#MAN CONTINUOUSLY DIED IN A TIME LOOP AGAIN N AGAIN N AGAIN FOR HIS BELOVEDS HAPPINESS!!!

[liverpool-enjoyer]

how could men ever impress me when my standard for love was set by kaworu "i really was born to meet you" nagisa

#MAN CONTINUOUSLY DIED IN A TIME LOOP AGAIN N AGAIN N AGAIN FOR HIS BELOVEDS HAPPINESS!!! #oh also men dont wanna impress me #but jokes aside to this day kaworu is the STANDARD #you gotta watch evangelion at sixteen n have it change the trajectory of your life its a rite of passage #kaworu nagisa #kawoshin #neon genesis evangelion

[redrobinhoood]

catch me i'm falling | one-shot

A/N: There’s not enough angst in the Foxiyo fandom and I’m here to fix that. Full work posted here, optional AO3 link.

AO3 Link | 1,800 words (approx)

Summary: Riyo regrets the view from her window. All it has ever done is give her a look at her world as it falls apart. [Unrated, Major Character Death]

For the second time in her life, Riyo regretted the view out of her window. The first time, Fox had been called on with the highest priority and run to his command. She had been preparing for bed by herself when she noticed a new light from her bedroom window. Opening the blinds, she had beheld the Jedi Temple in flames. That night, she had sat in her living room until dawn, clutching a cup of tea as she watched the Temple burn. She hadn’t seen Fox again for a week, until he’d appeared at her office with empty eyes and very little to say. Then, he had held her as she cried for all they had lost.

Now, she had been preparing for bed, alone once again, when she heard the muffled explosion. She ran to the living room to watch as a plume of smoke rose from the side of the Jedi Temple. She could’ve sworn she saw a green blade dancing with a red one amongst the smoke. But that was impossible, the Jedi were gone. She saw the patrol transport move towards the blast site and wondered what was going on. She wondered if Fox was there. He had been ordered to secure the Jedi Temple for reasons unknown. Surely he was still on-site. She swallowed the panic rising in her throat, returning to the bathroom to brush out the unnatural curls that her senatorial hairstyling had left behind. Seconds later, the second explosion shook her mirror and she ran back to the window to see smoke rising from a neighborhood bordering the Temple. The holonews held no answers for her. Now, once again, she couldn’t sleep. She slipped on a loose pair of pants over the romper she had been wearing and sat down on the couch to watch the smoke billow into the night.

A knock on the door disturbed her. She glanced towards the clock to check the late hour, then rose and walked to the door. She brought up the image of a white and red clone on her doorstep and pressed the button to speak.

“Hello?”

“Senator Chuchi, it’s Jek.”

Of course it was, she could see very clearly his distinctive marks from wear and tear across his armor. She couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that the late visit had brought to her. Still, it was Jek. She opened the door. “What brings you here at this hour, Jek?” She hadn’t seen him, nor any of the clones besides Fox, in weeks. They had been overwhelmed by the formation of their new Empire and the government was in chaos.

Jek sighed and took off his helmet so that she could see his face. He wasn’t crying, nor had he been crying, but he looked like he was on the verge of bursting into tears. “Thire sent me. Commander Fox is dead.”

For a moment, she wondered who Commander Fox was and why she would want to know if he was dead. Then it hit her that it was her Fox, her beloved commander, and she felt something inside her break. Jek reached out for her as she swayed, steadying her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck for support, focusing her gaze on the looping tattoo on his neck as she tried to remember how to balance on her legs, how to stand. She’d known that this day may come, that every time she said goodbye to Fox it could be for the last time, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the sheer numbness that was filling her.

“I want to see his body.” The words spilled out before she could think of them in her mind. She almost hoped that he would refuse her, allow her last memory of Fox to be of him leaning down over her on the couch, afternoon sunlight streaming across his features, to kiss her before departing to his station. Was that really only hours ago?

Jek took a deep breath, pulling her closer into a proper hug. “Okay.”

---

He brought her to the wreckage of the patrol transport she had heard crash earlier. Small fires still burnt amongst the twisted remains and the smell of burning metal filled the area. Jek refused to leave the speeder, but pointed her to the white and red armor of Commander Thire, who was talking with the fire suppression team. She made her way over to him, wishing she’d grabbed something with sleeves so that she could’ve covered her nose. He noticed her before she was upon them and stepped back to greet her.

“Riyo.” He sounded tired. The blatant use of her name threw her off for a moment, but she pushed on to stand beside him.

“Thire.” How long had it been since she’d seen him? She knew that he had been involved with the hunt for the Jedi who had attempted to assassinate the then Chancellor, taking perhaps the most proactive role in the Coruscant Guard in the Jedi Purge besides Commander Stone, who had been killed at the Jedi Temple on the night it burned. She wondered how he could sleep at night. Maybe he couldn’t.

She turned her attention from the commander into the wreckage beside them. There were scattered bits of burnt plastoid littering the ground and a few shapes which she recognized as burnt bodies. She bit her tongue as she continued to scan the site. Peeking out from underneath part of the wreckage she could see a pair of familiar boots. Rys. How many times had she seen those boots next to her? She’d know them almost as well she knew her own shoes. She understood why Jek had elected to stay in the speeder. Beside him, a little way away from the wreckage, she saw a set of red armor. She stepped forward but Thire grabbed her and pulled her back. The numbness inside her lifted, making room for crushing despair.

“Please. Please, let me see him. Please. Please. Please!” She fought against his grip as she sobbed, screaming at him to let her go. He didn’t say a thing, just held her until her voice was hoarse and her struggles had stilled. When Thire’s grip on her loosened she nearly fell to the ground. She would have fallen if he had not caught her and pulled her close to him. She didn’t notice the fleeting glances that some of the clones on-site sent her way. None of them approached.

“Riyo, you won’t be able to unsee this. Are you sure?” Thire finally said as he steadied her.

“Please, Thire. I owe him this much.” She wished he’d take off his helmet so that she could plead her case to a man and not a suit of armor. Yet, she couldn’t bear to see Fox’s face staring back at her; or Rys’, or any of the clones that had been on the gunship.

Thire nodded and helped her to her feet. He walked over with her to the red armor- she refused to think of it as Fox- and stood behind her as she fell to her knees beside the body. She reached for the stretch of black between Fox’s chest plate and helmet, slipping her hand under his neck. She was horrified when it bent unnaturally under her touch and she realized how he must have died. Swallowing her fear, she reached instead for his helmet, trying not to jostle his head as she removed it. Thire had knelt down behind her and he now lay his hands on her shoulders. She took Fox’s face in her hands and ran her thumbs numbly across his cheeks. How many times had she done this while he was alive; taken off his helmet and ran her hands across his face as if it belonged to her. She was thankful that his eyes were closed, though a look of sadness was still etched into his brow and lips. She realized that he must’ve begged to be spared in his final moments. She could never picture her proud Fox begging for his life, but maybe he did, for her. She continued to run her thumbs across his face as she took in his features for the last time. She almost missed Thire reaching out from behind her to prod at Fox’s throat.

“The crash didn’t kill him.” He’d taken off his helmet. His voice was level, detached, as if he was going through his thought processes out loud for her benefit. “Neither did our men, there would be bruising. But he was dead long before this ship hit the ground.” He brought his hand back to her shoulder. “It was a nearly instantaneous death, Riyo. He would’ve barely felt it.”

“You know who killed him then.” She didn’t turn around and Thire didn’t answer. “Please, tell me.”

“I did. I was the one who found him, on Mustafar. I brought the medical capsule. I saved his life. This is all my fault.”

Riyo finally turned to look at Thire. He wasn’t crying, but the blank look on his face was worse. She’d been afraid to see Fox in Thire’s face, but felt more afraid when she realized that she couldn’t. “Thire, please.”

“Vader.” He looked out at the debris around them and Riyo felt a chill run down her spine despite the heat. She let out a shaky breath and buried her face in the crook of Fox‘s neck. She almost hoped that she would feel his arms wrap around her as they always had before. But she was too late.

---

Her apartment felt empty. It had always felt empty without Fox there, ever since the first night he had stayed in her bed. She kept waiting for him to walk in the door and tell her how he had faked his death so that they could run away together. But that would never happen. She knew that it had been Fox that she’d buried that day. Not that she’d buried him. His body had been taken by the Republic.

She sat as she usually did now, alone in her chair with her datapad and Fox’s helmet in her lap. She had been permitted to take that much, and Thire, the new commanding officer of the Coruscant Guard, had later brought her his bracers. As she reviewed her notes, she ran her fingers across the plastoid, tracing the painted stripes or the exaggerated features.

A message chimed across the top of her datapad from Senator Organa. She opened it.

‘Are you with us?’

Maybe it was inappropriate for him to take advantage of her grief. When Bail had asked for her thoughts on the Empire before, she had turned him down- fearing retaliation. She wasn’t afraid anymore. Riyo clutched the helmet to her so hard as to dig the plastoid into her skin as she responded.

‘Yes’

Vader would pay.

#foxiyo #commander fox #cc-1010 #riyo chuchi #my fics #oneshot

[etlunainmorte]

"Trust me, V."

"(Y/N),... I should not have dragged the both of us in this hopeless situation. Forgive me,... "

"You came. That's all that matters."

"It's true what they say: when there's a will, there's a way."

"You said, please, say yes. And I said, yes! I'm going to the New Year's Ball with you, V!"

"Parting is such sweet sorrow,... that I shall say good night 'till it be morrow. Let us meet,... in the land of dreams. In a beautiful garden,... somewhere only we know. See you soon, my love."

"Stay with me, please. Until I fall asleep."

"Seeing you happy,... is the only single thing in this world that keeps me going. So, please, smile,... and be happy. Don't ever blame yourself for what happened in the past. It was never your fault. Live for the people you love. Smile,... for there are people who truly loves you. And they would never leave you, no matter what. Don't forget about that."

"I do,... take Lord Victor Blake as my husband. I promise to love and cherish him above all else. I will take care of him and support him. Through thick and thin, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. If your soul shall seek mine after death, then I shall wait for you in the next lifetime. Then, the next. I will wait for you, for as long as it takes. J - just,... don't forget about me, alright?"

"I do,... take Lady (Y/N) (L/N) as my wife. This fool will love and cherish her above all else in the world. I promise to care for her, to support her through thick and through thin. If falling for you is a sin, then I refuse to repent. Like a river that flows to the sea, or a fool rushing in, I have fallen deeply in love with you. I cannot help myself from falling in love with you, my dear darling (Y/N). I will stay with you, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. And I shall never stop from loving you, even after my death. My soul shall seek yours, and we will be together again,... in our next lifetime. And the next. I will always love you, my dear, beloved (Y/N). Until the end of time."

...

...

...

I will,... fulfill your three wishes,...

... no matter what it takes.

I will make you,... the happiest woman on earth.

Love me tender, love me sweet.

Never let me go.

You have made my life complete.

And I love you so.

Love me tender, love me true.

All my dreams fulfill.

For my darling I love you,

And I always will.

Love me tender, love me long.

Take me to your heart.

For it's there that I belong.

And will never part.

Love me tender, love me true.

All my dreams fulfill.

For my darling I love you,

And I always will.

Love me tender, love me dear.

Tell me you are mine.

I'll be yours through all the years,

'Til the end of time.

Love me tender, love me true.

All my dreams fulfill.

For my darling I love you,

And I always will.

***

🌸 Three Wishes 🌸

***

XV

For my darling, I love you,

And I always will.

You smiled as Fleminger's performance came to an end. He knew the man possessed such a wonderful singing voice? Not to mention a deep fondness for all things Elvis Presley?

"That's such a beautiful song." You told V as you leaned on the railing of the Grecian balcony just outside the mansion where he led you.

"I never expected Elvis Presley to be," V answered in a low and soft voice as he joined you. " ... such a poet. Those words are,... truly heart - warming." And it was true. He has been listening to that song on loop the moment Nico introduced the King of Rock and Roll's more mellow songs to him.

You hummed in agreement, trying to ignore Salvador as you heard him calling his boss for the third time. "I wonder where Lancaster went?" You finally asked as your eyebrows furrowed in disgust after mentioning your former lover's name.

"Who knows,..." V answered, not wanting to divulge the fact that he felt the presence of Vergil's Yamato a while ago. Where on earth did Vergil bring that doctor, anyway?

"V?" You piped in a few moments later when the sound of applause and cheers from inside the mansion died.

"Hmm?"

All of a sudden, you were at a loss for words. There was something truly deep and mysterious within those hypnotic green eyes of his. More than ever before. You felt it when he looked at you and invited you outside a while ago, and partly because of that ( and your almost unhealthy addiction to romance novels and chick flicks ), you somehow knew what would happen next. You just didn't have the strength to confirm or admit it. It's not that you're worried about it, no.

It was more like,...

... you felt that this was a truly wonderful dream that would vanish as soon as you stirred in your sleep.

And you didn't want this dream to end.

"Thank you." So, you told him instead. "For inviting me here." Looking up at him, you smiled and squeezed his arm next to yours. "Thank you so much."

"Anything for you, my dear." V answered as he heard Fleminger speaking once again.

" ... the runner - up for the King and Queen of the Ball goes to,... Dante and Trish! Congratulations! If you two may, please, step forward. Thank you!"

"Wow. That's Michael Jackson for you, I guess." You said as you listened to the wild cheers and hoots. "And now, Lady will receive her Queen award - "

"(Y/N)?"

You looked up once more at the man, surprised when he suddenly interrupted you. "Yes, V?"

"I know this is awfully late but," He began, and took out a pastel - colored notebook from his breast pocket. The thing that Nico handed him. " ... this is your Christmas present. Well, Nico was the one who thought of it first. Then, the others helped. All of us collaborated."

"Aww! How sweet of you! Thank you so much, V!" You exclaimed as you received the notebook from him. Excited to see what's inside, you began to turn the pages but, then, you remembered. "Wait. I don't have a Christmas present for you! Oh, my God! I forgot! I'm so sorry, V - !"

"It doesn't matter, dear." V answered, smiling at you. He, then, nodded at the notebook in your hands. "Please. I would like you to see it."

You nodded, once again ignoring all the noise inside the mansion, which was honestly a bit different from before. Not cheers, nor applause but, something really weird. Were they,... objections of some sort? You opened the notebook, and saw,... something that made you smile silly! It was - !

"Hey! This is," You looked up at V as you pointed at the photograph. So, it is a scrapbook, after all! " ... this is our Halloween event!"

"Yes." V answered with a smile and a slight wince, reeling at the thought of him dressing up as a mystical blue Genie for Halloween. The body paint! The steel pot!

Stand in a steel pot, she said, V thought ruthlessly. It will be fun, she said,...

"Everyone is here! Dante and his weird costume. Nero, Kyrie. Wait, Kyrie was dressed as a Witch? I thought she was the Girl from Ring. Oh, and Avery and Roman as Morticia and Gomez!" You turned to the next page, saw the next picture, and laughed even more as you helplessly shook your head. "This is when we watched Star Wars! Was Nico spying on us?"

"I couldn't deny that, unfortunately." And V was saying the truth. Nico and his familiars did follow them all day in the shopping district, despite his strict instruction to leave you and him alone. And they managed to produce tons upon tons of stolen shots of you and him.

"This is crazy! Oh, and these are during the Christmas party for the children! The kids enjoyed seeing Griffon as Grandma so much. Oh! And they love your violin - playing, too, V."

"Thank you."

"These are such wonderful pictures!" You complimented as you looked at the photos one by one, vastly enjoying them. But, when you reached the next page and saw the next photograph, your heart seemed to stop beating.

And V? He felt his breathing hitch. It's as if he was forced to stand at the edge of a cliff with someone pointing a gun at his back.

And at the same time, Fleminger spoke once more.

"And to start our last dance for this evening to be led by our King and Queen runner - up, may we call on our special guests for tonight? Let us give a warm round of applause to Ms. Jam And The War Veterans!"

"V," You whispered, confusion getting the better of you as you stared at the strange vintage photograph of yourself dressed in an exquisite gown as you stood at the top of an awfully familiar - looking staircase. " ... I,... don't understand,... "

"Please," V pleaded as he laid his hands on yours, urging you to keep looking. " ... see the photographs."

Trusting V's words, you continued browsing, and as the music started, you felt your consciousness leave your body.

The way you're dressed in these photographs. The setting. Everything.

It's as if,...

... somehow,...

... you've gone back in time.

Never thought that you would be,

Standing here so close to me.

There's so much I feel that I should say.

But words can wait until some other day.

Unable to form an appropriate response to the photographs, you went on browsing, until you found an old letter attached to the next page of the scrapbook. Gently grazing the old stationary with your fingers as if it was a really fragile thing in danger of crumbling, you read the letter.

"Love and harmony combine,

And round our souls entwine

While thy branches mix with mine,

And our roots together join."

But, it was Sir William Blake who said it, and not me.

For, if I' am given the chance to send you a different poem that I have written myself, I would give you none.

My dearest, how could a foolish man such as myself form oh so eloquent words to write poetry if he is in awe of the beauty right before his very own eyes?

And because of that, let this foolish man send you these heartfelt words, instead:

Good night, my Little Wanderer.

My Evening Star.

My Beloved Muse.

My Little, Innocent One.

My Little Lamb.

~ Yours truly, Victor Blake.

"Victor,..." You muttered, looking at the familiar swirl of the letter - sender's handwriting. Then, turning to the next page, you saw,...

Kiss me once, then kiss me twice,

Then kiss me once again.

It's been a long, long time.

Haven't felt like this, my dear,

Since I can't remember when.

It's been a long, long time.

You'll never know how many dreams

I've dreamed about you.

Or just how empty they all seemed without you.

So kiss me once, then kiss me twice,

Then kiss me once again.

It's been a long, long time.

"V is this,...?" You muttered as you saw photos of you together with V but in the same vintage setting.

And in those old photos, you two were always together. Laughing, reading, playing music, walking hand in hand.

You two,... were always together.

"Are we,...?" Your mouth forming incoherent words due to utter disbelief, you turned to the page to see the very last photo. Of you and V surrounded by a group of friends throwing flower petals at you. All of you looked so happy and cheerful, and it looked as though you two were just married.

And those clothes you were wearing,...

... they were the same, exact ones that you and V were wearing this exact moment!

They were,...

... vintage wedding clothes!

And you chose to wear it because you felt something really strong and emotional and sentimental about it! No wonder Avery was so surprised about it!

You and V,...

... were your great grandmother and this Victor Blake's future lives!

"You know, V spent a lot of time in this room last October." Is what Avery told you before when she showed you your great grandmother's bedroom.

Did V,...

Did V know all about this?!

"(Y/N), I know it's confusing but - " V began, very nervous because of the revelation.

"We have always been together, you and I." You told him. Looking up at him as you inched closer towards him, you went on. "No wonder I feel this way about us! The answer is right here! V, you and I were together!"

"I,..." V stuttered, then gulped. He couldn't possibly predict what your reaction would be about this whole plan ( since his mother's necklace was stolen, he had to think of another thing to give you, and that's when Nico suggested this ). At first, he thought you would consider this as a well - collaborated practical joke ( he did hesitate a lot about this, but decided to just go with it as he had no other last - minute option left ), knowing that things such as photographs could be altered nowadays in a way to make them look old. He never expected you to be this,... accepting. "Well, you see, it's a very long story,... of what happened last October. These,... chain of events,... that led me to you. But, it can wait. I will tell you everything. I promise." He took your hands, which still held the scrapbook, and raised them to his lips. Giving them a kiss, he finally uttered the words you never realized you have been waiting for. Until now. "I would adore to hold you in my arms for the rest of my existence. However, I cannot force you to choose. I will never do it."

"But, what if I want to choose?" You asked V with a knowing smile, giving him the one huge hint he never knew he desperately needed. Until now. "What would you tell me?"

And the poet took this hint as a massive opportunity. Oh, yes, indeed!

"(Y/N) (L/N), would you stay by my side,... one more time?"

A smile creeping up on the corners of your lips as overwhelming feelings of joy flooded your chest, you shook your head, and declared, with all your loving heart and longing soul, "Not one more time. I say, yes, now, tomorrow, always, and forever!"

"I adore you, my lady." V whispered as one of his arms went around you and pulled you close to him. "I love you so much, (Y/N)!"

"I love you, too, V." You answered, and oh, how good it felt to finally say it!

You briefly saw the twinkle in V's eyes before being pulled closer to him. And as your eyes closed the moment you felt his warm breath brush against your face, you couldn't help but let out a little sound of shameful excitement. 

Hey, no one could blame you. Not now when his lips began moving rhythmically with yours. Not now when his hands travelled up and down your back in that very delicious caress. Not now when he seemed to pull you closer to his body, not having enough of this long - desired contact.

And definitely not now when he whispered over and over again how much he loved you and how much he wanted to be with you as he showered you with his love.

All of these wonderful things, this very unpredictable and yet romantic evening, this memorable moment shared between the two of you,...

... you will cherish this for as long as you lived.

Ah, yes! At long last! Finally!

And V? He actually never noticed it, nor the awesome display of fireworks in the clear night sky as Fleminger's party drew to a close, and the sound of the Carillion church bells nearby, signaling the very first hour of the year, but he finally fulfilled your very last wish.

Vitale Sparda has fulfilled all of your three wishes, and he could never explain the feeling of warmth that overwhelmed his heart as you two shared this loving moment, this very passionate kiss.

And he will cherish this moment with you forever.

Love me tender, love me sweet.

Never let me go.

You have made my life complete.

And I love you so.

Love me tender, love me true.

All my dreams fulfill.

For my darling I love you,

And I always will.

Love me tender, love me long.

Take me to your heart.

For it's there that I belong.

And will never part.

Love me tender, love me true.

All my dreams fulfill.

For my darling I love you,

And I always will.

Love me tender, love me dear.

Tell me you are mine.

I'll be yours through all the years,

'Til the end of time.

Love me tender, love me true.

All my dreams fulfill.

For my darling I love you,

And I always will.

***

🌸 I hope you enjoyed listening to my singing voice, winkwink! 🌸

🌸 @la-vita , @dreaming-gamer , @birdgirl69 , and @v-vic . 🌸

***

"How long have you been staring at those two?"

Fleminger turned just in time to see Adelaide walking towards him, her hands on her hips and her eyebrow raised. And this made the man smile, as he couldn't contain the happiness in his heart upon seeing her.

"Well?" Adelaide asked, stopping just three feet away from him and crossing her arms.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm being scolded by my prom date for leaving her?"

"Don't you dare dodge my question, Flanagan Allen!" Adelaide barked, and all of a sudden, Fleminger saw that young woman again. 

That young woman,...

... who was his sole purpose for living.

"Is it wrong to take pride in one's,... accomplishments?" Fleminger asked her as he nodded at something outside the mansion.

Realizing that Fleminger was observing V and her grandchild happily watching the fireworks display from the Grecian balcony, Adelaide was beyond furious. Slapping the man's arm as hard as she could, she said, "How dare you, Flanagan Allen!"

"Don't you want those two lovebirds to be happy?" Fleminger questioned, offended and hurt as he rubbed his arm.

"Well, I want them to be happy, of course! But, I don't want you to intervene! You may think you are the greatest match - maker in the world, but those two got together on their own effort! You are just the one who put them in vintage fashion and placed them on the dancefloor like puppets in a circus show! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

"My, my, you're on fire,..."

"I'm always on fire."

"That's why I fell in love with you."

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Fleminger received another slap in his arm as Adelaide let out a very crisp curse. "I thought you're married to Reginald!"

"And I thought you swore to never see me again,..."

"Seriously, Flanagan?! Until now, you're being like this?!"

"Like what?"

"Annoying! And irritating! And pompous!"

"And still in love with me?" Fleminger added with an apologetic smile that caught Adelaide off guard. "Aha! So,... I'm right!"

"Shut up. I don't intend on going back with you." Adelaide shook her head, turning away from him, still defiant.

Exactly like the Adelaide he fell in love with.

"Is that the news that got to you after all? That I married Reginald?" Fleminger asked her carefully, not wanting to waste this once in a lifetime opportunity. "I have waited five long decades for you to speak with me again. But you didn't answer all the letters I sent you." 

Reaching out a hand, the man gently made the woman turn around to face him, and the moment she did, he felt as if they're back during that time as their younger selves. During that time before those decades worth of blunders occurred between the two of them. And now that she's here, all he intended to do was to fix the problem once and for all.

"Listen to me very, very carefully." Fleminger told her. "Reginald and I were never married, nor were we in any form of relationship. I told you that lie that we were together because your father wanted me to leave you."

"And you're saying this to me now?" Adelaide hissed, becoming overwhelmed with that familiar feeling of sadness once again. "Do you honestly believe that I would - ?"

"He told me that I' am too poor to be with someone like you. That I cannot afford the life you deserved. So, I had to lie and make you believe that I cheated on you. I had to make you leave me. For your own sake."

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"Because I'm a coward. I could never face your family after all that. I had to think of a way to get you back. To get us back. I studied hard, I graduated with honors, I worked even harder. I achieved the,... ideal man,... that your father wanted for you to be with. And by the time I went back, I found out that you have already moved on. Got married to a mere accountant and had children. Living a content life under a small roof. You got married to a man who was supposedly lower than what I' am now. Inferior."

"Stop,... talking about my husband,..." Adelaide, being a very soft and emotional woman deep down, felt her tears already pouring from her tired eyes.

"But, I never held a grudge against you. You're understandably hurt, and you wanted to move on."

"What did you do,... when you found out?"

To this, Fleminger only smiled weakly. "I lived,... a very wasteful life. It took me many years to get back up again when I know I actually couldn't. Not without professional help, mind you. But, all it took was one tiny idea that got me springing back up to life once more, as hideous as it sounds. And this tiny,... idea,... has sprouted well,... like a majestic oak tree.

"For thirty years, I've been arranging these,... grand parties,... trying to get two strangers to be together each year. Or, at least I thought I have the power to do something for others which I couldn't do for the both of us when we were young."

"The King and Queen." Adelaide added.

Ah, so the rumors are true! Of a man who arranged parties just to get two people together because he couldn’t be with the love of his life, himself!

Oh, how tragic,…

"Yes. And no one deserved the title of King and Queen for this evening except for those two." Fleminger said, gesturing once more at the happy couple on the balcony. "Unfortunately, I have to disqualify the both of them for,... inappropriate behavior."

"Is that the reason why you left the titles empty?" Adelaide asked, her voice no longer laced with anger and hurt, but of pity and understanding. Pity that she and the man she once loved wasted five decades of precious life all because of an awful misunderstanding, and understanding because it felt like they were finally set free due to poor Flanagan's confession and honesty.

Ah! Such fools we both were,...

"That is the reason." Fleminger sighed. "But, I must say. You have taught her the ways of the Jive well."

"How did you know I taught her?"

"You have always been a great dancer. Besides, knowing you, I,... could somehow feel that you would rise to my challenge and show up to one of my New Year parties. With your well thought - out vengeance, that is." With a huge grin on his face, he added, "And you did."

"Huh." Adelaide crossed her arms once more. "Funny you should arrange your first ever grand New Year's Ball a year after my husband died."

"Funny you should ignore all of my invitations until now."

Flanagan and Adelaide looked at each other, and during this small moment of understanding, something clicked inside each other's heads. Like the sensation of putting the very last piece in a puzzle that has been left unsolved for many decades.

And then, they both smiled. The kind of smile they didn't have for so many years.

And it honestly felt good.

"Oh, I don't know!" Adelaide exclaimed as she stretched her limbs like she was a teenager once more. "You don't seem spry now like how you used to. And you don't look like you could pull off a kick or two."

"Oh, I'm very curious to find out, myself." Flanagan replied as he stretched his back, ashamed to see his stomach bulging because of it. Then, offering a hand to Adelaide, he asked, "May I have the honor of this Jive, my lady?"

"Certainly." Adelaide answered with a mischievous wink and a devilish smirk as she took Flanagan's hand, having the full intention of making the man suffer not only with Jive but through at least five more types of ballroom dances.

***

🌸🌸🌸

***

#vitale sparda #devil may cry 5 #three wishes #v x reader #v x you #chapter 15 #love me tender

[heyhihellowhatsup0]

Dark Webs (Dark! Peter Parker x Reader) - Chapter Three

Warnings:  Topics of death, PTSD and depression,  substance abuse, angst, violence (this chapter does get a little graphic for those sensitive to gore and violence) ignoring some of the MCU timeline/AU

Word Count: 5562 (A bit longer - but I promise, it’s worth it!)

Summary: Still not giving up on Peter, you continue to try and find a way to get him back. Only to find out that Peter has other plans for you...

A/N: Thank you all so much for giving me your feedback on this series! Please continue to send me your thoughts and if you want to be added to the taglist, please Inbox me or reply to the post! Love you all!!

Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two

“Look at what we got here! Peter’s lightsaber collection,” you teased him, panning his camera towards his shelves, “Jeez, Parker. I thought you were dorky, but didn’t think this much. You even have them alphabetized,” you let out a giggle, panning over each and every one slowly before Peter grabbed the camera away from you.

He pointed it towards you, extending his favorite lightsaber at you, “If you mock the Jedi, you must fight the Jedi!” Peter exclaims as he lights it up to show off for you.

“Yup, you just got dorkier,” you tell him with a laugh. You grabbed the the red one with a maniacal look, “The First Order will seize you now…” you told him as you lit your saber up to match his.

“No!” Peter shouts for dramatic effect, slamming his lightsaber up against yours. He let out a roar of laughter, his camera falling to the bed as he begins to get into his reenactment, “You’re dead, Y/N!”

You rolled your eyes as you fall on your back on his mattress, your lightsaber pressed up against his as he hovered over you, “Not today, Parker!” you shout back. But before he’s able to finish you off, you slide his plastic lightsaber into his own chest.

“Ugh!” Peter shouted out, pretending to die. He collapsed on top of you, making you laugh as he gurgled,  “You killed me, you killed me!” He groaned as his hands went to his chest.

Peter turned his lightsaber off, sliding it into his belt loop with a confident look, “The force is strong with me. Don’t you ever forget it, Y/N,” Peter told you as he stuck his tongue out at you playfully.

You finally open your eyes, coming back to life as you sit up on your elbows, “You could never kill anyone, even if you wanted to,” you said to him, turning your lightsaber off and tossing it over to him.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Peter asked, giving you a look as he placed the lightsabers back in the organized order he had them in originally.

“I would say so. You don’t have a murderous bone in that spider-infected body of yours,” you joke, grabbing his camera and pointing it directly at him, “Am I wrong?” you tested him, zooming in on his face.

Peter inhaled, thinking about his response before he leaned forward closer to you. His face close to yours as he looked directly in your eyes instead of looking into the camera.

“Y/N, I’d never hurt anyone unless I really had to,” Peter said with seriousness in his eyes. You knew he was telling the truth right then and there and that he was certainly one of the good guys.

“Well the best part about having Spider-

“-Hey, you’ve been here a while, you okay?” Harry asked, poking his head into his office where you were sitting at his desk, trying to work on your next piece.

Startled at the sudden interruption, you slammed your laptop shut, wiping a tear away from your cheek as you tried to pretend that that video you watched wasn’t real.

“Uh, yeah. Just got a little side tracked, I think,” you told him, still feeling uneasy from the events that occurred last night, “I think I need to just finish this in the morning,” you finally decided.

Harry shuffled over, leaning his chin on your shoulder as he kissed below your ear, “Maybe you should call out from work tomorrow,” he suggested.

“I can’t, I have a deadline,” you let out a sigh, thinking about the article that needed to get done.

Late the other night when you were with Peter, some of the tech that Peter had stolen and given to Kingpin a few weeks ago was used in a local robbery from a hospital, stealing high tech medical supplies. Now you were convinced whoever was buying the tech from Kingpin was using it for further gain. This went far beyond Stark Technology and Peter.

“I may stop by the hospital and see if I can get behind the police tape too. You used to work for that hospital right?” You asked Harry, remembering he worked in the science labs there while working under his father before his passing, “Do you think maybe you could get me in there?”

“Y/N, stop!” Harry told you. He swiveled your chair around to look at you. Putting your face in between his palms, his crisp green eyes stared back at you with worry and fear, “You just came back with bruises up and down your arm and I didn’t ask what that was about. But now you want to go back out there? For what? For Spider-Man? To prove that none of this is your beloved Spider-Man? You’re going to get yourself killed, Y/N!” Harry said, trying to knock some sense into you.

“What has Spider-Man done for you in the last few months, Y/N? Come on,” Harry said a bit more aggressively.

You were silent. You wanted to be angry with him, but how could you be? Spider-Man had been missing since Tony Stark died. The remaining Avengers were doing their parts in all areas of the world, and New York was in utter chaos. In a time when the city needed Spider-Man the most, he ran away from his responsibility. And nothing that you were doing was helping.

Harry may not have been the biggest fan of Spider-Man, but many people weren’t. Especially now. And sadly, you were beginning to become one of those people.

“I know you’re trying, you want to bring Spider-Man back but,” Harry stopped, licking his lips in frustration, trying to form the words, “I don’t think he is coming back, Y/N. He’s...the one doing all of this, don’t you see?” He finally spoke the words that made you cringe.

“It’s not Spider-Man, it’s…” You trail off as tears form in your eyes as Harry continued to hold you still, swallowing the large pill stuck in your throat, “It’s just not him. I know for a fact that this isn’t Spider-Man. You have to trust me, Harry,” you told him as you felt your voice grow weaker.

Harry nodded, swiping a tear with his thumb, “I do trust you. But you have to trust me. You need a break from this,” He told you. The edges of his mouth curving to form a smile.

You knew Harry was just trying to protect you, but you couldn’t help but be annoyed at how nonchalant he was about all of this. This was your job, your career that you had chosen. Working for The Daily Bugle wasn’t exactly your dream publication, but it was a start. And you were getting really good at your job. Why couldn’t he see that?

But arguing with Harry wasn’t going to get you anywhere. If anything, it would just make him think your agitation just meant you needed even more time off. Which you didn’t, you were just agitated because Peter was making your job a living hell.

“I think I’m going to work from here tomorrow, and get this done,” You finally told him, trying your best to hide your irritation as he pulled his hands away from your face, “I’ll call the hospital in the morning to get some quotes, and then stop by my place and pick up some of my things?” You tell him, trying to ease his mind a bit, even though you were still annoyed.

You wanted to stop by your place anyway. You were running out of fresh clothes at Harry’s, and in addition, you knew you needed to get some of your notes about Peter’s plans in a safe place before Harry came snooping around. It was only a matter of time.

“How about I take you to dinner tomorrow night at that new lounge in the village?” Harry asks, pressing a gently kiss to your lips as he stands up and grabs one of his folders of paperwork from his desk.

You blink slowly, unable to process right away. You had so much going on right now, a date night was on the lowest portion of your to-do list, “Yeah. Sounds..uh, great,” You told him with a forced smile. He didn't seem to notice though.

Harry shut the door behind you, to leave you with your work again. You opened up the laptop, forgetting to X out of the video you were watching earlier. It started replaying again, and your thoughts went back to exactly how you were feeling earlier.

------

Peter tossed the bag of goods on the table. Pulling out the contents of the bag, one by one. The blasters, an older Chitauri gun, and last but certainly not least, Iron Spider. He was absolutely ready to part ways with that thing.

“This is the most powerful batch I’ve brought you so far,” Peter told Kingpin, putting a blaster on his hand and shooting it across the room, burning a hole into the wall in the blink of an eye.

Kingpin looked at the suit with a smirk, noticing it still in perfect condition, “That couldn’t have been easy to get,” He remarked, holding the suit in his hand to examine it.

“Nope. And the next heist I’m doing is going to be worse, so I’m gonna need an advance,” Peter answered back, folding his arms in front of his chest. He looked around the room, it was just him and Kingpin, surprisingly.

“Do you have any idea what this suit can do?” Kingpin asked, but it was more of him telling Peter. He looked down at it in awe, looking at the iron mask that came with it.

Of course Peter knew, he thought to himself. He wore it. He was in that thing when he died, and came back to life. He defeated Thanos in that stupid suit. He even witnessed Tony Stark, the man who made the suit for him, die while he was wearing it.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Peter answered bluntly. He looked unamused when Kingpin shot him a menancing glare, “Anyway, I’ll take my money when you’re done fucking that stupid suit with your eyes,” He told him flatly.

Kingpin glared furiously at him, shocked that he was talking to him in such a manor, “I’ll give you 150k for the suit, 25k for the rest of it. I’ll give you 5k in advance if you can get the product here in three days,” He told him, staring down at the suit.

“Whatever, not the first time you fucked me over,” Peter scoffed at him. Money was money and he just wanted to get rid of the suit, “Whose buying this trash anyway?” He finally asked.

“New guy,” Kingpin answered, handing the suit over to his subordinate to put it in storage until it was sold, “Never met him, he just wires the money and we drop it off at his shipping station on the loading docks,” He answers Peter flatly, without even looking him in the eye.

Peter wrinkled his nose as his other peers walk over with his money waiting for him. He wasn’t in the mood to talk, he just wanted his money, maybe a drink, and to go home. Typically, he’d ask what this new guy was doing with it, but honestly, who cares. It’s not like Peter was doing any better when he was Spider-Man.

He grabbed the briefcase, tucking it under his arm. He didn’t thank Kingpin because, why would he? All Peter wanted was his money and to get the hell out of this shithole.

“That damn reporter!” Someone shouted, barging into the basement. It startled Peter, making him jump as he and Kingpin saw the guy running towards them holding a copy of The Daily Bugle, “She’s saying the hospital and Stark are connected,” He screamed, slamming a copy of the paper onto the table.

Peter looked and saw your name on the byline. Tensing his jaw, he folded his arms as he took a step back, “Well, they are,” He answered wisely.

“Shut up,” Kingpin lashed out at him, staring down at the paper as he read the first few paragraphs of the article on the cover of the paper.

New York Medical Center has fallen as the most recent victim in the recent burglaries that have been taking place across the city. The hospital’s laboratory was targeted, having over $3 million in supplies stolen. Supplies including radiation injections, several DNA kits, and other drugs such as oxycodone were taken from the lab.

Police have yet to comment on whether or not this robbery is linked with the recent ones that had taken place over at Stark Tower, but a recent matchbook from “The Devil’s Pin” bar was discovered at the hospital. Possibly making these two in fact, a connection to a possible mob heist.

“Who’s the fucking moron who dropped the matchbook in the hospital, huh?” Kingpin shouted, flinging the newspaper across the room with fury. He looked over at the two men who participated in the heist, staring at each other with terror.

He walked around as more people filled the room. Peter inhaled sharply, just wanting to get the hell out of here, “Can I go the fuck home? I wasn’t even a part of this hospital shit,” he told the group.

“Weren’t you the one we asked to take care of her to begin with?” Kingpin asked, walking closer to Peter with his cane in hand, “You call this taking care of her?” He asked.

Kingpin raised his cane over his head and brought it down hard onto Peter’s back, causing Peter to hit the floor instantly. He cussed as the pain stung throughout his body, trying to get back up slowly.

“I ought to kill you right now for getting us into this mess,” Kingpin said, pointing his cane directly underneath Peter’s chin.

Peter sat up a little more, his healing powers coming in stronger than he had thought as he felt himself get some of his strength back.

He wasn’t afraid of Kingpin. He wasn’t even afraid of dying at this point. He could take Kingpin and all of these guys out right now in a matter of seconds if he wanted to.

He just didn’t want to.

“If you want to kill me, then do it,” Peter groaned out, standing back up on his feet, “But you need me. I’m the only one who can get in Stark Tower without setting off alarms and get you your product. So if you want to kill me, kill me. But let’s be honest Fisk, I’m the best you got,” he spat at him.

Kingpin looked at Peter with thoughts running through his head. He looked back down at his cane, and then back again at Peter.

“Yes, I suppose you are a good resource. And it would be a shame to waste you,” Kingpin answered, his back towards Peter as he walked towards the group, “So let’s call this next task a punishment to clean up this mess you started,” He said, pointing towards two of the other guys that Peter knew were involved in the hospital robbery.

Kingpin handed the blasters Peter had stolen for him over to the two guys, pivoting back towards Peter, “Since you three screwed up, you three fix it,” he answered, taking Peter’s briefcase off of the floor, “Get rid of her, for good this time,” he said as he walked away, slamming the basement door shut on the three of them.

------

You look at the time on your phone and realize it’s already 6 PM. You promised Harry you’d meet him at the lounge for dinner by 7, which only gave you about an hour to head back to your apartment to grab some of your things.

Barging through your front door, you almost let out a sigh of relief. You hadn’t been home in about two weeks, and sometimes with Harry, it felt a bit suffocating. You missed having your apartment to yourself. It was much smaller in comparison to Harry’s penthouse, but, it was yours.

You grabbed some fresh clothes, stuffing them into your bag as you selected your favorite cocktail dress to change into before you went to meet up with Harry for your date along with a matching pair of heels. Maybe Harry was right, and a night out would be a decent enough distraction. At least for one night.

Taking your notebook with all of Peter’s blueprints and secrets in it, you figured you had enough notes at this point where you didn’t need it right now. You went in between your floorboards where you kept a bunch of things that confirmed your connection with Peter. Evidence, if you will.

Lifting the floorboards up, you stuck the notebook beside your favorite framed photograph of you and Peter. It was one of you both when you went to Coney Island on a school trip. You remembered you and Peter laughing as Ned got sick on Cyclone and MJ refused to go on any of the rides. But she took that photo of you and Peter. You brushed your thumb against the frame, letting all of the memories flood back to you. You turned your head away from it as you slid the floorboard back into place.

After changing into your cocktail dress, you heard your phone ring from the other room. It was probably Harry wondering if you caught the subway you told him you were going to take to meet him. He was already assuming you’d be late, you figured.

Glancing down at your phone, you didn't recognize the number. But Source had told you that he wouldn’t be contacting you for a while. No way this was him?

“Hello?” You answered the phone, continuing to pack your belongings in your bag. Your heels were beginning to make it a little more difficult to walk around, so you moved slowly around the apartment, making sure you had everything you wanted before you went back to Harry’s.

“Get out of there. Now,” The deep, dark voice said on the other line, “We got an alert that they are on their way to you, and they aren’t happy,” They said.

And then they hung up. That’s all you had was a short warning before there was a banging at the door. It was already too late. You run towards your drawer where you kept your stronger taser gun, and grabbed it.

You heard the door beginning to rattle, and there was no time left to leave. The only thing you could do was hide. But these guys were professionals, and just hiding in a closet was going to be the first place they would check.

Your apartment was a tiny one bedroom, and the hiding options were very limited. In the pinch you were in, you opted towards the fire escape. Crawling as close to the edge, and away from the window as possible.Your taser clutched in your hand as tightly as humanly possibly.

Placing your hand over your mouth, you turned your taser on when you heard the voices enter your apartment. They shined a flashlight into the living room and you could see the light being cast against the fire escape.

“Not in here,” one man with a deep voice said. You heard them stomping around with their boots as they made their way from room to room, “Do we even know if she lives here right now?”

“I don’t think she’s here,” someone said, a voice that you recognized.

Peter’s voice.

Your eyes grew as you heard his voice. Sounding so matter-of-fact as the flashlights scurried throughout your apartment. He came to kill you, that’s why Source was warning you to run.

Peter walked around your apartment, looking at the things that you had left around your place. No photographs, which seemed so unlike you. He remembered your old room, how you had Polaroid pictures of him, MJ, Ned, even Flash covering your wall. He remembered all the decals of quotes about friendship you had under each and every picture. He even remembered the particular quote you had underneath a photo of the two of you.

You were the one who got him into photography in the first place so it didn’t feel like you without photographs of you and your friends and your family. But Peter changed a lot, so he wouldn’t be surprised at all if you did as well.

“What makes you think that, Delaney?” the other one asked Peter, stepping into the bedroom. He pointed at the closet, noticing the clothes have been rummaged through.

“I think he’s trying to get out of this again, what’s up with you and this reporter?” the opposing one said, pointing at Peter. He gave him a shove against his chest, “Do you know her?!”

Peter wasn’t going to take anything from these two morons and shoved him right back, forgetting how strong he actually was and pushed him into the kitchen table, “No, I don’t fucking know her. I just don’t think she’s here,” he answered back.

The blonde guy didn’t like Peter’s aggression and wrapped Peter in a chokehold, pulling him backward to knock him off balance, “You know something we don’t there, Tony?” He asked him in a calm voice.

You grabbed your taser and unlocked it. Staying as quiet as you possibly could, you saw a good shot of the bigger guy who Peter knocked over still trying to get himself back up. While Peter and the blonde guy were squabbling you took a deep breath before pulling the trigger.

Aiming directly at him, you hoped that you were in a good enough range that it would attach to him. You squeezed the trigger gently, setting it off as the electric  current ran a wire, clipping onto his neck.

You let out a sigh of relief as you unclipped the wire, watching him jolt and yell as he fell back onto the floor. The blonde guy threw Peter down, his eyes now on you as you stood still on the fire escape.

“And you said she wasn’t home,” he said as he smiled in your direction. He pulled the blaster out of his belt, and slid it onto his wrist, never taking his eyes off of you.

Recharging your taser, you tried to shoot at him, but he wasn’t close enough. Instead, it landed on the ground, right in front of Peter’s feet. You swallowed thickly, feeling a large lump forming in your throat.

I will not die today, you said to yourself as he took a step towards you with the blaster in his hand.

You looked over at Peter, dead in the eyes as he looked at the blonde guy walking towards you. He saw the look in your eyes, begging for him to help you. Begging for some sort of assistance. To become Spider-Man again and help you.

“I guess you’re not here looking for me to autograph your newspaper,” you told the blonde in a snarky tone, leaning up against the fire escape railing. You were trying your best to keep your composure, but on the inside, you were terrified.

He pointed the blaster right at you, “We gave you a warning, and you didn’t listen,” he reminded you, taking another step.

“Yeah, because I love listening to mobsters telling me how to do my job,” you leaned against the railing, with nowhere else to go but down. You took a glance at the height you were at and were beginning to regret taking the apartment on the twelfth floor.

The blonde guy had enough of you, and fired the blaster towards your foot. Your head hit the railing as you fell to the floor, your eyes still on Peter who wasn’t far behind him.

“I swear, I should’ve killed you instantly,” he told you as he stared down at you, groaning on the metal of the fire escape.

Peter froze, feeling his chest tighten…

“Karen, activate instant kill!”

All different types of armed creatures, coming after Peter. His iron arms and legs helping him out as he clawed his way through. Peter continued to web them up and fight, his abilities amplified in a way he never felt before. He observed limbs being torn off, and what he suspected was blood hit his face. He was killing, wasn’t he?

They weren’t human. But they were living, breathing things, weren’t they? They were beings and Peter was..killing them. Even if it was with the help of his suit, he still initiated it. He made the call to kill. He was the one responsible for ending their lives, regardless of whether or not they were attacking him.

He was the one who ended all of their lives. He pulled the trigger. Something he never done before...

“Ugh, I don’t got this! Help!”

Peter lunged after the blonde guy. He grabbed him by his scalp and brought his forehead down onto the railing of the fire escape. Blood sprayed out from the top of his head as Peter repeated his actions. You laid there motionless and in pain, trying to call for Peter to stop, but you could barely get your words out.

You watched as Peter took the blonde and pummeled him over and onto the ground. You tried screaming out for Peter, but still nothing. You were able to pick yourself back up as Peter pinned him down. He removed his blaster from his hand, and tossed it to the side.

“I knew it. I fucking knew it, you lying shit!” the blonde shouted at Peter. You looked over and saw someone you didn’t recognize anymore. Whoever that was, was no longer Peter, any hint of him that remained was gone now in this moment.

Peter screamed in his face before punching him right in his jaw. You could see the blood spurting out from his mouth as he kept punching. You stood there frozen, completely terrified as you watched Peter refusing to get off him.

You heard him gurgling over Peter’s wails between punches. There was already so much blood, and he was choking on it. Peter wasn’t even aware of his own strength, you thought. The sounds coming out of the both of them were some of the most unsettling sounds you’ve ever heard. Especially coming from Peter.

Finally feeling yourself coming back from the blast, you moved as quickly as you could over towards them. You pulled on Peter’s shoulders, trying to move him off of him, but he was too strong.

“Peter! Stop it! Stop, Peter!” you shout at him, realizing you called him by his full name in front of these guys.

But Peter took a sharp breath before giving him one last hit, right in his face, where you finally got a good look at him. A knot tied around your stomach when you realize exactly what Peter had done.

You managed to pull Peter off of him finally. His breathing was ragged and you could have sworn he was crying, he’d never tell you but, you could definitely hear it in his voice as he tried catching his breath. There was blood all over his knuckles, all over the metal, and his hair was drenched in his own sweat.

Both you and Peter stared down silently at the lifeless body, your hand on his shoulder as he managed to stand back up, “Fuck,” you breathed out, not sure of what you should or shouldn’t say right now. Maybe silence was the best way to go.

Peter leaned over the railing, beginning to empty his gut over the edge and onto the ground floor. You just stood there, completely helpless until you realized the two of you weren’t alone. You pivoted your head to turn back towards your apartment only to see the body was missing.

Just great, you thought.

“We need to call somebody,” You finally suggest, looking down at the body. You felt your stomach turning like Peter’s, wincing at the body that couldn’t stare back at you because it’s face was entirely deformed.

“Get out of here,” Peter finally spoke, wiping his face as he stared down at the body, “Don’t ever look for me again. Just get out of here,” he said, reaching down to pick him up.

You felt tears beginning to prick your eyes, noticing every hair was sticking up on Peter’s arms and neck, “No. Let me help you, I can figure this out,” you told him, hearing your voice quivering with fear.

“Don’t you fucking get it, Y/N?! I don’t want your help, I never asked! And because of you, look!” He practically screamed as he pointed towards the dead body lying beneath them, “So stay the fuck out of my life. I am not. Him. Anymore.  Do you understand? I came here to kill you, Y/N!” He shouted.

You shook your head, swallowing what he told you harshly, “But you wouldn’t have done it,” You tried to say, but you weren’t even sure if that was the truth anymore.

“Yes it is. I am not your fucking Spider-Man anymore! I killed him just like I killed him, okay? Just like I killed Tony, so knock if off.” he screamed, now getting in your face.

The only thing you could do was nod your head. With Peter inches away from your face, venom in his eyes, and now, with a taste of blood; you weren’t sure how to answer other than to just agree with him. You were afraid. And Peter was no match for your taser gun. You hoped deep down, he wouldn’t actually hurt you. But you also believed at one point Peter wouldn’t hurt anybody. Maybe this meant you really needed to let go of Peter once and for all.

“Good,” Peter answered as he lifted the body over his head. He stood on the railing, and you finally saw his web shooter attached to his wrist, “Because I will not hesitate to kill you if you don’t,” he said before springing up to the next high-rise.

------

Peter stood on the loading dock with the human-sized garbage bag sitting by his feet. He stared down at the bag, gritting his teeth together with anger. Not even angry that he killed him, he knew it was only a matter of time before he had to since beginning to work for Kingpin.

No, he was angry that you made him do it. If it weren’t for you, he’d be able to get away with most of the stuff he did. Was he proud of stealing Stark’s technology for who knows what? No, but he wasn’t exactly proud of killing Tony either.

If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have been forced to go to your place and try and kill you to begin with. But you were still alive, because of Peter. And now, that was another thing Peter had to deal with now. He killed one of his own, and you were left alive. There was no way Kingpin was going to let Peter go scot free now.

Why the fuck did he even save you? It was as if something had come over him, and he had to kill this guy to make sure you could live another day. Even if that meant risking Peter’s now. No, he didn’t want you dead, but he also didn’t want you around him either. He needed you out of his life, and was willing to do anything to push you out. But you continued to make his life worse.

The police were already on the scene due to one of your neighbors calling about a noise issue. There weren’t any bodies for them to look at. There wasn’t even blood on the scene. Peter assumed you went back and cleaned up after him before the cops showed up, but he wasn’t sure how you snuck around them so quickly.

It was only a matter of time before Peter would see a report in The Daily Bugle that you had written, calling it another break-in, poking your nose where it didn’t belong, no matter how many countless times Peter had asked you to stop. You would never quit, and he hated it.

He was done saving you. He was done saving himself. Whatever happened, happened. If Kingpin found him and killed him, so be it. Maybe he was finally ready to die.

Shoving a few more rocks into the back to make sure it would go all the way down, Peter tied a knot on the end of the bag. He really was dead, Peter noted. His skin was cold and hard, and his eyes stared at Peter with total emptiness.

Peter swallowed, picking the body up in one swift motion. He inhaled sharply as he heaved the body into the river, the excess water splashing up and hitting Peter at his ankles as soon as it hit the water.

He stayed until the bag sank down, until he couldn’t see it anymore. It was almost as if the Peter you once knew was in the bag with him, sinking down to the very bottom of the river, and the new Peter could no longer do anything to try and save them, they were cold, hard, and dead.

Chapter Four

Taglist: @osterfield-holland-andcompany​ | @giuls-394​ | @rororo06​ | @betterthanrevengemp3​ | @thewinchesterchronicles​ | @aussie-holland​ | @minetticatinwonderland​ | @povlters​ | @jacksnoodlez99​ | @clipopex-writing​​ |  @spideyyypeter​ |  @oswald-1998 |  @danicarosaline | @webbedwonders | @wonders-of-the-multiverse |  @xapham | @imslightlyconfused |  @cxxl-gall | @lowkey-holland @thewinchesterchronicles

#tom holland #peter parker #spider-man #tom holland x reader #peter parker x reader #dark! peter parker #peter parker x you #tom holland imagine #spiderman x reader #spiderman #far from home

[kurtty-drabbles]

Lovecraft au(meething again)

N/A: I won´t kill Quire here because I will kill the ultimate!Xavier. This is a side part that will meet the main story of Zaorva.

@djinmer4

Charles Xavier used to be a man that wanted order and power, both he used to have in clear view, until, one day she shows up, Jean Grey, the beautiful girl with long and shinning red hair and green eyes. She stole his heart and mind.

At the time, she was dating Scott Summer(how and why? Scott was a nobody and Charles was a billionaire, that orphan didn´t deserve that beauty) and didn´t notice his desire, then, when their relationship starts to crumble, Charles thought it was time to make moves on his student.

Again, the beautiful woman didn´t notice him. She cheats Scott with Logan but didn´t notice Xavier. The man even tried to kill Scott, however, Rogue, accidentally manage to save the man.

Jean died once. Then she returns to be with Logan. His tears are of despair were ignored.

Jean died once again. She didn´t return to Xavier.

Xavier spends his time away in his secret room looking at several photos of Jean Grey. The room became a shrine to his unrequited love, Jean Grey. Mourning of a love that never happened. Abruptly, a loud noise interrupted his musings.

The sound was too loud that formed shock waves that break the widows, the statue of Jean Grey(it was in a small scale) and even making Xavier´s ears bleed.

This is not the usual "kids being kids" something is up. Xavier leaves his wheelchair and walking to the main saloon, meets Kitty Pryde naked, that is not something worth to mention but the fact she is in a crystal blue colour and is attacking all the students as well speaking a language no one understands.

Lilandra did speak something about this.  Lilandra was a way for Xavier to forget about his passion for Jean, but, it didn´t work out. Lilandra is not Jean.

But Lilandra didn´t mention something about Kitty, something to be aware of her.

"Kitty, stop this right now" his voice is firm and the creature, as Xavier labels her, ignores him and continues to destroy all it is in her way. It is a bit impressive how she is destroying the mansion easily without breaking a sweat.

"Rogue, do something"Xavier command and the woman was too scared to fight back, crying and saying something. Xavier rolls his eyes. How pathetic.

Then, Xavier uses his psych power and that got the creature´s attention. Kitty with her crystal blue eyes and form look at him with fury, screaming something in her own language.

Professor X is trying to mind control a Godness.

Professor X did lose this battle.

His last thoughts did go to his beloved Jean Grey. I love you Jean. I love you.

Kitty´s tentacles grab the professor X and squeeze to death. Then she revives him and did again and again.

Looking around, Kitty destroys the saloon, no, the correct term is that Kitty created an endless loop in the saloon.

"This is a black hole? Everyone get out here" Rogue instructed to the others" some still under the influence of the spirals jump at the black hole, Kitty look at Xavier who was trying to mind control her one more time.

And then, she eats his soul.

"No one will hurt me, no one will touch me," she said speaking in a human language.

Looking at her creation, her blue form continues. But fear creeps on her form. Someone approaches her and Kitty knows who it is. She didn´t look at him. Not yet, she looks at the blood in her tentacles(her tentacles) as well as the black hole she created and controls.

"Hello, Zaorva" Kurt´s voice is kind and is so familiar and welcome.

"What happened?" Kitty asked crying. She remembers what Chutulu tried to do, she remembers her own death.

"I murder him in the most violent way possible, my love, he won´t hurt you, ever again, no one will," Kurt said in a soothing tone lending his white suit to cover the woman.

"I guess, you weren´t talk crazy" Kitty said trying to joke but the tears still remain.

"Oh, Zaorva, I´m sorry, I never wanted to cause you pain, I thought it would be better if you wake on your own if I forced or remove the seals...I don´t want to see you suffering" Kurt said drying her tears.

"I know, I...want to go" her words are too vague, but, Kurt is her half, her soulmate. Kurt did understand her request after all.

"Very well, we can go, and katzchen," Kurt said "welcome back"

"Thanks, Kurt, Thanks" she holds her own tentacle with his and closes her eyes. She needs time to process what just happened.

#kurtty #lovecraft au #kurt wagner #nightcrawler #kitty pryde #kurt cares deeply for his kitty #he is still a lovecraft #but that old trope only humans know about love #xavier is a creepy

[sleepyfan-blog]

If you're in the mood for prompts: #1 “I’m sorry I scared you, I didn’t mean to.” for ConHayth

@balsaminaceae​

Fandom: Assassin’s Creed

Pairing: ConHayth

warnings: Father/Son incest, Modern AU, angst, attempted murder

word count: 2,935

summary: Once a month, Connor and his coworkers are required to attend meetings to discuss how the testing of the falcons they are training with are going, and what differences in behaviors that they have observed, if any. Towards the end of such meetings, if the CEO or another powerful leading employee of Abstergo is giving a press release, they are required to tune in. One of them doesn’t go well.

It’s been a year and a half since Connor’s been working for Abstergo, and he still found these check-in meetings to be boring at best, and vaguely insulting at worst. He had bonded with Corbin, one of the red-tailed hawks that they were training, and was able to see through his eyes, and influence the other’s movements, while he was seeing through the bird’s eyes. Once his fellow researchers had found this out, they had been absolutely delighted. They had asked him all sorts of questions, finding out that Connor was in possession of second sight - as well as his apparently enhanced senses and above-average strength, even for someone his size and age.

But the way that some of the other research teams spoke about him was... More than a little creepy, and caused the young man to feel as if they thought of him as little more than another piece of the experiment. The worst thing was that when he politely brought up the fact that he was a human being rather than an object to be studied under a microscope, everyone in the room stared at him, blinking a little before all claiming at once that they hadn’t meant to sound like that, and that he was being a little oversensitive in the matter. At first Connor had been unsure - as he knew that many of his colleagues tended to be rather blunt - and second sight was an incredibly rare gift... But the way a few of them spoke about him was chilling to say the least.

Connor had tried to describe what it was like to feel the wind beneath wings that weren’t entirely his - to see the ground from so far below, and to glide and coast in the enclosure that Corbin had been put into... But it was difficult to quantify, and the young man couldn’t explain how or why he had bonded with the relatively young red-tailed hawk. The meeting was winding down, thankfully, and Connor was sitting in a chair closer towards the door, as while some lingered to talk longer after the meeting was officially over, the young veterinarian always longed for fresh air and sky - raining or sunny or somewhere in between didn’t matter. Just the feeling of being out of that meeting room and a little bit of freedom was blissful.

Occasionally some of his coworkers would allude to something deeper to the reasons why they were researching falcon behavior, but they were always quickly quieted down. Connor was well aware of the fact that they were hiding several things, but as no one seemed to be the least bit interested in telling him - or the two other people who were out of that particular loop who worked in this building - it was a mystery that was likely to be gone unsolved for some time. Still, the birds were treated well, and no one had attempted to lock him in with the falcons overnight, so the young man was content not to try to pry further into the mystery surrounding this longer term project.

The head researcher - the one who was responsible for reporting all of their findings to the higher ups who worked in the main office where Haytham did - cleared her throat and stated once she had all of their attention “Since we have finished discussing everything of value and we have an hour left of the meeting, we will watch and listen to the live press conference that Haytham Kenway is currently giving.”

Many of his fellow researchers groaned a little, but none of them asked if they could leave early - as they had never been allowed to do so. Connor was curious as to what Haytham was going to talk about, and was always happy to see his beloved - even if the other was going to be on a screen. The head researcher quieted everyone down as she switched the large, wall mounted computer screens to a live streaming site, where Haytham was giving a speech.

“- and further more, the veterinary clinic program that has been running for six months will be expanded from the four clinics in New York, Boston and Cincinnati will be expanded by another eight clinics in cities across the united states. As with the first four, they will be providing excellent, at-cost pet care.”  Haytham said, sounding confident, a touch of a smile on his face as he gestured, to underline his words.

A small, fond smile appeared on Connor’s face as his father continued to speak about where the clinics would be opening, and other such details. He could hear a quiet murmur among his fellow researchers - perhaps surprised by the increase in the program? The young man couldn’t imagine why - from what he could tell, the initial four clinics were a boost in profits and good PR of Abstergo, and having more of those clinics would only help, rather than hinder.

Haytham concluded “Do any of you have any questions?” looking over at what must be a sea of reporters.

Several cameras swiveled towards someone - including the camera that they had been watching Haytham through, and terror clutched at his stomach, as Chevalier stepped closer, saying “Yes, I have a question.” the Anarchist shifted his position a little, and raised a pistol, shooting Haytham squarely in the chest, the force of the bullet knocking the CEO off his feet. The Frenchman sneered as he was swarmed by security “How quickly do you think you’ll die, you miserable pig?”

The cameras went dead shortly after that, but there had been screaming and chaos captured on tape, and the entire table was in uproar. frenzied questions and horrified words were exchanged, but Connor was rooted to his seat, frozen and mute in utter horror at seeing his father fall backwards out of sight, shock and pain on the other’s face. Those moments were playing over and over again in his head, and a miserable sob wrenched it’s way out of Connor’s chest before he could stop himself from making a sound.

Strangely enough, a majority of the sound and movement died down at the sound that Connor made, and the young vet was paralyzed by the intense staring of everyone else in the room. He could feel his breathing become fast and shallow, and it was difficult to see anyone as his eyes were so blurry. He reached up to his eyes with one violently trembling hand, realizing that he was crying uncontrollably.

Someone was trying to touch him, and a face came into his hazy view - but their touch was static and their voice seemingly filled with false concern. Connor hissed acid; y “No, I am not okay! I just watched my father get shot!” with that, Connor jumped to his feet and fled the meeting, despite several hands reaching out for him - he knocked them away, growling at anyone who tried to stop him to let him go and to leave him alone!

Connor locked himself into a single-person bathroom and allowed himself to sob until he had no more tears. Then he drank as much water as he could force himself to drink through cupped hands before shakily calling Shay - who had to have either been at the press conference or watching. His phone rang and rang and rang.

Finally, Shay answered his phone, the other sounding tense “Good afternoon Connor - yes I saw what happened at the press release. Your father’s at the private hospital he was last time that something awful happened to him. He’s in stable condition and just went into surgery. Where are you? Haytham wants to know where you are, and for you to come to him as soon as you can.”

“I... I’m at work. Th-the research center, n-not the cl-clinic.” Connor hiccupped. Shay sounded as if he was barely holding himself together, and the young vet was doing his best to attempt to calm down. “I... We were... In a meeting and we finished and... I... Where should I go to get... to Get to him? back to the apartment or...?”

Shay cut him off, though the other’s voice was filled with grief and kindness “I’ll come get you at your work - it’s closer to the hospital than your apartment is. If your boss won’t let you leave early. I’ll talk to her.”

“Okay. T-thank you S-shay.” Connor managed out, getting back up to his feet “Do you want to talk to her over the phone or... Or once you arrive...?”

“I’ll talk to her once I show up - more credible that way. Stay inside the research building until I come to get you, alright?” The other responded, sounding stern and worried.

“I will...” Connor promised. His phone buzzed a little and the young man frowned unhappily “... My phone’s about to die on me...”

“I’ll let you go. I’ll text you when I’m about five minutes away.” Shay responded before ending the call.

~

It took Connor more courage than he wanted to admit to having to use, in order to leave the bathroom - and it took him some time to even make it over to the door. He cracked the door open, to find what appeared to be his entire research team - as well as the head researcher waiting for him outside of the bathroom. Connor closed the door and locked it, before leaning against it, startled by their presence and wholly unprepared for the questions that might be flung at him by inquisitive and possibly well-meaning coworkers and boss.

Someone knocked on the door, calling out “Connor... I’m not going to force you to come out of there, but... I would like to talk to you for a moment. It’d be easier if the door wasn't in the way, I wouldn’t have to half-shout to make myself heard.”

“I can hear you fine. If you’re about to ask if someone’s coming to pick me up to take me to father, the answer is yes. He’s going to text me when he’s getting close and I will be leaving, meeting be damned. The boss can fire me if she wants to. I hate being looked at and poked and prodded like a lab rat, anyways.” Connor grumbled, knowing that perhaps he was being a little unfair. “I can hear you fine through the door.”

“I... Wouldn’t dream of stopping anyone from visiting family who’d been badly injured so suddenly. And what do you mean by being poked and prodded?” His boss responded, sounding vaguely hurt.

“Why didn’t you tell us your real name, Connor? Didn’t you trust us?” One of his coworkers piped up, sounding as if he’d somehow betrayed them in some way.

“Connor Hill is my name, it’s just not my full name. I haven’t told any of you my first name either, mostly because I don’t want to hear any of you attempt to say my name, only to slaughter it and give up. I also didn’t want to be accused of getting this position because of who my father is.” The young vet hissed irritably. “Oh please. Don’t start with that. The tests that you people run on me while I'm working with Corbin - the endless questions. How would you like it if you were asked millions of questions that you either didn’t have the answer to, or when you tried to answer, were completely disregarded as utter nonsense because the person asking them didn’t have a proper frame of reference! It’s like trying to describe color to someone who can only see in black and white. In French, while they don’t understand a word of the language.”

There was a long stretch of silence from the other side of the door, but Connor wasn’t going to apologize for his words, or open the door. Not until Shay texted him, as he was fairly sure that he would say something that he was going to regret if he had to deal with false concern and pretty words that weren’t honestly meant from the people on the other side of the door. His boss spoke up after what felt like an eternity “I see. I wish that you’d come to me earlier with the information that such inquiries were upsetting and stressing you out, as that was something that none of us had intended. We’ll leave you be, if that’s what you’d like.”

“It is.” Connor growled, having realized that he might have been a little harsher than he should have been “... And I am sorry for being rude. I just... Don’t want... to lose both of... Of my parents because of... because of the violence and a-avarice of o-others.” He was going to start crying again and he hated that fact.

“Thank you for the apology, Connor.” The head researcher murmured before continuing “I’ll be sure that everyone else leaves you alone - if your ride does forget to text you, will you please tell me whose supposed to pick you up?”

“Yeah... Shay Cormac is.” The young vet responded quietly. He heard the sounds of footsteps leaving and breathed out a silent sigh of relief, pulling himself together somewhat.

~

Connor wasn’t sure what was longer, waiting for Shay to arrive, or the drive over to the private hospital and being checked over for weapons by two members of security - and that was after his ID had been checked three times against the list of people his father wanted to talk to after surgery. The both of them were let in and taken up to Haytham’s room.

The other looked pale and worn, and was laying down in bed, typing away on his work laptop, looking up as Connor came in, only one guest was allowed in at the time, and Shay had very graciously allowed the young man to come in first. “Connor, I’m glad that you’re here. I-”

The younger man threw himself at his father, holding the other tightly and burying his face into the other’s chest, being sure not to press against the other’s bandages, holding Haytham as tightly as he dared. Despite a stern promise to himself not to start blubbering all over his beloved, Connor could feel himself start to tear up again “I’m so... I’m so glad that you... That you s-survived. H-how are you doing? H-how long are you going to n-need to heal? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Haytham’s eyes softened a little, and the other pressed a gentle kiss to Connor’s forehead, murmuring an apologetic “I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to.” One of the other’s hands was gently petting his hair, the other lightly patting him on one of his shoulders in a soothing gesture.

“It wasn’t your f-fault you got s-shot.” Connor responded, giving the other a watery attempt at a smile, feeling part of himself relax a little.

“I should recover fully in a couple of weeks - however I will have to stay out of the public eye for several months, as it would be incredibly unusual for someone to recover so swiftly, even with the aid of the best medical services available to man.” Haytham responded quietly “The anarchist who shot me has been detained - and I will need to speak with a police officer, as I was shot in a very public event. Shay and Charles will be handling that aspect of it, although I am certain that the trial will not take very long - however there is a high likelihood that his fellow anarchists will try to meddle, or hope that the trial will allow them another chance at killing me. There are... A few things about them and why they are so determined to kill me, that I have not spoken to you about.”

“I know.” Connor murmured “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. I love you and trust you and I always will. You said before that you didn’t want me to get further involved in this, and if not telling me about that helps to reassure you that I won’t, then you don’t have to talk more about it.”

His father nodded, seemingly surprised that he wasn’t pushing for more information. “Thank you, Connor.”

Before either of them could say anything else, Shay knocked on the door, opening it a crack and saying “The police officers are coming up to speak with you, ‘Aytham. Just thought that you’d like to know.”

His father heaved a sigh before responding “Thank you for telling me.” Connor was about to ask if Haytham wanted him to stay for that or not, when his stomach rumbled loudly in complaint. A dark blush appeared on his face and the young man covered his eyes with his hands, horrifically embarrassed. His father glanced at him, a small and amused smile appearing on his face as the other asked “I’m guessing that you missed lunch?”

“... Yeah... I was very busy today and then the meeting started and we’re not allowed to eat at the meetings. I was going to have some of my lunch after the meeting ended but... That didn’t happen. I wasn’t bothered by hunger until my stomach just decided to complain.”

Haytham chuckled lightly before gently pushing Connor away, saying “Go eat then, I’ll be here when you’re done.”

The young man nodded reluctantly and left, glancing back at Haytham as he did so.

[chiyalawritesrewind]

Rewind, Chapter 20

Fanfic: [ch1] [ch2] [ch3] [ch4] [ch5] [ch6] [ch7] [ch8] [ch9] [ch10] [ch11] [ch12] [ch13] [ch14] [ch15] [ch16] [ch17] [ch18] [ch19] [ch20 on AO3] [ch20 on ffn]

Podfic: [ch1] [ch2] [ch3] [ch4] [ch5] [ch6] (Rest coming soon)

Pairing: Gratsu - Gray Fullbuster / Natsu Dragneel ; Acnologia / Zeref

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Major Character Death; Graphic Depiction of Violence

Summary: When a mission turns out to be fatal for one of the team members, Natsu finds himself being given another chance to change the events.

Beta by @serpenttailedangel and @wildrhov <333

Tagging list: @f-r-f-t @truedreamchasing @eitomagical @galaxiesandfairies @eternalsterekbitches @becausewhenyoupracticeyouimprove @oliversantics @nekodemon73 @moonlustelara @pantykawa @ice-bringer (if somebody else wants to be tagged [or not tagged anymore] in the future, please let me know!)

Enjoy!

Day 11 Part 2

After they arrived in Era and Natsu recovered from his motion sickness, there was no stopping him. He stormed off toward the Magic Council without checking if Gray and Happy followed.

Lydia waited amidst the flower meadow that surrounded the expansive building of the Magic Council. Natsu would've missed her if it wasn't for her calling his name. She smiled at Natsu, and as soon as he got into her close vicinity, a warm and happy feeling settled in his gut.

"You heard my call. Thank you for coming. I want to talk to you in private, so let us wait for your two friends and then go into my office. We do not want to worry them."

Natsu nearly asked how she knew that he was accompanied by two friends, but caught himself at the last second. She could see the future, after all.

A moment later, her grin widened as she waved eagerly at Gray and Happy approaching.

"Welcome, Gray Fullbuster and Happy. I am Lydia, one of the three oracles of the Magic Council."

Gray opened his mouth, but Lydia was quicker.

"You do not need to introduce yourselves. I already know who you are. I have to ask you two to wait here. I need to talk with Natsu Dragneel in private."

Happy lifted his paw and took a step closer. "Why can't we come, too? He'll tell us anyway."

"He can do whatever he thinks is best after, but first, I need you to respect my wish."

After a second of hesitation, Happy nodded. "But why here? Aren't we allowed to enter the Magic Council?"

Lydia shook her head, her smile never fading. "You can go wherever you want besides my office. However, the waiting area of your choice will always be this garden. You do not like the inside of the Magic Council and you think the colors of the flowers are beautiful. There is also a pond with fish just around the corner. You may eat them."

Happy's eyes glistened. "All of them? But aren't they like your pets?"

She winked at him. "Please do not worry about that."

In excitement, Happy tugged at Natsu's clothes, shouting what a beautiful day this was, and that he was sure it would end well.

Gray let out a contented sigh and folded his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky. "Well, it's rather nice out, so we'll just wait here."

Natsu couldn't tear his eyes away from Gray's relaxed face, even as Happy continued to tout for his attention. Why Natsu was suddenly drawn to Gray's lips, he had no idea. Maybe it was the warm summer sun making them shine as if he'd just licked them a second before. Whatever it was, the desire was impossible to resist.

Natsu found himself reaching out for Gray's chin, tilting his head down. Gray jerked in surprise, but when he noticed what Natsu was up to, he pulled him into a tight embrace, pressing their lips together.

The kiss was chaste and short, interrupted by Lydia's giggle.

"Fear not: you will see each other again."

Was that what impelled Natsu? The fear of not being able to see Gray again? Possibly. He couldn't feel fear while being close to Lydia, after all.

"Come with me now. If we do not arrive at my office within the next ten minutes, you will run out of time today."

The threat was enough to make Natsu and Gray let go of each other immediately, albeit reluctantly.

***

As soon as the door to Lydia's office clicked shut, Natsu positioned himself on the rim of the magic circle without being instructed. Lydia nodded in approval and stepped onto the opposite rim, facing him.

When Lydia's eyes fluttered shut, Natsu followed her example. The feeling of wind and water running through his veins was there again, just this time it felt much more pleasant than last time. Breathing didn't become difficult as the minutes ticked by.

For a very long time, nothing seemed to happen. A tingling feeling here, a twitch of a muscle there, but nothing else. About ten minutes into the procedure, there still wasn't any change. Natsu was starting to grow impatient when he suddenly found himself in that strange black room again, only this time it wasn't completely empty. There was a crumbled wall right in front of him, and Lydia was at his side, nearly touching shoulders with him.

"I have already seen what lays behind it. If you take a step forward, you can see snippets of it... It would not endanger the future, but please... think twice. It is truly painful."

She swallowed heavily, and Natsu saw her biting her bottom lip out of the corner of his eye.

Painful, huh? What could be more painful than death? Natsu was ready to die for Gray—had already died once—so surely there couldn't be anything that could shake him anymore, right?

He took a small step forward, careful not to stumble over rubble. Nothing changed, so he took another step, bigger this time.

Suddenly, everything around him was gone, and Natsu fell endlessly. He passed the head of a roaring black dragon. Then a young man with black hair, his back turned toward Natsu, holding out his hands in a protective gesture. Then there was Gray's face, oversized, glaring at him.

"Traitor."

Natsu wanted to scream that no, he wasn't going to betray anyone, but he couldn't utter a word.

"Liar," Gray spat out, and Natsu wasn't sure if he'd meant it as a stand-alone statement or as a reaction to Natsu's thoughts. Either way, it hurt.

Gray opened his mouth again, but before anything could come out, Natsu was yanked backward. He stumbled over rubble and dropped to the floor. Lydia was right beside him, biting her bottom lip and looking at the floor.

"This is enough. I cannot show you too much of your future or else it will change."

"Is this my future? To be hated by Gray?"

She lowered her head even more until a curtain of blond hair hid her face from Natsu's sight entirely. "I... I am truly sorry... but I can only tell you what you have to do next."

"Go ahead."

The dark room vanished, and with a jolt Natsu came to, noticing belatedly that he was falling yet again. He absorbed the impact with his hands and pushed himself right back into a standing position. They were back in Lydia's office. She sat on the floor, sobbing.

A pang of guilt surged through Natsu's body. He was beside her in no time at all, kneeling next to her and patting her shoulder. He let out shushing sounds, but she was inconsolable.

"I... I d-did n-n-not s-see this c-coming, I am s-so sorr-sorry... Y-you do n-not deserve wh-what is awaiting y-you... You h-have already s-su-suffered enough."

Not knowing what else to do, Natsu pulled her into a half hug, running his hands soothingly up and down her back. "It's not your fault."

Another wave of sobs overcame her, heavier this time. It rendered her unable to talk, and calming her down to the point where she could articulate herself again took some minutes. When her sobbing ceased, she pushed Natsu away and looked at him, her eyes red-rimmed and glassy.

"You are ready to sacrifice your life to save the one you love."

Was he supposed to answer? She stared at him, unmoving. A few seconds ticked by silently before Natsu decided to give a careful nod.

"But you are not aware that this does not mean death. I have seen that you are going to do it, but I want to enlighten you before he does. You have to live on. Live in order to save your beloved one, but you will not be allowed to be together with him."

"That's... indeed not what I expected. But I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes to save his life."

She gulped. "Are you prepared to stay away from him?"

"S-stay away? Y-you mean—"

"Far away. Very far."

"Does that mean—"

"Yes. Far away from your guild and everyone you call your friend."

Natsu gulped. There was still this soothing aura, but it couldn't completely suppress the uneasiness Natsu felt. He was sure a strong wave of negative emotions would crash over him as soon as he got away from her, but he pushed the thought away for now. He straightened himself.

"If he's going to hate me, then staying away would make it easier. Being around him while not being able to be with him would be torture. Especially if he were to choose anyone else."

The thought should be unbearably painful, but the aura surrounding Lydia dulled the pain.

"Yes, I think so. Well then, what you need to do today is go to the island that has a strong connection to your guild's history. I advise you do not take your lover. He could ruin it."

"Ruin what?"

"Everything. Your plans. The odds are very low, but I can see one possible future in which he causes the time loop to end today without being saved."

"Then tell me what I need to do to prevent this and it's gonna be okay, right?"

She sighed. "If I tell you, the possible futures will change."

"Just a tip?"

"I... Give me a moment."

She closed her eyes, titled her head back and stretched her palms toward the ceiling. A warm blue light encompassed her, making her hair float. Natsu sat back on his heels and waited patiently. After a while, the light vanished abruptly as Lydia opened her eyes wide.

"I will tell you. You must not defend Zeref's past actions. That is all. If your lover thinks you do not blame Zeref for the death of his parents, he will cause an uproar, possibly destroy all the progress you made and throw the world into darkness with his actions."

Why would Natsu do such a thing in the first place? It was Zeref's demon who killed Gray's parents, thus it was clearly his fault.

"Okay."

"You have to prevent them from fighting, but please choose your strategy wisely. I can see you already have a good idea. Please use it."

"The one where I say that if he kills Zeref, I'll die as well?"

Her lips pulled into a small smile. "Yes. I do not know whose idea it was, but it is a good one. Another thing: You cannot save your lover today. What you have to do needs preparation."

"What? How long?"

"That is up to you. You can do it within two days or you can choose to spend some more time with your lover and postpone it. Now, we do not have much time left. May I ask you for one last promise?"

The promises he made with her until this point had turned out to be very helpful, so he didn't hesitate to nod.

"Do not blame yourself for what will happen and what already has happened. It is not your fault. Nothing is. As soon as you have made your decision, you have next to no control over the situation. Your decisions will be the correct ones. What happened two days before was fated to happen. It had to happen. The same goes for the future. You will not endanger the future if you do not promise this, but you will be better off if you do and keep it. I am worried about you."

Now that was a lot to ask. Natsu didn't feel any less guilty because of what she said, and if she said something like this, then he was surely going to do something else that would elicit an equally strong feeling of guilt. If it was something he believed to be his fault, how could he shake it off?

"I know it is difficult, but please, at least try. You had to feel responsible for your lover's death and commit suicide. Otherwise, you would not have been ready for this. So, please, try not to blame yourself."

"O-okay. I promise to try."

She nodded in approval and then shooed him away, saying that if he didn't hurry, time would run out. She instructed him to go straight to their guild master once they arrived at the guild. Natsu thanked her and then ran outside, trying his best to fight down the fear creeping up his spine as soon as Lydia's soothing aura didn't affect him anymore.

He sniffed the air to locate Gray and Happy and then took off in their direction. He didn't want to give himself time to imagine all the horrible things that could—would—happen. Next thing he knew, he bumped into Gray, sending him flying to the soft grass with Natsu landing right on top of him.

"He-hey, be careful! Did you miss me that much?"

Gray's expression was totally different from the one Natsu had just seen. Soft eyes, a teasing smile on his lips, a faint blush on his cheeks. If it could just stay like this... Him and Gray, in happily in love. Natsu was about to reason that he didn't deserve it because he killed Gray, but the promise he made to Lydia resounded in his mind.

'It is not your fault. Nothing is.'

"Natsu? What's wrong? You look unhappy."

There was no point keeping secrets from Gray now, right? Lydia said time would turn back at least once more, so Gray would forget. Although he had to be careful because of the Zeref-issue. Natsu knew from experience how strongly Gray reacted to his name alone.

"She showed me pieces of my future... One of them was... y-you called me 'traitor' and 'liar'. Your expression was... really angry."

Gray furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would I say such a thing? You're going to save my life. Calling you a 'traitor' and a 'liar'... That would be very ungrateful of me. What exactly do you need to do to save me?"

"Sh-she didn't tell me. She just said we need to go to an island that has a strong connection to our guild's past." It wasn't exactly a lie, but there was no way he'd make things worse by saying Zeref's name.

Gray cocked his head and pursed his lips as if he was thinking hard.

Suddenly Lydia's voice spoke in his head, 'Hurry.'

Natsu pushed himself upright and held out his hand for Gray. When Gray didn't react right away, Natsu made an impatient gesture and said, "We don't have time to waste. We have to leave. Come on!"

The warning spurred on Gray and Happy, who had been sitting on the edge of the pond with a fish in his mouth, and they took off running in the direction of the train station.

The future that lay before him scared Natsu, but he tried his best to push the thought away and focus on the here and now. It was the first time in his life that he was happy about being motion sick on the train, since it banished all thoughts beside 'I want this ride to end!'

***

When they arrived at Magnolia station, Natsu didn't give himself time to recover from the ride. He made a run for their guild the second he stepped out of the train car, urging Gray and Happy on to follow him.

Whenever dark thoughts threatened to subdue him, he sped up so that he had to focus more on his surroundings in order not to trip. Gray and Happy were only a few steps behind him all the time.

Natsu burst through the door of their guild hall without bothering to open it, breaking it and its frame in the process. People shouted at him, but he didn't much care. All he wanted was to talk to Makarov. He left the door to his office intact in case their master wanted to talk to him in private, but he didn't knock before storming in. Makarov jumped so high he nearly hit his head on the ceiling. Natsu caught him and gently set him down in his chair again.

"Which island has a strong connection to our guild's history?"

Makarov stared at Natsu in disbelief, his mouth wide open. Gray and Happy entered the office and closed the door behind them, but neither said a word.

Natsu grabbed Makarov by the collar. "Come on, gramps! We don't have much time!"

"Wh-why do you want to know such a thing?"

"I don't have time to explain. It's to save Gray. Please."

"Tenrou Island. But you can't just take a normal ship. It has to be the Fairy Tail ship."

Natsu lifted him from his seat and shook him, trying to convey urgency. "I have to go there! How long does it take?"

Beads of sweat formed on Makarov's forehead. "Our ship is in Hargeon Port. We could reach Tenrou Island by late afternoon if we go now."

Natsu put their master down and urged the three of them on to get going. This meant another train ride, then a boat trip, thus more nausea for Natsu, but he could take it.

If it meant that Gray could live on, he would take anything, even Gray's hatred. No matter how much it hurt, he would rather be separated from Gray and incur his wrath than let him die again.

Natsu grabbed Gray's and Makarov's wrists and made for the door, not giving them time to explain anything to their guild mates. Mirajane followed them until the train station, where they needed to wait some minutes for the next train. It didn't really matter who came, or did it? Lydia hadn't said anything about his other guild mates. She'd only advised him not to take Gray.

However, Mirajane didn't want to come with them. She just asked where they were going and why. Natsu didn't see any reason to keep their destination and his meeting with Lydia a secret, but he still didn't mention Zeref.

When the train arrived, Mirajane seemed to be content with the answers and wished them good luck. Jellal wasn't hiding himself very well. He didn't even wait for them to be inside before he entered the train a car behind them, but Natsu didn't comment. Jellal would either have to show himself if he wanted to get on the ship or do a better job at hiding and sneaking aboard.

***

Gray didn't leave Natsu's side on the trip, always appearing worried about his health, both mental and physical. He tried cooling down Natsu's forehead to help his nausea, but that made matters worse. He talked with Natsu even when he wasn't able to give a coherent answer.

On the one hand, Natsu was happy that Gray was this worried about him, but on the other he wished Gray would just stop promising stuff he didn't know he could keep. How could he say that he wasn't going to hate Natsu when he didn't even know what was going to happen? He most probably wouldn't be able to keep it if what Lydia had showed and told Natsu was true, and he didn't want to get false hope.

So, on their way from the train station to Hargeon's port, Natsu grabbed Gray's hand and slowed down, making them drop behind. They had a bit time anyway since Makarov needed to obtain their ship first. Gray lifted his eyebrows when he noticed what Natsu was up to, but Natsu refused to say anything until they were out of earshot. Happy looked back in confusion once, but Natsu shook his head, gesturing him to follow Makarov. Jellal would always be close, but there was just no helping it. He had already seen and heard them do worse things.

As soon as the port was in sight, Natsu stopped dead and turned to face Gray. "Please stop promising stuff you can't possibly control. I'll end up believing you and get hurt even worse."

Gray took a step back, removing his hand from Natsu's. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "But I'm telling you, I won't let that happen. We know what the future is supposed to be like, so we can change it, right? I don't think I could hate you anyway, no matter wh—"

"Shut up! You don't know that! What if I have to betray your trust? What if I need to wipe out our whole guild just to save you? Can you still say you won't hate me, huh?"

Gray retreated another step, his eyes wide in shock. "Wh-what? You wouldn't do such a thing, right? Killing our family to save me."

Natsu's throat constricted. This wasn't meant to be considered seriously. He didn't have a clue about what he'd need to do, but for all he knew, it could be something cruel like that. Would he be able to take other people's lives to save Gray? Natsu didn't want to think about it.

"I don't know. I would prefer to wait until we know what's on the line and then think about what I would and wouldn't do. All I'm saying is, you don't know the future. Of course we can try to change it, but I'm inclined to believe Lydia when she says that certain things have to happen the way they are supposed to. I don't want to destroy our possibly last day together by fighting."

Gray stepped forward and grabbed Natsu by his scarf, glowering. Oops. That shouldn't have come out.

"What do you mean, 'our possibly last day together'? Do you know something you haven't told me?"

'Careful. Don't mention Zeref. Stay vague. He's already angry enough as it is.'

"She... uh, implied that... th-that..."

A sharp pain originating in his heart surged through his body, leaving him unable to speak. Why was this so difficult? Natsu had already come to terms with losing everything, including that he'd have to leave Gray, so it shouldn't be a problem to say it out loud. Yet he couldn't utter a word.

Natsu averted his eyes. Looking at Gray's face was just too painful, even though his expression softened considerably after Natsu's speech died down. Maybe it was for the best if he really did leave Gray behind. The farewell certainly wouldn't become easier the more time he spent with Gray. More time with Gray meant their bond would grow stronger, at least on Natsu's side.

There was a lump in Natsu's throat that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he swallowed. A warm hand brushed over Natsu's cheek, prompting him to look back up. Gray had his bottom lip pulled between his teeth.

"I... I'm sorry. I have no right to judge you." Gray pulled Natsu into his arms and patted his head. "It's you who's suffering the most, you who has to bear all the pain and heartache. If there's something you feel you need to hide from me for whatever reason, that's all right. Maybe you're keeping secrets to spare yourself more pain, or you're trying to spare me. I just—" Gray's grip tightened. "—want to help you. I may not know what will happen, but I know that I don't want to lose you."

Was Natsu imagining things, or was Gray having trouble keeping his voice even? When he heard a muffled sniffle, he knew for sure: Gray was crying. And Natsu wasn't that far off, either.

He didn't want to be separated from Gray—not now, not ever. Gray was his whole world, the reason he was looking forward to each new day. Even after all these horrible things started happening, Gray was his only light in the darkness. How could he carry on when his light was gone? He would succumb to darkness, lose his will to live. It was just a matter of time, given his current mental state. No matter how much he'd tried to ignore it thus far, he wasn't the same anymore. Seeing Gray die countless times had taken its toll on him and his mental condition. Where he'd always seen a colorful world full of possibilities, now it was a world full of possible threats to Gray's life and their future, a world full of sorrow, pain, and heartache.

"N-Natsu... d-don't cry..."

The lump in his throat made it impossible to answer. He hadn't even noticed that he'd started crying, but his tears had already soaked Gray's shirt. Natsu swallowed and tightened his grip on Gray. He spoke with difficulty: "Y-y-you're one t-to talk... idiot."

Gray's wailing only intensified, as did his grip on Natsu. They stood there for a while, both crying and clinging to the other, neither of them saying anything.

Lydia had mentioned that it was up to Natsu how often time would still loop. He could do it within two loops or delay it as long as he wanted. If it really meant farewell, would he have the heart to end it within one more day?

"Natsuuuuuuuu!" Happy shouted from the distance, prompting Natsu and Gray to jump apart.

Natsu wiped his eyes frantically, not wanting to worry Happy any further. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gray doing the same. Happy came closer at a rapid pace. In the distance, Natsu saw a sail with the Fairy Tail emblem, meaning they were ready to take off. On closer inspection, the ship had its bow to the sea, already sailing away.

"Natsuuuuuu, Graaaaaaay, hurry! Run to the port, I'll carry you on board! Master said this is the best solution if we don't want to waste time."

They didn't need to be told twice. Upon reaching the port, Natsu told Happy to take Gray first. As soon as they were out of earshot, Natsu called for Jellal to show himself. He didn't have to wait long until Jellal emerged from the shadows of a nearby alley, body stiff and his brows furrowed in worry.

"Are you okay with being carried by Happy? Or do you want to... dunno, use your... err, Motor magic?"

Jellal rolled his eyes. "Meteor."

"Yeah, that."

"I'd much rather not waste my magic. Who knows what awaits us there. Is your cat reliable?"

"He's not my cat; he's my friend. Of course he's reliable."

"Then I'll take him. Is there something you know and haven't shared with Gray yet? You can tell me, I won't reveal it."

Natsu quickly checked where Happy was, noting that he'd just reached the ship and was about to set Gray down. There was nothing wrong with letting Jellal in on what was awaiting them, right? Natsu was nervous as hell about the fact that they were supposed to meet the greatest dark mage, who was supposed to be dead. Like this, he could share his sorrow with somebody.

He clenched his fists and looked Jellal in the eye. "Zeref."

Jellal's eyes widened in horror, and he took a step back. "Th-that's... h-holy shit! You're kidding, right?"

Natsu shook his head in defeat. "I wish I was. But it seems like he's not our enemy. Lydia said I have to prevent a fight."

Before Natsu had the chance to react, Jellal was right there, grabbing him by the scarf, glowering. "You are kidding me! There's no way—"

Natsu grabbed Jellal's wrist and squeezed it as tightly as he could. "If you refuse to believe me, I'll fight you right here and take your communication lacrima. I don't need you to be with us. You want to come? Then promise not to lay a finger on Zeref unless he's posing a threat to us."

Jellal gritted his teeth. "He's posing a threat to humanity merely by existing."

Natsu let out a snarl. "Let me rephrase that. Promise not to lay a finger on Zeref unless he's attacking us."

They stared at each other for a long while, neither of them budging. Only when they heard Happy shout Natsu's name did they avert their eyes.

"Natsuuuu! What's wrong? We don't have time or I'll get too tired to use my wings. Can't you postpone your fight? And why is he even here?"

Natsu turned sharply back to Jellal. "So?"

Jellal glared at him for a second, but then let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. I accept your conditions."

Pleased with the outcome, Natsu asked Happy to carry Jellal to the ship first, but his friend was confused. Natsu gave a brief explanation that Jellal was needed for this, that he would help. Happy accepted the explanation, but still insisted that Jellal would be the last one. He grabbed Natsu and flew off with him, not caring about his protests.

The ship was fast, fueled by Makarov's magic, and Happy just barely managed to carry Jellal to the ship before exhaustion overtook him. Having Jellal on the ship caused some questions, but Natsu was in no condition to answer them. Happy repeated Natsu's brief explanation, and that seemed to be enough.

Despite Natsu's nausea, Gray never let go of him during the whole ride.

Did anyone think that things are looking up for Natsu from now on?

Important announcement! Please read! I won't be able to maintain the weekly updates anymore. I pushed myself too much and it worked just fine for a couple of months, but now I've reached a point at which writing is not fun anymore. I obsessed over this story and pressured myself to keep the promise I made, instead of taking a step back and admitting that it wasn't the right thing to do (but I'm doing it now, so now it's fine). It wasn't good for my mental health and I also didn't allow myself to do anything else in my free time anymore. Whenever I found something that I wanted to do (like reading a book / reading another one's fanfic / playing a game / etc.), I immediately thought 'no, you don't have time for that, you have to write, you have a deadline to meet, you aren't allowed to indulge in anything else'. Just writing this makes me so sad.

It wouldn't be a problem if I were a faster writer, but currently, my average writing speed is like 100-200 words per hour (and with a daily word goal of one thousand, you can do the maths), and I have the feeling that I get slower the more pressure I put myself under. There were times when I wrote 6k words in one day (that was a Saturday where I wrote from morning until late evening with few breaks, but still), and it was so much fun! I want to go back to these times. I didn't have pressure at all.

I'm not saying I'll abandon this fic (because I never will), just that the updates will come irregularly in the future. Chapter length may vary between a few hundred words to ten thousand or even more, depending on what makes sense (there'll be no more dividing a day into parts etc.)

Chapter 21 will still be published next Sunday (that chapter is already written, just needs to be edited), and Chapter 22 will maybe be published the Sunday after that (I'm like halfway through), but from then on, I'll need more time.

I won't discontinue this fic. I love it too much for that.

I know I spoiled you with the weekly updates, and I know you might be sad and frustrated, but I never want to put other people's expectations over my hapiness & health anymore. I hope you'll still continue reading this fic~

Have a nice day <3

#Gratsu #Chiyalawritesrewind #mywriting #ftfanfics