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timextoxhajima · 3 years

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Not For Sale: Week 7

NOT FOR SALE CHAPTER NAVIGATION

Member: Heeseung + Jay [ft. Sunghoon and Jake]

Pairings: [fem] uni exchange student! reader x uni student! HS x uni student! Jay

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 3.1k

Synopsis/Quote: In which your oblivious ass cannot tell that a popular boy in your class has a big, fat crush on you | “It seems like the one who was ruined was me.”

Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @youshineshine @bloom-bloom-pow @seasideheeseung @wooya1224 @gratefulmaria @sunshineshouchan @youreverydayzebra @fayqj @witheeseung @haechanhues @w-o-o-y-a-a @miingxuxi [drop me a dm/ask/comment to be added!]

OC received a song share from Byeol (aka dumbass): Troublemaker - Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida

"A who? Threw a what? At who?"

"Yeap," Jay hurls himself into Sunghoon's bed, deliberately rolling around and heating up the cool surface.

"HEY!"

"What?" Heeseung frowns, watching Sunghoon bicker with Jay and struggle to yank him off his bed. "Someone threw a brick? At-"

He stops himself, just as your name land on the tip of his tongue like a parrot.

"At... your marketing girlfriend?"

"Oh, that!" Jake's eyes widen and aggressively waves his hands. "I heard about it from someone just a few days ago! Someone threw a brick off the edge of the bridge in the main hub, right?"

"Bridge? What- How? Why? Do we know who it is?" Heeseung pulls his phone out to google it.

"Get off my bed-!" Sunghoon literally yanks on Jay's ankles and twists him off the mattress, Jake hurriedly stepping back to avoid the body slamming onto his toes. The heavy thud brings careless giggles across the room, aside from Sunghoon, who was busy patting away the creases on his bedsheet.

"I don't wanna be that person but this is obviously the bus psycho, right?" Heeseung looks up from the uni gossip page, scrolling through the reports of multiple students talking about the accident.

"So you think he went from disabling buses to throwing bricks at people?" Jay grimaces, still using his legs to pester Sunghoon.

"Will you cut it out-"

"I mean- you wanna believe there's more than one psycho on campus?"

"Ow!"

Jake shakes his head. "Probably not- Will the two of you stop it before someone breaks an ankle?"

Sunghoon shoves Jay's leg off him, using the mattress to pull himself up from the floor. He sticks his tongue out at Jay as he stands, patting down on his clothes before crawling into bed.

"ANYWAY," Heeseung's eyes widen and his voice louder. "Please be careful. I don't want anybody landing up in the hospital before the sem ends."

"Oh, I'll be far more than careful," Jay smirks, standing up and looking down at Sunghoon, snuggled up in his bed. "I have my damsel in distress to protect."

The boy on the bed groans loudly, pulling the blanket over his head while rolling his eyes. Jake glances down at Heeseung, doe eyes wide at Jay's reference.

"Don't you only see her like... once a week?" Jake leans his rear against his own table, for Heeseung had already made himself comfortable in Jake's seat. This was Jake and Sunghoon's room anyway.

"And I'll make that twice," Jay lifts a finger. "Then thrice and then-" He snaps his fingers. "Then before we know it, I'll have her all to mys-"

"You do remember she's an exchange student, right?" Sunghoon's muffled voice echoes from under his blanket.

Jay clears his throat, blinking away Sunghoon's reminder. "As I was saying... I'll have her all t-"

"10 bucks Jay's gonna cry when the sem ends!"

"20."

"50."

Jay's lower jaw goes slack, and he drags out one of Sunghoon's pillows to hit him with.

"You guys can't bet if y'all are on the same side!"

"This is not 'Music at the Court of Louix XIV'."

"It is the link we were given."

Heeseung stares at you, then at the television screen, dumbfounded. The King Who Invented Ballet: Louis XIV and the Noble Art of Dance (BBC Documentary) was playing.

"I did not sign up for this."

"Technically-"

"No," He hurls his varsity jacket across the table and at you. "Don't even start."

A giggle escapes your throat as you catch it, rolling it and holding it in your hands.

"I thought you'd be more inclined to favour this. It's ballet!"

"Does it look like I do ballet?" Heeseung side-eyes you, resting his cheek in his palm as he sinks lower and lower towards the table surface. "No offence. I just- I could be watching half of Endgame with how long this is."

You turn and look at the video projected on the screen. After making sure your dad was too busy with work, you had managed to stay your way throughout school and hijack a tutorial room with Heeseung.

"I think I'd rather listen to that 3 hour Louis XIV compilation we saw just now," He groans, sprawling his torso and arms across the table when he lies down.

"We can do that after the documentary."

"I want to go back to my room after the documentary."

"Hey, it was your idea to meet up and watch this together. I would've been perfectly fine watching this at home on my own."

Heeseung sits up, glaring at you.

"Do you hate me or something?"

As you laugh and turn to him, the whites in his eyes shimmer at you even in the dark. Your laptop was plugged up to the television screen and the lights were shut off, making the ambience resemble something of a theatre (of course, with low-quality chairs).

"Maybe I do," With a hint of mischief in your voice, you side-eye him. "You wouldn't know anyway, right?"

Squinting, he scoffs and shakes his head. "Kid."

But as much as Heeseung complained about not wanting to watch the documentary, you found yourself in awe at how many tissues he was pulling out from his own bag.

About midway through the documentary, Heeseung began tearing at Louis XIV's traumatic life events, then he really sobbed and nearly choked on his own phlegm when the ballet performances came up.

It kind of makes you want to laugh.

By the time the documentary's ended, your cheeks were sore from smiling at how distraught he was - in which he obviously wasn't aware that you had spent half the duration watching him bawl his eyes out.

So you finally get up when the video ends, moving over to your laptop and minimising the Youtube screen as you look up, smirking at his puffed face.

"What?" His voice cracks, and it forces your lips in between your teeth to hide your chuckle.

"Nothing!" You pull the HDMI plug out from your laptop.

"Ugh," He groans, wiping the last bit of his mucus away. "Anyway, thanks for watching the documentary with me. I would've fallen asleep."

You raise a skeptical brow. "I highly doubt you'd sleep through whatever made you cry."

"Give me a break, I have feelings too. Don't you cry at some stuff too?" Heeseung sits up in his chair as you carry your laptop back to your bag and slide it in. "Well, other than your dad dragging you across the country."

A bemused scoff thrums through you. "You're daring now," You zip up your bag. "Of course I do. I just- don't do it in front of people."

Heeseung gets up from his seat and picks up his bag, walking over towards you as you push the lecture table back down. "But didn't I see you cry already?"

Your hands abruptly halt as you drop the table, and you can see his shadow towering over yours.

Fuck.

"So what?" Sucking in a deep breath, you swing your bag around and adjust the straps. "Not like you haven't seen a girl cry before."

Heeseung's looking down at you when you turn around, his black jacket snug around his shoulders and his hair tousled from the day.

"But I don't think I'd care to see other girls cry."

The blue projector screen in the back is glaringly distracting - but apart from that, you knew that you were just too afraid to look at him in the eye as the words sunk in.

Did he just-

"Anyway!" He inhales such a loud, deep breath, his chest puffs out as he steps towards the stairs, not really bothering to wait for you to catch up. "Come on, it's late. I'll walk you home."

Rushing after him with small steps, you catch up to him just as he gets the lecture theatre door open. He holds it out for you and gestures for you to exit first.

"Thanks but- it's still early and I'll be fine-"

"I didn't ask," Heeseung steps out and straight under the light bulb in the hallway. The harsh lighting casts sharp shadows around his eyes where his fringe was partially covering them and the curve of his nose was made even more obvious over his lips due to the contrast.

"I don't need a bodyguard, Heeseung-"

"Reserve your stubbornness for your dad, would you?" Quietly advising, Heeseung lowers himself and levels eyes with you. "Like I said: I didn't ask."

Then he resumes an upright position, the veins on his hands popping out from gripping onto his bag straps. A tiny smile surfaces on his lips when he notices the lack of response - he's won.

"Come on, slowpoke," He turns on his heels and brushes past you. "Or else you're paying for pizza next week at the beach!"

The evening wind was cold for a reason, roads still pretty bustling with cars and you'd assume people going home after a day's work. You had just barely stepped out of the school compound when Heeseung stopped and pulled off his jacket, draping it over your shoulders.

You thought to retort and stop him before he picks up his bag, but you know you'd just lose.

Or were you just pining for yourself?

"I assume your dad doesn't know you're not home yet?"

"He's busy with the tests and project's marking," The scent wafting off his jacket around your shoulders smell like cotton candy.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly would happen if he knew you were out till late?"

"Not sure," You shrug and look up at him. Now under the dim lighting from the streetside lamps, his features are more of a blur under his hair, and yet you could somehow see that twinkle in his eyes between the strands of his fringe.

You look back down at your feet, unable to maintain eye contact.

"Probably get grounded and he'd force me to wait for him in school until he's done or something."

Heeseung hums with disappointment, dropping his hands to his sides and wiping his hands into his pants. "Sounds rough."

"Eh, well... what's new?"

Then his knuckle brushes against yours, the warmth from his skin igniting little sparks up your hand and your arm.

Your heart beats a little harder, a little faster, against your consent.

When you reach the gate to your apartment, it's the security guard that greets you first and waves to both you and Heeseung. Turning around to bid Heeseung goodbye, the childish feeling of reluctance starts to eat at your stance.

You're waving but your feet aren't moving.

Heeseung smiles, stepping forward and gently pulling his jacket off your shoulders in order to keep your hair in place.

"Thanks for watching the documentary with me."

"Of course," It takes the small distance between the two of you to finally push you back, for the lack of space was driving you up a mental wall. "I'll... I'll see you next week."

"Mhm," He nods, carefully raising his hand.

He hesitates, then dips his finger into your hair to pull out a tiny thread of cotton left from his jacket.

"Alright, now go," Stepping back, his hands come up to his bag straps. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

With an almost unnoticeable smile on his lips, he turns first and walks off, not bothering to wait for you to get through the gates before he's about 10 metres down the pathway.

Little did you know that he turned once he heard the gate click shut, just to make sure you were safe.

Point-blank staring at your iPad screen, all you're thinking about was the previous night.

How much Heeseung teased you about your father, though knowing never to cross a line you didn't even need to draw for him.

The brushing hands - God, that was annoying. How the butterflies surged in your gut and yet you had to gulp it all back down before you blurted out something that could possibly ruin your life forever.

You know, maybe - just maybe - in some alternate universe, you would've made a decision long ago.

Between Jay and Heeseung.

You'd be able to choose within a second, not bothering about the other one. Maybe even elope and never needing to go back to your dad ever again.

Well, if it was Jay, that might be a little harder since he's your father's favourite pet.

Ha.

And before you could even think up the next line of your mental monologue, two hands come around your face and cover your eyes.

"What the-"

"Quick! Pink or green?"

"Jay, what in the world-"

"Pink or green?"

"Blue, can you get your hands off my face-"

"Green it is!"

He pulls his hands off and you were, for some reason, expecting a pot of gold to be on the table before you.

"What, where's my dragon egg?"

"What? No!" He sneers nodding to your feet with a wide smile.

There was a paper bag with a Starbucks tumbler in it, and pulling it out now, you see that your name had been specially engraved into its side in gold against a green background.

"Wait, what would've happened if I asked for pink?"

Jay sits, the pride spewing out from every hole in his face. "I knew you weren't gonna choose pink."

"You thought wrong," Mischievously holding the tumbler out to him, you pout and wince a little too pretentiously. "I want a pink one."

"Fuck off," Jay chortles, gently pushing your hand away as he gets his laptop out.

"Thank you," Admiring the tumbler, you can see your reflection off the clean-cut plastic. "You really didn't have to."

"It's all g," He grins at you, eyes twinkling. "You can pay for all the meals and merchandise we're gonna get at Disneyland next week."

"Of course," You carefully slide the tumbler back into the bag and place it down on the floor. "You could get like five Mickey headbands if you want and I promise I wouldn't judge you nor say a word about it."

"You can just get two and keep one for yourself," Jay keys in his password. "Anyway, are you alright? Since the brick thing last week."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't hurt so."

"Well, I know you weren't hurt but- y'know. Trauma is a thing."

"We're not strangers," Coyly raising a brow, you snicker at him.

Jay raises both brows in bold admiration, knowing that you were talking about your father.

It's when class starts that you realise you were slowly drifting off to pay your attention to the tumbler in the paper bag by your feet.

You don't remember the last time anybody had given your gifts the way Jay does almost every week.

First, a tour around school and tickets to a museum. Then, what? Cookies? Now a tumbler and next week, Disneyland?

The gnawing anxiety begins boiling in your gut.

Jay is interested and I'm just pretending to ignore it.

"What do you mean 'you don't know what to do'? You already said yes to Disneyland, haven't you?"

"I did, but- you know, with the tumbler-"

"Well, now, it wasn't just the tumbler right?"

Placing the phone on loudspeaker, you go round the room in a bid to pack up your belongings a little bit.

"You're supposed to be helping me, man," You take a seat at your desk and turn on your laptop.

"And I'm trying by telling you that Jay does like you. You're the one who's in a mess and struggling to make a decision thanks to a certain Lee Heeseung."

"Oh my God," Exasperatedly leaning back in your seat, you watch the loading sign go in circles on the screen. "I just- is it my fault that I'm not into Jay?"

"Well, yes and no," Byeol pauses. "But I do think you should take Disneyland as an opportunity to tell him that you're not interested in him, and if he doesn't get the hint nor does he know how to read between the lines then- you know."

"Okay, and what if he doesn't?"

"How the hell should I know?" She snorts. "You're the one stuck in a K-drama, not me. Jay's essentially the second lead who saves the girl from impending doom and yet doesn't get the girl."

"Must you put it that way?"

"Tell me I'm wrong."

You sigh heavily, watching your Spotify roll up.

"I just... So I do tell Jay that I'm not interested and that I'm into someone else, then what do I do with Heeseung?"

"Huh? What do you mean- what?? Are you stupid?" The disbelief in Byeol's voice was becoming alarmingly abusive. "You have half a semester left there. Not only do you want to break Jay's heart, you want to break your own? So say Heeseung does reciprocate, in which I have no clue if it's just all in your head or it is true, what are you gonna do? Get into a 7-week relationship with him before your dad ships you back here?"

"'Course not."

"Oh good, your brain's working!"

"You don't have to be such a bitch about it, you know."

"Me? A bitch? You're the one who can't make up your mind!"

"I'm just asking for opinions."

"At the cost of what? The feelings of three people?"

You purse your lips and fall into silence.

"You've been asking for my opinion for nearly a month now and you can't make up your own fucking mind. I know I don't have a place in saying what you should or shouldn't do because you know them better than I do but do you really want to break a couple of hearts before coming back? What does that make you?"

A pause. You can't answer - because you already know what she's going to say.

"Good. You know you're a bitch if you do that."

The line cackles a tad bit, and now you're staring at your own reflection in the blacked-out screen.

"If you like Heeseung and you're obviously hoping he won't break your heart, then put yourself in Jay's shoes for a tad bit, would you? If anything, he'd be the one to understand how you feel, then what? Are you gonna run to him when Heeseung rejects you?"

Another pause.

It's all kind of just- coming to you at once. You don't really have the mental capacity to process this - her words and her tone.

"You want my opinion? Tell Jay to give it up and don't confess to Heeseung. Protect yourself for the next half of the sem."

#enhypennetwork #enhypen scenarios #enhypen imagines #heeseung scenarios #heeseung imagines #heeseung x reader #jay scenarios #jay imagines #jay x reader #heeseung fluff #enhypen fluff #jay fluff #enhypen heeseung #enhypen jay

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pandas-pandemonium · 3 years

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Aite, it's been like 12 hours since I posted the thing and since only one person got back to me, I'll just post B, aka the somewhat major spoiler one.

This also gives a bit of a clue on what Vierge's Stand is.

Here you go guys:

TW: Mentions of death and killing, some yandere vibes

Vierge lay struggling on the floor, fighting Giorno's vice grip with all the strength left in his body. His stand's power had already been put in effect, there was still a 50% chance for Y/N to escape, but Giorno’s stand Golden Experience Requiem was dangerous. The Frenchman feared what would happen should Giorno use his stand's ability; if he did, the Transportation team's efforts would be for naught and Y/N's escape attempt would be futile.

“I expected better of you, Vierge. After all, I was the one who gave you a second chance once I took over Passione. Now, why would you let my Y/N get away, hmm?” The don asked, putting more pressure into the dying man's throat.

“She's not…your…possession,” the ebony haired man choked out, still fighting against Giorno's chokehold. The blonde mounted over him didn’t react, unfazed by his words. His blue eyes were dangerously sharp, full of murderous intent.

“Of course she isn't, she's my lover. I wouldn’t think of her as something so cold and lifeless like an object. Now, fess up, Bianco. Where did Y/N go? Answer and you will be spared,” Giorno said. His voice had an edge to it, filled with impatience and anger. “I’ll give you to the count of 10, if you don’t answer…”

A smaller black haired male entered the room, a familiar plane stand hovering above him. He too, like Giorno, had eyes that were cold and ready to kill.

“N-never. There's still, a chance.. for us to win,” the man stuttered out, his breathing ragged. He was losing consciousness fast, and he sustained too many injuries for him to survive this. Vierge Bianco was prepared to go down, and if it was to save another, he would gladly die.

Giorno clicked his tongue in annoyance, “You know if you don’t, I can make you go through the same hell Diavolo went through, or rather, is still going through…” he responded. This time he relaxed his hold a little. Vierge only laughed under his breath.

“Then do it. You will never get your answer. Y/N should be far away from all of you by now,” the man said, a weak grin on his face. Giorno’s face contorted into an expression of realisation which slowly contorted into one of rage. His eye twitched at Vierge's words before he slowly stood up, releasing his hold on the former capo's neck causing him to choke from the sudden rush of air

“Narancia, get Leone! This damn FOOL set this up as a distraction!” he yelled as he kicked the dying man in the ribs

“Wh-what? Damn it, we were freakin' tricked! Giorno, let me kill him! He deserves to DIE for leading us away like that!” the older male cried out, his face the expression of pure rage. Giorno didn’t even bother to look back at him as he gave the signal to Narancia. Narancia's expression of rage soon quickly turned to one of sick glee as he aimed Aerosmith towards the man sitting against the wall, his wounds still bleeding.

“Volare Via,” the younger man said.

From outside, the other members of the Transportation Team felt dread pool in their stomachs as the sound of gunshots echoed through the building.

Sasori's eyes teared up, “N-no…Our capo, is dead…”

#yandere jjba #yandere jojo #yandere jojo's bizarre adventure #per sempre insieme #psi: excerpt

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opedguy · 3 years

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Former FDA Chief Warns of New Variant

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), June 20, 2020.--Former head of the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] Scott Gottlieb warned about the new India-originated Delta variant that’s currently ravaging the U.K. and now spreading like wildfire in the United States. .President Joe Biden, 78, also echoed Gottlieb’s assessment, urging all Americans, especially those with vaccine resistance, to get vaccinated at the earliest possible times. Biden’s Covid-19 task force has rolled out vaccines in every community in America, giving national drug chains access to free vaccines to reach rural communities across America. Gottlieb commended the Biden administration for delivering 317 million doses of vaccines but said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] needed a 50-state strategy, to boost vaccinations in certain Southern states. Gottlieb warned that the Delta variant was about 60% more contagious that the original strain.

Gottlieb clarified that the strain does not appear more lethal that the original novel coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 but said it was far more contagious, leaving under-vaccinated areas more susceptible. But with more infections comes the very real danger of more deaths because clinics and hospitals do not have reliable treatments, including Regneron’s polyclonal antibodies or Remdesivir’s anti-viral treatment that prevents the virus from replicating. Former President Donald Trump was given antiviral Remdesivir and Regeneron’s polyclonal antibodies Oct. 6, 2020, recovering from a pretty severe case in less than a week. While good treatments exist, they’re not readily available to ordinary citizens, especially in rural areas. So the importance to continued vaccinations is essential in fighting the Delta variant now beginning to spread in unvaccinated populations around the country.

Gottlieb pointed to some Southern states with vaccination rates under 50% compared to certain Northern states like Vermont and Connecticut with rates over 80%. Since the mRNA vaccines, like Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are about 88% effective with the new Delta variant, states with higher vaccinated rates are more protected. Southern states like Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas are more vulnerable to new infections. Gottlieb said on CBS’ “Face The Nation” today that Biden’s Covid-19 team need to figure out better ways to get vaccines to rural Southern states. But beyond logistics, larger African American populations need a concerted PR campaign to encourage resistant citizens to get vaccinate at the earliest possible time. “We need to think about a different vaccine delivery strategy to get the people what are still reluctant or who still face challenges getting into those access sites,” Gottlieb said.

Accessibility is no longer the primary issue why rural Southern states have low vaccination rates. Government health officials need to make an all-out push to sell skeptical African Americans and poor communities the necessary information to make informed decisions. U.S. sports figures like NBA star LeBron James would be the perfect spokesperson to target the African American Community. With Juneteenth, the end of slavery, now a federal holiday, getting the word out to the African American community could make all the differences. “I think the vaccine administration is going to decline over the summer as prevalence declines,” Gottlieb said, urging the Biden White House to make a full-court press in underserved communities. Because current vaccines are 88% effective against the new Delta variant, increasing vaccination rates can offset the spread of the new contagious strain.

With most U.S. states 100% open for business, including California, it’s going to be difficult, no matter what the infection rates, to shut down again. Most citizens are in no mood for more restrictions with most businesses, including supermarkets or big-box stores, ending mask requirements for vaccinated customers. Most businesses are not requiring vaccination cards to gain access without masks. Getting more people vaccinated is the best way to reach “herd immunity” where there’s enough antibodies circulating in citizens to ward off infections. “When we look across the United States, we see wide variances in terms of vaccination rates. Some states like Vermont and Connecticut have very high vaccination rates about 80%. Other states are struggling to get to 50%,” Gottlieb said. U.S. public health officials must coordinate new public service announcements in low vaccinated states.

Getting the word out in public service announcements is the best way to reach underserved populations still struggling with vaccine resistance. Certain populations, for whatever reason, have a natural reluctance to let the government inject them with a foreign substance. But with the vaccines thoroughly vetted for safety, certain skeptical groups need to get over their fears and do what’s best for good of the country. It does no one any good to stay unvaccinated and vulnerable to get the Delta variant infection. There’s enough people getting infected who’ve been single or double-vaccinated already than letting large numbers of citizens remain unvaccinated. Public service announcements should include familiar faces capable to break through resistance to take the jab for themselves, their families and communities. There’s simply no excuse now not to get vaccinated.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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hymn2000 · 6 years

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Called To Be A Rock - Frostiron feat. Spiderson AU fanfic - C2

Chapter 1

Comments/reviews/questions welcome as always

Overall Desc.: Peter is staying with Tony and Loki one summer while his aunt is away working/travelling.

Chapter Desc.: Loki is getting used to having Peter around and is becoming more friendly towards him. However, bad decisions and clumsy communication leads to a bit of an incident

Ship(s) involved: Tony x Loki aka Frostiron

Verse: Personal AU

Ongoing Warnings/themes/cw mentions: violence, mild e.d., medical, illness

Chapter 2/? - In His Anger And His Shame

When Tony and Peter returned home in the evening, both feeling worn out after their long day, the house was dark. Tony switched the lights on and went to seek out his partner, who was found, as expected, in his window seat. He had his nose buried in another book and had his music playing through the speakers beside the dolphin bowl.

“Evening” Tony said, sitting down beside him. “Good book?”

“Not especially” Loki replied, setting it down. “Good day?”

“Long day. It’s been a bit full on” he nodded towards Peter. “We’re going to order a Chinese. What do you fancy? Just the usual?”

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry” As he said it, his stomach growled for everyone to hear. His cheeks flushed pink despite himself.

“Liar” Tony laughed at him. “C’mon, aren’t you ready for something to eat yet?”

Loki shook his head. “I don’t want anything”

He picked his book back up. Tony raised an eyebrow at Peter. “Alright, well, if you’re sure”

“You should order it anyway” Peter said, once they'd left Loki and were sat in the kitchen. “What does he usually have?”

“What does it matter? There’s no point buying something that’ll go to waste” Tony said, putting the takeaway menu down.

“It won’t go to waste. I’ll make him eat” Peter said determinedly. “I got him to have that hot chocolate, didn’t I?”

“I think that’s a different ball game” Tony mumbled, raising an eyebrow. “Fine, we’ll order for him too, but I think it’ll be a waste”

“I’ll make him have it, I swear”

Tony sighed. “If you manage to get him to eat, I’ll give you fifty dollars” he placed the wager, knowing his money would be safe.

Peter nodded. “Fine. Get your wallet ready”

Once the takeaway arrived, Peter took his and Loki’s order to the room with the reading nook while Tony stayed in the lounge with his laptop.

Loki was a little irritated when the door opened, and irritated more still when Peter climbed onto the window seat with him. The teen pulled open the takeaway containers, pushing a couple with a set of cutlery towards Loki.

“Here. Chicken fried rice and chow mein. Tony said that’s what you usually have”

“I said I didn’t want anything” Loki snapped. “You’re an interfering little wretch, did you know?”

“Well you’ve got it anyway, so eat it” Peter said, ignoring his scathing remark and sitting back with his own food. He gestured towards the speaker with his fork. “What are you listening to?”

“Well, maybe if you’d shut up you’d find out” he grumbled.

Peter sighed, returning to his meal for a while. Before too long, Loki’s stomach growled again, causing him to suck his breath with the pain of it. Peter moved his stuff aside and grabbed Loki’s fork and chow mein.

“I swear to God, I will feed you like a baby if you’re gonna keep being silly” he said.

“You most certainly will not!” Loki scoffed.

“Well, I’m gonna have to if you won’t do it yourself” he knelt up properly, raising the fork.

Loki grabbed his wrist quickly, and then grabbed him under the chin.

“You” he growled. “Are a pest”

He let him go and snatched the fork and container from him. He started to eat with the main intention of shutting the boy up. Peter sat back triumphantly. He’d just won himself $50.

Peter took the empty containers out to the kitchen and then went off to find Tony. When he found him, he gave him a poke.

“Right, pay up. I’ve won the bet” he said, proudly.

“You’re joking” Tony said in disbelief, looking up from his work. “How the hell..?”

Peter grinned at him. “I said I would”

Tony reached for his wallet and somewhat reluctantly handed over the promised fifty.

“You’re something else entirely”

He meant it as a compliment, and Peter took it as such.

The next day, Peter bumped into Loki in the kitchen getting himself a drink.

“Hello, you” Loki said. He was in a much better mood today. “I thought you were going out”

“Yeah, we decided against it today. Mr Stark has got a lot to do, yknow, emails and stuff”

“He never stops, that man”

“Mr Loki, sir? Can I have a look at your dagger”

Loki was a little surprised: the request seemed to be a little random. But even so, he took out his dagger and handed it over. “Don’t cut yourself”

“Woah. I didn’t realise how big it was. It’s pretty cool” he turned it over in his hand, looking carefully at all the different markings. “This is so cool”

Loki passed by him to put the juice bottle back in the fridge. He heard something out in the corridor and went to investigate. Finding it to be clear, he returned to the kitchen, deciding his mind was playing tricks on him. His presence went undetected. He went up behind the boy, who was still busy looking at the knife.

“So-”

Peter jumped violently and spun round quickly with a half-scream, arm jerking - and the dagger plunged deep into the left of Loki’s stomach.

They both stopped in shock, as if in freeze frame.

“Ok..” Loki seized the dagger, and in a moment of error, pulled it out. “Oh. I shouldn’t have done that-”

The dagger dropped to the ground with a clatter, and Loki very nearly followed it, but caught himself with the help of the breakfast bar before he could fall. With difficulty, he pulled himself up onto the stool by the counter, clutching himself. Peter broke out of his current state of shock.

“I-I-I’m so sorry Mr Loki! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I didn’t mean-” he gabbled, half screaming, looking around frantically. He grabbed a tea towel and pressed it against Loki’s stomach, trying to stem the bleed but shaking too much to do any good. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Mr Stark!! Mr Stark, help!”

“I thought we were starting to get along” Loki said. He placed both hands over Peter’s, pressing hard.

“I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Peter was now in tears, trying to make sense of what had just happened. “You made me jump, it just kind of happened!”

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine” Loki said, but he was quite obviously not. He’d started shaking worse than Peter, and had turned deathly pale.

Peter started to really panic as he felt Loki’s grip on his hand weaken and noticed his pale waxy pallor.

“MR STARK!” he screamed at the top of his voice. “MR STARK! MR STARK, PLEASE!!”

The message carried, and within moments Tony burst into the kitchen. The first thing he saw was red - the bloodied dagger on the floor, the bloody hand prints on the breakfast bar, the blood soaking Loki’s shirt and shorts.

Loki.

For what felt like an eternity, Tony didn’t move as he tried to comprehend the scene that greeted him. When he came to his senses, he sprung into action.

“What have you done!?”

“I-it was an accident!” Peter cried.

Tony pushed him out of the way and quickly clamped his own hand down over the blood-soaked tea towel against the gushing wound. Peter stood back, trembling, looking at his bloody hands.

“What were you thinking?! Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to play with knives? How could you be so stupid?!”

“T-Tony” Loki cut in. “It wasn’t his fault... I’m fine”

“No you’re not!” Tony shouted. “Why do you always say that at times when you’re so obviously not? I need to call Banner. I need to get him down here. You’re gonna be ok, you’re gonna be ok”

“Mr, Mr Stark, should I call 99-”

“Get out of here” Tony interrupted. “You’ve done more than enough”

“But Mr Stark, I-”

“I said get out! You stupid, reckless kid! You can’t help here. Get to your room: I’ll deal with you later”

Peter slammed into his room, falling back against the door once he’d closed it behind him. He slid to the floor, staring at his hands. What had he done? What had he done? He wanted to scream. He wanted to scream and shout and cry. How could he have done something so horrible?

He struggled up, going to the sink and turning the taps on. He felt sick as the water turned red while he washed his hands. He scrubbed until the water ran clear again before turning the taps off. He looked round the room. Nothing felt real. He felt like he’d stumbled into a dream. It had all happened so quickly. Everything was playing over in his head: Loki’s face, the blood, the screaming (all of it his), and Mr Stark...

“You stupid, reckless kid!”

The words echoed in his head. He sunk onto the bed, head in his hands. Things were never supposed to turn out like this.

Peter woke with a start as the bedroom door opened. He sat up quickly, and the afternoons events came flooding back when he saw Tony’s face.

“Is he ok?” he asked desperately.

Tony nodded grimly. “He will be”

Peter let out a sigh of relief, but tensed again when Tony closed the door and came over to him.

“What were you thinking? You’ve done some reckless things in the past, but never anything like this. You shouldn’t have had the dagger in the first place. Why-”

“Mr Stark, it was an accident!” Peter cut in, fighting back tears. “He just made me jump, he made me jump and I spun round and I had the dagger and it just, it just happened! You can’t really think I did it on purpose!”

“I think you’re deliberately missing my point” Tony said severely.

All of a sudden he started really laying into him. Peter was shocked, having never seen him like this before. It soon became frightening and overwhelming, and he couldn’t help crying, burying his face in his hands.

After a while Tony grabbed him by the shoulders, making him put his hands down and look at him. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact.

“I need to know that you’ve understood what I’ve said”

Peter nodded. “I understand, Mr Stark...”

Tony looked into the boys tear-stained face. He sighed and pulled him close. “You’re a good kid really, I know that... But you made such a dangerous mistake. I can’t ignore that”

Peter twitched a bit, and finally returned the hug. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. He felt so drained, emotionally and physically. But, the hot heavy feeling in his stomach was easing.

Later that evening, Peter’s door opened again.

“Loki?! Sh-should you be here?” he asked, shocked. “I-I mean, shouldn’t you be resting or something?”

Loki left the door ajar and leant against the chest of drawers. He was still very pale and a bit shaky.

“Tony won’t be happy when he finds I’m out of bed” his voice quavered. “Are you alright? I heard him shouting at you”

Peter swallowed. “What about you? Are you ok? I’m so sorry, you don’t even know”

“Well. I’ve been better. But I’ve been worse too” he smiled at him. “It was an accident: don’t worry about it so much”

Peter stood up shakily and approached him. He hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped his arms round Loki, careful to avoid touching where he’d been hurt. Loki was a little surprised.

“I’m still sorry”

A figure appeared in the doorway.

“Loki, you shouldn’t be up” Tony said gently, coming over to them. “You were stabbed, remember? You shouldn’t be pushing yourself”

“I’m fine”

“Come on, you need to rest” he carefully detached Peter from him. “That goes for you as well”

By morning, everything from the previous day finally took its toll on all three of them. Peter was exhausted by emotion and didn’t feel like doing much. Tony felt quite the same, and he stayed with Loki, who was feeling very sore and tired. It ended up being a lazy day, and the one that followed, followed the same pattern.

Three days after the dagger incident, things started to seem a bit more normal. Everyone was up and about, and Tony and Peter made themselves busy in the workshop all morning while Loki contented himself reading.

Around midday, Peter ventured back upstairs to find something to eat. He was soon distracted from his task by a loud thump down the hall. Upon investigation, he found Loki on his knees in the bathroom. He knelt by him and rubbed his back while he was dreadfully sick. His shirt was damp with sweat. It was a very raw and pained display, and for a moment it felt it would never end. But it did, and once it had, Loki pushed Peter’s hand away.

“Do you want me to get Mr Stark?”

“I don’t need your help” Loki snapped, hauling himself to his feet and pulling the chain. He held on to the sink to support himself. “Just leave me alone”

“I don’t know, Mr Loki, you seem awful sick”

“I said I don’t need your help” his grip tightened on the sink. He could feel himself shaking, could hear his pulse in his ears, and the pain in his stomach was getting worse.

“I’m gonna get Mr Stark”

“No you’re not! I don’t need-” he gasped, clutching his stomach. His legs gave out and he crashed to the floor, breathing in gasps.

“Mr Loki! Are you ok?!” Peter asked frantically, kneeling beside him.

Loki pushed him away.

“This is bad. I’m getting Mr Stark. Stay here”

Peter burst into the workshop, startling Tony.

“Mr Stark! Mr Stark, we need your help”

Tony looked up. “Why? What have you done?”

“I haven’t done anything! But it��s Loki, he’s real sick”

“How sick?” Tony stood up, turning off the soldering iron.

“Really, really sick. He’s been really sick and he’s all sweaty and shaky and he can’t stand up properly”

Loki had managed to prop himself up against the bath. The room was spinning and he felt so cold and sick. He wasn’t happy when he received company.

“Oh sweetheart” Tony said sadly, seeing just how bad it was. He sat down beside him. “You poor thing. You’ve not had much luck recently, have you?”

Loki didn’t try to speak. He was trying not to be sick again. The room stopped spinning quite so much, and as Tony put an arm round him he started shaking violently.

“Alright lolly. I think you need to go back to bed”

Loki shook his head, pushed Tony away, and, using the edge of the bath as support, tried to pull himself to his feet. He nearly made it, but a pain like he was being stabbed all over again pierced his stomach. It was so sudden, and the shock of it knocked him back to the floor. With virtually no warning, he was sick again. He tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but it wasn’t enough. He was furious with himself for letting it happen.

Tony helped him to sit back against the bath and grabbed a flannel.

“Lets get you sorted” he said gently.

Loki continued to shake as Tony tended to him. “It’s so cold in here...”

Tony suddenly remembered Peter, who was stood in the doorway, biting his thumb. “Go and fetch the quilted blanket from his wardrobe, would you?”

Peter nodded and was back in a flash. Tony threw the flannel aside and took the blanket from Peter, wrapping Loki up in it.

“Right, lets get you up off this floor. We’ll get you settled on the sofa and then we’ll call Banner, ok?”

Loki agreed reluctantly, feeling too weak to argue. He had to lean heavily on Tony when they stood up, and even then it was a struggle, but they managed to get him to the sofa.

Loki lay down on his side, burying his face in the back of the sofa and pulling a cushion over his head. He felt truly horrible.

Banner had a bit of a journey so it was an hour before he arrived, armed with his medical bag. Loki had gone very quiet, shivering in the quilted blanket and shielding his face from the light. Tony was very relieved when Bruce finally arrived.

“I’ll do some obs but I’m pretty sure I know what’s wrong already”

He took the pillow away from Loki, who whined and tried to grab it back, flinching in the sudden light. He didn’t take kindly to being disturbed. Banner pulled back on Loki's ear and inserted his tympanic thermometer. Loki squirmed and tried to move away, with little success. The beep put him on edge and while he was relieved when it was removed, he still tried to push the doctor away.

“You need to stop moving or it’ll only take longer” Banner said, pulling Loki into an upright position and taking his wrist. “I’m just gonna take your pulse, alright?”

Loki gave in, covering his face with his arm. The light was making his head hurt. Peter noticed this, turning and pulling the curtains across so the worst of the glare was blocked.

“He needs to see what he’s doing” Tony said, frowning at him.

“There’s enough light in here” Banner said, getting out his blood pressure monitor. “Obs aren’t great so far”

Loki winced as the cuff tightened on his arm, and tried to take it off. Tony grabbed his hand to stop him. “Leave it”

Tony kept hold of him until Banner had finished. He didn’t look too happy.

“Ok, I’m just gonna look at the wound”

He pushed Loki’s shirt off and carefully peeled back the dressing.

“Gross! is it supposed to look like that?” Peter said, looking in appalled fascination at the nasty looking cut, swollen and weeping.

“No, not a bit” Banner mumbled, prodding the wound with his gloved hands.

The pain of it made Loki start, and he hit out, catching Banner’s shoulder. It was a weak hit though, and didn’t make much of an impact.

Banner stood up, turning to Tony.

“He’s got a bad infection, but it's nothing too major - as in, it's not sepsis as I originally thought. He’ll need antibiotics though”

“Can you get hold of some?”

Banner nodded, opening his bag. “I grabbed some on the way over here. I knew it would be some kind of infection when you told me on the phone. It’s IV though, so I might need your help a bit to get started”

Tony sat down on the arm of the sofa, taking Loki’s hand in his. “Just need to stick a needle in your hand, alright? It’ll make you better”

"I don't want it" Loki mumbled, pulling the quilted blanket back round himself.

"Tough" Tony said, pulling the blanket aside and grabbing Loki's hand. "It'll only hurt for a minute"

He hugged him tight, letting him bury his face in his chest. Banner nodded in appreciation and sanitised the back of Loki's hand. He was quite glad that he was too weak to try to fight him off now. Tony watched closely as Banner readied the needle, and he squeezed Loki as hard as he could without hurting him. Loki didn't take it well. As the needle pierced his skin, Loki jumped and bucked, and Tony held him tighter still, shushing his gasps as the needle was secured in his hand.

Banner hooked up the drip and patted Loki awkwardly.

“Done. You’ll have to have a couple more bags after this but with it being IV, it’ll work a lot quicker than pills. Now, I need to clean and redress your wound”

Tony helped Loki lie back down and kept hugging him while Banner got to work. Peter edged closer to see what he was doing.

“Why’s it like that?”

“I can’t say” Banner replied. “It’s not always obvious why wounds get infected. It’s always a risk, no matter how careful you are and how many precautions you take. I think it’s partly a game of luck”

Loki tried to ignore them, clinging to Tony and trying hard to fight back tears. It was very difficult - he felt worse than he ever had before, he couldn’t control his shivering, and now his hand was throbbing and having the wound cleaned hurt so much more than he ever expected it to. It wasn’t long before he lost the fight and let out a muffled sob.

“Oh sweetheart” Tony gave him a squeeze. “I know, it’s not very nice at all”

Loki was very relieved when Banner had finished with him. He was feeling too weak to move and he was still shaking quite violently, the pain making it worse. He was still whimpering quietly. Tony wrapped the quilted blanket round him, and Loki pulled it up over his face.

“I’d keep an eye on him if I were you” Banner said, putting the last of his equipment back in his bag. “He’ll probably have a bad night but you should see some improvement in the morning. Let me know if you don’t - might mean a trip to hospital is in order”

Tony didn’t look happy.

“Shouldn’t he have gone to hospital in the first place?” Peter said. “I mean, why didn’t you call an ambulance?”

“I’m not taking him to any hospital” Tony said firmly. “We’ve got all the resources we need right here”

Peter wasn’t convinced, but he sensed it wouldn’t be right to argue with him.

Once again, Tony’s work required his attention, so he was stuck pacing the corridor on the phone. Peter took it upon himself to keep an eye on Loki, even though it wasn’t really too necessary, as the God had been asleep since Banner had left. The whole situation was making him feel very odd. He couldn’t help but feel responsible, and Loki was so pale and still that he almost seemed dead. It was quite unnerving.

He was a bit startled when Loki woke up. He’d grown still while he slept, but now that he was awake, he’d started trembling again. Peter rushed to his side.

“Are you alright? How do you feel? Are you getting better?” he gabbled.

Loki looked at him. Try as he might, he couldn’t speak. So he just looked at Peter, glanced to the side, and then looked back at him.

“Oh! You want me to get Mr Stark?”

Loki blinked at him, and Peter nodded. “Ok, just a sec”

Peter managed to pull Tony away from his work and bring him back to the living room.

“Hey you” he sat down on the edge of the sofa. “How are you doing?”

Loki still couldn’t muster up any words, so he just made a vague little noise. He just about managed to take Tony’s hand. Tony stroked his cheek gently.

“Poor old lolly. Alright then, let’s get you to your room, fella” he looked over at Peter. “Help with the drip and doors, ok? He’s not up to walking so I’ll have my hands full”

Loki soon fell asleep again once he was in his room. Tony sat with him for a bit, holding his hand and silently willing him to stop shaking, while Peter stood in the doorway biting his thumb. It was starting to become a habit.

“Mr Stark?” he approached the bed hesitantly.

“It’s not your fault” he looked up at the boy. “You don’t need to be here. You’re young: you should be enjoying yourself. Why don’t you go out for a bit?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like I should go” Peter said.

“Go. You’ve got that $50. Go and explore”

The house sounded dreadfully empty when Peter returned. He’d stayed out a lot longer than he’d intended. It was dark now - outside and inside. It was deadly silent. He walked along the corridors cautiously, feeling oddly like a criminal. On the way to his room he noticed a dim light under Loki’s door. Without knocking, he opened the door.

“It’s gone eleven o’ clock, you know” Tony said.

“I know. I was gonna come back earlier, but I got distracted”

Tony gestured for him to come over, so he did so, climbing carefully onto the bed. Tony was sat to the centre of the bed, with Loki lying at his side. He was still shaking.

“Is he asleep?”

“Only just. He’s not doing great. His fevers worse”

Peter looked at the both of them for a moment. “You’re really worried...”

“So are you. But maybe for different reasons”

Peter wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he remained quiet. He kept watching Loki, trying to work out what he was feeling. Loki soon woke up, blinking a bit. He looked up at Tony.

“You’ve only been out for about twenty minutes” Tony said gently, resting a hand on Loki’s head and gently rubbing his cheekbone with his thumb.

Loki looked quite visibly distressed, but also rather absent.

“Why can’t he sleep?”

“Have you ever had a really bad fever?” Tony asked. Peter shook his head. “It keeps you up. Everything hurts and you’re too cold and too hot at the same time. They’re not nice to have. Sometimes they make you hallucinate”

“What, really? Has it happened to you?”

Tony nodded. “Once. I didn’t realise that was what it was until afterwards. I just remember trying to count and add things up and forgetting all of the answers, and telling myself I needed to ask the manager how many people we needed to get into the meeting room. And then there was a bit where I was tossing and turning and getting aggravated because I couldn’t get all of the cash registers out of the bed”

Peter looked at him, not sure weather to laugh or not. Tony noticed this.

“I know, it’s pretty weird. It seemed to make perfect sense at the time. It was only afterwards, when I was better again, that I realised it was some sort of illusion”

Peter nodded. “Do you think Mr Loki is hallucinating?”

Tony looked at Loki, who was still awake but didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think he’s fully comprehending what’s going on right now, at any rate”

The mobile on the bedside table started buzzing. Tony sighed.

“Who the hell’s ringing at this time?” he asked himself, climbing off the bed and grabbing the phone. He squeezed Peter’s shoulder as he left the room to take the call.

Peter watched him go. He looked back at Loki, who seemed to be looking at nothing with his tired eyes. He turned his head, and noticed a book on the bedside table, with Loki’s silver snake bookmark peeking out of the top of it. He picked the book up. It wasn’t something he’d ever heard of, but nevertheless he opened it to the bookmarked page. He was relieved to find it was the start of a new chapter. He moved the bookmark aside, cleared his throat, and began to read.

After a few sentences, Loki’s eyes moved to look at him. Peter glanced up, oddly pleased to find Loki seemed to finally be focusing on something. After a couple of pages, after he’d gotten used to the writing style, Peter started to get into the story properly himself - he was very nearly enjoying it.

Tony finally finished his phone call. He was ready to flop, but he stopped in the bedroom doorway, his presence going undetected. He was surprised by what he saw: Peter sat crossed-legged reading, and Loki curled up listening. His heart swelled with love for both of them. The atmosphere in the room had completely transformed. It felt so calm. They looked so comfortable together. Loki had even stopped shaking.

Tony waited for Peter to finish the chapter before making his presence known. He squeezed Peter’s shoulder.

“That’s enough for tonight. It’s late”

Peter nodded, replacing the bookmark and setting the book back on the bedside table. He pulled the blanket up over Loki.

“Goodnight, Mr Loki”

Tony walked with him to the door, suddenly stopping him when they reached the hallway. Peter was a bit surprised, and even more surprised when he was pulled into a hug. He was eager to return it - he felt they both needed it.

“You’re a good kid” he squeezed him tight and then stood back, clearing his throat. “Now go to bed”

#my writing #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #fanfic #frostiron

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theolddarkmachine · 7 years

Text

Kingdom- Prologue

Gajeel has had the dream about dying for the blue haired girl for as long as he can remember. Which is weird, since he’s never met anyone with blue hair in his life.

Levy has always loved myths and legends. So much so, in fact, that she was currently getting her master’s in mythological studies.

What neither of them realized was that they were living a legend all their own.

AKA the one with a knight, a princess, and a curse that keeps bringing them together just to pull them apart.

Would y’all believe I actually wrote this before when I said I would? I KNOW I’M SHOCKED TOO! Honestly, I just got super excited lol This is just the prologue, and I’m kinda hoping to get Chapter 1 up by the end of this week when this was originally going to happen. Also, I’m not gonna do a set deadline this time since clearly I can’t stick to them. I’m going to post at least once a week on this one, but I think I’m just gonna update whenever it’s done as opposed to on a certain day. (This is good because maybe I can work out more than one update a week this way. WHO KNOWS THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!) Anyway, LET’S START THIS JOURNEY SHALL WE?! (Also sorry for such a crap summary? I have no idea how to explain this one without giving too much away lol Don’t be shocked if you see that change.)

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

Once Upon A Time

If you asked the people of his kingdom, they would tell you that King Dreyar was a kind and just king. Where many kings in bordering lands ruled their kingdoms with cold disregard to those considered beneath them, Fiore’s king listened to his subjects. He believed a king whose people were suffering while he sat on his throne was no king at all. Yes, he was a well respected king, which was why when the rumors that the King had an illegitimate daughter started to spread, they were widely disregarded by his people, for King Dreyar loved his wife, Queen Kearia Dreyar. What his people didn’t know that he had a first love.

As a prince, Makarov Dreyar was of the rambunctious sort. It seemed as if it were everyday that the young man would go missing from the castle just to be dragged back by his guard Metalicana to receive his lashings from his father. The servants often gossiped amongst themselves, wondering if the prince was a bit thick in the head, or if he just got some sick satisfaction out of driving the king crazy. They tried fruitlessly to get Metalicana to tell them. They’d bribe him with extra portions of dinner, offered him money, and on the odd occasion offered him a daughter to be his future wife, and yet Metalicana kept tight lipped about what it was his charge was doing when he disappeared from the castle. All they could get out of him was that he answered to the king and Prince Makarov alone.

What the servants didn’t know was that even the king himself couldn’t get Metalicana to tell him where the prince ran off to. The knight had been the youngest to come through the ranks, becoming a part of the royal guard at the tender age of 17, and was often referred to as the Iron Dragon. He was used to being regarded with contempt and fear, and yet the prince had welcomed him as an equal. While it may have only been because Metalicana was the only other person the same age as Makarov in the castle, it led the knight to pledge his whole allegiance to the prince.

This meant that everyday when Makarov slipped out of the castle with his horse and rode to the forest on the outskirts of town to meet with the blue haired girl named Ileana McGarden, the Iron Dragon would wait until as late in the day as he could to go and bring him back. Everyday the knight would ask the prince if it was worth the beating he received, and each day the prince would simply respond that love was worth any punishment.

This continued until just before Makarov’s 21st birthday, when his father fell gravely ill. The ailing king’s final wish, was for his son to marry Lady Kearia Blackthorn of Vistarion and to see his son take over the throne. The day before the wedding was the only time Metalicana did not bring the prince home.

***

Ten years later, the Iron Dragon was killed, leaving behind his son Gajeel to be raised by the King. He followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming Makarov’s most trusted knight by the time he was 18 years old.

“Do you wish me to come with you?” Gajeel asked, his wild black hair falling over the black iron of his armor that mimicked his father’s. His mouth was set in a scowl that the king was all too familiar worth. He really was just like his father.

“No, Gajeel, I can do this alone,” Makarov said dismissively as he pulled his cloak on over his own armor. He’d received the message from an inky black raven, which could only mean that it was from the oracle, and she preferred to meet alone.

“But sir,” the knight started to protest before the king raised his hand to silence him.

“Even your father didn’t keep such a tight leash on me, my boy,” he chuckled. “If your old man could trust me enough to let me meet with the oracle, you can too. Besides, don’t you ever take a break?” It was a rhetorical question. He of all people knew that Gajeel didn’t ever take any time off. Gajeel laughed humorlessly.

“Fine, but your better let the queen know that this was what you wanted before you go so if you get killed she knows it wasn’t because I didn’t try.” This elicited a bark of laughter from the king. Fucking smartass, he thought to himself as he pushed his way through the door, letting it shut behind him and ending his conversation with the knight.

***

It was impossibly quiet in the forest as Makarov tied his horse to a tree just outside of the clearing he knew the oracle would be waiting for him. He’d learned quite some time ago to not bring his horse any closer, and he had the scar through his eyebrow to remind him just in case he ever forgot. Carefully stepping through the trees and trying his best to avoid making too much noise, he finally reached the clearing. There was a 50-foot radius that had been cleared of any forest and left nothing but a twisted metal stand holding a black marble basin. Standing at the basin, was the oracle. Her skin was a pale, almost translucent white and her silver hair glittered in the moonlight and fell down the back of the simple black dress that hung loosely from her body. A milky film covered her eyes, leaving her blinded, though Makarov often wondered if that were true. At the current moment in time, he’d swear she was staring right through him.

“Makarov,” she greeted. Her voice echoed around them, filling the space and suddenly making him feel small.

“Oracle,” he said back, stepping further into the clearing until he was in front of her and the basin she stood at. Without another word, she reached her hands towards him and gently place them both on his face.

“It’s good to see you, old friend.” A small smile touched her lips. At least, Makarov thought he saw a hint of a smile. He’d never actually seen her show any emotions in all the years he’d known her.

“What is it you need to show me?” Her hands fell away from his face and returned to either side of the basin. A ripple caused the surface of the black liquid inside it to dance.

“Death.” The single word she uttered was electric and the forest around them rustled with a sudden gust of wind. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen death in his future, and yet an ominous feeling had started to work its way through his body. There was something different about this time.

“Whose death?” The question nearly choked him as he forced it out. She started to slowly pass her hands over the liquid, causing the black to fade away into a pearly white.

“Your daughter’s,” she whispered as she looked up from the liquid, her stare cutting him to the bone. Ice started to run through his veins as he struggled to breathe.

“I... I don’t have a daughter,” he struggled to say. Try as they might, he and the queen had been unable to have a child. It weighed on them both but he was able to bury himself in his work as king. Not to mention Gajeel was like a son to him. But they did not have any children.

“You do, Makarov,” the seer’s voice said forcefully as she slammed her hands down on the sides of the basin. Suddenly, he was transported back to that day all those years ago when he had seen Ileana for the last time. The memory caused a sharp pain of sorrow to erupt through his chest as he saw Ileana crying in his arms. The vision melted away as his past self leaned down to kiss away her tears. A tear fell down his face and landed in the liquid before he even had the chance to realize it was there.

“Show me,” was all he said, his voice breaking slightly.

The oracle returned to waving her hands over the deep basin between them, causing the liquid to start to spin into a milky white whirlpool. Makarov watched intently, mesmerized by the swirling liquid that spun faster and faster. Colors started to bleed from the outside edges of the basin and suddenly, it came to a stop with one crystal clear image reflected in the surface. The face of a blue haired young woman with honey colored eyes stared back at him. He felt himself reach towards the image, unable to look away from the woman’s image in the basin.

“She looks just like her mother,” he managed to breathe. His chest was throbbing with pain as he took her in. All this time, and he’d never known. Reaching his hand forward, his fingers ghosted across the top of the liquid, barely disrupting the surface. The touch caused image to fall away, leaving nothing but the inky black liquid it had originally been. “Who knows about this?” Makarov demanded. His tears had dried and his eyes now burned. The seer returned his glare with her own blind one. She placed a hand on the side of the basin and paused as if she were listening to someone speak.

“No one yet,” she finally said, her hollow voice echoing through the forest around them. Makarov was infinitely aware of the final word. The sound of it sent a shot of cold fear unlike anything he’d ever felt down his spine. There was a finality in that word. Someone would find out about the blue haired woman in the forest, and they would kill her.

What neither the seer or the king noticed, was the pair of purple eyes that watched them from the shadows.

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

#kingdom #gajevy #Gajeel X Levy #Gajeel Redfox #Levy McGarden #alternate universe #fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #OKAY BUT LIKE I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS

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solsticeonfire-blog · 5 years

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Dec 29 2018 SLR

SLR planets (i.e. the transiting planets) on inner wheel, natal planets on outer wheel. This chart is cast for NYC, which is where I’ll be at 12:30pm when this SLR comes into effect.

Besides transiting Uranus on Ascendant, it looks a lot like t. Pluto and t. Saturn are on the MC alongside some natal planets, right? Don’t be fooled! See how distorted the houses are, due to the time of year we’re in? 30° of prime vertical longitude is squashed into a little over 15° in ecliptical longitude in the 9th and 10th houses. Those planets are not nearly as close as they seem in the mundoscope (using prime vertical longitude):

Pluto isn’t even within the 10° window we usually allow for foreground planets, and Saturn is just barely in it! As you can see, Uranus dominates the show. Let’s compile this data and add in the natal planets, which need to be precessed in other software so that they are in the same sidereal framework as this transit chart, and then checked in prime vertical longitude:

- t. Uranus on Asc -0°38′ - r. Saturn on MC +1°11′ --- t. Uranus square r. Saturn 1°49′ in prime vertical longitude (in the mundoscope, aka in mundo) - t. Moon on Dsc +2°50′ --- t. Moon square t. Saturn 1°01′ in ecliptical longitude (aka just “longitude”) --- t. Moon opposite t. Uranus 3°28′ in mundo --- t. Moon square t. Sun 4°11′ in longitude - r. Neptune on MC +7°43′ - r. Mercury on MC -9°27′ - t. Saturn on MC +9°43′ Also: t. Jupiter square r. Ascendant 0°12′ t. Saturn square r. Neptune 0°53′ The main deal is this t. Uranus - r. Saturn square in the foreground, with foreground transiting Moon interacting with both, as a close second. Note that natal Moon is not foreground; it’s a little bit over 11° below Descendant in prime vertical longitude, despite having the same ecliptical position (which is what defines this as a lunar return). t. Moon is also widely square t. Sun.

I should note that my just-expiring demi-SLR has nothing but my natal Moon-Neptune-Saturn configuration on angles, so that’s been a lot of “hey it’s me and my demons” for the past 2 weeks. This SLR has much of that (without r. Moon), but adding in transiting Uranus as the primary actor.

First of all, emotions and emotional responses are heightened with Moon foreground in the SLR. Natal Neptune accentuates that, and these echo themes of my SSR, so I’m sure it’ll be pronounced during this month. Transiting Uranus is surprise, unexpected change, likely pushing me out of my comfort zone, and I’m likely inclined to unconsciously resist it, clinging to old habits and uncomfortable comforts (i.e. being inclined to choose unhappiness over diving into the unknown). It’s resisting giving over control, really. I’m starting to see already that a lot of this SSR cycle is about me re-learning where my boundaries should be.

Transits:

Saturn enters orb to my natal Moon-Neptune cluster right at this time, hitting Neptune just a bit before. All evidence points to this being downright depressing and disillusioning. I’m bracing myself for it. Jupiter also squares my natal Ascendant closely, though it’s already peaked and is on its way out, adding a little bit of protection and uplifting energy for the next few days.

t. Neptune is still within orb to s. Moon (i.e. SSR Moon), but it was closer at the time of the SSR, so I don’t think this really tells us anything new or important that the SSR (or even this new SLR) doesn’t already say.

The minor stuff going on as well:

t. Mercury octile r. Venus t. Venus octile r. Jupiter t. Moon will also octile r. Mars at some point in the evening. I only note this because I’m performing in a ceremonial rite and this suggests me getting aggravated despite the pleasant-but-minor Me to Ve suggesting exchange of pleasantries (I’ll surely see friends there), and Ve to Ju as obvious “friends around you during a ceremonial thing.” I’ll have to keep this in mind.

Progressions:

My experience so far is that transits to progressed Sun and Moon are definitely effectual, but that their window of manifestation tends to be significantly narrower than transits to natal or solar planets. In other words, the effects seem conspicuously clustered around the time they are exact.

t. Neptune is very closely octile secondary progressed Sun (which will feel like a transit to natal Sun). This peaks in the very near future. I’ve certainly been confused about myself recently! It’s been a hazy, emotional, unclear path forward, but I’m expecting acute manifestations when this becomes exact.

t. Uranus is also well within orb to square s.p. Sun. I’m watching this get closer and will “expect the unexpected” to prompt me to move forward when this peaks.

s.p. Sun is conjunct s.p. Venus, but this already peaked some time ago. I don’t expect much else to come from this and won’t note it going forward (until it ends).

s.p. Uranus is on s.p. IC (aka quotidian IC), but this peaked in the past, and I expect it to be a minor influence going forward. It’s hovering around the IC within 1° for basically the entire year. We’ll see if this can be distinguished from t. Pluto on Asc in the SSR. Quotidian MC is also conjunct natal Jupiter, but the same idea applies. (Basically, my natal Jupiter-Uranus opposition has been on quotidian angles, and that already peaked when I got my new job - the universe recognizing my curiosity and drive to produce quality and uplift myself.) We’ve got more long-term stuff that I’m only going to mention here (until they peak):

s.p. Jupiter octile s.p. Pluto (ongoing change to my status; evolution of my role; benefit from authenticity and freely leaving things that hold me back unnecessarily)

s.p. Saturn octile natal Mars (hard to say. Likely ongoing breaking up of my structures, habits, and patterns, freeing energy that is experienced as intense drive, frustration, stubbornness - something that I can use to struggle with or against the outer world).

I also listed s.p. Mercury square quotidian Ascendant, but I don’t see that anywhere in Solar Fire, so I don’t know what I was smoking when I put that in this monster of an excel spreadsheet.

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