#yeah she shows up in chapter 7 but apparently its somewhere at the very end and its a pretty brief appearance lmao

[fishareglorious]

one of these days we'll get a patch featuring druvis as a major character to get back at the fact she was literally nowhere in any of the patches in 1.1 to 1.8.

[kerikaaria]

If I Never Met You: Chapter 2

(??? X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader

Genre: (PG13) Fluff 

WC: 1.5k

Warnings: None

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

After we all introduced ourselves, Sejin oppa told the boys that they could take the rest of the day off their usual practice and training schedules so that we could get to know each other a little better.

“(Y/n) noona, why’d you decide to come to Korea in the first place?” Jimin asked, propping up his chin with the palm of his hand.

“Basically, I wanted to travel,” I replied. “I wanted to experience somewhere new and I had already learned the language so I knew I wouldn’t be completely lost. That, and the fact that Konkuk University accepted me as a student helped of course.”

If I hadn’t gone to Konkuk University, I probably wouldn’t have ended up in this room with these seven boys in the first place. That’s where I met Seokjin. No one else really talked to me, I guess my being a foreigner made them scared they wouldn’t be able to communicate well. But after seeing each other in a few of the fundamental courses we took together he asked me if he could sit next to me in class, so we started talking and quickly became friends.

He had told me he was a trainee, so I helped him when he had trouble getting work done because of his busy schedule. And earlier today, which was only about a month after the semester started, I mentioned how I was having trouble finding a job and he suggested I applied to the company he was a trainee at. I was baffled when I was told to come back for an interview so quickly after just filling out my application, so when I was hired so easily it was even more astonishing to me. And now here I was, talking with these seven interesting boys.

“How did you learn Korean anyway? Why did you want to?” Namjoon inquired. He had mentioned earlier that he learned English by watching the show Friends, which I thought was incredibly impressive.

“I found a website that taught it and made it really easy to learn. After getting into Korean dramas and K-pop I thought the language was really beautiful and wanted to give it a shot.”

“It must have taken you a while,” Hoseok added.

I saw Seokjin smiling out of the corner of my eye, waiting for his brothers’ reactions to my reply. “It took about 3 years.”

There were a variety of reactions from the boys, from as small as a just surprised expression, to straight up shocked gasps accompanied by jumping up from their comfortable positions on the floor. Meanwhile, my friend laughed out of enjoyment from their surprise.

“Really?! How fluent are you?” Jungkook asked.

“Well on TOPIK my proficiency was rated Level 6,” I replied, feeling shy from all their reactions.

“What’s that mean?” Yoongi asked.

“It means she got the highest level you can get. She’s completely fluent,” Namjoon elaborated.

I didn’t think it was possible, but even more dynamic reactions ensued from the group. Jimin and Hoseok were now standing, the latter spinning in circles. Even Yoongi, who appeared to be calmer and more muted than the rest of them was very obviously surprised at the knowledge. Seokjin was just on the floor, releasing his unique laugh which reminded me of windshield wipers.

I felt my cheeks flush at their over-the-top reactions. I knew that I learned it fairly quickly, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for these responses.

“I mean, Namjoon learned English just from watching a TV show and there’s no way I could have done that with Korean, so…” I said, hoping to reduce some of the attention they were giving me.

“Yah, calm down guys,” Seokjin managed to say once his laughing settled down a bit. “You’re making her feel embarrassed.”

“Sorry, noona!” Taehyung said as he and the rest of the boys started to calm down. “ It’ just, I’ve been learning English basically since I started going to school but I still can’t even hold a full conversation in it. So it was just super impressive to hear you learned Korean so quickly!” The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

“Thanks,” I said with a shy chuckle as I rubbed the back of my head with my hand. “Anyway, let’s talk more about you guys!” I smiled and they thankfully obliged.

Our afternoon continued like that, me asking some questions which resulted in quite a bit of conversation and bantering between them, then one of them asking me something else. I quickly began to feel relaxed with them. Something about them was very comforting and welcoming.

I learned of their ages. Of course, I already knew that Seokjin and I were the same age, being born in ’92, and I was even only 3 days younger than him as my birthday is December 7. We learned that on the first day we started to become friends and we were shocked at the strange coincidence, Seokjin saying that we were almost twins. Yoongi was the next oldest, a ’93 liner. Namjoon and Hoseok were born in ’94, Jimin and Taehyung in ’95, and Jungkook being the youngest born in ’97. I knew he looked young, but I had no idea he was only just barely 15!

After chatting for quite a while, Sejin oppa came into the room. He smiled, seeming satisfied that we appeared to be getting along.

“You’d probably better move this to the dorm,” he said as he walked up to where we were sitting in a kind-of-not-really circle on the floor.

A few of them immediately stood up at the suggestion, agreeing that it was a good idea,

“Guys,” Yoongi spoke up, “do we really want noona to come to our dorm? It was in a pretty poor state when we left this morning. I don’t think she’d want to see your guys’ dirty clothes and messy habits on display for her the day she meets us.”

Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jimin who were originally really excited immediately replaced their grins with frowns in realization of the poor state of their home.

Sejin oppa laughed from where he stood behind me. “What did you guys think I was up to this whole time? I cleaned it up for you. Don’t worry, it’s safe.”

A look of relief washed their faces again. “Alright, do you want to go then, (Y/n)?” Seokjin asked.

“Yeah, sure! I’m pretty sure that as your manager, I’m supposed to know where your house is anyway.”

The boys gathered their things and we walked to their dorm, which was close by for convenience.

When we entered the house, the first thing I noticed was that it seemed pretty small. But Sejin oppa wasn’t joking that he worked hard to clean it. It was spotless!

“Wow, thanks Sejin hyung! I’ve never seen this place so clean,” Namjoon said.

“Let’s try to keep it that way, huh?” Hoseok said to his roommates with his eyes narrowed.

Jungkook just giggled, and the others didn’t make much of a comment as they scattered around the room.

“Let me show you around a bit, (Y/n) noona,” Hoseok said, placing a hand on my back.

I smiled at him and nodded.

The house was very small so there wasn’t much to show me, but I still very much appreciated the welcoming gesture. After checking that the room was clean enough, he showed me their bedroom. Yes, a single bedroom. All 7 of them slept in one room together, using bunkbeds to take the most advantage of the space. I suddenly felt pretty bad for them.

“Is it hard for all of you to have such little room to share together?” I asked him.

“Not really,” he responded. “Some of our members do strange things in their sleep but we are used to each other.”

“Oh, you mean like how you touch your body while you sleep, hyung?” Taehyung piped in from behind us.

I quickly turned around and shot my head back and forth between the two boys. “Wait, what?”

“Yah, don’t make it sound weird, Kim Taehyung!” Hoseok said, his face turning red. After looking at my confused expression, he elaborated. “I don’t know, apparently while I’m sleeping I’ll run my hand across my arm or chest or something. I guess because my parents used to hold me while I was sleeping so it’s just something that my body does on its own. At least I don’t snore as loud as an engine like Namjoonie.”

“It’s not like I can help it!” I heard said member pipe up from behind us. From that point the rest of the boys all started chiming in and talking over each other so I couldn’t make out much more of what they were saying.

I just couldn’t help but think about how cute and sweet it was, that they looked so close and like a family of their own. I found myself wondering if I’d be considered a part of this family too from now on. I would really like that.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

[assembledherethevolunteers]

Future Management Chapter 7

A/N: HI!! I know, it’s been a minute since I’ve posted for this, but I have been so sick the past few weeks I’ve barely had any energy and I had to write my Secret Santa stories. This story is going to be done before the new year though! Anyway! I love you guys and hope you continue to enjoy!

Pairing: Ben Hardy x fem!Reader

Summary: You and Ben Hardy had been together for the better part of a decade.  After hitting a rough patch, the two of you decide to end things. However, one small surprise keeps you two connected more than you thought.

Warnings: None that I can think of!

Catch Up: Prologue (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/188795655663/future-management)  Chapter 1 (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/188846514968/future-management-chapter-1) Chapter 2 (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/188923255568/future-management-chapter-2) Chapter 3 (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/189095339763/future-management-chapter-3) Chapter 4 (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/189199837403/future-management-chapter-4) Chapter 5 (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/189300488163/future-management-chapter-5) Chapter 6 (https://assembledherethevolunteers.tumblr.com/post/189442099338/future-management-chapter-6)

Taglist: @lovebirdy93 @jonesyaddiction @im-an-adult-ish @taylorroger-s  @springholland @stassaurus  @hahaboop @tcnystqrks @bloatedandlonly @doctorwhatwhenandwhere  @amy-brooklyn99 @mercurycrowley @shineedrmgrl @yourstateofdreaming @annamikyska If I missed you I’m sorry! Please let me know if you want to be added.  

When you got home, Ben offered to take Eliza in the living room if you fixed her lunch. You agreed and Ben gave you your half smile. That made you hopeful that he wasn’t that upset with you. As you danced around the kitchen making Eliza Ants on a Log and half a ham sandwich, your mind wondered if maybe Ben had figured out why you hadn’t wanted to hold his hand at the park.

“Eliza! Lunch time!” You called.

She came running in with a smile. “Mummy! Tank you! Daddy doesn’t make dem right.” She immediately started eating.

You glanced up as Ben came walking in.

“How do you mess up Ants on a Log?”

“Oh I don’t put enough peanut butter on them apparently.”

“Well that’ll definitely mess them up,” you winked at Eliza, who nodded quickly before eating some more. “Slow down, sweetheart.”

“Sorry,” she replied sheepishly.

“Y/N?”

You looked up at Ben and he nodded towards the living room. You stole a raisin off one of the stalks of celery and then followed Ben. He sighed and folded his arms across his chest, looking at you.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t upset that you didn’t want to hold my hand to show people we were together.”

That took you by surprise. You thought for sure you’d be the first to apologize. “Oh, um...”

“I...I wanted to hold your hand because it would’ve been easier for me to know where you two were and I could keep an eye on everybody else.”

You hadn’t even considered that. “I...I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that,” you replied in a small voice.

Ben shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, I didn’t explain it, which I could’ve. I already apologized to Eliza for the tone I took with her earlier. And I’m sorry to you too. I just...I was frustrated with the whole situation. Not you two. So, I’m sorry.”

You were taken aback. This had been the communication you two had needed when your marriage was deteriorating.  When Ben had said that the two of you needed to talk more, you hadn’t realized he’d changed so much already.

You walked closer to Ben and wrapped your arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around your waist and the two of you held each other for a few moments.

“Mummy?” Eliza’s voice came from behind you.

“Yes, Lovebug?”

“I’m sticky.”

You turned around as she held up peanut butter smeared fingers. You and Ben started laughing.  

“Well, let’s get you cleaned up then, Birdie.”  

After Eliza was cleaned up, Ben put her down for her nap.  You hopped up on the kitchen counter and checked your phone, only looking for things that had to do with getting ready for tonight.  Your hair and makeup were showing up at 2, then your dresser (and dress) would arrive at 4.  You had to leave home at 5 at the absolute latest, so the car would be there at 4:45.  Great. Okay.  That gave you time to take a shower and maybe get a little something to eat.  You reread the hair and makeup confirmation to see if you would need to do anything with your hair when something caught your eye.  

“If a second person’s hair/make up needs to be completed please let us know so that we may adjust our arrival time.”

A second person.  As in a plus-one.  You weren’t taking one so you could…

“And she’s asleep,” Ben announced as he walked into the kitchen.  

You looked up at him, curiously.  He wouldn’t be interested, right? No, it was way too soon.  You were just starting again and there would be photographers, reporters, and fans.  Just screaming questions at you.  And who would watch Eliza? His mom lived too far away for a last minute thing like this. And you couldn’t ask Gwil to give up another night.    

“What, love?”

“You um…you still look pretty good in a suit.”

Ben chuckled and came to stand between your legs.  

“Well, thank you,” he slid his hands high on your thighs.  It made your heartbeat shift into overdrive.  What the hell? Worst case he says no and you two talk about it.

“Think you have one that could match this?” You held up a picture of your dress.  

“I think I…” Ben paused. “What are you asking?”

“Well, I still need a plus-one for tonight.  The movie, the afterparty, the hotel room after the afterparty,” you looked at Ben through your lashes.  “We always had fun at those.”  

Ben’s face slowly morphed into a smile.  “Are you asking me to come with you tonight?” Ben placed a kiss to your jaw.

“Only if you have a suit that matches my dress.  Otherwise the whole thing is out the window,” you leaned your head back, giving Ben more access as he continued down your neck.  

“I definitely have one that matches,” Ben pulled you closer to him, pressing hotter, more opened mouth kisses around your throat.  

“You haven’t even looked,” your voice was low and breathy as you closed your eyes.  Ben placed gentle bites and kisses along your neck (nothing hard enough to leave a mark).  “Mmm…what about Eliza?” and suddenly Ben’s lips weren’t on you anymore.  You hmphed and looked at him.  He winked at you and pulled his phone out of his pocket.  

“There’s a nice woman across the way, she’s usually up for watching her,” Ben told you, his thumb drawing circles on your thigh as he found her number.  “I’ll give her a call,” Ben held the phone up to his ear. “Hi Mrs. Carthwell, it’s Ben Jones, how are you?...Oh that’s great, I hear Dublin’s beautiful this time of year…Oh I’m doing very well, thank you. I’ve got a question for you. Is there anyway you could watch Eliza for us tonight? I know it’s last min…Really? Oh they’d love that!” Ben suddenly gave your thigh a squeeze, making you jump slightly. “Yeah, we’ll have to leave around 4:45…Yeah, it’d be all night…Oh, Mrs. Carthwell, you are a life saver, thank you so much…” Ben laughed.  “Yes, ma’am. I will.  Thank you so much again…Yes, we’ll see you then. Goodbye.”  Ben hung up and gave you a triumphant grin.  “She can watch her.”

“Where does she live?”

Ben nodded towards the front door.  “Across the street and over one.  She’s actually got a granddaughter that’s a year older than Eliza that will be spending the night too.  They usually play when she comes over.”

“What will we owe her?”

“She’ll say nothing, but she does like a nice Pinot Noir, which I believe I have somewhere around here.” Ben started to pull away but you grabbed his hand on your thigh and pulled him back to you in a kiss.  Ben seemed surprised for a moment, and then melted into it.  One of his hands making its way into your hair at the nape of your neck, deepening the kiss as he licked into your mouth.  

You pulled away after a moment with a bite of your bottom lip.  Ben’s eyes slowly opened again, looking at you with a confused, yet blissful look.  

“Just um…maybe a little preview of the night,” you slid down from the counter and practically pressed up against him.  “So I hope you find that suit,” you leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then moved away to go upstairs to take a shower, but Ben pulled you to him again.

“You really want me to come with you?”

“Yes, I really do.”

“Why?”

“Because,” you sighed trying to find the right words.  “Because I think if we do it this way, if we tell everybody this way, we’re in control. Right now we’re not.  Everybody is writing everything and anything because we haven’t responded.  Now we are.”

Ben mulled over what you had said, and it made sense.  

“And what exactly are we telling them?”

You stared at Ben for a moment and he watched you.  Just waiting for you to respond.  

“That…we’re getting back together.  That we’re working on our relationship.”  

Ben’s eyes continued to search your face, as if waiting for you to pull the rug out from under him.  

“I mean it, Ben.  I want everyone to know.”

Ben still just stared at you and it made you nervous.  Did he not want that?  Did he think it was too soon? Did…

Suddenly, Ben pulled you into another kiss.  It was fast, but there was still something there.  

“I want that too,” he responded when he pulled away.

You were slightly giddy from the kiss.  It had made your head spin almost like a headrush.  

“I…um…I sort of forgot what I was doing,” you giggled.  

“I think you were going upstairs.”

Right! A shower!

“Okay, yeah, I’ll be upstairs.  People might start showing up soon. Could you let them in?”

“’Course, love.  I’ll go look for that suit,” Ben gave you that crooked smile again and damn it if it didn’t make your head a little lighter.  

You went upstairs, smiling the whole time.  

Meanwhile, Ben’s lips were still tingling from the kiss.  He couldn’t believe that you were wanting to go public already.  Granted, you two basically had already.  He hadn’t thought about people taking pictures of you at dinner, but maybe it had ended up being a good thing.  If you two went to this premiere together, it was going to be the real deal.  He ran upstairs to try and find a suit to match your dress.  

You heard a knock on the bedroom door as you finished packing your overnight bag.  It mostly just had an outfit for you to wear home tomorrow and toiletries, but you still needed it.  You were in robe, so you told whoever it was to come in.  

“Mummy!  Dere are people downstairs wif Daddy,” Eliza came running into the room.  “Dey say dey want you!”

“They’re here to help make Mommy pretty for her movie,” you replied as you walked towards Eliza and offered her your hand so you could walk downstairs together.  

Eliza tilted her head for a moment.  “But Mummy, you already petty.”  

That melted your heart. You picked her up and peppered her with kisses.  

“What did Mommy and Daddy do to get somebody as sweet as you, huh?”

Eliza just giggled as you started carrying her down the stairs.  

“Y/N!”

“Finally!”

“There you are!”  

You greeted your hair and makeup team.  You didn’t see Ben anywhere, but figured he was somewhere close.  

“Alright, first things first, let’s get your hair dried,” Sam, the hair stylist, pointed to a chair.

“Mummy, can I sit on your lap?”

“Of course you can, sweetheart,” Sam replied as he plugged in the hair dryer.  “Now let’s get started.”  

You sat with Eliza on your lap as Sam started blow drying your hair.  Eliza eventually got up and watched Sam, moving around as he did.  

“Daddy, you look handsome!”

“Thank you, Birdie. Now, are you helping or just running around?”

You heard Ben’s voice behind you and you couldn’t help the smile that came to your face.  He stayed behind you so you weren’t sure if he was ready to go yet.  

“I’m heping!...right, Mr. Sam?”

“You sure are, sweetie, now can you grab me that sparkly brush over there?”  

You heard Sam ask for Eliza’s help here and there as they continued on your hair.  

“Y/N, we’ve got to start on your makeup now.  Sam, you good?”  

“What do you think, Eliza?”

“So petty!”  

“Eliza, we need to go back a bag for Mrs. Carthwell’s.”

“But, Daddy!”

“You’ll see Mummy before she leaves, I promise, but come on, we need to get you ready.”  

“Otay,” you heard the disappointment in her voice.  

“Love you, Lovebug,” you called over your shoulder.  

You loved getting ready for things like this.  It made you feel beautiful and (usually) promised a night of fun.  “Alright, I think it’s time to get you dressed, gorgeous!”

You and your dresser, Maggie, went up to your bedroom to get you into your dress.  

“So, Ben’s going with you, huh?  Did he pick out that suit himself? Because day-um,” Maggie giggled as she unzipped your dress.  

“He did pick it out, but I haven’t seen him in it yet.  Does he look good?”

Maggie fanned herself and looked towards the ceiling in response.  

You laughed.

“So, you two are back together then?”

You mulled it over for a moment.  You were going to get those kinds of questions all night and needed to come up with a good answer.  Yes, you supposed.  You were back together and that’s what this night was going to be about.  The two of you announcing it to the world.  And suddenly, that didn’t scare you.  Having Ben by your side again, beaming as you talked to reporters, talking with your co-stars while he kept a hand on your waist or holding yours.  You’d missed that so much that any fear you had went away.  

“Yes,” you finally answered. “Yes, we are.”

Maggie clapped her hands together and smiled at you.  “That’s beautiful, love.  Now, let’s get you in the dress so you and your prince charming can make the ball on time.”  

You swatted at her but put on your undergarments (maybe a bit lacier than what you would normally wear, but hey, you’ve got a hotel room for a reason), and then stepped into the dress with Maggie’s help.  She then helped you into your heels.  

“Oh, Y/N, you look…stunning.”  

You walked into the bathroom for the full-length mirror and you weren’t sure who was staring back at you.  Your hair was slightly curled and half up.  Your makeup was flawless (which didn’t surprise you).  But the gown.  The dress was what brought everything together.  It was a deep red, with a gold glittery substance throughout, and a boat neckline.  It was fitted through the bodice and then fanned out, in a flowy, asymmetrical skirt.  

“I’ve got a necklace you can add if you want, but to be honest, I think it looks perfect just like that.”  

All you could do was nod.

“Alright, I think Eliza should get to see you now.”  

“Right, can you help me down the stairs? I’m terrible in heels.”  

Maggie helped you walk down the stairs and you heard the group talking in the kitchen.  

Sam saw you first and gasped.  Everybody else turned around.  You still didn’t see Ben, but Eliza came running up to you, her eyes the size of saucers.  

“Mummy,” she said breathlessly, looking you up and down.  “You look boooootiful!”  

You carefully bent down and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Oh, thank you so much, Lovebug.”  

“Wow.”

You looked up at Ben and you thought that your heart was going to stop.  His hair was slicked back and styled just how he knew you loved it. He was wearing an all black suit and black shirt under his jacket.  If Eliza (and everybody else) hadn’t been there, you were sure that that suit wouldn’t be on him much longer.  

“I…hi, you um….look really good.”  When had your mouth become totally dry?  

“Mummy, you and Daddy will be da preetiest dere!”  

You looked at Eliza and smiled at her.  

“Thank you, sweetheart. Now, are you ready to go?”

Eliza nodded and ran upstairs to grab her bag.  You stood up and gave your team hugs and ‘thank you’s.  

“You two will be the prettiest ones there,” Sam said as he gave you an air kiss to the cheek.  

Eliza came back downstairs and told everybody else goodbye as they walked out the door.  

“Alright, Birdie, we need to get going,” Ben grabbed her bag from her and then looked at you.  “I’ll run her over there and then the car should be here, yeah?”

“Yeah, that should be fine,” you bent down and gave Eliza another big hug.  “I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”  

“Otay, Mummy,” Eliza gave you a kiss on the cheek.  

You kissed her forehead and squeezed her one more time.  “I love you.”

“Love you too, Mummy!”

“I’ll be right back,” Ben’s eyes raked over you one more time, making you blush, before he and Eliza walked out the door.  

You waited for Ben to come back and realized that your heart was pounding.  Ben was going to be back and the two of you were going to go out and announce to the world you were back together.  The only thing that made you nervous was the idea that people wouldn’t be happy for the two of you.  You remember the last time you and Ben had announced your relationship and the way some “fans” had reacted.  

Your phone ringing brought you out of your thoughts.  

You glanced and saw it was a Facetime from Katy.  You answered and smiled at her.  

“Holy shit, Y/N, you look amazing.”

“Well, thanks.  You sound so surprised,” you joked with her.

“I mean, I know Sam’s a miracle worker, but wow.”  

“Shut up, did you call for a reason?”

“I did.  I see you didn’t take my advice and went to the park.”

You didn’t like Katy’s tone.

“Nope, oh! And Ben’s coming with me to the premiere tonight.”  

Katy’s face fell.  

“I’m sorry, did you just say Ben is going with you?”  

“Yup!” You popped the ‘P’. “He looks damn good in his suit.”

“Y/N, I…you…you can’t do this! That’s just insane! Think about your career.  Everybody is going to think that this whole thing is a publicity stunt and you two will come under so much fire! Does Ben’s guy know about this? You guys can’t just decide these things!”

“It’s my life, Katy. Ben and I have decided.  We want to do this.  We can control the story this way.”

“How?!”

“You’ll come up with a statement.  We’ll answer any question the reporters have for us tonight.”  

Katy sighed and rolled her eyes.  

“You know this won’t really work the way you want it to.  Everybody is going to think this…”

“Katy, I’ve been through this once.  I can handle it.”  

Katy stared at you.  

“Fine.  I’ll work on something.  I think I still have Dylan’s information somewhere.  Ben’s still with him, right?”

“Yeah, he is.”  

“Great.  Good luck tonight.  Call me tomorrow.”  

Katy hung up before waiting for a response.  You put your phone down and then heard the door open.  

“Eliza is now playing with Peyton and Mrs. Carthwell’s got everything under control,” Ben announced as he came walking into the kitchen.  Ben’s eyes met yours and he licked his lips, almost unconsciously. “You, my love, look absolutely gorgeous.”  

You giggled and then bit your lip.  Ben walked over to you and just stood in front of you, taking you in.    

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” you started to play with the collar on his shirt.  Ben took your hand and kissed it.   He continued up your arm and you quietly gasped.  “Ben, w…we really don’t have time.”

“I can be very fast,” Ben smirked at you.  

“Hm…then I feel like tonight won’t be very fun,” you genially pushed him.  

“Oh, ha ha,” Ben pulled you to him.  “Trust me, tonight will be,” Ben looked you over again, “very fun.”  Ben started to lean in to kiss you when there was a knock at the door.  

“I think the car’s here,” you whispered.  

“Damn it.  The one time a car’s on time,” Ben gave you a squeeze and started to pull you towards the door.  

“Oh! My bag! It’s upstairs.”

“I’ll go grab it,” Ben kissed your hand and ran upstairs.  

You watched him as the person at the door knocked again.  You opened the door to a man in a nice suit.  He smiled at you very sweetly.  

“Hello, Miss.  Are we ready to go?”  

“Just a moment, my…um…my date is grabbing our overnight bags.”  You hated yourself for the hesitation and the unknown word to call Ben.  If you couldn’t even say it to the driver, how could you say it to the reporters tonight?  Why hadn’t you thought about that?  Oh God, Katy was right, this was a terrible idea.  

“Alright,” Ben said as he came down the stairs, holding your bag and one of his own.  

“Oh, I can take those,” The driver reached out for the bags and Ben handed them to him.  

“Cheers, mate,” Ben smiled at him before turning to you and offering his arm.  “Ready to go?”

You took a deep breath and smiled at Ben.  You took his arm and the two of you followed the driver to the car.  

[thewildwaffle]

Abduction - Chapter 27

Would you look at that? Got it posted on time! Thanks for the motivation everyone! especially @cyberstrikebeast​ - you don’t need to hunt me down, we good! :D I’m not sure if I’ll get another chapter out before the new year, I will for sure be writing in it since I’m taking time off work, but we’ll see how it goes!

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“For the sake of sanity, ”Simmo hissed, “would you hurry it up!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mike whispered back, “am I taking too long? Would you like to do this instead?”

Simmo sighed and clicked her mandibles faintly.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Mike grumbled under his breath as he turned back to the task at hand.

The task was, to be honest, one that 7-year-old Mike would have absolutely loved. They needed to find where Jeb was being held. To do that, they needed a computer that could grant them access to confidential information. To get to a computer that had the right authorization, they needed to break into an information control room. The ship was currently in what Mike referred to as “night mode,” so the control room would be empty. However, that didn’t mean it was easy to get to. Hence the high security in the corridor.

And what a fun security system it was too! Obviously, it must seem impossibly daunting to most- otherwise, the Burnti would never have installed it, but to Mike, it was straight out of his childhood games where he’d imagine he was a secret agent and had to infiltrate the bad guys’ lair. There were lasers to avoid and everything. He could see them, dimly, but they were definitely there. When they’d arrived, he’d had to stop Simmo from walking right into them. She stayed behind as he carefully wove under, over, and around the beams of light, quietly humming the Mission Impossible theme song, much to Simmo’s annoyance.

Currently, he was standing in front of the gate that blocked the hall. He’d climbed up to where it looked like there was a locking mechanism. No luck there. He was stumped for a moment until he noticed the small colored pins inset along the wall. He picked at them, poked at them, twisted, pulled. It was clear they were mechanized. If he tried hard enough, they probably could be moved by hand.

“Do you know if there’s some sort of pattern or whatever for these pins? Like, do I need to match up the blues, or…” He trailed off. He forgot she wouldn’t be much help with this. Simmo, and apparently all Montauk are colorblind. Seeing in color was something only a handful of species could do, or at least, only a handful of species in the Galactic Confederation. Maybe more could see color in the Burnti Empire. That might explain why there’s some sort of color-coding something on this stupid gate.

It took a bit, but eventually, he was able to figure out how the pins were supposed to move when the locks were engaged or disengaged. Moving the first pin out was hard - they were so small! Thankfully, due to the fact that he hadn’t had access to any clippers or files, his nails had grown long enough to pick out the pins so he could work them along their grooves and out of the way. Once he moved a few, it became easier to move the rest.

He grabbed one of the horizontal bars and pulled. It budged, but just barely. He tried again. It rose maybe two inches. Dang, this was heavier than it looked. It didn’t help either that he didn’t have much room to lift - there were two lasers he had to avoid right behind him. Mike turned around and leaned against the gate, trying to figure out the best move.

“Don’t look at me,” Simmo grumbled. “Even if there weren’t all these light sensors, I wouldn’t be much help lifting that thing. Why do you think I brought you along?”

Mike turned back to the gate. “And here I thought it was for my winning personality,” he sighed. He widened his stance and carefully squatted down to the level of the bar he needed. He’d taken a weight-lifting class once in school. He’d been pretty good at it then, and he did his best to keep good form- not that he had much choice. One wrong move and he’d set off the sensors. He grabbed the bar, locked his elbows and lifted with his legs.

Oh boy. If they got out of this, he was going to hit the gym, get back in shape!

The gate lifted enough that he could shuffle his knee under it and give his arms a break. He lifted again and repeated with his shoulders. He carefully stepped over a beam of light on the other side to try to give himself a better stance as he lowered the gate back down. The angle was a bit awkward and it slipped halfway down and slammed loudly against the floor.

Both Mike and Simmo winced involuntarily. Simmo glanced down the hall they had come before turning back to glare at Mike.

He sighed and pretended to brush it off by continuing the rest of the way over the lasers. He was glad Simmo couldn’t see his hands or legs shake, or hear how fast his heart was beating. 

He was able to maneuver the rest of the way without incident. A little stumbling, and a lot of shaking, sure, but he made it.

He let himself take a bit of a breather at the other end, shaking his legs so they’d stop feeling like jelly. “Wow,” he muttered to himself. “Always wanted to do that. Always thought it’d be more fun. Life and death situations seem to suck the fun out of everything.”

He entered the code on the panel like Simmo showed him. The laser light show sensors turned off. Mike’s mind was starting to wander as he thought of what the differences there must be between his and Simmo’s - and whoever designed these things, eyes. Why could he see the beams that were supposed to be invisible? Was it with the cones or rods in the eyes? Was it because of how the brain processed the light? He didn’t get very far in thinking though. A loud clang nearly made him jump out of his skin. The gate was raising. That was the loudest gate he’d ever heard. Why did everything always so loud when you were trying to be quiet? After getting over his initial scare, he cringed as it continued its way up loudly. He really hoped no one else was nearby. They would get caught all because of a stupid gate that desperately needed some WD40. Or whatever the Burnti used.

Simmo quickly made her way over and entered the command to restart the security protocols. Mike wasn’t keen on the idea of having the dang gate move around again, but Simmo assured him it was necessary to maintain their cover while they were in the control room. Thankfully, the mechanism that moved the gate was a lot quieter going down than it was going up.

The control room itself was not exactly what Mike had been expecting. As soon as they opened the door, he anticipated seeing a few cramped desks or tables covered with computers and monitors, star maps, electrical displays, the works. Instead, it was a rather spacious room with large decorative tapestries with several inlets and nooks along the walls. In the middle of the room was an impressively large, round computer console. A few steps away was a set of shelves storing everything from datapads, books, what looked like scrolls, and cylinder can things of various sizes and colors.

“So,” Mike drew out the word as he walked in and looked around and up. This place had a vaulted ceiling? On a spaceship? Classy. “Is this like some sort of library, or…?”

“A what?” Simmo marched immediately towards the computer console. She opened up the holographic display and began entering information.

“You know, a library,” Mike circled the room, checking out the inlets and tapestries. “A place where people keep lots of books and movies and old magazines or whatever. You can read there, or study, or research things?”

Simmo didn’t answer. She was now moving through the readouts on the display and scrolling through what didn’t seem important. Mike ran a hand over one of the tapestries. It swayed with his touch. Behind it, there was a small nook tucked away. Nice. He grabbed the tapestry again to steady it. It was huge - it hung all the way from the ceiling to the floor, and it was beautiful. He wasn’t sure the shapes on it meant anything, they were a little abstract and there were symbols he couldn’t read, but it was beautiful nonetheless. He stared at it a while longer, admiring the handiwork and skill that had gone into its creation before walked back to where Simmo was still looking up where Jeb was being held.

“Any luck?”

“He was put in the brig two levels up from us and in the rear of the ship.”

“Okay. Great! That was fast,” Mike nodded and headed toward the door. “Let’s go get him, let’s… Simmo?”

Simmo didn’t move from her spot. Her antenna flicked slightly, but she kept searching the hologram.

“Uh, Simmo, we’re on a bit of a time crunch here, let’s get a move on.”

“And how do you plan on getting out of here without a ship?”

Mike stopped. “I thought we’re taking yours.” He paused for a moment, waiting for a response. Simmo just continued swiping and searching the computer. “Do you… not know where yours is?”

“It’s been missing for about a partec now. It was supposed to be moved to bay 9 after it was done with some repairs, but it never showed up. Rozar told me to not worry about it, that the repairs were probably just taking longer than expected. Thing is, he never checked into it further. Every time I try to do so myself, I never have clearance.”

Mike’s stomach dropped. That didn’t sound good. They had to find the Junk Lego, it had to be somewhere.

He stepped over to Simmo to help her look. He couldn’t really read many of the symbols on the display but moving felt like something he could do. He needed something to do, needed some way to help. Before he could get far, however, he heard the loud gate outside the corridor being raised again.

“Simmo, someone’s coming! We know where they’re keeping Jeb, let’s get out of here! We’ll figure out where your ship is later.”

But Simmo didn’t move from her spot. Files and reports continued coming up and she kept sifting through each one at incredible speed. Mike stepped closer to her, sizing up how best to grab her and pull her along in a way that wouldn’t end up with him getting cut up by her sharp hands. Suddenly, the screen froze. Mike glanced at the topmost file on display. He still couldn’t read it, and for several tense moments, Simmo couldn’t stop reading it.

“Simmo,” Mike ground out. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and all this standing around business was beginning to feel torturous. They had to hide!

“My ship,” Simmo whispered without taking her eyes off the display. “It’s gone.”

The loud clanging noises of the gate stopped. Shoot. Mike looked back at Simmo. She must have heard it, even with the control room door being closed. She was still fixated on the screen.

“Simmo!” Mike hissed through his teeth. The voices were right outside the door now, muffled and talking quietly, but getting closer.

Mike slapped at the screen’s controls, shutting it down and all but tackled Simmo and dragged her behind the tapestry. Just in time too - the tapestry was still moving and swaying a bit when the door slid open. Thankfully, the new arrivals were too deep in their conversation to notice. Mike didn’t dare look around to see who it was, but he could swear he recognized the voice of one of the speakers.

“This is not what my people were told,” a silvery voice entered the room. “We’ve waited long enough. The Burnti aren’t the only ones with whom we can make deals.”

“We’ll have the truminium soon now that the Galactic Confederation out of our way.”

Mike shrunk back farther. He knew that second voice. Commander Rozar had one of those very distinct voices.

“That’s been partecs now. You’ve sure been taking your time since,” the silvery voice countered. “Having too much time with your galactic streamings about your little prizes, perhaps?”

Mike tentatively inched to the edge to get a look, being careful to not be seen. Sure enough, there was that grand, feathered sloth jerk himself, talking to an alien Mike had never seen before. She looked very catlike. Larger than a booka, but larger and with a much longer torso with thick spotted gray fur and long antenna-like whiskers all over her body. She was standing on her hind legs, or maybe standing was too generous a term. It was more like she was balancing on her back legs. It’s long, thick tail helped to keep her balanced.

Mike ducked back behind the tapestry. ”What ith that?” he lisped to try to avoid being overheard.

Simmo leaned over to peer around the corner. “Priso. They’re not with the Burnti. They’re from some coalition near the Green Mallak nebula.” “Ok. That doesthn’t help. I have no idea what any of that ith.” 

Simmo made some sort of gesture that Mike had to assume was Montauk sign language for ‘shut up.’ 

Rozar and the priso hadn’t yet noticed they weren’t alone. The priso had said something which caused Rozar to flatten the feathers at the back of his head cooly. “If you’re going to be keeping up with your delightful attitude, you can always spend another cycle or two in a cell.”

The priso shot him an icy glare. “Your diplomacy leaves much to be desired.”

“And what, do tell, are you going to do about it? Complain about me to your superiors? I’m sure they’d applaud the lengths I’ve gone to not outright strangle you.” The priso’s fur ruffled. “Is that a threat?”

“No,” Rozar said calmly, “a statement. Though I’m sure many of your superiors wouldn’t mind if it were. I’m surprised you don’t hear more of them.”

The priso’s ears went flat against her skull, the same with its whisker-like antenna. She bared her teeth and let out a low growl.

“Oh do calm down, Sitran my dear,” Rozar sighed. “That’s what got you in trouble before.” He turned to the computer console and pulled up the display. Mike tensed. He hoped that whatever Simmo had been looking at before wasn’t still there, or if it was, it wouldn’t tip Rozar off that something was wrong. Thankfully, the display had reset itself when they closed it down in their rush.

“Ah, here we are,” Rozar looks closely at the display before turning toward a set of shelves. Picking up a datapad, he activated the display and handed it to the angry priso. “Perhaps this will help allay some ill will. This datapad should include the pertinent communications we’ve had with Earth. Or at least with the governments that have been expressing an interest.”

Sitran took it and began scrolling through with a paw. Her ears came forward and the offended expression on her face melted away into a mix of curiosity and wonder. “These are just the ones that...” she continued to scroll. “How many governments does Earth have?!”

Rozar stepped back toward the main computer console chuckling lightly. “My understanding is that humans just wandered around their planet. When they got too far from each other, they started doing their own things, made their own cultures, formed new languages, and even their widespread appearances changed in some cases to adapt to new environments. In short, there are enough for everyone to share.”

Mike felt a mix of confusion, alarm, and anger. He wished he could just step out there and wipe that smug look right off Rozar’s face. Like he knew anything important about humans! What was that jerk planning?

Rozar,still very much unaware of Mike and Simmo’s presence, was very much enjoying showing off his human-related knowledge.

“There’s a file with everything you need near the top. Several files actually. I’d recommend reviewing the health and safety files thoroughly. There are things you wouldn’t think would pose a health hazard. You wouldn’t want to get something in your paw broken during a customary human hand greeting.”

Simmo leaned into Mike’s ear, “Please tell me that’s not a real thing.”

Mike turned back to her and thought for a moment. “Uh, handshake? I think he’s talking about handshake-th. That’th tho dumb. They don’t hurt”

Simmo didn’t look comforted in the slightest. 

The priso was still looking through the files, fascinated. Her wide eyes were darting across the screen. “I thought most of this was just rumor. Humans sure don’t mess around, do they?”

“Oh no. They certainly do,” Rozar corrected. “That’s part of the problem with working with them. But I imagine that if the Galactic Confederation has been successful at integrating them, then it’s obviously manageable. The rewards vastly outweigh the risks, as you can see in the next file.”

Simmo leaned into Mike’s ear again. “I want a copy of that datapad.”

Mike pushed her face away from his and peeked back out.

“You’ll want to read through the behavioral files as well,” Rozar had now moved over near Sitran and was pointing out the folder in question. “We’ve tried to log as much information as extensively as we can, but it’s very much an ongoing endeavor. Our own humans have been exceptionally-”

The door slid open again. Mike jumped back a bit out of habit to avoid detection. He didn’t really need to, the new arrivals, a pair of yellow guards immediately rushed in and saluted Rozar.

“Commander,” the shorter of the pair rushed, she sounded like she was out of breath, “We have apprehended a ship, sir.”

“The escaped prisoners?”

“No sir, a Galactic Confederation ship.” That got Rozar’s full attention. 

Rozar ignored a quirked look from Sitran. “Come again? A Galactic Confederation ship?”

“Yes sir, we were in pursuit of the escaped prisoners and they came out of nowhere sir. By the time we had them, the prisoners had gone to hyperspeed.” “A diversion perhaps?” Sitran mused.

“Quite possible. Two of the three missing prisoners were Confederation officers, I believe.” Rozar’s tail swayed dramatically from side to side, red and purple feathers brushed lightly on the floor. “They helped them get away and let themselves be captured. We’ll know for sure after we’ve interrogated them. And then we’ll make an example of them for the rest of the meddlesome Confederation fools.”

The guards suddenly looked rather sheepish. “Ah, yes, about that,” the second, taller guard started. Rozar snapped his head towards him, which only disconcerted the guard more. “Their ship is still in docking bay 4, but they themselves… aren’t.”

Rozar stared at the pair of them silently for what seemed like forever. Mike leaned out a bit more from behind the tapestry.

“They aren’t… what?” Rozar nearly spat.

The guards shifted uncomfortably. “They… aren’t on their ship anymore. Ah, a few moments after the air seal locks disengaged, three of them rushed the doors and were able to break through the ranks. They, ah, well they are now loose aboard the Arum Bloom, sir.”

Silence.

“They... broke the ranks?”

“Ah, yes… sir. The guards were not prepared for them to leave their ship like that, or leave willingly at all. Several have had to be taken to the infirmary. Two granims have serious concussions and are in critical condi-.”

“How many?”

“Uh, sir?”

“How many Galactic Confederation soldiers are now running amok on my ship?”

The first guard paused nervously. The second piped up, “From the reports we’ve received, there are three, sir.”

Rozar stepped away from the computer console and began pacing slowly, sharp claws clacking against his jaw. Mike slipped a bit back behind his hiding spot as Rozar walked by. The Burnti Fleet Commander had his eyes closed, sure, but he still felt dangerous. Mike could feel the anger and tension building up. He was pretty sure everyone in the room could. Even Simmo, who had barely moved from her hiding spot at all, scooted almost imperceptibly closer to Mike’s side.

“Three.” Rozar sighed deeply. “Three soldiers were able to ‘break your ranks,’ injure several guards, and avoid capture?” Rozar stopped in front of the guards, his feathers puffed out a bit as he arched his neck to look down at the guards. “Please illuminate to me how, by all that is bright and shining, three soldiers were able to, thus far, elude you all.”

Mike did not envy the guards’ position. He knew it was silly, they were Burnti- his captors- but part of him even felt a little bad for them.

One of them, the second one, managed to gather a bit more courage and straighten up. “Two of them were human sir.” 

Mike gasped. Simmo glowered at him.

No one must have heard, thankfully, because the guard continued, “We had scanned their ship as we brought them aboard, but something was interfering with the scan. Before we could completely set up for boarding protocols, two humans and a booka attacked and got away.”

“Well, Commander,” Sitran drawled out dramatically, “It seems you certainly are busy. I can make sure my superiors take this,” he closed the display of the datapad, “as a gift of good faith for the truminium trade, shall I?”

Rozar made a sound that was a mix between a grunt and a growl.

Sitran walked toward the door. The two guards hesitated, unsure if they should try to stop her or not.

“I’ll just see myself out then,” Sitran stepped around them and toward the door, calling back smugly, “Don’t worry, I remember where my ship is, unless of course it’s been moved or stolen in all the commotion lately.”

Mike ducked back to hiding as Rozar stormed by. He was definitely growling now. After a moment, he heard the blips and hums of the computer console as he pulled up the report readouts the guards had brought him. More reports were sent in as the search for the intruders went on.

Simmo quietly thunked her head against the wall. “They are never going to leave. We need to get out of here,” she hissed under her breath.

“There are humans,” Mike whispered back. “They’ve probably come to rescue us!”

“Two humans. Two humans came. Oh, and a booka. Great.” Simmo started to roll her eyes but stopped herself once she realized what she was doing. “Against everyone else aboard the Arum Bloom? They’re idiots for coming at all.”

Mike sighed and leaned to spy on what the other occupants in the room were doing, but before he could, Simmo grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

“Now look here you little monster,” her face was right in Mike’s again, “don’t you go getting any stupid ideas. We’re getting out of here as soon as we can. I agreed to take you, Wenona, and for some reason, Jebannuck, but I draw the line there. We are not risking our plans to save more humans on a doomed mission.”

Mike smiled. “Aw, Simmo, you said our plan. Like we’re a team,” he teased. Simmo hissed quietly and pushed him back. It’d been a soft push, sure, but as Mike stepped back from it, he tripped over his other foot and stumbled back, landing on his butt past the tapestry.

He froze. He felt like he could feel every. Single. Heartbeat.

Frewan.

He turned his head to the middle of the room. Maybe Rozar hadn’t seen. Maybe he’d had his back turned and didn’t notice.

Yeah, no such luck.

Rozar stared back at him, surprise coloring his wide golden eyes.

After a few tense heartbeats, the two guards finally snapped out of their shock and pulled their blasters, leveling them right at Mike. 

Before any of them could react further, the control room door opened again. A huge hairy mass raced towards Mike. Booming barks felt like they were shaking the entire room.

“No one shoot!” a familiar voice commanded. “Put your weapons down!”

Mike had his hands full of massive, hairy, very excited dog. By the time he was able to sit back up and wipe the slobber off his face, Wenona had disarmed the guards and was handing their weapons to Jebannuck. She kept her blaster pointed directly at Rozar, but carefully, her eyes wandered to where Mike was trying to settle down Carson.

“Oh, Mike,” her voice bounced cheerily, “I’m glad you’re still alive. Because I’m about ready to kill you.” She dropped the smile. “Where have you been?!”

“Uh,” Mike stood back up, “with Simmo.” He motioned for her to step out from behind the tapestry. She was hesitant, but as soon as Mike had acknowledged her, Carson started sniffing. Then growling. Mike stroked the dog’s head. “It’s ok boy, she’s a friend.” Which earned a simultaneous scoff from Simmo and a quiet “Well…” from Jebannuck.

Simmo cautiously took a step out from behind the tapestry. Carson sniffed eagerly at her while Mike held his collar.

“What is that thing?!”

“That’s Carson,” Mike scratched the dog’s ears. “He’s our unofficial pet until we can get him home to his real owners back on Earth.”

Simmo’s antenna were flat against her head and her mandibles clicked quietly, but she didn’t stop the canine and instead stood stiffly, waiting for it to be over. When Carson was done, he huffed loudly and stood resolutely between Simmo and Mike.

“Simmo,” Rozar’s voice broke the tense silence, “I assume I’m to hold you responsible for at least most of this mess.”

“Quite likely.”

Rozar looked like he was trying to kill Simmo just by glaring at her. He looked like he might say more, but Jebannuck spoke first. “Simmo, are you the one who opened the cells?”

Simmo tilted her head stiffly. “Yeah, whatever. You’re welcome.”

Jebannuck stared at her. “You opened the entire cell block. There were more than just prisoners in there. You almost got me killed.”

“If I’d known it was your cell block, believe me, I would have found another distraction.”

Mike waved them both down. “Okay, fine, it’s fine. I mean, now we don’t need to break Jebannuck out.” Simmo made a long grunting noise and looked away. Mike looked at her, but shook his head and chose to ignore whatever she meant by that. They were together now, and they had to act quickly. “Simmo, you said something earlier about your ship?”

Simmo looked to Rozar who gave the smallest hint of a grin.

“It’s gone.” Simmo clenched her sharp claws. Mike, Jeb, and Wenona glanced at each other. Simmo only had eyes for Rozar Silence. Finally, Wenona, still aiming a blaster at his chest, took a warning step closer.

Rozar sighed. “The parts were useful. Plus,” he sneered, “we didn’t want you getting any bright ideas. Apparently, I was right to be concerned.”

“So we steal another ship. We get out of here,” Wenona said matter-of-factly.

Jebannuck shook his head. “That may be impossible. They’ll have increased guard duty since the last prisoners did that.” “We can take them, we have the blasters.”

“We don’t need to.” Mike jumped in. “There’s a ship, a Galactic Confederation ship.” He nodded at Rozar. “I overheard them earlier.”

“Yeah,” Simmo scoffed, “with its crew now wandering somewhere on the ship.”

Rozar chuckled. Wenona readjusted her aim on him that had been slipping during the conversation. “So what will you do now? Will you steal their ship and save yourselves, or will you get yourselves captured by trying to find them?”

“Shut up, Rozar, no one asked you.” Wenona gave him her iconic glare.

“Shoot him,” Simmo growled. “We don’t need him overhearing our plans so he can stop us once we leave.”

“And give the Burnti a reason to go to war against the Galactic Confederation?” Jebannuck countered. “He’s not just some guard, he’s a fleet commander, and we wouldn’t be doing it in self-defense!”

Wenona sighed and looked back at Jeb. “We can’t just leave him either.”

Rozar used the momentary distraction and dove behind the computer console. Wenona shot a blast which barely missed him as he went, brushing over the feather tips of his tail. Carson barked wildly, pulling Mike who was still holding his collar with him a few steps before Mike could regain footing.

The entire control room erupted with noise and no small amount of panic. The guards, even without weapons, rushed them in order to protect their commander. Wenona swore and tried to move to get another shot at Rozar, but her limp slowed her down. Jeb was able to shoot one of the guards, but the other crashed into Wenona and both of them fell to the floor.

Carson was still barking wildly but was now trying to pull Mike along to defend Wenona. He let go of the dog’s collar and yelled to Jeb to throw him one of the spare blasters. The guard that had attacked Wenona screamed as Carson bit its arm.

A loud tonal beep blared from speakers that must have been installed in the walls or ceiling. Rozar’s voice echoed in the room, outside in the hall, and Mike assumed, everywhere in the ship, “This is Fleet Commander Rozar. Humans have escaped. Armed and dangerous. Kill on sight.”

Mike felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped on him. We need to go. We need to go! WE NEED TO GO! He wasn’t sure if he had yelled any of that as he rushed forward and pulled Carson off the alien guard who quickly scrambled away holding its arm tightly to try to stop the purple blood from where they’d been bitten.

Simmo picked up one of the dropped blasters and tried a few more shots towards the computer console at Rozar as Jeb helped Wenona to her feet. She stumbled and gasped in pain.

“For my ship!” Simmo roared as she blasted away at the console. “For my crew!” She rushed the side to get a better angle. Mike couldn’t see if she got him or not as he struggled to pull Carson towards the door. He wished he had some sort of leash to help guide the dog away from the now-cowering guard and toward the door. 

“Carson, come!” The dog grudgingly let Mike pull him along.

Jebannuck was trying to pick up Wenona who was almost bent over with pain.

“What’s wrong?” Mike yelled. “What happened?”

“No time, hold this,” Jeb handed him an extra blaster so he could lift Wenona over his shoulder, using his now free hand to hold her in place as he ran to the door. “Simmo,” he shouted back, “We’re leaving! NOW!”

The montauk was already at his side. She frowned as they headed for the door, “What’s wrong with her?”

Jebannuck didn’t answer immediately. He led the way down the corridor and paused at the next turn. “Did either of you happen to overhear where the Confederation ship is being held?”

Mike thought back for a moment, trying to remember. “Docking bay 4,” He turned to Simmo. “Do you know where that is?”

Simmo paused then nodded and took the lead down the corridor.

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[awkwardnessandbaseball]

I can't believe we're here at the end!!! The good news is that the 1-2 chapter (just deciding how to split it up) companion piece from Killian's POV will be posted on Monday! Thank you so much for reading this story that I truly never thought I would finish. It means everything to me that people liked it even the tiniest bit, and I hope this last chapter is as satisfying for you to read as it was for me to write. (Also, I took some liberties with the whole house-purchasing process, so... bear with me, okay?)

Once again, so many thanks to: @cspupstravaganza, @sherlockianwhovian , @lassluna

Tag list: @quirkykayleetam, @squidvisious, @carpedzem, @revanmeetra87, @kmomof4, @capnjay21 

AO3 if that’s your jam: Prologue | Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7

I’d Pick You (and Your Little Dog, Too)

A Captain Swan Pupstravaganza Story

Summary: According to everyone in the known universe, Emma Nolan’s dog is supposed to lead her to her soulmate. But she’s not even sure if she wants that. Soulmates are pretty idealistic, don’t you think?

Chapter Seven:

Killian is going to propose.

Emma can feel it in her bones. No, in her very soul. Which makes sense since, you know, soulmates and all.

She can’t figure out when he’s going to do it, or where. He hasn’t asked her to go out to any special dinners. They haven’t made any plans to take the boat out yet, as apparently Killian wants it to be perfect before they take her on her maiden voyage as The Jolly Roger.

She supposes that could be why he wants to make it perfect, if he wants to propose on the boat. But she really just wants him to do it already and stop making her wait.

It’s probably her own fault, really. The way she’d taken ages to let him in, and then when he’d given her Liam’s ring, she’d probably looked about ready to run straight across the town line and never look back.

But she’s ready now.

She wants to be married to Killian Jones. She knows, now, that the feeling she’d had when she watched her brother get married has a name. It’s called jealousy, and she’s ready to stop feeling it. She wants to be married, too, not on the outside looking in on a happy couple with rings and on their way to starting a family.

Emma has thought about this a lot, and she’s decided that the best way to tell Killian that she’s ready is to show him. He’s given her a sentimental ring, bought her a freaking boat. He’s waited for her at every step of their relationship. So it’s time for Emma to pull off some big grand gesture or make a romantic speech. Or something.

The problem is that Killian seems to have an endless well of sentimental items and stories to give as romantic gifts, and Emma has none.

Until the house goes up for sale.

The house that she and David grew up in has changed a lot over the past fifteen years. The couple that bought it after their parents died apparently almost tore it down entirely, but decided on a simpler remodel. A paint job, a new fence, and a wraparound porch are the most obvious changes that Emma’s noticed over the years, but she has no idea what it looks like inside. She’s walking past it, as she does on her morning walks with Rascal, and she sees the For Sale sign out front, along with a small “OPEN HOUSE TODAY!” sign beside it.

It won’t hurt to look, Emma tells herself, so she texts David that she’ll be late to work -- or later than usual, really.

The inside is different. The shape is the same, all of the walls and doors exactly where she remembers them. But the colors are all off. The walls were all pale yellows and blues, with white trim, but now everything is a stale gray. Where the floorboards had been faded with time, now they’re stark black.

We’ll fix it up, Emma thinks. And then she stops the self-guided tour and freezes for a moment. She waits for the lead ball in her stomach to form, or for the stutter of her heartbeat that accompanies frightening thoughts about the future. But none of it comes.

“Excuse me,” she calls when she finds the realtor. He’s from a company called Ozman Realty from the next town over, so she doesn’t recognize him. “What’s the asking price on this house?”

“Two-hundred-thousand,” the man tells her. He smiles, but it’s hard and somehow almost… slimey. Emma doesn’t like it, but she doesn’t really have a choice in who’s selling the home she wants to buy. “I should tell you, we’ve already had an offer today, and the sign only went up this morning.”

“Dammit, David,” Emma grumbles “One moment, please.” She pulls her phone out and angrily dials her brother.

“Are you even going to bother coming in today?” he teases her.

“Are you trying to buy the old house out from under me?” She has no time for the teasing. She’s doing this, dammit.

“Wait, what?” David pauses. “Mom and Dad’s house is up for sale?”

“Yes, David! Keep up!” Emma yells into the phone. “Are you telling me you didn’t put this bid on it?”

“No, Emma, I had no idea.” He sounds sincere.

“Well… do you… I mean are you going to bid on it? Now that you know?” Emma runs a hand through her hair, finally letting her nerves catch up to her.

“No, Mary Margaret and I are uh… we’re building our own house, actually. We bought some property on the edge of town. We were hoping to keep it a surprise until, you know, there’s actually a house there.” David stops talking and Emma can picture him leaning forward on his desk, brows creasing together. “Are you going to buy the house, Emma?”

“Yeah, I think I am.” She bites her lip. “Or at least I’m going to try! Someone’s already put a bid on it, so I’ve gotta go.”

“You can use the inheritance.” David blurts out before she can hang up. “I used some of it to buy the property, but the rest is yours.”

When the Nolan twins had turned 18, they’d been shocked to learn that their parents had had a large amount of money set aside for them. They’d lived modestly, taken few family trips, so their parents must have spent all that time saving up without their children's knowledge. Emma had wanted to take a vacation immediately, somewhere warm and tropical and distinctly far away from Storybrooke just for a week, maybe two. But David had insisted that they save it.

“Mom and Dad would want us to use it for our futures, Emma, don’t you think?”

Reluctantly, Emma had agreed. But what was more ‘for our future’ than this house?

Still, she felt… wrong using so much of it.

“That’s our money, David. Not mine alone. How much did you use?” It’s way too early for this conversation -- Emma has only had one cup of coffee, courtesy of Killian. It’s not enough.

“I used fifty-thousand. There’s still a couple hundred thousand left. Seriously, Emma. Use it. I want you to. And if we need more down the line, we’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll think about it. See you soon.”

Emma wanders through the house, looking for the realtor again.

“I’ve got the full amount in my bank account. I’ll pay it up front. I want this house.”

She knows it’s not a good technique. You’re supposed to low-ball or pretend you’re not as interested as you are. But truthfully, Emma doesn’t care. She wants this fucking house.

The realtor looks thrown off by her forwardness, but he puts on his fake smile quickly.

“I’ll have to contact the buyer from this morning and give them a chance to counter,” he tells her.

Seriously?

“Yeah, sure, fine.”

He steps out of the room to make the call and Emma wanders through the living room, pointing out memories to Rascal.

“There was a dent in that wall from when David and I got into a wrestling match once. His head hit right below that window. He needed stitches.” Rascal sniffs the part of the wall she’s pointing to. “And over here--”

“Miss, uh, I didn’t catch your name,” the realtor calls.

“Emma No-- Emma Swan,” she tells him. Storybrooke is a small town, and while most of its inhabitants know her mother’s maiden name, it won’t be their first thought if word gets out that there’s a bid on the house. She just doesn’t want this to get back to Killian.

“Well, Miss Swan, the other bidder has backed down. We’ll just need you to get the money and sign some paperwork, and the house is yours. You skipped quite a few steps by having the money up front,” he jokes. “Why don’t we meet at the seafood restaurant I saw by the docks at 7 tonight and make everything official?”

“Why would we meet at a restaurant?” Emma asks suspiciously.

“Oh well… I was hoping we could…,” he stammers out.

“I don’t even know your name. And you’re asking me on a date?” She crosses her arms and arches an eyebrow. Rascal comes up beside her, sensing the tension.

The man, undeterred, simply holds out a hand.

“Walsh Ozman, of Ozman Realty,” he’s grinning, as if expecting Emma to be impressed.

“Emma Swan, sheriff and home buyer. As in, customer. As in, inappropriate to ask out.” She takes his hand and shakes it firmly, hammering her point home: I’m in charge, not you. For good measure, Rascal growls and stares at the realtor, unblinking.

Walsh clears his throat and takes a step back, eyeing both Emma and Rascal warily.

“Here’s my card. You can come by my office this evening.”

“Thanks.”

*****

Emma’s practically vibrating with excitement for the rest of the day. Creepy realtor aside, she’s bought her old house. For herself. For herself and Killian.

If this doesn’t show him she’s ready to move forward, nothing will.

When she gets home that night, brand new house keys in hand, Killian’s camped out in front of the TV holding a beer. It’s not unlike him to have a drink to unwind after work, but the fact that it’s a beer instead of a nice glass of rum makes Emma think that he’s been stewing on something all day, and he doesn’t want his anger to get the best of him. And drunk Killian is a bit more emotional than the sober version.

“Hey, babe,” Emma calls from the doorway. She begins the process of untying and removing her work shoes in favor of putting on her more comfortable sneakers. “How was your day?”

“Fine,” he answers, not even trying to convince her that it’s true. “Yours?” She hears his footsteps coming towards her.

“It was great, actually. You okay? You look…” Emma can’t quite put her finger on how he looks. Disappointed? Angry? Tired? A combination?

“Aye, I’m fine, love. I just… had a bit of a disappointment today.” He steps towards her, pulling her body flush against his. “I’m glad you’re home.”

She kisses him slowly, just for a moment or two, before pulling back. He looks down at her curiously.

“I wanna show you something,” she whispers. “Put your shoes on.”

“It’s nearly eight, Swan.” He seems to realize what an old man he sounds like, because he shakes his head. “I was just hoping we could stay in tonight.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Implicitly,” he answers automatically.

“Then put on your shoes.” She punctuates the sentence with a quick kiss on his cheek, scruff scratching at her lips.

She’s not sure how they figured out the logistics of getting into a car with two humans and two dogs and not a bit of thought. She opens the driver’s side door and both Rascal and Procella scramble in and hop in the back seat, lying more on top of each other than next to each other. They’ve done it since the first time they got into the same car, back when Emma and David had gotten the call about loose dogs at the park. It strikes Emma how long ago that was, how much things have changed, and her excitement is renewed.

Killian doesn’t complain on the drive over, despite his initial hesitation. Emma can tell he’s had a rough day, though she’s not sure why and she knows she should have asked. But… this is important and huge and hopefully it’ll make whatever it is that happened not even matter anymore.

She bites her lip as the niggling little voice in her head, the one that’s been quiet since the moment she kissed Killian’s cheek in the park on one of their first lunch dates, suddenly starts screaming inside of her head.

What if he thinks I’m crazy? What if he doesn’t want to move into the house? What if he isn’t ready? What if he’s not planning to propose, and I’ve done this huge gesture and he doesn’t get it? What if he wants to keep things the way they are? Or what if he takes one look at the huge house -- clearly meant for a family -- and runs straight out of town? What if it’s too much? What if--

“Swan, where are we going?” Killian’s voice jolts her back to reality. He’s quiet in the darkness, a softness to his voice that she can’t quite figure out.

“I bought something I want to show you.”

“Emma, did you--”

“We’re almost there,” she says, and she feels Killian staring at her. Her voice cracks at the end, and her knuckles are white on the steering wheel. What have I done?

If he leaves, she doesn’t know what she’ll do.

She pulls up to the curb across the street and climbs out without looking at him.

Before she even reaches the gate, he’s laughing. She can hear him start to chuckle, and then it grows into a full-on belly laugh.

Oh God, he thinks I’m crazy. Why did I--

“Swan, you bloody brilliant woman!” He’s right behind her now, grabbing her around the waist.

“You don’t even… what?” Emma is so very confused.

“You’re the buyer? I should have known.”

And then the pieces click into place.

“Were you the first bidder?” She turns around in his arms. He’s smiling so wide it nearly reaches both ears, and finally that loud voice in her head quiets down again. She smacks his chest once for good measure. “I was so angry!”

“How did you pay the whole thing up front?” He’s still laughing as he reaches up to brush a loose strand of hair away from her face.

“Inheritance,” Emma says simply. “Why were you trying to buy my house, Killan?”

“For you, of course.” His smile changes then, and his face turns serious. “I work with the man who lived here, Kris. He and his wife are adventuring around the country or something. They’ve been talking about it for weeks. So I knew the house was going up.” Killian shrugs. “I wanted to surprise you, but it seems you got me first.”

“They moved out last week, before it even went up,” Emma tells him, and he’s already nodding because he already knows. “So, we can go in. If you want.”

He smiles again, and she wonders briefly how she could have ever doubted him. Because of course he doesn’t think she’s crazy. Of course their minds were in the exact same place.

Soulmates, she thinks to herself.

They step inside the house, and Emma flips the lightswitch on. It’s still empty, of course, and for a moment, the space feels cavernous and huge. But then Rascal and Procella run out in front of her and start sniffing every corner, every inch of the baseboards. And it’s strange that something so simple eases Emma’s mind, but it does.

“I’m glad you brought me here, Swan,” Killian whispers from behind her. “I had big plans for this house, and I thought they’d all been dashed.” He kisses the skin just underneath her ear. “But now, hope is renewed.”

“Big plans?” Emma asks.

“Oh, aye. In fact, now seems as good a time as any, don’t you think?”

He moves out from behind her and she feels an immediate sense of loss when the warmth is gone. But then he’s in front of her, that same nervous look on his face that he’d had the first time he asked her to lunch.

Emma loves being right.

He gets down on one knee, and in a move that’s so natural that it seems rehearsed, Rascal and Procella come up on either side of him and sit patiently. There are six eyes staring at Emma and watching her start to cry.

“I feel like we’ve done a lot of things backwards, Swan. We met before I even knew I had a soulmate. I thought I’d be alone forever, adrift at sea without anyone for company. But then you and Rascal came along, and you brought me Procella. And then, by some miracle, you let me in. And you gave me something I never thought I would have: true love. And now, Emma Nolan, I have to ask you a very important question.” He pauses, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as well. “Will you marry me?”

He’s barely gotten the question out before she’s whispering yes. And then screaming it.

“Yes! Killian, yes.” And then they’re kissing, in the living room of their house, and it is, without a doubt, perfect.

[starspatter]

Heroes and Thieves, Ch. 12

Title: Heroes and Thieves Fandom/Universe: BTAS, pre/post-RotJ flashback

Summary: A story about second chances, healing, and having hope.

Rating: PG-13, for references to character death, child psychological torture and trauma.

Genre: Romance/Family/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 3,191 Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Also on ff.net and AO3. Note: I haven't actually read either of the books referenced in this chapter, but they came up when I was doing research and seemed to fit so I threw them in there.

Scars are souvenirs you never lose The past is never far Did you lose yourself somewhere out there Did you get to be a star

We grew up way too fast And now there's nothing to believe And reruns all become our history

-Goo Goo Dolls, "Name"

————————– 

Then. On Monday, Tim went to the library as usual once classes were over, but with a different purpose in mind than simply secluding himself in studies.  …That is to say, he wouldn’t be by himself this time. He wondered why he even agreed to this. That knock on the head must have scrambled his judgment – that was the only explanation he could think of for permitting himself to be possessed by such an insane notion. When he reached the agreed-upon meeting place though, there was someone else sitting at the table instead of the person he expected.  She had short, pitch black hair – sleek and strict – a style resembling Annie’s but with a widow’s peak; far darker bangs parted in the center, pulled back taut by a barrette. In addition, her skin was much more pale in comparison, emphasizing midnight mascara and lips.  Both her chin and slanted eyes were sharper, piercing pupils snapping up from her book to stare straight at him with such intensity he flinched on instinct.  He’d never seen anyone react so immediately to his presence. “Uh… Hello?” She eyed him with suspicion, silent and unmoving.  Statuesque. “Sorry to bother you, but… I’m supposed to be meeting someone here soon…” Again, no response. Tim didn’t know what to do. He thought about just giving up and turning tail (hey, can’t say he didn’t try at least), though somehow the prospect of presenting his back to her seemed like a dangerous idea.  He was about to retreat in reverse by slinking slowly into the shadows – safety – of shelves when a pair of hands suddenly emerged from behind him, blocking his vision. “Guess who~?” “Gah!” He whirled around in a panic, almost about to punch the invader to his personal space when he saw it was – of course – Stephanie.  The librarian sternly looked up from the counter at the loud disruption and pursed a finger to her lips, shushing. “Fuck- don’t do that,” he hissed with a sibilant shiver, clutching his rapidly beating breast. “…Sorry,” she whispered back, contrite. “It’s okay,” he muttered with a heavy sigh.  “Just give me some warning next time.” Meanwhile, the seated spectator was still watching the two intently, stony view shifting back and forth between them.  Tim felt even more uncomfortable under her penetrating gaze, and was about to suggest they move to someplace else when Steph waved to the glum girl in gleeful greeting. “I see you’ve met my roommate,” she chirped as she bounded over, cheerfully clasping hands on the sculpture’s stiffened shoulders.  “This is Cassandra, but you can call her Cass.  She doesn’t say much, but she’s a nice girl.  I hope you don’t mind if she joins us for today.” As she briskly babbled introduction in lieu of the stranger herself, who still had yet to speak, Tim felt he was starting to understand how Steph was able to put up with his own severe lack of social skills. “Um… Okay.  Sure.” “Awesome.  I’ll be with you guys in a sec, just let me finish shelving these books.” She bustled off again, leaving Tim alone with Cassandra before he could even say anything. Defeated, he laid his bookbag on the table and took the chair diagonally across from her, not wanting to remain directly in her field of vision.  She continued to follow his movements closely though, keeping sight trained on him as if a hawk tracking its prey – rigid and unwavering.  …It was starting to seriously creep him out. “So, er… What’s that you’re reading?” He blurted out in a feeble endeavor to fill conversation. Mechanically, she raised the cover so he could see.  Judging by the winged figure in frilly jeweled fashion painted next to a medieval knight, both holding what appeared to be fanciful masks, it looked like some kind of fantasy young adult fiction novel. “I… see.  Is it interesting?” She simply nodded, before (blessedly) returning attention to her reading material. … Can I go now? As the suffocating silence stretched on, Tim wasn’t sure if the situation was any better than before. Though her scathing appraisers were now fully fixed on the page in front of her rather than him, they didn’t seem to be making any progress.  …Which he supposed only made sense, given the orientation of the subject. …Should I let her know she’s holding that book upside-down? To his surprise, a rosy tint developed on the other’s complexion as she subtly flipped the tome to the correct position.  Odd, he was sure he hadn’t said that statement aloud.  …But then, reality was such a fickle thing these days. Yet, even though the volume was righted, her focus still didn’t seem to advance at all.  He mused idly if she was actually absorbing any of it. Don’t tell me she can’t actually read. “I can read.” Tim startled at the unanticipated answer.  …Okay, this was really getting weird.  He definitely hadn’t said anything that time.  Given that the supposed responder still hadn’t budged an inch, he began to doubt whether he was really hearing things… Before he could decide whether to inquire further out of sheer curiosity, Stephanie conveniently showed up at that precise moment, arms inflated with textbooks. “Back!  Sorry about that.” She plopped the heavy publications and herself down, insinuating cozily between the two, apparently without noticing the aura of awkwardness permeating the air. “Shall we get started then?” “Y- yeah.” Tim cast one more confused look at Cassandra before attempting to apply concentration to his other company instead.  It was difficult when said study partner’s own awareness kept wandering though, growing bored and fidgety within minutes.  In the corner of his periphery, he could sense the third party’s irises still peeking at him from over the pages as well, albeit remaining mute throughout the entire period. By the end of the (exhausting) hour, Tim had managed to at least hammer in a few concepts.  As they finally stood up and started gathering their things, Stephanie sheepishly apologized for her short retention span, and promised she’d be more attentive next time.  Meanwhile, Cassandra quietly shut her text and rose, maneuvering fluently – like lighter fluid, hazardous and almost undetectable – around the desk to approach Tim.  To both his and Steph’s astonishment, she leaned in alarmingly close, lifting delicate digits to lightly touch his forehead.  He swallowed apprehensively as she scrutinized his mystified expression, as if searching for something. After a bewildered beat, she lowered her hand, and placed the paperback she had in his. “Here.” He blinked at her in bemusement. “Read it.” She merely instructed, before departing without another word. “…What the heck was that about?” Steph pondered, scratching her hair. Tim shrugged.  “Beats me.  You know her better than I do.” “Yeah, but I have no idea why she does stuff sometimes.”  Stephanie paused, contemplating with a half-anxious, half-amused countenance.  “Hey, maybe she likes you.” Tim blushed, busying with packing away his possessions again. “Yeah, right.” … As he lay on his dorm bed later though, looking at the lent item against the light, he reflected on the strange glance and gesture she gave him.  It wasn’t like anything he’d ever experienced before.  It was as if the cold contact infiltrated deep into his soul, chilling to his very core… Conner came in then, bearing a broad grin. “Yooo Timbo, so how’d it go with that girl?” Tim shrugged, sitting up. “…She brought her roommate along.” The other boy elevated an eyebrow. “Dude.  That’s a bad sign.  Inviting someone else on the first date means you’re totally in the friendzone.” “I told you, it’s not a date.” “What is it then?” Tim exhaled, shaking his head. “…I don’t know.” Conner crossed over to clap a thick paw on Tim’s shoulder. “Lighten up, man.  You’ll win her over, don’t worry.” He elbowed with a wink and cheesy thumbs-up, and Tim rolled his retinas, but didn’t say anything. Conner’s eyes caught the object in the other’s lap, and he plucked it up without warning, wrinkling his nose as he examined the lacey title. “The Black Swan?  Since when do you read chick lit?” “It’s not mine,” Tim defended hastily.  “Steph’s roommate told me to read it.  Now give it back.” Tim made a swipe for the article, but Conner easily kept his extended muscle out of the shorter one’s reach as he flipped teasingly through the embarrassing narrative, reciting passages aloud with gusto. “‘Odile watched her father's back, swallowing involuntary bitter tears of disappointment and rejection, feeling her head droop a little as her heart sank with dejection.’” “Will you shut up?” “‘If she could have wept, her tears would have burned furrows down her face, so bitter were the dregs of degradation that she drank at that moment.’  …God, who writes this stuff?” Tim grimaced as he made another desperate effort to grab at the entity.  In the midst of their scuffle though, two tags secretly tucked into the spine slipped out from between the sheets, landing at their feet.  They both blinked and bent down to pick one up each, puzzled by the bizarre bookmarks. They were playing cards. Conner glimpsed up from the Ace of Clubs he was holding towards Tim, whose eyes were expanded wide with shock and – horror? – as his hand began shaking. “Hey, you okay, man?  What’s wrong?” Gulping, Tim gradually rotated the thin cardboard around to reveal its front: not a number or face… but a Joker. Anger and concern promptly carved onto Conner’s visage. “What the hell is this?  Some kind of sick joke?” Tim said nothing, as he peered down at the scarlet diptych design of mirrored angels and demons on the backside to find a brief note written in bold, black marker: Park.  4PM. Biting his lip in baffled frustration, Conner revolved his own cue around to discover a much longer message.  His brow furrowed as he tried (rather unsuccessfully) to pronounce the alien language it was inscribed in. “‘Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno’ – what is this, French?” “It’s Latin,” Tim clarified.  “’A rare bird in the lands and very much like a black swan.’   It likely refers to a recent theory published by Taleb.  It’s a metaphor to describe an event that comes as a surprise, that’s hard to predict since it’s beyond the realm of regular expectations, and has an extreme major impact as a result.  Afterwards, it is rationalized by hindsight, as if it could’ve been anticipated if the relevant data were available – but this only becomes apparent in retrospect.  The phrase itself was coined by the ancient poet Juvenal, back when people thought black swans didn’t exist and that such an abnormality was impossible. It was only later proven wrong when the first one was discovered in 1697.” Conner blinked vacantly at Tim, looking as lost as he always did whenever the other went off on an encyclopedic (if perhaps slightly pretentious) tangent. “So…  What does it all mean?” “I don’t know,” Tim admitted as he took the pair and headed determinedly over to his computer, booting up the system.  “But I’m going to find out.” He navigated to the browser window – keeping a weather eye on the worrisome memo as it unwillingly brought back bad memories – and did some digging. … By the time he was done with his research, the hour of summons was fast approaching.  He snatched his jacket and was out the door before Conner could even get a word in edgewise, racing towards Gotham Central Park. As soon as he arrived there, he stilled for a second at the entrance gate, surveying the tranquil scene of people walking casually to and fro: lovers holding hands, families enjoying late afternoon picnics and games of Frisbee or Fetch with their pets, children running joyfully to their parents across the grass – the latter giving affectionate hugs and pats before sending off with smiles to the playground, all while keeping a careful watch on their precious bundles from a distance. Tim spotted Cassandra sitting by herself on a swingset towards the outskirts, exuding a gloomy atmosphere that likely aided in deterring any nosey youngsters. He neared cautiously, observing her glide like a gentle pendulum for a while, before she slowed to a stop and looked at him finally. “You came.” Dispensing with preliminaries, Tim cut straight to the chase. “How did you know who I was?” Cassandra smiled softly. “The way you move – it resembles him.  No openings, always on guard, not a single wasted motion…”  She then added in a hush: “Plus, I read your mind.” Her head declined in apology. “Forgive me.  It’s not something I normally like to do to others, especially to someone I’ve just met. …There was such a dark cloud surrounding yours though, I- I couldn’t help it.” She dragged a heel through the dirt. “Besides, you know who I am now, don’t you?” Tim sat down on the swing next to her, repeating everything he had learned based on his hunch. “Several years ago, the Joker broke into a Cadmus facility in Arizona. He released five metahuman kids, who had been abducted from their families shortly after birth and raised as secret weapons for the government.  He took them on as his own protégés, calling them the ‘Royal Flush Gang’.  The strongest of them was named ‘Ace’, who possessed telepathic powers the likes of which the world had never seen before.  …’Ace’ reportedly died not long after of a brain aneurysm in the presence of Batman, who was the only witness, in a park not unlike this one.” Cassandra merely nodded affirmatively. “…He helped you fake your death, didn’t he?” “It was the only way to free me completely from Cadmus’ clutches.  Otherwise they would keep hounding me forever.” She gripped the chains bitterly. “He sent for an expensive foreign doctor who performed the surgery in secret.  Afterwards, he gave me a choice: I could stay and be a part of his team, or I could live peacefully on my own. …I chose this.” Tim afforded her an odd look, thinking how close he evidently could’ve been to having an actual “sister” his age. “…I’m guessing ‘Cassandra’s’ not your real name either.” “It is the name he gave me.  After the Greek prophet from mythology.” “Can you actually see the future?” Tim questioned, genuinely intrigued. Cass regarded the horizon, as if squinting into some sort of far-off void. “What I see are… ‘possibilities’.  Infinite paths our lives could’ve taken, had we made different choices.  If just the slightest factor changed course.  ‘Alternate realities’, if you will.” She told him, about a world where there weren’t just two Robins, but a third Robin and then a fourth, a world where Barbara was the one shot and paralyzed instead of Dick, where Joker lived and he died and came back to life and his name wasn’t Tim it was- “Stop.  I’d rather not hear any more.” Tim prolonged a palm to halt her crazy-sounding speech, grasping his aching skull in the other. “I’m not saying I totally understand or believe you, but basically what you’re saying is… ‘Something’ was bound to happen sooner or later.” “…If that is how you wish to interpret it.” She removed her limbs from the links, resting on her legs instead. “I am sorry, for what he did to you.  The… things I saw inside his mind, they were so terrible, I should’ve known better than to leave him be.  I… should’ve ended him when I had the chance.”  Her knuckles clenched, impressing into her thighs. “Even though they trained me to use my powers to kill, I- I couldn’t.  I didn’t want to.” Tentatively, Tim reached out to wrap his own hand soothingly around her wrist. “Hey, that’s not on you.  It’s not your fault.  None of it was your fault, including-”  He hesitated. “-What happened with your parents.” He heard an abrupt wailing coming from the court where a kid had tripped and fallen from the bottom of the slide, scraping her knees on the wood chips.   Her mom and dad hurried to her side, cooing and consoling as they stuck numerous kisses and band-aids with colorful cartoon kitties and pretty princesses on them to the boo-boos.  Turning, he saw there were tears rolling down Cassandra’s cheeks as she unfurled her fist, knotting fingers into the comfort of his. While her nails were startlingly long, she took care not to wound his flesh, closing just tight enough to exchange warmth. “You and I… are similar.  I don’t mean just because of Joker either.”  She meditated off into that empty space again.  “The two of us are anomalies.  Outliers.  Outsiders. We don’t fit into the grand scheme.  We’ve always been… ‘different’.  We don’t ‘belong’.” Tim wasn’t sure exactly what she was talking about.  But he took a stab at alleviating the mood anyway. “I guess you could say we’re… ‘Wild Cards’?” She stared at him. “…Sorry, bad joke.” And people say I’m humorless now. Cass looked a little put-off as she pouted, and he winced, remembering she could hear what he was thinking as well.  He swiftly opted to switch the topic instead. “You cannot tell Stephanie about any of this.” “I don’t intend to.”  Gray eyes narrowed with gritty resolve as her voice dropped to a grave mumble, digging her toe into the earth and gravel.  “Someone like her should not know of the horrors we’ve been through, the darkness that we come from.  The number of evil sins we’ve committed.  …It will only lead to causing the same kind of pain in the end.” Her face contorted obliquely as she said this, ominous and foreboding. Breathing out, she monitored the fading violet brightness of the sun as it started to set. “Stephanie… is light.  A ray of hope.  She’s the first person I’ve met who wasn’t instantly afraid of me, but accepted me right away for who I was. She’s the first real ‘friend’ I’ve ever had.  …I would never do anything to hurt her.” She looked down at their connection, as if realizing the implication just now, and nervously began to relinquish.  Tim didn’t let go though.  Something she had said triggered a thought in the back of his conscience, and he stood up, coaxing mildly. “Come on.  There’s someone else I think you should meet.” Timidly, she trailed after his tow.  Whilst they stood there waiting for the bus, he overheard a passing elderly duo remark wistfully on that “cute young couple”, which in turn urged him to be the one to impulsively liberate this time.  As they both coughed and avoided each other’s eyes, Cassandra spoke up in a somewhat troubled tone. “There’s… something else I should mention.” “What?” “When I… looked into your subconscious, I saw an even greater darkness buried deep down.  I can’t explain it, but… I fear it may consume you someday.”  She frowned in vexation at her inability to identify, to express.  “…It bears strong resemblance to him.” Though he was afraid to ask, Tim did so anyway. “Who?” She gave him an ambiguous look, constricted and conflicted dots overwhelmingly obscure. “Both.”

————————–

And now we're grown up orphans That never knew their names We don't belong to no one That's a shame But you could hide beside me Maybe for a while And I won't tell no one your name

[thewritewolf]

Rekindle Chapter 1: No Powers

Hello! In this story that I’ll be telling over the next month, Adrien and Marinette haven’t seen each other since graduation, which was several years ago. One chance meeting during an akuma battle has Adrien thinking about his old friend, but after everything that’s happened, he’s sure that she doesn’t want to see Adrien Agreste anytime soon... Chat Noir, however...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30  31

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

Ducking an errant beam, Adrien swung his baton into Mega Drain. Behind him, he heard it hit a car, killing the engine inside. “You feline up for a fight, metal head?”

The name was fitting since today’s akuma looked like a poorly put together metal robot slightly bigger than Adrien was, moving on treads. With how slowly it moved and how short its arms were, Adrien was feeling confident even though Ladybug hadn’t arrived yet. And why shouldn’t he? Nearly a decade of being Chat Noir had honed his reflexes and combat power to a fine point.

“CHAT NOIR WILL SUBMIT HIS MIRACULOUS TO MEGA DRAIN.”

Adrien winced at the volume. His enhanced senses could be both a blessing and a curse sometimes. “Tell you what.” He paused for dramatic effect. “No.”

That didn’t seem to be the right choice since Mega Drain began rapid firing beams at him. So far, he’d only seen it hit electronics, but every time they’d immediately shut down. That alone was enough reason for him to avoid getting hit, even if he wasn’t sure that he would actually be affected by the beams. If nothing else, Mega Drain seemed to think something would happen.

It wasn’t actually that hard to avoid the rays, but it stopped him from getting close to the akuma. Ah well. At least that means he’d get to see Ladybug, itself an increasingly rare event. He suspected that she was going to university, but who knows? He was just glad she hadn’t left Paris and given her miraculous to someone else. Despite all the rejections, he couldn’t bring himself to stop loving her.

A flash of black hair caught his attention. A sly greeting died on his lips when he realized it wasn’t Ladybug he’d seen but someone he hadn’t laid on eyes on in a couple years - Marinette Dupain-Cheng. His elation at seeing a childhood friend was matched only by the pang of sorrow he felt at what had happened the last time they’d seen each other. They tried to keep in touch, but after their talk on graduation day, life had gotten in the way of their friendship. It really was a shame. He missed having her in his life.

He ducked under another beam, but his wandering mind had made him less aware of his surroundings. The beam reflected off a metallic object and right back at him. He felt his strength leave his muscles and his limbs become more sluggish. Just as his senses deadened, he realized what had happened - the power his miraculous granted him had been drained- Oh. OH. That’s why he called himself Mega Drain.

Feeling almost as upset with himself taking that long to realize the meaning of his name as he was mad at getting hit, he ducked into an alleyway. All he had to do was shake off the akuma and he could - theoretically - detransform and recharge. He was thankful that Plagg was able to hold on and keep the Chat Noir suit on. Recharging was easy, but losing his secret identity would be irrecoverable.

His plan to escape wasn’t going well. Mega Drain was right behind him and the alley reached a dead end. Drawing his baton, he turned to face the akuma, locking his eyes on the single red lensed camera on the akuma’s face.

“YOUR MIRACULOUS IS MINE.” The akuma charged up his beam and Adrien tensed, ready to jump out of the way. He may not have superhuman reflexes, but he still had his training. He just had to wait for…

...A trash can to be shoved roughly onto its head from behind, apparently. Blinking in surprise, he looked past the flailing akuma to see Marinette motioning at him wildly. He took the opportunity for what it was and rushed over to her side, only for her to grab his arm and start running. They’d gotten a fair distance away before they heard a metallic roar. Marinette quickly unlocked the door to an office building and locked the door behind them.

Hands on her knees, she took a few deep breaths. “That… was a close one.”

“I’ll say.” Adrien took his tail in one hand and began idly twirling it. “What were you doing out during an akuma attack? You don’t strike me as the reporter type.”

She stood up straight, her breathing now under control. Adrien let himself be impressed - blindsiding akumas and making mad dashes through the streets can be exhausting. She’d kept herself in shape over the years. Crossing her arms, she glared up at him, “You’re welcome, you ungrateful cat.”

That got a laugh out of him. He didn’t remember her being so spunky, but then again, he knows why she was never herself around him, doesn’t he? “Sorry, sorry.” Bowing deeply, one arm held out, he added, “My deepest gratitude. Saving the feline in distress was very noble of you.” She snorted and rolled her eyes, but he pressed on. “And while I do very much appreciate what you’ve done so far, I have one more favor to ask.”

That got her curiosity. “And what’s that?”

“Go away.” He grinned at her shocked expression. His voice softened a little as he added, “Find somewhere safe to hide. I need to recharge and I can’t have you peeking at my secret identity. Besides, I’d feel better knowing such a kind civilian were out of harm’s way.”

She nodded and pointed behind him. “There are bathrooms over there that lock from the inside. I’m going to uh, sneak out the back way.” She started jogging away, and yelled back at him over her shoulder, “Good luck!”

He watched her go until she darted down a hallway. He knew there were more pressing things to be thinking about, but he felt a pang of remorse. Maybe if their last meeting hadn’t gone the way it did, they’d have worked harder to keep in touch. A warning beep sounded from his miraculous, shaking him out of his thoughts. No use dwelling on what might have been. He ran towards the bathrooms Marinette had pointed out, eager to recharge and get back in the fight.

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

Adrien landed in his room with the sun setting behind him. It was a smaller space than his childhood home, but he had to make some concessions if he wanted to be living on his own. Father wouldn’t rent or let him rent his own mansion and Adrien wouldn’t want to even if he did. He’d had more than enough of large, empty spaces for one lifetime already. At least now the empty spaces were smaller.

“Claws in.”

Plagg emerged from the ring and crash landed on top of his private refrigerator. “Geez, kid. You’re overworking me here! And could you at least tryto not eyeball every pretty civilian you come across? Unless this is some weird way of moving on from Ladybug.”

Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose will Plagg opened up his fridge. “First off, I don’t oogle random people. That was Marinette. You know? We went to school together.”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember Pigtails alright. Even if the name doesn't match anymore. Real awkward parting words at your graduation.”

His heart was heavy for a moment as he remembered her confession… and how he had to gently reject her. It was the last time they’d seen each other face to face, and he hated the hurt he’d seen in her eyes. But what else could he do? Which brought him to...

“Second - you know I can’t just move on from Ladybug. I’ve tried, you know it as well as I do, but…”

“Blah blah heart blah blah the pain of unrequited love. Yeah, you’ve mentioned it a few hundred times before.” He shoved a wedge of cheese in his mouth and talked around it. “At least you have something in common with Pigtails.”

“I guess we do,” Adrien replied in a sad whisper.

While they were never the closest of friends, Adrien keenly felt Marinette’s absence in his life. The energy she always had, the confidence she had not only in herself, but in everyone around her. Just being near her was usually enough to get people motivated - something she often took advantage of as class president. The certainty she had in what she wanted to be was something he could really use some of right now. He felt like his life was in a holding pattern, just working for his father while being groomed to take up the management portion of the Agreste business.

But what could he do? While they made a slight effort to keep in touch, he had no idea how she would react to seeing him again, face to face. Has she moved on from him? Did she come to resent him? Who knows? Somehow he doubted that she’d appreciate him showing up on her doorstep.

While watching Plagg do his absolute best to scarf down an entire wheel of camembert, a smile dawned on his face. While Adrien might not be met eagerly, who wouldn’t love a visit from the local superhero?

“Finish up quick, Plagg. We’re going out tonight.”

While his kwami complained, Adrien pulled up the discord channel the four of them had made to keep in touch. Wading through the conversations - mainly between Alya and Marinette - he eventually found what he was looking for: An address.

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

Half an hour later, Adrien landed on a balcony that he hoped was Marinette’s. He’d made a detour to buy some sweets to bring over. After all, it was rude to show up unannounced and empty handed.

The lights were on. He breathed a sigh of relief - that was a good sign. It had become painfully obvious to him that he didn’t know much about how her life was going now when he didn’t even know where she was working, let alone her hours. He peeked into the window to check if she was actually home.

The room seemed to be some combination of a work space and living room. There was a TV turned down as it played some show that she only glanced at occasionally. A familiar, old chaise, a couch and a couple armchairs, but there was also mannequins, reams of fabrics, and a table littered with pins, sketchbooks, and a sewing machine. Working at the sewing machine was Marinette herself, only occasionally glancing up at the TV from a jacket she was working on.

Satisfied that she was at least present, he tapped at the glass. Softly at first, but becoming more insistent when it became clear that she was too focused on her work to hear him. Even then it took her a few moments to realize just where the tapping was coming from. It was all worth it though when he saw how her eyes went wide at seeing him at the window. He grinned as she rushed over to the window.

“What are you doing here?! Do you realize how late it is?” She hissed at him. His smile faltered. This wasn’t the reaction he had been expecting.

“Well, I was in a rush earlier, so I couldn’t thank you properly for your help today.” Seeing her dubious expression, he pulled out the big guns and moved his basket of snacks in front of him. “I brought chocolate croissants?”

She glanced between the basket and him, torn. Just before she was about to speak, her stomach growled. Blushing, she opened the window wide and said, “Quick, get in before I change my mind.”

Adrien didn’t need to be told twice. Slipping inside, he took another look at the room around him, now using all his senses. It was messy, with several projects in various levels of completion scattered around the room. There were a few pictures on the walls, mostly of her and Alya, plus a few older ones from lycee and one from graduation. But nothing recent. His heightened smell backed him up - the only scent he could pick up was Marinette’s. Did she not get visitors?

“Sorry I haven’t cleaned up recently. I wasn’t expecting guests.” She rubbed one arm, embarrassed at the state of her apartment.

His cheeks heated up. It hadn’t been his intention to show up just to gawk at her living space. “No, no! Its fine.”

A few more moments of awkward silence passed. Why did he think this was a good idea again?

“Uh, Chat?”

“Yes?” He replied quickly, eager for any conversation starter.

“The basket…?”

“Oh! Sorry, here you go.” The goodies changed hands and Marinette took a look at them, inhaling the scent of the baked goods with a blissful smile. While she was busy, he pressed on. “So… anyway. I wanted to say I really appreciated the help. It was very brave of you to get involved like that. That could very well have been the end of me as Chat Noir.”

She smirked as she looked back up at him. “Yeah, then Paris would have to get a new Chat Noir and a new Ladybug and it would just be a mess. I figured I might as well save us the trouble.”

“Well, a new Chat Noir definitely, but why would we need a new Ladybug? I’m sure she would have been fine handling Mega Drain on her own.” Which was true. A lot of the time he felt like he was more a bodyguard for Ladybug, or sometimes emotional support.

“Do you really think Ladybug would want to go on without you?” She raised an eyebrow and smiled at him, a smile that quickly vanished when he said:

“Yes, no question. It might be rough for her at first, but there’s no doubt in my mind she’d be able to move on.” He shrugged. “And who knows? Maybe the next one would be better at this than I am.”

She stared at him, shaking her head. “But they wouldn’t be you.”

Laughing, he replied, “Yeah, that’s the point.”

Silence stretched between them again as Adrien stared at nothing in particular and Marinette fidgeted with the basket in her hands. Just as he was about to say his goodbyes, she spoke up.

“You know, you really shouldn’t have gotten this many. I don’t think I should eat them all on my own.”

“Oh?” That sounded like an invitation, but he didn’t want to make assumptions.

“Do you want to stick around? I could put a new movie on. It always helps me be productive.”

It was at this point that Adrien realized he hadn’t actually known what to expect when he came over here. But right now, spending time with a friend sounded much better than sitting at home alone.

“Sure, I think I can do that. So long as you don’t mind me commenting during the movie.”

Shaking her head with a smile, she said, “I should’ve guessed the famous Chat Noir is a movie talker.”

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

One movie had turned into two, then three. Granted, they weren’t particularly long movies, but it was well past midnight by the time Adrien began making his way for his window escape. Despite how tired he felt, even now he was leaving reluctantly. He’d had a great time laughing and eating and talking, and he from how often he’d coaxed laughter out of Marinette, he thought she was enjoying herself too.

It made leaving feel bittersweet. A taste of the friendship he’d never gotten to have. And now he had to go back into his strict, regimented life as if he hadn’t just had the most fun in ages.

“Hey, Chat?”

“Yes, purrincess?” He grinned at her eye roll. The nickname had stuck while they were watching the Princess Bride, much to her feigned displeasure.

“I was just going to say… tonight was nice. If you wanted to come over more often, I’d appreciate the company.”

“You sure I wasn’t too distracting?”

“Are you kidding? I made more progress on my pieces today than I have in the last two days combined. Something about an empty space drains motivation, you know?”

Smiling back at her, he replied, “Yeah, I think I get what you mean. I’ll come visit again soon. I promise… purrincess.”

He leaped out of the window and made his way home, smiling all the while.

[freedom-shamrock]

The Chat Righting Reflex - Chapter Three

Also on AO3 Chp 1 - Kitty’s New Home    Chp 2 - Taking Care of Business Chp 3 - Hugs and Kisses   Chp 4 - A Well-Fed Chat Chp 5 - Chat in the Night    Chp 6 - Here With You Chp 7 - The Adventures of Mr. Stainless and the Muffin Maiden Chp 8 - New Normal          Chp 9 - Caretaker Kitty Chp 10 - More Normal      Chp 11 - Everyday Miracles Chp 12 - Family by Design     Chp 13 - Contented Chat

This is also the @miraculousfluffmonth  prompt #3- Summer Love

Hugs and Kisses

"You didn't have to walk us all the way out, son," Tom said, standing before the apartment building's front door.

Adrien shrugged, smiling up at the man who still had a couple inches on him.  "I wanted to."

Sabine ran her hand from his shoulder to his elbow.  "Just remember that you get to decide what dictates proper manners now.  You're in a new place, with new rules."

Adrien nodded.  "Yes, Mama Sabine."  He leaned down to hug her.  "I also wanted to thank you.  For everything."  He'd no sooner than straightened up when he found himself wrapped in the bigger man's arms.

"We're happy to be here for the everything, son," Tom said.  "And it's important to us that you understand that we mean everything, and that you believe us when we say it."

"I do."  Adrien took a small step back.  "Even when I was still trying to be two different people to you, you were kind and supportive.  Telling you who I was, was one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Sabine reached up and patted his cheek.  "I'm glad you've been able to open up to us."

The past six weeks had been amazing.  He didn't just have his sweet girlfriend and crime fighting partner supporting him, caring for him, but he'd somehow gotten her parents as well.  He'd known them for years, but revealing his identity had changed their relationships in ways he had never imagined possible.  Tom's heart-to-heart talks while teaching him how to do laundry and dishes, showed more love than he'd gotten from his father in the last ten years combined.  Sabine's cooking lessons and life advice filled the huge mom-shaped hole in his heart.

"I can't even explain how much you two mean to me," Adrien said.  "I just don't have the words, in any language.  But I need you to understand that I appreciate all of it."  He flashed them a rueful smile.  "I used to desperately want to make Gabriel proud of me.  I don't care what he thinks now, but I know some part of that old drive has awoken recently, and it's you two I want to make proud."

"Then let me assure you," Tom said, laying a huge hand on Adrien's shoulder.  "We are very proud of you."

"And nothing would make us prouder, than to see you happy," Sabine added.

Adrien returned to his apartment, once again marveling at those words, his apartment.  He was exhausted, but wasn't sure if he'd ever been happier.  Marinette had dimmed the lighting, letting him see his place clearly, but in a cozy soothing way.

"Hey, Kitty," she said, looking up from the list she was making.  While he'd been seeing her parents out, she'd changed into an adorable pajama set.  Soft black fabric with green paw prints, obviously crafted by her into short shorts and a short-sleeve shirt with four buttons up the front.

He smiled at her.  "You're adorable, Princess."

She beamed at him, pushing aside her paper to cross the room.  "I made these because Chat Noir is my very favorite superhero.  He's sweet and sexy, and deserves all the good things."

He laughed, letting her take his hands.  "When did you even have time to make these."  He brushed her sleeve with a thumb and almost melted at the softness.  "I mean, you made curtains and a comforter, too."

Marinette shrugged.  "Stolen minutes here and there."  She popped up on her toes to kiss his cheek.  "Yours are waiting in the bathroom with your toothbrush."

Just when he was sure he couldn't possibly get any happier, Marinette nudged him a little farther.  "You made some for me?"

She giggled.  "Go change.  We need to get started on those cuddles."

He woke a little warmer than was comfortable, but everything else was perfect.  He could smell Marinette, thanks to his amped up senses, and that was always soothing.  The fan blowing morning air over his bed provided a lovely white noise.  The source of heat was his girlfriend, actually.  He was half overlapping her, his head resting on her upper chest while her fingers did magical things to his scalp.  He realized then, that he was purring.

"Hmmm," he breathed, wrapping his arms around her.  "This is nice."

"It is," she agreed, letting one hand down to make circles on his shoulders and upper back.

"Is it okay that someday, maybe not too far in the future, I want to wake up like this every day?" he asked, wondering if he was moving too fast or becoming too clingy.  Those were worries he'd discussed with his therapist once he and Marinette became official, even before he told her who he was under the mask.

Her hands kept working despite the kiss she planted on his forehead.  "That's a good life goal.  Very attainable."

He giggled.  "I love you."

"Perfect," she said.  "Because I love you, too."  She continued to pet him for a while, in the comfortable quiet of coming fully awake.  "My parents left us breakfast," she eventually said.  "They wanted to be sure we had something here since it's unlikely we'll be able to stop by their place.  But they wanted you to know that you have an open invitation to breakfast and dinner anytime."

"Your parents are amazing," he said, slowly rolling off Marinette to sit up.  He looked around his room with its bare walls and superhero curtains.  "I like my new room."

"Are you going to decorate, do you think?" she asked, shoving her pillows around to sit up as well.

He nodded.  "Yeah.  But probably slowly."  He knew he wanted pictures of his friends and the people he cared about.  "I need to figure out what my style is."

"That's a great idea," Marinette agreed.  "It's better to wait and make sure your place suits you."

He chuckled.  "Is it weird that it already does?  At least a little?"

"Nope."  Marinette leaned in and kissed his cheek.  "And trust me, I know all about weirdness."  She stretched.  "So what's on the plan for today?"

He smiled, delighted to get to pick his own schedule and plans.  "I need to get a new phone.  That's probably the most important thing.  And some basic groceries to get me, or us, through until we get my kitchen set up."

"Do you want to work on the kitchen at all today?" she asked.

He leaned into her space, brushing his nose against hers.  "Nope.  I want to save a big chunk of my day to spend with my super incredible girlfriend.  I'm hoping she'll go to lunch with me.  Maybe have a romantic walk somewhere.  Just doing things together that we haven't been able to do before."

"So you're ready to go public with your relationship status?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, I've been ready for ages," he admitted.  "It just wasn't a good idea until now.  I've no doubt there will be complications and drama next week when Gabriel gets back in town, and I'd like to distract myself from that inevitable mess.  I also thought it would be really nice to just embrace our freedom as recent graduates together, maybe explore some parts of Paris that have been off limits to me my whole life."

"Oooh."  She was so dang cute as she wriggled in glee.  "I love it."

"I kind of want to make sure I keep the fun stuff at the top of my list this whole week, while still getting one or two important things done a day," he explained.  "In addition to being a really positive start to my new life, it'll help me fight off the emotional suck of Gabriel Agreste when I finally have to talk to him again."

Moving with a swiftness that he'd come to expect, Marinette was suddenly in his lap, hugging him.  "That's a great idea.  You're brilliant, do you know that?"  She didn't even give him time to answer.  "And if there's anything I can do to help, things I can set up or get, or even if you need a little time to yourself, you just tell me, okay?  I want to support you, but I don't want to take over your life now that you have control of it."

Her words sparked a sudden joy in him, and he pulled her close for a kiss.  He'd planned on something tender and lingering, but her eager response and  grip on his hair made it something far more intense.  His hand strayed down her back to settle on her fabulous ass, apparently spurring her to press herself more fully against him.  He gasped, involuntarily breaking the kiss.  Marinette took that as an opportunity to relocate her lips to his neck.

After nearly two months together, he was no stranger to hot and heavy makeouts with his girlfriend.  Her physical affection reflected the passion and enthusiasm she threw into anything that she loved, and it was fantastic to be on the receiving end when she decided to take charge.  Planting a foot and a hand on his mattress, he flipped them, grinning down at her when she froze in surprise.  He caressed her cheek lightly, watching for any hint that she wasn't okay with any of this.

"Oh," she whispered, mischief glinting in her eyes.  "Is that the way it's going to be?"

"Yeah.  For right now, anyway, and if you're okay with it."  She was so pretty from this vantage point, and  he really hoped she wasn't uncomfortable.

"I think I could get used to it… some of the time anyway," she teased.

"Ugh!  Could you two get any more gross?" Plagg whined, startling Adrien up onto his knees.

"Stop it Plagg!" Tikki chastised zipping in to grab hold of the black kwami's tail.  She met Adrien's eyes as she dragged him out of the room.  "I'm so sorry. I was looking for Marinette's phone. Don't mind us. We're going to go in the living room to play Candy Crush."

"Please keep the moaning to a sensible level," Plagg added before muttering, "Stupid rutting humans."

Below him, Marinette started to giggle.  Shaking his head, Adrien flopped down next to her.   "Maybe we can revisit this later after my embarrassingly rude kwami has gorged on cheese."

"It's a plan," she agreed.

This got away from me a little bit, but it's summer, and there's love, so I'll call it a good fit.

There are a few Fluff August prompts that fit what I'd like to do in this story, so those are going to happen as I can fit them in, so Dumpster Dad won’t show up until he has to.

Tagging:  @the-wheel-comes-full-circle

[au-tumn-al]

TTGC has been out for 2 weeks now and since it’s been enough time for me to stop crying and actually do the post-game stuff, I want to get all my thoughts out about it. It’ll be under a cut because it’ll be long, and I’m not sure how many of my followers are actually interested in what I have to say. Which is ofc fine, I just like talking about it and I’ve been sitting on some of this for a while.

To start off, I loved Torna ~ The Golden Country. It’s the best expansion DLC we’ll be seeing from Nintendo, and probably from most other games in general, for a while. 

I like its core cast of main characters than base XC2, and I think I like it a little more than XC1’s as well. I didn’t actually like any of the characters more than my favorites from base XC2, but as a whole, they were all really likable and never felt like they were falling behind in the background. I never felt like “yeah, I like them I guess” to any of the cast members like Sharla was for me from XC1, and a pretty decent chunk of the protagonists in XC2. ...Because XC2′s cast was way too huge with too much focus on the antagonists and somehow not enough at the same time, but that’s neither here. Technically Team Hugo isn’t really as important to the story as Lora, Jin, Addam, and Mythra, but the sidequests very easily fixed that for me. All the characters were very present in the side-content so I never forgot about them. I regularly did sidequests when they popped up so it felt like a natural part of the story.

I would say that it delivered in everything that I was hoping for from a story standpoint but it really, really didn’t. One of the things I was looking forward to the most was seeing more of Amalthus and Malos’s dynamic before Malos left to start his rampage. Their relationship is only told through subtext in the core game and what we saw was interesting. Even in some of chapter 8 and 9, it almost felt like they were trying one-up the other on how much destruction they could cause. Malos’s “Amalthus, you never disappoint” line delivery even makes it sound like he was looking forward to what his driver would be throwing at Alrest.

The only thing we got from Torna about how they were initially with each other was

Malos shows up and Amalthus’s knee-jerk reaction is a deadpan “oh god, it’s this asshole” look. I enjoyed it probably more than I was meant to, but I wish we got to see more. Maybe it was a little unrealistic to expect it, but considering how much of the story depends on their relationship with each other, was it really?

Another thing I was hoping for was more backstory for Minoth. I wanted to know if he knew Malos (which was actually answered though, so that was nice) since they shared a driver, and I really wanted to know how he ended up becoming a flesh eater. Judicium was already destroyed by the time TTGC rolled around and we barely went into what a flesh eater even was, so that was lame. That said though, the game did go into his relationship with Amalthus and it told us all that was really important, on top of giving us some other stuff I wasn’t expecting (a North American wild west motif, Spanish, a weapon deadass called “gunknife”, and Elma’s specials except more stylized) so you certainly won’t hear me complaining. I loved what we got with Minoth even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted, and I think he’s great. 

Another thing that I was expecting was for Malos to have more screentime. He was heavily advertised so I think I’m justified in expecting this. There wasn’t necessarily anything about Malos I wanted expanded upon, I just wanted to see him more since he makes everything about a billion times more entertaining just by being there. He completely stole the show in every cutscene he was in and I loved every second of it. He was kicking everyone’s asses in his first boss fight and even won, but I was loving his script, animation, and voice acting far too much to care. 

there was a nice little detail to his animation too

After he punches the ground for the Monado Cyclone(?), you can see him shaking his hand off because like damn, that probably hurt. ,,,I just liked it. Don’t ask me why. 

He’s probably the main reason I only play in English to be honest. His voice actor sells the script and character so perfectly. I seriously don’t know if I’d like Malos as much as I do if he was played by someone else. He might be the only Xenoblade character other than maybe Shulk and Lin that I can say this about. 

OH

and his monologue to the party right after his first boss fight where he says “they see the divine flame of life and piss all over it” while sauntering away was actually the best scene in the game. We didn’t see as much of Malos as I would have wanted, but every scene we did get was the best so like with Minoth, I can’t complain. I love this man. He’s the most entertaining sack of shit I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying.

My ruined expectations and Malos aside, what the game actually gave us was so good, I can’t even complain about the things I wanted to see because they gave us plenty of stuff I didn’t know I wanted. The two biggest ones, for me anyway, are Mythra and Addam.

I had no idea that TTGC would flesh her out the way they did, and I am not disappointed. Mythra was amazing in TTGC, and really made me appreciate her and her character arc in the base game a lot more. I loved how generally unbearable and unlikable they made her. She’s completely self-absorbed and full of herself, and just overall extremely similar to Malos. The way the game handles her attitude was really well done too. Because the other characters are constantly calling her out for her bad behavior (esp. Jin and Brighid. Lora chips in too sometimes) and lack of awareness on top of being the verbal punching bag and the butt of a lot of the jokes in the game, she’s not obnoxious to the player. She could have been really annoying, but she wasn’t. On the topic of the jokes though, I laughed at more of TTGC’s comedy. They relied less on anime tropes and were more character focused, which are usually the jokes I like more. The game felt a lot more like XC1 in that aspect, and that was really great.

Moving on, I loved Addam. He was my favorite character in the game. Making him act like Mythra’s dad was something I wasn’t expecting and I loved it. I have a pretty big post in my drafts where I talk about him extensively so that should go up at some point. It’s mostly about how he’s a really good foil to Rex and how he failed as a driver rather than about his pretty fabulous dynamic with Mythra (even if he ended up rejecting her as his blade, he did accept her as person for him to take care of, and he did everything he could in that area) though. Oh, and because there’s no way to shoehorn this in that Addam post, I want to bring something up. I don’t know if there’s any good footage of this (if there is, please send it to me so I can edit it in), but there’s a post battle conversation between Mythra and Lora that goes kind of like this:

Mythra: “Hey, Lora, what do you do when the going gets tough?”

Lora: “Just think about the people I care about.”

Mythra: “Think of loved ones, huh?”

Lora: “Yeah. If I do that, I’m usually grinning like an idiot.”

Now, let’s look at Mythra when she’s at one of her lowest. She’s scared and feels alone. Malos is attacking her with everything he’s got, and she’s is looking for anything to hold on to. ...You see where I’m going with this.

She flashes to memories of her friends, and thinks of both Addam and Milton specifically. The thing is though, for all she knows, Milton could be dead from Malos’s initial attack, and Addam is doing everything he can to hold her back from fully transforming into Pneuma because of his distrust and fear of her. Mythra trying to think of all her loved ones wasn’t enough, and then all she got was a confusing vision of a person she’d never met before. She’s completely alone, confused, and hurt, and she doesn’t have anything there to ground her. That’s when she breaks down in tears, and then starts sinking Torna in a daze because she can’t control her power. 

...on a more positive note, two of the visions she gets of Rex is of him accepting her in chapter 7. 

So that was finding comfort in a loved one, but it was just too soon. Like Jin told her, her true driver and real time to come as her own as a person wasn’t in Torna. It certainly didn’t help at the time, though.

At that point in chapter 7, she was in a similarly low state as she was in TTGC, except she had Rex that time, and then was fully able to achieve her full power as an Aegis. It should be noted Mythra’s “I just...want...to save...” line was apparently horribly translated, and the original was more along the lines of her begging for someone to save her. That’s what I hear anyway and I can believe it. It makes more sense that way. 

Good God, was this a great expansion. It was already pretty fantastic with just its setting and premise alone, but it does an even better job in making me appreciate a lot of the scenes in XC2. Even the already-amazing scene in chapter 7. sPEAKING OF ALREADY AMAZING SCENES MADE BETTER BY TTGC

Rex: “I don’t even know what I’m doing here anymore... Did...did I go wrong somewhere...?”

This is one of my favorite Mythra scenes in the entire game, TTGC included. It’s so small but it’s so good. I don’t think I even need to explain why this is made better by TTGC. 

XC2 is very loud, and unabashedly anime, but it has quiet scenes like this and dammit, are they the best parts of the game. I think they’re even made better by the fact XC2′s tone is generally so upbeat and anime.

I said this before, but TTGC didn’t tell us anything new. We already knew pretty much all of the events of the game before it came out. Maybe we were missing a few details, but in the end, we knew how things were going to go down. Mythra becoming a much more interesting character because of the expansion pass just by being able to see her growth just shows how important the “show, don’t tell” rule is. 

I love Haze a lot. I hate how she’s a third wheel in Team Lora, I hate how Addam and Jin are the only people who really pay any attention to her, and I hate even more that no one hugs her when she’s crying at the end of the game.

oh yeah, Lora and Jin were the main characters. They weren’t very interesting to me (Lora barely had an arc and all of Jin’s intricacies mostly come from the base game) so I don’t have a lot to say about them other than I really liked them. The ending would have completely broke me if the game forced me to watch Lora die so I don’t even care that it was left out. 

People consider the lyrics of “A Moment of Eternity” a message from Lora to Jin but I like to pretend that it’s Addam to Mythra because it’s less depressing that way. The singer is encouraging their loved one to find someone to help them move on and if it was to Jin, that meant that Lora’s last wish for him never happened. He met Malos and then

R

E

G

R

E

S

S

E

D

but seriously though, it could be both. The song ties in pretty well to “One Last You”, and that was very obviously from Pneuma about Rex. It was probably supposed to be up to interpretation anyway. ...a little off-topic, but there’s a line in the song that goes “time flowed differently for us/not to say it was all bad” and then there’s a scene where Addam talks about how he doesn’t have enough time to adapt to Mythra so...idk, maybe that’s something? I mean, Lora got 17 years with Jin, so she didn’t exactly have the short one year Addam had with Mythra.

i’m done now. 

Half of this was me gushing about Mythra. I don’t even care because I loved her. Please forgive any of the obvious signs that I didn’t spend very long proofreading this thanks--

[katelides]

One Shot 41 - Bowling Mania

I went bowling with my dad and good friend last night and got stuck with this idea, hope you enjoy it ;p

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12670274/41/Little-Big-One-Shots

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12940941/chapters/32737188

Bowling Mania

One Shot 41

Beca huffs as she lets her exhausted body fall on the couch. She managed to get home extra early today after having a crazy week at the studio. Being the main provider for herself, her girlfriend (Chloe, her best friend (Stacie) and her girlfriend (Aubrey) who in turn is her girlfriend’s best friend, is exhausting. Yet she’ll never complain. Sharing a house with all of them was the best thing ever.

Beca checks her phone and sees that she has an hour before everyone is going to be home. That means she has time to shower and start preparing dinner for all of them. It was her turn after all. So she rolls off the couch with a groan and makes her way up the stairs to the bathroom that was only hers and Chloe’s. She takes off her clothes and turns on the water in the shower. A few minutes later the water is the perfect temperature and she slides in and lets out a relieved sigh, enjoying the relaxing, soothing feeling.

She has always been quick in the showers. She was in and out under 15 minutes. She was also always, no exception amazed how Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie sometimes needed more than an hour each. Beca puts her hair up in a messy, wet bun. Knowing once she lets it loose she somehow end up with nice, bouncy curls. She has no idea how it happens but isn’t complaining about it either. It means less time to spend to actually do something with it.

The brunette puts on a pair of black bootleg jeans and white shirt. To top it off her signature look she has been sporting since high school she puts on a red and white flannel. (Also Chloe’s favorite but definitely not why she put it on. She would never.” Once she’s dressed she makes her way back down and into the kitchen.  She barely managed to open the fridge when the front door slams open followed by a loud squeal and happy chatter. Oh great, the weirdo’s are home.

“Beca!” The loud shriek coming from Chloe makes Beca tense up for the collision she knows is coming. Surely a minute later she feels Chloe’s body slam into hers and two arms wrapping themselves around her waist. “Hey baby, how was your day?” Beca turns around in her girlfriend’s arms and wraps her arms around the redhead’s neck with a smile. “It was great, the kids are doing really great with the graduation mix you made for them.” The brunette chuckles and smiles warmly at her girlfriend. “You should come down to listen to it.” Beca notices the sad look when Chloe says that.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She asks gently. “It’s nothing, really.” If Beca didn’t know Chloe as well as she did she would have let it go but she does know her better than that. “Chlo, sweetie, what’s wrong? Please talk to me.” Chloe lets out a sigh. “It’s just… you’ve been so busy that past week and I’ve barely seen you. I guess I was just scared that maybe you’re putting work before me or something? It’s stupid I know, I should never have thought that a-“

Beca cuts her girlfriend off in a gentle tone. “Chlo, I would never put my work before you. The reason I’ve been working so hard this past week and will be working the next is because I want to be able to spend my summer with you. I want to take you to see your parents, maybe even go on a trip somewhere?” Chloe takes a step back in amazement and slowly a huge grin makes its way up her face. “R-Really?” She asks carefully. “Of course I-“

“Yo B, are you cooking?” Stacie shouts from the living room before appearing seconds later with Aubrey following closely. “I was just about to start, any requests?” Beca asks in her turn. “Actually since you haven’t started yet, how about we go out?” Stacie suggests with shrug. “Ooooh yes that’s a great idea. I know this new place in town and they supposedly have amazing burgers.” Chloe throws excitedly into the conversation. “Alright, any objections for you two?” Beca asks the other couple. She misses the tiny frown on Stacie’s face.

The tall brunette whispers something in Aubrey’s ear which of course catches Chloe’s attention. “You guys don’t want to go, huh?” Aubrey and Stacie quickly shake their heads. “No of course we want to go but uhm shouldn’t you maybe, I don’t know tell Beca where we’re going exactly?” Stacie semi mumbles, loud enough for Beca to hear. “Uhm what are you talking about? Chlo, where are you taking us?” Beca turns her full attention to her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow. “Uhm well the place I was talking about is uhm you know, a bowling place”

“Wait a sec… why would you keep that fact from me? And second of all you know I don’t like bowling. It’s the one thing I hate more than movies.” Chloe puts up a pout, not just any pout but the pout. That one pout Beca can never resist. “No Chlo-ple-I swear… fine! I’ll come but in no way whatsoever I’m playing. Did I make myself clear?” Beca points her finger at the three girls before grunting and stomping off to the hallway to take her jacket. “Are we going or not?”

-,-,-,-,-

A little over a half hour later the girls arrive at the Bowling Palace. Aubrey, Stacie and Chloe stay back while Beca marches forward and inside. They follow her but Stacie stops them from going in. “Alright now that Beca can’t hear us. You two have to promise you won’t force her to play, she really has this thing with bowling. You can call it a trauma if you want to but it’s a very sensitive subject.” Aubrey and Chloe nod their heads with sad frowns.

With that the three remaining go inside and look for their friend. It doesn’t take long for them to find the brunette seated at a lane, waiting with her arms crossed and a huge angry frown on her face. “Hey babe, are you ok?” Chloe asks, sitting down next to her girlfriend. “Fine.” Beca huffs. “Ok, maybe not fine… Apparently we all have to play so…” She points at the screen that shows STACIE – AUBREY – CHLOE – BECA.

“Beca you don’t h-“ Stacie gets cut off by her best friend. “I said it’s fine Stace, let’s just play.” Stacie takes a ball throws her first. In total she manages to knock over 8 pins. Aubrey knocks over 6. Chloe’s first ball goes straight into the gutter. Beca gets up and stops the redhead before she can throw again. “Wait, uhm if you hold the ball like this… and stand here… now shoot.” Chloe does as told and manages to hit 3 pins. The redhead lets out an excited shriek and jumps around. “Good job baby, that was great shot.”

Chloe turns around and presses her lips on Beca’s with a smile. “Thank you Becs.” Stacie and Aubrey nudge each other at their friend’s cuteness. “Alright B, are you up for it?” Stacie asks with careful expression clouding her face. “Uhm yeah, no, I guess, I am.” Beca takes a ball and lets out a nervous chuckle.

Right as she’s trying to throw the ball she hears a voice that she swore she thought she’d never hear again. “Little Mitch?! Is that really? God Tommy look at that, it’s little Mitch.” Beca groans and throws the ball and throws a perfect strike. All to the amazement of Aubrey and Chloe. “What are you doing here Jesse.” Stacie asks while making her way to her best friend. “Conrad, long time no see. I see you’ve returned to the game.” Jesse says with a coy smirk on his face.

Chloe and Aubrey share a confused look at they keep following the conversation between their girlfriend’s and the guys who’s names are Jesse and Tommy. “We’re here to have some fun with our girlfriends Swanson so if you don’t mind leaving us be.” Jesse lets out a laugh. “Are you seriously still keeping this up? You know that you and me are the A-team.” Beca scoffs. “We were never the ‘A-team’ Jesse. We could have been friends but you’re the one that ditched me, remember?”

“I didn’t want to ditch you baby, but you were a disgrace to the community.” Beca jumps in between Stacie and Jesse, trying to keep the tall brunette and her other friends from jumping the boy. “Whoa okay, stand down. All of you.” She pushes the girls back and stands in a position so she can look at both parties. “You know that I was sabotaged Jesse… Bumper sabotaged me so he could look like the team’s hero. Do you know how hard it was for me to prove that I could be better than you? Or at least as good as you?”

Jesse rolls his eyes. “You were always the weak link Little Mitch, we just made sure you didn’t look like a complete loser.” Beca balls her fists and takes a deep breath. “How about we settle this, huh? You and me little Mitch.” Chloe pulls her girlfriend’s hand and makes her look at her. “Becs you don’t have to do this. No matter what he says you’ll never be a disgrace to us.” Beca shakes her head. “I know Chlo but I have to do this, it’s my last chance to redeem myself.”

“I guess that’s a yes.” Beca grunts as she turns around. “Yes Swanson, why don’t you set it up?” The brunet salutes his old pal and goes over to the register to make the arrangements.

-,-,-,-,-

20 minutes later there’s a huge crowd surrounding the lanes where the battle is going to take place. Word had come out and of course it peaked everyone’s attention. They even managed to find someone to announce. “Alright ladies and gentlemen. Tonight you will witness the female junior bowling legend Little Mitch redeeming herself against her former teammate The Swansonator.” The crowd lets out loud cheers.

Jesse is completely attired and ready. While Beca managed to find a glove so she could have better support for her wrist. “Alright, it looks like our contestants are ready. The first one up is The Swansonator He’s the challenger tonight so he gets the honors.”

The boy makes his way up to the lane and prepares to shoot the first ball. “It’s a strike!” The crowd goes wild and then silent as they watch Beca prepare for her shot. She manages to knock over 7 pins with her first throw and 3 with her second. “Spare!” The game only just started but Jesse is already convinced he can win.

The game is extremely tight. and the tension is nerve wracking. Jesse has the lead at the moment but Beca has one more shot to win this. The scores have been going a little like this.

JESSE 24 – 44 – 64 – 83 – 92 – 112 – 138 – 157 – 166 – TOTAL: 182

BECA 20 – 49 – 69 – 89 – 109 – 128 – 137 – 155 – 163 – TO BE DETERMINED

Beca goes up and throws a strike, she still has a shot to win this. She takes her ball again and throws. It looks like everything is going in slow motion. The pins falling, the crowd holding their breath, Jesse’s fist pump when the final pins are down. There was no way Beca could win. She hit a split. The brunette falls to her knees , tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The flashbacks of the exact same moment 14 years ago hitting her hard. She doesn’t hear Stacie nor Chloe talking to her, she’s in her own mind.

*Flashback*

It’s the Junior Bowling Championship Final. Beca was the next one up, her team having the lead. They had worked hard to get to this point and it was finally paying off. She had put her music aside for the past two months so she could concentrate on making her team proud and show that girls are equally as good as boys.

The brunette throws her ball and ends up with a split. No big deal. she needed to hit one of the two or attempt the Devil’s Spin. Jesse had been working with her on the trick and se could almost pull it off. Bumper on the other hand wasn’t so happy that she had gotten ‘his’ place in the competition. So without anyone noticing he managed to spill some water on the lane making it very dangerous for Beca.

When she makes her runs to attempt the Devil’s Spin she slips over the water and the heavy ball flies up in the air and lands on her right ankle. She feels it crack and lets out a cry of pain. The paramedics take her away and she watches as her coach gives Bumper the chance to win for the team. She couldn’t play for a few months. By the time she could start again the rumor had gone round that she was a disgrace to the community and no one wanted her on their team. Stacie was the only one who didn’t stop believing in her yet never pressured her into playing again.

*End Flashback.*

Chloe kneels down in front of her girlfriend and cups her cheeks so the brunette looks at her. They can hear Jesse laugh behind them but they ignore him. “Becs, I know you can do this. I believe in you, no matter what you’ll always be my champion. Beca shakes her head trying to keep her tears inside. “I-I don’t think I-“ Chloe cuts her off. “Bullshit, you’re the Beca Mitchell. You’re multiplatinum producer, he’s got nothing on you.” Beca’s jaw hangs open. Chloe never cursed and that makes her believe the redhead more than ever.

So she gets up and pulls Chloe up with her and kisses her hard. “I’ll win this, for you.” She whispers before walking off to take a ball. “This can go one of three ways.” Stacie whispers to Chloe and Aubrey. “She can miss and lose the game. She can hit one pin and it’ll be a tie. Or… or she can attempt the Devil’s Spin and win the game.”

Chloe is at the edge of her seat watching her girlfriend intently. She watches Beca take a deep breath and watching the lane intently as if… as if she’s calculating something. Before anyone fully well realizes it Beca runs forward and turns her body in a weird angle and releases the ball. The crowd doesn’t dare to breathe and watch the ball spin. It hits the right pin and…

The ball reverses and spins to the other pin and hits it gently. The pin wiggles and waggles… it… it… it’s down! “Little Mitch is the winner! Can you guys believe it, this as been the most intense game I’ve ever witnessed the score is 182 to 183.” Beca gets attacked by Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey. She tries to get out of the hug but gives up after a few minutes and just lets it happen. Out of the corner of her eyes she sees Jesse walk away with a huff. She can’t believe it, she finally did it. She overcame her fear and beat the junior and current bowling champion. And she has the greatest people to celebrate it with.

Beca looks at Chloe who is smiling brightly at her after giving her some space to breathe. The brunette reaches into her back pocket and takes out a ring and kneels down in front of her girlfriend. Once again the crowd becomes silent and a collect gasp coming from Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie is the only sound that can be heard.

“Chloe Anne Beale, this wasn’t the time or place I wanted to do this. I’ve been planning it for months now and thought of doing it while staying at your parents this summer but right now feels like the perfect moment. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have found the strength to win. I did it for you. You’ve always been my inspiration and motivation. Without you my life would be empty so I’m asking you, here in front of all these people as my witness. Will you marry me?”

Chloe doesn’t hesitate a second to say yes and throws herself at Beca kissing her as hard as she possibly can, only breaking apart for a second so the brunette can slip on the ring. Aubrey and Stacie are the first to congratulate the couple and laughing as they show the video and pictures they made. Even some of the other bystanders offered to send them the ones they made. One thing is sure, they will never forget this day. Not in a million years!

I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT! REVIEWS = HAPPY ME HAPPY ME = QUICKER UPDATES FOLLOW ME ON TUMBLR FOR SNEEK PEAKS FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS –katelides

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 7/23/21 - SNAKE EYES, OLD, VAL, JOE BELL, SETTLERS, JOLT, MANDIBLES, and More!

So I definitely underestimated Space Jam: A New Legacy last week and way overestimated Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, maybe because I liked the latter way more than the former and probably underestimated the nostalgia factor for Space Jam… oh, yeah, and the fact that it was also on HBO Max, which didn’t really matter since it grossed more than $30 million anyway. Meanwhile, Escape Room, a rare theatrical-only movie, failed to bring people into theaters to see it as it ended up making about half what I expected. Oh, well. It happens. Live and learn.

Hey, guess what? We don’t have any sequels this week! Okay, to be fair, we do have a spin-off/prequel sort of thing, so I guess that counts.

The latter is SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS (Paramount Pictures/MGM/Skydance), the latest attempt by Hasbro Films to reboot its G.I. Joe franchise with Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians playing the popular anti-hero from the oh-so-popular Hasbro toys, comics and cartoons. As you can surmise from the subtitle, Snake Eyes, directed by Robert Schwentke (Red, R.I.P.D.), is an origin story for the most enigmatic member of the Joe team. Much of the rest of the cast are Asian actors or martial arts specialists like Iko Uwais from The Raid and its sequel. The movie does introduce Samara Weaving from Ready or Not as Scarlet, another popular G.I. Joe character, as well as her counterpart, the Baronness, so it’s definitely a G.I. Joe movie still.

It’s been quite some time since the previous Joe movie, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which was released in March 2013 where it opened with $40.5 million, which is less than the previous movie, 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which opened with $54.7 million. The two movies made $150.2 million and $122.5 million respectively, although “Retaliation” did slightly better overseas to gross $375.7 million to Rise of Cobra’s $302 million. Those aren’t huge numbers compared to Hasbro’s other big toy-related franchise, the “Transformers” movies by Michael Bay, which were doing almost $300 million in the U.S. alone. Retaliation may have been hurt by being delayed a number of times putting more time between the original movie and sequel, but it introduced a few great new ideas and characters played by Dwayne “Franchise Viagra” Johnson and Bruce “You Have My Direct Deposit Info, Right?” Willis.

There is an odd connection between “Retaliation” and Snake Eyes, because the former was directed by Jon Chu, who directed Golding in Crazy Rich Asians, the movie that broke him out. Chu had talked forever about doing another G.I. Joe movie but it seems like he’s moved on and has a lot on his plate now, so who knows if we’ll ever get another direct sequel? It’s hard to say if and how Snake Eyes might integrate with previous or future Joe movies.

Either way, the G.I. Joe franchise obviously has a number of dedicated fans who might want to see more of where Snake Eyes came from, and the trailers make it look like it’s in a similar vein as John Wick Chapter 3. Unfortunately, I won’t be seeing this until Tuesday night and reviews won’t hit until Thursday, so I’m going to have to gauge interest in this without knowing whether critics liked this any more than the previous movies. (Okay, reviews went live at 3 this morning, but I was already asleep, having already finished writing this column, as always.)

I can see Snake Eyes pushing for an opening somewhere in the mid-$20 millions, and maybe it will over-perform like last week’s Space Jam: A New Legacy or Mortal Kombat and bring in closer to $30 million, since one presumes that the Joe fanbase hasn’t gone anywhere and would go with this over Old.

Mini-Review: While I’m not really much of a G.I. Joe fan, I am a fan of martial arts, swordplay, and Japanese culture like Yakuza and samurai and such. Not really knowing that much about the title character of Snake Eyes, I was kind of interested in knowing more about him, especially the fact that they cast a real actor to play him for this movie in Henry Golding. (Sorry, not sorry, Ray Park.)

We meet him as a boy with no name, having gotten his nickname from the man who killed his father when he was a boy, urging his dad to roll dice in order to live. He rolls (what else?) snake eyes. Decades later, the boy is a man working for the Yakuza and a particularly nasty guy named Kenta (Takehiro Hira) who nearly kills Snake Eyes before he’s paired with Tommy (Andrew Koji), the prodigal son of the Arashikage clan who also happen to be Kenta’s sworn enemies. Having saved Tommy’s life, Snake Eyes is urged to stay at the family castle and train to join the clan as an assassin. His training involves a series of tests conducted by Blind Master (Peter Mensah) and Hard Master (Iko Uwais), but we soon learn that Snake Eyes is still loyal to Kenta and used his friendship with Tommy as a ruse to infiltrate the castle and steal their greatest weapon. Oh, yeah there’s also giant snakes, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Having seen Robert Schwentke’s The Captain, I know the director can make great movies, and Snake Eyes is probably one of his better American films, at least that I’ve seen. The reason this movie work at all is the casting for most of the may Asian roles are fantastic. I particularly enjoyed seeing Haruke Abe as Akiko, one of the truly kick-ass women in the movie, but the same can be said for Eri Ishida, who plays Tommy’s grandmother and the head of Tommy’s clan, and she too has some great action moments. The point is that Snake Eyes doesn’t suffer from the decision to cast talented Asian actors in the same way that Mortal Kombat did.

The movie’s biggest issues arrive when they try to fit G.I. Joe and Cobra into the mix (about an hour into the movie), because it definitely feels shoehorned into what is becoming a decent movie about honor and loyalty. I have never heard of Spanish actress Ursula Corbero, but she’s absolutely garbage as Baronness, vamping and trying to make the role more comicky apparently. By comparison, I’m generally a fan of Samara Weaving, but she isn’t much better as Scarlett. Since these are both popular G.I. Joe characters, I can’t imagine the fans will be too happy.

A lot of what happens at the end is telegraphed from a mile away, especially if you already figured out where the relationship between Snake Eyes and Tommy is going. (Maybe it isn’t a secret, but in case it isn’t obvious…)

Snake Eyes works fine as the G.I. Joe origin it’s meant to be, but I would have been perfectly fine without any G.I. Joe references at all, and if this was just a cool Asian action flick like The Villainess or some of Takashi Miike’s yakuza films.

Rating: 7/10

M. Night Shyamalan returns to theaters after a brief sojourn into TV with Apple TV+’s Servant (which is great) with his latest high-concept thriller, OLD (Universal Pictures), which involves a family who goes to visit a remote tropical beach where they learn that something on the beach is making them age extraordinarily fast. The movie stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, Alex Wolff from Hereditary (and last week’s Pig), and Thomasin McKenzie from Jojo Rabbit. It’s a pretty great ensemble cast for sure, but how many of those actors have a proven track record to bring people into theaters? Not many, but will that matter?

Shyamalan has had an amazing career as a filmmaker in terms of box office with six movies that grossed over $100 million (and a seventh that came close), one movie (Signs) that grossed over $200 million, and then his early film, The Sixth Sense, which came close to $300 million domestically. (This is all domestic, if you didn’t figure it out.) Shyamalan’s movies have done very well overseas, often matching the amount the movies made in the States. Shyamalan’s last two movies, 2017’s Split and 2019’s Glass, took the director back to his earlier movie, 2000’s Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis, and both those movies grossed more. (To be fair, ticket prices have increased a lot since 2000.) Glass opened with $40 million in January 2019, roughly the same as Split’s opening, and that’s a fairly standard opening for the filmmaker.

Old doesn’t have that connection to a popular past movie, nor does it really have the starpower of some of Shyamalan’s movies, so it’s definitely at a disadvantage and possibly more in line with his 2015 “comeback” thriller, The Visit, which grossed $65.2 million from an opening of $25.2 million.

Horror movies and thrillers don’t necessarily need to have big name stars but it doesn’t hurt -- look at Ethan Hawke’s forays into genre with Sinister and The Purge for Blumhouse -- and though any of the cast could appear on talk shows to promote the film, I’m not sure if any of them could be considered a draw at this point. (Maybe Alex Wolff, since he’s quite popular among young women for his horror movies and music career.)

Any way you look at it, Shyamalan has become a filmmaker whose name on a film helps drive people to see the movies in theaters, and that will be the case here, as well. You combine the Shyamalan name with an easy-to-sell concept like a beach that ages people (vs. the relaxation beaches normally provide)

My review for this one will be over at Below the Line later on Thursday, but I’m presuming that critics will be mixed on this one at best. If they go negative, which I could see happening, that might theoretically hurt the movie’s chances, although it should still be good for opening weekend.

Because of this, and because Old might lose some of its male audiences to the above Snake Eyes -- oddly, neither of these movies will be available on streaming day and date, mind you -- Shyamalan’s latest will probably end up in the mid-to-high-teens, although it might be able to make $20 million in a push.

1. Snake Eyes (Paramount/MGM/Skydance) - $24.1 million N/A

2. Old (Universal) - $17 million N/A

3. Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.) - $15 million -51%

4. Black Widow (Marvel/Disney) - $13.5 million -48%

5. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) - $4.5 million -49%

6. F9 (Universal) - $4.4 million -43%

7. The Boss Baby: Family Business (Universal/DreamWorks Animation) - $2.6 million -45%

8. The Forever Purge (Universal) - $2.1 million -49%

8. A Quiet Place Part II (Paramount) - $1.6 million -25%

10. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (Focus) - $1 million -47%

There are a few more theatrical releases, but let’s start by getting into this week’s “Chosen One”, which is…

Leo Scott and Ting Poo’s doc VAL (Amazon) refers to actor Val Kilmer, who goes through his entire career in this fascinating portrait in which we see him in the present day dealing with the debilitating throat cancer that’s nearly taken his voice. Culled from almost four decades of archival footage, most of it shot by Kilmer himself, the film puts together an amazing story of Kilmer’s life as a working actor, but also captures his family life, his tough relationship with his father and how his marriage and career deteriorated over time.

It really surprised me how much I loved this movie, because honestly, I’ve never been a particularly big Kilmer fan, other than a few favorites like Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, and probably a few others. In fact, I finally saw Top Gun for the first time a few months ago, and I wasn’t even that big a fan, as I don’t think it aged well. But what’s great about Val, the movie, is that you get to see some of Kilmer’s own footage from on set and off for movies like Top Gun and even The Island of Doctor Moreau, which he admits was a complete disaster, a shame since it was the only chance to work with his idol, Marlon Brando (who barely shows up to set).

What’s particularly eerie is hearing a younger Val narrating the film, clearly recorded from before he was hit with the debilitating throat cancer, but the filmmakers did a great job editing all of Kilmer’s footage and words into a surprisingly cohesive (and still very linear) story.

Besides seeing the footage and how it meshed with Kilmer’s narration, I also greatly appreciated the score by Garth Stevenson, as well as the song choices, which includes some familiar tunes but always in a different way than what we’re used to. I’m really curious if Val picked some of the tunes himself, but whoever the music supervisor was on this film, really did an amazing job getting songs that meshed well with Stevenson’s music.

Val is a terrific portrait of an actor who probably never got the level of respect he deserved , but it’s also a film that will make you think of your own life and mortality.

Mark Wahlberg stars in and as JOE BELL (Roadside Attractions/Vertical) in this drama directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who helmed the excellent and underrated Monsters and Men. Green didn’t write this one, but it was written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, the Oscar-winning writers of Brokeback Mountain. With that in mind, you’d expect something more interesting, but as I watched Joe Bell, I actually wasn’t aware that it was based on a real person/story.

The long and short of it is that Wahlberg’s Joe Bell is a father who has decided to walk across the country from Oregon to New York City to talk to anyone who will listen about bullying, and why it’s bad. Yup, that’s it. That’s the movie. To be fair, we do get to see Joe spending time with his gay son Jadin (Reed Miller), and those are generally the best parts of the film, but one thing that really didn’t work for me was the structure, especially the time spent (SPOILER!) pretending that Jadin was already dead before Joe went on his cross-country walk. It’s something that’s casually revealed when Joe stops in a gay bar for a drink and mentions it to a drag queen.

Otherwise, Joe Bell is a movie that leans so heavily on the screenplay and Wahlberg’s performance, which is better than others we’ve seen from him but isn’t that great. Overall, the film is just so dour, glum and frankly, quite dull, that there’s very little that can make it more interesting, especially since the narrative and structure makes the whole thing kind of obvious.

Maybe there’s a better version of this movie but when you get to what is quite a grim ending and then you realize that it’s a true story, you kind of wish that thing called “artistic license” was used more liberally to make a better movie. All Joe Bell does is state the obvious: that bullying is bad, especially towards people different and possibly more fragile than you.

Rating: 6/10

I'm not sure how wide Roadside plans on releasing Joe Bell, but I'd expect 400 to 500 theaters, but I'm not sure that's enough to get it into the Top 10.

Wyatt Rockefeller’s feature film directorial debut, SETTLERS (IFC Midnight) takes place on Mars, and at first, it deals with a couple (played by Johnny Lee Miller and Sofia Boutella) living on a remote base there with their young daughter Remmy (Brooklynn Prince), but it’s soon attacked by a stranger who wants them to leave. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and will get a release into select theaters on Friday as well as be released in various digital formats.

Settlers starts off as if it might be a home invasion movie with a sci-fi twist, but that aspect of it is fleeting, as it soon becomes a drama where the stranger Jerry (Ismael Cruz Cordova) moves in with Remmy and her mother, and then other stuff happens. Oh, yeah, there’s also an adorable robot named Steve.

Don’t get me wrong, because I genuinely liked Settlers, although I think I was expecting something more genre-y since it’s being released by IFC Midnight. Because of the setting, I was expecting something more science fiction or home invasion, and I guess comparing it to a Western would be fair due to the wilderness setting, but really, it’s a character drama about how three people need to coexist together, especially when one of them is a stranger in their midst. Seeing how Boutella’s character slowly warms up to Jerry while Remmy is still suspicious and even angry at her mother accepting the stranger.

In many ways, this is Prince’s movie, because she’s so good in this role that she almost supports the adult actors by leading. Prince is so compelling that she’s even able to keep you interested when Remmy is just wandering around, exploring various aspects of the environment around their home base. That is, at least until the last act when the film jumps forward a number of years and Nell Tiger Free (from Servant) takes over the role of Remmy (quite fluidly, in fact).

This creates a very different dynamic between Jerry and Remmy that might feel a bit pervy to some women (okay, most women). Cordova is also quite good in a role that’s tough to sell, because he isn’t the typical bad man.

Settlers is a quiet and subdued film with not a lot of action or dialogue for that matter, but it reminds me quite a bit of Moon, and it’s a similarly solid debut by Rockefeller, showing him to be a strong storyteller able to get strong performances out of his relatively small cast. (Oh, and hey, I should have an interview with Rockefeller next week over at Below the Line.)

Rating: 7/10

Kate Beckinsale stars in the action-thriller JOLT (Amazon), which hits Amazon Prime Video this Friday. It's directed by Tanya Wexler (Buffaloed), and in the movie, Beckinsale plays Lindy, a woman with a debilitating condition that gives her insane strength when she gets angry, and she gets angry a LOT. But no, this is not like the upcoming She-Hulk series, though it’s an incredible action movie for sure.

Beckingsale’s Lindy has something called “intermittent explosive disorder” which I’m not sure if that’s a real thing (probably not), but it gives her incredible strength when she gets mad, and it forces her to wear a vest that gives a huge electrical charge when she pushes a button. So yeah, the movie feels a lot like Crank if it had a woman lead instead of Jason Statham. Honestly, if that alone doesn’t sell you on Jolt, then this movie probably isn’t gonna be for you.

It actually starts out as a pseudo-rom-com as Lindy meets a nice guy, played by Jai Courtney, but after a few dates and some great sex, he’s killed, and Lindy is upset but even more furious than normal, swearing to find the man responsible for killing her kinda-boyfriend. So yeah, Jolt quickly turns into a revenge thriller, but it’s one with lots of Beckinsale kicking ass, some great car chases, and lots of funny doofuses getting their asses handed to them, both figuratively and literally.

Surprisingly, Wexler didn’t write this one -- the screenplay’s Scott Wascha -- but her reputation and previous films helped her put together a great cast around Beckinsale, including Stanley Tucci as her therapist who set her up with the shock vest, and Bobby Cannavale and Laverne Cox as the detectives investigating the death of Lindy’s beau, all three of them offering some great humorous dynamics to the mix.

That’s probably why Jolt is quite satisfying, not only in terms of being a female empowerment movie, but also not taking itself too seriously and always keeping the comedy on the darker side. For instance, there’s a scene where Lindy throws live babies at Cox to distract her, but what do you expect from a movie that enjoys giving its main character literal electroshock therapy?

So yeah, I definitely liked Jolt as an action-comedy. Maybe it was a bit too violent for my tastes, at times, but it definitely is everything I hoped to get out of Gunpowder Milkshake last week, and honestly, I had no idea Wexler had this kind of movie in her.

Rating: 7/10

Quirky French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux (Rubber) returns with MANDIBLES (Magnet), a comedy of sorts about a pair of dumbass friends -- Manu (Grégoire Ludig from Keep Your Eye Out) and David Marsais’ Jean-Gab, who steal a car for a job only to find a giant fly inside its trunk, so they decide to train it to rob banks for them.

Yup, it’s another weird one from Dupieux, and honestly, it took me a long time to really get into it, as these two doofuses get into all sorts of predicaments (and who have an amusing “secret” handshake). Where it really takes off is when they meet a group of vacationers, including the one and only Adèle Exarchopoulos as Agnes, a woman who mistakes one of the guys as a high-school lover. Things just get zanier from there as the guys try to sneak in their giant trained fly -- now named Dominique -- into the vacation home where they’re staying with a bunch of Agnes suspicious friends and her brother. (There’s also one woman who literally shouts everything due to a condition, and at first, it was more aggravating than funny, but like everything else in this, she gets funnier over time.)

In fact, after I got to the end of the movie, I ended up going back to rewatch the first half again to see if I missed anything, and surprise, surprise, the two guys and their antics had definitely grown on me by the end, making it easier to enjoy a second view. I certainly wouldn’t recommend any of Dupieux’s movies to just anyone, and that goes for Mandibles, but if you enjoyed the quirky humor of Rubber or last year’s Deerskin, then you might not hate this one, but it’s also not a movie I’d recommend you rush out to see in theaters.

Rating: 6.5/10

A few more words about a few other docs… (As usual, I didn’t get to watch nearly as much as I hoped to get to this week.)

I did get to watch Garret Price’s WOODSTOCK '99: PEACE, LOVE AND RAGE (HBO), which will hit the cable network on Friday. Honestly, I barely remember it, and I’m not even sure I watched it PPV or at all, because there weren’t really that many acts at this year’s festival that interested me. I mean, Limp Bizkit? Korn? Rage Against the Machine? I wasn’t really into any of those in the late ‘90s, and certainly not my sworn-enemy Jewel or Sheryl Crow or Alannis Morrissette, the festival’s token women who were slotted into separate days. Even so, Price is a pretty decent documentation of all the awfulness at that particular festival from portapotties mixing shit in with all the mud or the many cases of sexual harassment, assault and flat-out rape that took place on the campgrounds. I’m sure I heard most of it but seeing it put together like this in the film’s two-hour running time just makes it harder to watch without tearing up. A pretty solid doc that I’m not sure I could fully recommend, but hey, I’ve never been to one of these festivals and after watching this movie, I probably never will. (It is interesting how Price contrasts the disaster of Woodstock ‘99 with the hugely-successful Coachella, which started not long afterwards.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to Jamila Wignot’s doc AILEY (NEON) about choreographer Alvin Ailey, making this the second movie about dance or choreography in a row. It opens in New York this weekend, in L.A. theaters next Friday July 30 and then everywhere on August 6.

Then there’s ALL THE STREETS ARE SILENT (Greenwich), Jeremy Elkin’s doc that covers the crossroads between skateboard and hip-hop in downtown Manhattan during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to get around to this, although it features Rosario Dawson, Bobbito Garcia, Stretch Armstrong, Moby (him again?!), Fab 5 Freddy, and a lot of other rappers I’ve never heard of.

Also hitting HBO Max on Thursday is THROUGH OUR EYES (HBO Max/Sesame Workshop docuseries), a series of four 30-minute films designed for adults to watch with their kids age 9 and up, dealing with things like homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement. Sounds fun.

Hitting Netflix on Wednesday is TROLLHUNTERS: RISE OF THE TITANS (Netflix), a movie based on the popular series produced by Guillermo del Toro, which I’ve also never see, so I guess I don’t have a lot to say about this.

Lastly, premiering this week is the second season of Apple TV+’s Emmy-nominated TED LASSO which is probably gonna win a bunch of those Emmys going by previous awards shows. It’s a very popular show. I’m still on Season 1, myself.

Other films I didn’t get to… (sorry, respective publicists!)

HERE AFTER (Vertical)

FEAR AND LOATHING IN ASPEN (Shout Studios!)

Next week, it’s a doozy! Disney finally releases Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayen Johnson and Emily Blunt, while there are two smaller movies looking to make some money, Thomas McCarthy’s Stillwater (Focus Features), starring Matt Damon, and David Lowery’s The Green Knight (A24), starring Dev Patel. Should be an interesting one.

[kylorengarbagedump]

Unprofessional Services: Chapter 6

Read on AO3. Part 5 here. Part 7 here.

Summary: Something's wrong. Something is seriously fucking wrong.

Words: 1900

Warnings: A bit of psychohorror

Characters: Kylo RenxReader, probably

A/N: Hi everyone! Look at me! Throwing another update at you! The next one might be a bit, as I want to try and do a chapter of Little Bird, next, but maybe we'll get three whole chappies of this one in a short time, eh? Sorry it's a little short, but I want to keep the tension.

I know it's getting weird. That's where this fic is going. I want it to get weirder and more fucked up. Thanks very much to Aletheia (a gorgeous Kylux fic) for the bit of inspiration.

Let me know what you think!! This is an exercise for me and I'm enjoying it!! Thanks so much for reading! And thank you to @fuckingkyloren for editing. <3 <3 <3 I love y'all.

“So! Where the fuck were you?”

It took a moment for your vision to focus. Your eyes were miscalibrated, attempting to create a whole picture from the information in front of them, failing too many times before the muddied puddle settled into clarity. Shaking your head, you blinked away your confusion, furrowing your brow while your brain ran through what this voice had said, playing it over the shrill ring between your ears. Your gaze floated to your feet and back up again, putting a name to the person in front of you.

Fent.

Rubbing your temple, you blinked again, gritting your teeth when your head throbbed with pain. “Huh?” you asked. “What are you talking about?”

He crossed his arms. His face was flat. “You know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.”

“Why are you cursing at me?” You went to step inside, but he blocked your way. You groaned. “Let me in, please.”

“No,” he said. “Not until you tell me where you were last night.”

You raised a brow, pausing. “What are you talking about?” you said. “I just went to work.”

“Really?” he said. “I went by your office. Where were you?”

“Well, I was…” You paused again. “I…”

Fent rolled his eyes. “Uh huh. So I’ll ask you again. Where were you last night?”

Your brain was blank, as if you were pushing the pedal, the motor revving over and over as you turned the question over in your head. Last night, you’d been with Fent. You’d woken up, walked to meet Kylo Ren, and... Nothing. You asked yourself again. You’d woken up, walked to meet Kylo Ren, and…

The engine stalled. No matter how many times you reviewed the memory, you couldn’t recall it. You couldn’t even recall how you got to the door of your quarters. You looked down at your fingers, counting them. There were ten. This was real. Air caught in your throat, and you stepped back, dizzy. The room pulsed in front of you, like water rippling in a pond.

“I can’t remember.” You shook your head. “I... can’t remember.”

“Bullshit,” Fent said. “Who were you with?”

You frowned, seething as another wave of pain rocked your skull. “No one! I can’t remember, Fent!” You tried to push past him, again, but he stood rock-still. “Let me in!”

“No!” he said. “Why the fuck are you yelling at me?”

“Why are you treating me like I did something wrong?” Your chin trembled. “I’m telling you all that I know.”

“You tell me you were with ‘no one,’ but then you say you can’t remember.” He narrowed his eyes, hissing between clenched teeth, “I just want to know if you fucked him.”

You were wooden, staring at him with a look of crumbling confusion. “If I… if I--who? Fucked who?”

“Whoever you were with.” He rolled his eyes, shoving himself through the door and past you. “Whatever. Fuck off somewhere. Don’t talk to me. Don’t come back here.”

Rounding on him, your voice faltered, fear swallowing your anger. “Fent, please, wait!” You moved to chase after him, cursing your shorter legs.

“Fuck you, asshole.” He whipped around to leer at you. “Don’t fucking follow me.”

“No, I...” Despite your words, your stride slowed. “Help me with this! We can figure it out together!”

He said nothing as he stomped down the halls of the Finalizer and turned a corner.

Chasing after him wasn’t a real option. When Fent did this, pursuing him would only make him escalate. You didn’t feel like having a screaming match for the rest of the crew to see. Instead, you sighed, trudging back into your quarters. The ache in your head sharpened, anguish leaking into your bones like poison. You wracked your brain, trying to shake loose whatever gap was clouding your memory, but the blankness remained. The tremble in your chin quaked into your limbs, your hands grasping at the air, wanting it to steady you.

How dare he talk to you that way--assume you’d ever do something to betray him? After everything you’d done for him, all that you’d sacrificed. If it hadn’t been for him, you might be doing something with your career. If it hadn’t been for him, you could be off the damn Finalizer. If it hadn’t been for him, you wouldn’t be so fucking stuck and fucking miserable and what the fuck is that noise who the fuck is screaming--

“Fuck you, you fucking asshole! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”

You hadn’t realized the voice belonged to you until your datapad clattered to the floor. Trembling turned to shuddering, and when you inhaled, pain--real, pulsing pain--resonated from your wrists to your shoulders. Teeth chattering, you glanced at yourself. You’d been slamming your forearms against the edge of your desk. The force had thrown off your pad. You exhaled, blinking and stepping back. Dammit. Now your arms would be covered in bruises again. You examined them--already, big red welts were blooming on your skin. Sighing, you pushed your fingers through your hair. Better bruises than the scars.

Chewing at your lip, you released another sigh. You needed to find Fent--the buried fear that he might do something drastic was crawling out of its hole. The missing time would have to wait. You gathered a deep breath and marched into the halls, following the path he had taken. First, you’d stop by your office and prove you’d been at work. Once you found him, then you could apologize, you could explain what had happened, you could make him walk with you to the doctor, you could prove you hadn’t done anything wrong. All you needed was to know what was happening first.

Your office was one of several in the mental health wing--in the front, a line of droids prescribing designated treatments for Stormtroopers and higher officers alike. You noticed a few troopers shaking, either with gratitude or space madness, as a droid pointed them toward a reintroduction chamber. Space madness was common. Those in extended combat missions or scouting developing it most frequently, and the therapies on board the Finalizer were evidenced-based best practices: group and rhythm therapy combined with recreational leave. Down the hall, a coworker was running one such group now, several feet from your office. The droids were also the primary caretakers for those with deepsickness--most who developed it weren’t capable of engaging in even the most basic of reality-testing or cognitive adjustments until after a long period of round-the-clock stabilization.

You were often given these patients after their intensive care period had ended, but you also treated those with hyper-rapture, claustrophobia, and the more typical behavioral health issues that addled humans. Apparently, your fellow officers felt you were competent--but as your forearms swelled, you questioned their judgement. Perhaps they just didn’t want to be targeted.

You passed Rue’s office when you pushed into your own. She must have heard the blast door open, because popped out of her room to investigate.

“Hey!” she said. “What are you doing here?”

Sighing, you waved her into your office. “Just looking for evidence I was here yesterday.”

Rue frowned. “What? Why?”

“Because,” you said, “Fent is convinced that I was with someone else last night.”

“Are you serious?” she asked. “Again?”

You pursed your lips, plopped into your chair and turned on the holoscreen that stored your records, debating if you wanted to tell Rue about your little memory problem while in the mental health wing. There was no need to risk what little of your position you had. Something would jog your memory, surely. Rue stood across from your desk, brow drawn in concern. You avoided her gaze as you scrolled through the timestamps, ignoring the ache in your arms.

“He doesn’t--”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now,” you said. “I know.” Nothing illuminating in the records. You flicked on the caseload screen, though you were certain you’d discharged all of them weeks ago. “It’s not really a big deal. I just have to show him what I was doing.”

She sat in the chair across from your desk, her mouth curved in a half-smile. “You don’t have to do that.” A pause hung between you--and she frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah.” The caseload was empty, too. Didn’t seem as if you’d been here yesterday at all. “Why?”

“You seem stressed,” she said. “Do you want to go to lunch together? Take a break from this. We can talk about yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” The dagger in your head grew larger, and you grimaced. “What do you mean?”

Rue raised a brow, scooting forward in the chair. “You know, yesterday.You told me we’d talk later.”

Your fingers stopped moving. Blankness again. “I don’t…” You swallowed, keeping your eyes on the holoscreen. “Talk about what?”

“Uh, you were with Kylo Ren. Remember?”

Like she had struck a gong, your ears rang--a deep, smothering hum, creeping into the edges of your vision, and it swelled, drowning all noise in a piercing whine. Your chin quivered again, your fingers following, and your eyes lost focus--or at least, you thought they did, because all you could see was the corner of your office, shrinking before you, like a captured landscape minimized by distance. The sound of your breath was rushing wind.

“I… can’t,” you said. Your mouth was dry. “I… I can’t remember.” You looked at Rue, meeting her blue eyes through the collapsing window of your brain. “I can’t remember, Rue.”

Rue stood up, speaking your name like a command. “What do you mean?” she asked. “What do you mean you can’t remember?”

You breathed again, shaky and slow, and again, faster this time, and your head was pounding, like a stampede was trampling your skull, and the ringing was loud, so loud, louder, and then someone was laughing, someone distant, and then not so distant, then in your ears, horrible, screeching laughter, heaving and sobbing and louder now than the ringing, and some place in your body there was pain, dull and bloated, like a knocking, a beating of bruised skin.

And then you realized it was you, your laughter, pouring out of you in a demented crescendo, your wrists smacking the desk, over and over and over, demanding an answer, demanding to know, and no matter how many times you replayed the day in your head, you couldn’t remember, you couldn’t fucking remember.

You’d woken up, walked to meet Kylo Ren, and… you’d woken up, walked to meet Kylo Ren, and… you’d woken up, walked to meet Kylo Ren, andyou’dwokenupwalkedtomeetKyloRenandyou’dwokenupwalkedtomeetKyloRenandandyou’dwokenupwalkedtomeetKyloRenandyou’dwokenupwalkedtomeetKyloRenand--

Furious thoughts, a flurry of empty words, submerging you in darkness, alone, desperate, surrounded by the nothingness of your memory, until the glass cracked, shards splintering to a flickering image, a moment missed by obliteration--blackness, echoes of red fire arcs, and then a face, but inhuman, and a voice, but inorganic, as if the recollection had been supplanted by something else, but the image still so clear...

Kylo Ren. His mask. His voice. The words rumbled through you, shattered your shell.

“I win.”

[we-wandering]

Starcity

Chapter 1 over the mountain over the hill and welcome to star city

Welcome to star city. The most advanced place in the galaxy. Earn coins, and participate in challenges. I am GAME, and here I keep the balance. I am not a being but I am starcity. We are the future tech. Everything u dream of in the future is here in stacity. 

Incuriso.

I walk down the road. The street light flickers on and off, where I live. My run down apartment is the only building left from the olden city, celestial city. Some wish to destroy it, but even if my status is low, it is my property. I lie down as I pick up my knife, whittling out a machine from scrap metal that I own.

Delta.

Today I am on the top of the list. “YES! NUMBER ONE”. Top shrade in the world. Oh and if u dont know, a shrade is a participant in the games. Got more than 1 million coins in my bank. Top citizen. I wear glasses, and if you ask my age, there are none in star city, only levels. Mine is 1051. I'm the second most famous person in the world, only to lord game. I AM DELTA.

 CHAPTER 2 MYSTERIES OF GAME 

Incuriso

As I reach the end of the corner there is a big bright screen everywhere. However today is different. All the screens around me usually show games but now there is an ad. GAME, is choosing his right hand man. People are always happy here. There are no problems. Everything is perfect except for me. I’m the odd one out. And that’s going to earn me victory.

Delta.

I see the sign the GAME is choosing his partner. Hm. I'm usually pretty modest but it's gotta be me. I mean c'mon I'm the best shrade. Gotta be chosen right?

Incuriso

My name is incuriso. I am different. I am well known in a bad way. I am a mechanic, but not for good use. I’m a virtual mechanic. A hacker. 

Delta.

Whew, my team (Delta airlines) JUST FLYIN AWAY WITH 700 wins IN ONE DAY! LIFe is great for me. I see my total coins fly up to 7billion.I mean what could I wish for more besides that seat with GAME. No ones ever seen him or even if he is a him. He is a it. He is all.

Chapter 3 TIME TO PLAY

Delta.

Today is the day of the battle, the day of the chosen. The day I have been training to never let my family, my friends and my city down. This is the day that I beat the world. The FORGE is the game of choice from Game himself, we all then spawn in. I check my chest to see that there is a magic artifact already. The grades of weapons are Ordinary, Strengthened, Magic Artifact, Prized Artifact, Sacred Artifact and a special weapon in the center of the arena which is no artifact nor weapon, it is a hammer that allows you to forge weapons yourself. I studied up on this and don’t plan on losing. I charge at the nearest contestant and stab him with the magic artifact, a lance at the stage of a tier 2 artifact, dealing -80 points of damage. Each person starts with 100hp, so this was a powerful attack. He counters with his ordinary sheild. Pathetic. I finish him off and go to the center where I see someone else, their name is apparently Bathtub. They possess a Sacred artifact? I frown as I slide under the forging table and slice her legs. A -60 damage as a crit? I feel a tingle down my spine as I see the tier of this weapon is 8 in the sacred artifact realm. 9 realms to ordinary, 9 to strengthened, 9 to magic, 9 to prized and 9 to sacred. Only 1 tier away from being the strongest weapon in the arena, but I grin as I stab her chest, dealing a normal hit of -39. She then laughs as she hits me but I block with the shield I looted earlier, dealing a -98 to me. 98!!! Out of 100!!! A 2hp vs a 1hp battle, whoever can hit first. I charge and throw my lance, dealing the remaining -43 that I need. The rest of the battle is easy once I reap the lives of the others, only wielding strengthened or magic artifacts. I am about to win this contest… Time to make the donuts… 

CHAPTER 4 Time to dance

Incuriso

I hear the GREAT O GAME. Is calling his partner Shulk. “ Whatever I think not like I care”. I am hacking into the newest challenge. The championship challenge. I hop on in right as Delta kills the last person, but using a specific command, I teleport behind him, and using my infamous commanders blade that I bought with a rich mans talisman that I found on the street, I stab Delta. A -9001 appears on his head as he falls over. Over 9000, just how I coded it.

Delta

“WHAT GOING ON I SHOUT” Suddenly I get the U LOSE SCREEN. “WHAT?” I am so confused. So is everyone else. Then I see a person donning a black cloak, weilding a small blade. “NO” I think. “NONONONONONO” It was Incuriso, the poor man, the weakling, the hacker, the beast and the outlaw.

Chapter 5 SHULK.

Incuriso

I LAUGH UNTIL I CRY, As I see Delta's face turn red to purple to a strange shade of green. But I stop when the game makes an announcement. Our winner to be Shulk is now Incuriso. My face freezes. WHat did he say? WHAT THE HECK DID GAME JUST SAY? I ponder as I realize, this contest is for all thy marbles. My new assistant, Game announces, is Qwert. I grin evily as I shout, OH QWEEERRRRTTTTTYYYYYY...

Qwert

I am a literal person who just likes to do stuff. I don’t have a job, I just get money from the bank. I have no idea how but I'm just a normal person , as I am carrying 20 laptops to my office, my master yells...QWERT….I drop the box shattering the laptops and rush towards my masters room. As I see what is happening my eyes widen. Incuriso is now GAMES first in command.

SHULK

My name is now Shulk. GAME has chosen it. I cannot resist. Suddenly a light flashes before me. All of a sudden I am no longer in my home. I am somewhere I dont know. I find myself on the ground of a digital world. This place feels infested with energy. Everywhere I feel a small static on my feet. “Where am I?” Suddenly I hear a voice. “Welcome incursio”. Suddenly out of nowhere, a door opens revealing a very bright light. I squint covering my face with my arm. Suddenly I see a silhouette. Is this game I think?.

Game

I see incursio. He is still in his black cloak. He cannot see me. I am not human but everything. I tell him “U are chosen”. “U will be my second in command to help the citizens”. He responded with an astonishing loud shout “WHY ME!!!!???”. I think “ Jesus just go with it man u know ur smart”. But instead I say “because u are intelligent and u are not like normal human beings”.

Shulk

Yeah right I’m intelligent. You chose me because I hacked into the contest and won in the end. Do you think I’m stupid? I then see a table of materials in front of me as game tells me to make something. I don’t know what it is, just a bunch of noise, so I use the materials to make a lightweight mechanical arm. A simple build, really, but Game’s eyes flash as he nods. Good job, he says, as his presence disappears.

CHapter 6 PANDA PANDA PANDA WHAT?!

Qwert

WHAT??? I see incursio flash out of existence before my eyes. “Awhat now” I say aloud. What just happened. A panda suddenly jumps right into me and suddenly vanishes. I AM SOOO CONFUSED? “What what what what” i say this alone. Then everything goes black.

Qwert

I woke up not where I was before. Something in me does not feel good. “AAAUGGG” I scream until I see a face. It's not Incuriso. It's a panda. I somehow know it's a he.  Confused, I focus on him. He is blue and a bit transparent. However he does look like a normal panda. He stares at me for one second and vanishes. I am left alone again.

Chapter 7: A new Beginning Shulk: I start up a new store, though my mechanic skills are good, I have always wanted to be a forger. I have made countless machines, but they don’t symbolize anything for anyone. Now that I had the riches to do so, I started up a forging station in the center of the town, calling it the Ancient Anvil.

Game: Looking into Shulks background, I see he was poor and a sad fellow. He may have cheated in this contest, but in the end, he is the chosen one. I would have chosen delta, but the calling from the spirits of my mind told me something. 

Delta: WHAT IS HAPPENING WHAT IS HAPPENING GET THE VOICES OUT MY HEAD WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE PLEASE JUST GO AW- and I felt that the race was unfair. Though I didn’t win and might not have won, I feel that -SLAY HIM AND HIS GANG OF CHEATERS, DINE ON HIS BLOOD AND -out of the -AHHHHHH -what is that noise? My head was splitting apart when I heard this. There was another voice. A voice telling me to destroy starcity. I scream and spit blood out. Gasping for air I hear the voice commanding me to destroy it. “DESTROY IT, DESTROY IT” the voice taunted. I could not taken anymore. My hands were on my head. Then I fainted on the ground. Chapter 8: The era of peace

Game: I have recruited some other helpers to run the city, and things seem to be going well. Shulk has created a forging station, I hired both a doctor for this city named bathtub and an assistant to help run my own shop, the orben. Shulk then later offered to help me run the orben as well, he seemed pretty eager to do so…

Shulk: I saw the orben one day and noticed, this is quite powerful. Some of my old habits came back as I offered to take the assistant job for the orben. I powered up the machine and hacked into its database, ruining the motherboard and connecting the power source to a different machine when I realized that this man had put his trust into me, I shouldn’t do this. I was changing.

Bathtub: I’m a doctor, and my medicine is ice cream. I like ducks and ice cream, but I saw that Shulk was making a weird machine so I walked over. He suddenly stood up and threw a wrench down, destroying the machine. It was a terrifying sight, not because he threw the wrench, but because of the green explosion that followed. Chapter 9: The darkness that descends

Game: I have invited delta to join our sect, and though he seems a bit out of it, I feel that this is only fair since Shulk did cheat to win. He will be placed 3rd in command, only to Shulk and myself. This should help him calm down a bit.

Shulk: Game has invited Delta to join us, but I feel that this is not good for me. I will for sure be taken as a traitor in his mind, he uses his power to stop me, kill me and destroy me. Though this worries me, I sneer in my head, wanting him to do something for I will end him if he tries.

Delta: Game is inviting me? Does he not fear that I will kill his precious Shulk? My mind is now full of memories from the past, for I can see the relationship between the two, the blood and souls that connect them. The dynamic duo that is seen as Hero and Sidekick, but I will destroy this now. The power I possess is enough to blow up many worlds and realms. It is almost time.

Chapter 10 Continuing

Incuiso/SHULK

Everyone's day is the same as SHULK. Taking care of citizens, making sure there is order, and attending meetings. I do wish I was back to my old life. After, what it seemed like a million presentations and meetings, I finally get back to the apartment and call Qwert. This time, I don't hear footsteps. I do not see his red jacket. I see nothing. “Qwert?” I call out “If this is a joke it's NOT funny” That's when I see a panda.

Delta

During the meeting, I cloned myself and was able to get around unnoticed planting plasma explosions. I was not supervised and was alone. I kept my dark hood over my head so no one could see me. However these bombs were not just the biggest part of my plan. I was changing. I was making an army.

CHapter 11Turning different

Delta

After the “SHULKCADENT” SHULK INCIDENT as they call it. Life went on. The person who took my 100th grand final win is in second power. WHY! I don’t know because GAME is a jerk. That's when I decided to kidnap qwerty

Qwert

Suddenly I see Delta. DELTA??!!!. Why would he be here. I try to get up but then I see I am chained to the ground. I see the triangle sign. Of course. That's when I see that the great Delta is different. His glasses are off. His eyes are purple and he has robot parts on him I have never seen before. “Uh hi!” I says nervously. He just walks past me like i am not even there. “Hey uh could u take me off these chains and uh get me a snack?”He glares at me. “Well ok then” I think. “ Ill just stay here uh ok he he” I feel a drop of sweat trickle down my face. He fades out of view. Then I developed a stutter. 

Delta: As I watch from the sunset of a great tower I start to think. I have never dreamed of, but as I make myself stronger with magic and technology, I develop an army. A dark spirit army, forged by black goo they are almost impossible to destroy. I chuckle darkly, telling myself that someday Game will be under my control. 

Shulk

Confused, I stare. I no longer wear a black robe but now a black windbreaker, blending in with the normal citizens I do not like to be noticed. As the panda vanishes I feel a sense of panic. Who would do such a thing to qwert. 

Chapter 12 The fall

Qwert

I hear an explosion. “W-was that a bomb?” Another one again.” What was th-that?!” I see Delta watch from a big glass wall. Standing straight with his hands behind his back. Hearing his metal fingers click together, I suddenly hear several explosions. I struggle trying to be free from these chains but suddenly, Delta comes at me and grabs something. In an instant my life escapes before my eyes. I feel a seering pain in my chest. A cold metal object sliding into me. It hurts. I glance down seeing red liquid pouring down. It was a moment, an instant, Then my heart stopped. 

Game

I feel a disturbance. Something chaotic. Something dangerous. I press the button to call for shulk but as I do, I notice something is very, very wrong. The button was a trap.

Shulk

I run seeing Starcity explode before my very eyes. I run. My heart pounds against my chest. My arms fly over my head. BOOM. Another explosion. I see people scream and run. Rocks and smoke fly. I have no time to help others. I am focused on my survival. I hear cars screech. Police shouting. Several more explosions. Suddenly I pull out a device in my pocket and I become transparent. The small pebbles hitting me no longer hurt. Everything flies through me. TV screens with ads fall down, houses and buildings fall. This IS A NIGHTMARE. I see are forces of robots are barely enough to stop the darklings. Starcity will fall. I pull out my blade and roar, charging into the enemy forces. I slash, firing powerful spells. My body is with rage as I run through the darklings slashing them to bits. As I get through every single one of them, they reform. I feel a sense of panic I have never felt before. My body is full of fear. I hear my heart pumping, and for a split second I freeze. I never freeze in battle. Realizing what I have doneI jump into a void portal teleporting me to the highest building.

Chapter 13 A game for GAME

Game

I focus hard and I search through citizens. My spirit weaving through the crowd running until I reach the last building. Delta is standing there. I can sense his darkness. He must know I am here and says “ you may call me the undertaker. He says with a bow and jumps out of the window, landing on his feet. I growl as I shoot my primary energy at him, but he dispells it and laughs. Time to say goodbye, he chuckles.

Shulk

As much as I hate starcity, I loved messing with it and tricking the people. Too bad that the whole place is blowin up. Suddenly, I see Delta. Is he responsible for this? Seems like this. Even though I might not like starcity I see Game as the great Leader and honor him. I have changed. Suddenly Game somehow gives me the thought to give me the proof Delta did this. Then I realize this is all my fault. I am the one who ruined Delta by hacking.  feel a pain as I see starcity fall, but I fall as I see Delta throw a knife in the air. It stops and falls like it hits someone. Then I feel GAME no longer. The link formed as we ruled together had grown from allies to friends, but this feeling was gone. HE is dead. It's over.

Game: A knife is in my chest and I fall over. My essense and soul start to dissipate as I fade away, but something pulls me into the void below. It calls for someone called astro, but I don’t know who this is. I blast in the direction of the voice with a weapon that shulk gave me, but the voice only chuckled as it said, you know you’re guilty, just lie down and take the punishment. I fear I can no longer take it as I am swirled away, consciousness disappearing… I fight back but fail to win… I… am no more… 

Shulk

I desperately take out a device that is called that randomizer. I shoved a few portals to a few dimensions in there, and it takes something out and gives it to you. I can be a weapon, a food, a pill, a monster, even the entire dimension. I use it and it shoots a blade out to me. I grab it and feel the overwhelming power from it. Its called the Abyssal Blade. I use it to summon a doppelganger and some phantoms, looking for the undertaker so I may destroy him.

Game

It was a moment, a minute, a whole day. I can feel myself disappearing. It feels like falling. Falling into a big void. All I can think of is, dizzy, death,......Star. My mind swirls, I cannot explain how it felt. It was like I met face to face with the underworld. I fall deeper and deeper into my mind, but before it's too late, I see light. Something is pulling me back to the world of the living. I can feel it. There is something keeping me here and I don’t understand why. 

Delta/Undertaker

As my army of darklings advance. I know I am going to win. Then I turn fully dark. A monster. Black and purple. I am no longer human. I am. The. Undertaker. I watch as the city is burned to crisps. The people enslaved and GAME died. I jump down. My eyes dark with hatred. I weave a giant spell. A dark spell and open a black hole destroying every bit of the city left. Suddenly, I am light headed. Shulk charges to me and I summon a vortex of small demons to take care of him, but I become he other Delta for a split second. Then I am darkened once more. I laugh as I realize, both versions of me want to kill Shulk. I am all powerful. I am… the undertaker… AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!

Shulk

My body is fueled with rage. No matter how many times I slash, these darklings will not DIE! That's when me and Delta meet eye to eye. We stop for an instant. Gazes locked on each other. Something is different. His eyes are dark, there is dark magic inside him. This is not the real Delta, but I must kill him if I must.

Blood ties chapter 13

Bathtub

Delta may have destroyed the city, but he did not effect the people. I rush everywhere healing people. My legs move as quickly as they can. I can feel my heart pounding in fear. The hard dirt beneath my feet. Everything is silent, until a flash of light appears at the corner of my eye. I hear people gasp. It's the darklings. 

Shulk

Me and my robotic troops hold off the darklings allowing people to escape, but suddenly I see several escaped or line sort of walls. The people are behind us and I rush towards them, my anger boils. I can feel my memories of hatred from others, the scary history of my childhood, and I can feel something powerful winding up inside me. I dash dodging spells. I feel the grip of my long blade in my hand. I jump, sword over my head aiming at the middle of them. Then my instincts take over. My blade emits light around it with yellow and green fire. Not knowing what I am doing, I squeeze the handle of my blade and spin. Slamming the weapon down it creates a wave of bright blue color. I killed them. Maybe not all of them but I killed some. My gaze turns to the people who are watching me in awe. I have no time for praise as I sense more coming. My foot turns into a batting stance. I feel the dust against my face. I am bruised and dirty. Brown dirt covering my face. I raise my sword preparing to take on a whole army...ALONE.

Bathtub.

I can see one man standing alone. Against a whole army of almost indestructible monsters. I am powerless to do anything. However, I see a flash of light and I am not where I was before. I am in a library.  Someone had summoned me here, but without me the people will all die.

Shulk

I watch behind me as the doctor suddenly disappears out of her will. Without her, the people will die. I shout to the people “use what you have and help me fight! It is no use, since we will all die.” I guess my speech was more...uplifting then what I thought before. I see the people rise as the monster's approach. I can hear the legs pounding against the floor. They are black and purple coming in different sizes. Some look like ash piles together, others look like glue, some look like those stranger things stuff. People pull out weapons they have from games, and then fight.

Delta

I watch as the people get up to fight. I snort, “there going to die trying” I think. 

 Chapter 14 The final step

Shulk

We plunge into battle. My emitting light is gone. The only thing we can do is weaken them as much as possible. As we fight I slash everywhere. Dashing here there. I see people fall, but I know it will happen anyway. When there are the smallest amount of people left, I pull out the void device. The power is dead. I make a frustrated groan as I fall back. I pull out another small device that becomes larger as I press a button. I am now the only one left. The monsters rush at me. Frantically, I point the device at me. My brain screams in fear and tells me to run, but I jab the device into me, I feel a pain searing through my belly. My knowledge and conscious transfers into the device. My body dies just as the monsters reach it. Then my consciousness in the device teleports into the void.

Delta

My dry and cracked mouth makes an evil grin as I see or at least think my minions killed Shulk. I see his body on the ground. I did it and I won. I am the Undertaker.

Game

I wake up, not as game anymore, but as someone else. I have knowledge of more magic then ever. I walk by as people bow to me. They seem like I was there ruler and that I have been ruling for a while. It is very confusing. I feel the nice bright sun over my face, and as I sit down on a chair to analyse the place I see one of Shulks conscious devices. Is that him?  Suddenly, memories flow into me.

Shulk 

My conscious sees alternative universes, dimensions. This is something that was impossible. As I am stuck in a small box, I see myself dying, or living, I see myself become powerful. Game alive. Delta good. My mind swirls. My conscious puts itself on the glass window trying to get a close look, but it moves too fast. It speeds up, going faster and faster.  I see rainbows and different colors. I become dizzy and everything goes black. 

Delta

After starcity, I feel a hunger for more fear. I want more destruction. Suddenly I become myself again but only for an instant as my eyes turn dark again and I find my next location to devour. The overstar.

Epilogue

Qwert

I woke up. My sight is blurry as I see my hands. I am supposed to be dead. I take in my surroundings. Am I in heaven? I see gold and books. It looks like it. Suddenly I see someone. Someone who I can sense is very powerful. And it appears that he has no good intentions. Hello, Qwert, he smiles. Its me, your new master, the undertaker, but you may remember me as… I freeze as I hear the name… D E L T A 

Bathtub

Hello, I am the bathtub.  Own the hospital. Using magic I can create magical ice cream that can heal everything. However that is not bringing back a life. However, before he fell and died,  Game told me something, eyes wide open. “You are more than just the doctor”, he said, “you are the traitor”.  He tumbles to the ground as I gasp to myself. This is who I am. I am a bathtub, only survivor of the crisis, the apparent traitor and spy, and the last one standing. 

The Librarian

I am the librarian, was once the Great Librarian of star city, now taking it as my base and refuge of the others for the citizens of star city. I knew I might have to run, so I ejected the library, making a new smaller planet called the overstar, with many different regions within this library. Star city may have been great, but it is now a broken down rock in space. The great shulk, bathtub and many other citizens came with me, but I fear that this place will decolate in no time… I don’t know if I can protect my citizens… I fear… I will die trying… 

[zoemurph]

to have a friend, chapter eight: $192

on ao3 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

holy shit do NOT expect updates from me this fast after november ends!!!!! i'm frantically doing nano as fast as possible and i am MAJORLY fucking myself over. after this is posted i'm writing 4 essays and catching up on readings (whoops)

this chapter has sooo much going on but a huge thank you to both sarah and flor for making it possible with your very different but very good ideas <3

warnings: depression, anxiety, references to suicide/past suicide attempts/self harm, some poor eating habits, a few mentions of drugs

enjoy and please read the end note on ao3~

High school is bulshit. Connor has known this since he first stepped into the annoyingly bright hallways freshman year because some asshole decided skylights were a good idea. It’s six hours of bullshit, with a bullshit twenty three minute lunch thrown somewhere in the middle.

It’s a lot of bullshit.

Somehow, having a friend makes it…less bullshit. A fake friend. Evan makes everything suck a little less. There’s something to look forward to when he shows up at ass o’clock in the morning. There’s a reason to push through the day, even if it’s just seeing Evan’s smile as he puts books back into his locker. Tuesdays are arguably the best because Connor gets a solid twenty extra minutes with Evan at lunch.

Which in and of itself is its own can of bullshit. A can that Connor should not have opened, but here they fucking are.

There are a few times where Connor genuinely considers telling Evan about his feelings. Platonic and romantic. And then he laughs at himself because no fucking way. On what planet would Evan Hansen like him in any capacity?

Connor is lucky that he’s been able to hold on to Evan as a fake friend. He’s not going to push his luck.

Every time he smiles at Evan he pushes his luck a little more. Every time he asks Evan to hang out without having a legit reason for it he pushes his luck. Every time he thinks about Evan—

Connor focuses on friendship. He focuses on friendship because he will settle for friendship. He would give anything to be Evan’s real friend.

It’s ridiculous but it’s true.

Connor is in way too fucking deep.

“Where have you been?” Larry asks from the couch when Connor opens the front door.

Connor rolls his eyes. “I was with Evan.” And Jared. It was weird but not the worst. Jared kept claiming he could beat Evan at Mario Kart and kept losing and had to buy the pizza. Even if all Connor got out of those three hours was the priceless look on Jared’s face when Connor rolled his pizza up like a burrito with the toppings on the outside, it was worth it.

“Hm.”

Connor shuts the door and pulls off his boots. He drops them by Zoe’s converse. “I told Zoe where I was.”

“So you’re talking to your sister again?”

Connor pauses. He was going to go grab a drink, but apparently not. “Why do you care?”

Larry lowers his phone. “Because she’s your sister.”

“…and?”

“How long have you known Evan?” Larry asks.

Connor frowns. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Answer the question, Connor.”

Connor grimaces at the sharp tone. “I don’t fucking know—”

“Language.”

“—like seven months? Why does it matter?”  

Larry slides his phone into his pocket. “And how long have you known Zoe?”

Connor scoffs. “Seriously? Are you about to yell at me for spending time with my friend?”

Larry crosses his arms. “He’s always around.”

“Yeah, because he’s my friend and I like him? Zoe’s with her friends all the time, and you don’t say shit about that.” Connor walks into the dining room. If Larry wants to have this conversation, he either has to follow Connor or yell.

“Connor,” Larry says warningly.

“Maybe Zoe doesn’t want to spend time with me,” Connor snaps. Because Zoe doesn’t. And that’s fine. Connor has made her life hell so he doesn’t blame her for not wanting to have anything to do with him.

Larry stalks into the dining room and sometimes Connor forgets that Larry is where he gets his height. “That’s not the point.”

Connor throws his arm out. “Then what is the point!?”

“You have a better relationship with Evan than with your sister.”

Connor stares at him. “Why does this matter.” For some reason this hurts. It stings like he’s just submerged papercut covered hands in lemon juice. It hurts too much for fire to keep burning.

“You’ve known him for less than a year,” Larry says, voice low and dangerous.

“You think you’d be happy that I’ve found an actual friend,” Connor says numbly. The lie burns his mouth.

“You spend far more time with him than Zoe—”

“He actually wants to be around me!” Connor protests. Because he will listen to his father tear him down, but he won’t listen to him say anything about Evan. Not Evan. “Zoe—”

“Is your sister!” Larry yells. Connor feels his blood run cold. “When was the last time you were actually a brother to her!?”

Connor feels sick. The world cracks and crumbles around the edges and his insides freeze and shatter. He laughs. It hurts his chest. “When was the last time you were a father to me?” he whispers.

Larry’s expression doesn’t change. It stays hard. Cold and distant.

When was the last time— 

Connor holds eye contact as long as he can. But he’s broken and the world around him is numbing and dying.

So he leaves.

He pushes past Larry, dropping his eyes to the floor with his tongue heavy in his mouth. He shoves his boots on and throws the door open.

“Where are you going?” Larry yells. Because he can keep doing this. He can do this for hours.

Connor looks out at their driveway. The dying grass and dead plants in neat rows. Brown and wilted and dying and dead. “Why do you care?” he asks.

He slams the door behind him.

It feels good to have a door to slam.

—«·»—

His feet bring him to the playground. There aren’t many places to go in this town.

It’s getting dark. There’s a singular light by the school that still turns on with the other streetlights. It illuminates parts of the playground in a hazy glow.

It doesn’t look real.

Connor sits under the stairs that lead up to the slide. If he closes his eyes, he can bring himself back to elementary school. He digs his hand into the wood chips, cold and jagged and stabbing at his skin. He can pretend. He can hear screaming and laughter and kids running up the stairs trying not to slip. Kids hiding under here, whispering secrets to each other. Someone throws the woodchips at someone else and gets yelled at. They play clapping games and tic-tac-toe in the dirt. They pull up grass and throw it in the air and fall off the monkeybars and fight over the swings and stand under the trees and play in the mud—

Connor takes a shaky breath as hot tears run down his cheek. He scrubs them away with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

He hates crying. He hates how it makes him feel. He hates how tears feel, he hates the runny nose, he hates the sobbing and the ragged breathing and how it makes him feel weak.

He sniffs and wipes away more tears. God, he needs to get high. But he refuses to go home and his stash is running out because he’s low on cash because he’s been spending it all on Evan.

Evan.

Connor flexes his hands — they’re cramped from the cold and from the fists he’s been squeezing them in — and pulls his phone out of his pocket. At least it hasn’t shut off from the cold yet, that’s happened to him before and it’s annoying to deal with.

From: Connor To: Evan      tell zoe im fine just needed to blow off steam      emphasize im not with you

He’s surprised he can type actual words let alone with no spelling mistakes. His hands are cold and shaking. He presses his phone against his forehead and takes a slow breath.

Fuck.

Every atom in his body wants to walk to Evan’s right now. He just wants to be near Evan. There’s something about Evan that’s undeniably calming, even though Evan could be described as nervous energy barely held together in a human form. Something about Evan that makes him feel less at war with himself.

But he already used up his time with Evan for the day. Even just texting Evan feels like too much.

His phone buzzes against his forehead.

From: Evan To: Connor      Ok  j ust did!!      Is everyhting ok??? Do you need ot talk ??

Connor stares at the message. He kind of want to cry again, which fucking sucks. And he told Evan that he would tell him if something was wrong but— no.

From: Connor To: Evan      no not now      maybe later

Connor stares at their conversations.

He asked Evan about cats at four in the morning once. Evan hadn’t responded until he woke up two hours later — good — but when he did he had a bunch of random cat facts. And pictures of Jared’s cat to share.

It felt like friendship. That’s what friendship feels like, right? Connor doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. But he thinks, somehow, he’s broken things. Whatever they are. Because he’s too attached. He’s too involved. Everything is too much.

He digs his fingers into the woodchips again.

Connor can’t decide if it’s better if Evan likes him or hates him.

—«·»—

Zoe texts him. He knows because his phone buzzes and he looks down and he sees her name right above Evan’s. Connor’s phone is at 4%. He turns on airplane mode and locks it without reading any of their texts.

Connor rests his chin on his knees and stares ahead into the darkness.

He doesn’t want to walk home. He knows he has to or he’ll probably freeze to death but that wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

No, that’s a bad idea.

Connor stretches his legs out in front of him. They feel weird, he’s spent so long with them pulled up against his chest. If he stands he might fall over.

He can’t feel his hands when he gets up off the ground. He climbs out from under the slide and holds onto the railing as his legs remember how they’re supposed to work.

He’s tired.

Connor squints into the darkness as he leaves the playground. The streets are so poorly lit in this area that he’s probably going to fall and break something. That’s what happens when people don’t use an area. They don’t care for it. And then some asshole teenager breaks his fucking leg walking home in the dark.

His phone would probably die before he could call for help too.

Connor stuffs his hands in his pockets and starts walking. He knows he should probably pay more attention, but he barely pays attention to the few cars on the roads as he makes his way down the sidewalk. As he gets into a more residential area, it gets a little brighter.

He looks up to cross a street and locks eyes with a doe standing in someone’s yard. It stares at him for a long moment before bounding away into the darkness.

Connor looks both ways and crosses the street, stepping around a puddle that’s starting to freeze over.

He stops when he gets to the bottom of his driveway.

If Larry tries to talk to him when he goes inside, he’ll leave. Connor’s already decided. He doesn’t know where he’ll go, but he’ll leave.

Connor huffs. He really just wants his bed right now.

The door is unlocked when he tries the doorknob. He frowns and slowly pushes the door open. A lamp is on in the living room, though the rest of the rooms are dark.

He quietly takes his boots off and closes and locks the door as softly as possible.

“Connor?” Cynthia asks as soon as he takes another step into the house.

Connor sighs. “Yeah it’s me.”

She gets up from the couch and hurries over to where he’s standing by the front door. “I was so worried,” she whispers, reaching up to touch his cheek. “Oh, Con, you’re freezing.”

“It is November,” Connor tries to joke. The singular stings.

The crease in Cynthia’s forehead gets deeper.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

“Zoe said Evan texted her— were you with him?”

Connor pulls away. “No,” he says sharply. “I wasn’t. I don’t spend every fucking moment with him, god.” He walks toward the kitchen. His hands are still ice and he needs something to warm them.

“I never said you did.” Cynthia follows him. “Your father—”

“Don’t.”

Cynthia sighs. “Connor, we can’t pretend that didn’t happen.”

“I’m going to try.” He debates making coffee, but all that will get from his mom is a disapproving look. He reaches for Zoe’s mint hot chocolate instead.

Cynthia makes a frustrated noise. “Where did you go, Connor?”

“Out.” He grabs the first mug he sees. He resists the urge to drop it when he realizes it’s one of Larry’s, old and orange and so well used that the logo has washed off the side of it.

“Were you out smoking again?”

“No.” He almost wants to laugh. He wishes. He takes the milk out of the fridge and pours it into the mug. He’s too tired to do anything more than microwave milk right now.

“Are you sure?”

Connor sighs and turns to Cynthia with the mug in his left hand. “Mom, you would know if I had been high tonight. Weed smells? Remember?” He brushes past her and puts the mug in the microwave.

Cynthia watches him with sad eyes. She always looks sad and it’s Connor’s fault which is… It’s kind of shitty. “I was terrified,” she says softly.

Connor grimaces.

“I kept thinking… I was so worried that maybe you…”

If she starts crying— Connor doesn’t actually know what he’ll do. “I was fine,” he promises. “I wasn’t going to do anything.”

“Would you tell me if you were going to?”

Connor can’t meet her eyes. He watches the numbers count down on the microwave. He pulls the door open before it can beep. Cynthia sighs as he puts too much hot chocolate powder in the milk. Connor stirs carefully, trying not to spill all over the counter.

“You can always talk to me, sweetheart,” Cynthia says, squeezing his shoulder. Connor shrugs and she presses a kiss to his cheek. “We can talk in the morning. Sleep well.”

Connor stares down into his hot chocolate as she leaves the kitchen.

He has the strong urge to just sit on the floor and waste away.

He takes his hot chocolate up to his room and sits in bed and watches the Great British Baking Show on his laptop. It feels weirdly fake.

At some point he falls asleep. It all feels the same.

“Connor. Connor. Connor!”

Connor groans and rolls over so he’s not facing his doorway.

“Connor, if you don’t get up now, you’re walking to school.”

He squeezes his eyes shut tighter. “‘m not going,” he mumbles.

Zoe grabs his shoulder and shakes him. “Get up!”

Connor shoves her hand away. “Go away!”

“I’m not dealing with your shit—”

“I’m not going!” Connor twists to glare at her. “Fuck off, I’m not going.”

Zoe stares at him. She’s all ready. Her hair is braided over one shoulder, her makeup is done. Connor can’t even remember when she started wearing makeup. He doesn’t know when Zoe grew up.

“Did you hear me?” he snaps. “I’m not going to school.”

She takes a step away. “Okay. Okay. Fine. You’re not going.” She keeps looking at him. Why is she looking at him like that? “Go back to sleep.” She slips out of the room and Connor keep looking at the space she occupied.

He hears the front door open and close. He pulls the covers over his head and goes back to sleep.

—«·»—

Connor wakes up a little bit before noon.

His head hurts and his mouth tastes like death. He stumbles out of bed just to brush his teeth. He probably wouldn’t move other than the fact that his mouth is gross.

While he’s looking at himself in the bathroom mirror as he mindlessly brushes his teeth, he realizes he never changed out of yesterday’s closes. He’s still wearing ripped jeans and an old sweatshirt.

His phone is still sitting on his desk with 2% left. Connor plugs it in and turns off airplane mode and puts on sweatpants that are a little too big and a hoodie that has old paint stains on it. Then he gets back in bed.

He watches videos on his laptop, not really paying attention to what’s on the screen. He looks away in surprise when his phone vibrates. He picks it up and skims through the messages. He never read the ones from last night.

From: Evan To: Connor      Ok IM gonna hol d you to that ok??

From: Z To: C      Why the fuck did Evan just text me????      Where are you?      What happened all I heard was Dad yelling and then you were gone      Connor      Don’t fucking ignore me

Missed call and voicemail from Z

Missed call from Z

From: Z To: C      Pick up asshole

Missed call from Z

From: Evan To: Connor      Umm Zoes freaking ou ton me?      Connr what happened wheer are y ou ?

Missed call from Z

From: Z To: C      Fuck you      Ok?      Seriously fuck you      You’re killing mom      I hope you’re fucking happy      If we find you dead in a ditch somewhere I swear

From: Evan To: Connor      Pl ease answ er some on e

From: Z To: C      I heard you and mom in the kitchen. Fuck you. You can’t do this      You’re terrifying Connor      You scare the shit out of me      I know you won’t respond tonight. I’ll tell Evan you’re ok      This shit isn’t funny

From: Evan To: Connor      Zo ejust text dme Im glad youre ok but I wsih you answered your phone      I know thing s get hard but please let people know yoru esafe because otherwise peoplestart to think the wrs t and then they bother you and dont let you leave their sight      We just want the bes t for you we want you to be ok      Ill see you tomorrwo

From: Z To: C      Just told Evan you won’t be here today. I’m guessing you still haven’t responded to him.      Maybe try to be a good friend.      Or even just a friend.

From: Evan To: Connor      Zoe said you werent coming in today?? A reyou ok?      Thats hte worst question to ask IM so sorry      Please talk ot me Connor      Its importan t      Im coming over after school      I knw thats invading on your personal space but I need to know if youre ok andif youre not going to answer texts I don tknow how else to reach you      I have to help alana with stuco stuff because no on eelse wants to hang posters but Ill be there afterward even if its only for like two minutes can we please talk??

“I’m home!” Zoe shouts.

Connor glances up to the top of his phone to see the time. Shit. It’s already two. He doesn’t know how he lost so much time to YouTube. Which means Evan will be here…soon.

From: Connor To: Evan      ok

“Connor?” Zoe calls out.

Connor stares at her texts and feels his stomach turn. “What?” he yells back.

“Come get your boots! Mom wants us to move ours shoes!”

He scowls and lays back down. “Fuck off!”

She yells at him to get them again, but he just puts headphones in and ignores her. He lays in bed and stares at the wall and listens to music that is way too loud. It would be nice to feel something right now. He distantly hears Zoe yell again and tries to turn the music up louder. The volume doesn’t increase and he makes a face and does a silent eulogy for his eardrums.

Zoe shouts his name again and Connor sighs and yanks out his earbuds. He tried. “What?!”

He can’t make out whatever she says next, but then she shouts, “You’re a dick!”

“Not fucking news,” he snaps. He’s about to put his headphones back in when Evan appears in his doorway. He’s still wearing his backpack and his arms are filled with food and there’s something tucked under his arm.

Connor stares at him. “What the fuck.”

Evan laughs awkwardly. “No dishes in the sink. We realized you probably didn’t eat today.” He looks down at the food he’s holding. There are chips and a container of strawberries and a loaf of bread and he’s carefully balancing a bowl on top of the strawberries.

“Why didn’t you—”

“Zoe had to run,” Evan says. “Something about an emergency piano job?”

Connor squints. “I forgot she plays piano.”

Evan nods. “Someone’s accompaniment is sick so I think she has to fill in. Can you, uh…”

“Oh, right.” Connor gets out of bed and takes the bowl from Evan. It’s filled with leftover mac n cheese. He puts it on the desk and then takes the chips.

“A-anyway, Zoe had to run and two trips are for suckers.” Evan puts the strawberries and bread down on the desk.

Connor rolls his eyes. “Okay.”

“These are also for you.” Evan pulls a stack of mail out from under his arm. “Looks like mostly college stuff.”

“Fucking college board,” Connor mutters. “Never should’ve taken the SATs.”

“Yeah, same. They won’t leave me alone. Oh! And Alana gave me notes for you for english. She started saying something about like…chiasmic?”

“Chiasmus,” Connor mutters, looking through the mail. Nothing he cares about. Great. He can set it on fire.

“Yeah that’s it!” Evan takes off his backpack and puts it on the floor to take out a notebook.

Connor stares at him. “Evan?”

Evan looks up at him. “Yeah?”

“Are… Why are you wearing my boots?”

“Oh.” Evan stands up straighter and lifts one of his feet. “Zoe kept yelling at you to bring your boots upstairs. Figured if I was bringing you all this I just…take them too?”

Connor stares at him. Evan looks kind of ridiculous. Connor’s all too familiar black combat boots are paired with Evan’s usual khakis and a gray sweatshirt with a striped polo peaking out from under it. The boots go up a little too high on Evan’s shins which adds to the look and Connor is now noticing that they give Evan a few inches that he definitely does not actually have.

“Is this what it’s like to be tall?” Evan asks with a smile.

Connor snorts. “No, Hansen. It’s not.”

Evan shrugs. “I’ll take it.”

“Aren’t those kind of big for you?” Connor’s mind is still trying to process this. Evan is wearing his shoes. That’s definitely not something he’s thought about before. Or ever considered. He thinks his brain might be resetting.

“Oh god yes.” Evan sits down on Connor’s bed and unlaces one of the boots. “It’s actually a miracle I didn’t like…fall down your stairs or something. That would’ve been embarrassing.”

“And painful.”

“That too.” Evan pulls off the boot. He’s still wearing his old sneakers.

Connor opens and closes his mouth a few times. “Hey, Ev?”

Evan starts untying the other boot. “Yup?”

“You’re wearing…your shoes in my boots?”

Evan looks Connor in the eye. “I already told you, two trips are for suckers.”  

Connor laughs. It’s weird to laugh right now, like it’s the wrong emotion to feel. But he laughs and smiles at Evan because there is something about Evan wearing sneakers in his boots that’s ridiculous but also makes Connor’s stomach fill with butterflies. “Okay, Ev. Whatever you say.” He falls onto his front on the bed next to Evan. The moment feels too light. And then all of Evan’s texts come back at him in a crushing wave.

Connor grimaces. “Um…sorry for last night.”  

Evan glances back at him over his shoulder. “I…” He rubs a hand over his face. “You scared us.” He says it softly, like a secret, and stares at his feet.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Connor admits. “I just… Fuck, I just needed to get out. And then my phone was almost dead and I didn’t want to talk to people… I fucked up.”

Evan nods. He wordlessly pulls his sneakers off and then crosses his knees on the bed.

“I had a fight with Larry it was…” Connor rolls onto his back and sits up. “I needed to be alone, I guess. I wasn’t really thinking about other people when I left. I didn’t even bring my house key.”

Evan scoots further onto the bed. “What did you fight about?”

Connor searches Evan’s face. His eyes trail over Evan’s freckles. They dot his face like stars. “Nothing serious,” he mumbles. “It just got out of hand.”

Evan leans back on his hands. “Is that why you didn’t come to school today?”

Connor runs a hand through his hair. “I guess. I just… Zoe woke me up and getting out of bed just seemed like the worst fucking option ever. I think I yelled at her, but I barely remember waking up.” He grabs the bowl of mac n cheese off the desk. Food. Right.

Evan nods. “I… There are days like that. Where getting up makes me want to cry.” He holds out a hand. “Can I have the chips?”

“That sucks.” Connor hands over the bag of chips and continues eating mac n cheese. The sooner he finishes this the sooner he can go back to not being a person.

“Yeah, kind of.”

Connor sighs. “Aren’t we a fucking pair.” He pushes pasta around the bowl.

Evan tilts his head. “Yeah,” he mumbles.

Connor frowns. “What is it?”

Evan shakes his head. “Nothing. I thought of something, but it’s not important.”

“Are you sure?”

Evan nods and reaches for Connor’s laptop. “Let’s just watch something and pretend our lives aren’t horrible.”

Connor watches Evan carefully as Evan opens YouTube and scrolls through the recommended videos until he finds one that isn’t too weird sounding. “Yeah that sounds like a good plan.” He puts his bowl back on the desk— he only had a few bites but his stomach is kind of done with food.

Connor takes the laptop from Evan and scoots over so they can both lean against the pillows. He rests the laptop on his knees. Evan’s arm presses against Connor’s and Connor tries not to think about it. He tries to focus on the random video that Evan chose. It’s probably funny or something.

But he can’t. Because Evan is here.

Evan is warm and curled toward Connor and his hair smells nice and he’s leaning his head against Connor’s shoulder to see the screen better. And Connor’s heart is doing this weird thing where it feels like it’s being squeezed which is honestly so fucking rude.

Evan sighs and moves a little closer.

Yup. This is hell.  

—«·»—

“Connor!”

Connor’s heart races as he wakes with a jerk. He’s about to move when he notices the weight on his torso. He looks down to see Evan’s head resting on his chest.

Connor stops breathing.

Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy—

“Connor?”

Connor groans and squints into the bright light of the hallway. When did he fall asleep? When did it get so fucking dark out? Why is Evan sleeping on him? Why is Zoe always so loud? “Wha?”

“You aren’t dead.” A smile plays at the corner of her mouth. Connor squints at her. “Get your ass downstairs, we’re about to—”

Evan sits up, rubbing his eyes.

Zoe stares at him. Her eyes go from Connor to Evan. Connor wants to go back to sleep. He wants Evan cuddled against him because fuck that was really nice.

“Zoe?” Evan asks, voice soft.

Connor is not mentally equipped for this.

“…thought Evan went home,” Zoe says slowly.

“No,” Connor says. “Nap.”

“Right. Right.” She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Cool. Okay.” She clears her throat. “We were going to…” She gestures over her shoulder. “You know…”  

Connor narrows his eyes as he tries to figure out what she means.

“Friday night? Shabbat?”

Connor props himself up on his elbows. “Oh. Right.” He looks to Evan. Evan’s hair is messy and sticking up in all directions and it’s making Connor’s heart do weird things.

Zoe follows his gaze. “Uh… Evan can…join us? If he…?” She gives Connor a desperate look. “Or stay here? Or sleep…? Um…” She raises her eyebrows at Connor. Connor shakes his head.

“Uh…I don’t really…” Evan clears his throat. “My mom and I— we don’t really do anything for Shabbat at home…because… My mom works a lot so we don’t— I don’t really…know what I’m supposed to do?”

Tension seems to leave Zoe as she smiles at Evan. “Don’t worry about it, we can show you. Connor doesn’t know what he’s doing either.”

Connor flips her off and throws off his covers. “I won’t be insulted in my own fucking home,” he mutters.

Evan crawls over Connor’s legs to get out of bed. “You sure I w-won’t ruin it?” he asks Zoe, tugging on his shirt.

“Swear,” she says, drawing an x over her heart. “We haven’t set the house on fire yet, so you’ll be fine.”

Evan steps past her into the hallway and Zoe immediately raises her eyebrows at Connor. Connor gives her a look.

“What is this,” she hisses into his ear.

“What do you mean?” he whispers back.

She gestures to Evan. “When did you two get together?”

Connor jerks away. “What?”

Zoe stares at him. “You’re—”

“No!” He lowers his voice. “Zoe what the fuck—”

“I don’t know! He gets you to eat and sleep what the fuck am I supposed to think?”

“Not that?”

“A-are you two coming?” Evan asks from the top of the stairs.

Connor and Zoe exchange a look.

“Later,” Zoe says.

“No.” Connor walks over to Evan and tugs on his sleeve. “Let’s go.”

Zoe squeezes past them on the stairs, flicking the back of Connor’s head as she goes. “Mom! Evan’s joining us!”

Evan grabs Connor’s hand at the foot of the stairs. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do,” he whispers with wide eyes.

“It’s fine,” Connor promises. “Just stand next to me and do what I do. But you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Evan looks toward the kitchen. “I… It’ll be fine. Yeah. I-I want to do this.”

Connor gives him a small smile and pulls him into the dining room. Cynthia places down another glass as they walk in and smiles at Evan. Evan nods and fiddles with his hands and Connor resists the annoyingly strong urge to hold his hand.

Zoe passes around her purple kippot from a drawer near the sink, and Connor wonders how long it’ll take before his falls off this time. He watches Evan read the inscription inside of the date of her bat mitzvah, before nervously pressing it on his head.

They stand behind their chairs at the table, small glasses of grape juice — or in Larry’s case, red wine — next to their plates. Connor watches as Cynthia lights the candles and waves her hands over them before covering her eyes so she can’t see the flames as she sings a short prayer for the candles.

Connor tries to concentrate on the Hebrew instead of the glow reflected in Evan’s eyes. Those are bad thoughts. And it’s also not the time for them.

Cynthia moves to her seat and lifts her wine glass. Connor nudges Evan as the rest of the family does the same. Evan shoots him a thankful look and a tiny smile. They keep the glasses aloft as Cynthia makes Kiddush, only awkwardly joining in at the end of the blessing.

Connor remembers Zoe learning the other parts of it for her bat mitzvah, but she probably feels too uncomfortable to sing along with Evan here. Not that Evan is the most awkward and uncomfortable part of their dysfunctional family. 

Everyone takes a sip of their drinks — Evan a little belatedly — and Cynthia removes the ornate cover from her handmade loaves of challah on the cutting board. Connor remembers when she used to buy challah for them, ordered specially from a bakery, shiny and with white flour. Sometimes on holidays they had raisins.

Now she bakes them gluten free and several weeks in advance, but at least he remembers the blessing for once (the food was really the part of Hebrew school he looked forward to), so he joins in quietly with everyone, trying not to focus on Evan’s wavery stuttering. The bread is sliced and the cutting board is passed around, and they all take their seats.

Connor hears an audible sigh of relief from Zoe. Evan looks to Connor and gives him a half smile. He’s gripping the hem of his shirt in his hands under the table. Connor smiles back.

Zoe is still right, they haven’t burned the house down.

Dinner is awkward. Honestly, Connor wasn’t expecting anything else. It’s awkward and quiet and the little talking that is done is done by Zoe and Cynthia. Connor does his best to just not look in Larry’s direction. He will ignore this as long as he possibly can. Next to him, Evan is tense and keeps his eyes mostly on his plate. Sometimes him and Connor make eye contact and Evan will give him a tiny smile and Connor’s heart tries out a fun new pattern. Evan keeps touching his kippah, sometimes adjusting it, eyebrows furrowing whenever he does. He’s probably worried about it slipping or falling into the soup or something and honestly, Connor relates.

They survive. That’s the important part.

“Told you it’d be fine,” Connor says as they go back up to his bedroom. Evan probably has to go home at some point but Connor is very pointedly not thinking about that.

Evan laughs. “I thought my kippah was going to fall off. I’d probably find a way to make it catch fire.”

“I’d be impressed.”

Connor eyes the stack of snacks on his desk before grabbing the carton of strawberries and sitting on the edge of his bed.

Connor holds out a strawberry and Evan takes it while saying, “You know, we just ate.” Connor shrugs. “Fruit is healthy.”

“I mean you aren’t wrong.” Evan drops down on the bed next to Connor.

Connor stares at him for a few moments. He’s probably got some sort of embarrassingly soft look on his face but it’s fine. Then he remembers that Evan is here. “Oh shit, I have money here some—”

“No,” Evan interrupts.

Connor shakes his head. “We agreed—”

“Fuck Jared’s list,” Evan says. He glances to the doorway and lowers his voice. “I wanted to be here, Con. I wanted to see you. D-don’t… You don’t have to pay me.”

“Are you sure?” Connor asks softly. He feels…like he’s using Evan but worse. Because this is not the agreement.

Evan nods. “I’m sure.”

Connor runs a hand through his hair and looks away. “Okay,” he says, stomach turning. It’s okay. It’s fine. “Okay.” 

[thefinalexperiment]

The Final Experiment Chapter 21: Bug Boy

A/N: Hello there! I managed to whip this up somehow, and I’m really pretty proud of this part. My next goal is to get another part written for MM&M, but I should also spend some time on my random fandoms blog @ouat-in-spare-oom-of-rivendell because I have totally (accidentally) abandoned my LOTR series over there... Oops. Anyway, now that we’re finally getting into the plot 21 chapters later, here we go! I added the cover, and please excuse me trying a new formatting style.

Pairing: Peter Parker x OC

Word Count: 3,090

Previous parts: 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12–13–14–15–16–17–18–19--20

@after-avenging-hours @casameanlock @nicolejones412 @dashingdetectivetimelady @putnamcountyspellingbee @theblackqueen-ofmyheart @sundayon-fire

Tags:

@mla02 @shamvictoria11 @fanficcrapforme @procrastinatingvirgo @arie-tfw

        “So, you gonna go back or what?”

        “I don’t know what you mean, Scott…” I muttered, my tone dangerous as I sat beside him.

        By the small inclination of his head and the ever-so-slight downward twitch of his mouth, I deduced that he rolled his eyes. Funny, how often he seemed to do that when I dodged a subject.

        “Kaitlynn, it’s been a year… They need to know you’re okay.”

        “Scott, I’m sure the Professor is very thorough in his progress reports. The know all they need to. Besides, I have stuff I can’t leave here…”

        “Nobody said you had to stay there. Come on, just a visit. It’s end of term, not like you’d be missing any school stuff when it’s summer. Besides… you know where we’ve been headed lately.”

        I sighed. I knew exactly what he meant… We had been trying to make a relationship work for almost as long as I had been here, but the truth about the nature of it was becoming harder and harder to deny.

        “Yeah… You’re one of the closest people to me, Scott.”

        “But not in that way,” he finished.

        I nodded. “Best friends then?”

        He chuckled and nodded. “Best friends.”

        “Besides,” I grinned, “I’ve seen the way Jean looks at you…”

        At first he seemed confused, but then his cheeks turned slightly pink and he rubbed the back of his neck, grumbling incoherently.

        “Mhm… That’s what I thought.”

        “You know, I know you changed the subject.”

        “Did not.”

        “Did too and you know it.”

        “Did not, slander and calumny!”

        “Kaitlynn, you can’t just quote Pirates of the Caribbean at me and think that I’m going to drop it.”

        I suddenly became very fixated on a particular blade of grass. “Scott… In three days, it’ll be a year since they saw me, a year since I went psycho and went on a murder spree.”

        He shrugged. “All the more reason to see them. They’re the closest thing to family you’ve got, don’t take that for granted.”

        A silence settled while I thought over his suggestion. Could I really face the Avengers after all this time? Sure, they hadn’t seen me in almost a year, but that wasn’t even close to getting a clean slate. Even so… I suppose I did owe them this, after all the trouble I’d caused.

        “Fine.” Grinning, Scott looked like he was about to say something, so I cut him off. “I hate you.”

        “You know you love me, Kaitlynn.”

        “Whatever.”

~Avengers Tower~

        “What made her change her mind? A year ago today, we handed her over to the Academy and now she’s coming back? It just doesn’t make sense, Nat…” Steve was pacing and thinking aloud, addressing Natasha, but not really speaking to her.

        Nat, who was reclining on the couch, simply shrugged. “I think we should just be glad she’s setting foot here again. She didn’t have to see us at all.” She pause for a moment, then, “Has anyone told Loki?”

        Steve shot her a look.

        “Look, Cap, I know nobody here is his biggest fan, but he was her friend. He deserves this reunion just as much as we do.”

        “He doesn’t deserve anything, except maybe solitary confinement.”

        Natasha just rolle her eyes and rose from her seat. “Whatever… Well, I’m gathering the team, and whether or not you approve, that includes Loki.”

~Kaitlynn~

        I shifted in my seat, nervously adjusting my gloves as the aircraft docked at the new base somewhere in upstate New York. They’d changed locations not long after I left, something about one of Tony's dad's old warehouses. A small, small part of me was excited to see everyone, but the rest of me was just an overwhelming feeling of I don’t want to be here. I felt sick to my stomach, wishing that time would slow down so I didn’t have to do this. Unfortunately for me, however, it was too late.

        I wandered into the new commons area, which was a bit of a living room and a kitchen combined. How ironic, I thought, to be reuniting in the same way that I’d first met them all. The new setting reflected my own new persona. Just like the first time, Wanda was the first to notice me. When the rest of them looked over, there were a lot of mixed emotions. I noticed that Barnes wasn’t there, but though I thought it was strange, I didn’t feel like questioning it.

        What I did question, however, was the young man I didn’t recognize. He was standing halfway behind Tony, nervously shifting his weight. He had dark hair and puppy-brown eyes… And he was kinda cute, which was not helping my nerves in any way at all.

        Trying to make the situation a little less tense, I attempted a joke. “Replacing me with this kid? Can he even fight?”

        I was met with an uncertain silence. It was obvious that they didn’t know whether or not to tread carefully around me any more. The new guy was the only one to react. His eyes went wide and he started stuttering adorably, trying to explain why he was here and that he was definitely-not-replacing-anybody.

        I laughed softly at his expression, and the others gaped at me in disbelief.

        “What?” I asked, shrugging. “It’s not like the symbiote sucked out my ability to laugh…”

        The atmosphere relaxed, and it was then that a familiar Asgardian strolled up to the group, fashionably late as per usual.

        “Kaitlynn…”

        I nodded in acknowledgement to Loki, allowing myself a small smile. It was easy to relax when he was around. He knew what it was like to be in my shoes.

        “So… new guy, what’s your name?” I paused, taking a moment to look him over. As the deductions formed a story, I smirked. “Ohhh, you’re that Bug Boy, the NYC vigilante…”

        His eyes went wide again, and he resumed the stuttering routine for a bit. Eventually, he coughed awkwardly and muttered, “Spider-M-- I-I’m Spider-Man…”

        “Mm…” I drawled,“I think Bug Boy suits you better.”

        Flustered, he tripped over what he wanted to say before coming to a conclusion. “Fine then… Ice Girl.”

        I blinked in surprise. I had expected that they’d have told him about me, but I’d thought that he’d be afraid of me or disgusted by me when they inevitably told him the worst. No, I realized, he’s just too innocent to feel the gravity of my actions. He was only around 18, about two years older than me.

        “You’re cute,” I remarked. When the others looked at me in confusion, I calmly covered my slip of the tongue without giving myself away. “You’re like a little puppy, tripping over its own feet… But you gotta get over the whole ‘friendliness and trust’ thing, it’s gonna get you killed.”

        He opened and closed his mouth a few times before apparently deciding he couldn’t respond to that. “I’m Peter... Peter Parker.”

        I clicked my tongue and tsked jokingly, ”You’re Bug Boy… Now you know who I am, obviously.”

        Peter grinned and retorted, “Yeah… you’re the Ice Girl.” His playful expression clearly said Two can play at this game.

        Tony, apparently having decided to finally break up the little not-quite-flirting session, cleared his throat. “Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say that it’s good to see you, Sherlock. At least, good to see you not on a murder kick. That sort of puts a damper on any reunion, ya know?”

        “You’re telling me…” I muttered, tugging at my gloves. Silence settled again.

        “Well this is delightful,” Loki finally spoke, “But I do believe I’ll excuse myself from this macabre mood.”

        “Not until you tell me why Barnes is avoiding me.”

        Loki stopped in his tracks. “You should ask him yourself…” And with that, he strolled away.

        “He’s… changed… since you left,” Steve admitted. “But not because of that. Fury showed up and confronted him about a file… Buck never told us what was in it, but that was when he started hiding himself away.”

        I rolled my eyes. “Probably some seventy-year-old murder that suddenly has modern consequences… I can go talk him out of this. After all, I know a thing or two about homicidal tendencies as a result of outside forces.”

        Steve shrugged. “I don’t see how it could hurt. He’s in his room, go out and to the left then take two rights, it’ll be the second door on the right.”

        Smirking, I headed that way, leaving them with one last joking comment. “You know, if you had said no, I would’ve just hacked SHIELD to figure out what that file was… That’s a little game I like to play with Director Coulson, ya know? See how many files I can read before he has Daisy upgrade their firewall…” With that little admission of my involvement with SHIELD during the past year, a cacophony of confused voices followed me down the hall.

        “Wait--”

        “Did she just--”

        “Director Coulson?!”

        As I neared Bucky’s room, I thought over what I’d said about hacking SHIELD. I was the best at what I did, even better than Agent Johnson, and I knew that that was the only reason Coulson didn’t just tag me with a fancy anti-tech bracelet. It really was a little game, a practice exercise for the two of us computer geniuses. I never did any harm, never leaked any files. There was only one that I had never been able to access, like Daisy had been tasked specifically with keeping me out of that one at all costs. But, of course, that only made me want to crack it even more.

        When I reached the door, I took  breath, then knocked.

        “Steve, I’m not coming to see her. Go away.” He yanked the door open to find me casually leaning against the frame.

        “Looks like you are, actually… So what’s up with you, Barnes? Something’s got you in a mood.”

        “Kaitlynn…” He regarded me differently he had than before, but that wasn’t a surprise; all of the Avengers did now.

        No, what I found strange was the difference between how he and the others acted around me. Everyone else seemed cautious, unsure because they didn’t know the new person I had become. With Bucky, however, it wasn’t just that. Whatever Fury had brought him made him… guilty. He was watching me carefully, as if he was looking for something.

        Shaking my head in confusion, I just decided to ask the obvious question. “What did Fury show you?”

        Bucky’s expression hardened. “Nothing. You should go now.”

        He tried to close the door, but I stopped him. “I don’t think so, James.” I mentally remarked how he flinched ever so slightly when I used that name. “What was in that file? B2WS8499, right? It’s a file that popped up about four months after I left. The one file I can’t ever crack…” Nothing in his countenance changed, but a muscle in his jaw clenched and confirmed my thoughts. “I knew it… What was it?”

        Finally, Bucky sighed and relented, “Someone that I hurt.”

        I shrugged, not seeing the problem. “Yeah… You hurt a lot of people. What’s so different about this one?”

        By the pained look he gave me, I realized that that probably wasn’t a great statement to make when trying to comfort an ex-brainwashed assassin.

        “This one… It was more recent than the others. And it’s sort of… come back to haunt me now. While you were gone, I remembered it on my own, but Fury… He found out about it, but he dug deeper and found something even I never knew.”

        “Well why haven’t you talked to anyone about it? Steve? Natasha? You and her are Russian-speaking buddies, right? Trade secrets in your secret language and braid each other’s hair?” He seemed a little tense about my bringing up Natasha, but I shrugged it off. “Whatever, but I still say you need to tell someone. Take it from me, keeping secrets is how you lose yourself. And the ones you care about…”

        Sighing, he looked up at me. “I’ll think about it. Thank you… Kait.”

        That made me pause. I had never had a nickname before, and I found that I didn’t dislike it. “Uhh… Yeah, no problem…” Awkwardly, I backed away and went to leave.

        “Mind if I join you?” I looked back at him. “I kinda owe it to the others after disappearing on ‘em.”

        I nodded, and Bucky stood to follow me back to the commons area. The others had spread out, no longer really gathered, but doing their own thing. Wanda was at the stove with Vision, trying to explain something over a simmering pot. Bruce stood by the coffee pot, waiting for the water to boil, and Tony was sitting half on the table, fiddling with a hologram from his watch. That Peter Parker kid was lingering in the background, awkwardly glancing around. Steve and Natasha, who were exchanging quiet words on the couch, looked up when we walked in. Their surprise at seeing Bucky was evident, but they didn’t do anything but nod in acknowledgement to his presence.

        I nudged him towards them, then went to snag a taste of whatever Wanda was making. It felt a lot like old times, with how she used to jokingly chase me out of the kitchen with her powers whenever I’d steal her ingredients. I noticed the barest hint of amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth as I darted away with my prize. As I moved towards the table to talk to Tony, I was intercepted by Peter.

        “Hey Bug Boy, what’s up?” I asked casually.

        “Ice Girl… I just wanted to say hi. Again. I mean, get to know you better, I mean. I… I said that twice, didn’t I?”

        Laughing softly, I nodded. “You did…”

        He shuffled a bit, looking at the ground. “So… How about it? Maybe like… Over ice cream or s-something? I know a great place downtown… Or is ice cream too on the nose? I didn’t mean to make a cold pun, I swear!”

        And as he rambled on, it was then that I realized… this little puppy had a crush. On me. I had no idea how to handle this. Scott and I had sort of gotten together by accident when we were both in a rough place, but this… Peter was older than me, true, but he just felt so young in comparison. He hadn’t been through the things I had; life was still enjoyable and not as dark for him.

        I took an uncertain breath, then responded with a heavy tone. “Look… I’m not a nice person, Peter… All I can do is hurt you. It’s just better for everyone if you don’t get too close.”

        He shook his head. “I don’t believe that. You might’ve had some bad stuff in your past, but I don’t think you’re as bad as you think you are.”

        I paused to consider his words but resolutely shook my head. “No. You’re the kinda kid who wants a hand-holding, perfect relationship with chaste kisses and sappy words, but I can’t be that person. I can’t even risk so much as a high five without my gloves on. You haven’t seen as much of the world’s kick-in-the-teeth habits as I have.”

        “My uncle died,” he retorted, his tone even and quiet. “Because of me.”

        I nodded slowly. “Ah, so that’s who it was... You must live with your aunt, then? Since your parents are dead?”

        I wasn’t trying to be rude, honest. After my mutation revealed itself, I discovered that when I made deductions, it was hard to avoid just blurting them out.

        Peter frowned, looking slightly hurt. I immediately felt guilty, which was new.

        “How about we just agree that we’ve both had some rough things happen to us?” Then, he gave me a small, sympathetic smile. “You might not know how to deal with it in a… non-hurtful way, but I still think I’d like to get to know you for you. And… maybe you should try to drop this whole ‘tough’ act, cause I don’t really buy it. I think you just wanna keep people out cause you’re scared.”

        “Looks like I’m not the only one who can deduce,” I joked in a soft tone. Then, I let myself smirk slightly, in the way that said I was impressed with his gall. “You win, Bug Boy. I guess that means I owe you one first date.”

        “First?” he asked, grinning.

        I smirked. “Don’t push your luck… We’ll see about a second after.”

        “After what?”

        “After the first, of course. Don’t they teach math at your fancy private school, Bug Boy?” I teased, smirking.

        “Clever deduction, Ice Girl… Bet you can’t say which school though,” he retorted.

        I tilted my head, pretending to think about it. “Hm… Midtown Science?”

        “Oh come on! There’s no way that’s possible… Lucky guess, has to be.”

        “Well, actually--” But just as I was about to launch into an explanation of how I had been able to rattle off the name, I felt someone watching us. I looked over to see Bucky sitting next to Nat and Steve… giving Peter what could only be described as a Murder Face. Trailing off, I watched the soldier curiously until he noticed the incredulous look I was giving him. He shifted awkwardly and looked down at the floor.

        Peter was likewise confused. “Uh… Should I be worried?”

        “Nah… At least, I don’t think so…”

        “You don’t sound very sure…” he muttered, seeming mildly terrified at the thought of having unknowingly slighted an ex-assassin.

        I shrugged. “Oh well, how about we go somewhere then?”

        He gave me a funny look, kind of amused at my nonchalant attitude, then shook his head and chuckled softly. “Okay… I guess if he’s gonna kill me, I might as well get to go out with a pretty girl first, right?”

        That one actually made me blush. Unable to find words for a reply, I just nodded. When he offered me his hand, I hesitated, but he just grinned like there wasn’t a care in the world. His smile was infectious, and after a second, I relented, making sure my gloves were on properly first.

        As we left, I noticed Bucky watching us, his eyes narrowed and dark. I didn’t understand his behaviour, but one thing I was certain of was that I definitely needed to know what was in file B2WS8499.

Next Part

[killiancygnus]

Serendipitous Melody 17/?

Summary: Everyone has dreams. You might dream of becoming an astronaut or teacher, or you might want to become a doctor and save as many lives you can. Emma Swan’s childhood dream was being a singer. But with life getting in the way and never finding the courage to overcome her fears, she never had a chance to follow it. That is until a little push from her friends lead her to cash on an opportunity; and, who knows, she might even get more than what she’d wished for.

Rated: T

Word count: ~6.8k

A/N: I have started uni back again so I don’t know how much it’ll take me to finish the next chapter, but for now here it is a nice and very long update. 

Thanks to the wonderful @the-reason-to-sail-home for her mad betaing skills and to @mahstatins for being always so lovely and listening to my rants when I freak out.

Tagging some friends: @villains-happy-ending , @stardusted-nymph, @allisonchameron, @kmomof4, @hencethebravery, @katie-dub, @captainwiley , @irishswanff, @thejollypirate, @dassala , @imhookedonaswan, @ofshipsandswans , @legendofthephoenixcs and @londonsbridge

If you want to be tagged too let me know :)

Links: Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9- Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 / AO3

It took a week to film the video and only a couple more of post-production work before it could be ready to be shown to the world. The song got released a few days later without any kind of announcement. However, the publicity the show gave them and Killian’s dedicated fans, made it reach the top of all the charts in less than a day and the video became soon viral.

Overall, it had been a massive success. They would hear their song on the radio, in shops and even on television. It was a bit overwhelming honestly, for Emma for starters, but for him too. After its release, going out without being recognised and eventually finding pictures the following day everywhere on the internet, became almost impossible, as they found out. When Ruby had asked Emma if she remembered to get wine for their girls night, only moments after she got back home at Killian’s from the store, it became pretty clear that they now were the news of the moment.   

In this new scenario, going on dates while keeping a low profile became even more challenging than it already was. At least they could spend time together every day, at home.

Their home.

He had asked her to officially move in with him only a few days after the release, during a nice night out camping in the woods. They had gone for a hike, backpacks on their shoulders as they walked in the woods hand in hand, enjoying not having to be conscious of every touch and look. It was liberating. Away from journalists, fans and paparazzi for a couple of days in which they could finally be together outside of home’s walls, and take a breath from the madness that now surrounded them.

They had placed the tent in a little nook not far away from a stream, hoping that fellow campers wouldn’t settle near them.

Killian had built a fire, or, at least, he’d tried his best. Apparently the life of a multi-platinum record selling music star didn’t lend itself to too many outdoor pursuits, since it took him a half hour of furiously rubbing sticks together, his hair flopping into his face, before Emma was forced to stop him with a hand on his wrist. She was biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, but tried to keep her voice gentle.

“You want to try a lighter?”

Killian huffed and sat back on his heels. “Hang on,” he grumbled.

He disappeared into the tent before emerging with a single large blanket that he wrapped around Emma’s shoulders before tucking himself against her side. He was quiet, his expression tight, almost nervous.

Emma elbowed him gently. “It’s not a big deal, you know.”

“What isn’t?” He asked with a frown, probably sounding as lost as he really was.

“Lighting a fire. We’re not like… cave people.”

Killian laughed shortly. “No, I suppose not.”

“You don’t need to, I don’t know, go hunt me a boar or anything.”

“That’s very comforting to a man’s ego, Swan. Thank you.”

She sighed and lay her head on his shoulder. She felt him relax almost immediately.

“I do, uh, I do have another suggestion though. As to how I might… that is… not that you need looking after - but - I thought - maybe...”

Emma sat up just enough to see the blush rising up his neck and turning the tips of his ears to a deep shade of red.

“You’ve a real talent with words, Jones.”

“Move in with me?”

“What?”

Killian rubbed at the back of his neck, his eyes fixed on their unlit fire.

“Unless - if you don’t want to that’s fine and I understand, but I’d like - I’d like it to be you and me, Swan. Just us against the world. That is, if you’ll have me?”

Speechless and caught off guard, she pulled him in by his jacket’s lapels and kissed him thoroughly.

“Is that a yes?” he managed as she drew back to catch her breath. Her answering laughter echoed through the forest before he guided her inside the tent to celebrate more thoroughly.

The nomination for the MTV Video Music Awards was a nice - well, more than nice - surprise that came about a week later. They were still slowly moving her stuff from her apartment to his - no, their - home, and now the very first song she had ever publicated was on the nominee’s list of one of the most important awards out there.

It was too much. She had tried not to think much of it and focused on the first important step of moving in with Killian. After all, even though he had all the talent in the world and he was an acclaimed artist already, what were the chances that they would actually win one of those shiny statuettes? They were nominated for more than one category, so yeah they would definitely be higher for them to get at least one, but that was not the point. It wasn’t like she didn’t think their song could win, she just didn’t want to get her hopes up. That way she wouldn’t be disappointed if (when) they didn’t win.

Her friends thought she was crazy at caring so little for what could be a huge step for her career, but Killian, of course, didn’t. He seemed to get that, deep down, she was truly just scared shitless of it and of what it would entail for the immediate future. In the days following the nomination, he always tried to direct the conversation somewhere else when in public, blaming superstition, and to bring up the topic only if necessary when at home. He even convinced their friends to not organise any party or anything as such to celebrate her birthday and the nominations before the ceremony, as she had asked them more than once. She loved him for that.

Being her birthday only a couple of days before the red carpet, they decided to stay in and enjoy a quiet night together. He had made her dinner, put on some romantic music and bought some fancy wine for the night. He had even scattered candles around their bedroom, where he much later proceeded to show her exactly how much he loved her.

God, she could still feel her skin blush at the memory.

“Is everything alright, love?” Killian asked her, bringing her back to reality.

Startled, Emma lifted her gaze up, noticing he was handing her hot chocolate mug out for her to take, and he probably had for for a while. Blushing deeper, she took the mug and looked sheepishly at him as she sat on the couch. “Yeah, I was just thinking about the other night.”

“Hmm,” Killian hummed as he casually sipped on his coffee, playing dumb, “Which night? You have to be more precise. There was the one in the woods, the one in the pool and the other by the fire, the one -”

“The night of my birthday,” she interrupted him, noticing with a side glance that he was smirking.

“Ooh, that night!”

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yes, that night.”

Killian’s smirk grew wider. “And what exactly were you thinking about that night?” He asked, the tip of his tongue poking out just a little from his mouth to wet his lips, “Please, tell me.”

After studying him for a few moments, Emma put her mug down on the table in front of her. “I was just thinking of how we could recreate it with our roles inverted,” she shrugged, watching his expression change as he imagined all the things she could do to him with her tongue. Pupils dilated, jaw set, tongue licking his lips once more: bingo. “Too bad that the guys will be here soon to get us ready for tonight and that my boyfriend is being a bit of jerk this morning,” she added, bringing the mug back to her lips as she waited for his reaction.

Three… Two… One…

“No Emma, wait! I’m sorry.”

And here it is, she thought, as she kept her eyes on her drink, suppressing a grin.

“Come on, love,” he pleaded, giving her his best set of puppy eyes as he put his mug down before moving closer to shower her collarbone with kisses, “We still have plenty of time.”

Damn him. She hadn’t considered the puppy eyes. He bloody well knew she couldn’t resist them, and now her plan to make him beg for it was shattered. Not that she was upset with the result, mind you.

It was exactly a couple of hours later that, now happy, sated and showered, they let the small group of stylists and makeup artists in. Emma had barely the time to say “hello” that she was dragged upstairs and locked in one of the many guest rooms. First, she had to choose the outfit for the night among the few dresses Anton, her stylist for that night, had brought, by trying them all on.She let  him handle choosing which her the accessories would look best. It was like going back to the time when for the show she had to attend dress fittings weekly, with the exception that this time, each one of the dresses sprawled on the bed was definitely worth much more than her old apartment’s rent. And she didn’t even want to think how much all those beautiful shoes and clutches and jewels would cost too. Never in her life had she thought that before her thirties she would be living with her internationally famous boyfriend in his villa, having their first single together blasting on radios, having thousands of fans following her social media accounts and being about to attend her first red carpet.

Her life had become truly crazy.

After picking a stunning off the shoulder, long red dress with a tear on the gown that she was sure would make Killian’s head spin, Ashley, the same girl from Enchanted’s makeup team, sat Emma down on a chair and started working on her hair, as she chatted cheerfully with her and Anton. As she combed Emma’s hair in a complicated braid crown updo, Anton cracked some jokes and swore he would watch the red carpet that night only to see Killian drooling over her and tease him next time. She had to admit that for how eccentric he looked with his brown curls arranged in odd haircut she couldn’t really describe and beige silk shirt with a patterned foulard around its collar, he was an amazingly funny guy.

Once her hair was done, the focus of her stylists switched to painting her nails and doing her makeup. They kept it simple: burgundy nail polish to contrast with the white sandals and clutch, and one of those natural looks for her face that was impossible to master.

After putting on dress, heels and a pair of diamond earrings and rings (and almost four hours of pampering), she was deemed ready and free to join Killian downstairs.

Taking a deep breath, Emma slowly descended the stairs. One hand firmly holding the banister, the other keeping away from her eyes the few curly stands that were left out of the braid, Emma looked at her feet for the most part of the flight, scared to trip on those stupidly high heels and fall. It was only when there were a few steps left that she looked up. Killian was standing right in front of her at the bottom of the stairs, mouth slightly agape and eyes wide. He took her in, from toes to hair and then down again, his eyes zeroing in on the glimpse of her leg through the fabric as the tip of his tongue poked out from his mouth to wet his lower lip.

Emma giggled. Yep, Killian was fuckstruck for good. Actually, she could very much relate because that navy blue tux, white shirt with the collar slightly left unbuttoned to show just a bit of his chest and I’ve-just-got-out-of-bed tousled hair? That was sexy as hell. Possibly barely legal.

“Emma,” he stuttered a little, taking her hand away from the banister to help her down the last steps himself, “You are… Stunning.”

As her cheeks grew pink, a wide grin appeared on Emma’s lips. “Thank you. You don’t look half bad either.”

“Half bad? Love, I am bloody handsome,” he scoffed with a smirk as Emma laughed at his affronted frown.

“That you are,” she assured him, fixing the white handkerchief poking out from his jacket’s pocket.

Putting his hands on her hips, he leaned in to give her a quick kiss when Leroy’s loud voice and the honking of a car horn startled them.

“Lovebirds, will you get a move? We don’t have all day!”

With a sigh Emma let her head fall on his chest as he huffed in annoyance. “Better get in the car, love,” he said, leaving a kiss on the top of her head.

“Yeah. For how amusing it might be, I really don’t want to make him grumpier than he already is tonight,” she said, looking up at him before taking his hand and head outside.

By the time they got there, Leroy was already in the car. “Finally!” He shouted from the open window as he nervously drummed his fingers on the wheel. “Miss Mills will have my head if you guys are late.”

Killian gave Emma an exasperated look and rushed to the back of the car where he held the door open for her to get in before following her. “And if you don't drive already then we certainly will, mate,” he grumbled.

“I know, I know,” Leroy said, starting the car and turning in his seat to face them, “Just one more thing: no -”

“No smooching allowed in the back seats. Yes, we remember,” Emma interrupted him.

Leroy just stared at them with a wide - quite creepy if she were honest - grin on his face. “Great. And you better not forget it,” he added, driving down the path to the gate.

The drive to the venue was pretty fast, or at least, that's how to Emma it felt like. However, waiting for their turn to step on the red carpet was nerve-wracking. Killian, who was sitting next to her, seemed unfazed, but whether he really was or he was just pretending to be for her sake, she couldn't tell. She, instead, by hearing the screaming of the fans over the buzzing of journalists and guests and the clicking of the photographers’ cameras going off, was all jittery. God, she was so nervous she felt like her heart could burst out of her chest at any time. As Leroy, once been given the okay from the staff, started the car again to bring them up to the red carpet and the theatre’s entrance, she gave Killian a shaky smile before turning around to look from the window.

“A little liquid courage?” Killian asked, shaking a small silvery flask and making her jump on her seat.

Emma watched him with wide eyes. “I…,” she stuttered, opening her mouth once or twice as he took a gulp of the rum that she thought was in the flask before she could form any sound. “Did you bring a flask of rum with you? What are you a pirate?”

Killian looked at her with a pointed look as he rose his left eyebrow.

“Fine,” Emma rolled her eyes at the ceiling, ”Do you think it’s wise, though? To drink before this… Thing? I really wouldn’t want to embarrass myself on national television in front of the press and so many celebrities.”

“And you won’t,” he promised her, tucking her in by his side and leaving a small peck on her lips. Completely ignoring Leroy’s icy glance in the rear-view mirror, he continued as he drew circles on her cheek with his thumb to soothe her, “I’m not saying to get drunk, love. Just to take a sip to loosen your nerves.”

Emma wrinkled her nose. “I’m not -”

“Yes, you are, Emma. You are trembling.”

Breathing out a sigh in defeat, Emma accepted the tiny flask and took a sip of rum, enjoying the warm burn that it left behind just while their car came to a halt right in front of the red carpet. The screams of the fans were possibly even louder than before.

“Are you ready?”

Wincing, Emma shook her head slowly, the outside noises growing louder and louder in her head as her anxiety grew. She hated being at the centre of attention. It had always felt too much: too many people staring at her, too many expectations, too many hushed words and giggles whispered in people’s ears that she consciously knew they couldn’t be about her but that her mind liked to think they actually were. It was different on stage. There, with the lights in her eyes and the music in her ears, she couldn’t either see the audience nor hear them whispering behind her back. There, back when they were filming Enchanted, she knew that if for whichever reason she got nervous, she could freely glance at Killian’s blue, calming eyes without fearing of people gossiping about every little look or touch they exchanged.

“Hey, it’s alright,” he comforted her softly, his touch on her arm gentle, “I’ll be beside you the whole night. We are in this together remember?”

Smiling softly at his words, she nodded. What she did to deserve such a wonderful man, she had no idea, but whatever it was it must have been good. “I love you,” she told him after taking a deep breath, moments before he would open the door.

“I love you too,” Killian turned around and said, kissing her forehead briefly. “Shall we go?”

When Emma gave him a nod, Killian opened the door, cueing the start of more flashes going off as he helped her get off the car after him. All the pictures and videos Emma had seen in her life faded in comparison to the splendour and madness of the real thing. Fans began screaming their lungs out as soon as they stepped off the car, and they pretty much continued for the fifteen-ish minutes in which, sided by several security guards, they signed autographs and took selfies with them. That was easy, it was still a bit mind blowing - and she guessed it’d always be, at least to some extent - thinking there were people that wanted a picture with her or her to sign pamphlets or posters or basically anything they had at hand, but she was slowly getting used to it. After all, all she had to do was smile, exchange a few words with a stranger and scribble her name somewhere.  

The hard part came later.

When their time with the fans ran out, they were escorted further on on the red carpet where most of the photographers were amassed and taking the last few pictures of one of those brand new boy bands in front of a set of huge billboards. Killian must have noticed her tensing up beside him as they walked because he reached for her hand and leaned closer to her to whisper, “Relax, love. All we have to do is smile, show how hot we are this evening and look like we are having the time of our life.”

“And how do we do that?” Emma whispered back as she gripped her teeth in an awkward grin.

“We just smile and pose, trying to look as natural as possible. Then, when we’ll be asked to take pictures together, just follow my lead.”

Taking a deep breath, Emma stepped in front of the photographers, putting a hand on her hips and hoping her smile wouldn’t look as forced as it actually was. With her now former job she had to practice her acting skills, pretending every time to be a different person to catch a prep. She was amazing at tricking that scum into thinking she wasn’t after him, true. She wasn’t that good of an actress, though, to fake nonchalance in front of mad-looking persons, screaming her name left and right as the flashes of their cameras almost made her go blind. After a few interminable minutes, Emma turned around a bit and glanced with the corner of her eyes at Killian, standing a couple of feet from her. Noticing she was looking at him, his eyes found hers, giving her an encouraging nod and a smile. That was all she needed to bring her attention back to the photographers.

It was a couple more minutes later that, as she was giving Killian her back, she felt two firm hands placing on her hips, making her jump. She was ready to turn around and knock the man out by jerking her knee up against his groin, when she heard Killian’s low voice right by her ear. “You are doing wonderfully, love.”

“Killian!” Emma squealed, turning quickly around in his hand to face him before pushing at his chest to get him off her. “You scared the shit out of me! I was about to drop kick you,” she said, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” he said as he stretched his arm to bring her against him once again, his hand landing gently on her side, “But you are more relaxed now, aren’t you?”

Point taken.

She wasn’t sure if it was because of Killian being a dork or just because he was now by her side to face the photographers, but the second part of that nightmare went much smoothly and much quicker than it did before.

It didn’t take long before they were left free to stroll down the red carpet. Now that she was much more relaxed, she had to admit that the atmosphere was amazing. Celebrities were passing by them, people she had only ever seen on the screen of her phone sometimes stopping to greet Killian and to meet her; fans were endlessly cheering for their favourite stars; journalists were interviewing nominees and guests by the sides. They were only stopped a couple of times as they walked to get some more pictures together, but, truth be told, they didn’t get much walking done (and her feet were more than happy for that not so insignificant aspect of the evening). In fact, they spent most of the time being interviewed.

Talking with journalists wasn’t that hard, as she had found in the past months. Most of the time they knew how to make you comfortable and when not to push too much on a certain subject. She had also gotten used to the practice in deflection one had to do every single time for one reason or another by then, so she was pretty confident when the time for their first interview came. And even more for the second, and the third, and the next after that. However, after being asked the very same questions in five interviews (well, five... She’d lost count after the fifth so they might even be more than that), Emma was beyond bored as they approached another journalist.

“James! Long time no see, mate,” Killian said, reverting back in a mild version of that Irish accent of his that made Emma shiver and her knees buckle every single time.

Surprisingly to Emma, who had thought he was greeting another singer, the short scruffy man with a pair of big glasses on his nose holding a mic ready to interview them exclaimed, before hugging Killian briefly, “Killian Jones!”

Emma frowned in confusion. She honestly had so many questions she didn’t even know where to start.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” James said, moving to the side so he wouldn’t be bothering the cameraman in front of her and Killian too much. “I was hoping you would introduce me to the lovely Miss Swan.”

Killian pouted making Emma chuckle. “Oh, I see how it is.”

“Emma, please,” she said in between giggles.

“I’m sorry, man, but she is stunning. And talented too as far as I’ve heard.”

“That is a very true statement,” Killian agreed as he took her into his side, making her blush.

Looking at the camera James “aaww”ed at the scene and then continued with the interview. “Well, your song, ‘Like Fire’, is everywhere - no really, most days it almost feels like it follows you around,” he added when Killian opened his mouth to try brush off the compliment, while Emma was sure he was actually itching to scratch the spot behind his ear, “It would have been hard for me and everyone else not to notice how great you two sound together.”

“What can I say, we make quite the team, James,” Killian replied, hiding his embarrassment at the compliments under a mask of cheekiness.

“Hmm… Do you?” he asked, eyes twinkling with mischief, making Emma freeze on the spot, “What do you say to play a little game to prove it?”

And there it was. She saw that coming, she really did. However, even though a part of her was excited to finally get to do something different and fun, another much louder part of her was instead dreading it and screaming in her head. What if he asked them about something personal? They still hadn't come out as a couple out of fear of the conclusions of favouritism most people and press would draw. What if they would expose themselves thanks to a stupid game? Emma glanced at Killian and noticed that even though he looked more relaxed than her, he wasn't thrilled by it.

“Don't look so scared,” James reassured them, “It’s just an innocent game to see how well you know each other. All you'll have to do is saying who between you two is more likely to do the list of things I'll read out to you.”

Deciding that he was telling the truth, Emma nudged Killian and told him, finally getting in the conversation, “What do you say? Shall we play?”

“Of course, love. You know I never back away from a challenge.”

Turning back at the camera Emma and Killian gave two matching playful grins at it before Emma said, “Go on then, James. Shoot!”

“That’s the spirit guys! So, let’s begin,” he announced turning serious all of a sudden. “Who is most likely to break into song while working?”

They both replied at once, Emma giving him a quick amused glance before saying, “Killian,” as Killian blushed and admitted, “Me.”

James laughed and the continued, “Who is most likely to throw someone a punch?”

“Me, but only if they deserve it.”  “Oh, definitely Emma.”

“Really?” James asked, his eyebrows so high up on his forehead that they looked about to fall off his face.

“Yeah,” she said, trying not to sound petty, “I’ll have you know, I was a bail bonds person until a few weeks ago. How to knock someone out is not something one forgets in that little time.”

“Careful, mate. You really wouldn’t want to cross her, trust me. This one throws one hell of a left hook,” Killian warned James, pointing at Emma who smiled innocently.

“And I take your word for it. Now, I fear I might already know the answer to this one, but who is most likely to eat all the food?”

Emma and Killian exchanged a look and small secretive smile. “Killian,” she said just as he pronounced her name, both turning towards the camera.

Emma glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “Wait what?”

“You ate the entire carton of the ice cream just the other night,” Killian pointed out.

“And you ate all the popcorn!” She fired back, staring at him hard, but not enough to make his gaze waver.

“Wow! I feel like I should get some popcorn for this,” James interrupted them, making them stop eye-murdering each other.

Really? That was lame, Emma thought, trying not to roll her eyes, And there I thought he was funny for a minute.

“To be honest I am surprised; I thought we would all agree that it would have been Killian but…” James trailed off, gesturing at the both of them with the mic, “Anyways, last question: who is most likely to be the best dancer? Or who is the better dancer, if you have already seen each other’s moves.”

Emma hummed, searching Killian’s eyes for an answer, but she soon stopped to when she saw a twinkle of mischief in them as a smirk formed on his lips. Yep, Mr Innuendo had joined the interview.

“I’m sorry but I can’t answer that. It depends on the dance, you see?” Killian wiggled his eyebrows, looking proud of his joke.

Ding ding ding! A hundred points to Emma, a voice deadpanned in her head as she gave him another dirty look. Looking up at his smug face, she landed a loud smack on his arm and exclaimed, hoping he would hear the warning in her voice, “Killian!”

James, on the other hand, chuckled at the scene. “Well, with that we must bid you farewell, but judging from your answers we can tell you that you two will go very far.”

After saying James goodbye, they finally started walking to get inside the theatre, their press duties being done and accounted for.

As they walked, Killian leaned in to whisper in her ear, noticing how tense she had become after the interview, “You are not angry, aren’t you?”

Well, that was a good question. Was she actually? Probably no. Or rather, definitely not with him for being his flirty self. But was she scared shitless of what would happen if their relationship would be seen by what it actually was to the public eye? Hell yes. It was too soon after the end of Enchanted; people would surely question her right to be both to the final and with a musical career already in front of her.

“No, I’m not. But let’s try harder not to look too couple-y from now on,” she whispered back, “We wanted to be the ones to tell people of our relationship in our terms and not having them speculating and gossiping about us, remember? At least not too much of course.”

“As you wish,” he said, making her smile once again, “But Swan? I doubt that will explode on us after just a few pictures and interviews. And if by any chance it does, we’ll deal with it. Together.”  

Dammit, how could this man always say what exactly she needed to hear? Normally she would have kissed him - hell she was itching to kiss him -, but even though in the theatre foyer there were fewer people than there were outside, there were no chances at all she could sneak a kiss without them being noticed. So, instead, she just nodded, letting her eyes meet his, and repeated, “Together.”

They stared at each other for a few moments until a voice made them jump apart. “Emma! Killian!” Belle called as she approached them, her bright blue dress flowing behind her as she balanced on impressively high heels, “I’ve been looking for you for ages, but every time I spotted you, you would disappear and get held by the press’ claws.”

“Belle,” Emma said, giving their friend a hug. After working with her on the show, she had tagged along with Tink and the others whenever they would organise some sort of meet up and she had quickly become one of their best friends. She had even met David, Mary Margaret and finally Ruby, with which she seemed to get along wonderfully, the two of them soon creating a weird and improbable but solid friendship. Letting Belle go get a hug from Killian too, Emma asked, “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell us you had been invited?”

“I’m here to present a category,” she replied quickly before freeing herself from Killian’s strong arms, her words muffled against his clothes. Then, facing them both she continued, “I know, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. But it was a last minute thing, you know? And I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you certainly did, lass,” Killian smirked, taking a look at her outfit and making her laugh.

“That’s his way to say he’s happy I am here, isn’t it?” She asked at Emma who chuckled and nodded at her, both of them ignoring the pouting man next to them.

They didn’t have the chance to talk much more than that though, that they were asked to find and take their seats. The arena was already packed with people and it was bubbling with excitement when they entered. So, by the time they managed to take a seat, in between mingling and wondering around, the lights started to dim leaving the room illuminated by just the powerful, coloured spotlights over the stage as the show started.

Emma had tried to watch this kind of things on TV over the years but she had always found herself get bored to death and switching to Netflix after very little. All she wanted was to know who won what. She didn’t really care about all the live music and speeches and guests. She had hoped that being actually there, sitting in those comfy chairs, would have made her enjoy the show much more, but apparently, that wasn’t the case. Less than an hour in, and she had already started to wish they were both home and in their bed. Three hours in and she had already counted how many lights, big and small, there were on the stage.

They hadn’t won Video of the Year but then Belle had come on stage to announce the nominees for Best Pop Single and really, they should have understood that she was there for a reason.

“Good evening everyone!” She had announced, getting a very loud reaction from the audience. “Here's the list of this year's nominees for Best Pop Single: first -”

Emma’s mind had tuned out then, nervous all of a sudden. She had fooled anyone (except Killian, of course) into thinking that she was crazy and didn't care about winning or losing, and she had been so good at it that she had basically managed to trick herself into it. However, the tornado of butterflies in her stomach were telling another tale altogether.

Seeing how tense she got, Killian reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze before giving him a reassuring smile. Like a nice cup of hot chocolate on a chilly, winter night, that did the trick and Emma felt herself relax.

“- and last but not least, Killian Jones featuring Emma Swan in Like Fire,” Belle concluded, cueing the cameras finding them in the crowd of celebrities and a few seconds of their song blasting from the speakers. “And the award goes to…”

Silence fell in the theatre. The only thing Emma could hear was the quick thuds of her heart. She even barely registered the way Killian’s hand began squeezing hers.

As if she were underwater, Belle’s words once she spoke again sounded muffled to her. “Like Fire by -”

As their names got lost in the cheers that erupted all around them, they jumped off their seat, Killian embracing her tightly in his arms after blowing a quick kiss on her forehead. As she sat back down, he sprinted onstage, hugging Belle and taking the award as he muttered her something indistinguishable at which she just smiled and shrugged.

“Ehm...wow. I, uh -” he stammered, looking down at the golden statuette in his hands. “You'd think I'm used to this, but truth is one never really does. Anyway, I must thank a bunch of people if you don't mind: my manager, Regina Mills, August Booth, for directing the perfect video and, of course, Emma,” he said, his eyes finding hers. “She is brilliant. One of the most - if not the most - lovely and amazing person I've ever got the chance to meet. Her talent can only be overcome by how much of a great friend she is. I know you tend to second guess yourself, Emma, were I have to do it again I'd press that button a hundred times.”

Under his gaze, Emma had actually felt herself tear up a little. He had always been the one good with words (when he wanted).

It was after he got off stage, that Emma snuck backstage and, after finding a dark and hidden nook, she kissed him senseless. If Belle noticed the way his hair were sticking everywhere more than usual moments before they went on stage to sing, she didn't say.

They woke up the following morning with their limbs tangled in the sheets, Regina’s voice coming from Killian’s phone shouting at them to get their ass at hers for celebratory and late birthday brunch, thousands of mentions on Twitter and a ship name. Apparently, according to Regina, their mentions, follower numbers and accounts views had skyrocketed during the night after that a bunch of people began suspecting they were together and had started the “Captain Swan” tag.

As soon as Killian ended the call, Emma trailed kisses down his torso, which had been functioning as a pillow since then, and asked, in between kisses, “Do we really have to go?”

“Afraid so,” he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy the tingling burn that would spread on his skin at every touch of her lips. Then, placing his hand on her side, he pinned her down against the mattress in a matter of seconds. While he softly kissed her surprised giggle away, he let his body flush against hers. “I’d love to spend the day in bed with you,” he said once they came up for air, “But I fear Regina might get in here herself and drag us out of the sheets if we don’t show up.”

Emma sighed in disappointment. It was not fair, especially after he had kissed her like that. Bastard. “What about the rumours?” She finally asked, “Shouldn’t we do something?”

“No. These things always happen on Twitter after an event like last night’s. For now, we won’t do anything. If it doesn’t die down in a few weeks or if we see articles popping up on magazines though, we’ll see what to do. But everything will be alright. I promise.”

“Okay,” Emma said after looking at him for a few moments, letting her worries being washed away by the sea blue of his eyes and the low timbre of his voice. “Get off me then,” Emma pushed him away, “We should get dressed.”

Killian landed with a muffled “oof” on his side of the bed. “Rude, Swan,” he pouted as Emma got up.

Feeling his stare on her bare arse as she walked, Emma looked at him behind her back and stuck her tongue out before disappearing in the ensuite. A few moments later, just as she was about to step under the shower’s spray, Killian burst the door open and joined her.

Surprisingly, by the time they arrived at Regina’s, Robin and his son were the only people already there. (Or well, him being the only one there was more a surprise to Killian who was still in denial than it was to her).

“Here you are,” Regina exclaimed when she opened the door, letting them inside.

“Hello, Regina. Where is everyone else?” Killian spoke first, voicing her own question.

“Robin is outside with Roland trying to work the barbecue. As for the others…” she trailed off, a small smirk appearing on her lips, “Well, let’s just say I told you to come half an hour earlier because I knew you were going to be late. Which you are, by the way.”

“Oh, come on,” Killian whined as Emma’s eyes fixated on the boy that was currently sprinting down the stairs, “It’s only fifteen minutes!”

Regina didn’t have time to reply that a blur of brown hair and clothes hurled in Killian’s arms while shouting his name.

“Hello to you too, lad,” Killian chuckled, lifting the buy up and spinning him around before letting his feet touch the floor again. Emma could only smile at that scene.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Henry?” Regina sighed, “No running on the stairs.”

Still in Killian’s arms, the boy mumbled an apology before letting him go and turning around to face her.

Emma froze, but her mind started racing.

“You must be Emma,” Henry chirped, “I’m Henry. Killian told me so much about you.”

Emma didn’t even notice Killian flushing red beside her, nor did she try to speak right away. Instead, she desperately tried to get rid the lump that had formed in her throat and to make sense of what she was seeing. Because the boy in front of her wasn’t just Regina’s Henry. He was the carbon copy of Henry, her son.