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redrobinfection · 5 years

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(8) Haunted Woods

SociallyAwkwardFox’s Spooktober - Day 8 “Haunted Woods”

AN: No capes, Tim and Steph are about 14 here, Jason is 16, and Dick is 18 (he's a senior). Damian is 11. Tim’s parents are still alive and he’s often been invited to hang with the kids at Wayne Manor throughout his childhood. This is generally set in the late 90s-early 00s, because the 90s era of Robin, Spoiler, YJ, and solo Nightwing were the bessssssssst :)

~*~

Tim picked up his cordless phone, dialed a number, then threw himself across his bed and listened as the phone on the other end rings, feet swinging restlessly off the side. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling fan turning slowly above him.

"'Yellow?"

"Hey, Steph, it's me."

"Oh, hey, Tim," she replied, voice slightly garbled like she might have food in her mouth. "How'd that haunted house charity thing go?"

"It wasn't really like a house, it was more like a haunted trail-walk thing in the woods between my house and the Waynes', but, yeah, it, um, went okay, I guess."

"That's good. Raised lots of money for the shelter?"

"Yeah, I think it did. More people turned out than we expected."

"Nice! So did you get to spend time with those two Wayne guys you're crushing on? Penis-name guy and, uh, what's his name? Jay, right? That stand for Jacob?"

"Jeez, Steph, the older one is Dick, not 'the penis-name guy'--"

"I dunno, that's close enough."

"--and his brother is Jason."

"Ahh, okay, the ‘Jay’ is for Jason."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Ugh. So... No, I didn’t. Dick and Jay were working the event. They asked all their friends from school and the gymnastics club to come help them play the spooky characters on the trail."

"Oh, nice. What spooky thing were you?"

"I was too young to volunteer, so, instead, I, uh, actually ended up test-walking the trail with Damian."

"Ugh! The demon kid?!"

"He's not that bad."

"Did he try to stab you again?"

"….maybe. Not really. A mechanical pencil doesn't count."

Steph scoffed. "Like I said: spawn of the devil. I'm surprised they didn't want to use him as cast; he'd be a natural!"

"Steph, give him a break. He's only, like, ten and he had a messed up childhood, okay? He's getting better."

"Uh huh...but am I gonna find pencil lead lodged under your skin anywhere if I go looking?"

Tim grimaced and tried not to look at the dark smudge on his arm. "…He will get better. Just give him time."

"Okayyyyy, so moving on: how was it? Did you get scared? Pfft. I can't imagine the little demon baby did."

"No, Damian actually spooked a couple of times, though he tried to play it off as being 'horrified that the performances were so abysmal'; his words, not mine."

"Sounds about right. What about you, shy guy? You get spooked?"

"I mean, those woods are pretty eerie at night and it was definitely creepy having people jump out at us, but I wouldn't say any part of it scared me, per se."

"Mmmmm. So having your two major crushes jump out at you in sexy costumes didn't spook you even a little?"

Tim's face heated. "Well, uh, I mean… they weren't sexy costumes per se…"

"Okay, spill it, Timbo. What were they wearing? Did they try to scare you? What did you say to them?"

"Well, um, Dick was a werewolf and he, uh, I guess tried to jump scare us?"

"…"

Tim sighed and sat up on the bed. "He waited until we walked past, jumped out right behind us, and then growled in our faces when we turned around. He made Damian jump, at least. Except...then Damian jumped behind me and kind of pushed me into him, and Dick stepped on my foot then said, in the softest voice imaginable, 'oh, sorry', so, like...I wasn't really ‘scared’, I was just kind of, uhhh, flustered, I guess?"

Stephanie slapped what sounded like a table, or maybe her desk, with what had to have been her open palm. Repeatedly. "Ahahaha, oh my god, that is perfect!"

"Gee, thanks, Steph," he replied dryly.

"No, I mean, at least he talked to you right?"

"I mean if you can count getting stepped on and whispered at?"

"He got up close and personal with you!"

Tim sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay, okay, then what about Jason?" Steph asks excitedly. "What happened with him?"

If Tim's face had been hot before, now it was on fire. "Uhhh…"

"Oooooo, I sense a story here. Spill it!"

"Well, I mean, he wasn't really that scary. Damian just kind of just rolled his eyes at him and went on ahead, leaving me there."

Steph squealed. "Ooooo, so you got some alone time? So what was he? A ghost? A murderer in a hockey mask?"

"Um. Well. Jason was near the end of the trail, hanging around one of the creeping rose trellises in the Wayne gardens. They set up all these fake flickering candles and hung a ton of these big, long cobwebs from the trellis and then had Jason dress up as a Victorian zombie...or something? He didn't really try to jump out as us or anything. I think he was reading when we walked up? He seemed kinda bored, to be honest.

“And, uh, then my glasses kinda got caught in the cobwebs. Jason pretty much just stood there and watched me try to untangle, while they were still on my face, them for, like, thirty seconds, but it kept getting worse and worse until, finally, he walked up to me, very carefully removed my glasses, untangled them, handed them back and then I pretty much ran away in shame," he finishes lamely, squeezing his eyes closed at the memory.

"Whaaaaaaat?! Did you say anything? What did he say back?"

Tim squinted as he tried to remember something beyond the overwhelming embarrassment. "I think I thanked him, maybe? And then he grunted like a zombie and went back to reading. I felt like such a dork."

Steph laughed again. "Ahahahahahah,Tim, that is just too much. Honey, you felt like a dork because you are a dork. The most adorable dork that has ever lived to dork."

"Why did I call you again? I'm hanging up."

"Timmmmmy, nooooo. You're adorkable and that is what I love about you. If Dick and Jason have any sense, then they'll love it too. You just gotta put yourself out there and talk to them more often!"

"Whatever you say, ex-girlfriend."

Steph snapped her fingers, likely trying to point a finger at him through the phone. "Hey. I'm clearly the most qualified person to be saying this stuff; I know better than anyone how awesome you are."

Tim raised his eyebrows, unseen, but clearly heard in his tone as he replied, "And that’s why we broke up?"

Tim could hear Steph's responding eye roll in her voice. "We only broke up because it turned out I'm not bi like you. One of those 'It's not you, it's me' things, right?"

"Sure."

"Heeeey, don't get all down on yourself, okay? Here, this is what we'll do: Cass Wayne and I were planning to go see that new horror flick next Friday--"

"You hate horror movies. I hate horror movies. They freak us out. That was, like, the one thing we always agreed on."

"Shhhhh, all a part of the plan, Timothy," Steph soothed conspiratorily. "See, you'll ask Jason if he wants to come on a double date with us and Cass will totally push him into it, and then at the movie I'll pretend to be scared and grab onto Cass and you can pretend to be scared and grab Jason's hand!"

Tim barked a laugh. "Pretend? Try actual fear."

"Exactly! We'll actually be scared, so our acting will be totally believable!"

"Do you even hear yourself?"

"Come on, it'll be great. We're thinking we'll do an early show to beat the crowds and do a late dinner afterwards to shrug off the lingering creep factor. We were planning on going to that diner you like, the one with the double coffee milkshakes, remember? Whaddya say?"

Tim grimaced. "I dunno…"

"Just imagine: cuddling up to Jason Wayne in a dark theater, sharing a shake and fries afterwards. There are two straws, you accidentally mix them up…"

Tim made a sound of disgust at that horrible cliché of an image. "Okay, okay, stop, fine, I'll do it."

Steph cackled. "Yessssss, this is gonna be great." Abruptly her tone went deadly serious. "You should call Jason right now."

Tim froze. "Uhhhhh, right now?"

"Yes, before you chicken out. Actually, I'm gonna hang up and call Cass. We'll call you back in ten minutes and if you still haven't called Jason and asked by then--Cass will know--then I'm gonna make her make him call you."

"Steph, no…"

"Then call him!"

"Okay, okay, I'm hanging up."

"Yay! Okay, you've got five minutes and then I'm siccing Cass on you guys. Good luck!"

"Wait, you said ten! Steph? Steph?!"

A click and then the dial tone was all that could be heard. Tim flopped over onto his pillow and groaned.

"Well, great. Just… great."

#my writing #christmasriverswrites #steph and tim #jaytim #stephcass #new for spooktober 2019 #saf's spooktober prompts #spooktober #this is total fluff and silliness #oh man remember those days before you could text people (i say revealing how old i am)#i really love the idea of tim dating all the girls he does in canon and also liking the boys but that might just be my bi/pan showing #it edited this but i am so sick right now that i'm sure it's still riddled with things that will make me cringe later #edited: 2020.10.08 #major edits in 2020 including changed tense present-->past #why was i in such a present tense kick in the fall of 2019???

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osmw1 · 5 years

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Crowbar Nurse Chapter 1 — Prologue: Travelling Between Worlds Because of my Phone is Normal, Right?

I am a nameless rookie nurse.

My hobby is clearing my mind with video games. In particular, mindless zombie shooters and dating sims that I can enjoy while yapping off with friends are my favorite genres.

… well, it’d be more accurate to say “was”. I ended up being employed by an awful hospital, even though I was super careful with my applications. But because of that, I don’t have any spare time to play my games. I was way above the legal overtime limit but yet, here I was working for free.

Let me go home already… I can’t think straight anymore…

I was tapping away at an outdated computer in the nurses’ station and doing today’s documentation.

The location is Shinjuku. The time, wee hours. A hellhole of a hospital ward with a window to the night outside. The nurses of this ward start their day way too early and end their nights dizzyingly late. Even when neglecting my hunger and hygiene, I can get only four, five hours of precious sleep a day. Such are my circumstances when working hours are this long.

I haven’t really done anything at all lately. I don’t have the time to game or hang out with my friends… the only thing I’ve done other than work is scrolling on my phone…

I silently sighed inside.

Society thinks us nurses to be huge flirts, headstrong, and highly paid. I’m sure there are some out there who are like that. … not me though. I’d say I’m the complete opposite of that.

When I was a teenager, I played games all day and cared too little about looking pretty, leading me straight down the path of being a loner. By the time I did care, I was a university student busy with studying and practicum. Outside of school, my girlfriends and I would be in stupidly high heels and partying like there was no tomorrow.

Though I like talking with people, I was always too timid for my own good. Not only did my seniors always yell at me, I also have literally zero experience in relationships. … I suppose faking it and going to clubs did get me attention from shallow guys, but the thing is that I have never been popular with the opposite sex. That’s why I can’t stand people who are blessed with confidence.

… I’m completely twisted. I know. I’ll probably end up in my thirties with everybody saying that my standards are too unrealistic and no one interested in me…

I sighed out loud this time. And as for the highly paid part? That’s probably not true for me as well. My take home pay is a little over 180,000 with more than 100 hours of unpaid overtime. Still, in this “Land of the Setting Sun”, that’s probably considered well-paid.

There are all sorts of nurses, y’know?

I’m neither well-paid nor well-versed in relationships. I’m just a sham who loves her zombies. I had once prided myself on my love for nursing, but the soul-sucking work as of late led to the flames of my passion burning out. I’m simply a lifeless drone.

Ughhh, I need to let loose and wipe out some zombies… I can’t stand working anymore…

Shoving those memories aside, I begrudgingly returned to recordkeeping. Now, let me describe what a day for a newbie nurse with no time for fun or zombies is like. After five hours of sleep, I wake up and head to my ward. I look up the details of the patients I’m in charge of on the piece of crap computer. Once that’s done, I make sure all the medicine and IV drips are good to go. After handing off things to the night shift, I begin making my rounds. There’s not even a moment spare to get water or go to the washroom. Even when working such a long shift, I say goodbye to lunch breaks if it gets busy. It doesn’t matter your level of seniority, you effectively get only five minutes. If it’s bad, it’s closer to 30 seconds… I fly into the break room, stuff my face with food, and eat it while walking back to the desk. Then, I get back to logging or preparing for the midday debriefing. I’m sure… I’m sure other places are like this too. In every hospital is a ward this depressing.

… oof. Crap. Nearly fell asleep there.

That moment of microsleep was most definitely because of sleep deprivation. The steady chime of the patient monitoring system and the clattering of keyboards from other nurses working overtime fill the room. I glanced at the watch I had stuffed in my pocket—12:30, later than usual.

It’s past midnight already, eh? Still, even when everybody lives around here, Shinjuku at night is still a little dangerous.

Even then, none of us dayshift nurses have gone home yet. That’s just how things work here. I casually looked up from my PC.

Colorful neon signs and lit offices contribute to the dazzling lights in the nightscape. It shone through the window across the hallway from the nurses’ station. Low-intensity aircraft warning lights dotted countless skyscrapers. The red lights on top of the buildings were like a constellation twinkling together. Its beauty never fails to take me out of reality.

… though I may be sleepy, even at this hour, the streets were not. The lights revealed everybody who was still awake.

Until I started working, I never knew the nights of Shinjuku were created and supported by people like me—the slaves to society.

People are used and discarded every day to maintain this beautiful dazzling world.

… and just as that thought floated across my mind, my view of the night sky worrisomely fluttered for a moment.

Hmm…? That’s weird.

I couldn’t tell whether my vision was blurry or that my head wasn’t functioning properly. Though what was very clear was that I was far too tired. Then, I got lightheaded for a split second. As soon as it passed and I breathed a sigh of relief, I clutched my chest in pain.

I’m going to die… oh yeah, I’m totally dying.

As my heart stabbed with every pulse, I took a deep breath only to find my head spinning again.

… frankly, I’m not doing so well.

This has been a frequent occurrence lately. I hold back the wave of nausea as I struggle to form sentences in my head… then suddenly, the exhausted head nurse rushed over to me in a panic.

“—the management is coming around! Hurry, hide yourself in the linen room!”

Once I realized the head nurse was shouting at me in a quiet voice, she stood me up by my shoulders. And before I knew it, she shoved me into the linen room at the far end of the nurses’ station and slammed the door shut.

… ah, not this again…

I subconsciously sighed. This happens every day in our ward. Basically, it’s to conceal the fact that us newcomers are forced to work overtime. If the head honchos of the nursing department find out, they would chew out the head nurse.

The directive of this sweatshop of a hospital is supposedly to eliminate overtime and, officially, newcomers aren’t forced to do so. That’s why when the head of the department swings by, us newcomers get spirited away.

That’s fine and all, but… damn it. The computers automatically logout after 10 minutes of inactivity, so there goes all my unsaved data…

Looks like I’ll have to redo everything, which means I’m stuck here until at least 1:00. I squatted down and subconsciously sighed again. Guess I don’t have much of a choice but to sleep until they come get me. As I shut my eyes close in exhaustion, I felt a strange vibration coming from my pocket.

… huh? A notification? I thought I turned off my phone…

I doubted myself as I reached into my pocket. When I took a look at my phone, the screen was pitch black but oddly enough, some text was showing.

… hmm, what’s that? Is that English?

The excessive number of symbols made me question whether it was really English or not. It may have been pitch black, but it was just bright enough that I could tell the screen was on. That and the green text showing clued me in on that.

… what’s all this about? Did some super hacker breach my phone? Wait, are there people who hack smartphones in the first place?

I looked down at the screen in confusion… hmm? What? Hold on… The green text scrolled past at a blistering pace. The line practically disappears as soon I tried to read it!

“… what?!”

I was fully awake when I reflexively cried out loud but was still too late to cover my mouth shut. The directors should have still been out there on their patrol. I hope they didn’t hear me.

Whaaaaaaat. Huh?! Augh! What’s going on?!

A scene of pure sci-fi unfolded in front of my very eyes. Talk about a complete one-eighty from my depressing daily life.

No, seriously, am I being hacked? Is this what it’s like? This looks more like magic to me though!

Unfortunately, a Neanderthal who can’t even do basic addition on Excel like me had no idea what was happening. I don’t get it… but I knew that this wasn’t supposed to happen.

sudo…? apt-get install? Hey, hey, hey, hey! Don’t go installing anything weird on my phone without my permission! It’s now asking for a password… and it’s being filled in!

My eyes went wide as ••••• popped up in the password field.

But… I didn’t even do anything…

I was speechless. Then, while my jaw was still on the floor, the door violently swung open… as someone came barelling through.

■Protagonist

The protagonist is a super overworked rookie nurse who was on the verge of dying. Once you get her on the topic of zombie games, she'll yap on for even longer than the intro to The Final Countdown—though it's not an opportune moment right now.

contents: /ch001/ /next/

(leave me a tip on Patreon?)

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ycmiis-blog · 7 years

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now recording {chapter three}

When upcoming YouTuber Lucy Heartfilia finds herself collaborating with popular channel Fairy Tail, she ends up getting more than she bargained for. ( ff.net // ao3 )

( ONE TWO )

'can lucy be here every week.'

'i will literally give all my organs to have lucy be a regular.'

'Are you guys sure this is the first time Lucy's met any of them? She fits in so well!'

Lucy scrolls through the comments of the most recent Fairy Tail Friday video. It's only a few hours before she has to go record the next one, and she's still mulling over her answer. While she knows that she doesn't have to answer today, she wants to, because after today, she doesn't know when she's going to see all of them again. She may have Levy's number, but she's the only one she knows how to contact. Note to self: remedy that.

The thing is, she's ninety-nine per cent sure of her decision. She's found a place close to the studio that allows pets and has a decent rent, even if it's smaller than her current address. Mirajane ran the numbers with her before she went home the previous week, which was nice of her, so she knows what she would be paid if she joined them. Not that it matters. They could be paying her with those fake chocolate coins and she would be happy to join them. It's not her willingness to join that's the problem.

It all comes down to how spontaneous she thinks she's being. Everything is happening so fast, it's so difficult for her to wrap her head around, yet she doesn't want this opportunity to pass her by. That would be disastrous. And looking back, some of her best decisions have been made without too much preparation. Her running away from home had truly been a rash decision fuelled by one last argument with her father tipping the scales toward her breaking point, and now she feels more free than she ever did growing up. Starting her YouTube channel had even been a product of boredom one lazy Sunday when she had nothing to do, but her mind was full of thoughts about the book she just read, and she had to let her thoughts out somewhere.

She looks at Plue, who is once again resting on her bed. "What do you think, Plue? Should I do it?"

Plue barks and wags his tail, and she thinks it's as good a sign as any.

"Alright, let's do it."

When Lucy walks into the studio, she comes face-to-face - well, actually, face-to-chest - with Elfman, who's carrying several crates of electrical equipment. She quickly jumps back and peers around the crates so she can see him properly. "Hey, Elfman!"

Elfman shifts the crates to one arm like it's no big deal and her eyes widen, shocked at how damn strong he is. She knows he works out, it's all over his channel, but what she sees in his videos is nothing compared to seeing him in real life. He doesn't seem to notice, just greeting her with a brief wave and a grin as he walks over to the corner and dumps the creates on the ground.

"How's it goin', Lucy?" he asks, dusting his hands off. "Ready to sing your lungs out?"

Lucy's smile tenses. "Well, as ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I'm not the best singer, but something tells me that's not going to matter."

Elfman's laugh is boisterous, echoing around the entrance. "Nah, it won't. Most of us can't hold a tune to save our lives."

"Good thing we're not saving any lives then," Lucy says, heading inside to the main set. Everyone else already seems to be there, and she's quickly spotted by both Mira and Levy. They rush over to her immediately.

"Lucy!" Mira greets her by giving her a big hug, which Lucy definitely wasn't expecting, but she isn't about to push her away. She's always down for hugs. "How was your week?"

She just shrugs before Levy goes in for a hug as well. "Same old, same old. Nothing really interesting happened this week. My daily vlogs weren't really daily, they were just a weekly wrap-up, really."

And it's true. Her life seems to pale in comparison to her time spent with the Fairy Tail members, and she's not sure whether that's because she's had their offer bouncing around her head for the whole week or if she's always felt this way and it just took their influence to bring that side out of her. She doesn't think it matters either way. She's already applied for the apartment, she's ready to resign from her current job, and she's more than ready to join the others with their company.

Before any of them can say another word, Erza speaks up from the set, "Alright, guys, let's go!"

Everyone heads to the set's sofas, Lucy taking a seat between Natsu and Cana. Natsu grins at her and she waves back, not as uneasy as she was a little over a week ago when she'd seen all those comments on Levy's video. The shipping comments had, admittedly, freaked her out a little, but texting Levy had helped ease her worries. This was what came with being high-profile.

'It's nothing to worry about!' Levy had texted. 'People ship all of us together all the time, so you can just ignore it!'

Lucy took that advice and has forgotten about it completely. Natsu's a friendly guy, so of course he would treat her as though she's one of them. It's best to let the fans think what they like.

Warren does the usual countdown and Mira jumps into frame like she's a talk show host, which isn't entirely wrong. "Hello, Fairies! Welcome back to Fairy Family Friday, and we're once again here with the lovely Lucy," she gestures to Lucy, who waves, "and we're about to make fools of ourselves again, because today we're singing until our lungs shrivel up and turn to dust."

"I don't think lungs can do that," Laxus says, but he's ignored.

"Today, we'll be singing duets, and the pairings will be decided completely and utterly randomly in the most cliche way possible - drawing names from a hat!" Bisca tosses the cowboy hat she often wears and Mirajane drops a bunch of papers inside after she catches it.

The pairs are drawn after that, completely at random. Natsu and Kinana, Max and Lucy, Bickslow and Nab, Jet and Elfman, Cana and Bisca, Droy and Levy, Alzack and Mira, Laxus and Lisanna, Gray and Laki, Erza and Evergreen, and Vijeeter and Freed. Lucy is slightly nervous because she doesn't really know Max, but when she catches his eye from across the room, he gives her a thumbs up. It's a small gesture, but it's reassuring. She doesn't know what it is about the Fairy Tail members and their ability to put her at ease, but she's here for it completely.

Long story short, most people's singing is abysmal. Kinana is a diamond in the rough, her voice sweet and clear as she sings alongside Natsu's questionable vocals, and she even seems in her element. Lucy wonders if she's done this before. Kinana is one of the only members who doesn't have a personal channel of her own, though she often appears in everyone else's videos, securing her spot as a permanent fixture in Fairy Tail. Perhaps she's had experience performing? Lucy makes a note to herself to ask her about that later.

Mira, Lisanna, and Vijeeter are contenders for the next best. Lucy isn't surprised by Mira and Lisanna, since she's heard their voices before in several of their vlogs, but Vijeeter catches her off-guard. She can't help but clap after he and Freed are done, and she isn't the only one. Freed asks him how he ended up being so good and he responds with, "I can't be a professional with just one talent, not in this economy."

In the end, Vijeeter and Freed are the winners and Bickslow and Nab slide into last place, only just behind Erza and Evergreen (who is sulking after Jet made a comment about her unique singing style).

"Whaaaaaaat?" Cana whines, flopping down on the couch without looking and almost suffocating Gray in the process. "But I wanted to continue my winging streak! I have an amazing voice!"

Gray snorts, pushing Cana to the side. "Are you crazy? I've heard how you sing in the shower, do you know how many times the neighbours have complained?"

Mira does the outro and Warren finishes with a, "That's a wrap! Great job, guys."

Lucy lets herself relax, wiggling her arms around to get rid of the nervous tension she'd been building up throughout the whole thing. As much as she feels at ease around the Fairy Tail members, there is still that sense of self-doubt that comes with being in a new environment, especially one that she never thought she would be in. Filming is fun, but exhausting. Yet she wouldn't change that for the world.

Before she can do much else, Natsu takes the spot beside her with his usual charismatic smile. "So, Lucy, thought about our offer yet?"

Lucy isn't even surprised that he jumps straight into what he wants rather than making small-talk. It's clear from his videos that this is the type of person he is, but she actually quite likes it. It's a nice change to the people she's surrounded herself with her whole life. She wishes she was able to be so candid all the time, but whenever she tries, she just overthinks things.

"Well, actually, I have," she starts slowly, trying to stop the grin from spreading across her face too early. She's been ready to tell the others all day. "And, well, I've applied for an apartment that allows pets and I've got all the forms ready quit my job, so I don't see why not?"

She didn't think Natsu's smile would be able to get any bigger, but he proves her wrong. "Seriously? That's great! Time to celebrate, I should check what we're having for dinner, but first -" He cuts himself off and stands on the couch, his sneakers staining the leather with dirt. "Hey, guys! Lucy agreed to join us! Permanently!"

There is a chorus of cheers and Lucy is reminded of just last week when all of them agreed that they wanted her here. She covers her mouth with her hands and looks down, trying to hide just how happy she is, but she doubts it's working. Not with everyone looking at her like she's just done something impressive or won some award, and honestly? She can't help but feel the same way.

"So, new member, you know what this means," Lisanna says, swatting Elfman's arm off of her head, which he was using as an armrest. "Party at Yajima's!"

Yajima's ends up being a restaurant in town called 8-Island. Lucy vaguely remembers it being mentioned in the Raijinshu's videos of all things, and she thinks she's seen the place in some of their videos, since the interior looks familiar despite her never having been here before. The few patrons who are still in the midst of their meal look up at the large group. The only person who doesn't seem perturbed by their arrival is the man behind the counter, and Lucy assumes he's Yajima from the way everyone greets him as they approach.

They're given the longest table in the place, and even then they have to push tables together and move chairs around so they'll all fit. This isn't the first time Lucy has attended such a large dinner - actually, she's attended dinners with far more people than this, but those were all high-class and uptight, so they don't count - but it's the first time she's felt as though she can be herself at one, and that is a success in itself. It helps that this is a party to celebrate her, even if it's just an excuse for everyone to run around and get drunk. Providing Cana doesn't hoard all the alcohol for herself.

"Order what you like, I'm paying!" Mira says, waving her menu around, almost whacking Elfman in the face.

Cana raises her still-empty glass with a, "Mira, the light of my life, my queen, my everything!"

Lucy giggles as she opens her menu. There's more of a selection than she originally thought, and she becomes absorbed in all the delicious-sounding dishes for a good few minutes. It's only when she hears a, "The Spaghetti and Meatball Supreme is the best, I'm just putting it out there."

She looks up at Natsu's grinning face for a brief moment before searching for the spaghetti dish on the menu, finding it beneath the 'Bestsellers' title. "Well, I guess I'll have to give that a try, won't I? I'll probably have a milkshake with it."

"Not a beer? Just checking, 'cause Cana's gonna have drunk it all in the next half our if you're not quick," he says, and sure enough, Cana's glass is now filled to the top.

"I'm driving, remember?" Lucy reminds him, setting her menu down. "I'd rather not get pulled over for a DUI."

From Lucy's other side, Erza says, "Are you sure you'll be alright driving home tonight? I know you took your car, but we could look after it and drive you home ourselves, we don't mind."

Lucy shakes her head. "No, it's fine. I've driven longer trips at this time of night."

"If you're sure," Erza says, leaving it at that as Yajima himself comes to collect their orders.

Once everyone has decided what they want to eat and drink, Lucy asks both Erza and Natsu, "So, you guys come here a lot, right? Do you guys know Yajima personally, or do you just like this place that much?"

"Both," Natsu says, leaning back in his chair. "You know Makarov, right? Laxus' grandpa, he's in a shitload of our videos. He and Yajima are old friends and it was him who introduced us to the place, thought it would be great for it to get some exposure on our channels. Yajima told us not to go overboard, though, so we just end up vlogging while we're here. We make sure we mention the name and everything."

Lucy definitely remembers. It's hard not to when the old man stands out like a sore thumb despite his height. In contrast to Laxus, he's enthusiastic and ready to take on any challenge the team or the viewers give him despite his elderly status. If Lucy didn't know any better, she might assume that he was thirty years younger than he actually is.

"That's so nice of you," she says in a soft voice. "And from what I've seen of it, this place deserves recognition."

"Just wait 'til you taste the food," Gray says from the spot across from her (wait, where did his shirt go?), and Lucy figures he's been listening the whole time. "Then you'll know just how great this place is."

Lucy doesn't have to wait that long to test his claim. Their food arrives faster than she expected, especially with so many of them here, but when she asks about it, Erza just tells her that 8-Island has the best customer service out of all the restaurants in their area. Lucy doesn't know whether she's saying that because it's true or because she's biased, but she doesn't mind. She would be the same way.

"This smells amazing," she says as the smell of her Spaghetti and Meatball Supreme invades her senses. She's sure her mouth is watering.

Natsu nudges her, his mouth already full with steak. "It tastes amazing, too!" he says, though his voice is muffle by his food.

Lucy wastes no time in digging in, and she isn't disappointed. The pasta isn't soggy, but it isn't hard. The meatballs are the perfect size to fit in her mouth. The sauce, the Sauce, just tops everything off. Whatever method Yajima uses to get his dishes out so quickly doesn't lower the quality by any means. She doesn't talk for so long, just letting herself enjoy her meal, and she almost forgets that she has a strawberry milkshake to go along with it. When she does remember, she takes one sip and almost sighs in contentment. It should be illegal for food to be this good.

"Having fun?" Natsu asks, his steak now completely gone, leaving only a trace of sauce on his otherwise clean plate.

She nods eagerly as she rushes to swallow the meatball in her mouth. "This is amazing. I haven't had food this amazing in ages."

He laughs, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before reaching out to steal one of her meatballs. It's gone before she can react, going straight into his mouth, and she gasps in surprise. "How dare you! What is it with you and stealing my food?"

"I like food," he says simply. "Besides, your reaction when I steal something of yours is hilarious."

She points her fork at him, as if doing so is a legitimate threat. "I will stab you with this."

His laughter only grows from there, and she's unable to keep her own down, bursting into a fit of giggles. It only stops when Natsu's phone goes off, and he snorts as he checks his messages. She raises an eyebrow, an unasked question, though she doesn't speak aloud in case it's a personal message.

"It's just my little cousin, Wendy," Natsu says as he replies. "I dunno if you've seen her in our videos or whatever, but she's mad we went to Yajima's without her. She's studying for exams right now."

Lucy does remember Wendy. It's hard not to when she's in most of his vlogs, since she lives with him, and she's sometimes even there for Fairy Family Fridays. She's adorable. Lucy can't imagine her being mad aside from the adorable little pout she sometimes does when Natsu makes fun at her expense, though even that is a rare occurrence. Everyone seems to love and protect Wendy around here.

"Tell her I said good luck. She's a high school student, right?" Lucy says, finishing the rest of her pasta, leaving only one meatball that she quickly claims with her fork before Natsu gets any ideas.

Natsu nods and types again before setting his phone back down on the table. "She is. She and Romeo - you've probably seen him, too, he's like our mini-intern? That's what I call him, anyway - are in most of the same classes, so they're studying together with Chelia, another friend of theirs. They're cat-sitting while we're here, too."

Lucy wants to ask about the cats when Cana interrupts all conversation by tapping her fork against her glass as she stands on her seat. If Yajima notices, he doesn't care. "Alright, alright, everyone finished? It's time for a toast!" She raises her glass even higher as everyone else grabs theirs. "To Lucy!"

"To Lucy!" everyone repeats, though Lucy stays silent. She finds it strange to make a toast to herself, but she raises her milkshake and takes a long sip anyway, just so she can join in the festivities.

They all leave not long after that, and it's only because of Yajima's coaxing. They're cutting it too close to closing time, apparently, but by the look on the older man's face, he doesn't mind that much. Lucy wonders if this is a common occurrence. With this group, she wouldn't be surprised.

Everyone starts piling into cars, and Lucy starts heading for Erza's when the woman in question lightly tugs on her arm, signalling for her to stay. Lucy blinks as she turns to Erza, though she's sure she hasn't done anything wrong. She quickly goes over the night's events in her head. Did she ask too much? Did she eat too quickly? Should she have spoken during the toast?

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," Erza says with a light laugh, as though reading her mind. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Lucy lets her shoulders sag, just a little. "Alright, sure."

Erza presses her lips together for a moment before speaking again. "I know this offer came up very quickly and it may seem very relaxed, but something we do with all our new employees is a background check of sorts, just to make sure you are who you say you are, that you're safe, things like that. We haven't done anything official yet, just a Google search. I just wanted to know if it's alright to proceed with the background check."

Lucy's stomach drops, but not because she's done anything wrong. A background check means risking the exposure of her past, and she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle that, not when she feels so at home with all these people. She hasn't told anyone in this new life of hers. Even Plue wasn't with her in her previous life; he's a stray puppy she found while running away.

Still, she says, "Yeah, that's fine," in a quiet voice.

Erza pauses again. "If this is about the Heartfilia Konzern, I already know."

The nauseous feeling in Lucy's stomach triples. "Does everyone know?"

"No," Erza says, and Lucy sighs in relief. "Just me and Mira. We won't ask why you left and we won't tell anyone else if you don't want us to. Just know that we aren't here to know Lucky Lucy Heartfilia of the Heartfilia Konzern. We just want to know Lucy."

Lucy just stares because she doesn't think anyone has actually said that to her before. There are people back home who care about her, like Spetto and Bero, but she always wonders whether they were only pretending for the sake of their jobs. They addressed her as 'milady' and the like, and went above and beyond to make her happy, but they shouldn't have had to. All she wanted was a friend to talk to. She didn't (and still doesn't) what this class divide, she doesn't want anyone to feel as though they have to be nice to her, she just wants friends. And that's exactly what Erza is offering her here.

She doesn't realise she's crying until Erza starts panicking. "Lucy, are you alright? I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

Lucy smiles and shakes her head as she wipes her eyes. "No, it's just - what you said means a lot to me, that's all."

Erza's panic subsides. "Okay, good. Just know that we're here for you to talk to if you need it."

"Thank you," Lucy says.

"C'mon, you guys, get in the car before I start driving this thing myself!" Cana shouts from the passenger seat.

Erza rolls her eyes, and Lucy laughs as she slides into the backseat, forcing Gray to move closer to Natsu so they're side-by-side. Their bickering only makes things more entertaining, and she hopes that things can stay this way for a long while yet.

#fairy tail #nalu #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #i'm supposed to be doing nalu fluff week #but instead i'm procrastinating writing that to write something else #???? logic ????#**myfanfic #**nowrecording

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adhduck · 7 years

Text

Why the Change of Mind (More a Change of Heart) Ch. 4

@blyedeeks I bet you forgot about this, because I did. Whoops. But hey, actual bellarke interaction? Possibility of another update soonish? Whaaaaaaat?

(Ch 1) (Ch 2) (Ch 3) (AO3)

Journey to the Past

This hadn’t been the plan...originally.

Originally Bellamy was going to painstakingly choose between candidates—test them on every fact of the lost princess of the Ark; check their appearance, posture, attitude, anything that could factor into their believability. He was going to convince Abby, even if it took hours, or days, or months, and gain back the freedom he and Octavia had lost. He was going to do it right—even if what he was doing was maybe, hypothetically, possibly very, very wrong.

Well, originally the plan was to raise Octavia in peace and make her happy without any problems, but as the weight of the jacket on his shoulders and the slowly healing scars reminded him, that plan had gone up in flames long before. Sixteen years before.

Was it really so bad anyway, if he was going to be doing good for Octavia? Filling the void in Abby he had created, even temporarily? Did it really matter how he helped them, as long as he did?

Anyway, Bellamy hadn’t pointed a gun at ‘Clair kom Trikru’ with the intention of sneaking her into Skaikru territory to show her off to Miller. It had just...happened. There was something about her defiance, the way her eyes challenged him without words, that sent words tumbling out of his mouth before he could filter them. It was—annoying, almost. Something he couldn’t quite grasp at.

Clair hung just behind him, crouched low with her head half-hung to hide her face. She had shed the outermost layers of her armor, but her clothes were still distinctly grounder, and Bellamy didn’t have time to deal with any of his people seeing her. “Where are we going again?” she asked, for maybe the fifth time.

“Less talking, more stealth,” Bellamy hissed back. “Unless you enjoy getting caught in enemy territory.”

“We’re not enemies,” Clair rehearsed, but he could hear the hesitation in her voice.

“Even allies have a great habit of burying bullets into each other’s brains,” Bellamy said simply, and pushed them further, using the alleyways and side paths he’d taken since he was a child. They were wet from the recent rain and reeked of mud and trash; gray buildings hung over them menacingly as they passed, long fingers of light reaching between buildings for something Bellamy could not see.

“I thought Skaikru was supposed to be prosperous,” Clair accused as she sidestepped a pile of old, ripped clothing someone had thrown out their back door.

Bellamy looked harshly over his shoulder at her and she stopped cold. “So did I.”

Clair didn’t talk much after that. He pushed her on faster, not wanting to be out in the open when the work stopped and everyone flooded the streets to go home to their families, and dragged her to the back entrance of an abandoned building.

It was definitely not a pretty sight—the paint was peeling so badly it looked like someone had raked their claws down the side of the place, and the entrance had been boarded up with a sign reading, Danger! Do not enter. Hazardous. If that weren’t enough, it also smelled of something rotten.

Grinning, Bellamy inclined his head to Clair, who was looking at the building with severe distaste, and gestured to the entrance dramatically. “After you.”

She stared at him, openly aghast. “You can’t be serious. It says hazardous.”

Bellamy shrugged. “I’ve been here for months, and I’m still alive.” Then, without thinking, he added, “Miller’s a pretty good artist, though, isn’t he?”

Clair narrowed her eyes at him, and he tensed, realizing his mistake. Then she seemed to decide she didn’t care much about who Miller was or why he was forging hazardous signs. “Is it really hazardous, though, or is that part of the ruse?” she asked, peering at the sign and boarding with more interest. She was surprisingly unconcerned with illegal actions; maybe she’d be helpful after all.

“Well, it’s not full of toxins or booby-traps or floorboards ready to break through, if that’s what you mean,” he mused. “But it is old, so you have to be a little delicate at times. No parties, or redecorating.”

“Ah, well, there goes all my plans,” Clair said.

(A snarky sense of humor, too? Either Bellamy was going to love this girl, or he’d end up locking her in a suitcase before they even got upstairs.)

“So, how do we get in? I’m assuming you don’t redo your little art project here every time you want to come and go.”

Bellamy nodded and pointed to a tree growing beside the building, whose thickest branch was attached to the second story of the old house. “That’s your way in.”

Clair gave him a distinct look and he shrugged innocently. “You could try to wriggle through all of the boards,” he offered, “but even if you could manage it you’d have to get find your way to the stairs in the dark. There’s nothing interesting on the main floor, in case anyone gets curious, and it’s awfully dusty.”

Huffing, Clair went to the tree and caught at the lowest branch – it was fairly amusing, how she had to jump for it when Bellamy only had to lift up on his toes a little bit – and pulled herself up. She caught his contained laugh and glared. “Are you coming or what?”

“Don’t know how you’d make it alive if I didn’t,” Bellamy replied with a sarcastic smile, hopping up to join her. Purposefully getting close to her face – maybe to intimidate her, maybe just to see how she’d react – he added, “Get moving, or someone will notice you.”

“Someone already did; that’s why I’m here,” she shot back, breath hot on his face, then moved away and scrambled up to the next floor and crawled in through the window without Bellamy even needing to tell her what to do.

He blinked, then followed her inside.

The second floor of the old house was much better than the first. Miller and he had left most of the old furniture in, so it had a vintage feel to it without an added cost Bellamy couldn’t afford. The walls were covered with faded portraits and artwork taken from the Ark, as well as some newer paintings; the floor was lined with thick carpet, and a rug had been placed right where they stood to take off their mud-covered shoes. Bellamy led Clair past the main entrance, making sure the window was locked behind them, and into a smaller, more cluttered area stacked high with books, records, and loose papers. Miller was in the back corner of this room, asleep in a chair.

Bellamy sighed. So much for first impressions. “Miller, wake up,” he said gruffly, shaking the man’s shoulder.

Miller stirred slowly, meeting Bellamy’s eyes with a sleepy, grumpy expression. “You weren’t supposed to be back yet,” he groaned.

“You don’t even know what time it is,” Bellamy pointed out. “For all you know, I could be four days late.”

“That’s completely irrelevant,” Miller said, waving him off. “Did you make any progress with—” He noticed Clair, who was standing behind Bellamy uncertainly, and sat up immediately. “Oh. Um, hello.”

“You’re Miller?” Clair asked, ignoring all formalities.

Miller wiped the blurriness from his eyes and stood; Bellamy moved aside. “Yep. And you must be a...Bellamy brought you in?” he finished hastily, seeing Bellamy’s measured look.

Clair nodded eagerly. “He said there was someone I needed to meet, and I’m assuming that’s you, since he brought me here. Seems to think I could be the lost princess you guys have been fawning over.”

Miller glanced at Bellamy quickly, seeming to ask, Are you really screwing up our plan already?

Just go with it, Bellamy told him with a small raise of his eyebrows.

“Oh, really? Then I suppose I am a good person for you to meet. I’ve been...interested in the lost princess for some time now, though not as long as Bellamy.” (You have no idea, Bellamy thought, but stayed quiet.) “What’s your name?”

“Clair kom Trikru, though he claims it’s Clarke,” Clair said, sticking out her hand. Miller shook. “So, first things first—I figure I should get your real intentions out of the way, since I still haven’t managed to formulate a good reason why either of you actually care whether or not I’m this Griffin girl. What do you really want?”

Bellamy and Miller glanced at each other nervously. She was clever. Bellamy couldn’t stand clever, especially when it outwitted him. “Do you assume everyone does things for you out of a selfish interest?”

She shrugged. “It’s never a good idea to assume anyone has altruistic intentions; otherwise you just play right into their hands.”

After a moment of thought, Bellamy decided the truth – or some of it, anyway – would have to do. “You already seem to know the lost princess is a famous fairy tale, but she’s also an expensive one. Her mother is desperate, even after all these years, and has a reward for anyone who finds her daughter.”

“So you want money then? Typical.” This wasn’t actually true, but Bellamy didn’t want to correct her. She continued, “Why do I need you two then? Why couldn’t I just go see this woman and see if I’m her daughter?”

“Do you know the way to Arkadia’s capital?” Miller pointed out; Clair sunk a little and shook her head. Bellamy forced himself not to show how much pleasure it gave him to see her knocked down a peg. “Also, even if you’re the real Clarke Griffin, Abby might not be convinced so easily. There have been some...scammers.” Miller shot Bellamy a quick, sly look, and Bellamy gave him a sharp one right back. It was a little too close to the truth to be telling this girl about people bringing phony Clarkes up to Camp Griffin.

“So what, I fake being her daughter so she knows I’m the real one?” Clair thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Not the worst path I could’ve taken. All right, I’m in. And if it’s all wrong, no harm no foul, right?”

Bellamy smiled; at least she wasn’t too noble to be involved in shady operations, because she’d be in a lot of those soon. “Well, then like I said before, everything’s fit so far. We just need to compare you against our information to see if you’re a perfect fit.”

“Okay, but one problem,” Miller said. “Clarke Griffin was two when she got lost, and children can’t retain memory early than four. Plus, she clearly remembers nothing anyway, if she thinks we have to prove it to her.”

“Not necessarily,” Bellamy cut in, thinking involuntarily of Octavia. “Even toddlers who have trauma can remember it later, especially if they experience something that reminds them of it.”

“Except recreating that scene would be a no-go, since the grounders are not currently coming to kill us and we’re not in the same area as the landing of the Ark,” Miller pointed out.

“Actually, I have an idea,” Bellamy said, holding up a finger to hold off Miller’s wave of words. “But it might take a little bit of walking and it’ll be dark soon, so if we want to do this we have to now.”

“You mean if I want to do this,” Clair cut in, “since you seem to be circling this whole thing around me.”

Bellamy clenched his jaw to keep himself from saying something rude. “All right. Do you want to do this?”

She lifted her chin imperiously. “No. But I figure I might as well, to make you two have some closure or whatever.”

“Hey, don’t be acting like we’re desperate for your approval,” Bellamy shot, taking a step towards her. “You were the one who agreed to come, so quit turning this on Miller and me like we’re some idiots who don’t know better—”

“And that’s all for you two,” Miller interrupted, pushing himself between Bellamy and Clair. “Let’s just go to the trauma spot before I get a new one in here.”

Bellamy glared at Clair, and she glared back for a moment, then they huffed and broke eye contact, stepping back. “All right, good,” Miller grunted. “Bellamy, you’re the expert. Lead the way.”

It was even slower getting out of town than in, since the scout parties changed shifts right about this time; Bellamy walked in front, keeping Clarke just a foot or two behind him so she’d be easy to keep track of while Miller took the rear as a back-watch. He guided them slowly from the house back the way they came, taking a few different routes to keep as far away from the main scouter building as possible—partially because Bellamy didn’t want any risk of being spotted, since they’d all recognize his face, and partially because Clair had far too little stealth to not be spotted.

Eventually, they came upon a set of woods all too familiar to Bellamy. He half-expected to see the path stripped of grass from the wear of military boots passing over it every day for months; hear the bloodcurdling screams chasing him faster than he could run; feel Octavia in his arms, coiled in blankets and shaking, and Clarke’s hand grasping his desperately. The feelings were definitely still there, at least—the terror, exhaustion, horror, shame, and eventual heartbreak.

He turned to look at Clair. She didn’t look haunted, but there was an uneasiness in her expression, like she could be. Like she was close.

“Let’s keep going,” he said slowly, only tearing his eyes away from her when she caught him looking, and they continued down memory lane deeper into the forest.

As they walked, Bellamy let Clair get a few feet ahead to look around more so he could walk with Miller, who seemed about to burst with questions. “What are we doing out here, Bellamy?” he hissed. “Griffin’s going to check if the girl looks and acts like Clarke, not if she looks properly horrified going through some random forest where she may or may not have been.”

“She was, if she’s the real Clarke,” Bellamy said.

“Does it matter? Anyway, I suppose you still won’t tell me how you know where we’re going, seeing as only Griffin’s conies were allowed to know the area in which Clarke was lost,” Miller added, a little hopefully.

“I already have told you,” Bellamy squirmed. “I’ve learned a lot from my time researching the princess.”

“Which you seem much more interested in I am, despite the fact you keep telling me you only want the reward.”

Bellamy’s jaw locked up and he turned his face away for a moment, trying to gather himself. He couldn’t tell Miller the truth. No one knew he was the young boy who led Clarke into the forest; he’d been forgotten from that legend, but if people knew.... It was enough to bear the knowledge all of this was his fault, to exploit his own past to dig himself out of poverty, but if Miller found out, too, especially when they were still so far from the goal, it could ruin everything. Wreck his trust, his friendship, the possibility of ever being normal again.

“Bellamy? An answer maybe?” Miller asked, nudging Bellamy with his shoulder.

Swallowing hard, Bellamy muttered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” and quickened his pace to catch up with Clair, who was looking around the woods with a tight sort of wonder.

“Hey, don’t go wandering too far ahead,” he warned, a little more sharply than he intended. He grabbed at her wrist and she whirled, ready to snap back, probably, just as an arrow whirled past both their faces and stuck in a tree.

Bellamy blinked, then dropped Clair’s hand.

Miller came up from behind, gripping Bellamy’s arm urgently. “A grounder,” he muttered. Cautiously, Bellamy looked over at the same time Clair did and saw a tall, well-build man with the distinct armor of a forest clan member and another arrow already notched in his bow, aimed directly at Bellamy’s chest.

Opening his mouth, Bellamy prepared to say something to calm the grounder down, but Clair beat him to it, stepping in front of him with her arm raised in an almost protective manner. “Drop the bow,” she told the man.

Bellamy looked at her, eyebrows raising. “You know him then?”

She looked back with tight lips and just the barest traces of a smirk. “I do indeed. Boys, this is Lincoln. My brother.”

#bellarke #bellarke fanfiction #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #bellamy x clarke #clarke x bellamy #nathan miller #lincoln kom trikru #the 100 #the 100 fanfiction #t100 #t100 fanfiction #anastasia #anastasia au #wtcom #tate writes

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