Artie started.

Angie cut him off. “She heard what he said.”

“You're smart and you're beautiful, and I've never met anyone like you before. And being Emperor won't be as hard if you're by my side. And you'd rule a thousand galaxies.”

The Doctor walked over to them. “This sounds like an actual marriage proposal. Tricky. Now, if you want my advice…”

“You, not one word. This is between me and the Emperor,” Clara told him.

The Doctor backed off.

“Porridge, I don't want to rule a thousand galaxies.”

“Yeah. Silly of me.”

“I'm really sorry.”

“But that's stupid. You could be Queen of the universe. How can you say no to that? When someone asks you if you want to be Queen of the universe, you say yes. You watch. One day, I'll be Queen of the universe,” Angie told them.

“Of course, I could have you all executed, which is what a proper Emperor would do,” Porridge said.

“You're not actually going to do that, though, are you?” The Doctor couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not until Porridge started laughing.

“Go on, get out of here, all of you, before I change my mind.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Before they dropped Clara and the kids off, they said their goodbyes.

Artie shook the Doctor’s hand. “Thank you for having me. It was very interesting.”

“My pleasure. Thank you for coming.” He turned to Angie. “Now, I've got something for you. It's not from me, it's from the TARDIS. Ah. New phone.” He handed her the phone.

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

“Sorry I said this box was stupid.” Angie shook his hand.

“Bye.”

“Bye. Thanks, Clara.”

“Thanks, Clara's boyfriend,” Artie said and the two of them left.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Clara told him.

“For what?”

“Kid's day out. Getting us off the planet alive. Whatever you were doing with the Cybermen. Goodnight. See you next Wednesday.”

“Well, a Wednesday, definitely. Next Wednesday, last Wednesday…”

Clara left.

“One of the Wednesdays. Impossible girl. A mystery wrapped in an enigma squeezed into a skirt that's just a little bit too tight.”

The Doctor smiled before shaking his head, stopping that train of thought. “What are you?” He set the TARDIS in flight and it was then that the Doctor noticed Elise was quietly sitting on the stairs twirling the penny between her fingers. He sat next to her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” Never let him see the damage.

The Doctor knew she was lying, but he didn’t press her.

#eleventh doctor #eleventh doctor imagines #eleventh doctor fanfiction #doctor who #Doctor Who fanfiction #doctor who imagine #clara oswald #clara oswald imagine #the littlest timelord #the littlest timelord: the fall of the eleventh #nightmare in silver

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klaineccfanficlibrary · 5 years ago

Note

Hey, Could you make a masterpost of all the a-simple-rainbow fics/pdfs you have? I’ve read excited about things, playing with fire, is it weird, lonely in pink, the chase and am about to read a summer of cliches. I’ve loved everything I’ve read and I want to see if there’s any I’m missing (in PDF form).

One of my all time favorite authors. You can read ‘em all and you’ll be in love, too. Lovely fics and great variety. ~Lynne

A SIMPLE RAINBOW FICS (PDF files)

HERE is the link to their AO3 author page. PDF links below.

Is It Weird (Main story plus 5 follow ups)

Blaine sends his Topics in Contemporary Music mid-term essay to the wrong e-mail address, writing an extra m where it was supposed to read Humel. Kurt, spending a semester abroad in Paris, is having a challenging night of essay writing and procrastination, and goes a little bit beyond letting Blaine know he got the wrong person, sparking what will soon be described as a "weird pen-palish thing we got going on" that takes them both by surprise and leaves them hopeful and giddy.

#2 - Kurt Hummel and the Year with All The Emails

#3 - Of Home and Family

#4 - The Wedding Blog

#5 - Please Notice

#6 - The Interview We Never Expected

~~~~~

A Summer of Cliches

The Hudmels decided to go to one of Europe’s sunniest countries on vacation… Kurt was sure it wouldn’t be worth it. He was so getting skin cancer. And it would be their fault. Nothing, nothing, would be worth two weeks of cancerous Sun. Or…? AU

~~~~~

The Bluebirds Flight

Kurt's on a train to New York. He's depressed, listless, alone in the world and one sad song away from a pathetic video clip moment. But things could apparently get worse: when the train becomes mysteriously empty, stops and leaves him stranded in an unfamiliar middle of nowhere. Kurt finds himself in a world with wizards and healers, and all sorts of bizarre things, but most of all where people tell him he's the Crown Prince everyone's been waiting for - prophesied to end the horrors of tyranny they've been living for the last 18 years. The only thing he wants is to go back home, but no one has a clue how to do that, and it doesn't get any easier when he finds himself wanting to help, and a little bit in love.

~~~~~

The Chase

Kurt is a college freshman showing up to campus on a sweet ass ride. He doesn’t care what others think (hasn’t since he was a sophomore and discovered the wonders of steel tip boots and detachment), but if he did, he knows they’d think he looks equal parts intimidating and cool. Badass with class.And that, right up there on the sidewalk walking towards campus, is a great ass he has class with.And since Kurt has a class with that guy, it’s not considered catcalling or sleazy to slow down and take off his helmet (for better view) and say something, is it?

~~~~~

Pride Prejudice and Superheroes

Blaine, the reluctant superhero amateur with the lamest backstory ever. Kurt, the apparent snob with an impatient attitude and an aversion to expressing gratitude. They hate one another, but the universe has other plans if the way they keep running into each other is anything to go by. College & Superhero AU

~~~~~

The Bow Tie Collection

Prompt:“I fell asleep on your couch after a party but you didn’t complain and made breakfast for the both of us” AU with the specifications of: I’d like it to be Kurt falling asleep at a Tike+Blaine houseparty (Kurt only knowing Tina and Mike, obviously) and Santana and Rachel just leaving him there because he was flirting with Blaine all evening anyway but both were too shy to actually make a move so the girls thought that some more alone time couldn’t hurt.

~~~~~

Lonely In Pink

Blaine is 27, a doctor with a three year old girl. Kurt is 18, fresh out of high school, with pink hair and combat boots. Equally drowning, they could both use a hand.

~~~~~

Of BFFs and Shoes

I decided to mesh together a fuckload of tropes/prompts. From the text to the wrong number, to meeting in an elevator. Mostly it’s funny and stupid. Apologies to anyone who likes high heeled converse all stars.

~~~~~

Rachel’s Cute Autograph

Rachel is late, and Kurt is trapped waiting for her in a street suddenly filled with people with yellow t-shirts and clipboards that are so very clearly collecting money for some cause Kurt isn't enough of a bad person to say no.

“Hi!” the boy greets with a bright smile, “Could I maybe take a minute of your time?”You can take all the minutes of my time, Kurt thinks.The boy’s eyes widen and there’s a sound of some kind of suppressed cough, the bright grin shifting slightly as his eyebrows knot together.“I said that out loud?”

~~~~~

What They Say About The Third Time

Klaine AU Meeting. Blaine is a cinematography student who agrees to help some classmates out with their end of semester project. Kurt is a fashion student who agrees to help his high school friend, Artie Abrams, when he suddenly needs an actor for the student film he’s directing. Amidst the chaos of a film studio, Kurt and Blaine.

~~~~~

About Fate

Based on a prompt from one of those AU meet cute (or in this case, meet ugly) scenarios: I hit you with my car and I was the only one visiting you at the hospital.

~~~~~

Crazy

What Klaine's part of "A Wedding" would've been like if I could have written the episode.

~~~~~

If That’s What You Want

Kurt’s jaw drops in horror (or maybe it drops because at least his body knows he should be horrified at the mere suggestion of it) “You’re suggesting I…”“Seduce him. Make him fall in love with you. Break his heart on the eve of the game. Render him useless…?” Sebastian shrugs casually, “If that’s what you think it’ll take.”

Kurt Hummel has a shot at being Captain for the Slytherin Quidditch team if only he agrees to take Hufflepuff's star Keeper out of the picture before the first big game. Of course, what he doesn't know - and would if he'd only watch a film (*any* romantic film, really) - is that it's probably the worst idea anyone has ever had for way too many reasons.And as luck would have it, Blaine Anderson has overcome many obstacles in his life, only to come out on top, but one he has never managed to get past...? His completely hopeless crush on Kurt Hummel. (Hogwarts Klaine AU)

If That’s What You Want drabble

~~~~~

Thank God For Broken Copiers

Based on the prompt: you suck at dancing but you’re doing it in a middle of a bookstore and I think it’s pretty darn cute au. (with the alterations: doesn't suck at dancing, is hot)

#klaine #klaine fanfic #klaine fanfiction #a-simple-rainbow #PDF #reaction fic #6X08 #superhero!Klaine #doctor!Blaine #HP!Klaine #gorgxoxus

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darling-i-read-it · 5 years ago

Text

Late

Arthur Fleck x reader

Word Count: 1k

Warnings: none I don’t think!

Author’s Note: This is for @arthurfleckjoker2019 ‘s writing contest! I got the prompt, “I’m never letting you go.” I hope this is to your liking!

Genre: fluffff

(not my gif)

You were basically running down the streets of Gotham. It was getting late and you did not want to be in the crosshairs of anyone who came out at night in this city. You had never got into any run ins but you had heard stories and you wanted nothing more to get back to your apartment. You were holding your purse close to your chest and the bag of food at your side. You had gotten a call from Arthur earlier that day. He had quietly and sheepishly explained to you that he would enjoy you coming over that afternoon.

He was working on some jokes that he wanted to run past you. You decided to grab some food from the deli he liked to stop by when he had a job. You always wondered if he had something to eat at his little lonely apartment. You had just recently begun staying the night because he had mustered up enough self confidence to ask you to stay.

It was chilly outside and you just wanted to get back to Arthur. That was it, just wanting him to give you a smile. You checked your watch and saw that it was a little bit later than you had told Arthur you would be. You hoped he wasn’t worried as you kept speed walking.

He was very worried.

The clock was ticking by on the wall and with every little movement, mocking him. He just wanted you to be here. He told you to come by later when he called so that he wouldn’t seem like he needed you right then. He knew that you would come by if he needed you right away. But he didn’t want to tell you to do that.

Now he just wished he had. He wanted you to be here right now and you were a few minutes late. They seemed like hours. Each minute, another bad image of Gotham hurting you in his head. He sighed, running his hands through his freshly showered hair. He was glancing between the door and the clock, his nerves running.

When there was a loud knock on the door he nearly jumped out of his shoes. He stumbled over the couch he was sitting on. He did a little jog to the door, anxious to see your face when he opened it to stunt all of his fears.

He swang it open and there you were. You gave him an exhausted smile and held up the bag of food. He threw his arms around you, hugging you tightly to his chest.

“Arthur everything okay?” you ask with a small chuckle. He nodded his head and pulled away, wiping his face slowly.

“I’m glad you got here okay is all,” he whispered. You nodded and walked past him, putting the food on the counter. You turned around, hoisting yourself up on the counter next to the food.

“Artie?” you teased. He rolled his eyes and covered the few feet that were between you. He looked in the bag of food and didn’t light up when he saw his favorite sandwich. Something was wrong.

“You got food,” he whispered and gave you a subtle fake smile. You leaned forward, fingers wrapped under the counter.

“Arthur,” you muttered, drawing his name out. You rose up a hand and put it on his cheek, giving him a reassuring smile. He didn’t meet your eyes until you moved your thumb across his skin. “Tell me what's wrong sweetheart.”

He had no intention of telling you when you walked in the door that he thought you could be somewhere on the street, alone and scared.

“I just don’t like it when you’re late,” he whispered. His voice was barely audible. You nodded and watched his facial expressions move.

“I didn’t mean to be late love,” you said. “I just wanted us to eat well, that's all. I’ll try my hardest to be on time next time alright?” He nodded. You tugged on his shirt, still dressed for work like he had been to worried about you to take it off. He let you bring him to your chest and you hugged him. His arms wrapped around your waist. You left light kisses on his skin, letting him know you loved him.

“I’m never letting you go,” he whispered. You grinned, all teeth and pulled away just enough to see his face. His hands stayed interlocked behind your back and your bodies close together.

“I’m never letting you. You’re glued to my side,” you joked. He smiled. It was always nice to hear when encourage his affections. It made him feel validated.

“I guess we’re gonna have to get new clothes,” he said. You nodded, real serious like.

“But we can’t try them on if you’re stuck to me,” you protested. He rolled his eyes and kissed you, slow. You smiled into the kiss and slid off the counter, still wrapped up in his arms.

You spent the rest of the night touching each other in one way or another, holding hands or watching TV in each other's arms. You woke up together, happy. When you both were awake he whispered to you, “You won’t be late again if you’re stuck with me.”

You smiled.

#arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck imagines #the joker x reader #the joker imagines

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ehstarwar · 4 years ago

Text

of habits devil, is angel yet in this (T, 1/1)

“I, um…. I don’t- I can’t speak Latin,” she tells him, voice low. His presence is terrifying, but for some reason, she’s not shaking. Rey keeps herself sort of quiet, just in case.

The demon cocks his head down at her. Then, in perfect English (and a more appropriate tone), he asks “Why was I summoned?”

Rey needs a date for a wedding, so naturally she summons the Lord of Hell (AKA, Ben.)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3.5K

Read on AO3

Notes: based off this prompt by @galaticidiots: Fake dating AU where Rey needs a date for Rose’s wedding but doesn’t want to invite any of the guys at work so she summons a demon and the Lord of Hell shows up and he’s free on Saturday, actually.

i changed it up a lil bit, but it's pretty much what the prompt says! Fran was actually the first reylo blog i ever followed and i credit my knowledge of reylo fics to her and the ~amazing~ fic recs she has! she consistently gifts us reylos with the most amazing prompts, so this is dedicated to her and her brilliant mind. （*´▽｀*）

of habits devil, is angel yet in this

The black wax from her six candles begins to drip on the floor at the same time the salt in the shape of a pentagram begins to shake. Rey paused speaking momentarily, suddenly fearful for her security deposit. Who knows what kind of stuff will come along with whatever she was summoning. Howerver, Plutt wouldn’t have given her back the deposit anyway, she reasons. She begins speaking the Latin again, as best as she could.

“huc veni: o domine, ut mihi artis.”

Rey always got top marks in her foreign language studies, managed to traverse Spain and France for a few weeks on her own, even. But Latin was.... outside of her comfort zone. She hopes she wasn’t butchering the pronunciation too bad, or that her demon was at least forgiving in that regard.

“quis ego et suo tempore seruitium faciat mihi dare et ego cupio.”

The shaking salt turned to tremors in her apartment, making everything rattle and move, pictures flying off the wall, chairs moving across the floor. Rey was knocked back by a powerful gust, pushed until her back was against the wall. The air was sucked out of the room and her lungs for a minute, as everything stood in complete silence.

Before Rey, a gust of black rushed passed her and into a could of smoke. It hung in the center of the pentagram, swirling slowly. She held her breath as a thump sounded. Suddenly, the black cloud dissipated, leaving behind a demon.

Well... demon may not have been the most apt of terms.

He was large. At least 6 foot. His shoulders were broad, his pale skin dotted with moles and scars. One such scar ran from his shoulder all the way up his face until it stopped just above his eye. And his eyes; a dark brown, seemingly black, but with a hit of warmth.

He seemed… strikingly human.

Perfect.

The demon appraised Rey just as she appraised him.

“Quare arcessitus?”

His voice boomed in her ears.

“I, um.... I don’t- I can’t speak Latin,” she tells him, voice low. His presence is terrifying, but for some reason, she’s not shaking. Rey keeps herself sort of quiet, just in case.

The demon cocks his head down at her. Then, in perfect English and a more appropriate tone, he asks “Why was I summoned?”

Her mouth is agape as she looks up at him from the floor. Her demon that looks human sounds American. What a weird day.

He doesn’t push her or make her speak or wrap his hand around her throat when she doest answer. The demon, the Lord of Hell, if she read the website correctly, just stares at her. A piece of lush black hair falls into his face, making him look more princely than any cosplayer she’s ever seen. Rey thinks of all the horror movies that got this wrong.

When she suddenly realizes that there is no time to waste gawking at the creature in front of her, Rey hops up, brushing off the salt on her dress.

“I, um, I read something, online, that I could, maybe, summon a demon if I needed help. And if that demon, you, were willing, of course,” Rey stammers out. She pretends to keep brushing the salt off her dress long after it’s all gone, mostly because his stare is so intense.

“And what is it that you desire help with?” He questions.

“Well,” She gestures to herself, in the yellow gown she’d bought just for today. “I have a wedding to attend actually. Two of my best friends, Rose and Finn, and getting married in,” She glances at the clock on her microwave, “About an hour and a half. I had a date for it, but a couple weeks ago he decided to bail, then I got another back up date who I met off tinder, and like, fuck tinder, because that guy decided to ghost me this morning, so I’m left going stag or… you.”

Rey looks up at this demon hopefully, lips clasped together in a tight smile, hoping she doesn’t look too crazy to this somehow American demon. The demon in question now looks confused.

“A wedding?”

She nods.

His eyebrow furrow. “You summoned me, Lord of the Hell, God of the Underworld, Leader of the Knights of Ren, so you could have a date for… a wedding?”

“My best friends wedding, actually. I think that makes a difference.”

The confusion on his face spreads to disbelief. Then a bit of awe. He hugs before speaking again.

“What sort of date would you require?” He finally asks after a minute.

Now, Rey’s confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Male, female? Height preference or nationality, even?” He asks.

“Why would I need that. You’re perfect,” She tells him.

It may be the fact that the Lord of Hell wasn’t used to small apartments that don’t possess central air and was feeling a bit heated for the end of Spring, but Rey would swear that she saw a hint of a blush spread on the tops of his cheeks, all the way to his ears.

“Me?” He asks. She nods. “Going to a human wedding, with… you?” She nods again.

“None of us can really stand organized religion, so the ceremony and reception are at a botanical garden, so no need to worry about pesky church-demon rules. And, I may not look it, but I’m actually a pretty decent dancer! I wouldn’t drag you on the dance floor if you didn’t want but, I can get down. And our friend Maz is catering it and she really does make strong drinks, if you can drink alcohol, so you could spend the whole night buzzed, for free!” Rey tries to talk up all the qualities that had made her other two dates perk up, but this demon does not seem as enthused.

“And, in terms of payment…?” He asks.

“Oh, that… well, I don’t have much in terms of money. My student loans are sort of killing me at the moment. I don’t have a ton of material items worth much, so I don’t think you’d want any of that… um…” She thinks for a second, eyes reaching for something to offer him, until her gaze rests on the tea set she picked up from Goodwill last week.

“I can fix things! If you have antiques or a car or motorbike, I could totally fix it for you! I tinker with things a lot and have gotten pretty good at polishing silver, so I could refurbish things for you?” He glances, tentatively at the tea set, still a bit tarnished.

“Or… If you prefer food, I make amazing Beef Wellington. Like, Michelin star level good. We could have a deal that whenever you want that, just pop right in and I’ll make it! Within reason, of course. I have work from 8 to 7 usually, but any other time, I can do it!”

He bites back a smile, but remains quiet.

“… Does any of that sound… okay?” She questions, voice low.

“I’m sure I can make do with… something,” He tells her.

Rey can’t stop herself from clapping her hands in glee or letting the wide grin overtake her face.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She repeats. Without thinking, Rey strides closer to him, to hug him, but stops just short of touching him.

“Oh, um… Can I… touch you?” She ask, hands still hovering in the air in front of him. Her demon nods. Because she’s been given a minute to think through the situation, Rey decided hugging the Lord of Hell may be a touch inappropriate so she shoves her hand between them to shake his.

When his hand engulfs hers, Rey shivers, and not from the surprisingly cool temperature of his skin.

“I do have one request, before we begin,” As her hands are dropped from his embrace. “Why was it so important that you have a… date for this wedding, that you would summon a demon?” He asks.

Rey bites her lip, contemplating telling him some falsehood about how she already put +1 on the invitation or that Rose wanted an even number of quests, but decides against it. No point in lying to the Lord of Hell once you’ve already summoned him.

“I… wanted someone to go with. I’m on my own more often than not, especially since Finn and Rose got together- and I really am happy for them- but I’ve always been the one who’s alone in a crowd and I didn’t want that for today. I want to share this experience with someone; I don’t want to be lonely today.”

Rey is worried that it sounds pathetic, but her demon gives a sympathetic nod and a knowing look. There’s recognition in his gaze, someone who knows the loneliness that she does.

“You’re not alone,” He tells her.

“Neither are you.”

He smiles, only just, but enough.

“Now then,” She says after a breath. She looks him up and down again, trying not to satre too much at his chiseled abs that are exposed above his seemingly leather pants. “About your clothes. I have an old dress shirt from an old roommate, but I’m not sure if it’ll fit you. There’s a dress shop around the corner from the garden, so we could stop there to get you a dress shirt- my treat, of course- before we-“

Before she can finish telling him his plan, her demon summons the black cloud again, swirling it around himself for a few seconds before it dissipates once again, leaving him in a crisp cream colored suit, and a small yellow flower in his suit pocket. It matches her dress perfectly.

“Oh,” Is all Rey can manage.

“Is this to your liking?” He holds his arms out for her to appraise him.

“You’re beautiful- er, handsome. Very nice looking. Perfect, really. The suit! I mean… yeah-“ She pauses to collect herself and stop the word vomit, “It is very much too my liking.” He’s smirking down at her when Rey finally looks up at him.

“Good,” He says.

“Good,” She repeats. They just look at each other for a minute, almost as if they were a real couple getting ready to go to a wedding together. (So long as Rey didn’t look at the salt on the floor or the black candles that were somehow still burning). But a sudden burst of embarrassment hits Rey when she realizes she’s left something important out.

“Is there, perhaps, another title you go by? Lord of Hell has a nice ring to it, but… it seems a little aggressive for our… situation,” She tells him.

“Some of my minion- employees, I mean, call me Kylo Ren.” She scrunches her nose and shakes her head.

“No offence, but that sounds like a Dungeons and Dragons character.”

“Dungeons and Dragons is one of the few good things mortals have created,” He says, eyes narrowing at her.

“Oh my god, you play Dungeons and Dragons?” She asks with disbelief.

“Never mind that,” he brushes her off, “There is… another name. One I haven’t gone by in while…” Rey looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell her. His eyes search hers for a minute, and he looks a little frightened, but he tells her anyways.

“Ben. Ben Solo.”

Rey gives him the biggest smile she can.

“It’s perfect, Ben.”

The ceremony is beautiful. Rose is an absolute vision in white and Finn is a perfect dapper gentleman waiting for her at the alter. Their vows were beautiful and well thought out, and Rey is filled with so much love for her best friends that a few tears spill over during the exchange.

Before she can bring her hand to blot at her eyes, Ben holds up a handkerchief and does it for her. His touch is tender and gentle and almost makes her cry anew.

There were many things Rey was grateful for at this moment, but above all, was her demon. He was the ideal date, like he was made exclusively to be the doting gentleman that every girl dreams of taking to weddings like this. When they’d arrived at the venue, and Rey’s social anxiety had gotten the better of her, Ben just grabbed her hand, laced their fingers together, and continued walking to their seat. No fanfare or prying, just a loving gesture that Rey had never really been party too.

He hadn’t let go of her hand since he’d grabbed it, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Currently, they stood at the bar, watching Rose and Finn take their first dance as husband and wife. Rey’s hand was still interlocked with is, but she’d now twisted her other arm around his so that she was practically clinging to him. If he minded, Ben didn’t say. He simply made space for her to lean on him and petted the back of her hand with his thumb.

Once the dancing was over and the happy couple could finally beak away for a moment, they both ran directly to Rey. Rose engulfed her in a hug and Finn wrapped his arms around the both of them.

“Rose! Your dress! You look so beautiful!” Rey shouts. “And Finn! You are wearing the hell out of that suit! You both look so perfect!”

Rose and Finn giggle as they back up a bit so they can all speak.

“Ugh, thank you! And, for the record, I will absolutely be borrowing your dress the next time we all go out!” Rose says.

“Are you… ugh, gonna introduce us to your date?” Finn says, nodding to where Ben is quietly observing the group.

“This,” Rey pulls Ben closer to them, “Is Ben.” He shakes their hands as they exchange pleasantries, thanking each other for coming and for being invited, etc.

When they ask how Rey and Ben met, however, Rey stumbles a bit.

“Oh.. I was ugh… cleaning my apartment and, um, needed candles and.. salt… I met Ben. So… yeah,” Rey says. Rose and Finn look slightly worried and majorly confused.

“Okay…. what do you do, Ben?” Rose asks him after a moment.

“I’m the Lord of the Dead,” Ben says, without hesitation.

“His SFX studio! He makes costumes and such for “dead” things, like on the Walking Dead or.. apocalypse movies, and such… so they call him the ‘Lord of the Dead’,” Rey attempt to save. She laughs like she’s brushing it off, but her friends don’t seem so convinced.

Lucky for Rey, Poe Dameron decides that it’s the best moment to begin his drunken speech about how much he loves the bride and groom. It is his first of the evening.

Finn and Rose break away from her and Ben to listen to his… speech, so Rey just intertwines herself with Ben once more and is grateful for the dogged bullet.

“You’ve never seen it?”

“Nope.”

“Not even… the first episode?”

He shakes his head.

“… Can you get HBO down… wherever you are?”

“Yes, I just haven’t seen it.”

Rey looks at Ben aghast.

“But… Game of Thrones is right up your alley, considering you… line of work,” She tells him as he takes another sip of whisky.

“My assistant, Hux, talks about it all the time, and I am not interested. Too gory,” he tells her.

“Too gory?”

He nods.

“You’re the Lord of Hell and you don’t like gore?” She asks in disbelief. “But I would imagine you see much worse, much more real things in your day to day!”

Ben scrunches his nose and shakes his head. “I always make sure that they’re…” he gestures vaguely, “… put together before being sent down.” Rey slumps back in her chair as she begins to question all things she’s known to be true. Ben chuckles at her and tightens his hand around hers.

Rey is suddenly pulled out of her existential crisis when the DJ begins to play her favorite wedding song. One that’s been overplayed thousands of times, but that Rey can’t seem to hold a grudge against.

“I love this song,” She whispered, to no one in particular, as she watches couples get up and go to the dance floor. She feels her hand be tugged upwards by Ben, and realizes that he’s stood up and pushed her chair out. He doesn’t say anything, just looks down at her for a moment.

“Are you… asking me to dance?” She questions. This time, there’s no mistaking the blush on the tips of his ears. Ben nods. Without further prompting, Rey shoots up and pulls them out to the dance floor.

He wraps his arms around her in the proper way, holding just above her waist and on her upper back. Rey leans into him, hoping to convey the message that he’s welcome to stray lower, but his hands don’t budge. When they start to move, it’s clear that Ben is… not a dancer. He shuffles his feet, steps on her toes once or twice, and blurts out apologies. When they finally settle into a comfortable rhythm, Rey smiles up at him.

“No underworld ballroom dance lessons?” She teases.

“Sadly no,” He says bashfully.

Rey is remind of earlier in her apartment, when she felt like they were just a regular couple going to a wedding, and she supposes they are, and marvels at how natural it feels.

“Have you ever been summoned to be a date for someone’s wedding before?” She asks Ben, even though she can already guess the answer.

“You would be the first,” He tells here.

“Oh, I’m honored,” Rey feigns shock. Ben chuckles at her. They dance for another minute, bodies swaying in time with the music, light going low. Rey decides to nestle in deeper, and rests her face on the center of his chest. His arms are still staunchly lifted around her for a second, before Ben finally relaxes and drops his arms to cradle the small of her back. She feels his chin rest on the top of her head and a contented sigh leave his chest.

“You know…” Rey starts after a while, “you haven’t told me what you want in return.”

Ben hums and she can feel the reverberations all the way down her spine.

“I wasn’t lying before; I really don’t have much to offer,” She tells him. When Ben doesn’t respond, Rey pulls back to look up at him. She’s met with his warm eyes, staring down at her like she’s the most precious person in all the underworld. He brushes some hair back and places it behind her ear.

“Would you like to know why the Lord of Hell chose to accompany you this evening?” He asks.

“It does seem… rather benign, given your station.”

“When you spoke of being alone with such familiarity, I was… well, you sounded like me,” He tells her. Rey is caught in a trance unable to look anywhere but this beautiful demons sad eyes. “My existence is long and unforgiving; loneliness is a natural part of that. But you? And your… fragile life? It shouldn’t be apart of yours.”

They stand, unmoving, in the center of the dance floor. People sway around them, uncaring that she and Ben are having one of the most intimate conversations of their entire lives in the middle of this wedding.

“I don’t want you to be lonely, no matter how long your life is,” Rey tells him, truthfully. He smiles softly at her.

“You’ve made me feel… very much not lonely,” He says.

“Me too,” She smiles even wider, toothy and lovestruck. His grin gets bigger too, and she sees his eyes flit across her features.

“I know what I want now, in return,” Ben says, clearing his voice. Rey’s face falls. She sense the end of… whatever this is, and it saddens her.

“Oh… what?” She asks.

Ben leans forward slowly, not stopping until their face’s are nearly touching. Rey’s breath hitches and her heart beats wildly in her chest.

“A kiss,” Ben whispers.

Rey presses her lips to his. His mouth is warm and plush. His breath is minty and cool. He kiss her chastely for a minute, savoring the feel of their lips together. Then he devours her. And Rey loves it. It’s all teeth and tongue, swirling together and fining home in each other. There’s something so loving in it though, even through all the roughness. His lips are incessant and she’s eager to meet his kisses.

It isn’t until someone pointedly coughs at them that Rey pulls back from Ben. On instinct, his mouth chases her for a moment, but she hold him back.

“I have more!” She nearly shouts, confusing Ben. “Request, I mean. This is, uh- a very nice payment plan, one that I’ve rather enjoyed quitethoroughly, so if I need to, um ask for, ya know, other stuff so we can continue this… payment, then I can come up with-”

Ben shuts her up by kissing her agin; no request necessary.

The End

#reylo #prompt fill #demon au #adam driver #daisy ridley #sw #fan fiction #star wars #teen #ohdiayit #my works #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #rey x kylo ren #rey x ben solo #rey/ben solo #rey/kylo ren

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