#I am glad that all the members have seemingly grown and able to look at and analyze their experience through an an adult lens

[foxyloueh]

I’m a simple gal. Hearing a 1D member speak about the healing and peace they’ve made following the band years later makes me so full of joy, I can’t help it.

#i think there has been so much blame and assumption tossed around in the fandom #when at the end of the day one direction were kids #they were literally children #decisions made #things said #how stuff played out #all that unable to be understood without the context of these being overworked twenty year old boys #I am glad that all the members have seemingly grown and able to look at and analyze their experience through an an adult lens #anyway #zayn malik

[ladycatofwinterfell]

Dealing with the consequences, part 2

Summary: One day, six months after they move into their new house, Ned and Cat wake up to an unfortunate surprise. This small and seemingly insignificant event sets things into motion, and they try their best to repair what they can despite that they have messed up before. Because maybe, just maybe, they can do things a little bit better that time around. And you know what they say, third time’s the charm.

Consequences

This chapter will be entirely from Cat's POV, and I plan to make the next one all about Ned, but we'll see about that. Anyway, hope you like it <3

“Hello, Ned” Minisa said when Ned came inside.

 Catelyn was glad for that only her mother had come. It would have been a lot harder if she had brought Dad as well. He and Ned didn’t really get along. He didn’t know everything and had therefore immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was Ned that had wronged his daughter in some way, and not the other way around. Mom was kinder and for that Catelyn was immensely grateful. She loved her father but sometimes he made things a lot harder than they had to be. 

 “Hello, Minisa.”

 Minisa had Sansa on her lap and was gently bouncing the overjoyed baby up and down. Sansa had previously spent ten minutes trying to eat her grandma’s hair.

 “Is it okay if we eat?” Catelyn asked. “I’m quite hungry.”

 “I’m gonna leave soon, I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

 For just a second Catelyn got eye contact with Ned over her Mom’s shoulder as he walked into the kitchen to get plates for them. The scent of something that smelled much like her favorite pasta was filling the room and she had to hold back a smile. He knew just what she liked.

 “We’re doing fine” she assured her mother. 

 They were doing fine. A bit of uncertainty, a dash of conflicted feelings, a few unsolved problems. But fine. Maybe no more than fine, but definitely fine. They did their things, raised their kids, lived their lives. 

 “Except for the kitchen, of course” she added.

 They were definitely not doing fine on that point. 

 “Yes, what is your plan for that?”

 “I’ve been looking at some options today while Ned was at work, but we’re gonna talk more about it.”

 It had been deadly dull and she wasn’t looking forward to sitting down with Ned and look into it more, but it would probably be a little more bearable than doing it alone. Sansa really hadn’t been of much help. 

 “Would you like any help with that?” Minisa asked and smiled.

 She smiled like Catelyn was a child who had no idea of that she was doing. Sure, she had no idea at all of what she was doing sometimes, but she was an adult and could figure it out. 

 “No, we have this.”

 The last thing they needed was family members coming with more or less, most often less, helpful advice. It would only stress them. The only one she took advice from was Cersei, which was strange considering where that had taken her. But at least Cersei didn’t pretend that her advice was great advice and that she always knew best... Who was Catelyn trying to fool, she definitely did that. Maybe she was just supposed to stop taking advice.

 “Okay.”

 That smile didn’t go away. 

 “Don’t look at me like that” Catelyn said firmly.

 Perhaps a little bit firmer than intended, but that pitiful gaze was driving her nuts. 

 “I’m not looking at you in any particular way” Minisa said, raising her eyebrows. 

 “But you are” Catelyn sighed. “And I know all of you doubt everything I do, and that you have done so since I had Robb, but can you please not? Because I’m sick of it.”

 It wasn’t doing any damage to anyone. Her son was a happy child, her daughter would be as well because no matter what she would be loved and cared for. And she knew what her situation must have looked like from the outside, but she was so goddamn tired of people judging without knowing a damn thing. 

 “Oh Cat, we don’t doubt you. We know you always try to do the right thing and that you’re doing your best, as we all are...” she paused, waved a hand through the air, and when she spoke again she had lowered her voice. “But are you really fine? Are you happy?”

 Catelyn had to keep in a number of angry responses. She couldn't really be angry because of course her mother would be worried. That was what mothers did, they worried. Catelyn worried for Robb, she worried for Sansa, she understood. But the small difference was that her kids were still kids, while she herself was a grown woman.

 “I am” she said. “My kids are happy pills and I have the luck to live with a man who is probably a better person to live with than most. And I have a good job, and friends, so I don’t have much to complain about.”

 She definitely wasn’t unhappy. Of course everything didn’t feel great all the time, but she was building with what she had. And that was fine. Not fantastic, but fine. She had a few things to complain about, but not enough for there to be a serious problem. Okay, there was a pretty serious problem, but she couldn't acknowledge that without Ned and he pretty much refused to acknowledge that.

 “Okay.”

 Her mother was smiling again. But it wasn’t the same smile as before, and that was a relief.

 “I think I should get home to your father now, but it was nice to see you and little Sansa again.”

 “It was nice seeing you too” Catelyn said.

 Seeing her family was always nice, her mother’s timing just hadn’t been ideal. There was a lot of feelings going on. 

 “You don’t need to hide anymore, she’s gone!” she shouted at Ned once the door had closed behind Minisa.

 He had been in the kitvhen for much longer than necessary and she knew perfectly well why.

 “Oh thank the gods!”

 She had to laugh at that. 

They discussed what she had been looking at during the day while they ate. She had been right about the pasta, and it was just as amazing as usual. They got somewhere with what they were going to do an everything felt a little better when they agreed about it. She wished that could have applied to other discussions as well, but she had to do with what she got. At least the kitchen would be fixed.

 “We’ll have to take everything out tomorrow or Sunday if they’re gonna be here Monday” Ned said.

 “We should turn off the electricity in the kitchen as soon as possible, so I think we should do it tomorrow” Catelyn responded through a mouthful of pasta. 

 “We’ll have to move the fridge and the freezer out here.”

 “Ah, damnit, as if the table wasn’t enough.”

 After dinner she handed their daughter to Ned and then she had a shower. She had been longing for that shower all day, there hadn’t really been time for it and Sansa was never too happy when Catelyn showered. 

She came down the stairs half an hour later to a sight so perfect that she had to stop for a moment. It really was a dangerous thing, living together. Because then she could see stuff like that and be hit straight in the face with the desire to have it like that always. They were a family, that was true, but she wished it could have been full circle. She wished she could have looked at the man lying on the couch with their baby and think “that’s my husband and our baby”. Instead it was just “that’s the man I have a messed up relationship with and our baby”. She wished they could have been something to each other as well, she wished things had been different. 

 “Say whatever you want about the mess we created, but we do make cute babies” Ned said, looking at the small bundle sleeping on his chest. 

 When they had been together long ago he had never expressed a wish to have children. He had actually seemed quite opposed to it. That had been one of the reasons for why she had done as she did. But just that second she couldn’t understand how she had ever thought that, because the way he looked at their daughter was so soft and loving. He was a great father. What she was looking at was the way it was supposed to be.

 “Yeah. We do.”

 The knowledge of that they could make good things as well, that not everything they did together ended up being terrible, made her happy. They had made Sansa. And Robb, but Robb was different. Robb was hers. Sansa was theirs. And she was perfect, Catelyn could look at her for hours. She had looked at Robb that way when he was a baby as well. 

 “I’m a bit amazed by it” she added. “That we created her.”

 “I’d love to take some credit for this lovely little thing, but it was mostly you.”

 “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

 He had given her Sansa, and he had been with her through almost everything despite that he had been very angry at her. And she most likely wouldn’t have been able to take care of another baby completely on her own, no matter what she had thought in the beginning. Or, well, she would have been able to do it, the question was about whether or not she would have been fine while doing it.

Catelyn sat on the edge of the couch and laid a hand on Sansa’s back. She was so tiny. Robb had been much bigger. 

 “I had almost forgotten what it feels like to have a small baby” Ned said. 

 “Me too. She’s entirely dependent on us. We are necessary for her survival.”

 “That’s crazy.”

 She looked at him. He turned his eyes from Sansa and to her. But that thing in his eyes, the one she associated with how he watched her daughter, the one she associated with love, that thing was still there. 

 “It’s nice though, isn’t it?” Catelyn said softly. “Being that important to someone.”

 “It is.”

 She couldn’t help but smile, and when he smiled as well she had to look away. Damnit. What was she playing at, what was she trying to do? What was he trying to do?

 “I should put her to bed.”

 When she reached for Sansa he took one of her hands and held it. She met his eyes once more.

 “Ned. We really shouldn’t...”

 “I know, I know.”

 She carefully took their daughter and held the still sleeping baby to her chest. She could feel how Sansa breathed steadily. It was always calming to feel that since she was still in the phase when she was constantly terrified of that her baby would just stop breathing and die. 

Ned sat up. That brought him much closer to her, she could almost feel the heat radiating from his body. 

 “Why do you want to?” she asked, keeping her gaze on Sansa. “You haven’t forgiven me, we haven’t fixed anything, why do you want to?”

 He was quiet and Catelyn was just about to leave the couch and take Sansa upstairs when he answered. 

 “I don’t know. Why do you want to?”

 She could answer that question in a heartbeat. 

 “Because I miss you.”

 She did. She missed him. He was right there, but not like he had been before. And that was her own fault. Everyone could have been happy if it had not been for what she did. 

 “I miss you too.”

 Why had he said that? Anything else would have been better, anything else would have made it easier to stay away. 

 “How can you do that when you hate me?” she asked. 

 “I don’t hate you. I hate what you did, I’m angry and I won’t forgive you, but I don’t hate you.”

 “It sure as hell would have been easier if you did.”

 He chuckled at that. But it wasn’t a happy sound. 

 “I don’t know if I’m able to. Sometimes I wish that I could, but I can’t. You did something to me that hurt me and still I can’t hate you. Maybe that is the reason for why I want to.”

 That made no sense at all. But nothing ever really made sense. Or maybe it did and she just couldn’t understand it. At least she wasn’t alone in that, she had a strong feeling of that he probably understood nothing as well. 

 “Because you can’t hate me?”

 “Clearly there is something about you that stops me from that, no matter if I like it or not.”

 Despite that everything in her screamed at her not to do it, she leaned a bit closer to him. She couldn’t do that, she couldn’t, but she wanted to. It felt like she had never wanted something more.

 “I can’t” she forced out. “This won’t make anything better.” 

 If anything it could make everything worse. 

 “No, but what can make things better?” he sighed.

 She had asked herself that question a million times. What could make it better? She didn’t know. He almost refused to talk about it, gave her nothing on what she was supposed to do. It felt like she was walking in a dark room with no way of knowing where the light switch was. What she did know was that she was incredibly tired of it. It was draining. She was the one who had turned off the lights, but she was still tired of it. 

She moved away from him again. 

 “Am I supposed to answer that? I’m not the one who won’t talk.”

 And suddenly his face was no longer soft, but hard and cold as the northern winter. 

 “Have you considered that maybe trusting you is a bit hard after you kept a child secret?”

 “I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m asking you to talk to me. This is the closest we have been to a meaningful conversation in more than a year. I just want to know what you want me to do.”

 “I don’t want you to do anything. You have messed up enough as it is.”

 All that worked as quite a reminder of why she had not said anything about that earlier. They wouldn’t get anywhere with that, there was no point in trying. And she didn’t want to fight, she didn’t have the energy for that, so she simply stood up and took Sansa upstairs to her crib. 

Catelyn stayed in her room for the remainder of that evening. It was better than risking anything. He didn’t want to fight either, she was well aware of that. But it was hard, and multiple times she found herself almost going to him. To apologize, or try to talk again, or anything, really. She didn’t know what she wanted to do, but she wanted to do something. The fact that she had no idea about what to do ached in her. She hated not having a grip of the situation. 

And when she heard him come up the stairs she just couldn’t stop herself. She opened the door, but he walked right past her. 

 “I would take it back if I could” she said, leaning against the doorframe. “And I’m sorry.”

 Ned stopped. He didn’t turn to look at her, but he sighed. 

 “I know you are because I know you’re not a bad person. You never meant to hurt anyone, but here we are.”

 It was slowly killing her to see him hurt so. It hurt in her as well. Because she loved him. She had denied it for quite some time, but she did love him. Otherwise it wouldn’t have hurt so much. Otherwise the guilt wouldn’t have been eating her up from the inside. 

 “Here we are” she mumbled and once again wondered where they would have been if it had been different.

 “Loving you is undoubtedly the hardest thing I have ever done.”

 She could say the same. Loving him was the hardest thing she had ever done. But she loved him all the same. 

 “Don’t you mean it was? It should be past tense.”

 “No.”

 That didn’t make any– oh. Oh. 

 “Ned.”

 He loved her. And she loved him. Catelyn had never experienced a stranger emotion than the mix of joy and sorrow that filled her at that realization. It was supposed to be a good thing, and to some extent it was, but at the same time it kept them from going forward. 

Ned just continued to his room, not looking back at her. That time she didn’t hesitate before following him, she couldn’t leave it there. 

 “Ned” she repeated, laying a hand on his shoulder to stop him. 

 “Cat” he responded.

 When he turned around he was so close to her that she could almost feel his breath on her face. 

 “I’m sorry” she whispered and turned her gaze to the floor. “I’m so sorry.”

 She didn’t know what she was apologizing for. For keeping the secret for so long, for showing up at his house one day without a warning, for partaking in the affair, for that he still loved her. Maybe it was all of it. Maybe it was something entirely different. 

He leaned his forehead against hers and she could feel the tears in her eyes. Why did it have to be so hard? Why couldn’t it be easy? She was exhausted. 

 “I love you, and I miss you” Ned said. “That is why.”

 The only thing Catelyn could do in response to that was kiss him. It wasn’t accidental, it wasn’t something she did in confusion, she did it because she wanted to. Because she believed he wanted to as well. And it felt just as good as she had imagined when he pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss. 

 ~*~

 She had not meant to fall asleep afterwards. She had meant to go to her room and sleep there. But still she woke to the sound of Sansa’s cries and did not realize where she was at first. It took her a moment to understand to who that warm arm around her belonged to.

Ned stirred when she moved away from him and climbed off the bed. She began gathering up her clothes from the floor. It definitely was time to move back to her bedroom and she might just as well do it when she had to go to Sansa.

 “I can take her” Ned offered.

 “No” Catelyn said, perhaps a bit too quickly. “I’ll do it. I should get back to my room anyway.”

 She left before he had time to say anything else. The night before she had been too caught up in the moment to feel ashamed about it. But after that sated bliss had left her she could look at it in another light. Last time things had ended so terribly bad. And the circumstances were very different that time around, sure, but still something tightened in her chest. How would he feel about it? Would he regret it? Would he regret sleeping with her again after what she had done? She didn't want to go back to how it had been between them mere months earlier.

She held Sansa in her arms and kissed the top of her little head. She wasn’t hungry and was quite quickly soothed back to sleep. But Catelyn wasn’t quick to put her down. 

She half expected Ned to come after her. Or maybe she just wished he would. She didn’t know. But he never came and in the end she put Sansa down and crawled into her own bed. And she couldn’t help but thinking of that morning in the kitchen when he had made her pancakes. It had been more than a year since that. And a lot had happened. But she felt the same as she had felt then. She wanted to be with him. All of him. They were living together, she had been in his bed just minutes earlier. It was more than she had had back then, before Sansa. But she still didn’t have every part of him. And she was very sure of that he would never give it all to her. She understood that, and she was aware of that she had fucked up badly. But it still hurt. 

 Catelyn had slept little when morning came, Sansa had refused to sleep longer than an hour at a time, which was unusual. But Catelyn still wasn’t that tired. And she heard when Ned passed her door and walked down the stairs. Always the early riser. Even up earlier than the baby. 

She wanted to stay in bed longer. Because she had no idea about what to do or say when she saw him. It had been fine. Why had they decided to throw sex into the mix as well and shake everything up? She didn’t know. But it had felt so damn good that she was almost ready to take every consequence there was just for more of it. And they loved each other. 

After a while Sansa decided that it was time to get up for them too. So Catelyn fed her and then took her downstairs. 

 “Mornin’” Ned said when she came downstairs. 

 He didn’t look up from the newspaper he was reading. Was he as stressed about all of it as she was? Or was he as calm as he seemed? She genuinely had no idea. Lately it had been very hard to understand his feelings and what he wanted. She just didn't want them to hurt each other because of it.

 “Good morning” she responded as she put Sansa in her chair. 

 It felt a bit weird to have the kitchen table in the living room, but they would have all of their kitchen in the living room in a day when they started renovating the kitchen. 

Ned put away his newspaper and directed his attention towards Sansa instead. He was great at keeping her in a good mood. 

The morning slowly passed. They did some cleaning, which was a hundred times easier when Robb and Jon weren’t home. Lovely lads, but terrible at putting things away. And Catelyn had not even reflected over that they had baby stuff literally everywhere, but she did when she was picking it all up. She could only imagine what it would be like once Sansa learned to walk. 

It was actually quite nice. They didn’t talk much, but it didn’t feel bad at all. He even smiled at her occasionally so he couldn’t hate it too much, right? It could go well. 

After lunch they took boxes down from the attic and began packing down things they had in the kitchen. Catelyn was surprised by how many things they had after only having lived there for half a year. They were just taking a break when she got a messege

 haven't seen you in a while, wanna take a walk or something?

 The timing for that couldn't have been better and an hour later Catelyn found herself walking towards the little coffee shop a few blocks from their house so that she could get some desperately needed coffee before meeting up with Cersei. Ned had happily taken Sansa for an hour so that she could go out for a walk, he was probably glad to be rid of her for a while. He probably needed some time to reflect, just as she did. It had been hard to do so while being just a few meters apart.

 “Well, don’t you look miserable?” was the first thing Cersei said. “Baby keeping you awake?”

 “Among other things” Catelyn responded and took a sip of her coffee.

 She regretted it when she burned her tongue and pulled a face. She should have known that she had to wait until it cooled down a bit. But she should have known that last night as well. And that hadn’t exactly stopped her. 

 “And your kitchen flooded. You’re really living the dream life.”

 Catelyn had to smile. She was living quite the opposite of the dream life. 

 “Fucked up relationship, flooded kitchen, kids that won’t sleep, people wish they were me.”

 Cersei snorted. 

 “You still call that a relationship?”

 She hesitated for a moment. Was it a good idea to tell Cersei about it? She didn’t want to keep it to herself, but it was still so new, she didn’t know what to do with it. But what would change if she told Cersei? Nothing. So she decided to go for it.

 “I don’t know what else to call it.”

 “Have you considered dating or seeing someone else?”

 She had absolutely not considered that. Who would have wanted her anyway? She was living with an ex and three children between the ages of ten and five months. So even if she had been interested in that the situation really wasn’t ideal for it.

 “No. And he told me he loves me last night. I don’t know what that makes it, but it sure is something.”

 She had expected some sort of reaction from Cersei, but the blonde only shrugged. 

 “Huh, I thought it would take longer.”

 And what exactly did Cersei mean by that?

 “What?”

 “I knew it would come sooner or later, but not this soon. Ned’s a stubborn son of a bitch.”

 Catelyn had to stop and look at her. That it would come sooner or later? Had she not listened when Catelyn told her about what had happened before? Ned had barely spoken to her for weeks, had refused to meet her eyes. There had been no sign of love, no sign of that they could ever be what they had been before. How could she have expected that?

 “How could you have known that?” she exclaimed. 

 “Because I’ve been observing this relationship for years now, darling” Cersei laughed. “And no matter what happens you two always manage to snake your way back to each other. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, I’m just saying that’s how it is.”

 It would have felt better if she could dismiss that as something that wasn’t true, but Catelyn knew it was. Nothing had ever stopped them before so she probably should have expected it to happen. She should have been ready. She hadn’t been ready. Not for him telling her that he loved her. 

 “I don’t know if it’s a good thing either” she sighed. “It just feels like we’re digging through rock bottom together.”

 “That’s not great.”

 “No. I thought that maybe it was about to get better now, that maybe we could finally move forward, but instead we just fell down the hole. Again. And I can’t even be mad about it because I love him.”

 She didn’t want to feel that way, but she did. It should have been a good thing, love was a good thing, and how many nights had she not dreamt of them being happy with each other again? But that was the thing, she had dreamt of happiness. And at the moment their love didn’t make any of them happy. At least Ned wasn’t happy. And how could he ever be? When he loved the woman who had wronged him so terribly. It would have been a lot more welcome if they had talked more first, and actually started fixing their relationship.

 “Maybe admitting that you love each other is what it takes for you to start digging upwards instead of downwards” Cersei said, sounding way too optimistic for Catelyn’s liking. 

 She couldn’t escape the feeling of that his feelings for her made him unhappy. That he disliked it. And it was hard to blame him for it. She just didn't want to hurt him more. She couldn't stand the thought of making things worse for him.

 “I guess you could fix this if you want to. But the question is whether or not it’s a good idea.”

 Catelyn had to believe it was a good idea. For the sake of her children. And for hers and Ned's sake. She wanted it to work so badly that it ached in her. And if they fucked up yet another time she would never forgive herself. 

 “I don’t know if he wants to. We’re in the same house because of the kids, not because he wants a relationship.”

 It was fully possible that it had made him realize that he didn't want it at all and that he didn't want it to be more than a thing that happened once. She didn't want to dive right into it if he was going to back out as soon as it was brought up again.

 “You haven’t talked to him?” Cersei asked, seemingly surprised.

 “No. We tried to talk, got irritated with each other, I apologized and he told me he loves me and then–“ she stopped herself from finishing that sentence. 

 Cersei laughed again.

 “I knew it!”

 “Oh shut up, that’s really not important.”

 The important part was literally everything but that. But she would have to talk to Ned about everything, she understood that. He understood it as well. Because they couldn’t just leave it there. Some things they just had to deal with as soon as possible. 

They should have had that conversation the first thing that morning, but they hadn’t. They had had a good time instead. 

 “The mood was good this morning though, so maybe I shouldn’t be so pessimistic” she added. “I don’t know, I’m not brave enough to hope for anything because if I get my hopes up and it falls apart yet another time I’m gonna lose my mind.”

 “I believe you shouldn’t think too much on it before you have actually talked about it with him. Because worrying isn’t doing anything good for you.”

 “You’re probably right. I just don’t want us to go into it too fast and end up messing things up for ourselves and our kids.”

 “I get that, Cat. But you really should talk to each other. I’m definitely no relationship expert, I have my fair share of mistakes regarding that, but even I can see that you two fucking suck at talking.”

 "Oh believe me, I know."

 But she was going to talk to him because walking around and being uncertain was quickly becoming unbearable.

#catelyn stark #catelyn tully #ned stark #ned x cat #minisa tully #cersei lannister #sansa stark #consequences #dealing with the consequences #i was planning to post earlier but i got distracted by a friend so im sorry about that but here's the chapter

[melancholyblues0]

𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊

𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝑒 : 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓃𝓎

brian may x reader series

warnings : swearing, alcohol, future chapters will have smut so... be aware of that ig lol. like tiniest mention of weed

a/n : thinking of making this a bit of a series but we’ll see ? i also have a heavy week of exams next week but i am free from school for like three months (yay fucking hey) so i’ll try to prepare a second chapter because we all know i won’t revise lol. also loosely based off of a roger taylor x reader fic i read a while ago ! i can’t remember the name/author, but if i find it again i’ll tag the author. all characters are mine, aside from brian may/anita. thank you for reading ! this is set in 1994, and freddie doesn’t die/ john doesn’t retire because we’re not gonna deal with that kettle of fish in this fic.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧

it wasn't raining today, surprisingly. it wasn't as if it was unusual for the uk - it was always like this - rain, and then a week straight of blazing hot sun. you could even say you'd grown to love it. you'd enjoyed playing with little anya colston the day before, the thirteen year old who lived next to your parents. you'd been in the pool her parents owned, when you heard of a new couple moving in two doors down. rumours had gone round of the husband being famous, but for what you nor anya knew. you both just hoped they wouldn't be as dull and empty as the other adults were (something you and anya had bonded over - your mutual hatred for prissy adults).

~~~

"y/n, darling, please hurry up. you know your father and i don't want to be late." your mother called up the stairs, watching as y/n slid down the bannister. "and the countless times you've slid down the bloody bannister. you'll break your neck one day." she added, sighing as she gave you a once over. "where's xavier ? xavier, hurry up !" she called, and the heavy footsteps of her older brother sounded above them. "why is he always allowed to be the last one out, but i get a bollocking if i am ?" y/n groaned, sitting on the step. "because, you know how xavier's like." your mother said, sighing as xavier finally made an appearance. you huffed as she stood up, and stalked towards the door, xavier not far behind you. 

the second the family entered the maybank home, your mother made a beeline for the champagne flutes on the breakfast bar; your father to the men outside (also where more alcohol was), and xavier followed suit, albeit reluctantly. and although you could think of nothing worse than talking to the women, you followed your mother - entirely for the champagne. "y/n ! how are your a levels going ?" diane asked, peering at you over her wine glass. "i think she's doing alright - she did drop literature for psychology, but i suppose it's better than what she could've chosen." your mother smiled patronisingly. "oh ! darling, this is anita - she's just moved in." diane smiled, gesturing to the woman next to her. you had to admit, she was beautiful. and even better, she didn't share the same patronising smile your mother and the other women donned constantly. "it's nice to meet you, anita." you smiled, taking a sip from your flute. "not too much, sweetheart," your mother said. always the one to take the fun out of everything - and what was the point in not being able to drink; these gatherings were hardly tolerable sober, and you were seventeen. "i'm gonna go find the kids." you muttered, snatching your glass from the table. 

soon enough, you found three girls, only a few years younger than you, sat by the pool. "y/n ! c'mere !" anya called, waving her hand. you made your way to the girls, and anya introduced you - louise was the older girl, recently turned fifteen, and emily the younger, was ten. they were the daughters of the new family, so you and anya made sure to give them the run down on who was who. dominique and otis rains, your own parents; they only had you and xavier. diane and emanual colston were anya's parents (admittedly the least snobby), and had anya and carlson, who was louise's age. then there was adrianna and henry maybank, who had mina (the only girl your age, but after her parents found the pot you frequently smoked under her bed, they sent her to boarding school somewhere out west in the country). florence and alistair bohr (florence was the youngest and prettiest, but the one who tried the hardest. alistair was a sixty - something year old ceo. in your eyes, a perfect match). then finally, there was louise and emily's parents, anita and brian may. they said they also had an older brother, jimmy, who, when you looked over, looked deep in conversation with xavier. the girls appeared to sound equally as disdained by the adult snobbery as you and anya were (mina also - speaking of, it was a shame she wasn't here. you thought she'd broken up from school by now). you warned the girls of the sunday brunches too. it was either you tired yourself out by playing tennis, or you drinking sangria's and champagne with the women, who all ogled the fit male tennis players and bartenders, and seemingly had endless shit to talk.

you glanced up at the men - the very people you found trying to avoid at all costs, but you were curious as to who this brian was. you could've sworn you recognised his name, but from where you couldn't recall. as you scanned the group, you noticed an unfamiliar mop of curly hair - in which became familiar to you very quickly. how could you not know ? that was when the memories of your poster clad walls, concerts that left you and mina with sore throats, and various records with those four faces adorned across the front strewn across your bedroom floor rushed back. "one second." you murmured to the girls, as you got up, and dusted off your skirt, making a beeline towards the group in a spurt of confidence. 

"y/n ! i was wondering how you had been with those women for so long, i didn't see you leave. this is brian, our knew neighbour." your father smiled, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. "my youngest, y/n." your father grinned to brian, and you looked up at him. and christ, you knew he was tall, but he was a bloody giant. "i think what my father really means is that it'll be nice for another man around. he's getting bored of these three dinosaurs." you grinned, the same cheeky grin you'd inherited from your father. "glad to know you don't seem like the others." he laughed, shaking your outstretched hand. "god no, i like to think i taught her better than to end up like those women. in secret, of course, the missus would slaughter me." your father laughed, the others following suit. but you liked the look of brian, a lot. more than you should, but who could blame you ?  you'd practically been in love with the man since you were twelve. not that you would tell him of course. and then you heard the squeal, one you'd known all your life - mina was here. "i'll be back." you smiled uneasily, and rushed inside to find the tall brunette in the doorway. "get here you silly bitch !" she shouted, barrelling into you, tackling you to the ground. "language, mina." adrianna sighed, tossing the keys onto the shelf near the door. she too, like your mother had, rushed to the wine and the women. she needed a drink, after picking up her spritely daughter and managing to cope for a two hour car ride. you and mina rushed upstairs into her bedroom, and you slammed the door behind you. "right, do not freak out. we have new neighbours." you began, looking at mina's flushed face. "and ?" she asked,

"it's brian may."

"it's who, now ?"

"brian may."

"brian may ? the new - new - new guitar guy ? the man we've been gushing over since before we had tits ?"

"yeah, that's the guy."

mina laughed, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. "good god. glad you haven't pounced him yet. if it was roger, i know i would've." she smirked, making sideways glances to her own queen poster above her bed - that had been signed by every member during their '86 tour. "well, not only is his wife and three kids downstairs, he was bombarded by males. shame, really." you joked. 

"kids ?" she gasped, hopeful they were like anya. 

"thankfully, louise and emily are exactly like anya." you smiled. 

"i'll finish this later. i wanna meet the newbies." she wiggled her eyebrows, running out of her room, with you tow.

#brian may #brian may x reader #brian may smut #queen band #brian may x y/n

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Of Freckles and War | Fred Weasley

✦ pairing — Fred Weasley x Mexican American Plus Size Reader (she/her)

✦ word count — 4k

✦ summary — you were only supposed to provide security for Bill and Fleur’s wedding.

✦ warnings — angst, mentions of war, some violence, fluff

✦ a/n — this was requested by a lovely reader who showed me a receipt of her donation (based off this post). Thank you so much, @5pantherpride, first of all for donating and of course for trusting me with this.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Weddings — you were neutral to them. You even were glad for people who fulfilled their goal to marry, but you found the timing of Bill’s and Fleur’s less than ideal.

The Order had a lot of things to worry about. Short on members and with the infiltration in The Ministry at its peak, you surely wished you could help in better ways.

Security duty wasn’t new to you, but it was the first time you were to fulfill it without Moody. His death was another reason why you wished you could be somewhere else. He had been the closest thing you had to a mentor.

At least the dress fit you nicely, way better than you had imagined it would. Finding one in such times hadn’t been the easiest task, much less with your schedule.

Offering to help with the guests so you could watch them closely, you introduced yourself to Bill’s twin brothers.

You had seen them before from afar, but that was it. Mrs. Weasley constantly said they were too young to be part of The Order so you assumed staying away to avoid problems would be better.

Smiling at the first arriving guests, you consulted the seating plan and guided them to their seats.

“Shut your mouth,” George snickered, pushing Fred’s chin so his mouth would clamp closed.

Fred shook his head, realizing he hadn’t stopped staring at the spot you had been standing in.

The marquee filled with voices and laughs rather soon. Your nerves increased as people continued arriving, unable to shake the bad feeling simmering in your stomach.

The more you thought about it, the more sense having a wedding in such unprecedented times made. Bill and Fleur just as their families, could very well be captured or killed at any moment. A gathering like this, though, was beyond your logical understanding.

He was sure you liked his brother, although he didn’t understand why when he had always been slightly more handsome, but that didn’t stop Fred from approaching you.

“Would you like to dance?”

You turned around to acknowledge him. “I would.”

He offered his hand staring intently at you as you placed your palm on top of his. He took a shaky breath in and guided you to the dancing area.

“I’m Fred, by the way,” he felt the need to let you know.

“I am aware.”

Tilting his head, he halted his steps on a spot away from his mom.

You explained, “You have a scar on your left eyebrow.”

Impressed, Fred placed a hand on your waist to lead you. In answer you rested your other hand on his shoulder, looking just past it.

Harry seemed to be annoyed by something —or someone— which made you believe he had seen or heard something suspicious.

“Is there someone you would rather be dancing with behind me?”

You shook your head, dragging your eyes back to Fred. “Of course not. I’m just being— oh, Merlin, what’s that word? Worried? No, no. Cuidadosa... cautelosa podría ser... Madre de Dios, ¿cómo se dice en inglés?”

[Careful... it could be cautious... Mother of God, how do you say it in English?]

The couple closest to you stared in confusion as you kept going. “¿Meticulosa? No, eso no tiene sentido... cuidadosa, sí. Lo cual es lo mismo que cautelosa pero cómo se dice...”

[Meticulous? No, that doesn’t make sense. Careful, yes. Which is the same as cautious but how do you say it...]

Fred pursed his lips at your language switch. Your accents were different in each one which caught his attention. He wanted to know why, if you had learned them both at the same time, or which one was your native language.

Entertaining the sad idea that you might have been trying to ditch him, he suddenly frowned. “You’re looking for an excuse to leave?”

“No, no!” You whined, sure you had said the word in the past few days. “How is it called when someone is being careful because they are worried? It starts with a W.”

“...wary?”

You could’ve kissed him. “Yes, that one!”

With a lingering laugh in his voice, he tried to reason with you, “Well, Bill and Fleur didn’t invite many people.”

“No, but polyjuice exists. I could be a Death Eater disguised as me and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“That accent wouldn’t be easy to mimic, don’t worry.”

“It’s easier to understand than some I’ve heard around here,” you defended yourself, not offended at all by his comment.

A light irrupted into the marquee and you immediately knew whose Patronus it was.

Kingsley’s message proved you right and triggered panic as mayhem all over the place ensued. You pulled your wand out, looking around to see how many people were left.

Leaving would have been a good idea, but too many invitees had fled already and it would bring more trouble to The Weasley Family.

Not unfamiliar with their scare tactics, you did your best to remain calm as the Death Eaters questioned the family.

You admired how unfazed they tried to appear as their house was inspected. They must’ve been expecting the visit for days now.

“I’ll prepare tea,” Mrs. Weasley shakily said.

“Let me do it,” you mumbled, waving your wand as Bill helped his mother to sit down.

Mr. Weasley leaned over, reminding you to drop a splash of firewhiskey in his wife’s tea through a whisper. Nodding, you did as you were told and carried the cup toward the living room.

“You are staying, right, (Y/N)?” Mr. Weasley asked as you waved your wand to pour a cup of tea for Fleur’s mom.

“I don’t want to impose,” you assured them, “I can manage on my own — it would be safer for everyone.”

“I would feel better if you stayed,” Mr. Weasley sighed, “Everyone here would.”

“Kingsley said—“

“I’ll talk to him,” he interrupted.

You turned to look at everyone else, but no one added any other comment.

You couldn’t sleep. The room wasn’t the problem, nor the accommodations The Weasleys had given you — everything else was. People were disappearing at a worryingly exponential rate, and you couldn’t shake off the guilt of not being out there helping in some way.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

The Weasleys would surely be watched carefully and suddenly leaving The Burrow in the middle of the night would put a bigger target on them.

You leaned onto the doorframe, watching the rain as it slowly fell down the garden. Grown used to the unruly weather such times had brought, you were trying to find pleasant parts in it like its smell and soothing sound.

“Can’t sleep either?”

You craned your neck to look at Fred. He rubbed his eye with his right hand as he held a glass of water in his left.

“The weather is nice.”

Humming, he chugged the water down. Instead of going back to sleep, he pulled a chair out and then another. Fred sat down on the second one, waiting for you to take the other.

You did so, thanking him in a nod. The kitchen, only illuminated by the fading light the lamps outside gave, felt bigger than it was.

“Is Ginny giving you trouble?”

“No,” you answered immediately. His sister was lovely, she kept mostly to herself which you understood but on occasions, she would ask about which other jobs you had done for The Order.

You learned she wanted to join The Order more than anything. She would also talk highly of her siblings, even teasing you when you asked more about Fred.

Your dance had been cut off, so had the conversation. You had enjoyed yourself for once, of course you would want to know more about him.

After watching him from afar for an entire summer, you had imagined that not stuttering around him was progress. But you were at war, and war didn’t give time for getting to know people you’ve been crushing on for a while.

He took you out of your self-absorption, “You said it would be safer if you didn’t stay here. Why?”

Ah, that. “I have history with... them.”

You didn’t explain yourself further on and Fred sensed he shouldn’t press on it for now.

He opened his mouth to make a joke and lighten up the mood, but you spoke first, “Do you think muggles will have enough help?”

No, he didn’t think so. However, Fred didn’t have the heart to tell you that. “There are a handful of good witches and wizards out there still.”

You nodded. Good witches and wizards' existence wouldn’t make a difference if they didn’t act on it, but for some reason, you didn’t have the heart to tell him that.

He would surely be able to take it, he probably knew it already — but you didn’t want to say it out loud either way.

Fred placed a hand on top of yours, squeezing it. You must’ve looked like you needed comfort. Lifting your fingers so his own would fit between them, you gripped his.

The Kitchen started appearing clearer as the blue light of the early morning entered through the door and windows.

Under the blue tones, Fred’s eyebrow scar looked clearer. You could’ve counted his freckles if you had enough time. But you couldn’t, Mrs. Weasley would need help around the house at any minute.

Deciding it was better to go get ready for the day, you begrudgingly withdrew your hand. Fred’s eyes danced over your face, trying to assess what you would do next.

“Thank you for the company,” you whispered, not taking your eyes off his face either.

His eyes dropped to your lips only to go back to your eyes. Clearing his throat, he nodded, “No problem.”

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

More people were reported as disappeared as the weeks progressed. Your worries only increased as news from members of The Order got more sporadic — it was safer that way, and detrimental to your mental wellbeing.

You had the bedroom for yourself now. Ginny had taken The Hogwarts’ Express a couple of weeks ago. She had been upset, but not more than her family with the number of changes the school seemingly had made.

You wondered how Ilvermorny was doing.

Although you were living with four people, you didn’t talk much to them. Mr. Weasley was overwhelmed with work constantly, Mrs. Weasley tried to keep herself busy around the house, Fred and George had a shop to attend and sporadically helped their friend Lee with Potterwatch.

As for yourself, you were able to help The Order here and there. Nothing too extreme so you wouldn’t gain unnecessary attention and put The Weasleys in more danger. That was why you hadn’t wanted to stay there.

“I would use Ginny’s bed if I were you,” Fred said from the doorway, surprised to see you hadn’t locked yourself that afternoon.

You put the clothes you had been folding to the side and looked up at him. “That would be invasive.”

“And funny. May I?”

You nodded. It was his house after all.

Fred did sit on Ginny’s bed, amused by what he was seeing. You supposed he wasn’t granted entrance that often.

He and George had an unspoken pact with their little sister, she didn’t try to sneak into their room and they wouldn’t threaten her privacy. It was great, but Fred had always been curious.

More curious he was as to what was going on with you. Mrs. Weasley had sent George to ask you if you needed anything and not him, probably because everyone considered his brother as the sensitive one.

“Mum’s worried.”

“I’m fine.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “When did I say she was worried about you?”

“Why else would you tell me?”

“To chat.”

You tilted your head. He was funny, but not a very good liar.

“You look really sad.”

“I feel useless,” you confessed, smoothing the sleeves of an old t-shirt. “I was supposed to become an Auror this year.” Sighing, you shook your head, “God, I sound entitled...”

“Aurors aren’t particularly safe at the moment.”

“Much less if there isn’t enough of them.”

Fred leaned over, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Why do you want to be one? It sounds like too much work.”

You shrugged, not sure anymore. You liked the idea of doing the right thing, being able to ensure people were safe and evil was kept in check... but doing it for a ministry didn’t sound like something you could do.

“It’s different in America,” you explained, pulling a pair of socks from the freshly done laundry. “Not better, I’ll admit that, just different. MACUSA didn’t stop taking on aurors, for example.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

The socks in your grasp fell to your lap. “I wanted to be ready for the moment when I had to fight them again.”

Silence fell between you. Fred’s eyes were on you like they seemed to always be since you arrived. There was no pity in his gaze, only understanding.

“I believe you’re still ready.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Fred smirked, “I’m always right.” He made a pause, slanting his head to the side. “Almost always.”

You chuckled. “Who said that?”

“I did.”

You had expected him to answer just that and yet you were still amused by the comment. Oh, you were falling quite fast.

And he knew it. There was no doubt in Fred’s mind that you actually liked him and not George. You didn’t stare at George as much as you stared at him nor smiled so brightly when you greeted his brother — you were nice to everyone but you were more comfortable with him and Fred really liked that.

He took your hands, making you stand up as he did the same. You liked the difference in size and how his hands didn’t feel soft like most people expected their crushes’ hands to be but warmer than any other hand you had taken.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. George stuck his head into the room. “Dinner.”

Fred nodded, “We’ll be there in a minute.”

George pursed his lips, lifting both eyebrows. He still left you alone, reminding both of you to not take too long.

This was his best chance. Fred leaned over, capturing your lips in a short kiss. You slid one of your hands off his grasp to place it on the back of his head, pulling him into another kiss. His free hand rested on your hip as you tilted your head to kiss him more comfortably.

“I can’t take you out right now...” he sighed, lips still brushing yours as your eyes barely fluttered open, “but maybe we could have a picnic when everybody is asleep?”

You smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

George shook you and Ginny awake. “Get up, we don’t have much time!”

You were up in a second. “What’s wrong? Where’s Fred?”

“Packing.” George pointed his wand at Ginny’s trunk.

“Where are we going?” Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes as you made George turn around so you could get changed.

“Somewhere safer. Death Eaters know we’ve been helping Harry.”

“I can’t go with y—“

“Just shut up and hurry,” George interrupted you, voice softer than one would expect those words to come out of anyone’s mouth.

Ginny and you would be the first ones to be gotten out of The Burrow. The others could take hours to join you or days, whichever was safer.

“We’ll need you and your training more than ever, (Y/N),” Mr. Weasley reminded you.

You cast a glance towards Ginny who was blinking furiously while bouncing her leg.

You nodded at Fred, silently assuring him you would protect his sister. He nodded back, not doubting it for a second.

Aunt Muriel was a weird woman. Clearly not a bad person, but perhaps an entitled one. Ginny had already told you to not take anything she said personally, but you hadn’t understood the warning until she made a comment about the color of your pajamas.

It didn’t take many days for the family to be as complete as it could. From what you knew, Charlie was still in Romania and no one had news of Percy. You had never met the latter but Fred had lengthily complained about him.

Speaking about Fred, he and George had packed more than Ginny and you for some reason. There were five trunks in their provisional room instead of two.

You asked for permission to enter which Fred granted with an enthusiastic nod. Closing the door behind you as he sat down on the bed, you then approached him.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded, eyes not meeting yours. “Can you... talk to me in Spanish or something?” Seeing your confusion, he abashedly explained, “It calms me.”

In the five months you had been together, Fred had never really reacted to your babbling in Spanish. You had assumed he was just unfazed, but his explanation made more sense.

You sat down next to him, placing a hand on his upper back. “Do you want a story?”

He nodded, “Anything.”

Fred laid down, curled up as his head rested on your lap. He listened attentively, wishing he could understand everything you were saying.

Maybe when the war was over you could teach him Spanish.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Oh fuck. Turns out wounds not only hurt but stung — you had forgotten the last time you had been injured, probably that time Moody made you sneak into that shop in Knockturn Alley to look for an artifact.

“What were you thinking?!” Fred screeched, pushing Percy, who had been the one to move you to a safer spot, to the side to kneel beside you.

You looked at Mrs. Weasley who was battling Yaxley a few meters away from you, visibly desperate to approach her sons. “No mother should lose her child. My family is already dea—“

He shushed you, “Don’t.”

You tried to move, uncomfortable by the rubble digging into your back. Palming the ground in search of your wand, you whined.

“Do you need a bandage?”

You gritted your teeth. The pain in your lower stomach was unbearable and Ferula wouldn’t fix it.

“Can you cast healing spells?”

Fred shook his head, applying pressure to your wound.

“You would be a shit Auror.”

He knew you were making light of it, but he didn’t find it in him to laugh. “Tell me what to do.”

“Poke it and—“ you groaned. The hand he had on your stomach was shaking, making the pressure waver.

Your skin was losing color. He looked at Percy, desperate — his know-it-all brother had always been good at every class. He had to know.

Percy approached you, looking at you with sadness before looking at Fred. He was about to say he didn’t know what to do when Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived to make sure all of you were safe on their way to The Shrieking Shack.

Harry only saw the blood on Fred’s hand and the desperation in his eyes. He had seen the same desperation in yours when you cast a spell that sent Fred flying out.

“I’ve seen Snape doing some type of magic... it puts the blood back in...”

You grunted, trying to nod.

“Is that the one?” Fred asked you.

You could only hum.

Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley was the one who did the spell. As amazing as Harry was, the part of his face you could still see looked terrified. He had enough on his plate already.

She slid her wand under your back, making the rock hurting you disappear. Closing your eyes, you gifted yourself a moment to breathe in and out.

“How come you didn’t know how to do it, Perce?”

You answered instead of Percy, “It’s not part of any school’s curriculum. It should, clearly, but it isn’t.”

“You would know that if you had finished school,” Mrs. Weasley said. You could’ve sworn she did so teasingly.

Innocently, you had thought saving Fred would be enough. As if loss would’ve disappeared from the world because he was safe. It was a nice concept, one you wished could be real for multiple reasons.

People you had considered the closest you had to a family like Nymphadora and Remus being the casualties of the war hadn’t crossed your mind.

It was over. At a high cost like every other war in history, yet you couldn’t believe it.

Fred, who was sat between you and George in The Great Hall, gave you a sideways glance.

He had properly known you for less than a year and you had already made him fear in ways he hadn’t only felt two times before — when Ginny was taken by Riddle to The Chamber of Secrets in his fifth year and when his dad had been attacked in his seventh year.

Dropping his hand on top of yours, he asked, “Do you want to take a walk?”

George turned to surprisedly look at his brother at the same time that you lifted your eyebrows. Your eyes crossed George’s who snickered before going back to his conversation with Lee.

“Sure,” you agreed, standing up.

Fred took your hand, walking aimlessly through the semi-destroyed halls. You could tell it affected him to watch his former school in such estate.

“You scared me.”

“I really didn’t want your mother to go through the loss of a child.”

He stopped the stroll quite abruptly. “So you wanted me to go through the loss of my girlfriend?”

“Fred...”

He shook his head, sliding his hand off yours to pass it through his hair. You didn’t know how it felt like, you hadn’t been the one watching their loved one bleed out in the middle of a battle.

He would’ve lost everything he had always wanted to have in a partner. Never had he imagined you would be so supportive of him, yet you had put up with his and George’s stupid plan of sending products by mail while the family had to hide at aunt Muriel’s and even helped them to package everything.

Everyone in the family liked you. He wouldn’t have cared if they didn’t, but it was nice to know that his partner was appreciated by the other people he loved so dearly.

Seeing a familiar frown on his brow, you warned him, “I’m not apologizing for doing it.”

Fred exploded. “What would have I done if something had happened to you?!” He yelled, using his hands to make emphasis.

You stood straighter, yelling back at him. “And what would have I done if that wall had collapsed on you?! Did you want me to stand there and watch?!”

Fred stayed silent which prompted you to add, in a softer tone, “It’s done, and it turned out okay.”

“It almost didn’t.”

“But it did,” you insisted.

His shoulders dropped. You were right, and bruised — but safe. The worst part was over already, he should have been focusing on that.

“You need to work on your anger issues,” you pointed out.

“And you need to stop throwing yourself into danger.”

You held your hands out for him to take. Fred opted for pulling you into a tight hug. The dust on his top itched your nose, but you didn’t have it in you to complain and instead hugged him back.

“I don’t want to live without you.”

”You’re everything I have left,” you mumbled on his chest, grimacing at the flavor of the dust clinging to your lips. “I mean, that includes your family and The Order, but you get what I mean.”

Humming, Fred rested his chin on the top of your head.

“My family really likes you. I think I’ll get disowned if I don’t marry you.”

“Is this your way of proposing?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“Your answer, honestly. Don’t wanna look like a moron.”

Pushing him off to both look at him and have a break from the dust and grime on his clothes, you held him by the waist. Fred was serious, there was no mischief in his eyes as he waited for your answer.

“Well... I don’t want you to get disowned,” you joked, more nervous than you should have been. It was just him!

“And how else would I outdo Bill if it isn’t by marrying you?” he joked back.

Caressing his cheek, you nodded in agreement as a smile crept into your face. You were sure you would beam the same way Fleur had.

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x plus size reader #plus size reader #plus size fanfiction #harry potter x reader #harry potter x plus size reader #fred weasley #wizarding world #wizarding world x reader #wizarding world x plus size reader

[jaskiers-sweetkiss]

Ghost

Pairings: Daniel Sousa x Reader, Stucky

Summary: Y/N has had plenty of struggles in her life, from getting experimented on by Hydra to overcoming adversity in her male-dominated workplace. She assumes falling in love with her boss is just another complication in her series of misfortunes, but maybe it’s not as complicated as she thinks. 

Word Count: 6.4K

Warnings: mentions of experimentation/torture, mentions of war, mentions of societal homophobia, some swearing (steve drops a couple f bombs), potential spoilers for Agents of SHIELD 7x03 and 7x04 (i drew from the events but none of the AoS characters are in this fic)

a/n: This is technically a spinoff from Not So Bad and Out of Time - the reader has the same abilities but is just born in the same time period as Sousa and the rest rather than being stranded in the time period. However, this can be read as a stand-alone fic. See the end for additional notes!

___

It had been a few days since the base you had been held at had been filled with prisoners of war. You thought you’d heard one of them say they were from the 107th but that didn’t really mean much to you. Had they arrived months ago you might’ve found it a comfort to hear native English speakers and American accents, but now you only felt sad for their futures. Surely they’d only end up like you, or worse, like the ones who failed the experiments. 

You weren’t sure how long you’d been Hydra’s prisoner or how long you’d been the sole survivor, only that now you weren’t the only living experiment. A soldier, you didn’t know his name, had been strapped to a table nearby just hours after the prisoners arrived. You didn’t know what they had been injecting him with, only that he seemed to scream less than you had in your early days. But there must’ve been something special about him because only days later Captain America burst through the doors of the lab to rescue him. 

“I thought you were dead,” the superhero breathed out, gently stroking the side of the soldier’s face. 

“I thought you were smaller?” The soldier said, confused and delirious, likely a side effect of whatever drugs Hydra had been injecting him with. 

“C’mon, Bucky, I’m going to get you out of here.” Captain America promised the soldier, who was apparently named Bucky, as he tore his restraints and lifted him off the metal table. 

“Wait… Steve,” you heard Bucky gasp and he must’ve been pointing to you because seconds later Captain America was standing over you and tearing your restraints off as well. 

“Do you speak English?” He asked as you rubbed your wrists, free of any restraints for the first time in months. 

You nodded, unable to come up with a verbal response. You hadn’t spoken in months. Hydra never asked you questions and eventually, you had learned to hold in your screams of agony at each new round of experimentation. 

You followed the superhero and Bucky through the building, looking for a way out before the whole base exploded. You were following Bucky across a precariously hung beam when it fell, dropping you into the flames below. Except you never reached them, because somehow, someway, you were flying. You watched as Captain America jumped across the gap and he and Bucky shared a pained look at the gorge before he was urging them on. 

“We have to keep moving,” He said, voice breaking with what sounded to you like loss, but you didn’t understand what he had lost. 

You followed the pair out before the building exploded, staying close behind them through the chaos of the aftermath. The walk back to their base was even worse. It was long and grueling and you were exhausted and alone as none of the soldiers knew who you were. At one point Captain America began to cry. 

“Steve, Steve,” Bucky tried to reassure him, “It wasn’t your fault. There wasn’t anything you could do to help her.” 

You were puzzled. They hadn’t lost anyone since Captain America had found her and Bucky. It almost sounded like they were talking about here, but that was ridiculous, you’d been right behind them the whole time. 

You looked down at your feet in confusion which was when you realized, you didn’t have any feet. You didn’t have a body. You held back a scream at the realization and you began to panic, am I dead?

“What the hell was that?” Bucky gasped, clutching his ears at the high-pitched noise that had pierced the forest they were walking through. Evidently, you hadn’t held back that scream.

That was good news though, right? You thought if Bucky could hear you scream then that must mean you weren’t dead. 

It didn’t take them long to find you, though it took much longer for them to see you. Almost immediately after your scream alerted them of your presence Captain America walked right into you. It took a bit longer for you to convince them that you weren’t a threat, in fact, it took much longer than the trip back to their camp to do that. For the time being, however, they made sure you were in physical contact with someone in the group at all times (one of the soldiers had suggested they use some rope to attach one of your wrists to one of them or one of their packs but you had freaked out at the thought of being restrained again). You stuck to Captain America, who’s real name you learned was Steve, and Bucky for the majority of the walk, though you couldn’t help but feel like you were in the middle of something. 

The atmosphere surrounding you became more hostile when you arrived at their camp. Colonel Phillips was not thrilled to have an invisible Hydra experiment lose on his base. Fortunately, albeit somewhat surprising, Bucky vouched for you and while Phillips was convinced that you could be an asset, you were still not trusted and deemed Bucky’s responsibility. It was a bit insulting, you were a grown woman after all, but you appreciated having someone to turn to. You’d been removed from the world for a while now and quite frankly had no idea what was going on with your body at this point. 

Things had become even more confusing when you returned to visibility a few days after reaching the camp. Phillips was glad that he didn’t have to worry about invisible Nazis anymore (though he still thought you might be a Nazi) and you thought Bucky was glad he didn’t have to babysit you as closely anymore. When your visibility returned you were immediately taken under the wings of Agent Peggy Carter and Howard Stark, who were apparently the resident “superhero experts” in Stark’s words. Agent Carter began training you in hand-to-hand combat immediately and enlisted some of the Howling Commandos to assist you with weapons training. Howard began a series of tests in hopes of understanding exactly what Hydra had done to you. 

His results weren’t perfectly conclusive and you didn’t really understand most of his science-talk, but apparently, Hydra had managed to alter your body chemistry, allowing your cells to become completely undetectable by light and had somehow managed to change the way gravity affected your body, which is why you had been able to fly and become invisible. Once Howard’s tests had yielded this information, you began additional training to attempt to learn to control your new powers. 

It was grueling and difficult, but after a few months, you finally felt like you had control over your new abilities, and with your loyalties to the Allies seemingly proven, Colonel Phillips seemed willing to send you out on assignment. 

“Hey, Ghost!” Morita called out as you exited the building where Peggy had been conducting your training. “Let’s go!”

Sometime after your return to base, Dum Dum Dugan had made a comment about how you were “like a ghost” with your invisibility and flying and the nickname had stuck, with the Howling Commandos all using it to refer to you. 

“Go where?” 

“Howlies briefing in five, we gotta go,” he said urgently, waving you along. 

“C’mon, Jimmy, you know I’m not actually a Howling Commando,” you sighed, annoyed. You were exhausted and sweaty from your training and all you wanted was to hit the showers and get some dinner. 

“Well I think you’re about to become one, Phillips cleared you for combat and Rogers requested your presence.” 

“Wait, seriously?” You couldn’t believe your ears. The Howling Commandos specialized in taking out Hydra, something you were eager to help with given everything they had done to you.

“Yes, seriously,” Morita sighed exasperatedly, “Now get a move on or we’ll be late!” 

You did become an official member of the Howling Commandos that day, though the team had treated you like one of their own from the moment they had formed. Your first mission with the unit was to infiltrate a train and capture Dr. Arnim Zola, the man responsible for your experimentation. Though, much to your disappointment, your job wasn’t to capture the doctor but to distract the guards long enough for Gabe Jones to do the job. The assignment seemed simple enough, and you were grateful for the Howlies’ confidence in theirs and your abilities.  

When you returned to your bunk after your shower you were greeted by Peggy and Howard, both of whom were sporting wide grins. You eyed them warily, never quite sure what the pair had up their sleeves but this time it turned out to be something good. 

“We thought you might need this for your assignment tomorrow,” Peggy said in her clipped accent, handing over a stack of fabric. 

You unfolded it to find a combat suit. It was made of a similar material to Captain America’s, but rather than the signature red, white, and blue, yours was mostly grey and black (Peggy explained that they wanted it to be white but thought it would dirty too easily) with the yellow winged insignia of the Howling Commandos on the shoulder. It was perfect and you told them such, which only made their smiles grow impossibly wider. Then, Peggy handed you one more gift: a dress that she insisted you change into immediately as you were going out tonight to celebrate. You spent the night drinking, laughing, and dancing with Peggy, Howard, and the Howlies.

The mission the next day was a success. You, Steve, and Bucky had managed to take out the guards with ease, though you had almost lost Bucky. A blast from one of the Hydra agents had blown open the side of the train and Bucky had almost fallen out of it as Steve took out the final agent. Fortunately, before Bucky’s grip even began to slip you were there, holding him up just enough for Steve to grasp his hand and pull him back onto the train, you flying in shortly after. It was your first of many successful missions with the Howlies. 

A few months later you almost lost Steve. The Howlies had been joined by the US Army for what they had hoped would be their last mission against Hydra- an attack on Schmidt’s final hideout in the Alps.  They managed to infiltrate and capture the base with relative ease but Schmidt was able to escape on a plane with Captain America in tow. You stood beside Peggy in the base’s command center as she spoke to Steve who had now gained control of the aircraft. 

“I have to put her in the water,” Steve said, his voice echoing into the sudden silence of the room, “I don’t know how to override the coordinates.” 

“Would you like to learn how?” Howard asked into the speaker. 

With Howard’s help, Steve was able to reroute the plane, landing back safely in the Alps where he was greeted by a bone-crushing hug from Bucky and the rest of the Howlies. 

___

After the war, you, Steve, and Bucky returned to the States while the rest of the Howlies remained in Europe as a tactical unit for the 107th. Though you were stateside, the three of you had made it clear that you weren’t severing ties with the Howlies and would be in Europe as quickly as possible whenever you were needed. 

Upon your return to the US, Howard made sure to set you up with adequate housing, a small (by Howard’s standards) townhouse only a few blocks from the New York office of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, which you had come to work for along with Steve and Peggy. Steve was only ever brought in when additional force was necessary, preferring to spend as much time as possible with Bucky. You would’ve found this odd had you not accidentally walked in on the two passionately making out the day the war was announced to be over. Before the war, you might’ve thought something like that was abnormal or wrong, but after everything the SSR and Hydra had done, Steve and Bucky being in love was probably the most normal thing about them and you certainly weren’t going to judge them for it. 

Unlike Steve, you joined the SSR full time as an agent. You had been expecting to see plenty of action in the field, though hopefully nothing quite as dangerous as the war. Instead, you were mostly confined to desk duty: filing reports and getting lunch orders along with Peggy. It was beyond infuriating to see the agent who had trained you and whom you admired so much be pushed off to the sidelines because she was a woman. Your own abilities only made matters worse for yourself. While Steve was praised for his enhanced abilities, yours were viewed as a mistake- women weren’t fit for combat, let alone superpowers. Some of the men of the SSR even had the audacity to act like you had stolen the opportunity to gain abilities from a more worthy man, as if getting your abilities wasn’t a traumatic experience you still dealt with to this day. Nevertheless, you made do. Everyday trying to convince yourself that you were making a difference even from your desk but most days you regretted not staying with the Howlies. 

You had been considering leaving the SSR to rejoin the Howlies when one of Howard’s vaults was robbed. His inventions were stolen and the inventor became a fugitive. To save face you were forced to move out of your beautiful house, though only temporarily, but you began working with Peggy behind the backs of the SSR and outside of the law to clear your friend’s name. At least you were finally getting some action in the field. And when you and Peggy were able to bring in the Howlies for help on an assignment you thought you’d finally start getting some recognition, but the men continued to undermine you both. Even after you saved the world from Leviathan Jack Thompson was given the credit and all you and Peggy were left with was the respect of a few agents. 

One such agent was Agent Daniel Sousa, though you felt that you had his respect long before Leviathan. Though he wasn’t ever very vocal about the injustices you faced in the office, he seemed to empathize with you. Like you, he was an abnormality in the field with his prosthetic. The other agents tended to treat him like he was broken or delicate, which sometimes limited his fieldwork, though never to the extent of yours. 

“Hey! Invisi-Girl, let's get a move on!” Thompson called from the entrance to the bullpen, where he and Peggy were waiting. You had finally been invited to celebratory drinks with the other agents, though you weren’t sure you really enjoyed their company. 

“God I miss the Howlies,” you groaned, Dum Dum Dugan’s nicknames might’ve been cheesy but at least they weren’t bad. You had hated Ghost at first, but now you’d do anything to have the nickname back. 

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you spent time with the Howling Commandos blah blah, let’s go.” Thompson rolled his eyes and you froze in the middle of the bullpen. 

“Wait, is that what you all think?” You asked, eyes narrowing. “That I ‘spent time’ with the Howlies?” 

“Yeah, just like Carter did. Why does this matter?” Thompson was impatient but you were stubborn and there wasn’t a chance you were leaving this building until this was cleared up. 

“You dumbass.” You snarked and you heard some of the men gasp at your vulgarity. “I am a Howling Commando.” 

“They don’t let women into combat.” You heard a man say and you laughed. 

“I was the SSR’s greatest asset behind Captain America.” You rolled your eyes, momentarily going invisible to remind everyone what you were capable of. “Why do you think I came here afterward? So you could waste my talents fetching coffee?” 

You scoffed at their silence before catching Peggy’s eye. She was smirking proudly at you and you grinned back, slinging your jacket over your shoulders and walking purposefully to her side. You slipped your arm through hers and looked expectantly at Thompson,

“Well? Let’s go.” You said, staring at him as if he had grown a third head, though he was giving you an even more peculiar look. 

The next day you put in a request to transfer to the new West Coast office.

___

LA was the fresh start you needed. Steve and Bucky had flown out with you to help you get settled in your new place, once again supplied by Howard, that man really had too much real estate. Peggy couldn’t get the time off to come with but you made sure to send her a postcard. Howard was moving too, apparently sick of New York after the Leviathan incident. 

You had a new home, a new city, and a new job so imagine your surprise when you walked into the West Coast office of the SSR only to run into Daniel Sousa, literally. 

“Agent Sousa, what’re you doing here?”

“I’m the new chief.” He answered, looking at you strangely and you suppose that’s information you should’ve known but nobody had told you and you hadn’t asked. 

“You’re the…” you muttered, filing through it all in your head. “Well, congratulations. I didn’t realize anyone else was transferring from New York.”

“I believe it’s just you, me, and Rose,” Sousa said and you beamed.

“Oh, Rose is here? That’s fantastic.” 

Sousa raised his eyebrow curiously though he smiled slightly. He looked adorable. “You had no idea what you were getting into did you?”

“To be honest I was just anxious to get away from New York.” You admitted and he frowned. 

“You dislike the city that much?”

“I love the city, just not the way the office is run. I was hoping a brand new office might be more open to change but…” you trailed off, managing to communicate your fear that things would be the same under Sousa that they were back East without speaking. 

Sousa at least had the mind to look offended. 

“Agent Y/L/N, I have a lot of respect for you and I don’t plan on sidelining you like Jack,” he explained. 

“Well then, this might be a worthwhile endeavor after all,” you smiled, “Lead the way.”

LA was a dream. The constant sunshine was such a mood lifter and the heat meant a more relaxed dress code at the office. Not that you were spending as much time in the office these days. Daniel had been true to his word about not benching you. In fact, you became the first pick for field assignments. Daniel seemed readily able to acknowledge and exploit the advantages you had in the field. No one would suspect a woman to hold a government position, let alone be a field agent so men continued to underestimate you at every turn. And even when a man was smart enough (or more likely you were dealing with a woman) you had a few extra tricks up your sleeve. Daniel had even taken to joining you in the field on many occasions. You had become partners of sorts. You did plenty of solo assignments, but if you ever needed backup Sousa was always the one watching your six. He never assigned any other agents to work with you, always insisting to do so himself. 

In addition to a more fulfilling work life, your social life was quite enjoyable as well. Whether you liked it or not, Howard was often insistent on dragging you to party after party and you found you quite enjoyed spending time with Ana Jarvis, though you weren’t all that surprised given how fond you were of her husband. 

Your love life was a little lackluster, though that wasn’t anything new for you. You’d had a few prospects before being literally kidnapped during the war but after your rescue, you had dedicated yourself to the cause. Even now you threw yourself into your work, turning down every attempt at matchmaking Howard tried. You had more important things to worry about than finding a man, you rationalized, but perhaps you were also waiting for a certain someone. 

You had told Bucky straight away- panicked and looking for advice on what to do when you had a crush on your superior. 

“I don’t know,” he had told you, “Steve and I were already in a fully committed relationship when he became mine.” 

You had just groaned and whined more about your situation while your friend laughed from the other side of the phone. 

“You’re no help.” You pouted and Bucky laughed some more. 

“Sorry, doll,” you could practically hear him shrug through the phone and you let out a resigned sigh. 

“Is that Ghost?” You heard a voice ask in the background and you smiled lightly at the nickname. 

“Yeah, but-” Bucky had started speaking but was cut off. You heard a scuffle and muffled shouting through the receiver before a new voice rang through. 

“Hey Y/N it’s Steve,” he spoke pleasantly, as if he hadn’t just wrestled his boyfriend for the phone. 

“Hi Stevie, how are ya?” 

You told Steve about your predicament as well, there wasn’t any harm in it. Bucky was the one who would tease you endlessly about it, but Steve was a softie. 

“Dan’s a nice guy,” Steve had said empathetically, “You could’ve picked a lot worse.” 

“Yes, but Steve I can’t pick Daniel.” You griped petulantly. “He’s my boss.” 

“Y/N, if I can date a man then you can date your fucking boss,” Steve said flatly, clearly done putting up with your bullshit. 

“Language, Cap!” You gasped, scandalized. Steve had scolded Gabe one time for swearing in the field and the Howlies had never let him live it down since. 

“Oh fuck off,” Steve groaned and you laughed. “Now stop whining like a child and go get your man.” You could hear Bucky whoop from the other end of the phone at Steve’s words.

You laughed at the pair and agreed, no more moping. You’d ask him out the next day at work.

___

You did not ask him out the next day at work. You had marched right up to Daniel’s office to ask and were brought to an abrupt stop because Peggy Carter was standing in the office. 

“Peggy!” You had squealed excitedly, any thought of asking Daniel out completely thrown from your mind at the sight of your friend. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“Well, it was all rather last minute, really.”  

Daniel cleared his throat, “Agent Y/L/N, could you give us a minute?” 

You furrowed your brows at the use of your formal title, the two of you were long past using titles. You’d been partners for more than a year now, you were on a first-name basis. 

“Sure, chief,” you said, playing along though you gave him a confused look. 

The longer you stood in the bullpen the more anxious you became. Back in New York you had heard Thompson mock Daniel for the torch he supposedly carried for Peggy. Maybe Peggy had feelings for him too and she had finally come to confess them. That was why they had rushed you out of the office so quickly. 

After about five minutes you realized you were probably supposed to be doing your job and made your way over to your desk. You had paperwork that needed to be completed from your last assignment but you couldn’t keep your mind off Daniel and Peggy long enough to complete it. Your stomach turned as you tried to push away the thoughts of what they could be doing in there, it had been nearly a half hour now. 

You were considering going downstairs to talk to Rose, anything for a distraction, when Peggy emerged from the office. She smiled kindly at you as she made her way over to your desk, her purposeful stride reaching you in seconds. You knew that smile, the one that looked sincere but there was a seriousness in her eyes that you could pick out. There was more to her arrival here than meets the eye and she was trying to keep up appearances.

“We need to talk,” she said quietly but firmly when she reached your desk. “In private.” 

You nodded, standing immediately and grabbing your purse. 

“My place.” 

None of the agents questioned your sudden exit. You were the branch’s top field agent and were often leaving with no warning to act on hunches or investigate for your current assignment. The drive to your house was tense. Peggy made no attempts to make small talk and you were quite upset with her for the scenario your mind had made up about her and Daniel in the office.

Peggy did smile when she stepped into your new home, it was the first time she had seen it as she had stayed with the Jarvis’ last time she was in town. Howard, who had once again taken care of your housing situation, had described it as “small” though you knew that was just his rich bullshit talking, the place was much too big for a single working woman but you weren’t complaining. Ana had helped you decorate as you had neither the time or mindset to do it yourself and she had been very eager to assist. 

Though she seemed fond of Ana’s decor choices, Peggy still didn’t speak until the two of you were seated across from one another at the kitchen table.

“What is all this, Peg?” You asked warily.

“I want to replace the SSR.” The way she said it, all rushed and quiet as if she were committing treason, chilled you.

“Excuse me?” You blinked in shock.

“The SSR hasn’t been nearly as effective as it could be and I’d like to replace it with something bigger and better,” she explained and you frowned at her in confusion.

“Replace it with what?” The SSR was the only organization of its kind in the States.

“The Strategic Homeland Intervention and Enforcement Logistics Division.” 

“SHIELD?” You questioned, figuring out the acronym, “As in like Steve’s…?” 

Peggy nodded, flushing at the obviousness of it and you laughed. 

“So what would the Strategic Homeland Intervention... whatever, do?” You asked, struggling through the title before giving up. 

“Well, the idea is to be a shield to the world,” she began and you smiled at the pun.

“The world as we know it is changing, we’ve seen super soldiers, women who can turn invisible, atom bombs, Hydra, Leviathan, Whitney Frost, the list goes on and on. The goal of SHIELD is to be on the frontlines, keeping track of dangerous tech like the gravitonium and ensuring it stays out of the wrong hand, to protect the world from the next threat.” 

You could tell Peggy was passionate about this and it sparked something inside you as well.

“We want you to be a part of it.” Peggy said finally, rounding out her pitch.

“We?” You questioned, previously unaware that this went past just Peggy.

“Colonel Phillips, Howard, Steve, and I have been working on it for some months now,” she admitted and you fought back the hurt that your friends had been keeping such a huge secret from you. 

“Well, obviously I’m in,” you responded, no doubt in your mind that you would follow these people to the ends of the earth, “But, I’m a field agent, Peg.” 

She smirked at that. 

“Oh, I know you are.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she spoke and you couldn’t help but question it.

“What the hell does that mean?” 

“Oh, Agent Sousa has done an excellent job of making sure everyone in New York knows just how good of a field agent you are,” she smiled and though you still didn’t understand, you could feel your heart warm. “‘Accidentally’ sending reports to the wrong agents, putting in the wrong extension number to speak to Thompson. Every agent in that office knows you’re unquestionably the best field agent the SSR has.” 

“Why would he do that?” You questioned quietly, not really meaning to ask it aloud. 

“He was defending your honor,” Peggy answered anyway, smiling softly at you, “I do believe the poor man has a bit of a thing for you.” 

Your heart leapt at the assumption. Sure, you thought you had seen the signs yourself but that was nothing compared to the outside affirmation Peggy had just given you. Daniel Sousa may very well like you back. 

“So what did the two of you have to discuss in his office?” You asked, attempting to hold back your jealousy, still not sure where Peggy stood with Daniel. 

You evidently hadn’t done a good enough job as your friend smirked knowingly before answering, “I was just bringing him into SHIELD.” 

___

Despite your revelation that the feelings you held for Daniel were mutual, it seemed the two of you couldn’t catch a break. Though SHIELD had become a great success, it had separated the two of you. Daniel had been sent to the Area 51 base to supervise the tech innovations and training that went on there while you had remained in LA, taking over as the head of the west coast division of SHIELD. You rarely spoke on the phone, let alone saw each other, both too busy with your new tasks in this brand new organization. 

You did hear from Peggy more, as Director of SHIELD she was in frequent contact with you, ensuring that everything was running smoothly and delivering orders on how to improve. You heard more from Steve and Bucky as well, as they were now heading SHIELD’s training facility, Camp Lehigh. As your branch continued to grow you often communicated with them about sending new agents and giving them progress reports about the new recruits you occasionally supervised. Of course, you did also use these phone calls and cross-country business trips to catch up with your dear friends. 

However it wasn’t until years later that you got a glimpse at Daniel Sousa again. Peggy had sent you to Nevada to help on a new project the scientists there had been working on. As director she was too busy to make it herself but Project Helius was apparently a big deal and you were sent to inspect it on her behalf. 

You hadn’t even thought about him when Peggy had given you the order. You were so caught up in making sure your second-in-command had everything under control in LA and stressing over the pressure of representing the literal Director of SHIELD that Daniel Sousa didn’t even cross your mind until he stepped out of his office and into the hallway you were in. You had frozen immediately, your feelings rushing back to you at the sight of him.

“Daniel,” you managed to get out through the breath that was caught in your throat, though your words came out as barely a whisper. 

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” He questioned, brows furrowing as he looked at you in confusion. 

“Peggy sent me,” you answered, the need for professionalism forcing you to regain your composure. “I’m part of the team inspecting Project Helius.” 

Daniel winced at the mention of the project. 

“What’s the matter?” You asked warily, suddenly wondering what Peggy had gotten you into. 

“Nothing, it’s just, well- let’s talk in here.” He gestured to his office and you followed him inside. 

He explained to you all about how Helius was a dud, nothing on earth was strong enough to power the damn thing. However, that was only the surface of Daniel’s troubles. He confided in you his fear that SHIELD had been infiltrated and you suddenly knew the real reason Peggy had sent you: to finish what you had started with the Howlies by taking down Hydra. 

So you stayed in Nevada past the inspection of Helius, helping Daniel with his off the books investigations. Quickly falling back into your routine as partners, you followed him into the field to deliver a piece of tech to Howard. It was a simple enough task: take the train to LA, make the hand off with one of Howard’s assistants, and go home. 

The train ride was blessedly uneventful and you were thankful for the time to just sit and catch up with Daniel. So much had happened in your lives since the formation of SHIELD. You had almost forgotten the warmth you felt at the mention of his name or the sound of his voice or the sight of his face, but it all came rushing back to you. Though you didn’t act on it. It had been years, you had no way of knowing if he still felt the same way for you as you did for him. 

The handoff itself had been simple. You had gone Ghost as the assistant had only been expecting Daniel, but you remained by his side the entire time, refusing to leave even though he insisted he was fine. You had never been more thankful for your stubbornness. On his way out of the building after completing the handoff Daniel was followed by a Hydra agent. His gun was trained at the back of your partner’s head and had you not stepped in you would’ve watched him die that day. But you were there to protect him, always watching his six just as he watched yours. You engaged the agent, your invisibility catching him by surprise and allowing you to throw off his aim but the gun still fired. You watched your partner drop to the ground before you could disarm your opponent and knock him unconscious. 

You were by Daniel’s side in an instant, sure he was dying before your eyes until you turned him over and saw that the wound was through his abdomen. It was a clean shot, the bullet having gone all the way through the man; you had seen Peggy sustain a similar injury from Whitney Frost years ago. 

Daniel had readily insisted “No hospitals” (not that you were planning to do so, who knew what Hydra had access to) so you called the first person you could think of. Jarvis picked up on the second ring and was on his way to The Roosevelt immediately. You were thankful Daniel hadn’t bled out by the time you reached your home. Jarvis stayed to help you stitch up Daniel’s wounds and made sure to remind you that he was only a phone call away before leaving the two of you. It wasn’t until after Daniel was stable and Jarvis had gone that the adrenaline wore off and the shock of what had happened hit you. 

Daniel had nearly died. 

“Y/N are you alright?” 

You hadn’t even realized you were crying until he spoke but his concern sent sobs wracking through you. He slowly reached a hand out to rest comfortingly on your shoulder, bridging the gap between the guest bed and the chair you had moved to his bedside, intending to keep watch over him. 

“I thought you were dead,” you gasped out through your sobs and you felt Daniel shudder. “I thought I lost you.” 

You were petrified. Lost in your fear of losing the man you had come to care so much about. 

“But you didn’t,” Daniel said softly but with conviction, “You saved my life Y/N.” 

You sniffled as you looked up at him, your eyes red and puffy from the tears. 

“Well I couldn’t just let you die,” you scoffed, trying to cover up your embarrassment at your breakdown. “You’re my partner; I love you.” 

Daniel’s hand stiffened on your shoulder and you tensed up immediately, your entire body becoming rigid. The words had just slipped out. You hadn’t even realized your feelings ran that deep yet there you were confessing them. 

“W-what?” Daniel stuttered out after a few excruciating moments of silence. 

“I- I’ve had feelings for you for quite some time now,” you admitted, burying your face in your hands once more, unable to look at the man. “B-but there was never a good time… and I didn’t mean for it to come out this way- and-” 

“Y/N,” Daniel interrupted you, reaching farther to hold the side of your face, tilting it up to look at him. “I love you too.” 

“Y-you do?” 

You could hardly believe your ears or eyes as he nodded. 

“I’ve had feelings for you since New York,” he admitted and tears sprung to your eyes again. 

His eyes immediately filled with concern at the sight of the tears and you brought your hand to cover his as he brushed them away with his thumb. 

“They’re happy tears,” you reassured him as you scooted your chair closer to the bed so he wouldn’t have to strain so far to reach you. 

He smiled a bit at that and tried to sit up in the bed. You quickly put an end to that, not wanting him to do anything that might irritate his wound or rip his stitches. You stood from your chair, adjusting his pillows so that they propped him up slightly against the headboard. Once you were finished you looked down at the man and you could’ve sworn your heart stopped at the look he was giving you, it was so full of tenderness and love you thought you might start crying again. You welcomed the hand he placed on your cheek again, slowly guiding your face down to meet his. 

The first kiss was brief, full of hesitation and gentleness but you were certain you felt fireworks. He pulled away after only a moment but you weren’t willing to let him go far, surging forward to reconnect your lips in a longer second kiss. This kiss was considerably more passionate, as if you were both trying to communicate the intensity of your feelings without words; you knew words would never be able to do it justice. You could’ve stayed there kissing for hours but your back began to ache from leaning over the bed and you knew Daniel needed to rest in order for his wound to heal so you pulled away, thumb coming down to lightly stroke his cheek. 

“As amazing as that was,” you sighed breathily before straightening up. “You need to rest.” 

“I’m not sure how you can expect me to rest after a kiss like that,” Daniel responded cheekily and you laughed as you made your way to the door. 

“Do your best,” you smirked, hand hovering over the light switch as you stood in the doorway, “Goodnight, Daniel.” 

___

a/n: This is both longer than I had originally intended it to be and took longer than I originally planned it to. Nevertheless, my 1940s!Reader x Sousa au is here! Let me know what you think! Feedback is always appreciated! Also, I’m starting a taglist so let me know if you’d like to be tagged in any of my future works!

Taglist: @hi-this-is-my-brain​

#daniel sousa #daniel sousa x reader #reader x daniel sousa #daniel sousa fic #SHIELD #avengers #mcu #marvel #powered!reader #hydra #bucky barnes #steve rogers #stucky #howling commandos #howlies #dum dum dugan #james morita #gabe jones #peggy carter #howard stark #jarvis #edwin jarvis #ana jarvis #ssr #strategic scientific reserve #jack thompson

[succulentsunrise]

Where the Fire Lilies Grow

Content: SFW!

It’s time for the Royal Knights Exam! This was supposed to be just one chapter, but it stretched into two...I’ll have the second one ready soon 😅 

In the next one there will be a mention of another person’s amazing and beautiful OC and some more hints towards Mereoleona!! I’m very excited for it!! 

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Chapter 3: The Tribulations

“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love.”

Leo Tolstoy

The days following the announcement of the Royal Knights exam were filled with hustle and bustle. Every participant was training rigorously amidst their normal missions, and Tani was no exception. Since the exam was to be held in the same amphitheater as the Magic Knight entrance exams, she assumed it was going to be a series of duels. This meant she had to win a fight against someone on her own. Common bandits were not a problem for Tani - her skill with a sword came most often as a surprise to them, and she usually had one or two of Luka’s sculpted jackals helping her. In addition, she had been practising binding magic recently in hopes of being able to at least contain people. The situation was different with another Magic Knight though. She knew three other knights from Azure Deer were participating: Fragil, Francis and Eric. If she had to go against them, she would be in trouble. Fragil’s snow magic was a captivating trap that dulled the senses, but could also be used for healing. If the battle would prolong with both of them trying to recover from each other’s blows, the gentle snow mage would likely take the win. Tani did not have as much mana as her. Eric, on the other hand, was an offensive sand mage. Tani had only occasionally seen the brunette man - he was as distant as most Azure Deer’s knights - but she knew that his magic could be surprisingly quick. It could drain some magic attributes, making it possible for him to kill the plants she’d conjure. She’d have the easiest time going against Francis - his attribute was water, which he manipulated for fluid movement and powerful torrents. She hoped she wouldn’t have to go against them. Her every night was restless that week, bouncing between aching muscles, worrisome scenarios and - and Mereoleona Vermillion, the intriguing new captain of the Crimson Lion Kings. Tani knew no one from the squad, and she dared not to inquire too much from Icree. She hadn’t even gotten one glance of the woman since the festival. Of course, she denied to herself that the walks to the capital would have had anything to do with catching a glimpse. Of course not. She just had grown bored of walking in the forest.

On the day of the exam, Tani walked the familiar cobbled streets of her hometown towards the amphitheater. She had not mentioned the exam to her family in her last letter. She selfishly wanted to tell them only after she knew if she was picked or not. If she wasn’t chosen, why worry them with news of such a dangerous mission? If she was - well, then she’d have to hope they’d understand. As Tani entered the stone amphitheater, she could hear the murmurs of people talking to each other. There was quite the crowd. Knights from all squads were gathered to participate. Royals, nobles and commoners, all wanting to unite for protecting the realm. Tani moved to the sides, her gaze searching for Fragil. Eventually her eyes landed on a group of people standing together: a black-haired woman dressed in a long, white dress with another dark-haired man, all clothed in black tunic and a long cape. Next to them was a brunette man with an aqua-coloured tunic. Fragil waved to her happily, while Francis and Eric merely nodded.

“I’m glad you came as well,” Fragil said softly, her smile honest and cheerful.

Eric looked less happy next to her. His round features were rather sullen, as if he wanted to be elsewhere. Tani couldn’t blame him. They all knew each other, but only on the level of acquaintances.

“”Do you know what kind of an exam it’s going to be?” Tani asked, answering the smile nervously.

All three of them shook their heads.

“I don’t have the faintest clue,” Fragil admitted, looking around. “Nor have I heard anyone else mention anything either.”

They looked around themselves, as if they could find some kind of a sign that would tell them what they’d have to do. They found none - however, a voice coming from the balcony snapped them all to attention. The Wizard King Julius Novachrono had appeared on a balcony. By him was one of his advisors, the serious-looking Marx Francois. His appearance and name were the only things Tani really knew about him. He was a man, shorter than the Wizard King, with light blue bangs and hair cupping his face. He was often by the Wizard King’s side, aiding him with the matters of the realm. Behind the two, the Royal King Augustus Kira Clover XIII stepped forward. Tani’s eyes narrowed. She could not understand why the man forced his way into this, as it was none of his business. Everyone knew the Wizard King was behind all of this.

“The exam will consist of a team competition!” the King announced pompously, his voice echoing from the walls. “The rules are simple: protect your own team’s crystal and destroy the other team’s crystal. The first team to do this wins!”

Tani glanced at the others in surprise. A team competition? It made no sense to her. If they wanted teams, they should’ve told the squads to send teams. As the King hesitated to tell the reason for that, Julius Novachrono stepped in.

“In battles against the Eye of the Midnight Sun, brigades will have to work together,” he explained calmly. “We thought this would be the best way to measure cooperation and strategy skills.”

Tani shifted nervously. She wasn’t a strategist by any means, she had always let Icree do it for her. Now it came to stab her in the back, metaphorically. She knew very little people outside of her own squad, and had not needed to often cooperate with them in battle. She wished Icree would have been there. The advisor of the King moved his hand and conjured a giant screen with grouped up names, clearly visible for everyone in the amphitheatre. Tani’s gaze jumped from group to group, seeking her own name. It took her a while to find it among the others.

[Adrastea Dnia Gamma Roon Tani Chartreuse]

Somewhere next to her, Fragil sighed.

“It seems that I am with the Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn,” she said quietly, her voice a little worried.

“You’ll do great,” Tani reassured her, searching for Fragil’s name.

It seemed indeed that she was teamed up with a vice-captain. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. She might get far, but it would be easy to be overshadowed by someone so capable. Tani was a little bit jealous, but pushed it deep down. She’d rise on her own, without any help. A little farther away, Eric scoffed, still squinting at the screen. Tani was fairly certain he didn’t know his teammates any more than she knew her own. Francis was turning around to go search for his own party.

“Well, I got to go find mine. See you later,” she wished her squadmates, beginning her own search.

It was a rather drawn out search, even when people started finding their own groups. Eventually, however, Tani was able to find the two others. Gamma was a tall, young man with a blonde undercut. His posture was rather relaxed, and he greeted them in a friendly and excited fashion. Covering his black turtleneck was the red, billowing cloak of the Crimson Lion Kings. He was certainly younger than Tani, though she wasn’t sure if he would be even younger than Kliodna. Adrastea was a much more quiet person, barely talking to them. She wore her white hair on a high, tight bun, as if in contrast to her more comfortable clothes. The blue cloak of the Blue Roses was complemented by a white tank top and dark blue harem pants. Her glare seemed to be specifically directed at the member of the Crimson Lion Kings.

“Ready to do your best?” Gamma asked them cheerfully, balancing on one leg.

Tani could only assume that the strange standing position was to relieve stress.

“Yeah,” she answered, glancing over to Adrastea.

The white-haired woman simply nodded. There was certain wariness to her, and based on the glare, Tani had a feeling it was about Gamma. The Blue Roses prided themselves on showing that they were strong women - emphasis being on “women”. Tani could only hope Adrastea wasn’t one of the more extreme members that refused any help from men, or otherwise the team would fall apart quickly.  

“As long as we all work together and figure out--” she started, but was cut off by the appearance of large double doors, made by a nearby spatial mage.

It was apparent it had taken them a little bit too long to find each other, and so they had missed a valuable part of talking and strategizing. Tani bit her lip nervously, but turned towards the doors. It seemed like they were going to go elsewhere for the battles. It made sense - the amphitheater was way too small for trying to protect a crystal from a whole other team. Tani and her team went into the line, glancing at each other still a little warily.

“I’m certain we’ll get far,” Gamma proclaimed confidently, seemingly having no worries.

It made Tani a little worried, but she walked with them through the doors. What opened before the group was a large roof of some kind of a building, and below it a field of grass, ruins and sand. On its northern side was a coastal region with water, and to the east a thick forest. The ground was elevated on both the western and eastern side, where two large crystals could be seen floating in the air.

“This battlefield has a wide range of different areas,” the Wizard King proclaimed, appearing last through the doors. “Use them to display your powers to the fullest!”

Tani noticed a glint of excitement in his eyes, though his expression was a calm one. Behind him, another screen appeared: the tournament chart. Her team was on the last round, facing people she knew nothing of. However, should they manage to win that one, she would be going against Eric’s team. She glanced at the two other members of her team carefully.

“Hey, what are your magic attributes?” Tani asked quietly, trying to formulate a plan as the first battle preparations were beginning.

“Ah, well,” Gamma hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. “Magma. It’s a little volatile still and I don’t have perfect control of it, but it packs a punch.”

Adrastea clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

“My specialty is highly controlled strikes,” she informed them. “My attribute is silk.”

“Well, we are a somewhat rounded team then,” Tani said quickly, not liking the slightly hostile attitude of the other woman. “Mine is plants, and I specialize in supporting other people. I can help you with control or simply augment your abilities.”

“Don’t worry, with the recent training with our new Captain, I can work with my powers much better!” Gamma exclaimed happily, clearly unbothered by Adrastea’s disapproval. “Even if I never managed to reach the hot springs in time…”

“Hot springs?” Tani questioned, raising an eyebrow at the statement.

She wasn’t aware there were any hot springs in the vicinity. The younger man didn’t answer, however, as his attention was stolen by the battle that had begun below. The other team seemed to be barraged with long range attacks without a way to properly dodge them.

“Is it possible for us to do something like that? Long range?” Tani asked the other two. “I can increase your reach, if you have good aim.”

Adrastea shook her head.

“I fight in close-quarters. Don’t you have something like that yourself?” the white-haired woman asked, nodding below.

It was clear she meant one of the other participants, who also used plant magic. Mimosa Vermillion was one of the royals, as evident by her bright orange hair. Her magic was very praised for its healing capabilities, and not without a reason - she had gotten to the Golden Dawn, after all. It seemed like she had some offensive spells as well, as a giant flower with pink blooms had formed behind her. The young girl was shooting missiles of mana out of it while protecting the flower and determining the position of their enemies. A small feeling of envy twisted inside of Tani. Royals really were on a whole other level.

“No,” she replied.

Adrastea looked to her for an explanation, but Tani gave none. She did not feel like explaining to her group that she couldn’t even shoot a concentrated missile.

“I can throw quite a bit, but my aim’s wonky,” Gamma confessed, balancing once more on one leg. “The crystal’s big though. If I can get one hit in, it might be enough to break it.”

“Great,” Adrastea commented sarcastically. “Rely on the unreliable.”

“Hey, if you have a better idea, shoot ahead.”

Gamma’s voice was a little sharper now, causing Tani a budding headache. These two would butt heads sooner or later.

“We should go quickly to their crystal, and I will cut it with my silk,” Adrastea stated, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, uh, did you look at who we are against?” Gamma laughed, the sarcasm starting to seep into his tone. “Weiss has air affinity. She is going to be on us before you get there.”

“How about we combine your ideas?” Tani suggested tiredly.

The two others turned to her with a questioning gaze.

“We’ll start with long range attacks. I’ll try to help Gamma with aiming, while Adrastea, you’ll protect our crystal. I will give your mana detection a little boost. If only this Weiss comes closer, leave the protection to me and head for their crystal. If they all come close to us, we’ll move as a group and I’ll support you two as you destroy their crystal.”

“I don’t have a lot of protective spells,” Adrastea warned quietly.

Still, she and Gamma seemed to be considering the suggestion. Tani had no idea if it would actually work, but if it made the two of them work together, it would be the best thing they had. Below, the battles were continuing. It was intriguing to see so many different kinds of magic. She had always listened half-heartedly to Icree talking and describing how important it was to recognize and read mana patterns, but here Tani was simply blown away. The difference between a commoner and a royal seemed so vast. Every show of great power made her more and more nervous, forcing her to fiddle with her fingers. Even Fragil’s team’s battle was short and simple, with the dark-haired Azure Deer member having very little to do. The vice-captain of Golden Dawn, Langris Vaude, took care of it with only one spatial spell. It was a terrifying gap in ability in Tani’s eyes. It was shocking enough for her to ignore the fact that her own captain, Rill, was taking part in the competition. It took Gamma’s repeated questions to snap her out of her frozen state.

“Isn’t that your captain? You know, if we win, you might have to fight him!” he spoke eagerly, eyes glued to the captain of the Azure Deer.

Tani crossed her arms tightly, giving her captain a glance. The blue-haired man was as cheerful as always, eagerly speaking with other competitors. The exam felt as good as failed for her. Rill Boismortier’s magic was picture magic: whatever he drew came to life, and he had the ability to control it as he wished. He was a genius, a prodigy.

“Then we’ll have to hope that we are very uninspiring fighters,” Tani sighed. “The more you excite him, the more he gets into it. Though - he seems rather excited already.”

“Aren’t you excited about fighting him?”

“No, not really. I’ve no way to counter his art.”

Gamma looked thoughtful, but did not pursue the subject. Tani had a feeling he disapproved of her lack of enthusiasm. She turned her gaze back to the battleground, where Rill and his team descended.

“Plus,” she started, giving a glance to the match-ups again. “It seems Francis will have to go against him first.”

“Francis?”

“He is also a member of Azure Deer. He is going to fight against one team, and if he wins, he’ll be against Rill.”

“You are very certain your captain will win,” Gamma commented cheerfully.

Tani nodded. Certainly, her captain was making a point down there, first having been captured by the enemy team, and now countering their magic with relative ease.

“I wouldn’t be so sure your Francis will win, though,” Adrastea intruded into the conversation. “Puli is in the team going against him, and she is very strong.”

“I’m not aware of the full extent of his capabilities,” Tani said quietly, not wishing to start any rivalries between squads. “It is very possible this Puli will win.”

“We’ll see soon,” the member of the Blue Roses replied, looking as the two other teams descended to the battleground.

The battle wasn’t long itself, and as Adrastea predicted, her squadmate’s team won. Still, Tani did not think the team would be able to win against her captain. She would be surprised if they did. She didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, however - they were next in line to fight. She could see the other team briefly, as they both started to head to their respective starting points. They were all from different squads than Tani’s team, consisting of a long-haired, blonde man wearing the short coat of the Green Mantis, one slightly larger man with the triangular coat of the Purple Orca, and a pale, white-haired woman with the fluffy cloak of the Silver Eagle. There was no telling what their affinities were, other than the woman’s - Gamma had mentioned she was Weiss, the air mage. The groups separated in tense silence, Tani heart beating faster than ever. She questioned why she even was there. She hated exams.

“Let’s hide in the ruins, set up a place to throw missiles at them, and wait for them to come to us,” Gamma suggested silently as they stood on the starting place.

“How are we to know where to throw the missiles?” Adrastea asked, her voice no longer so cold.

It seemed like her distaste for Gamma was pushed back by the need for a strategy. Tani felt slightly relieved.

“It’s a long shot, but I could locate them,” she said hesitantly. “It would eat a lot of my mana though. It might be better that we set up an ambush of some sort and hope Weiss rushes in.”

The others nodded, looking at the ruins nearby. They’d set up there and protect the crystal. They would win.

Hopefully.

#Where the Fire Lilies Grow #black clover fanfiction #I was supposed to have Solara mentioned already in this one but alas #I wrote too much about the teammates

[fiction-in-my-blood]

Switching Sides: Part 15 (HLITF)

if anyone possibly wants to get on a tag list I’d be happy to make one

👉@theshove  ​👈

👉@kamyru 👈

If you wanna catch up, Part 14 is right here! Happy reading :)

And I just want to thank everyone that’s been consistently reading this fic, I know it’s a slow burn but I think it’ll be worth it :D

Premise: Growing up in a life of crime in a Japanese mafia, Atsuko Motomori has seen enough injustice to last her a lifetime. To try and give back to the universe her family has taken so much from, she dreams of being a detective from a young age. Her twin, sharing her disgust for her father and many uncles, just wants an ordinary life away from the crime, paing and suffering. Instead, she wants to be in the spotlight with the soft notes she makes with her cello. In their escape of 2015, on their coming of age birthday, they must split ways, never to be together ever again. If one was found, they didn’t want the other dragged down with them. Atsuko, having changed her name and appearance as best she can without a scalpel, sets off to start her life of car chases and arrests.

Four years in a seemingly dead-end police station in the middle of nowhere, being passed over time after time for promotion, Atsuko finally gets a shot at her dream, having been sent to an academy for the best candidates in the country by her boss who had always kept an eye out for her. After discovering her boss may have made her bite off more than she could chew, Atsuko must become the slave of a dominating instructor!? Who so just happens to be the captain of the most famous police unit in Japan? Not to mention a total knockout! Will Atsuko finally achieve her dream? Or will her new instructor put her through the wringer?

Warnings: Language, Reference to sexual activity, Forceful nature, Abuse, Kidnapping, Torture.

~~~~~~

Early the next morning, I dressed in my loungewear to go to Juna's apartment. She had an outfit of her's waiting for me; I didn't own anything pink like the dress code she wanted. Grabbing a quick bite from the canteen and a coffee, as I have now remembered the difference between tea, I get the train to her apartment.

"Katsumi! You're here!" Juna bounced towards me, or as best she could under the weight of her almost grown baby, and stole the cake box I was balancing in one hand, holding my bag to my side with the other.

"Sorry I'm late, the metro was hectic." I sighed, kicking off my shoes as she shuffled back to the kitchen counter. There, I saw Kanto hurriedly putting up bunting. When he saw me, he directed his gaze to the space under the stairs where a set of drawers sat. Curiously, I stepped towards it, opening the top draw while Juna was distracted and found the ring I wanted. Pulling it out, I slipped it into a pocket in my bag.

"Your dress is in the bathroom if you wanna change!" Juna called over her shoulder as she pulled a box of strawberries out of the fridge, planning to chop them up.

"Sure thing!" I called back, knowing my way around the apartment since I lived here for months.

The dress in question was somewhat short and pastel pink. There was an upside-down triangle cut out of the back, the top half was tight and anything below the top of my hips was flowing. It was surprisingly comfortable, even if I felt like walking cotton candy.

"Told ya you'd like it!" Juna squealed in joy when she saw me emerge with a light blush on my face.

"It's not horrific." I pouted and went to help decorate the small balcony outside to escape her complimentary pestering.

~~~~~~

Once the arrival time for the party came around, more and more people started showing up. I didn't even think to ask my sister how many people were coming, but I sure as hell didn't think it would be this many people. There were so many, I was getting a little warm and the number of times I had to dart out of the way, getting my earring caught in my hair in the mad rush, I decided to put it up. I was bestowed with the job of answering the door so, when it rang again, I jumped up with a sigh. Because I was so used to seeing faces I didn't know, having everyone comment on how alike my twin and I looked, I was shocked when all the instructors showed up on the other side.

"In-Instructors, you made it?" I blushed when I saw them all in their casual clothes, instantly anxious when I remembered the outfit I was wearing. They all obeyed Juna's wish of them wearing pink or blue, all of varying degrees of severity, except for one. Can you guess who it was?

"Com... Come in. You can leave your shoes here." When I realised I had been staring, I jumped out the way to let them in. ‘God, Katsumi. Keep your cool!’ I internally screamed as I watched them filter in. Then, I directed them to the food when Juna finally approached us.

"Detectives, I'm so glad you could make it! I hope you enjoy yourselves. There's beer in the fridge, so have at it. There's plenty to go around!" Seemingly much more used to the instructors than I am, or she's just more sociable, Juna had a bright smile on her face. "Detective Kaga, you're not wearing blue." She frowned at the one person in the room not giving in her wishes.

"Juna, please." I begged her not to embarrass me as Kaga 'tsk'ed to himself. Then, he extended his hand to her, which held a paper bag. She took it and looked in to find a gift.

"Kaga, this is so cute! Look at it, Katsu." She squealed at the small bear with beady black eyes. It was kinda adorable and I blushed at the fact my sternly faced mentor had gifted it. The tag still attached to it said it was a nanny cam. My embarrassed and confused gaze fell to him and he sneered.

"My niece liked it." 

‘Is he... pouting?’ It was almost too strange to tell with the faint blush on his face. ‘Is he already drunk? Wait! He has a niece?’ My blush deepened as I imagine how Kaga might act with a child to know her so much to know her favourite toy.

“Did none of your friends come?” Soma interjected my thoughts from beside me, seeing as Juna had gone to Kanto in the kitchen. I almost jumped out of my skin, but only because I was scared he could read my mind.

“Oh, no. No they… They were busy.” I quickly made up a pathetic lie, not wanting to throw Naruko under the for being afraid of the instructors. “Anyway, can I get you guys any drinks? Like Juna said, we’ve got beer, soda, water?” I listed off a few options so I could just escape this cluster of men, and even more people started to swarm us at their appearance.

“How does Juna know such good looking, young men?” A very forward older woman instantly clutched Instructor Goto’s arm, either drunk or that was just her rich nature. I instantly started panicking again. 

“U-Um, Miss, they’re my bosses. Please… Please let go of him.” I was frantic as the instructor looked increasingly uncomfortable because of her flirtations. Almost everyone here was Juna’s work friends or spouses of, so they were all high standing members of society, not anyone I ever expected to mingle with.

When the woman just wouldn’t let go of him, I decided it was time to amp it up a gear. “Actually, I think your husband was talking to the composer’s daughter by the bathroom.” I gestured to an older man and a girl around my age talking up a storm on the other side of the spacious room, and the woman almost simultaneously stormed over. 

After profusely apologising to Goto for what he already had to go through after just arriving, with the instructors still around us, Shinonone expressed how shocked he was that I could diffuse the situation somewhat quickly. 

“I used to work in a club downtown. It was part of my job to get a feel for relationships in the room. O-Of course, you saw me working.” I was almost sweating with how nervous I was, remembering how rude I was to the instructor when he didn’t even know it was me at the time. Ayumu smirked at the memory of the interaction, and probably what I was wearing then too. 

Luckily, Juna called me away to help her with something before I could be teased further.

~~~~~~

Later on in the party, I felt the need to step outside and take a breather, so I headed to the balcony and was surprised to find no one there. It was spring, the weather; surprisingly warm, and the flowers Kanto had been growing for Juna were in full bloom.

With my elbows resting on the railing, I suddenly realised what Kaga being here means. "I passed." I gasped, my heart filling with pride and doing a little dance to try and expel my joy. A rush of relief flooded over me and I don't think I've been happier than that moment. Not just relieved, but happy.

"It's been a while since I've seen that dance." A man's voice spoke up behind me and I turned in curiosity. For a moment, I truly believed it was one of my captors, but my vision quickly corrected it to Noburu. My heart raced as I saw him standing in the doorway, eyes wide. I hadn't seen him in a month. I was never told of him visiting. I was a little angry, he hadn't even texted me. But, above all else, I was scared. He sent alarm bells ringing in my head as if he really was the captor that fed me. That stood by and watched as I deteriorated into a heap of weeping bruises.

"No...Noburu. What are you doing here?" I panicked, stepping back and finding the railing block me from going over the edge. In an instant he was in front of me, holding my face as tears grew in my eyes.

"I missed you so much. I went to visit but you freaked out. I was so worried." His face was so close all I could see was him as he held my cheeks, his fingers extending into my hair, which I had let down again. I struggled, the image of that man seared in my brain.

When he saw me trying to get away, he crashed his lips on mine, taking my breath and any words I wanted to say to reject him. I tried to tug on the hands that kept me in place, but he wouldn't let go. His grip was vice-like. When he parted his lips to breath, I was able to whimper out "stop".

After I said that, he went to kiss me again, but he was pulled off me by someone yanking on his collar. There, holding the bewildered Noburu, was Kaga, rage painting his face. Embarrassed and afraid, I covered my mouth to hide my tears and sobs, darting by them, careful not to fall in my short heels as my legs shook.

~~~~~~

Bored out of my mind with all the aristocratic assholes Katsumi's sister was friends with, I decided to find the servant I found so fun to tease. My gaze flew around the room to find women surrounding most of the men from the PSD, except Goto who looked as bored as I was. Then, my gaze found the glass balcony doors and the woman I'm looking for. She was talking to a man, someone who looked dishevelled and not belonging to this group of people. Then, I noticed the tremble in her lip and her wide, astonished eyes watering out of... fear? I decided to head over and check if everything was alright.

When I opened the door, the man pounced on Katsumi, holding her face as he kissed her. A feeling in my stomach lit up my jealousy and anger as I watched them, but Katsumi seemed to be responding. I couldn't really tell when his hands were covering most of her face and his body was covering the rest of her.

As I turned to leave, I heard a low, high-pitched sound.

"Stop."

I spun around in a second, storming forward and gripping the back of the man's collar before yanking him off, possibly choking him in the process. I glared at him before checking to see if Katsumi was okay. Tears were falling down her face and the lipgloss she had on was smudged. Her hair was a mess and her knees were cowering a little. When she noticed what happened, her hand flew to her face and she ran back inside.

"Dude, what the hell?" The man who assaulted her frowned and my enraged glare returned to him. That was when I noticed it was the guy Katsumi used to work with at that club. I remembered watching her bend over the bar to talk to him, noticing how high her dress rode up her thighs, just shy of flashing everyone there. I growedl, remembering how much trust she must have had to talk to him the way Ayumu said she did.

"Get out or I concave your face." I threatened, dropping his collar. He was angry at first but when he saw how likely it was for me to do it, he ran to the front door.

~~~~~~

Stepping out of the bathroom, having cleaned myself up and calmed myself down enough to stop crying, I got to work; cleaning up the bottles and cans surrounding the room- mainly to distract myself. The party was still in full swing and I didn't want to ruin my sister's special moment. I could suck it up for now. All I wanted was for Noburu to be gone.

"Hey, idiot." A quiet voice erupted from behind me as I grabbed a few glass bottles from the counter in the kitchen, which was pretty vacant. I quickly recognised it at Kaga.

"I don't want to talk about it," I grumbled, not caring who he was in that moment.

"I kicked him out." He announced. 

‘At least that's a relief.’ I sighed, feeling my tears return as I remembered how he had touched me. I trusted him. If he knew I had a breakdown the last time I had seen him, why would he still do that?

"Okay. I still don't want to talk about it." I complained, moving back and forth from the bin and the sink with trash and dishes to clean up later.

"Katsumi," Kaga said, but I ignored him, no matter how much him saying my name made my heart flutter. "Hey, moron." He grabbed my wrist as I dropped a few wooden skewers into the trash and spun me to see him.

"I'm not going to talk about it because I’ll cry. I'm not going to cry at my sister's baby shower." I gritted my teeth, returning his stern glare to try and make myself feel tougher.

"Why are you crying then?" He smirked and I sneered, noticing the wet drop roll down my cheek. I rushed to catch it with my unclaimed hand.

"He looks like one of them. Or he reminds me, anyway." I pouted, looking away from my instructor as he continued to hold my wrist. I'm sure he could feel my pulse race as my fear returned, mixed with the excitement of how close he was. I struggled to control my emotions when his grip tightened. I wasn’t intimidated. It was almost comforting, encouraging me to spill my guts right there in my sister's kitchen.

Suddenly, I was pulled towards him and enveloped in warmth and his scent. Slightly smokey, although whatever cologne he used did a good job of covering it up. I tried to look up from the chest I was being pushed against, but his hand settling on my head forced my gaze forward. My heart was pumping blood to my cheeks at an alarming rate and it was so loud I couldn't hear his. The pent up frustration I felt towards Noburu broke free from the weak dams I put up and my tears fell fast. My fist clenched on Kaga’s chest, angry that I had let someone I hardly knew so close. Before, I would have never gone out 'dates' with someone I enjoyed the company of- although I didn't really think of them in that way. I would have closed myself in my home, trying to keep to myself, not wanting to grow connections in case my father found me and I would have to leave everyone I had grown to love. It made it harder to justify how much safer I and those people would be if I left. I was mad at myself for letting go.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat in the doorway of the kitchen. I darted back, making sure to turn my back to wipe my eyes before turning back to cleaning, pretending like nothing had happened. "Juna wants to cut the cake." It was Ayumu who spoke up, walking over to the fridge, between me and Kaga. Too afraid to talk in case my voice wavered, I nodded and walked out the room, heading to the table everyone was surrounding.

~~~~~~

The party pretty much drew to a close after the gender reveal. It's a girl, but no one's surprised. Juna had been going on about it for weeks. Even before they could tell what the gender was. 

"I'm gonna have a little Katsu of my own!" Juna cried with joy as she sat in front of the pile of gifts in front of her.

"At least give her a similar name. It'll be confusing if you give her the same as mine." I complained, picking up the wrapping paper she threw around the room. Thanks to my silent moment with Kaga, I was able to calm down enough to act normal for the rest of the party. All the instructors had gone home and it was just us and Kanto.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kanto asked as I walked into the kitchen with a trash bag  in hand. He was cleaning the dishes while Juna enjoyed herself to her heart's content. I nodded, hoping I wasn't giving any signals that said otherwise.

"Well... I, um... I saw Noburu earlier." His voice was low, scared that if he told me he'd set me off again. I froze mid-way picking up the trash and recovered as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, he... He kissed me." My own voice was also low, afraid that if I said it aloud it would cement the end of our friendship. Kanto spun around to look at me and I tried to stop frowning. "It's fine... Kaga got him off me before I could spiral." I bit my lip, continuing my cleaning to distract myself.

"I'm sorry." Is all I hear Kanto mumble as I escape the room.

~~~~~~

That night, I returned to the dorm but found that I didn't want to sleep yet. My mind was racing, the ring my mother left for us in my fingertips as I sat on my couch. I looked for an engraving in the inside of the band. Nothing. The clear crystal, which I'm sure was a diamond; too small for me to tell if there was anything odd going on. There were several smaller ones dotted around it.

"Could it be to do with the make? Well, it's not like I can tell." I sighed. I hardly wore jewellery anyway. I was hopeless trying to find clues. "Maybe the detectives on the case discovered something?" I got up and made my way to one of the common rooms to use a computer.

It was the dead of night, so silent I thought I might have gone deaf. Luckily, the hallway lights were always on. Pulling out a chair, I brought the file up before I even sit down. The notes say that they found wording embedded in the jewels. Nano-sized. But they couldn't make any sense of it.

"Juno charges towards Juna, aiming for Katsu."

‘Well, that's not cryptic all.’ I sighed, slightly stunned to find both my and my sister's names. I decided my best bet would be to look up the meaning behind our names. 

‘As a boy's name, Katsu means victory. Juna means woods and south. Could there be a battle in the woods or something?’ I frowned my brows, feeling wildly out of my depths and kind of silly for looking such things up on a school computer. Looking up the address of the murder, I looked at Google Maps because I knew I wouldn't be able to travel anywhere anytime soon. I dragged the picture south as far as I could, but nothing caught my eye. 

The woman murdered, my mother's friend, it seemed, was found in a lake just outside Tokyo. Surrounded by woods.

"Oh?" I gasped when I s awthat there were cabins for sale in those same woods. They had been around for years, it seemed, and a community had been made there. With a small supermarket and diners, it looked like a 20 person village.

"Could she..?" I led off, wondering if my mother could have moved there to hide. "No, she'd be too close." But the fact irked me in a way that I wanted to check. There was a link to the real estate agents website. There, I found a phone number. Without thinking much, I called it, not considering how late after office hours it was.

"Thank you for calling Juna Estate Agents. We are always happy to answer your questions, but you've caught us after office hours. We open at 8 am every day, so please don't hesitate to ca-!" I hang up before the woman's voice on the voicemail can finish.

‘I shouldn't be doing this.’ I think. I know. I shouldn't be tempting myself with the idea. It would only get my hopes up and I'd only come crashing down when I exhausted all the leads I might find. 

"She's dead." I reminded myself, pushing my father's questions to the back of my head, and turned off the computer.

~~~~~~~~~~

Monday came around and I was particularly exhausted. The last two nights had been the worst I had had in a while and I almost fell asleep cutting my own hair. 

Heading to the cafeteria, notebook in hand, looking down at the floor, I was almost sleepwalking. Thankfully, I was pulled out of my dream-like state by a certain excitable morning person.

"Katsumi, you look so cute!" Naruko squealed upon seeing my now short hair. It was cut just shy of my shoulder, hugging the ear I pulled it behind. My hair was still white, too scared to dye it again in case I messed something up. Juna was always the one that did it for me and I didn't want to bother her.

"Thanks. It's easier to maintain this way." I laughed uneasily, hiding the true reason I prefered it short. My 'uncles' liked pulling on my hair. It’s hard to grab when it's like this. With a skip in her step, Naruko pulled me into the cafeteria.

"What's got you in a good mood?" I asked as we sat down, putting my heavy eyelids to the back of my mind.

"Chiba bought me a gift just because. It was so cute." She squealed, holding her cheeks as if her smile hurt. I cocked my head.

"Why’s he buying you gifts?" I asked before taking a spoonful of cereal.

"Oh shit, I didn't tell you?" She gasped and I shook my head, still chewing. "We're dating."

Instantly, I started choking at the gasp of air I took in when she told me. She asked me if I was okay and I put up a singular finger to tell her I'd just need a minute to recover.

"Si-Since when?" Taking the napkin she held out for me, I quickly wiped the milk covering the sides of my lips. I tried to ignore the fascinated stares of the male population around us.

"Hmm, a couple of months, I think? You'd have to ask him, he's the one that keeps track of it all." She waved of her unbothered-ness and continued eating as if I hadn't almost just died. "That reminds me, how was the party?"

Blushing, I tried to push the memory of Kaga holding me to the side as I reported how utterly bored I was for the rest of the event. "Her friends are all musicians, so they were mainly talking about their next concerts. Someone asked Juna if she was returning to the orchestra and she started balling." I forced a chuckle, really feeling sorry for my sister who couldn't accomplish the dream she wanted. She would have to settle to play for us and her daughter when she's old enough to play herself. I was sure Juna would push the joys of playing an instrument on her, or any future children she intended on having.

"What about the instructors?" Her wiggling eyebrows were enough to tell me she thought something kinky happened. I blushed but said I didn't notice because I was so busy. "You sure?" She dragged out her question, sliding into the seat next to mine, peering into my face. I stuffed my mouth with the rest of my cereal and jumped up, pointing to the door like I was  in a rush to get to class. "You can't hide from me, Katsumi! I'm trained for this!"

~~~~~~

At the end of the day, I was sitting in the Instructor's Staff Room as usual, but couldn’t concentrate on my work. In the silence, my mind kept trailing to that clue my mother supposedly left for me. ‘Should I go looking for her? What if I end up leading someone to her? Could she be alive?’

As I thought, I didn't notice Kaga talking. Suddenly, I feel a blow on the back of my head and I jumped. "What're you spacing out for?" He glared down at me and I blushed an apology. When I tried to go back to work, he grabbed the arm of my spinning chair and directed it towards him, pinning me down by grabbing the other side.

"Are you still hung up on that kiss?" He whispered, his face incredibly close, gaze so strong I felt like I couldn't look away. "I can give you one if it helps you forget." The smirk on his face told me he was teasing, but I couldn't help my imagination run wild. 

‘He's your instructor, Katsumi” That's not appropriate.’ I told myself off and shook my head 'no'.

"What're you spacing out for then?" He kept interrogating me, making no move to back down.

"I... I didn't get much sleep last night." I muttered, scared if I talked too loud I would stutter over every word.

"You have your pills. Take them." He demanded and I looked away, embarrassed I needed help to even sleep. I felt pathetic. When I didn't respond, Kaga stood up straight and returned to his office. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and returned to work, completely forgetting about any possibility of finding my mother.

~~~~~~

Working away at my desk, trying to distract myself from any thought about the woman sitting just outside my office, Ayumu stormed in with a stern look on his face.

"Someone keeps accessing a case file on the database." He dropped the papers on my desk after making sure the door was closed behind him. I looked down and found a solved case from over a decade ago. "I looked at the security cameras pointing at the computer used and guess who I found." He slapped another sheet down with a dishevelled and tired-looking Katsumi pictured on it. My brows furrowed at this suspicious behaviour.

"I'll deal with it." Wanting to be the first one to hear her explanation, I slid the files into my desk. Ayumu's brows flickered together before he realised what I said. I glared up at him, daring him to argue, but instead, he excused himself, walking right back out the door as fast as he came in.

~~~~~~

"I can't believe we were caught making out on security cameras!" Naruko, almost giddily, cries out after telling me an instructor had confronted both her and Chiba about inappropriate behaviour in the common rooms. Apparently, they were getting hot 'n' heavy before escaping to her room and they got caught. Although, that's not the part of the story I was fretting over.

‘I would have been caught sneaking on the computers in the middle of the night. Are there rules against that?’ I have to stop myself from pulling at my hair as I freaked out. Kaga or Ayumu would have gladly said something if I was doing anything wrong. ‘Should I come clean before they need to? No, that's a horrible idea. I'd be admitting my own guilt.’ I shook my head at my internal conversation, Naruko too self-absorbed to realise. She was walking to me the Instructor's Staff Room before lunch because I was tasked with delivering some papers to Kaga. ‘Oh god, what if this is an excuse to get me here?’

~~~~~~~~

At lunch, Katsumi knocked on the door of my office. Her head peeked in first, her short bob only leaning slightly. I found that style on her so sexy. Her white hair against her fair skin. Her neck on display for every man to see. I had to stop myself from staring her into the ground as she approached my desk with light steps, scared for some reason. That's when I remembered the case file she was caught staring at.

"Instructor Akiyame asked me-."

"What were you doing looking at these?" I cut her off, pulling the papers out and dropping them in front of me as she put the stack she had down. She froze, staring at the first page like it had just threatened her life. I watched her gulp, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear, giving herself time to think. She couldn't look at the glare I had on my face and I couldn't say I wasn’t amused. She'd been caught and she knew it, thinking she could just magic her way out of here by not answering me? No way.

Standing up, I walked around the desk to meet her gaze. She stumbled back, but I could tell she wasn’t terrified. Not like that guy at the party. Her eyes were wide, but not with fright. It was almost curiosity that pulled her in. She gulped again as I cornered her into the desk.

Just as I was about to ask again, she announced her reasonings. "My... My mother was a witness in that case." She bit her lip, turning away and her hair fell, blocking my view of that innocent guilty expression. I was almost annoyed that I got to miss it. I knew she had more to say, the absence in the movement of her chest told me she's holding her breath, waiting for me to push her further.

"She left me a ring before she ran away. It was a piece of evidence." She continued to report as I dropped a hand either side of her on my desk. She leaned so far back she might as well have been sitting on the surface. I looked down and her thigh in the tight trousers of the academy uniform widened as she pressured backwards.

"I thought she was dead... But my... My father kept asking me where she was... So I got curious." Her voice was trembling now, so I knew she was remembering her time in that underground torture chamber. My eyes narrowed, heart-stopping when I heard her frail noises. It angered me that she had to go through that. For her whole life. And it angered me that I didn't try looking for her when she didn't show up in the hotel. I had an inkling that something was up. A body can't be incinerated like that, no matter how much of the building went up in flames. I should have followed my instincts, but I let Ishigami's facts get the better of me. Our Chief even had to talk me down. I was so angry at her for running in. It was such a stupid move. Even still, I remembered her saving me. Even if some people told me it could have been a hallucination caused by the lack of oxygen I was getting because of all the smoke I had inhaled. I never let Ishigami change my actions. So, why did I then?

It was even harder when we found the woman at the club who looked just like her. The only thing that was different was her hair colour and the way she acted when we were far from her. She was comfortable, completely in her element as she pushed that guy into the bar. She almost seemed bored by the constant string of criminal activities in that club. I almost believed it wasn't her when she stood on the foothold of the stool and bent over the bar to get close and personal with the bartender, her dress just covering her most discreet place. 

Yet, I saw the fluster on her cheeks when she turned to confront the suspicious man in the club she was meant to protect. I’ll be honest, I didn't think she had it in her to entice a man like that. On purpose. Not like the way she's intrigued me. Her unconscious movements and reactions to the way I treated her was a force that I hadn't enjoyed before. I always found myself wondering how far I could push her before she got mad and stormed away, not afraid to take the work I had given her before I even finished my demands.

I backed up when I heard her sniff. Her arm darted in front of her eyes so I couldn't see and I started to feel guilty that I was the cause of it. 

"I keep telling myself that she's dead, but I can't help thinking that she's out there. I even called this estate agent, using the clue in that ring, but it was too late at night and I backed out." She was pouring her heart out to me as she cried, still hiding her true pain from me. I sighed, wrapping my arms around her because it seemed like it helped her. She grabbed the sleeve of my arm. Not to push away, but to help support herself.

‘Moron.’ I wasn’t calling her one, she was perfectly allowed to be reacting like this. She was a broken girl who went through a traumatic event. I was blaming myself for feeling the feelings that I was. I noticed the way she bit the tip of her thumb when she was stressed, not because of an interrogation tactic, but because her frowning brows looked so cute. I noticed the way she lifted her glasses onto her head the second she could because she got so annoyed by them. I noticed the way she could just brush Ayumu's teasing off and how she had grown so used to all the men in the academy talking to her. She had calmed down since the beginning of the year, when she couldn't even sit down on a bed next to me. 

Now that I think about it, maybe that was for a different reason as well? She was always so cautious, so willing to prove herself to everyone else, I wondered how she would react if she knew how I felt? How I thought about her at night when I finally got a moment of silence away from Four Eyes or sudden changes to my schedule.

My gaze fell to the back of her neck, exposed under the hair that floated over her shoulders and I was angry with myself that that was how I reacted in the moment. It wasn’t appropriate and not okay. And, even though I say that, I couldn't help but be happy that I was the one that could hold her. I was the one that could back her up into a wall and tease her. She wouldn't tell me off, not like she did to Ayumu when he got too personal. I was the one that knew how her outdated sense in music calmed her down. I might not have known how much she was struggling, but I knew how to help her.

~~~~~~~~~

As I stood in Kaga's arms again, I couldn't help but think how safe I felt with him. His arms were so strong and his chest was hard but soft. The heat radiating off him would otherwise be unbearable but the way his breath blew on the back of my neck as I cried into him, it was tolerable. The cigarette smell mixed in with cologne didn't bite at my nose the same way my father did, he only ever smelt like the acidic stench cigars gave him. The glares he gave me were more encouraging than anything, daring me to do better. The way he held me on missions may be temporary and full of the facade we were trying to portray, but my heart raced every time. Sure, whenever a guy got into my personal space I'm embarrassed, unused to a towering figure that could be kind and protective, but with Kaga, it was different. I didn't know how, but it just was.

However, embarrassment quickly consumed me. I'm reminded of how unprofessional this was. I was meant to be a student learning to be a detective. Not a little girl who cried every time she got in her head. 

Taking a deep breath, I drew back and Kaga eased his grasp but didn't fully let me go. I looked up at him with an uneasy gaze and there was a look in his eyes that I didn't recognise. It was almost scary. He was the devil Instructor, so who's surprised? But this... This was different. It was the look he had when he pulled Noburu off me and I wanted to run away from it, too ashamed for him to see me act so deplorable.

Inching back further, he seemed to come to his senses and let me go entirely. The cool rush of loneliness almost made me miss it. Almost.

I was about to apologise for how I had been acting when the school bell rang, signally the end of our lunch break. 

"Moron, don't just stand there, get moving." Kaga’s expression had turned into a scowl again and he hit the side of my head with the papers I had previously set down. The light hud reminded me of how he hadn't done that since I returned. Had he been holding off until he knew I was completely healed? And he insulted me, something he had also been easing back into. I likeed the push of encouragement and my tears dried quicker than I would have liked. It was so childish to calm down so quickly. Almost like I was having a tantrum and someone just gave me a piece of candy. With the knowledge of that, I blushed and bowed before running out of the office, having dried my face on my sleeve.

#voltage fanfic #voltage games #her love in the force #hlitf ayumu #hlitf goto #hlitf ishigami #hlitf kaga #hlitf soma #hlitf shinonome #hlitf fanfic #hlitf #crime #oc #ooc #mafia #mob #police #detectives

[thecleverdame]

The Oath - 11

Parings: Dark!Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader

Story Master List

Summary: After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the reader finds herself taken as a spoil of war. She ends up in the bed of a ruthless Alpha, the son of John Winchester, leader of the kingdom of Gilead. She struggles to conceal her true identity and navigate a society where being an Omega means nothing more than serving at the pleasure of powerful men.

Warnings: non-con, sexual assault, rape, attempted suicide, sexual slavery, branding, torture, ownership, voyeurism, anal play, smut, violence, and murder.

Sam is dark in this story. If any of the warnings are triggers for you, I would suggest skipping this one. Please read and heed all the warnings.

Beta: ilikaicalie

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-

“What are you doing?” 

You freeze in place with the  blade to your throat, turning to find Sam staring in simmering anger. After his initial shock, he closes in on you, grabbing the knife and twisting it from your hands. 

“You were going to slit your own throat?” He’s fuming, fury seeping from his pores as his nostrils flare. When you don’t respond, his face sets, jaw locking. “Answer me now!” 

“Yes,” you admit, tears falling as you begin to sob. “Let me, please, give the knife back to me. I beg you. Let me leave this world!”

“What’s wrong with you!” he yells again, stepping back. His hands clench into fists at his sides. For a moment you’re sure he’s going to hit you, but instead, he runs a hand over his face and turns away toward the fire. He’s fighting to regain control of himself. Sam takes a moment, his back rising and falling with the intensity of his breath. Turning back to you he places a hand on each of your shoulders, moving backward, forcing you to sit in the chair as you cry harder, shoulders jerking while you sputter and choke. “Stop crying,” he barks. 

You both know it’s a ridiculous command. You’re in no state of mind to follow orders or control these sorts of emotions. Your hands shake at the thought of the repercussions for further disobedience as you look up at him with wide, wet eyes. “I-I c-can’t.”

With hands on his hips, he waits, watches you heave and cough and then slowly collect yourself. It takes a while but you do find a way to calm down. You wipe your cheeks with the sleeves of your dress.

Sam crosses his arms over his chest,  waiting until you’re staring at the floor, seemingly matched in a silent standoff. 

“Tell me why you had a knife at your throat.”

“I told you. I want to die,” you whisper, unable to look at him. Your voice shakes, tremors of fear shooting from head to toe. “Please don’t be mad at me. I tried to stop crying, I couldn’t-”

“I don’t care about that.” He crouches down, placing a hand on your thigh. You nearly jump out of your skin. “Why do you want to die?”

You sniffle, wringing your hands together in fear and anxiety. “I’m afraid to tell you.”

“You don’t have a choice. Tell me.” Sam’s Alpha leaves no option to remain silent. 

“What sort of life will I have?” Your eyes flutter up, sneaking a glance. “Before all this, my life was nothing special but I was a person. A human being. I was allowed thoughts and emotions and opinions. Here I am nothing more than what’s between my legs.”

“You would rather take your life than be an Omega?” His eyebrows shoot up as if he’s realizing for the first time just how desperate you truly are. “You’d rather end your life than lie in my bed?”

“It is what comes after you that I’m more frightened of,” you admit. 

His head tilts to the side, interest piqued. “What comes after me?”

“Other men, other Alphas. Your brother told me about the plans. When you’re done with me Dean will take his turn and then I’ll become a prize for the Alphas, likely at your father’s discretion. I would rather die than subject myself to that.”

Sam is quiet, sighing deeply and getting up to take a seat in the chair across the table from you. He thinks for a spell, studying his palms before responding. 

“My brother told you these things?”

“Yes. And I know what happens with the other Omegas. What their lives are like. Tilda has soured, I can hardly stand the smell of her, she’s rancid. When we’re mistreated we...rot. I don’t think I would survive it. I wouldn’t want to.” 

“I see.” He pours himself wine, before sitting back to watch the fire. “And what if there was no after me?”

“What do you mean?” you ask. 

“My brother spoke out of turn. I know I’ve made a comment when I wanted to keep you in line, but the truth is I have no plans to give you to anyone else. You’re mine and I intend to keep you.”

Barely able to wrap your mind around this new revelation, you stare at him. Sam Winchester, a sworn enemy of your family, a man who vowed to slaughter every member of your family, wants you for himself. 

“You want me?” you ask again. Perhaps you’re delusional.

“I do,” he explains calmly. “You’re a perfect Omega. Your scent, your body. You obey orders, keep your mouth shut. No one else will have you as long as I'm alive. If you are loyal to me then I will return that loyalty.” 

“Will you claim me?”

“One day,” he nods in confirmation. “I’ll marry when my parents find a suitable match. Once that happens, I’ll claim you. It’s part of the Gilead wedding ceremony. No Beta will be able to do what you can. You’ll take my knot, give me children. It will be the best life of any Omega in Gilead. It might not be your old life of milking cows and making bread that you seem to miss so much, but you’ll have a place. Your rightful place. I’ll let you decide what you want.” He gets up, laying the knife on the table in front of you. “Slit your throat, or take your clothes off and come to bed.” 

And with that, he strips down and readies himself for the night. You listen while he washes himself, the water in the basin sloshing over the sides. You could do it, end it all right here and now. But that would mean giving up on hope, the hope Sam has just offered. Life could be bearable and perhaps someday down the road you might be presented with a chance to escape. To find your way back to freedom. 

And then there’s Sam, as much as you hate to admit it you've grown accustomed to him. His scent, the feel of his hands, the heat of his skin rubbing against yours. While given the option to go back home or stay, you would certainly choose your home. But right now he’s your best option. 

The decision is seemingly already made. 

Pulling your dress off over your head, you walk naked to his bed. Sam is on his side, watching you in curiosity as he pulls back the blankets to allow you to slide in beside him. 

“Let me see your neck.” He props himself up, finger trailing over the thin line left by the blade. It broke the skin but barely. It’s little more than a cat scratch. “You could have done irreparable damage.”

His finger carefully moves over the clammy skin, pressing down gently around the edge of the mark. 

“Does it hurt?”

“No,” you whisper in the fading light. Your body takes over, excitement fluttering fast as his skin brushes over yours.  

“Take care it doesn’t get infected.” 

“I will,” you confirm, gazing up at him. “Thank you for taking care of me.” 

From time to time you forget who he is and where you are. Tonight for instance, you nearly reach up to caress his jaw. It would be such a comfort to be able to give and receive easy touches, gentler affection than he seems capable of.  

“You’re no good to me broken,” he grunts. His fingers splay out, wrapping around your neck but not squeezing. “If I catch you trying to hurt yourself again, you’ll be punished. It will be painful, do you understand?”

“Yes,” you confirm. 

“I’m glad we’re clear.” His eyes dart to your breasts before relinquishing his hold and rolling onto his back. He yanks the blanket away from his cock. He’s hard, standing at attention as he strokes himself. “Come here and sit on my cock.”

You do as you’re told. The night's events have drained you of every last vestige of energy. But it’s important, now more than ever, to ensure he’s happy with you. If taking his knot once a night is the price of your life, it’s one you can pay.

Climbing on top you stroke his cock a few times before guiding the leaking head of his manhood into your cunt. You sink down slowly, letting your body stretch for him. Sam’s eyes flutter, big hands and strong fingers curling into your hips. You try to ride him but he holds you down.

“Stay like this,” he instructs and brings his thumbs to your clit. 

“Alpha,” you breathe, eyes closing as you concentrate on his touch.

For what seems like a lifetime you sit straddling him as he rubs you soft and slow, building pleasure from a quivering foundation into bursting sparks that threaten to take you over the edge. 

He’s quiet, watching and touching, grunting softly at each moan and whimper that falls from your lips. Just when you're getting close to your peak, his hand falls away and you feel him shift, sitting up with you still his lap. 

You open your eyes to find his face unnervingly close, his breath warm on your cheek as he reaches around to hold your backside. 

“My great-grandfather married an Omega, back when it was still acceptable. She died before I was born but he talked about her all the time. He told Dean and I how special she was. That there was no one that could compare to her in any way. I remember him explaining the bond between them, he had to make sure she was satisfied, that they were connected in order for her to flourish. She didn’t belong to him as much as she was an extension of him.”

You look at each other and he carefully lifts you up only a few inches before letting you slide back down his length. You draw in a breath and his hand curls back around your throat. 

“I’ve never met an Omega like you, little bird. Most are nothing more than bitches in heat. But I could see from the moment my brother dragged you into the tent that you were different. I can’t have you souring like old Tilda. If we need to bond to keep you healthy, then that’s what we’ll do.”

He lifts you up and down again. You lean forward, pressing your forehead against his cheek while his cock splits you open. He moves faster and you can barely handle the sensation, gripping his shoulders tightly. 

“Alpha,” you moan. Your eyes flutter, head lolling back as the pleasure builds. At this moment there is no fear or pain or worry, there's only your body and the Alpha who’s making you feel this way. 

“I’ll ever be able to give you the kind of bond you desire. I’m missing that piece of myself. But we can have this...physical closeness. It should be enough.” 

Your body hums with pleasure as you look into his eyes. What sort of man walks around without a soul? Is it possible to have any sort of moral compass when he’s hollow inside? Will this be enough?

You don’t have the answers to any of these questions. 

“Do you like the way this feels?” he asks, scraping his teeth along your throat. 

“Yes,” you hiss long and low. Your clit is throbbing, aching as his hand wedges between your bellies, rubbing up and down over the swollen bud. 

“Open your eyes and look at me.” Snapping to attention, you find him right there, so close you can feel his breath on your mouth. “Now ride me, up and down, nice and slow.”

You lift yourself up slightly and lower back down feeling the drag of his cock. Breasts crushed against his chest as he holds your hips, keeping you close. 

Eyes crinkling around the edge, he breathes in hard through his nose. Two hands slide under your backside again, helping to lift you up and down on his dick. 

“Alpha,” you whine loudly. Ultimate pleasure is coming like a rush, you’re teetering on the edge. This is a wholly new experience, wrapping up in his scent and skin and pleasure. For these moments the outside world fades away and you’re safe in the arms of a man who should do nothing but terrify you. 

You cum the instant his knot pops. It's the coming together of two bodies in perfect timing. You shudder against him, trembling while your cunt is still squeezing around his cock. One hand holds tight to the back of his neck, the other wrapping around his shoulders, not willing to let go of him or the moment. It’s hard to imagine that amidst all this sorrow and desperation you’re able to feel such intense pleasure. 

“Will you hold me for a moment longer?” you ask as your lips brush over his ear. 

Sam doesn’t respond, but he also doesn’t let go. He sits with you in his lap until you’re the one to pull back and away. And when you lay down he curls around you from behind. You fall asleep surrounded by a man’s animal heat and the fragile idea that this space is a safe one. 

#soulless!sam x reader #alpha!sam x omega!reader #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester smut

[reeesea]

Something Sweet: Part Four

~sweeter smiles~

one ~ two ~ three ~ four ~ five ~ six ~ seven ~ eight ~ nine

pairing: minsung, jisung/minho

warning: mild language

words: 3.8k ish

summary: another week passes, and our boys still whipped? yeah. The boys get kicked out their apartment and go check out some busking, meeting up with some familiar faces.

a/n: Oof school kicked my ass and made it hard to post, anyway... here’s chapter 4 

Text: Minho/Jisung

ao3 link

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

After spending the majority of the last week curtains drawn, and grinding away on music in their apartment, it seemed that their manager had had enough of their vampiric like tendencies. She had effectively locked them  out of their apartment until they promised to spend the day away from their respective producing/writing stations. Although Sana was a new addition to the trio's life, she had already solidified herself as not just a capable manager but a generally sweet and caring soul.

She made fast friends with Chan, bonding over their similar experiences coming to Korea as foreigners. Changbin had met her when he started at JJP and was glad that she was chosen to manage their group. And so Sana, after maybe too many incidents in the dark tripping over a blanket-wrapped Jisung, would regularly end up checking on more than just how they were doing musically with her visits. Her concern and worry for them as her new friends bleed into their everyday interactions. Whether it was bringing them take out after they had forgotten to eat, waking up Jisung from the floor to go to bed, or just asking how their days were, she always made the boys feel cared for. After years of only relying on each other, they all found it surprising but comforting to have her around.

So as the boys had been lovingly forbidden from working by their manager, they found themselves walking down the popular music-filled streets for busking and tourists.

“Wait what time did you say he was performing?”

“Innie said after one so we should still make it before he starts his set.” Changbin was leading them through the crowds, which was probably not ideal as the inches Bin lacked he made up in speed. Making 2racha’s life slightly harder as they attempted to not lose the shorter boy in the more crowded areas of the walkway. Passing countless acts and performers displaying their talents, reminiscent of how the rap trio had started out when they were still just high school students.

“I didn't think your brother would still be busking after highschool.” Chan mused from the back of the pack.

“I mean he got scouted from busking, so I guess it all paid off in the end.” Changbin mentioned the fact casually, but the proud ‘older brother’ smile on his face revealed his actual excitement. The three were poorly navigating the busy streets to support Changbin’s younger brother who had just been signed with an entertainment company and was on his way to enter their trainee program.

“Nah I get it, there's a different kind of energy performing in this setting. Sometimes I really do be missing busking every weekend.” Jisung had always been the one to only do what made him feel alive, and his first time busking in front of a crowd had him addicted to the feeling. It had given him something to look forward to in high school. And even now, years later he still anticipated the high that the applause from a crowd gives him.

“Oh, we should buy Jeongin a meal to congratulate him. I imagine he'll be training day and night soon.”

By the time they had made it to the area where Jeongin was set up he was already performing a popular ballad for a small crowd. Emotion flowing through the youngest’s voice as it surrounded all that listened. It wasn't a surprise that his passionate voice had been sought after by companies. The boy’s voice, light and dynamic, pulling the attention of all that were within earshot. And by the time the last note was released the three boys clapped and cheered as much as they could without completely making a fool of themselves.

Although 3RACHA weren’t exactly well known personalities to most of the public, the boys had found themselves getting recognized more and more, especially after their last concert. Their following had definitely expanded and those in the area had begun recognizing the rappers on the rare occasions they left their loft.

But even with their masks and hats on to somewhat hide their identities, the young singer still smiled with recognition and slight embarrassment at boys enthusiastic cheers.

---

Minho thinks that overall his week was pretty unextraordinary. Not much had changed, still working his same job, still spending his mornings practicing for their crew’s upcoming performances. Nothing felt specifically special in the way he performed and worked on the routines for their busking performance that weekend. Just following the choreographies he needs to. Going through the motions. This week seemingly identical to the last.

Almost identical. Minho couldn’t overlook how the addition of Han Jisung had improved his daily mood. Even with their respective busy schedules, the banter they were able to exchange lifted the weight of monotony on Minho’s heart. Jisung loved to tell him jokes and stories, in addition to their casual flirty conversations. The lightness of their conversations and the smile that was always lingering on Minho’s face was evidence enough that his encounters with the other had become the highlight of his day.

Even during practice, his roommates had begun to find the older more energetic and enthusiastic. Although the choreo they had been practicing had been the same for the past month, Minho’s movements had become even more fluid and dynamic, as if he was walking on air.

To Minho, dancing always felt like what he was meant to do. He couldn’t imagine living a life standing still or sitting at a desk job. Dancing was as natural as breathing, so natural that he often forgets to tell people that he dances. To him it was just assumed. He was human; he breathed. He was human, so he danced. Obvious right? But with his natural association he had with dance, and his desire to contain the complicated history he had with his dreams, Minho was not one to share his passions easily.

The Saturday morning had begun with the three dancers packed in their bathroom, all attempting to get ready in the closet size space they called a bathroom. Getting ready for their performances in the crowded bathroom had become a dance within itself for the boys, as they position themselves in front of the mirror so each has enough space to carry out their routines. Trading makeup brushes and hair dryers and hairspray cans in a way that, according to Felix, could win them Olympic medals.

“Hyung, will you pass me the hair spray?”

Minho obliged, handing the can to cross-eyed Felix that had been attempting to tame his bangs for the last 15 minutes.

“Damn, do you think there’ll be company scouts out today?” Hyunjin mused while trying to not smudge his eyeliner from his spot on the toilet seat.

“It's always a possibility, there'll be a lot of acts out today, so there is probably going to be some floating around.” Minho knew there were always some scouts in the audiences on busking days, but maybe the years of seemingly no company interest had numbed him to that fact. If anything, he was hoping to pick up a few bucks from the audience, and give their crew some more exposure.

“I guess it is a weekend, the crowds are always bigger these days. Lixie did you send in your tape for Shipstar Ent. that you were working on?”

“Yeah, I’m going to wait for their response before working on the JJP one”

“Those are small companies Lix, you got a strategy you aren’t sharing with us??” Minho nudged his elbow in his ribs, eliciting a giggle from the younger.

“Nothing special hyung, I just thought smaller companies might have smaller audition pools, more chance of landing a spot.” Even though the freckled boy had come to Korea for university, he was hoping to extend his stay as long as he could by landing a career as a dancer.

“You’ve always been the better strategist out of us. Minho-hyung usually only sends in like one tape a year.”

“There’s only one program I actually want to join anyway. But lately money is money, and I may just need to find a gig to pay our water bill.” Minho's smile reaches his eyes, but a part of his heart drops at the mention of his consistent re-submitted audition tapes.

“Are you going to send another tape for the academy this year, hyung? You got to the second round last time.”

Hyunjin asked an innocent question really, but Minho can't help but feel the wave of disappointment all over again. The first round of auditions was always a taped routine sent in by all the applicants, the second was an in person performance. A performance that last year, despite what he thought was a perfect execution of his chosen routine, had been met with a ‘Thank you, but-’ letter a week later.

“It’s a tradition at this point, and who am I to break a tradition.” The sarcasm drips from the statement fueled by Minho's bitterness toward his broken dream. But as always, as if just on queue with Minho’s declining mood, a series of notifications from his phone pulls him out of his thoughts.

[Rich Boy Han Jisung] 11:47 am Hyung guess what SANA LOCKED US OUT And Now were gonna end up getting lost Changbin is leading us somewhere :< His navigation skills are horrible If you dont hear from me, I was led to an untimely death by Seo Changbin Dont cry too much at my funeral :((

Oh no I'll remember you fondly And all the dates we never got to go on

najsdkkgfnadds Hold up you actually want to go on a date …... I will survive for you

Wait then I can't live that grieving widow aesthetic how am i supposed to grieve my not dead not husband now

we'll work something out but I get to take u on that date first not-husband >:)

---

The members of 3RACHA had listened to the rest of Changbin’s brother’s set. The young boy’s audience had grown to include highschool girls fawning over the boys adorable features and melodic voice. As well as older and middle aged women and men that were drawn to the nostalgic tambour of his voice as Jeongin performed trot and other crowd pleasing ballads. His youthful glow and image contrasting the maturity of his sound. After applause and ending statements, much of the crowd had dispersed to other surrounding acts. 3RACHA focused on congratulating and helping the younger tear down.

“You did great as always Innie” Chan awarded him with a pat on the back. Jisung echoed the sentiment with his busy rambling about how emotional the last performance felt.

“Thanks hyungs, I’m glad you were able to make it.”

“Of course! We wouldn't miss it”

“Yeah, it absolutely has nothing to do with our manager locking us out of our apartment.” Jisung earned himself a punch in the shoulder with that one. Jeongin laughed just the same, and looked grateful to have some familiar faces in the crowd.

“Don’t mind the idiot, we’ll always be here for you. If anyone tries to mess with you in training just tell them your older brother will beat them up.”

“But Hyung, you're shorter than me.”

“Doesn’t mean I won't bust some kneecaps for my baby bro though,” said Changbin, brushing off the obvious jab at his height.

“Yeah! No one’s touching our baby bread.” Chan looped his arm over Jeongin's shoulders, hand going for the boy's cheeks only to be swatted away.

“3RACHA aka the Kneecap Destroyers,ROLL OUT!!!” Jisung struck a couple vague superhero poses while making a swinging motion that was probably meant to symbolize some sort of lower leg destruction.

“Jisung, were not the Transformers please.” Still the smile on Jeongin’s face was worth any of the embarrassment Jisung could’ve felt from his shenanigans. -- A cheer erupted nearby from a large crowd that seemed to have just gathered. Loud upbeat music filled the air and the confident melody of a popular song began. The four boys, overcome with mutual curiosity, made their way to the edge of the crowd. A dance crew populated the middle of the crowd. Confident charisma and perfectly timed movements flowed from each of the dancers, as they pulled off a complicated and synchronized routine. Full of hip thrusts and body rolls, the cheers from the crowd solidified how each of the dancers grasped the attention of on-lookers without warrant.

The whole audience was entranced by the crew of a dozen dancers taking over the street. All of the dancers dressed in variations of a black and white ‘uniform’ full of leather, silk and lace, pulling off a look that was elegant, sexy, and powerful. Dressed to accentuate their body movements and draw in the attention of bypassers.

It was mid-song when Jisung was surprised to spot the familiar brown hair and sharp eyes of his current favorite waiter of Menu 98. Minho being a dancer had never crossed his mind as a possibility, but now that he has seen the older dance, Jisung couldn’t imagine anything more natural. Minho seemed to dance purely with charisma. The goofy and cute side of Minho that he had occasionally witnessed over text, seemed to be non-existent as the man in front of him performed to the crowd with raw charm and confidence.

Minho caught Jisung’s blatant stare, and a flash of recognition and something else appeared on his face, before a smirk overcame his features as he sent a wink the younger’s way. The confidence of the older overwhelming Jisung’s system as usual. Sure, they had been ceaselessly flirting over text for the past week, but as soon as he had to witness Minho’s confidence in person, there was no screen to hide the fact that Jisung was a blushing mess. As the heat of embarrassment rose up his neck, he continued to watch as the dancers ended their routine in a formation that elicited a loud cheer from the audience.

“Wow these guys are really good”

“Have they performed before?”

“Did you see the guy in the middle his shirts practically see through”

“Damn do you think he’d give me his number if I asked”

The voices from the crowd surrounded Jisung but his eyes were locked on his newly discovered dancer, Minho.

“Hey Ji, see something you like?” Changbin’s teasing was left unanswered as he followed Jisung’s gaze.

“Hey hyung, do you know that guy?”

“Yeah, He kinda looks familiar.” Jisung guessed he was familiar. Considering that, even though Chan and Changbin hadn’t recognized him as their waiter, the dancer in front of them had been the subject of his attention for the past week or so. Seeing him in person was nothing short of breathtaking. Being a little dramatic, as he often is, Jisung found him almost speechless. His breath only continued to fail him as Minho made his way over to Jisung and their small group.

“Hey Sungie, long time no see.” a shameless smirk spread across his face. Minho seemed to know exactly how he affected the younger.

Before Jisung could think of a more eloquent greeting he found himself blurting out the first thought that had crossed his mind, “I didn’t know you were- that you did- the- uh dancing.”

Minho laughed freely at the wide eyed expression that Jisung wore. Soft and cute and full of the same awe as a kid seeing his favorite TV character I person for the first time. “Seems I forgot to mention that in our introductions, Not gonna lie I didn’t think you would see me dance already...”

An expression Jisung couldn’t quite read fell over Minho’s face, along with the red tint of embarrassment. “Nononono, don’t worry really. I never asked! But I mean you looke- i mean were amazing, at dancing. Really you’re seriously talented. I can't believe you’ve never mentioned it before.”

The red on Minho’s ears grew to his face. “Oh, I’m sure you say that to all your drunken accidents.” Smirk returns in an attempt by Minho to regain his smug attitude.

“You weren't an accident! I was completely sober at the bar when I told you to hit me up.”

“I’m sorry Jisung what?” Chan seemed to be tired of trying to deduce who exactly the other was.

“Oh right, this is Minho-Hyung, he was the waiter I TIPSY-ily gave my number to that one time. But we both completely forgot about it, and then by some string for fate bullshit I ran into him before last week’s gig and the rest is history!” Some degree of understanding flashes across the other two rappers' faces, while the youngest is just listening intently to Jisung’s entertaining shenanigans.

“Mhm, ‘Ran into’, definitely not saw-and-followed,” said Minho, getting more smug by the minute.

Taking the obvious opportunity to tease the youngest Changbin’s eyes held a mischievous glint. “Hold on a second, is this who you’ve been texting non-stop all week. No wonder you’ve been so happy.”

“Hyung!”

“Yeah, your usual chaotic gay energies have been replaced with giggly soft Jisung, and its honestly been worrying me, but I mean the ballad came out really good so can’t complain” Chan added. The smug faces of the older two, only grew as Jisung groaned loudly, flailing his arms to hopefully silence them. Minho’s grin just met his eyes as he chuckled.

“Glad to hear that I’m inspiring you Sungie. Also, It’s nice to finally meet you, Chan and Changbin-ssi I’m guessing?” Minho bows slightly to them as they all exchange pleasantries. Jeongin adds on, introducing himself as Changbin's brother. Minho seems to recognize him, and is about to praise his earlier performance when a yell erupts nearby.

“Minho-hyung!!! There you are, Lixie was looking for you. Looks like I beat him though.” Realizing he seemed to have interrupted something, Hyunjin bowed to the others shyly. Introducing himself to the others until his eyes laid on Jisung. “Wait, hyung! Isn’t he the cutie you’ve been talking to all week! Jisung-ah~ you remember me rightttt?”

Minho’s face deadpans at record speeds. “Yes Jinnie thank you. Shouldn't you be looking for Felix”

“Nope I’m right here.” Felix, seeming out of nowhere, emerges right behind his eldest roommate. “Hi everyone, I’m Felix.” Freckles out, smile bright, cute little wave, the classic Felix introduction that makes everyone fall for him. No one can resist the boy’s eye-smile-and-freckled-cheek combo.

“Felix!” Hyunjin wrapped himself around his roommate, pointed animatedly to introduce the others, even though he himself had just learned of their names seconds ago. “Hehe, and that’s Jisung! He’s the one who came into Sweet Lotus asking for Min-hyung’s number.”

“Sweet Lotus, huh?” Chan’s eyebrows rose at the name of the notorious bar, glacing at Jisung for an explanation.

“Hyung, what’s that?” Jeongin whispers quietly to his brother, only to be immediately answered by Hyunjin.

“Oh! It’s the host bar/club not too far from here. Nothing special, a normal bar really, just with prettier bartenders and some nice company if you can afford it.” Hyunjin threw a wink at the youngest, earning a glare from his brother.

“Jinnie’s a bartender, can you tell,” Felix giggles along with the others' antics.

"Hehehe. I’m sure you all would love it.” Hyunjin directed his attention to Jisung, “Hey, you should bring your friends next time Jisung-ah. I'd love to be able to have served all the members of 3RACHA. Ya know when you’re famous, I’ll have a story to tell the tourists.” Leaning in to ‘whisper’, “If you do, I'll let you know when Minho-hyung is working~” Jisung went full red at that comment. Hyunjin smirked so hard it looked like it would hurt.

“Jin, you have no shame.” Minho, after glaring at his roommate, turned toward Jisung and the other members of 3RACHA. “I’d apologize that this is how you had to be introduced to my roommates, but they’re like this all the time. Anyway, as he was saying, you guys are always welcomed to the bar, and it's really not as promiscuous as Hyunjin over here is insinuating. He enjoys being a tad over-dramatic.” His eye roll obvious.

Chan laughs, “No worries, Minho-ssi we’re honored by the invitation, truly. And It's nice to finally meet you properly-"

"Or at all. If we hadn't run into you, we probably would never be introduced. You've been Jisung's best kept secret. He's always hiding away his phone whenever we ask him what he's doing. All we hear is him giggling in his little corner and- "

"Okay!! Would you look at the TIME. It appears that 'Embarrass Jisung Time' has officially passed, and we should be on our way." About ready to turn away and hide his face further into his hoodie, Jisung's eyes catch Minho’s. He finds it is hard for him to believe the face on the other side of their conversations could actually be more beautiful than he remembered. Jisung knew that if they had been talking face to face and not over text, he would've had a pretty hard time forming sentences with the way Minho's soft but intense gaze was directed at him.

“Well it was good to see you again, even if it wasn’t planned.” A full blinding smile interrupts the gaze Minho held with Jisung.

“Yeah, likewise. It was nice getting to meet your roommates too.”The sweet gaze between the two is anything but subtle, but if any of their respective friends noticed the shift in atmosphere, it went unacknowledged.

“I’ll text you later okay?”

“Ye-yeah, okay”

They exchange ‘goodbyes’ and Minho attempts to wrangle his roommates away from the others, before they find more ways to embarrass him.

Out of earshot, “Holy shit, Minho-hyung we just met 3RACHA. I’m losing my mind. I hope they think we’re cool. Wait did they see our performance then? Oh my god. They definitely saw our performance.” An embarrassed look flashed across his face.

“Lix chill, your performance was perfect as always. Just try and not embarrass me so much next time”

“Aw hyungie~ did we embarrass you in front of your crush.”

“Hold up NEXT TIME?” ---

“...Well how about we’ll pretend that your heart eyes weren’t painfully obvious, and you pay for chicken?” Jeongin purposes cheekily.

“...mhm deal.” Clearly still in some state of shock still, Chan starts to lead Jisung and the rest of the group toward the nearest restaurant.

“Bro, you're so gone already.” Changbin shakes his head but holds a fond smile for the other. It had been awhile since their youngest trio member had smiled so much, and in turn had been equally inspired. Both of his hyungs had noticed the uptick of Jisung’s productivity, and, if anything, were glad to finally have met the reason for his smile.

-----

one ~ two ~ three ~ four ~ five ~ six ~ seven ~ eight ~ nine

#stray kids fic #stray kids #kpop fanfic #minsung #leeknow #lee minho #skz #skz fic #han jisung #skz han #skz leeknow #idk thx

[newtafterdark]

Taste of Metal - Chapter 5:  Reality Check

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157634/chapters/64305886

Summary: What if the overwhelming VR experience Gordon went through, had a deeper purpose than just being a simple simulation & a freelance debug job for him?

But most importantly- what if Gordon Freeman listens to Metal & used to be in a band? aka. the "Metalhead Gordon AU"

PS: This is the E-Bass mentioned in this chapter.  !t’s a real beauty, honestly!

- - -

It took Gordon a while to return to the others. For one, he always kind of zoned out for a bit when having a bath… and additionally, the reality of what had happened to him in the past few hours (or days? He wasn’t entirely sure and that unnerved him to no end-) had slowly started to sink in as well.

Zoning in and out of what was his reality now screwed heavily with his perception of the passage of time… and if getting his leg stuck while trying to slip into his comfort PJs and almost falling on his face added a few extra minutes… then that was between him and his checkered bathroom mat.

He rubbed the fabric of his dark floral-print pants between his thumb and pointer finger. It was a comfort thing. Always had been. Just something to help him stay in the moment with the help of adding the sense of touch when everything else was a tad clouded.

His still very much wounded arm was pressed lightly against his chest, the smooth fabric of the worn Nine-Inch-Nails shirt adding another layer of comfort to his current self-care choices.

Gordon hoped the Science Team would not question his comfort outfit… too much. It was just what he needed right now, as silly as the combo of rose-patterned pants & band merch might be.

His long hair was a mess as well. Yes, he had managed to get it clean and untangled most of the messy strands… but man, it was apparent that he needed to fix his undercut sometime. Right now though, he’d just have to deal with the state of his messy (and now also very fluffy post-hand-dryer) mane. Being able to run his fingers through it again and fluffing it up a bit further in the process... was a very nice thing though.

Gordon didn’t really look at anyone when he exited the bathroom and made his way to the couch- only to settle down on the floor, his back leaning against the front of the couch. He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling.

“Do you- Do you feel a bit better now, G-Gordon?”, he heard Tommy ask from a few feet away. Gordon managed a soft smile and a nod in affirmation.

“I… yeah, I do. I am exhausted to all hell and back but… yeah. I think I’m actually here... if that makes sense. Don't feel as removed anymore. So… uh… thanks. Everyone.”

He lifted his head carefully, giving himself the time to catch a glimpse of each Science Team member in the room. G-Man must still be around as well, as the man’s ominous briefcase was still leaning against a nearby wall.

The silence that followed was not one of comfort, Gordon could tell. There was an aura of unease and worry in the air. Even from Benrey, who had been seemingly calm previously.

“Guys, I… I still have a lot of questions, not gonna lie. But… first I do want to thank whoever sweetvoice’d my stump. I… I don’t know how to react to my arm actually being gone and frankly….. I am actually freaking out slowly but surely… but still… thanks. Hurts less and all that.”

Gordon jumped a bit as a high pitched noise escaped Benrey, followed by a hiccup and the guard trying to sink further into the bean chair he was sitting in.

“Dude, you don’t have to swallow your Sweet Voice around here. I am way past freaking out about it, believe me.”, Gordon assured him, followed by a short laugh- “It’s actually nice. And helpful. I can fully admit that now, honestly.”

Benrey let out an orb of pink Sweet Voice at that.

“Glad it- that it helps, man. Wasn’t sure if it would... now that we’re all here in... uh, in person.”

Gordon lifted his injured arm carefully, looking the wound over.

“I still have no idea how it works… but yeah, it does help a lot. Again, thanks.”

“Welcome.”

…

Another moment of awkward silence was beginning to start when Bubby suddenly stood up-

“Can we stop with the sulking? Seriously?! We’re OUT! FINALLY! We should be going outside and having the time of our lives-”

“Uh-”, Gordon suddenly looked very alarmed-

“-steal a car! Go on a real goddamn road trip-”

“Bubby-”

“What?!”, the tall man almost hissed out, immediately regretting raising his voice as Gordon curled up a bit into himself at the noise- “M-My apologies. But you get my point, don’t you?!”

Gordon nodded at that, despite shaking a bit.

“I absolutely do! Hearing that you guys were legit locked up for god-knows how long… I would want nothing more than wanting to go outside and explore this world if I’d be in your shoes! It’s just... how aware are you guys of what has been going on on the surface for the past 10 years? Do you… do you guys even know what year it actually is?”

Tommy perked up at that-

“It’s 2020! Not all of us had a good grasp on time, but my dad and I do!”

“Me as well, Gordon!”, Dr Coomer added with a smile- “As much as we as a group had our jokes about Wikipedia, it was basically our only window to the world outside for a very long time. So thanks to it we do know about a lot of things… in theory.”

Gordon let out a short sigh of relief.

“O-Okay, that’s actually good to know- I mean, it sucks that that was all you guys had! But… at least we don’t have to start on nothing.”

“We’ll be perfectly fine dealing with the outside world, thank you very much!”, Bubby threw in, arms crossed.

Dr Coomer reached over and put a hand on Bubby's shoulder-

“Bubby, dear, I can still see us getting overwhelmed with it though. It might not be all new for me, but it is for you! And for Benrey as well. Do trust me that we all need to take this slow.”

Gordon slowly sat up, actually deciding to move up onto the couch, pulling one of his legs under him while stretching the other out.

“Guys… if you want, you all can stay here as long as you want.”, he said, earning himself a collection of surprised looks from everyone- “I know my place is small but… you saved my ass. I want to at least try to even that out by letting you stay for as long as you need.”

He ran his intact hand through his hair again, a few strands falling over his right eye.

“And I know G-Man said not to worry about what Black Mesa might do with you all on the loose now… but honestly, I will sleep better knowing you all are closeby and not in imminent danger. Call me selfish, but I’ve grown to like you guys. And I do care for your chaotic asses.”

Gordon went on, grateful for the patient silence the team graced him with at the moment-

“I need to be upfront about this and not bottle this shit up, so let me be absolutely clear: The shit that happened in the simulation? I do not hold that against any of you. Knowing the context of that whole thing… yeah, it was horrid, not gonna lie- but we all ran on fumes… b-but it was also kinda… cool?”, he added with a nervous chuckle.

“Like, how you all tweaked the code in small ways? It added up to such a chaotic mess that was hella stressful… but really fun to experience too? Like- Benrey!”

“Huh whu-?!”, the guard in question sat up in the beanbag, eyes wide.

“Your no-clipping for bits? Your entire goddamn boss fight?! It was terrifying and So. Fucking. COOL!”, Gordon explained, wildly motioning around with his intact hand and then looking at the others in the room one after the other- “Look, I didn’t really know what you guys’ deal was, along with this being a professional job, so I didn’t really get to talk about all the stuff I get excited about but MAN!!”

The entire gang turned at the sudden sound of a low chuckle coming from the doorframe to the kitchen. G-Man was leaning against it, a soft smile on his lips.

“I… am glad that it wasn’t as traumatizing for you as it could have been, Mister Freeman. I take it, you are quite comfortable with the themes you saw in the simulation, yes?”

He motioned at the walls of Gordon’s living room, causing the man in question to blush and curl up a bit into himself. The Science Team exchanged a few confused glances before taking the opportunity to actually take in Gordon’s apartment properly.

“Look guys, I-”, Gordon started in a slightly defensive tone, before suddenly getting stopped by Benrey’s hand on his chest. Gordon snapped his head up, staring at the guard- whose whole attention was focused entirely on taking in the apartment's aesthetic.

The furniture around them was a wild collection of thrifted items. Wear and tear showed on the dark wooden table and on the clunky shelves on the walls.

Several big moving boxes sat in the corners, stacked on top of each other. It looked as if they hadn’t been moved in months, as if Gordon had not bothered opening them after moving into the place whenever ago.

The couch, beanbag chair and the two additional armchairs had several patches messily stitched onto them. A dresser to the side had been painted with various spray paints… and had a ton of smaller tags written on it with dripping pens at some point.

All his was the base… but what left the team staring with wide eyes were the small decorations of the place. The walls were absolutely plastered with band posters. And not the kind they would have expected from Gordon-

Countless of them had hard-to-read fonts on them, flames, lightning… and the number of bones and skeletons were honestly a bit overwhelming. Especially Benrey, who was now letting out a constant stream of excited-sounding Sweet Voice.

The skeleton theme actually continued with the other decorations around the room as well. Several different skull-themed items sat on the shelves, really putting the room together. And not cheap-looking stuff either! Some of them had a metal finish, others were carved out of wood and a rather big amethyst skull divided Gordon’s decently-sized DVD and Video Game collection.

There was what could only be described as faux-taxidermy all over the place as well. Small bottles labelled with things like “void eyes” and “dragon blood” instantly drew Darnold’s attention.

Dr Coomer ended up walking up to the wall-mounted dragon head with a colour-changing skull in its mouth and just gave it an approving nod.

Bubby, however, was still scanning the band posters until- “GORDON?!”

“Y-Yeah? Wha-”

“YOU PLAY ELECTRIC BASS??? AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?”

Gordon grinned and got up, walking over to where Bubby was standing.

“Oh yeah! That’s my old Fender! Haven’t touched that babe in a good while… probably needs a bit of re-tuning, now that I think about it...”

Bubby shot him a look-

“I repeat: you play e-bass???”

Gordon let out a warm laugh.

“Yeah! Sometimes guitar too, electric and acoustic. Just haven’t really had a reason to in a while.”

A pained expression suddenly appeared on Gordon’s face. “Not like I will again anytime soon, you know?”, he added, lifting his stump.

Bubby waved him off.

“Oh please. Harold told you he has a plan to get that “fixed”. Trust him on that. He doesn’t break his promises. And his work is extremely high-quality and responsive. You will be able to play again with no issue.”

Before Gordon could reply to that, he suddenly felt a hand on his healthy arm, only to find Dr Coomer right beside him.

“Indeed, Gordon! You will have a proper prosthetic arm in no time! Well… I hate to admit that the entire process will probably take at least a full week.”

“Oh! T-That’s still extremely fast! I… I don’t even know how to thank you for that, Dr Coomer. Do you need any specific tools? I think my computer building tools should be around here somewhere-”, Gordon rambled on, only to be stopped by Coomer’s laugh.

“Oh Gordon, don’t worry! I’ll be able to find everything I need with ease! Most of it I already have! I plan on stripping your VR Suit for parts, you see!”, the older scientist explained to him- “You go sit down and let yourself relax and heal. Which is something that needs to happen before I can even think about fitting the prosthetic properly to your arm anyway! I am sure Benrey’s Heal Beam will be of much-needed assistance with that in the following days!”

A loud “HELL YEEEEAH” was heard from the other side of the room.

Gordon chuckled.

“Alright then- uh…. Do you guys want some snacks and get comfy? I think I still have-”

“Mister Freeman… I took it upon me... to get that covered. I hope you don’t mind too much.”

G-Man walked into the living room with a big baking dish and wearing Gordon’s flame-print oven mitts.

“G, my good man, you will never hear me complaining about such perfectly baked Mac’n’Cheese- oh shit, is that sliced ham in there too?”, Gordon stared at the perfectly brown cheese layer on top- “… yeah, you are allowed and encouraged to cook whatever and whenever you feel like it while you’re in my four walls, holy shit.”

“Ah… thank you for the high praise Mister Freeman, but-”

Gordon shot G-Man an unimpressed look, which startled the taller man a bit-

“Alright, Rule Numero Uno of Hotel Gordon: You will be complimented here and you will take it. That goes for everyone here. Yeah, sometimes we will get salty over things, as we have before… but guys, here comes a fun IRL fact about me: I am aggressively supportive.”

“G-Gordon, I am not sure that is needed-”, Tommy stammered out, only for him to slightly freeze as Gordon turned towards him with an intense stare-

“Oh? Wanna test me? Think I won’t say that I still deeply appreciate how you selflessly dragged my sorry ass along when I was too weak to walk on my own? That you had my back in ways that I will be in debt for until the end of my life? You sure??? Absolutely sure?”, Gordon said, grinning and pointing a finger at Tommy… who was now hiding his face behind his hands, letting out a soft “buuuuuuh” sound, followed by a flustered laugh.

Gordon looked at all of the Science Team with an affectionate glint in his eyes. It felt so good to actually be himself around this chaotic bundle of people he learned to care for so deeply.

#hlvrai #hlvrai gordon #gordon feetman #metalhead gordon au #metalhead gordon #benrey #tommy coolatta #hlvrai darnold #hlvrai gman #hlvrai coomer #hlvrai bubby #the premise of this AU finally shows itself #fanfics #fanfic

[chickensarentcheap]

I Found- Chapter 16

I wasn’t going to post this tonight, but there’s a lot of Ovi in it for @c-a-v-a-l-r-y

Also tagging: @alievans007 and @hemmyworthy

No warnings

Ovi is out the front door and sprinting for the car before Tyler even manages to get both feet on the ground.    Stumbling backwards when the kid catches him off guard: both of those skinny arms wrapping around his upper torso and embracing him tightly.

“Easy there, mate,” he gives a soft chuckle, both embarrassed and startled by the kid's outward show of affection.  “Easy.”

He imagines that there's a huge sense of relief now that he's there to help; Ovi trusts him and knows that he'll stop at nothing to keep him safe.  He had proven his worth in that department when he'd found a way to get the kid to safety despite knowing the job was well and truly fucked.  But there's probably also the sheer joy of just being able to see him in person. His own two eyes able to see for themselves that Tyler was indeed healthy.  That he's truly alive and well and right there under his fingertips. Not bloodied and battered back on that bridge telling him to run for the helicopter.  How he'd watched with relief when  Tyler rallied back and d towards them, only to be shot in the neck. And the last 'in person' memory the kid had of him was seeing him collapsed on the sidewalk, Esme holding him while he lying.  Ovi had been rushed to safety before finding out that Tyler had somehow miraculously survived and was in the hospital, struggling to hold on.  That he'd be transferred to a facility in Australia when...and if...he was ever stable enough.

Tyler is effectively the only true father figure that the kid has. The one that Ovi calls when he gets better than expected grades or a the highest marks in the class on a test. The one he talks to about girls and his struggles to actually get the balls to interact with them. Who he chats about sports with. Who he confides in when it comes to his hopes and his dreams and wishes for his future.  He's terrified of becoming his father. Of being forced to take over the 'family business'.  He isn't that kind of person: ruthless, sinister, evil. He is a good kid with a good heart and a bright future. And Tyler had taken it upon himself to make sure things stayed that way.  In the past, Saju had attempted to fill that role but had failed miserably. Yes, he'd been protective and strong and had been willing to lay his life on the line for the kid, but he'd never been fatherly. He'd become nothing more than hired help.  Never nurturing or encouraging. Never understanding that sometimes a kid just needed to be a kid.

Tyler returns the hug; one hand on the back of Ovi's head, holding it against his shoulder. He can feel the kid's body shuddering against him and the tears through his shirt. And he's taken back to that moment at Gaspar's. When Ovi had clung to him on the stairs, horrified by what he had done. Watching the life drain out of the man that he'd just shot to save Tyler's life and, essentially, his own. He'd been emotionally and physically spent from the day he'd been through. And all he'd wanted to do was go home.

“Christ, mate...”  he holds Ovi at arm's length, tousling that unruly dark hair and gently slapping him on the cheek.  “...look how bloody big you've gotten. Like you've shot up a whole foot.”

“All grown up,” Esme agrees, and the kid embraces her tightly, a smile on her face as she take his face in her hands. “...you're making me feel really, really old right now,” she says, as her own tears sparkle in her eyes.

There's a genuine affection she feels for that kid. Perhaps her motherly instincts kicking in. But Tyler had even seen it back then, when she'd met up with them at that warehouse. The way she would get him talking about random things to take his mind off of their situation, how she'd smile at him and reach out and take his hand when he was struggling, how she'd reassure him that everything was going to be okay. Even if deep down, she wasn't sure if she believed it herself.

“I'm so so glad you guys are here. I'm so happy to see you,” he manages. That lower lip quivering before he breaks down again.  And she takes him into her arms once more, cradling and comforting the way any mother would a child in pain.

Tyler knows that the kid hasn't felt that in a long time: a mother's love, concern, and affection. She well and truly does care for that kid. And seeing the depth of that love and care even makes him emotional and he clears his throat noisily and reaches into the backseat of the car.

“Oh my goodness!” Ovi's entire demeanour immediately changes when he sees the baby carrier now in Tyler's hand .  That boyish sparkle in his eyes returning as they widen, a smile spreading across across his face. “Look at her! Look how cute she is!” and he's now beside Tyler,  bravely reaching for the baby.  Gentle and curious hands exploring; touching tiny feet and, stroking impossibly small fingers, running a finger tip over a silky smooth cheek. “Look how tiny you are,” he breathes.  “How can anyone be this tiny?” he wonders aloud, and then smiles at Tyler. “She's even cuter in person. She's so small! How does anything so small come from someone as big as you?!”

“Got her mom's genes I guess, mate.”

“She looks just like you though! It's kind of creepy actually. Not creepy in a bad way. But creepy in like, a wow kind of way.  It's so weird. She's like your little twin. She's got your eyes and your nose and your mouth and even yours ear It's freaky.”

“You trying to say my kid's ugly,  kid?” Tyler chides, and Ovi's eyes widen as he take his question seriously.

“No! No! She's cute! So very cute. Not that I'm saying you're cute or anything like that because that would be really weird.”

“I don't know whether to be relieved or flattered that you're not attracted to me.”

“He's just yanking your chain,” Esme  assures Ovi  “And he hears it everywhere we go. From everyone we meet. How she looks just like him. I'm the one that that had the all day sickness and got fat and gross, but by all means, have the child look exactly like the person who put in five minutes of minimal effort at the very beginning.”

“Five minutes,” Tyler scoffs.  “And minimal effort? What the...”

“I'm just saying,” she teases, and stands on her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Here...” she curls her fingers around the handle of the baby carrier. “...she's probably hungry and needs a change. You boys catch up.”

“We'll be in in a bit.” he says, pecking her cheek, softly and playfully tapping his palm against her ass as she goes, Jason and the other members of the team following close behind.  Frowning, eyes narrowing, when that kid from Louisiana has the goddamn nerve to place a hand on the small of Esme's back as he escorts her inside.

To the average eye, it would be nothing more than a gentlemanly gesture. To Tyler it's a threat.

“You two make me so happy,” Ovi gushes. Oblivious to the tension. “I'm glad that you stayed together. She kind of scared me, you know, when I first met her. When she came to the warehouse to help us. I didn't understand how someone that looks like her could be so brave.  I wondered how she couldn't  be scared to to come to our aid.  With all that was happening and the people after us, she still showed up. She could have just left.  And she didn't. That's real bad ass.”

“She's the real bad ass of the family, mate. And that's what she does. That's her thing.  She sacrifices herself for the people she loves.”

“Well I'm glad she does. I'm glad she wasn't too scared to help us. I'm glad she showed up that day.”

“So am I.  But don't let her fool you. She was scared.  We all were.”

“Even you?”

Tyler nods.  “Even me.”

“Well I'm just glad that that two of you are together.  She probably keeps you in line and out of trouble.”

“Trust me kid, I'm more scared of her than she is of me. Want to really see her go off? Wait until I leave the toilet seat up or dirty socks on the floor. That's when she really loses it.”

Ovi laughs at that, then suddenly grows quiet again.  His face sullen, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.  “I'm just really glad you're here.”

There tears come again.  Scalding. Bitter. A lost and lonely little boy stuck in an almost grown man's body.

It's Tyler who makes the first move this time. Wrapping both arms around the boy. Pulling him close. Like a father.

“I'm here, mate,” he assures her.  “I'm here.”

***

The Mahajan's army of hired help has gone out of their way to make everyone feel welcome.  Each assigned their own bedroom within that sprawling mansion; fresh, rich lines on the beds, small gifts and notes of appreciation left on pillows., a  seemingly endless buffet of food and drink. The maids hover over them throughout dinner. Filling plates despite protestations of someone being full,  making sure that drinks were topped off,  that anything they wanted was immediately supplied. It was surreal to Tyler. Living like that. He'd always been used to an unassuming and simple life.  Spending those bachelor days between his first and second marriage in his rundown shack.  Content with living off the land. Being alone. His dog and chicken his only sources of companionship.

Bathroom chicken, Esme had called it. And still referred to it as such when the subject was brought up. And he can still see the both quizzical and amused look that had come over her face when she'd seen his rather unconventional roommate. The day that she'd been suddenly dropped into his life when Nik had brought her along to discuss the Dhaka job.  She'd pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, a smirk tugging at her lips, and it was the first time she ever spoke or turned those dark eyes on him.

“There's a chicken in your bathroom.”

A few days later, she'd brought up it in  a conversation and coined the nickname Bathroom Chicken.

It stuck.

He sometimes misses that old life.  That rundown but familiar little shack.  The peace and quiet that came with being out in the middle of nowhere.  But he wouldn't trade his new existence.  The comfort and security that comes with having someone to love and love you back.   With having someone other than himself to take care of.  Being a husband and a father again hadn't been in his plans back then, but now they were very much the two most important roles in his life.

“I want to hold her,” Ovi says, addressing the older Indian woman that lingers in the corner, her body swaying side by side as she hums to the baby in her arms.  Mahajan Senior had hired someone to help with the child care; promising that she was kind and caring and had decades of experience caring for youngsters. Esme had been skeptical at first when a strange woman with broken English immediately approached her and gestured for her to hand over the baby.  It was hard to trust a stranger with your own well being, never mind with the care of your child. Especially your first.  “It's my turn. I haven't got to hold her yet. I want to hold her.  I'm Uncle Ovi, after all.”

Tyler grins at that. Uncle Ovi. The kid already considering himself a part of their little family.

The woman moves forward, speaking in Hindi as she instructs him on to properly hold an infant. He's awkward at first; nervous,  surprised at how light she actually is, maybe even worried that he might hurt her. But then that little body snuggles into his chest and he smiles, settling back in his chair.

“I think she likes me,” he's over the moon about it. He's never been around babies before. He's an only child and doesn't have friends with younger siblings of kids of their own. And  his face is  as bright and glowing as a kid on Christmas morning that just discovered his biggest wish under the tree.  “She's not scared of me.  She's really light. And really soft. I like the way she smells.”

“She won't smell so good in about an hour,” Tyler says. “Trust me. You'll be surprised how rank something that looks like her can actually be.”

“He's only upset because he has competition for the stinkiest ass in the ass,” Esme chides, and digs a playful elbow into her husband's side, and then places her hand on his stomach and rests her head against his shoulder.

The help begins clamouring around them. Never speaking as they clear away dishes and cutlery, spiriting them away to the kitchen with promises of coffee and dessert.  For several minutes no one speaks,  relaxing in the comfortable silence. Their bellies full and their bodies weary from the long day of travel.  The only sounds in the room the ticking of a clock on the wall and the soft cooing noises that the baby makes, smiling up at Ovi, her fist tightly closed around one of his fingers.

“Have you heard anything new?”  Jason speaks up,  addressing the kid, and Tyler sees how Ovi's body immediately tenses and his eyes darken. And he's tempted to just reach across the table and slap the ever loving shit out  of the other man. He sure as hell didn't know how to read situations well.  How to adjust your approach based on someone's mental state and current level of calm.

Tyler speaks up  “We've got lots of time to talk about that. We just got here.  No need to rush into it.”

“We're not here on a social call,” the younger man retorts. “We're here on business. For a job. And...”

“We're here because Ovi asked to come here,” Tyler interjects, and he feels his wife's hand tighten on the front of his t-shirt, her body shifting uncomfortably beside him.  That head no longer on his shoulder as she sits up straight in  her chair. “This isn't a job that is only going to take a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. So relax, mate. We just got here.”

“Why don't you relax.”

 The reply isn't a suggestion, it's an  order.  And his jaw clenches and his eyes narrow, and he would have gotten up right there and then and just beaten the shit out of the kid, but his wife has laid a hand on his knee and is squeezing as hard as she can.

“I want to hear about the girl,” Esme changes the flow of the conversation, bringing down the level of tension. “Tyler says there's a girl at school you like, Ovi.”

His eyes widen, and Tyler can almost see a blush creeping into his cheeks.  

“You told her that?” Ovi is mortified “I can't believe you told her that.”

“In his defence, I sort of dragged it out of him,” Esme says.  “I remember you telling me about a girl. When we were in the warehouse and I was asking you about school and friends. You mentioned that there was a girl you liked. Is it the same one?”

He nods in confirmation.

“So what's the hold up?  From what you told me, she seemed pretty interested back then. And if she's still hanging in there after all this time...”

“I don't know if she likes me,” he laments. “Sometimes I think she does and then sometimes I think she doesn't.  I catch her staring at me a lot. Smiling.  Sometimes she acts like she wants to come up to talk to me and then changes her mind.”

“That's how it all starts mate,” Tyler grins. “Run away while you still can.  They're trouble. The whole lot of them.”

Esme frowns, then retaliates: grabbing a hold of that bit of extra fat that sits at the top of the hips and pinching as hard as she can.

“See what I mean?” he addresses Ovi. “It starts out good. They smile at you. They bat their eyelashes at you. Laugh at your jokes no matter how stupid they are. And they hook you. With how cute they are and how good they smell. And by the time you realize what a heap of shit you're in, you can't get away. You don't want to get away.”

“I have ways of killing you in your sleep,” Esme informs him. “I could do away with you and not one person in this room would squeal on me.”

Across the room, Jason makes a snide comment about how it might be the best thing to ever happen.

“Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you mate,” Tyler smirks. “Something tells me you wouldn't mind being the one that actually gets to do it.”

“What's her name?” Esme is anxious to get the conversation back on track. “The girl.”

“Priya,” Ovi says, and his smile broadens. “And she's so pretty. Even prettier than her name. “

“So what are you waiting for?” she inquires. “It sounds like she's into you.  And why wouldn't she be? You're handsome, smart, funny, talented. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

“She makes me nervous,” he confesses.  “So very nervous.”

“That's when you know it's a good thing. When you feel that way. Do you get butterflies when you think about her? Or when she smiles at you?”

His eyes narrow, confused. “Butterflies?”

“Does your stomach do funny things. Flip flop around and stuff like that. Do you get that when she smiles at you or when you think  about her?”

A long, slow grin.  “Yeah...” he shyly admits. “...I do.”

“Those butterflies are the best,” Esme declares. “I still get them all the time.”

Tyler can't help but smile at that. Especially when she takes his hand and squeezes.

“You should ask her out. She sounds like she's into you.  What's the issue?”

“I'm too shy,” he moans.  “I get too nervous around her.  I'm afraid I'll say something stupid and embarrass myself.”

“We all do that, mate,” Tyler says. “All us guys when it comes to a beautiful woman. I still say stupid shit and make a fool out of myself.”

“He does,” Esme nods. “All the time. You only know one side of Tyler. You don't know the sides that I do.  You don't know what a total cornball he can be.  He even has a romantic side.”

“Easy now,” Tyler chuckles.  “Let's keep some things need to know. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“He has a total soft side,” Esme continues.  “He acts like he's hard ass all the time, but he's not. He could give you pointers. I bet he could get you brave enough to ask Priya out. Just don't let him teach you any of his pick up lines. They border on sexual harassment. You'd probably get  punched in the throat for using them.  But he can teach you to be more confident. He''s more a man of action. And you know what they say. About actions speaking louder than words.”

The talk gradually turns to sports. World events.  Entertainment. As the minutes tick by, the room begins to empty. The security team excusing them for their hourly rounds. Each has a different area to patrol; spots to man through the night and into the morning.

Tyler is tired; jet lag is sinking in, all the trouble spots in his battered body aching at the same time.  Yet he can't shut his mind off.  He can't quiet the whispers that tell him that there's a threat closer than a lot of them actually realize.  And he is now only half listening to the conversation going on around him.  Eyes riveted on the mug clasped in his hand, thumb repeatedly brushing against the porcelain.

Esme yawns beside him, then gives his hand a squeeze and stands up.   “I'm wiped. I'm going to have a really hot bath and  go to bed. You boys keep talking. You have a lot of catching up to do.”

Her hands comes to rest on Tyler's shoulders, fingers kneading at the tight and aching muscles. Then he tips his head back to look at her and she drop a kiss on his lips. “I'll be up soon,” he tells her.

“Take your time,” she combs her fingers through his hair, presses her lips to his forehead, then moves to take the baby from Ovi.

“Do I really have to give her up?” he moans.  “I don't want to give her up just yet.”

“There's lots of time to hold her.” she assures him, and takes Amelia from his arms.  “We're not going anywhere. It's late. Little Miss needs her beauty sleep.”

Ovi bids her a goodnight.  Tyler just smiles, watching her until she disappears from the room.

“You're lucky,” Ovi says. “You got a second chance at a life. You've got someone that loves you. You made a baby. I hope you realize how lucky you are.”

“Sometimes I don't, mate,” he admits. “There's lots of times where I need to be reminded.”

He realizes that has to change.

****

He'd fallen asleep in the arm chair in the living room.  As they night grew longer and there seemed to be slowing down in the conversation, he and Ovi had moved to another room while the cleaning staff got to their tasks.   Despite the worry and the stress surrounding him, Ovi was full of exuberance; confident that this nightmare would soon to be over now that the one person he truly trusted had come to his aid. So instead of focusing on the threats and the fear, the kid excitedly told tales of school; the teachers he liked or disliked, gossip about those who were  considered the popular kids, hopes he had for upcoming tests and  ideas for projects.  Tyler had remained silent the entire time; letting the words just flow from the kid's mouth.  Pleased that Ovi was already feeling more secure. Which no immediate fears of the future and the trouble that was brewing around him.  And while he had no set in stone plans for his future, one thing was certain: he did not want to remain in India. He'd already been researching schools. United States, Canada, Australia, and he was fully planning on getting as far away from home as possible.

Eventually he had nodded off, curled up in a fetal position on the couch.   Tyler had gotten up long enough to turn the lights off,  returning to that arm chair; planning on sticking around long enough just to make sure the kid wouldn't suddenly wake up and  panic if he didn't find Tyler close by.  Only he had falling asleep himself; jet lagged and weary, a sitting position helping to alleviate the pain in his back and shoulder.

Not his eyes snap open; woken the sound of Ovi muttering in his sleep and the soft footfalls in the hallway, leading towards them.  His brain quickly orientating himself with his surroundings;  the Mahajan's elaborate furniture,  the feel of the wool carpet under his bare feet, the moonlight streaming through the wall to wall windows that look out into the expansive backward.  He can see the solar lights that mark a perimeter around the in ground pool, and the two guards stationed in the rear ward doing their patrols.  No sign of trouble. Just a quiet, unassuming night,  a soft breeze floating on the air. And as the footsteps draw closer, he eyes his handgun on the side table next to the chair. Weighing the situation; there was no sign of trouble or panic outside. The guards were alive and well. The alarm settings were armed.  The chances of it being an intruder were highly unlikely, and he doubted word of his arrival had even been spread about Dhaka yet.

“Tyler?” Esme's soft voice from the hallway.

“In here,” he says, and moments later she's padding into the room with the baby in her arms.  “Everything okay?”

“She woke up for a feed and now she's decided she doesn't want to go back to sleep,” her voice is tired, and she releases a loud, long yawn that hides in her elbow.  “You guys alright?”

“Yeah, the kid just talked my ear off and we both ended up falling asleep. Give her to me,” he holds his arms out and she gently places the baby into them. He  settles his infant against him; her stomach against his torso and her head on his shoulder, one of his hands on her back.  

“I woke up and you hadn't come to bed yet,” Esme says.  “I was worried that something might have happened. Or that you...”

“I already said I wouldn't take off,” he sternly reminds her, then gives her a smile and reaches for her hand, pulling her towards him.

She settles beside him; effectively fitting that five foot three between him  and the arm  of the chair, both legs slung over his thighs. Placing a hand on the back of her head, he gently draws her down into him, her face nestling into the spot between his neck and his shoulder. And she gives another loud yawn and rubs her cheek against him.  

“What time is it?” he asks, and she reaches onto the side table to check his phone. “Three fifteen.”

“Am?” he has no idea why he even asks. It's damn obvious. Just a brain trying to run on very little sleep, he supposes. Mixed in with the slight fogginess that comes with the withdrawal he experiences if he doesn't stick to a med schedule

She ignores the faux pas, and placing the phone back on the table, curls an around around his neck and presses a kiss to his cheek.  

For a while neither of them speak.  Their eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the crickets chirping outside and the baby's soft breathing as she finally dozes off.  

“It's sad,” Esme suddenly says, and his eyes snap open again.  The tip of her nose pressed against the side of his neck, breath warm and sweet against his skin.

“What is?”

“That people can have so much yet really have nothing at all.”

“How you mean?”

“Look at this place. Look how incredible it is. It's big and it's beautiful and comes with everything you could possibly want. A massive back yard, a pool, it's own theatre room and gym,,  a sauna.  From the outside looking in it's pretty amazing and it would be easy to be envious of whoever lives like this. Yet when you walk inside, you feel...nothing.  It feels empty. As if no one lives here at all.”

He nods as he considers her words. “Well really, it's just the kid here. The staff is here, but they're not here, here.”

“I just find it so tragic. That people can have so much and have nothing all at the same time.  Here's the kid who has been abandoned by his father and has strangers taking care of him. There's no one here that actually cares about him. There's no one he can talk to about school or get homework help from, no one he can go to with a broken heart. He's surrounded by people, yet he is completely alone. And that breaks my heart.”

“It is,” he agrees, and running a hand over her hair, presses a kiss to her forehead.

“As nice as this place is, as beautiful as it is, I would still pick that little shack of yours over it any day of the week.”

“Yeah?” he grins. “Even with the chicken?”

She grins against him.

“Even with the chicken.”

****

“We can't leave him here, Tyler,” she says sometime later, just as he was beginning to find sleep once again. “When this is all over.  We just can't.  This place is just going to drag him down.  It's going to eat away from him and it's going to it's going to break him down and he's going to start looking for what he's not getting at home. And you know as well as I do that things like that never end well. When you feel abandoned and you'll settle for any kind of love and compassion you can find.”

“He's a smart kid.  He has a good head on his shoulders.”

“This will never be fully over for him if he stays here. You said it yourself: one  Asif dies, another ten step up to take his place. If he stays here, he will never be truly safe. Just like we can never go back home. And that's why we can't leave him here.  We just can't.”

“So what do we do with him? We can't just throw him on a plane with us and take him away from here. He still has a father. Technically.”

“A father who doesn't care about him,” she points out.  “If you cared about your kid, you wouldn't put them in such a shitty mess to begin with. How does a father do that? Choose a life like that over protecting and nurturing their own child?”

“Same kind of father who kills people for a living, I suppose.”

“Don't even compare the two. You kill people in the pursuit of helping other people. Ovi's dad kills people because he's an evil bastard.  There's a huge difference.”

“Still not something I want my daughter finding out about me when she grows up.”   It's a sobering thought.  What the tiny baby nestled against his chest will be like when she is Ovi's age.   He's not entirely sure that he would want her to know the ugly truth of his past.

“You should go and talk to him,” she suggests.

“Who?”

“Ovi's dad.”

“Why the hell would I go and talk to him? Why would he even want to see me?”

“You're the man who saved his son. Why wouldn't he want to see you?”

“Maybe I could ask him where the fuck the rest of my money is.”

“It wasn't about the money and you know it. At least not at the end.”

She was right.  Somewhere along the line, the Dhaka job had went from mercenary work to mercy work.  The money hadn't mattered in the grand scheme of things.  All that had mattered was getting that kid home.  As if making sure Ovi was safe and sound was Tyler's way of achieving absolution for the mistakes of his past.

“What would I say to him?”

“You could start with, 'hey,I'm the guy that got shot in the throat and nearly bled to death while bringing your son back to you, you grateful fuck'.”

Tyler grins. “Tell me how you really feel.”

“Tell him that his son deserves better. That his son deserves to have a future. That he deserves a family. People that will love him. Support him. Nurture him. Someone that will help him become a good man that helps people instead of hurting them. I mean, he must have at least some shred of humanity left, right? Some inkling of compassion you can exploit.  I can't imagine him being that evil where he doesn't have at least ounce of love for his own child.”

“People like him aren't human, love. They aren't like you and I.  They feel nothing.”

“But it's at least worth a try, right? You could go there and see if he'd be willing to see you.  It doesn't hurt to go there and see what happens. “

“And say what? I'm here to take your kid? I don't know where yet, but he's coming along any way.  And are you really being serious about this? You want the kid to come and stay with us?”

“He trusts us. He loves us. Especially you. He would follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“We have our own family. We have a baby. We want more babies. Do we really want to add a teenager into all of that?”

“Not just any teenager, Tyler . This isn't just some teenager. This is Ovi. And he deserves to know what it feels like to be wanted. To be loved.”

Sighing heavily, he closes his eyes and leans his head against the back of the chair. His arm around her, thumb stroking her shoulder.

“He needs you, Tyler. And I think in some way,  you need him too.”

“Maybe,” he says.  “But it doesn't mean I'm what's good for him.”

“You're already an amazing father to your own kid. What would stop you from being an amazing father to him?” she rests her chin on his shoulder and looks at him,  her fingertips grazing along the shorn hair at the nape of his neck.  “Promise me you'll at least think about it  That you won't just leave the kid here when this is all over. Don't abandon him like his father did. Promise me you won't do that.”

Sliding his hand up to her shoulder, he kisses her. Short and soft and sweet.

“I promise.”

#i found #tyler rake #tyler rake fan fiction #tyler rake fan fic #extraction

[walkerismychoice]

Stripped Bare - Chapter 16 (Bryce X MC AU)

Book: Open Heart

Pairing: Bryce X MC (Charlie Hawkins)

Summary: It’s the day of the wedding rehearsal, and Charlie introduces Bryce to another one of her family members. Also, there may be trouble in paradise for Katelyn and Landry.

Note: Just in case the relationship between Kyra isn’t clear, they are not related by blood or technically even by marriage. They are both related to Katelyn as her cousin, but they are from opposite sides of the family. Charlie only knows Kyra from when she would invite them both over as kids. This distinction will be necessary this chapter, lol.

Also another thing which I have failed to mention enough is that most of the locations and things in this series are real parts of this resort. There are mentions of a bar, specific bartender, and cocktail, all of which really exist at Half Moon resort.

Lastly, I appreciate all the feedback I got on where to take this series. I was able to merge several ideas with things I already had in mind, so there’s no specific credit to be given, but you may see bits and pieces of what you personally suggested from here on out. Thank you all again for your help.

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 2850

Friday

"There's something different about you...." Kyra narrows her eyes and scans Charlie discerningly. "Is it new makeup? You're all glowy or something."

"No, I don’t think so." Charlie laughs nervously. Kyra knows, or if she doesn't she's about to figure it out. Not that Charlie would keep it from her, but she doesn't want to discuss it here, seated amongst the wedding party at the beachside set-up, waiting for the officiant to arrive to start the rehearsal.

"Oh my god! You and Bryce fu-"

"Kyra!" Charlie covers Kyra's mouth with her hand. "This is not the time nor the place."

Kyra smirks satisfactorily. "You didn't deny it. I expect full details later. And I mean everything."

Charlie rolls her eyes but can't hold back a smirk. "Okay, just keep it down for now."

Kyra glances off to the side where Bryce is waiting and winks at him. Bryce shoots a confused look to Charlie and she just shrugs and throws her hands up. As expected, Kyra is having difficulty with the concept of discretion.

The rehearsal is uneventful, but there seems to be extra tension between between Katelyn and Landry. Not that they’re a super affectionate couple to begin with, but the air is especially icy between them. Maybe it’s just stress and pre-wedding jitters, but whatever the case, seeing those two together makes Charlie even more thankful she’s not still with Andrew.

Bryce approaches Charlie as they are dismissed to head to the rehearsal dinner and loops his arm around her waist. “You walked down that aisle like a pro. You’re going to nail your performance tomorrow.”

Charlie giggles. “Well this is me we’re talking about. No guarantees I won’t fall flat on my face.

Bryce nods. “This is true. I’ll have to make sure you keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum tomorrow.

“But not tonight. I have to deal with my parents again. Oh, and did I mention my brother should be there too? His flight was supposed to get in this afternoon.”

“No you did not. Is he as hard to impress as your parents?”

“Nah,” Charlie shakes her head. “He never liked Andrew, but I have a feeling he’ll like you.”

“Sounds like a good judge of character then, so obviously he’ll love me.” Bryce smirks. 

“Hurry it up you two!” Kyra calls over her shoulder. “Cocktail hour starts now, and I don’t want to drink alone.”

~~~

“Guess who!” A pair of large hands cover Charlie’s eyes as she stands at the bar, but she’d know that voice anywhere.

“Will!” She spins around on her tiptoes and throws her arms around her much taller brother. "I’ve missed you!”

He squeezes her back tight. “You too, Chuck.”

“Okay, I don’t miss you anymore. You can get right back on that plane and go back to Africa.”

“Chuck?” Bryce questions with an amused expression on his face. “I haven’t heard that one yet.

“Just a nickname Will calls me to annoy the shit out of me. If you haven’t guessed, Bryce, this is my brother Will. Will this is my boyfriend, Bryce.” The word feels strange and uncertain coming off her tongue now that this thing between them is officially real, but she’s instantly reassured when she sees Bryce smile brighter when he hears it.

“Nice to meet you, Will.” Bryce extends his hand to will, but Will pulls him in for a hug and claps him on the back.

“Same to you. Charlie, I can’t believe you’ve been keeping him a secret from me.” Will puts a hand up to his lips as a shield. “He’s hot!” he mouths inaudibly to Charlie. 

“You know I could see that.” Bryce chuckles.

“Yeah, please don’t feed his ego. It’s already big enough,” Charlie teases and the guys both laugh. ”Anyway you’ve been so busy with your Peace Corps stuff, I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you lately,” Charlie offers as an excuse without having to reveal that Bryce didn’t exist in her life before two weeks ago.

“Fair enough. I’ll catch up with you two later, but I should go say hi to mom and dad. You wanna come with?”

“No.” Charlie shakes her head emphatically. “I’ve had enough of them already, mom especially.”

Will frowns sympathetically. “I’m sure as soon as mom sees her favorite baby boy and dad starts hounding me about deadlines for applying to grad school, they’ll forget whatever they were on you about.”

“Good luck with that.” Charlie waves him along with a tight-lipped grin.

“Oh my god!” Kyra walks up beside Charlie. “I haven’t seen Will since we were kids. When did get get so grown up...and hot.”

“Kyra!” Charlie smacks her in the shoulder. “That’s my little brother!”

“Well he’s not my brother. And in case you forgot, we aren’t related, and he’s not a kid anymore.”

“Hey, I don’t blame her.” Bryce joins in. “Good looks run in the Hawkins family. He’s got your gorgeous green eyes, and that stubble and ‘too busy doing humanitarian work to get my hair cut’ look is really working for him.”

“Ugh, now you are drooling over him too? Whose side are you on?”

“Aww, you know I’m on your side, babe.” Bryce pulls Charlie close, taking her breath away with a heated kiss. “You’re the only Hawkins I want.”

Kyra clears her throat. “You guys are disgusting...in the best possible way, of course.  

“Sorry,” Charlie steps away from Bryce sheepishly. “We should probably get to our table now. Looks like they are starting to serve dinner."

Charlie reluctantly sits with her family, but sticks to pleasantries with her parents. Kyra rounds out the 6 person table, providing a much needed buffer. Charlie's not sure if her mom is just pretending the whole thing never happened, like she so often does, or if she's just waiting to get into it again when nobody else is around, but she'll take the peace for now. It's not really awkward anyway with all the stories Will has to tell. Unsurprisingly Kyra is hanging on his every word, but he doesn't seem to mind the attention.

A short while after dinner is served Kyra nudges Charlie in the side and nods toward the corner. “Check that out.”

Charlie tries to turn her head inconspicuously and spots Katelyn and Landry seemingly in the middle of an argument. And then, without any notice or goodbyes, they leave the restaurant. “Well that doesn’t look good,” she mumbles under her breath.

Noticing the commotion, the tall Sarah stands up to cover for the couple. “The Bride and Groom wanted me to tell everyone they are retiring early for the evening so they can be well rested for tomorrow.” Landry and Katelyn’s parents all look confused but shrug it off and go back to eating their meals.

“Well,I think the party’s over here. Is there a good bar or somewhere we can go to hang out?” Will asks.

“How about Cedar Bar?” Bryce suggests. “I think Caswell is on tonight, and he’s the best.”

Will Chuckles. “I suppose I’d be familiar with all the bartenders here too if I had to put up with Katelyn for a whole week.”

Charlie laughs. “Bryce is just like that. He's made friends with just about all the staff here. It's unbelievable really."

"It's not fault people can't resist my charming, magnetic personality. It's just how I am." He winks at Charlie.

Charlie rolls her eyes but can't hold back a smirk. "Well then lets go and you can work your magic to get us some free drinks."

~~~

The night is warm and there’s a gentle breeze coming off the water into the open air bar. It’s busy, but not too crowded or loud to engage in conversation. The group finds an open table for four and Bryce goes up to the bar to do his thing. He shakes Caswell’s hand and returns to the table with a triumphant look on his face. “Four Yellowbird cocktails, coming up.”

“Uh, what’s in those?” Kyra asks skeptically.

Bryce shrugs. "When someone offers you their signature cocktail for free, you don't ask."

Moments later a cocktail waitress brings over four hurricane glasses filled with yellow-orange liquid and a colorful fruit garnish. Charlie takes a sip and is met with an interesting mix of flavors but it somehow works. "Not bad. Definitely rum, orange juice, bananas and.... something else. I feel like this is one of those dangerous drinks that could get you drunk real fast."

Kyra takes a big swig of her drink. "I'll be glad to test that theory out."

Will leans over to whisper something in Kyra's ear, a blush creeping over her cheeks before she pushes her drink off to the side. Charlie’s still not quite sure how to feel about whatever is going on between the two of them, but Will’s an adult and she trusts Kyra, so she’s just not going to interfere.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were dating someone new.” Will shakes his head at Charlie. “How did you two meet?”

This part is still tricky, they’ve practiced the story but it’s really hard to look Will in the eyes and lie. “Well we were both medical students,” she offers, which is technically true.

“But didn’t you say you went to Harvard, Bryce?”

“I did, but there is some overlap in the faculty and hospital appointments between Harvard and Boston University so sometimes the students end up in the same place.”

Charlie breathes a sigh of relief at Bryce’s quick-thinking answer, and Will seems satisfied. Bryce places on hand on Charlie’s knee under the table, idly rubbing soothing circles over her skin. He continues with these little touches here in there, but unlike before, these aren’t for anyone else to see. 

They finish their cocktails and order another round of less extravagant drinks while catching up. Unsurprisingly, Bryce and Will get along like old friends, and Will only embarrasses Charlie a little. With what Bryce has seen of her already, she’s not worried anything Will says will scare him away.

“Hey guys, mind if I crash your party?” A stunned silence falls over the table as a bleary eyed Katelyn stands before them.

“Um, not at all,” Charlie replies as Bryce pulls up an extra chair to the end of the table. 

“No offense, Katelyn, but you kind of look like shit,” Will adds. “Shouldn’t you be getting your beauty sleep for the wedding?”

She rolls her eyes at the same time she wipes the mascara smudges with the back of her hand. “Who knows if there will even be a wedding.”

“What?” Charlie and Kyra both gasp. Although Charlie can think of a multitude of reasons why Katelyn and Landry aren’t right for each other, she couldn’t imagine Katelyn calling off the wedding at this point.

“Landry is just as much of a douchebag as you all thought. Even if you never said it, I could tell you all were thinking it.”

“What happened?” Charlie asks out of genuine concern. As much as she can’t stand the person who Katelyn has become, she’s still family and Charlie still cares. 

“Fucking Tanner showed up.” Katelyn pulls out her phone and shows them some screenshots of intimate conversations between Landry and his friend from college within the last few months. “He said they were just joking, but I’m not that naive. I forgave him so long as he cut off communication, and I thought he did. Then Tanner showed up today, and our arguing escalated until we went back to the room. I demanded to see his phone and found a thread of messages hidden under another name. He claimed Tanner’s only here because the invitations went out before I found everything out. He says he still loves me and begged me to go through with the wedding, but I don’t know if I can.”

“Screw him,” Kyra scoffs. “You can do so much better.”

Katelyn might be awful to put up with, but Kyra’s right. Landry’s still not good enough for her, but Charlie’s not sure that’s what Katelyn wants to hear right now. “What Kyra means is that you deserve someone you love and loves you just as much in return.”

Bryce stands up. ��Maybe we should let you ladies have some time to talk this through. Will, come get a drink at the bar with me?”

The men leave and Katelyn picks up Wills half-full cocktail and downs it. “I don’t know what to do... Are you going to finish that?” She points to Charlie’s drink, and Charlie slides it over to her.

“What does your gut say you should do? You don’t have to feel obligated to marry him just because we are all here for the wedding.”

Kyra takes another sip of her drink. “Yes, what she said.”

“I don’t even know if I love him. I love what he is on paper. He can give me the life I’ve always wanted, and if I don’t have him, I’m left with nothing.”

“Psshht.” Kyra shakes her head. “Girl, you know you are way out of his league.”

“Who is this Katelyn and what did she do with my independent, intelligent, ambitious cousin? The Katelyn I grew up with wouldn’t need a man for anything,” Charlie echoes the sentiment. 

“But I’ve given up going to law school to be a wife. It’s all I have now.”

“Katelyn, you’re only twenty-six, and in case you forgot, still independently wealthy. You have the time and money to do anything you want. If you want to marry Landry because it makes you happy, do that, but not because you think it is what you are supposed to do.” 

“Trust me,” Kyra interjects. “You’ll look like much less of a loser if you call off the wedding than if you actually marry that pasty-ass white boy.”

“Kyra!” Charlie shoots her a glare. Sure they’ve all been thinking it but it’s a bit harsh to say out loud.

“Kyra’s right. I should have dumped the cheating, spineless, scrawny-ass bastard a long time ago.”

Charlie leans over to hug Katelyn, stifling a laugh. “We aren’t trying to tell you what you do, but we’ll support whatever decision is best for you. Right, Kyra?” Charlie arches her eyebrows at Kyra as a warning to keep her mouth filtered for Katelyn’s sake.

“Yep.” She gets up to give Katelyn said after Charlie retreats. 

“Good.” Katelyn dabs her tears away with a cocktail napkin. “Now I need all the drinks.” She reaches for another drink, but Charlie stops her.

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?”

“Yes.” Katelyn pushes away from the table and walks up to bar, ordering two shots and downing them immediately. Will and Bryce bring her back to the table, already another drink in hand.

Bryce leans in to whisper to Charlie. “We should probably try to keep her from over-doing it.”

“It might be a little late for that, but we’ll watch her.”

The night wears on and the group sneakily orders a couple more non-alcoholic beverages for Katelyn, but she’s already had quite enough. It’s getting late and Kyra and Will bow out first, Will volunteering to “walk Kyra back to her room” as if that isn’t obvious. Charlie finally convinces Katelyn to go back to Landry and face whatever is going to happen.

“I’m just going to use the restroom before we go. Do you need to go, Katelyn?”

“No, I’m good.” Katelyn stumbles back against the wall.

“I’ll wait out here with her,” Bryce offers. 

“Good call.” Charlie laughs and pushes through the women’s room door.

~~~

Katelyn is a fucking mess. Bryce has no idea how she and Charlie can be related. She’s good looking enough, but nowhere near as pretty as Charlie. But her personality...yikes. Charlie says Katelyn wasn’t always this way, and he’s grateful Charlie has managed to grow into the person she is despite a similar upbringing.

“Charlie’s so lucky to have you.” Katelyn slurs, stumbling forward and crashing into Bryce’s chest. He tips her back upright, but her hands remain planted on his pecs, giving them a squeeze. “You know how bad I’ve been wanting to feel these? I know you’re always showing off your muscles because you want everyone to look, and I’ve definitely been looking.”

Bryce removes Katelyn’s hands, placing them at her sides. Sure he’s proud of his body and likes to show it off, but he’s certainly not looking for this type of attention. ”That doesn’t mean everyone gets to touch me. That’s reserved for Charlie.” 

Katelyn pouts.”But is she as good of kisser as me?” 

Bryce should have been anticipating it from her question, but before he can make sense of what’s happening, Katelyn arms around around his neck and her lips are his. Initially shocked and frozen in place, he finally comes around, but it’s already too late.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Landry booms, his face red with anger, and next to him is a bewildered looking Charlie.

#playchoices fanfiction #open heart #bryce x mc #bryce lahela #stripped bare

[falling-feuilles]

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

 CW/TW: Parental Death

Y/N rose early the next morning, sitting up in bed. Soft, golden sun had just begun to seep in through the window, filtering through the curtains. She stretched her arms above her head, wincing as the movement adjusted the bandage on her wrist. Remembering her promise to Alexandra, Y/N stepped out of bed, quickly moving over to her wardrobe. She quickly prepared herself for the morning, struggling to perform simple tasks such as lacing her own stays and closing her own dress. 

Eventually, she opted to call in one of her maids to assist her, an aged woman by the name of Anna. Anna had been working in the household for as long as Y/N had been living there, probably for longer. She plaited Y/N's hair with practice ease, lifting and pinning it into place.

"How's your sister?"

Anna looked up, locking eyes with Y/N in the mirror they sat in front of. She let out a sigh, continuing to finish her task as she answered.

"She says she feels better, but the doctors don't think she'll last a fortnight…"

"When's the last time you visited her?"

"About two months past, my lady."

"You should be there with her, she must be terribly lonely. Take the next few weeks, spend some time with your sister; I'm sure it would increase her spirits greatly."

"You are too kind, my lady."

"Nonsense. Now, be sure to keep me updated on her condition."

"I will, my lady."

 After ensuring that Y/N's dress was situated properly, Anna exited with a curtsy, leaving her to finish any last bits of necessary preparation. 

Y/N adjusted the embroidered shawl around her shoulders to sit on her forearms, assisting the sleeve of her blue dress in covering the bandage, allowing her to avoid any suspicion from the general public. The sun, at this point, denoted the time as roughly seven in the morning. 

The halls were empty as she traversed through them, making her way to the back door and out to the stables. Inside, a stable boy was refilling the water troughs, being careful not to spill. Y/N knocked lightly on the door, trying to avoid frightening the boy, who couldn't have been more than eight or nine in age. He turned, searching for the source of the disturbance; when he saw Y/N, his eyes widened and he quickly set down his bucket, sloshing a small amount onto the dirt floor.

"M-my lady! How c-can I help you?" he stood as straight as possible, attempting to brush the dirt and hay off his trousers.

"I was wondering if you knew where Sergei was, I have a request to make of him," she moved closer to the boy, noticing him tense up as she did.

"Papa's not here right now, he's getting more feed for the horses." 

"Sergei is your father?"

"Yes, my lady," he fidgeted nervously, seemingly preparing for a beratement.

"You must be Ivan! Your father’s told me so much about you; I'm glad we finally had the chance to meet."

 Y/N extended her hand to the boy, beckoning him to take it. When he placed his small hand in her own, she shook it, causing the young boy to smile broadly.

"He's really mentioned me? What did he say?"

"He's always told me what a hard worker you are, and how much you love working with the horses." she continued in a conspiratorial tone, "He tells me you're quite the horse-whisperer." 

Ivan clearly looked up to his father very much, and was more than overjoyed that his father was so impressed with him. 

"Would you like to meet the horses? They're all really nice, except for the big, gray one," he pointed to the large shire on the end. Y/N chucked quietly; that large horse was hers, had been since she was about thirteen.

"What's wrong with him?"

"His name's Emil, he's mean," Ivan whispered, not wanting the horse to hear him, "And he's scary…"

"Maybe you just haven't given him a chance yet; let's go say hello, shall we?"

"If you say so, miss, but I don't think he'll like you very much."

She led the boy over to the stall, feeling his hand grab hers as Emil snorted, moving his head towards the two. Y/N held out her hand, allowing Emil to sniff it before nudging his muzzle against her fingers, blowing hot breath on them with his nose. After seeing this new change in attitude, Ivan seemed eager to interact with the horse. He stood on an overturned bucket with his hand out; he giggled a little when Emil nuzzled his hand, nibbling it with his lips.

"Ivan?” Y/N turned, seeing Sergei enter, cloth sack in hand.

"Good morning Sergei, how are you?"

He seemed surprised to see Y/N in the stables, quickly dropping the feed and bowing.

"What brings you to the stables, my lady?"

"I came to ask a favor of you, but I seem to have gotten distracted. I wasn't aware your son had started helping you care for the horses."

"I'm terribly sorry, my lady, whatever he's done-"

"He's done nothing wrong, Sergei, he's just been introducing me to Emil over here."

Sergei caught on quickly, smiling proudly at his son.

"Thank you for your help Ivan, would you mind feeding Emil a carrot for me?" she continued in a hushed tone, "I think he likes you more than me."

The boy nodded eagerly, moving back to the horse after grabbing the orange treat. Y/N beckoned Sergei to the doors of the stable

"Do you have the time this morning to drive one of the maids to Doctor Federov's then to her aunt's house? She'll direct you where to go."

"Of course, my lady; when are you planning on heading to the Rostovs' today?"

"I was planning on leaving at ten, do you think you'll be back by then?"

"No, my lady, but I will arrange for a cab to take you."

"Excellent. I expect you'll be done by the time the party ends?"

"Yes, my lady, I'll be there."

"Thank you Sergei," she made to leave, thought for a moment, before turning back, "Will you need someone to keep an eye on Ivan for the day while you're away?"

"Yes, my lady, but I expect the women in the kitchen wouldn't mind watching him for me."

"Wonderful. He's a fine boy, Sergei, your wife would be very proud of him."

Sergei smiled, looking over to the boy; he stood in front of Emil, stroking his muzzle and talking to him animatedly.

"Thank you, my lady, I'm honored you think so."

Y/N smiled, waving goodbye to the boy before continuing on her morning stroll.

~

The morning had been a busy one for Y/N. She had accomplished a number of tasks, including, but not limited to; ensuring that all her necessities were packed for the trip, arranging the finances to send to her mother's relatives, and, finally, responding to the influx of letters directed to her Father.

Now, she was finally able to make her way to the Rostovs'. Y/N had become close to the Rostovs through her relationship with Sonja. Sonja's mother had known Y/N's and had been one of the driving forces in helping her parents elope. Y/N's mother had sworn Sonja's to secrecy after discovering her pregnancy. Eventually, at Y/N's christening, Sonja's parents were named her godparents. Until their deaths, they had been a staple in Y/N's early life. Although they had never brought Sonja with them during visits for fear she would expose their activities, Y/N had grown up hearing stories of the girl and, when they finally met at Y/N's first name day celebration with her Father, they connected closely. Through Sonja, Y/N became familiar with Natasha and the other members of her family.

The short cab ride to their home was uneventful. However, when she arrived, she discovered she was not the only guest that day. As she entered the front doors, a butler directed her to the sitting room. A small number of people sat in various locations around the room. This small number consisting of the Rostovs, save for Natasha and Sonja, who were nowhere to be seen, as well as Anna Drubestkaya, her son Boris, Julie Kuragina, and, surprisingly, Pierre.

“Ah, Princess!”  exclaimed the Count, rising from his seat to kiss her hand, “It’s wonderful to see you! I hope you are well?”

“I am, thank you, and yourself?”

“We are doing well, thank you. You know everyone here do you?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Well, do sit down, we were just talking about Pierre and his bear friend, have you heard?”

Y/N looked to Pierre as she sat next to him, he was clearly embarrassed. He looked her in the eyes, desperately begging her to change the subject.

“I have, I have; a… strange business that was,” she paused, quickly looking for any other thing to speak of, “Where are the girls? I’d have thought Natasha would be more than happy to receive guests on her name day.” The Count nodded, gesturing to the far door of the parlor.

“Natasha went to comfort Sonja, she’s upset for some reason or another, you know how it is.” Just as he finished, Y/N saw Natasha peek her head through the door.

“There you are! Natasha, look who’s come to see you!” Natasha’s face lit up, and she moved over to hug Y/N tightly. Y/N returned the hug, pressing a kiss to each of Natasha’s cheeks before pulling away. Natasha moved to her arm, clinging tightly to it. Y/N winced, feeling hot, stabbing pains move up her arm; no one noticed, save for Pierre, who saw her discomfort. 

“I’ve come to wish you a happy name day from myself and Lise, are you excited for your party?”

“Yes, very! Don’t leave yet, I have to help Sonja and Nikolai,” The last part was whispered, as though she was trusting Y/N with an important, yet very obvious, secret.

Natasha moved quickly away from Y/N, seeming to have remembered her true purpose for entering the room. She dragged Nikolai out into the hallway with her, shutting the door behind the two of them. Y/N sat back down, unintentionally cradling her wrist with her left hand, gently adjusting her sleeve. While the other guests continued their conversations as if nothing had happened, Pierre leaned closer to Y/N, whispering in her ear.

“Are you alright?” she started slightly, calming when she noticed Pierre staring at her arm. She placed it back on her lap, turning to respond. 

“Yes I… I’m fine,” she paused, realizing the conversation she wanted to have shouldn’t take place in front of everyone. She stood, beckoning Pierre to follow her into the hallway. The others were too preoccupied in discussing Nikolai and Boris’ future service to notice their disappearance. They stopped in a small alcove, near the sitting room but far enough to avoid being overheard

“Listen, I wanted to apologize to you about last night, It wasn’t-”

“There’s no need to apologize,” he interrupted, “You were right…”

“No, I… are you alright?” she asked, noticing Pierre’s paleness and the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, “You look awful Pierre, are you ill?”

“Y/N, my father...” he grabbed her hand, looking for some semblance of support; Y/N breathed in sharply, feeling her wrist spasm in Pierre’s hand. His brows knitted in confusion, “What-? Y/N, what’s going on, are you hurt? Do I need to call a doctor?” the concern in his voice was evident, but she didn’t want to trouble him.

“No, I-I hit it on a… a dresser last night, it’s nothing serious.” 

He clearly didn’t believe her, eyes finally noticing the bandage edging out beneath her sleeve.

“N/N…“ he reached out, resting his hand gently on her other forearm, “What happened?”

Before Y/N could answer, she heard their names being called. Pierre made to ask again, but she shook her head, gesturing that they should go back into the room. Apparently, they hadn’t moved quickly enough. Anna Drubetskaya came into the hallway, looking suspiciously between the two before continuing.

“Pierre, shouldn’t you be with your father? Hasn’t he been worsening?”

“Your father?” Y/N asked, seeing the distress on Pierre’s face, “Oh, Pierre…” He shook off her concern, plastering a weak smile on his face.

“Yes, I’ll be heading there later.”

Anna dragged the two back into the room, away from their brief reprieve, and back into the reality of their lives.

~

Natasha’s name day party was just as Y/N had expected. It was packed full of loud music, dancing, and far too many people for her tastes. She made a concerted effort to stay by Pierre’s side; she didn’t want to force him to see his father, nor did she want to make him feel guilty by not going. That is, until the message came. When Pierre discovered his father had another stroke and wasn’t expected to last the night, Y/N, with help from Anna Drubteskaya, managed to convince him to see his father in his final moments.

In Y/N’s carriage, Anna was talking quickly to Pierre, explaining how he was to go about dealing with the situation.

“It's a matter of life or death. You must be a man now. You have to look after your own interests. Don't expect your Cousin Vassily to. You need to let the old Count see you before he dies. He might give a little sign, you know,” she paused, allowing him a moment to think before continuing, “In any case, it will be so much better for your soul if you can kiss him before he goes, he always loved you.”

Y/N sat beside him, holding his hand out of Anna’s sight; after seeing the two alone earlier, she had continued to pester them all evening. Y/N rubbed her thumb across the top of his hand, attempting to lessen the tremors stemming from it. He looked at her sadly, before turning to the window.

“Yes, yes, I've been a poor sort of son to him…”

~

When the trio arrived at the Counts’ residence, a group of men, dressed all black, stood outside near a hearse. Pierre, seeing this, rushed out before the carriage fully stopped. Y/N chased after him, holding her skirt to allow for freer movement.

“So,” sneered Prince Vassily, seeing them enter, “At last you deign to turn up at your father’s deathbed.”

“Am I too late?” Pierre was winded, eyes scanning desperately about for any sign of his father, “We saw the undertakers outside and I thought…”

“Just touting for business; The Count still lives.”

Pierre let out a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing slightly.

“But really,” the Prince continued, looking disdainfully upon the man’s ruffled visage, “What were you thinking of?”

“I’m so-”

“You have no business here, I think.” Vassily glared at Y/N and Anna, who had followed close on the heels of Pierre.

“I have a perfect right to be here. You know very well the Count is my near relation, and poor Boris his dear godson.” Anna paused, allowing herself a moment before continuing, “Who has more claim than us to be here at this sad time?”

“Yes, yes, very well. But she,” he gestured to Y/N, “Has no claim to be here.”

“But-”

“He’s right, Pierre. I’ll wait in the hall for you.” She exited as Anna and Pierre entered the old Count’s rooms. As soon as the door closed behind her, she heard whispers between Vassily and Catiche; they spoke of the will naming Pierre as the rightful heir, plotting to destroy it. Y/N listened, furious at the pair. As soon as she heard the click denoting the opening of the Count’s doors, she cracked the hall door ajar.

“Anna!” she whispered, trying to catch her attention. Anna noticed Y/N peering around the edge of the door and moved quickly to her.

“What is it?”

“Vassily and Catiche mean to remove Pierre from the will, they have a copy naming him as the recipient for the Count’s fortune. You must do something, they’ll surely leave him destitute!” Anna nodded, spotting the folder Catiche held.

“Wait here, I may need your help.” Y/N did as she was told, peering through the crack in the door. She saw Anna approach Catiche, grabbing at the paper in her hands. Pierre stood off to the side, miserable and dissociated, unaware of the squabble between the two women unti Anna called him to her. Vassily attempted to break it up, halting only when a woman ran out of the Count’s room, proclaiming his death with a sob. In the chaos, Y/N was able to reenter the room, heading straight for Pierre and Anna.

“I don’t understand…”

“You are Count Bezukhov now, my dear friend.”

Pierre stood, clearly in some state of shock. Y/N grabbed his arm gently, moving to guide him out of the room. He stared at her blankly, unable to understand his new place in the world. Anna patted him on the arm, leaving to return to her home.

“My friend,” Vassily approached, catching the attention of both Y/N and Pierre, “We sin so much and deceive so much, and all for what?” His philosophical question was left unanswered, and he moved away from the pair, back into the Count’s room.

“Pierre, let’s go.” he nodded slowly, allowing her to lead him to her carriage. Sergei noticed the guest, looking to Y/N for instruction. Y/N looked at Pierre, quickly deeming him unfit to be alone for the time being.

“He’ll stay with us tonight.”

“No… I-I don’t want to impose,” Pierre protested weakly.

“Pierre, you could never.” 

Sergei nodded, moving to open the door; Y/N guided Pierre up the steps, sitting him down next to her on the bench. The carriage began to move, lilting back and forth on the uneven road. Y/N looked at Pierre, noticing his expression shift from one of shock and disbelief, to one more akin to sorrow. Despite not knowing his father well, Pierre still cared for him deeply; the Count had provided Pierre with things he would never be able to attain had it not been for his father; an education, social status, but… not the affection one would expect from a father. Still, Pierre had loved him.

“Pierre… I’m sorry about your father…” he nodded, unable to speak. They sat in silence for a few minutes, shoulders pressed together. Pierre reached for her hand, being mindful, even in his dazed state, to avoid the injured one. He placed his head in the other hand, trying to contain himself.

They sat like that for the carriage ride, neither speaking; there was no need for words. Nothing Y/N could say would change what lay in the future for Pierre, and Pierre couldn’t bring himself to speak, knowing he wouldn’t be able to maintain the last semblances of composure he still had. When the carriage finally stopped, Y/N helped Pierre down again, making sure he exited the carriage safely. He was despondent, following her around like a young child. She led him inside, instructing the nearest maid to arrange for a tray of tea to be sent to her sitting room. 

Y/N’s cousin, a young man named Vladimir, had stayed at her house for a number of weeks the previous year. He had left abruptly, never returning for the clothing he left behind. Y/N sat Pierre down on the bed of one of the many guest rooms; she opened the drawers of the dresser placed against the far wall, rummaging through the neatly folded clothes. She found a night shirt that seemed as though it would fit Pierre, as well as a navy house robe to wear over it, instructing him to go to her sitting room after he’d changed. Y/N moved back to her chambers, changing quickly into a nightgown, covering it with a thick, maroon robe. She removed the pins in her hair, permitting the singular braid to rest on her shoulder.

When she walked through the door, she noticed Pierre sitting on the couch, tea in hand. She sat next to him, pouring herself a cup as well. The tea was very aromatic, causing the air to smell strongly of citrus and bergamot. Steam lifted slowly from the cups, twisting slightly in the drafty room; spreading the scent. Pierre’s spectacles were discarded on the table, lenses shimmering softly in the low lights.

“Do you want to talk?”

He didn’t answer at first, opting to sip slowly from his teacup, formulating his response.

“I… I don’t know how I’m to be Count Bezukhov… It just, doesn’t feel real.” He looked towards her, eyes searching for an answer, a suggestion, anything. Y/N tasted her tea, allowing herself a moment to think before answering.

“Well, it is real and, as much as I know you’ll disagree with me, you are most definitely worthy of the title. Don’t shake your head, Pierre. You are one of the most intelligent, compassionate, brilliant men I know; if anyone deserves that title, it’s you.”

“I… thank you. That means… more than you know.”

“I’m sure you’re exhausted, I’ll leave you to rest,” she stood, setting down her cup on the tray.

“Wait, please…” she stopped, turning back to face him,”Would you just… sit with me for a while? I don’t want to be alone…” She sat back down beside him, placing her hand on his.

“Of course. I’ll be by your side for as long as you’ll have me.”

A/N: If you find any spelling mistakes, please message me the part, chapter, and sentence. I’ll do my best to fix it, thank you!

#pierre bezukhov #bbc war and peace #war and peace

[sailorportia]

Femslash February 2020, Day 1

Fandom: Revue Starlight Relive Pairing: Tomoe Tamao/Akikaze Rui Prompt: Meet Cute

approx. 1,800 words, rated T

also available on AO3

Summary:   Thirteen year-old Akikaze Rui finds a way to change her shy demeanor in her middle school's drama club. More importantly, she wants to perform on the same stage as that gorgeous senpai. All she needs to do is work up the courage to apply...

Tags: Meet Cute, Comedy, Puppy Love, middle school!Rui, middle school!Tamao

Akikaze Rui, thirteen years-old, didn't know what to expect from her school play. It was the day of her middle school's cultural festival, and she had been wandering from attraction to attraction until her curiosity led her to the auditorium. Little did she know that her life was about to be turned upside-down. 

The actors were average at best. It was a middle school play, after all. But there was one standout performer, a shining star against a night sky of amateurs: a girl with long, dark hair.

She played the role of a princess, her character beginning the play as a regal and refined woman who is pushed into taking up the sword and becoming a fierce and formidable warrior. The actress's transformation was incredible. Rui wouldn't have believed such a dainty girl capable of such ferocious yells and impassioned speeches. It was inspiring, to say the least.

Up until now, Rui had been a leading member of the Going Home Club. She was too shy to join any social group she didn't have to, and her only extracurricular interest was kendo, but she was already enrolled at a dojo and had surpassed what most middle school students were capable of. After seeing this play—more importantly, its starring actress—Rui was inspired to try acting. She wanted to change herself, and she might be able to do so through the medium of acting. She had to join the drama club.

Rui knew she had to strike while the iron was hot. There was a chance that if she waited, the fire burning in her chest might die down and she would give into her shy nature. It had to be now.

As the other students filed out of the auditorium, Rui snuck backstage. It wasn't until she was hiding behind a prop tree that she realized she didn't have a plan. She peeked out behind the tree periodically in search of her new idol, her determination waning with every passing second. Maybe she should just leave and go to the drama club sometime later...

She stepped out from around the prop tree just in time for another girl to come out from behind the stage. Rui recognized her immediately as the actress who had turned her world upside down. The girl was still wearing the princess costume that she had on during the play. It hadn't been apparent at a distance, but now that Rui was up close she could see that this girl was astonishingly pretty. Like, "melt your brain" pretty.

"Oh, I thought everyone left," the girl said. "Are you one of the girls who volunteered to help put away the props?"

"Um, I, uh..." Rui had trouble getting words out of her mouth at the best of times, and talking to a beautiful girl she admired hardly counted as ideal circumstances. The phrase "I want to join the drama club," had seemed so easy to say when she decided to sneak backstage.

The other girl seemed unperturbed by Rui's verbal fumbling. "Could you help me with this zipper?" She turned around, showing Rui the zipper on the back of her dress. "I think it's stuck, and everyone else in the drama club has left already."

"O-okay!" It was easier for Rui to think now that she wasn't looking the gorgeous girl straight in the face. She pulled down on the zipper slowly, careful not to tear the fabric around it; indeed the zipper was stuck, and Rui had to use both hands to try to free it. Her fingers grazed the bare skin of the other girl's back, and she felt the strongest urge to apologize, though she didn't know why. What's going on with me? Rui asked herself. Why am I getting so flustered? We're both girls...

At a later date Rui would recognize this moment as her gay awakening.

The zipper jam finally gave way and the metal teeth parted. Rui pulled the zipper down just far enough to make sure it was fixed, then jumped away. "Um, it's not stuck anymore."

The girl turned around and flashed Rui a smile that turned her insides out. "You're a life-saver," she said. "We haven't met before, have we?" She looked to Rui's uniform. "You must be a first year. I'm Tomoe Tamao. Hopefully in the future I can be a more reliable senpai to you."

Rui struggled to introduce herself, as if she had forgotten her own name. She was rescued by the unlikely appearance of a third year student.

"Ooh, looks like Tamao-chan has a fan!"

Rui's idol, Tamao, frowned. "Senpai, you left me all alone. I had to ask this nice first-year to help me with this faulty zipper."

"Don't complain. Plenty of girls at this school would jump at the chance for a little private attention from her."

"What do you mean?" Tamao asked. "Is she someone famous?"

"You don't know her? That tall glass of water is Akikaze Rui-chan. She's the talk of all the athletic clubs."

Rui blushed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Akikaze-san," Tamao said. "What club are you a member of?"

The third-year chuckled. "Akikaze-chan hasn't joined any clubs. That's why they're crazy about her. She's the tallest first year in the school, and she looks like she's only going to get taller. All the sports teams tried to recruit her at the start of the year, but she turned down all of them."

"Recruit" was a delicate way of putting it. The athletics clubs had practically waged a war over which of them would get to claim Rui. The poor girl had been forced to sneak around the school, dodging her athletic upperclassmen at every turn. For someone with social anxiety, the experience had been terrifying. It was all she could do to stutter out a polite rejection every time one of them found her. Eventually they got the message and left her alone.

"Um, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Rui said to Tamao. "N-not about the sports clubs! I want to join the drama club. Your performance this afternoon really inspired me!" In fact, it was the most moving performance she had seen, but she was afraid of coming on too strong by saying so.

Rui was afraid that her sudden declaration would weird her out, but Tamao's eyes glittered with joy. "That's wonderful!" She took Rui's hands in her own, oblivious to the way her kouhai stilled at the contact. "You can't imagine how glad I am to hear that our play touched somebody that way."

"Jeez, you can't be a respectable senpai if you melt over a little praise," the third year said with a laugh. "Tamao-chan takes her acting seriously. A little too seriously, if you ask me."

Tamao pouted (a sight that nearly knocked Rui off her feet). "You don't take acting seriously enough, senpai."

"Don't let the busybody scare you off, Akikaze-chan. Make sure you fill out an application form." The third year cackled as she walked off. "I can't wait to brag to the other clubs that we snagged their dream member right from under their noses."

"Honestly." Tamao sighed. "I know that she's busy preparing for entrance exams, but she could at least pretend to be diligent about acting. I promise the other members of the drama club aren't like her."

The other members of the drama club could be juvenile yakuza for all Rui cared. She only had eyes for Tamao. "I promise I'll give acting my all," she said, and she meant it. If she could act half as confidently as Tamao, she'd be satisfied. If she could perform alongside Tamao—that would be a dream come true.

"I look forward to taking the stage with you, Akikaze-san. Hopefully you'll have my back in the future as you did today," Tamao added with a chuckle.

Rui's heart skipped a beat at the reminder that she'd undone her senpai's zipper. "Uh, anyway, that senpai said you're really serious about acting. Do you want to be an actress?" For some reason she felt the need to know this near-stranger's life plans.

"Ideally, yes. "I'm going to enrol at Rinmeikan School for Girls, like my mother and grandmother before me. The school has a performance department with a century of tradition."

"I'm going to enrol too!" Rui, in fact, had never given a moment's thought to what high school she would attend. 

Tamao didn't question Rui's declaration, nor her transparent motivation. "I'm glad to hear it. Not enough people these days respect traditional arts." She smiled. "Maybe it was fate that we met today, Akikaze-san."

"Y-you don't need to speak so formally to me, Tomoe-senpai," Rui stuttered. Being referred to so stiffly made her feel odd for some reason. She wanted the two of them to become... closer. "You can call me by my first name. If you want to, I mean."

"Of course, Rui-chan. But if we're going to be friends, you'll have to return the favour." The corner of her mouth turned up into a sly smirk.

Rui blushed. Friends. Yes. That was good. Great. Fantastic. "If you say so, T-Tamao-senpai."

Three Years Later...

"Awwww! Baby Rui was so cute!" Ichie squealed. "She was still taller than her senpai even back then."

During a lunchtime picnic out on the school grounds, Fumi had idly expressed curiosity as to how Rui and Tamao had become friends in middle school. Tamao related her side of the story, embellishing Rui's "gallant rescue" of her from the gnashing teeth of a stuck zipper. She pulled out her cell phone and showed the group a picture of herself and the drama club's newest member, visibly flustered by her senpai's hand on her arm.

"Rui-chan has grown a lot," Tamao said with a smile. "She's changed so much in three years, but she's always been a talented, beautiful young woman."

"Three years, huh?" Fumi looked to Rui with pity.

"Let's see more," Yuyuko said with a devilish grin, no doubt hoping for something she could tease Rui with. She scrolled through Tamao's photos, revealing a seemingly limitless supply of pictures featuring Rui.

"...that's a lot of pictures of Rui," Fumi noted.

"We made a lot of memories together," Tamao said with a smile.

"I don't remember that!" Rui yelped, blushing up a storm. Displayed on Tamao's phone was a selfie that she had taken with Rui's head resting on her shoulder. She appeared to be asleep, and Tamao held a finger to her own lips in a shushing gesture. 

"That's pretty shady, Tamao-senpai," Yuyuko cackled.

"Is it a crime for me to keep pictures of my number one fan?" Tamao's subtle, sly smirk had lost none of its power of Rui.

#shoujo kageki revue starlight #revue starlight #revue starlight relive #starira #tamarui #tomoe tamao #akikaze rui #fanfiction #my fanfiction #yuri #girls love #femslash #femslash february #FauxGhostsFSF

[nelvana]

Intermission

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which a warning is received Previous: In which the dusknoir is taken around town

Warning! This chapter has descriptions of blood, burning, burn wounds, and body horror! Reader discretion is advised.

    Deep out in the woods, much farther north of Pokemon Square, a spinda wandered across the forestry ground, wobbling with each step, as that species tended to do. He walked with a bounce in his step, a bubbly excitement carrying him through his travels.

    Maurice was his name, one he once hid in an attempt to be more professional, but now wore with pride. He was one who had picked his name for himself, and had done far too much work in choosing it to let it become reserved for only friends and family.

    A bag was carried over his shoulder, one that was large and likely once filled with many items, but now sagged with the emptiness of those objects being used in adventures past. On his head he wore an explorers hat that somewhat resembled a porkpie hat, carrying two feathers in its band. One feather was white that faded into a light brown; the feather of a farfetch’d. The other gleamed with the colors of the rainbow, and was Maurice’s treasure out of his most recent adventure.

    Weeks before now, he had discovered the Clear Wing, and took it upon himself to figure out more about what it was, and what it could do. His partner, Farfetch’d, who also was the one whose feather also sat on Maurice’s hat, wished to go to Pokemon Square first instead. They were understanding partners, and it was easy for them to split up with promises of stories and to meet up again soon. He could see why Farfetch’d would want to go to that tiny town anyway, he had talked about the place and the café his uncle had set up there with his partner Gulpin often, and they had been planning on heading there anyway. So, they took different paths for the time being, with Maurice heading off in his search to find what this rare item really meant.

    As he recalled the quest, he subconsciously reached up to trace the feathers on his hat, reminding him that they were, in fact, still safely up there and not lost earlier in the trail. Now the Clear Wing was the Rainbow Wing, blessed by Ho-oh and their three beasts, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei. It had been a challenging and perilous quest, but only just would make it all the better story to tell when he finally arrived to Pokemon Square.

    The three beasts had tested him, originally wishing for battle, but eventually were convinced to change it to trials of skill instead. Maurice wasn’t one for battles, and he had the wisdom to know that he would not have the raw strength to beat any legendary. Suicune tested strategy and the physics of water; Raikou tested speed and agility; Entei tested strength, though not that of a one on one battle. Ho-oh, seeing the success, gifted the feather with their energy.

    It was something Maurice would not take lightly, though it was hard to keep his excitement from getting the best of him.

    Now, he looked forward to finally arriving to Pokemon Square, to reconnect with friends and family alike, to share stories and enjoy some hearty meals and drinks. He wondered how his uncle, Horace, would be doing with his business. He wondered about the other residents of that little town; surely everyone would have grown since he had last been there.

    But most of all, he wondered about his partner, Farfetch’d. He wondered what Farfetch’d had been up to while he was off on his own quest. He wondered if he had found a name of his own; something Maurice had tried to help with in the past without much success. He wondered if Farfetch’d missed him as much as he did.

    It seemed that the old saying had come true, distance did make the heart yearn. In his time alone with his own thoughts, Maurice had finally come to the conclusion that Farfetch’d was truly his perfect partner, and he wanted to tell him that. He wanted to be, perhaps, more than simply best friends. Perhaps he was being hasty in this, but he felt like he would burst if he thought about it too much again. His heart seemed to swell up at the mere thought of his partner and seeing him again.

    Maurice paused, torn out of his daydreaming at the sound of movement. This was a nearly abandoned path from what he had gathered, and he had not seen any other travellers in ages; the only pokemon being the legendaries he had met and the dungeon spawn he had evaded.

    His attention drawn, he carefully moved towards the presence of others to investigate. He didn’t get too much far off of where his path had been before when it gathered that what he had run into had to be other legendaries, or at least mythicals. He had had enough experience around the powerful beings to pick out their energies above other pokemon’s, and took this in mind as he proceeded. Legendaries could be fickle creatures sometimes, it was important to prioritize politeness above all, at least for first impressions.

    Passing through more trees towards a clearing, Maurice’s gaze caught the sight of twin tails flitting in the air; long, lightly colored tails that ended in tufts of fur with spots of red. Spotting this, along with two more pairs of tails near the first, his breath hitched, and he shut his eyes. As he did so, he pushed his back against a nearby tree at the edge of the clearing, protecting his back while he was temporarily blind.

    “Why do you refuse to look at us?” an unfamiliar voice questioned, their voice smooth, yet almost monotone.

    “I apologize, Uxie,” Maurice began, identifying one of the legendaries that were in front of him. “I have merely heard the legends of your gem, and its ability to wipe memories,” he explained.

    “I assure you; we have no wishes to erase your memories. Your mind will lay untouched,” they promised.

    While he was hesitant, to go against their wishes to make eye contact could be considered offensive. Legendaries and mythicals rarely lied anyway, so Maurice reluctantly opened back up his eyes, turning his gaze up to the pokemon he was speaking to.

    Instantly his suspicions were confirmed about the pokemon in question. The Lake Guardians all floated before him, Uxie at the center and closer to him than their siblings, but all a couple meters away from him. He hesitated again, refreshing his mind of his past memories and doing his best to hold tightly too them as he made eye contact with Uxie, but was relieved to find that nothing happened to his mind as he looked at them. It was just as they promised, but there had been some doubt. He was glad to have been proven wrong there.

    While he almost didn’t notice right away, a ditto was slumped nearby the trio as well. He had seen dittos before, but this one seemed… different, in a way. It appeared lethargic and defeated, more like a puddle in the grass than its usual blob form. Despite Maurice’s immediate concern, he had to tear his focus away from the seemingly already defeated being, and back to the three legendaries.

    He waited at first for a moment for Uxie or one of their siblings to continue, maybe even a friendly “I told you so.” Yet, they said nothing right away, only staring at him in a way that felt like it bore into his very soul. It was quite unnerving, and something he had never quite experienced, even after meeting other legendaries before.

    “Now, it is quite the honor to be sought out by a trio of legendaries such as yourselves,” he said, deciding to take some initiative instead of leaving the ominous silence. “If you don’t mind, I must inquire, you are here to ask something of me, yes?”

    Uxie nodded slowly, “indeed. You see, we are on an important mission. We sensed you are one chosen by Ho-oh, which proves you as someone pure-hearted and incredibly skilled. It is our belief that you will be able to help us with our mission.”

    “I cannot promise anything,” Maurice began, knowing that beings such as these would never forget a promise, and he should not promise to something he doesn’t know the conditions of. “However, I will hear you out, and see to doing what I can to help for the better.”

    “That is what we hoped for. There are not many mortals we would trust to ask of a task such as this. You, however, have clearly proven your worth in the past, so we trust you to do so again,” Uxie responded, “you are on your way to Pokemon Square, correct?”

    “That is correct; yes I am.”

    “Very good. Here is our request; there are many pokemon taking resident there that threaten the world’s balance. They are anomalies. We require you to seek them out, and either end them yourself, or bring them to us so we may do so,” Uxie announced, “there are seven pokemon in total; a time gear thief grovyle, a mislead servant dusknoir, a cursed spirit guide gardevoir, a corrupted celebi ahead of their time, and two humans who have taken pokemon form. Is this clear?”

    Maurice paled. They wanted him to kill seven pokemon, or at least assist in the killing of them? By the descriptions of some, it was clear that some of these were members of Team Galaxy. While he had been away adventuring for a long time, he hadn’t missed the news of their hand in saving the world. He also hadn’t missed how some of them were from the future and had disappeared, but had been brought back by Dialga. Why were the Lake Trio now asking to kill these pokemon, if Dialga had already helped bring them back to life?

     “The… instructions are clear,” Maurice told them slowly, mulling over how to approach this carefully. “I’m afraid the reasoning is not. Has Dialga not assisted in bringing most of those pokemon to this world?” he asked.

    “They did. Palkia has told us since that that was wrong. They have given us the task to fix the problem, and now we ask of your help as well,” Uxie answered calmly, still showing no inclination of emotion one way or the other.

    He hesitated; this didn’t feel right. Rarely did he go purely by gut feelings, so he took a moment to access the situation in front of him as well. Dialga brought these pokemon here, and Palkia now wished to take them back. Though, why didn’t they do that themself? Why not bring up the problem with Dialga instead?

    Beyond that, there was certainly something wrong with the Lake Guardians as well. Their colors were dulled, as were their eyes, which were also almost glazed over, as he noticed now that he took the time to really look. The gems on each of their foreheads were especially darkened, taking on an even darker than blood red, instead of the almost candy pink-red they were supposed to be. The legendaries themselves held themselves loosely, their expressions just as monotone as Uxie’s voice was.

    Maurice knew that this wasn’t right, and yet he wasn’t quite sure how to approach it yet.

    Regardless, he had waited too long, and Uxie showed almost the first signs of any emotions as their brows furrowed slightly at him.

    “Why do you hesitate?” Uxie questioned.

    “That does not follow my morals; I apologize,” Maurice told them carefully, minding his every word. “It is against my morals to kill another, or to assist in the killing of another.”

    “Even with the world’s balance at stake?” Uxie pressed, tails now lashing around them. “You would not help remove anomalies from this world to save it?”

    Maurice swallowed, “I believe that Dialga would have un-summoned them by now if they were such a risk. The pokemon you mentioned are known heroes as well; there may be another solution to this.”

    Surprisingly, Uxie relaxed again, returning to their neutral state. They did not say anything again for a few moments, but then finally exchanged some glances at their siblings and then spoke to the spinda once more.

    “I see. You do not believe us then,” Uxie stated coldly, “you will need more persuasion then. We cannot have this sort of miscommunication. We cannot have you warning the anomalies.”

    Azelf and Mesprit repeated the last sentence, sending chills down Maurice’s spine. Then, in synchronized movement, the trio all looked down at the ditto, who shrank away under their collective gazes. Ditto did not stay like this for long, however, as under the stares of the Lake Guardians, they began to writhe and shake. Energy suddenly shot into them, a sudden contrast to their earlier drained state, and their expression twisted into one of pure aggression. Finally, their body began to melt and alter, forcing it into the body of a houndoom.

    Maurice did not stick around to watch this forced transformation. It was impolite to flee from legendaries in the middle of a conversation, but that idea was long gone now. He knew the moment that the ditto began shaking that they would be turned against him, and he knew better than to try throwing himself into a battle such as this.

    Taking his head start, he pushed himself back into the forest from which he had come from, sprinting as fast at he could in between the trees. Behind him, he heard the strained howl of a houndoom, and then footsteps behind him. Alarm set in even more; there were no houndooms here, so how could Ditto have pulled off such a transformation? Dittos transformed into visible pokemon, or, if their memory was good enough, a pokemon they had seen recently. There were no houndooms anywhere near this forest. Such a transformation should have been impossible.

    Then, it clicked how this had worked. With Uxie’s powers of knowledge, they could give Ditto the memories to transform into any pokemon. Azelf brought up their determination, and Mesprit had twisted their emotions to be more inclined to anger. They were using the ditto as a tool to battle where they could not.

    Knowing this now, Maurice only pushed himself further. He had beaten Raikou in a test of speed, after all, he knew that if he handled this correctly, he could lose his pursuers in the forest. It was thick enough that he could confuse them between the trees.

    Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to push forth any of his blooming ideas, as the ditto now transformed into a houndoom made a well-timed leap just as Maurice’s balance teetered; a flaw of his species’ lurching movements, while it could be used to confuse foes, it could also trip them up. As the larger pokemon’s paws pushed him to the forest floor, Maurice managed to twist himself to land on his back, so he faced his foe, whose paws pushed down on his chest now instead of his back.

    What met his eyes was what should have been a houndoom, but was not complete. The creature’s body appeared to melt back into the pink goop of a ditto in many places. There was some missing from their cheeks, showing off the sharp teeth that had not been missed in the transformation. Holes showed up in other parts of the body, continuing to drip back into the slime of its original form. The bone-like ridges on its back that were meant to shield a houndoom and show up as an intimidation tactic instead jutted into its own body or outwards at awkward angles.

    Seeing this weakness after getting over his initial horror at the sight, Maurice made use of his hind legs and kicked up onto the pokemon’s belly to try pushing them off of him. There was no success to this attempt, however, as one foot hit solid body which did not budge despite his force, and the other foot sank into the warm, amorphous feeling of a ditto, sinking in like slime or some thick mud. He tore his foot back out right away, mind racing for other options.

    His foe wasn’t about to wait for that though, and instead opened their mouth with a roar, diving their head down to take a bite out of Maurice’s throat. He acted before this could happen, and intercepted the attack with his right arm. The teeth easily sank through his arm, prompting him to take in a sharp inhale of breath from the pain. Blood began pouring out from the wound, some dripping into the pink slime of the ditto, but most just staining the ground below and his own fur.

    The attack didn’t end there, however, as what was meant to be a houndoom began gurgling at the back of their throat, heat beginning to fill the air. Flames shot out of their maw, licking over Maurice’s arm and instantly burning it. The only thing that stopped the fire from burning the rest of him being his arm taking the full power of the hit and blocking the rest of it from him.

    He couldn’t stop the scream from ripping out from himself, the pain far too intense to just deal with through a sharp breath of air like before. Charred fur and muscle filled the air, mixing with the blood from before. Pain whirled through Maurice’s head, far too much to keep himself from thinking about it. White dots began flickering in at the edges of his vision, and tears sprung to the edges of his eyes. He was beginning to find it hard to breath between everything else, his head feeling muddled and dizzy. All he could really think aside from escape was to be thankful that this wasn’t a real houndoom, else he could risk feeling this burn for life.

    Through all that though, fear stabbed through his being. He couldn’t die here. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He didn’t want to die; not like this, not now.

    Shakily, he managed to move his left hand towards his bag. There weren’t many items left after all his travels since the last storage statue, but he hoped there would be something to help him now. It was hard to concentrate on what he was feeling with his left hand, as the pain in the right one continued to burn. After what felt like ages, his stubby fingers brushed across one of his seeds. The shell of the object felt almost wrinkly, and there was a line across the center, like a closed eye. A blinker seed!

    Digging a claw through the coating of the seed, Maurice pulled his hand back out of the bag and smashed the item into his attacker’s face. The seed instantly took effect, sealing their eyes shut. Ditto cried out at this, and as they opened their mouth, Maurice was able to pull his arm free. As they stepped back as well, he was able to kick his way out from under the creature and scurry away.

    He didn’t turn back to watch if they would recover or not, but they could still hear their yell of agony at their temporary blindness. The noise was a torn sound in between the howl of a houndoom and the squeak of a ditto. There were no sounds of any further pursuit, and he did not know if that was because they had given up or chosen to let him go, but he no longer cared.

    As Maurice ran again, he lay his right arm lay limply at his side. There was no longer any pain in that arm; in fact, he couldn’t feel his upper arm at all. His hand and lower arm still hurt though, and knowing that that meant he could at least feel them, meaning they weren’t damaged as badly, he was thankful. When he got the chance, he knew he should apply some oran berries and rawst berries onto it, but for now he had to get away.

    He had to get away from the Lake Guardians and their ditto.

    He had to get away from the danger.

    He had to get away from them.

    He had to get away.

    He had to get away.

    He had to-

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which a warning is received Previous: In which the dusknoir is taken around town

#galaxies above #pokemon #pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd #writing #my writing #fanfiction #spinda #maurice #lake guardians #uxie #mesprit #azelf #ditto #houndoom #body horror #blood #burns #burning #burn wounds #tw burns #tw blood #tw body horror

[ariadnelives]

Epilogue -- The Record Set Straight

[Missed earlier chapters? Go catch up here! Otherwise, welcome back! Oh, and make sure to join our discord server! Chapter can also be found @ ao3.” This update concludes “Ariadne Lives!” and I thank you for coming along on this journey with me!]

Some Time Later

“People of our fine system,” said Ariadne, the real Ariadne, on the video that had been practically looping on every news station for the past month, “My name is Ariadne, the dread pirate, and this is my confession.”

“By now you will have heard about the mass suicide of the Red God cult on Mars. This is a lie. You see, the Red God cult you saw was a front for something far more sinister. They were a paramilitary organization run by a disgraced lunatic named Dr. C. Alexander Simon, trying to use science and technology to create a fascist state of mind-controlled drones, with himself as its immortal leader. He thought that free will was something that needed to be cured, and that humanity would prosper if individual human beings were made incapable of behaving outside his warped morality framework. He brainwashed your friends and loved ones, and used the promise of the fabled Ariadne to bring in new ‘converts.’ But, he made two mistakes: 

First, he didn’t expect for there to be a real Ariadne. Now, I know a lot of you thought I was an urban legend, and I was okay with letting you think that, after all, it’s hard to catch someone nobody’s really sure actually exists, but I take great pride in being a folk hero and I couldn’t have some impostor ruining my good name, which brings me to mistake #2:

That cult brainwashed and abused children, and when I found out about that, I knew something had to be done. That’s why my crew stormed their fortress, rescued the children, and slaughtered their abusers. Every single member of their organization who acted of their own free will is now dead. Dr. Simon is now dead. 

Anyone who had friends or relatives fall victim to their mind control, you have been tricked into believing your loved ones are dead as well. Go ahead and cancel the funeral. Even if you’ve seen a body, they’re alive, and they miss you very much, and as soon as we are able, they will be returned to you, although… don’t be surprised if they seem a little more, shall we say, mechanical at first.

Meantime, I advise you not to waste your time trying to catch me. I’ll be doing what I always do, taking from people who have too much and giving to people who don’t have enough, until the day I die, and the only person in the universe good enough to stop me is fighting by my side. The only difference now is that you know I’m real, that I’m watching, and most importantly, you know what I’m capable of if I find out you’ve laid a hand on a child.

Bye now!” Ariadne waved and the face flickered away, a gruff looking white news anchor with a gray mustache taking her place.

“That was, once again, the video of the alleged fabled pirate Ariadne, claiming responsibility for the recent deaths of several hundred cultists and assuring the public that their recently deceased relatives will be returning from the grave. Now, Leanne, does that sound possible to you? Sounds awfully far fetched to me.”

The hologram panned out to reveal a second reporter, one possibly too attractive to be remarkable. “Well Jim, I thought so too, but we have been getting reports of relatives taken in by the Red God cult years ago suddenly returning home. NewMo News 7’s own Solomon Cho has returned unharmed after disappearing a few months ago while investigating the group. Solomon, what can you tell us about what happened to you?”

The hologram suddenly switched off. “I said, no news,” Flax insisted as she approached the poolside with a tray of recently grilled cheeseburgers. “Aren’t you sick of your own voice by now?”

Ariadne laughed. “How else am I supposed to see my normal face?” Truly, Alicia had done an amazing job, with only a new pair of glasses and a specialized hair growth formula she and Sasha had developed together, Ariadne now had much longer hair, which Alicia was currently braiding into cornrows. 

“I’m surprised you aren’t sick of that, too.” Flax said. “You’re not going to swim for an hour after eating that, right?”

There was, at this point, a large splash in the pool as Sweettalk was knocked underwater by Spacebreather. 

“Best three out of five!” Sweettalk shouted when she resurfaced. “You have an unfair advantage, she’s like, freakishly strong.”

“Look, I can play chicken as long as you can,” Pilar replied from atop Beam’s shoulders, “but I’m going to tell you right now, the Spacebreathers can’t be beat at chicken.”

“Don’t worry,” Sasha said very seriously, allowing Sweettalk to get on her shoulders again, “I have a plan for this one.”

“What kind of plan?” Sweettalk replied. 

“I’m not going to fall down and you’re going to push harder than her.”

“That’s… really not a plan, you’re just… describing how the game is played.” Sweettalk said.

“Yeah,” Sasha responded just as seriously, “do that this time.”

Baltimore sat down next to Ariadne and Alicia. “Beam!” She called, “If you don’t win, we’re getting a divorce!”

“You already know I’m going to win!” Beam called back. 

“Yeah!” Baltimore said, “Look, some of us weren’t cheerleaders in high school, this sort of thing is more your strong suit!”

“I’m glad they worked things out,” Alicia said to Baltimore, “I mean, a rift between sisters, we know that’s not the easiest thing to repair.”

“I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about,” Baltimore replied. “I wasn’t there for, like, any of what happened.”

“I mean, when I came back, it took a while to win that trust back. That’s why I call every day, you know?”

Baltimore burst out laughing. “You are too stupid, you know that?”

“What?!” Alicia said, accidentally yanking a few of Ariadne’s hairs out. 

“Ow!” Ariadne jumped in. 

“Sorry sweetie, you gotta keep your head still while I’m doing this.” Alicia replied. “I’m stupid for what, calling you up?”

“No, dummy, I was really just glad to have you back. Once I found out where you’d gone I pretty much forgave you right away.”

“Well,” Alicia looked confused, “I still think I gave pretty good advice.”

“You definitely did, Baltimore’s Sister.” Ariadne said through a mouthful of burger. 

Baltimore laughed and gave Alicia a friendly punch on the arm.

“Ey Beam!” Baltimore shouted, “Just drop her in the pool and come get a burger already, I miss your face!”

“Do not drop m--” Pilar said plainly as she was dropped directly into the water. Baltimore was waiting for Beam with a towel when she got out of the pool, and greeted her with a tender kiss. 

“Hey,” Beam said as flirtily as she could, “where’s my burger.”

“Ugh,” Baltimore said, “you ruined a good moment.”

Beam considered this. “It would all be worth it if I had a burger, though.”

Baltimore rolled her eyes, handed Beam a burger on a paper plate, kissed her again, and said “I’m gonna go check on the kids.”

“I’m getting a burger too,” Alicia said, “do not move your head while I’m gone. I’ll know if you moved your head.”

“So,” Sweettalk swam up to the edge with Sasha loosely hanging her arms around her neck and drifting behind her, as Pilar got out of the pool and dried off, “your friends seem to have a really happy life here.”

“They really do,” Ariadne replied, “they deserve it, and I’m glad they have it, but I’m not gonna lie, I could never do this.”

Pilar sat down next to Ariadne and quietly stole a bite of her burger, instead of walking ten feet to get her own. “Me neither,” said Pilar with the bite of stolen burger still in her mouth. 

“You know what they say,” Ariadne mused, “do what you love and love what you do.”

“And love who you do it with,” Pilar added. 

“Yes, that too,” Ariadne nodded, “and I’m just more cut out for the life I’ve got. I love what I do, I love who I do it with.”

“You don’t ever get tired of it?” Sweettalk asked. 

“Sometimes,” Ariadne replied, “but it wears off pretty quick. I mean, I could never stop. What I believe in is that the good people are supposed to be rewarded and the bad people are supposed to be punished, and nobody seems to get what they deserve unless somebody gives it to them. So, until the universe starts doing its job, I’m gonna keep fixing things for good people and breaking them for bad people.”

“Yo ho,” Pilar agreed. Ariadne saw Baltimore and Beam come out of the house, each carrying one very sleepy-looking toddler, both of whom were far too young to swim and had inflatable floaties on their arms seemingly just for decoration, and they sat down in the shade and began feeding the babies, and each other, french fries. 

“Good people always get tired of being good, but bad people never seem to get tired of being bad,” Ariadne thought, lying back on the soft towel behind her, “so, that’s what I want out of life. That’s the kind of person I need to be. I want a good person’s compassion with a bad person’s patience. Keep doing good even when it’s easier to do bad, and try my best to make the bad people feel as tired as I am.”

Ariadne took in the warm, gentle rays of the sun, surrounded by the people she loved most in the universe. At her side was the woman she knew she would spend the rest of her life with, whether that was one day or a hundred years, who she could only hope understood the depth and passion with which she was loved. 

A few feet away were two girls who’d known some of the deepest tragedies a child could know, who’d grown up to be the sweetest, kindest, most intelligent young women the system had ever seen. 

Standing at the grill was the first authority figure she’d ever truly respected, handing a burger to someone who’d devoted her life to Ariadne’s crew just because she believed in the cause, whose patience and unfailing loyalty had meant everything to Ariadne in the years they’d known each other, and at a small table in the shade were two women who’d become like sisters to Ariadne, who showed her how intensely two people could love one another, whose marriage she had officiated and whose children she loved as though they were her own.

Right then, she could have combined all the misery she’d experienced in her entire life and it would still only be the smallest fraction of the joy she was feeling at that particular moment. 

The universe can be a good place, she thought, and if I’ve got anything to say about it, it’s damn sure going to be. 

THE END.