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snowdice · 4 years

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Road Trips and Missing Persons (Part 9)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Patton & Virgil, Virgil & Deceit, Logan & Patton, Emile & Remy, Roman & Remus & Janus

Characters: Patton, Virgil, Deceit, Remus, Roman, Logan, Emile, Remy

Summary: Patton was just getting groceries. The next thing he knew, there was a knife at his throat and he was an unwilling uber driver. Virgil’s on the run after the murder of his dad, and it’s not just his paranoia that’s telling him he’s being chased down. He has to get somewhere safe, somewhere he can trust, and all he has is a couple of stories from his dad and a name: “Green Bellow Foods and Dispensary.”

Notes: Secret Agents AU, knives, carjacking, kidnapping, murder mentioned, guns mentioned, pepper spray, blood mentioned, drugs mentioned (more to be added)

This is a fic I’ve been writing on study breaks that you have probably all already seen at this point. I’ve affectionately named it the Goblin Brain Fic because it’s helping my brain actually get motivated for studying. I’ve slightly edited it for wording and grammar, but not for content from my previous posts. Feel free to send in asks to direct it because I’m not 100% sure where this is going and you can help decide if you feel so inclined! You can see the process I went through to build this at this link.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 My Master Post

After a few minutes of silence, Patton glanced over at the kiddo to see that he was curled against the car door, fast asleep. Patton grinned at the cute sight. He was an adorable little carjacker.

Thinking on that… The knife was left abandoned on the seat next to his thigh. Patton reached over carefully and grabbed the medium sized kitchen knife. He slid it into the pocket on the driver’s side door.

A practiced criminal, the boy was not. Which brought forth the question of why he had carjacked Patton. He was clearly running from something, but what and why?

Patton wished the boy would tell him his name. If he gave Patton a last name, he might be able to figure out who he was. If he was going to Green Bellow Foods, that meant he somehow knew about the agency or at least he knew someone who did and figured that they could help. He’d said his dad “knew the owner.” Patton could surmise from that statement that his father probably knew Logan (was possibly and agent) and that he was likely dead. Patton wondered if that death was recent and the reason the boy was on the run or if it had happened a while ago and the initiator of this situation was something else.

Either way, he was awfully young for… well whatever was happening to him, Patton didn’t actually know. Whatever it was, it made Patton sad.

Patton continued to drive toward their destination listening to the silly radio show the kiddo had picked out with wry amusement for another 15 minutes before ‘Anxiety’ started to stir. His eyes flickered open and he made a confused noise, squinting at his surroundings. He looked over at Patton and Patton did his level best not to coo at him.

“Tired?” he asked.

Anxiety made a grumbly sound and moved to rub the sleep out of his eye. As he moved his wrist, a flash of red light caught Patton’s eye and apparently Anxiety’s as well. He moved his wrist away from his face and blinked at it for a long moment. Patton watched confusion and then fear flash across his features. He ripped the bracelet with its blinking red light off his wrist and rolled down the car window. He’d thrown it out onto the interstate before Patton could even process what was happening.

“What was that?” Patton asked, confused.

“It’s a tracker, I’m being tracked,” he fretted. He wrapped his arms around his abdomen like he was going to be sick and curled forward into a ball.

“Hey,” Patton said softly. He reached over to touch the boy’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“It’s not,” he boy said, his breathing starting to come fast. “It’s not okay.”

“Let’s calm down and think about this,” Patton soothed, rubbing a circle into his skin with his thumb while looking for someplace to pull off. “How do you know it’s not someone good looking for you?” he asked.

“Because my dad gave me that tracker and my dad’s fucking dead.”

Oh. Patton had assumed, but it was still sad to hear. From the tone of his voice, Patton assumed it was recent. “Well, does anyone else know about it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” he said. He started to yank on the sleeves of his hoodie, stretching the fabric near his wrist, “maybe my uncle.”

“Did you try to get into contact with your uncle at any point before running?”

Anxiety shook his head. “I didn’t have time and I didn’t want them to track my calls, so I turned my cell phone off.”

“Well, you’re already being tracked now,” Patton pointed out. “Calling can’t do any more damage and it might do some good if you can get ahold of him.”

He bit his lip. “I guess you’re right. Maybe I should try.”

He reached into his front pocket and pulled out a phone. He held down the power button until the screen lit up. “That,” he said, staring at his phone screen. “Is a lot of missed calls.”

“From who?” Patton asked.

“It’s a couple of unknown numbers.” His body language screamed terrified as he looked at the screen.

“Hey,” Patton said. “Do me a favor before you call?”

“What?” he asked.

“Reach into the pocket on the back of the seat you’re on and grab what’s inside.”

Anxiety squinted over at him. “This isn’t a trap is it?”

“What trap do you expect I keep hidden in there?” Patton asked amused.

“I dunno. A gun?”

“Ah, yes,” Patton said, unable to stop himself from grinning. “The age-old trap of giving the person who carjacked you a gun.”

“Well, maybe it’s a bomb.”

“In my car?” Patton said slowly. “Where we both currently are? Sitting a few inches apart?”

“A snapping turtle then!” Anxiety… snapped.

Patton just glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Fine,” he muttered. He turned slightly in his seat and reached his arm around the back of it. He pulled the contents out and brought it into the front seat. “A teddy bear?” he asked, nose wrinkling adorably in his confusion.

“His name’s Barnaby!” Patton said.

“Why?” Anxiety asked.

“Well he has to have a name.”

“No, why do you have a stuffed animal named Barnaby in your car?”

“He’s for emergencies,” Patton explained.

“What type of emergencies need a teddy bear named Barnaby.”

“This type of emergency,” Patton said. “You can squeeze him when you’re feeling ‘anxious,’ Anxiety.” He winked when the boy looked over.

Anxiety rolled his eyes but squeezed the bear’s pudgy stomach once. “Thanks,” he said after a moment.

“Of course!” Patton said. “Now, why don’t you try calling your uncle?”

Anxiety took a breath. “Yeah,” he said.

He typed a couple of buttons and then put the phone to his ear. “It went straight to voicemail,” Anxiety said. “That’s bad isn’t it?”

It could be, but Patton didn’t say that. “Maybe he just has his phone off for some reason. Is there anyone else you could call that might know where he is or anything about what’s going on?”

Anxiety thought for a few seconds and then he was messing with his phone again without responding to Patton. He pressed the phone to his ear and waited. He pulled it away after a moment and held down the power button until it turned off again. He stuffed the phone back in his pocket, eyes shining with tears.

“Hey,” Patton soothed. “Why don’t I get off the interstate at the next exit and we can figure out what to do.”

“I’m not going to the police,” Anxiety replied.

“That isn’t what I was suggesting. Continuing down the interstate’s going to be pretty predictable if you’re being tracked. We need to figure out what’s the best option from here.”

“You’re probably right,” he conceded. “Why are you even helping me though?”

“You seem like a good kid.”

“I kidnapped you by knife point,” he pointed out, but undermined his point by sniffling a bit.

“A good kid in a spot of trouble then.”

Anxiety gave him a skeptical look, but Patton just kept driving until he found the next exit at a small town.

Patton pulled into a gas station parking lot. “Get the map from the glove box, please?”

Anxiety leaned forward to do so and handed it to him.

“Okay,” Patton said looking at the map. “We’ve been driving for about two hours on the interstate minus our stop for dinner and we’re in Bluesburge,” he pointed at the little town on the map. So, we’re about 100 miles away from the factory. Now we’ve got two choices: continue to travel on the interstate or find some back roads.”

Patton looked over the map and did some calculations in his head. He’d never taken the back roads from Bluesburge to base before, but he had driven all around this area at the request of Logan who insisted his agents have a good lay of the land. (Patton had used that excuse to make his brother take him on many ice-cream runs over the years. Logan was always mad when he figured out halfway there what Patton had done and would rip into him about being lactose intolerant but could be soothed with mint chocolate chip.)

“The back roads would probably take about 45 minutes extra,” Patton said, “but it would be less predictable.”

“Back roads,” Anxiety said without hesitation. It was what Patton was going to suggest anyway, so he nodded.

“Alrighty then,” he agreed. “I’m going to have to get gas really quick. Why don’t you run in, go to the bathroom if you need to, and grab a snack while I do? I’ll give you money.” He reached into his wallet and grabbed a twenty. “Get me a coffee, please. We might be up late. Ooo, and a donut if they still have any at this time of day. If not, one of those pre-packaged cinnamon rolls are fine.”

“Um…” Anxiety said. “But you’re my prisoner?”

Patton raised an eyebrow at him, and he blinked down at the car seat.

“… Where’s the knife?”

Patton reached over to pat him on the shoulder.

“Wait… am… am I kidnapped now?” he asked.

“If you were kidnapped, I wouldn’t be sending you in to get snack food, silly,” Patton said as he brandished the twenty-dollar bill in his direction.

He took it slowly, his nose scrunched up. “You’re a weird adult,” he mumbled. “Why did I choose the weird adult to kidnap?” He turned and opened the car door before walking into the gas station.

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 10

#sanders sides #patton sanders #virgil sanders #platonic moxiety #janus sanders #emile picani #remy sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #creativitwins #logan sanders #adriana writes #road trips and missing persons #knives #kidnapping #carjacking #murder mentioned #guns mentioned

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slytherin-puffskein · 5 years

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Waiting for Sunday

Random Sentence Starters | Requests Closed

From @cervo-live-in-arts: What did you just say?

- - -

Featuring @thecursedvaultchild‘s MC, Summer Charn.

Special thanks to @caustic-curses for helping me finding a title.

- - -

“This is getting ridiculous.”

Tearing his gaze away from his book, Laurent shifted his attention to Summer with a frown touching his lips. “What do you mean?”

Summer let out a deep sigh, as if she was getting ready to tell an entire monologue. However, once she leaned forward and pressed her chin against her palm she only looked at Lau with an expression he failed to decipher. “You know exactly what I mean, Berry. This has been going on for two months and you haven’t even made a move!”

“Oh come on, Sum!” The redhead exclaimed, putting his book away. “I got more important things to do than this! I have an exam next Friday, in case you forgot!”

Upon her friend’s reaction Summer couldn’t help but snort, getting off the couch in order to settle on his lap, arm snaking around his shoulders. “Forget about the exam. Lemme think... what other things can you focus on, hm?” She gently pressed her fingertip against Lau’s nose, earning an irritated sigh from him. Suddenly, a glint passed through her eyes. “I know! It’s Sunday.”

Which only meant one thing: Pizza Night. Lau’s face immediately turned as pale as a sheet and he awkwardly shifted on his seat, blushing furiously. Fuck, she knows exactly what she is doing.

Summer tilted her head innocently. “Do you call, or shall I do the honours?”

- - -

Working part-time in a flower shop definitely had it's perks, Laurent couldn't deny it. Each day was filled with beautiful flowers surrounding him, as well as customers sharing the same passion as him. What was there not to like!? It almost, almost appeased him from all the stress college gave him. However, dealing with a job as well as school also had downsides that were most apparent when it came to meals. Laurent adored cooking and Summer definitely enjoyed whatever he whipped up, but sometimes he was just too tired to come up with something. A fact that led to Summer deciding on one thing: Wednesday is Chinese takeout night, and Sunday is Pizza night.

“What did you just say? This is useless, Sum. I can handle some cooking.”

“No you can’t! Now let me call that Chinese restaurant, I heard that their food is amazing.”

He had no choice but to listen to her, and now here they were having takeout nights. While he could tolerate Chinese food, he drew the line at greasy and unhealthy pizza. Why get pizza when you can have something much more tastier? Why would people prefer pizza? The answer was beyond Lau... but he was willing to make a sacrifice for Summer’s sake and let her order some. The first few restaurant have been disastrous, but they eventually settled with one that actually had decent food (it was actually excellent, but Lau was too proud to admit it to Summer and her smug self).

And so, they ordered from that place every Sunday, because he liked the pizza. It wasn’t too greasy, nor too hot, it was just right... so that was definitely why he was always looking forward to Sunday. Why he was always jumping with excitement when the doorbell would ring. Why he always had a smile on his features. Never the thought of the handsome delivery man being the cause of these reactions crossed his mind.

It did cross Summer’s, however. That guy is dafter than I thought if he assumed I wouldn’t notice how starry eyed he gets whenever that delivery man is around. The first few times he came, she had decided to let Lau make a move without her help, but... she quickly realized that he was hopeless. Memories from the last time he came surged back to her mind.

“Hey, Lau!” Barnaby had come to know his name, and vice versa, due to many conversation by the doorstep. “I got your pizza! And, uhm...” He shyly pulled out a flower from his jacket, pink taking over his cheeks. “I found it on the way. I remembered you said you liked flowers-- I actually remembered something, isn’t that amazing?” He quickly shut himself up before speaking again. “A-Anyway, here!”

Taking the flower as well as the pizza box, Laurent was blushing as well, and he awkwardly stood still for a few seconds before finally smiling. “Think goo! I mean, thank you! Au revoir!”

With that he closed the door, his cheeks as red as his hair. That was when Summer finally realized he needed her.

- - -

And she was going to help him, whether he liked it or not. While Laurent ordered on the phone she was crafting a plan, and she adored it. This is going to be absolutely perfect, and while he might hate me at first he’ll thank me a few days later... or weeks. As Laurent hung up, she pulled on an innocent smile, crossing her legs and acting like her most innocent self. “So? How long?”

“They’re in a rush.” He replied while plopping down next to her on the couch, throwing his arm around her shoulders. “But they guaranteed at least fifteen minutes”

“At least fifteen minutes? That’s perfect, we’ll have time to watch a few Youtube videos.”

Laurent was quick to pull out his cellphone.

When the doorbell finally rang, Summer gestured to Laurent to go take it, and he reluctantly did so. The whole thing with the flower was still fresh in his mind and his thoughts were basically clashing against each other. He’s gonna be so weirded out by you, it’s going to be RIDICULOUS. Couldn’t you have just thanked him like a normal person? AND NOT SLAMMED THE DOOR ON HIS FUCKING FACE?

Sucking in a deep breath, he opened the door to be greeted by Barnaby who was adorning his usual smile. Customer service smile, or he actually likes me...? No. He definitely changed his mind and began being into Summer, I wouldn’t blame him.

“H-”

But before Laurent could speak, Barnaby interrupted him: “Hey... erm, listen...” He nervously bit on his lips and Laurent’s heart skipped a beat. He’s gonna confess how much he hates me now. “I... If you weren’t comfortable with the flower, it’s-it’s ok! I guess it was a bit too much... so I wanna apologize! I won’t do it again and-” He trailed off, blushing. “I’m sorry...”

God, he’s adorable. Now it was Laurent’s turn to blush and bite on his lips. “I wasn’t... I didn’t...” He kept stammering for a while before finally speaking properly: “I liked it...”

They were now both looking at each other, blushing. Not saying anything because not a single word felt right in this situation. That was when Summer decided to get up and literally run to Lau, leaping at him and grabbing his shoulders with an excited smile plastered over her face.

“PIZZA!!!”

And just like that, her plan was set into motion as her friend tripped and lost his balance, resulting with him landing right on Barnaby’s chest. Out of reflex, the delivery man wrapped his arms around Lau’s waist in order to prevent what could have been a bad fall, but unfortunately that meant letting go of the pizza box. As he pulled Laurent closer, it smashed between their stomachs and dirtied their clothes with red splotches.

Summer was quick to wipe her smile off her face and pretend pure shock. “Oh my god!” She exclaimed, slapping her hands against her cheeks. “I am so sorry, I totally didn’t--”

Barnaby, however, was too focused on Laurent to listen to Summer. Oh god, oh god, I’m holding him. He’s so... short and pretty look at his HAIR. “A-Are you ok?” He squealed.

Laurent raised his head and their gazes met, resulting with shivers taking over his entire body. “I-I’m ok, don’t worry. Are you? You’re not hurt, right?” And then, looking down. “Ack! The pizza!! I’m so, so sorry!”

And then it was Barnaby’s turn to react to this disaster as panic started spreading over his features: “Ah! My boss is going to kill me! Look at my uniform! Look at your clothes! Your outfit looked so good, and now--” He forced himself to stop speaking. Idiot, it’s not the time to compliment him! Now was the time to find a solution!

Summer Charn, sitting calmly on the nearest couch, tilted her head. “I can clean it for you, meanwhile you just wait for me to be done. I swear, it’ll be so quick you'll have time to get back to work without your boss yelling at you.”

Barnaby blinked, trying to register Summer’s words. “You would? That’s so kind! Thank you, thank you!”

“Alright, then. You can chill here. Lau, go change.”

- - -

And that was how Barnaby Lee ended up wearing one of Lau’s oversized sweaters. Sitting together, they were watching Youtube videos and silence was latched into the air. Barnaby finally broke it, however.

“I’m sorry, you know, for the pizza. I, er...”

“Don’t sweat it, Barnaby” Lau reassured, selecting a cat video. “If... If I have to be sincere, I’m sort of glad it happened. We’re spending some time together, now.” Only saying this reddened Laurent’s cheeks, as well as Barnaby’s.

“Speaking of spending some time together... this is why I’m apologizing for the pizza. I... I had written my number under the top lid”

Laurent’s heart jumped inside of his chest, and he nervously twirled a strand of red hair around his finger. “I-Is that so?”

“Yes.” Barnaby confirmed. “I... I didn’t know if you would forgive me for the flower, but I wrote it anyway so that you could read it once I’m gone, and with a lot of luck c-call me so I can... ask you out. But I suppose things didn’t turn out as planned”

“A lot of things didn’t turn out as planned” Laurent giggled softly. “In fact, I’ve been meaning to.. ask you out as well”

Watching from afar, hiding behind a wall, Summer Charn was here. A smile curled her lips as she listened to their last words:

“So...” Barnaby sucked in a deep breath, as if to gather some courage. “When are you free?”

#my writing #barnalau #barnaby lee #lau king #summer charn

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mastrmiscellaneous · 6 years

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I don’t have a creative name so lets just call it FUTURE AU!!

well, here it is. the first fic i ever wrote. i wrote this before i even made this blog, and i decided to finish it and post it here.

I hope y’all like it!

Word count: 7550

Prologue:

Thomas Donner and Merula Snyde had been the two components of one of Hogwarts’ most notorious feuds in history for five continuous years. They had been at each other’s throats since day one, obtaining countless detentions and causing enough disturbance to distract the 7th years when they were in 1st year.

However, as the years went on they both mellowed and, eventually, their aggression turned to playful teasing. Death threats from Merula lessoned, and word of Jacob and her parents disappeared.

In 5th year, Merula had completely stopped mocking, playfully or otherwise. In fact, she stopped communicating with Thomas completely, apart from the occasional sad smile, and distracted look from across the room.

Thomas was confused. He enjoyed the playful fighting they had between them, and for it to just suddenly stop completely? He needed answers.

Barnaby and Ismelda had told him (or threatened in Ismelda’s case) that she was in a rough place right now, but that didn’t make things any clearer. He tried to ask them both for more of an explanation, but only got a simple ‘It’s not my place to tell’ from Barnaby, and a threatening wand pointed at his face from Ismelda. So he continued to be confused, until, that is, Christmas break.

Thomas and Merula were two of only seven students to remain in Hogwarts for Christmas. That made it easier to confront her about her strange behaviour. That was the plan, that is. However, fate had another plan for the two of them.

Thomas wondered an empty corridor, scanning notes on the most recent vault, when he heard a hitched breath and slight sob from the far corner. The corridor was dark, so Thomas couldn’t see who the person was. He walked over, quietly, as to not startle the person, and as he got closer to the person, he noticed some familiar features. Shaggy brown hair with a tuft of ginger, small, green covered shoulders, even her voice was recognisable in the sobs.

“Merula?”

She gasped, but still didn’t look up. She inhaled, sharply, and shivered while trying to stop crying. Thomas walked up to her and kneeled down, begging her to look up.

“Merula, please. Talk to me.” He reached out to grab her shoulder, but she flinched, slapping his hand away from her, finally looking up to meet his eyes. Her violet eyes glistened with tears, her cheeks stained from crying, and her bottom lip quivered in sadness.

“What’s wrong?” Thomas pressed, grabbing her hands from her around her legs and into his. He stared into her eyes, begging for her to tell him what was wrong.

She took a sharp inhale, a sob escaping from her throat, as she lunged forward and tugged Thomas into a tight embrace. She sobbed for ten minutes into his shoulder without a word spoken by either, Thomas rubbing circles on her back. After she stopped her sobbing, leaving only shaken breath and her body shaking, he loosened his grip and she sat back to her original position; back to the stone wall, knees to her chin, and arms wrapped arounds her legs.

“Now are you going to tell me what’s going on?” He said, quietly.

She hesitated, biting her lower lip, clenching her eyes shut.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to, I just want to know what’s been going on this year. Why are you ignoring me?”

Her shoulders shook, and she lifted her head, making eye contact with me. Finally, she spoke.

“My parents died this summer.” She looked down once more. “Killed by dementors. They said it was an accident.”

“Oh, Merula.” Thomas moved to sit next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Mhm. Merula Snyde, official orphan.” She huffed and leant into his torso, fidgeting to get comfortable in the crook of his arm.

“Well, if it helps, you’re hiding it pretty well.”

“Pfft, yeah right, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been pretty quiet this year.” She laughed, drying her eyes on the sleeve of her robes.

“Yeah, I have. I actually wanted to ask about that, but I guess it’s because of your parents?”

“Yeah…” she looked down at the floor, “Guess it is…”

“You guess?”

“I’m just going through some stuff right now.” Thomas looked at her, expectantly, waiting for explanation.

“I’m not ready for people to know right now, so don’t bother.” She said, harshly.

“Ok then…” He looked up at the ceiling, and then at her. “You can tell me when you’re ready, I hope you know that.”

She stayed silent for a second. “Thanks, Thomas.”

He hugged her tight, and they stayed there for an hour in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. They eventually walked out, acting more friendly then they had ever shown anyone.

Throughout the two weeks of winter holidays, the pair spent every moment they could together; even going to the extent to sneaking each other into their common rooms. Merula took some time to settle in to the Gryffindor common room, but after the two weeks, she was completely settled, as if she had spent the past five years there.

The new-found friendship between the two came as a huge surprise to the rest of the gang when they came back after the holidays. Especially since they stumbled upon them at the lake one day, three weeks after the start of the second term.

Rowen was the first to see them, Penny was second, only moments after Rowen. They both gasped loudly, making the pair turn in shock.

“Mate, what the hell are you doing with Snyde?” Rowen half-yelled at Thomas.

“Rowan, don’t yell. Nothing good happens from yelling.” Penny reasoned. “Anyway, I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for Thomas fraternising with her.”

At this, Merula curled into a ball, staring into the depths of the black lake.

“Hey, there’s no need for that. Merula and I were just talking. Anyway, I don’t know what the big deal is, it’s just Merula. It’s not like I’m talking to Snape, or something.”

“That doesn’t matter, it’s still her. Face it, she hasn’t been the best person ever.”

“Fuck off, Khanna. What has any of this got to do with you?” Merula chimed in, looking up, staring daggers at Rowen. They grunted in response, staring at Merula, like they were challenging her.

“I’m just looking out for my friend. Making sure people like you don’t mess with him. He has enough going on as it is.”

“Rowen, calm down, nothing seems to be going on here.” Penny grabbed at Rowen’s arm, trying to calm them down.

“Don’t worry, Rowen, she knows everything. About home, about Jacob, the vaults. Everything.” I said, jumping to her protection.

“Why would you tell her that?”

“It’s my business whom I tell and why. I had my reasons for telling Merula, and those reasons are not my business to tell, and all I can say is it made her feel better, and you should respect that.”

Rowen looked surprised at Thomas’ outburst. They expected him to just explain, but he didn’t. it was a surprise, and they didn’t like surprises.

“Rowen, why does it matter if Thomas shares his secrets with Merula? I mean, if it keeps peace between them, what bad could happen?” Penny chimed in, jumping to Thomas’ aid.

Rowen looked defeated. They didn’t know how to deal with this situation. They were just looking out for their friend, but it seemed like Merula and Thomas had changed a lot during the winter break. The pair seemed close, like a new friendship had evolved between them.

“Look, Khanna. I’m not going to do anything to hurt Thomas anymore. I’ve changed, and I understand what I did wrong in the past.” Merula’s voice sounded from behind Thomas. Her voice wavered slightly in sadness. “I understand why you don’t trust me, and you don’t have to like me. But Thomas does. Can’t you except that?”

“Fine.” Rowen scowled at Merula, then looked at Thomas, “As long as you’re ok with this. I don’t like it, but I trust you.”

“Thank you, Rowen. I appreciate it.” Thomas smiled at them, and turned to sit next to Merula once again. Penny smiled at the unusual pair, then wondered over to sit on the other side of Merula, smiling at her knowingly, and started pleasant conversation. Rowen sighed, looking at their feet, and strolled over to sit next to Penny. The groups conversation carried on the whole day; talking about how Thomas and Merula made peace, about the vaults, personal lives, and plain getting to know one another.

It took one week for Rowen to make peace with Merula, ad the rest of the group accepted her just as quickly. By the end of 5th year, Merula and Thomas had gotten together, as well as Rowen and Penny. They quickly became two of the most iconic couples in Hogwarts, although most students (and professors) were extremely confused of how the notorious feuding pair became the amazing couple they see now.

1994: Battle of Hogwarts

Merula and Thomas hadn’t seen each other for two years; Merula was working undercover in the ranks of Death Eaters for the Order, and hadn’t been able to see Thomas or the rest of the gang, so she didn’t blow her cover.

The whole thing made her miserable: she wanted to know how he was handling their separation, how everyone else was doing, anything to do with her real friends. All she knew was that Tonks had gotten married, and that just made her even more depressed.

It’s lucky Merula knew how to hide depression, otherwise she would have been found out long ago.

She managed keep all of this hidden for an extremely long time, that was until a specific Muggleborn wizard was captured by her ‘comrades’.

“Look who I found! Hey Snyde, remember this pathetic Mudblood?” Ismelda Murk shouted, dragging a semi-unconscious Ben Copper into the large, Death Eater meeting room in the Carrow estate.

Saying Ben looked bad was an extreme understatement. He was bloodied, bruised, and obviously spaced in the head, Ismelda clearly having had used the torture curse on him. She dragged him up to the long table in the middle and threw him on top, a grunt escaping from his throat. Merula flinched, but quickly hid her discomfort with a creepy grin.

“Oh, I remember very clearly.” She walked around to the other side of the table to face Ben and hide her face from Ismelda. “Hey, Benny-boy, how ya doing?” She approached the table and leant on the side, mouthing ‘It’s ok, I’ll do something’ to Ben.

“Found ‘im in Diagon Alley. Thought a reunion was in order.” Ismelda grinned, thinking through all the ways she was planning to do to torture her old classmate.

“I completely agree…” A bad idea flowed through Merula’s mind. She slowly and quietly drew her wand while staring a Ben. The world went quiet for a moment in her head, Ismelda’s words turning into white noise, and Merula spun around, pointing her wand at her old friend, shouting “Depulso!”, blasting her across the room and slamming against the wall, knocking her out instantly. Merula grinned, walking towards Ismelda with her wand still drawn.

“Obliviate.”

Just like that, Ismelda’s memory was wiped of Ben’s capture and Merula’s betrayal.

“Well done, Merula.” Ben struggled to sit up, smiling slightly at his old friend. “What now?”

“We see the others.” She thought for a second, realising that she didn’t know where everyone actually was. “You know where they are, right?”

“Yeah, they’re in a safe house. Ho do we get there?”

She thought for a second before answering. “there’s a fireplace here, we could travel by floo powder. They have a fireplace there, right?”

Ben nodded, wincing from the sudden movement.

“Great, lets go, before she wakes up.” She gestured to Ismelda, them walked over to Ben, helping him walk to the fireplace, grabbing some floo power on the way.

“Just say where we’re going.” Merula said looking at Ben, smiling.

He raised his voice and shouted the name of the safe house, as Merula threw down the handful of powder, engulfing them in green flames.

A few seconds later, they stood in the fireplace of a cosy, little living room in a small, redbrick house. Ben stepped out, dragging Merula with him, and sat on the soft couch.

“They’ll be in the Kitchen. That’s where we talk about our findings.” Ben huffed.

“Ok, I’ll be a minute.” Merula started to walk out of the room to find the kitchen.

“Don’t get too excited when you see Thomas!” he called after her.

“Oh, shut up.”

They both laughed lightly, and Merula exited the room, looked around the corridor, and turned left, searching for the kitchen.

And more importantly, Thomas.

“I’m really worried about Ben. He should be home by now!” Penny’s voice sounded from a brightly lit room down the corridor.

“Don’t worry, Pen. He’ll be fine.” Rowen chimed in, soothing his girlfriend. “He’s a good wizard, he’ll have just gotten distracted by something and lost track of time.”

“Fine. But if he’s not here by tonight, we’re looking for him.”

“Ok.”

There was a moment of silence, ended by the feminine voice of Tulip.

“I wonder how Merula is doing. I mean, Death Eater work has got to be real hard.”

Merlin, they have no idea.

“I wonder if she’s moved on…” There was the voice she was looking for. Thomas sounded sad, a lot sadder then Merula hoped to hear.

“Don’t think like that. Merula loved you when she left, she wouldn’t have moved on form you.” Penny tried to make him feel better, but only reminded him of her constant absence.

“But it’s been so long! I would understand if she did. She hasn’t even heard from me in two years. You wouldn’t understand. You’ve had your partners here the whole time.” He sighed, speaking in a low voice.

“You really think she would just forget about you? Do you even remember what she was like with you?” Rowen laughed at his friends doubt. At this, Merula rounded the corner and stood in the doorway of the crowded kitchen, drawing the attention of the gang, except Thomas.

“Yeah, Tom, you really think I’d forget about you that quickly?” She said in a mocking tone. Thomas tensed and slowly turned in his seat to look at Merula. Tears filled the pairs eyes as they rushed into each other’s arms, clutching the back of their partner’s robes. They stayed in that position for a minute, then Merula remembered why she came here.

“Crap, Ben!” She pulled out of the embrace and dragged Thomas back to the living room, closely followed by Penny, Rowen, and Tulip. Ben sat, waiting, on the couch, still looking terrible in his seat.

“Oh Merlin, Ben!” Penny’s concern spread across her voice and face. They all rushed over and surrounded Ben, studying his injuries and asking questions of what happened. All but Merula, who stayed in the doorway, studying the group before her.

They looked good, to say the least. All dressed nicely, hair neat, all looking healthy as always, with the obvious exception of Ben, but he still didn’t look like he’d been away for long.

The one difference was that Penny and Rowen sat closely next to each other, and Penny (checking Ben for major injuries) had a silver ring on her left hand, indicating Rowen having had gained the courage to propose to her. This saddened Merula, as she realised just how much she had missed in the past two years. What other big events had happened, while she was busy trying not to be found out, as well as saving Muggleborns from torture without being discovered and killed. She was just now realising, after looking at her friends, how different their lives had been the past two years. While they had been together, hiding from Death Eaters, living in a nice environment with friends, Merula had been watching while innocent Muggleborns and Half-bloods got tortured and killed, attempting to keep her secret from her ‘comrades’, telling the Order about Death Eater plans, all at the same time as being away from her love and friends, while keeping her relationships with them a secret. She had been lying to everyone for so long, and she barely remembered her life before that, and now that she was with them, she couldn’t believe they were really here, a small part of her brain telling her this is a dream.

She ducked out of the doorway and leant on the wall of the corridor. Memories of her time undercover came rushing back as she started to doubt the reality of this situation. Merula’s head was telling her that she was just dreaming, that she will never see her real friends again, and her life will always be her hiding and watching the torture and murder of innocent people. Images of shaking bodies of men and women in pain flashed before her eyes as she remembers her duties as a Death Eater, the threatening faces of high end Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself stared into her soul as they expected her to fill the shoes of her parents. Scenes of her parents and the first war crossed her mind, and she entered a full silent panic attack, like she had felt thousands of time before in the past two years.

She seemed to stay like this for a long time, (maybe 20 minutes?) and it didn’t seem to increase or decrease in power over her subconscious. She sank to the ground and clutched her legs to her chest, one hand over her mouth, and the other hand hugging her legs. Her shoulders shook, and breathing shaky and deep, muffled by her dark robes. Nobody seemed to notice her absence until Thomas looked up.

“Hey, Merula, do you know how to brew a…” he looked up at the doorway where he thought she was, but she seemed to have disappeared. “Give me a minute, I’ll be back.”

He got up and exited the room, scanning the corridor. His eyes drifted to the floor when he heard a small sob from below him, eyes landing on a small figure curled up, shaking, while sobbing quietly. He kneeled down in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Merula? What’s wrong?” He asked, quietly.

She gasped and looked up, fat tears rolling down her face and welling up in her eyes. Her lower lip quivered, and she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. She sobbed into his shoulder, while he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his torso in a tight embrace, still not sure what was happening.

They stayed in that position for several minutes, Thomas rubbing circles on Merula’s back, trying to soothe her out of her panic attack. After a while, Merula stopped crying, leaving only shaky breath, and red, tear stained eyes. Thomas pulled away from the embrace to look at Merula, begging her to tell him what was going on.

“You ok? What’s wrong?”

She hesitated and sighed. “I’ve just been through a lot the past two years.” She huffed, trying to mimic laughter. She didn’t do very well.

Before Thomas could answer, Rowen exited the living room, looking around the corridor, bespectacled eyes landing on the pair sitting on the floor.

“Oh, you’re out here… wait, what’s wrong?” They noticed Merula’s tear stained face and immediately looked worried.

“I’ll explain later. After we’ve caught up, I guess!” She smiled, pulling her usual act of hiding her emotions. She wiped her tears and stood up, waiting for Thomas to stand with her. After he did, she asked where the bathroom was, and quickly escaped when told. Clearly, she didn’t want them to see her like this.

“Merlin, being undercover has really messed her up.” Rowen pointed out, as soon as she disappeared upstairs.

“Yeah… I kind of expected it, really. It just seems to be worse then I thought…” Thomas sounded worried for Merula. Rowen took him by the arm and pulled him back into the living room, both of them looking concerned for her.

“Where’s Merula?” Tulip asked, looking up from her seat. Thomas hesitated before answering quietly.

“Ugh, she’ll be back in a minute.” He leant on the wall next to the door and looked at his feet, contemplating what could have happened to make Merula panic that much.

Everyone exchanged an intrigued look, but Rowen shook his head, telling them to forget about it. They turned their attention back at Ben, who was explaining what Ismelda had done to him before taking him to her home. They stayed like that for half an hour, waiting for penny to finish brewing a healing potion for Ben, and when she was done, Ben drank it, his wounds instantly healing, colour filling his face once more.

Once Ben seemed completely ok and well enough to get up from his seat, they all moved back into the kitchen and around the large white table. Thomas was starting to get concerned for Merula, so he exited the room and wondered upstairs to the bathroom to find her.

When he rounded the corner, the bathroom light was on, the door slightly ajar. He pushed it open, to see Merula hunched over the sink, staring intently at her reflection with the same harsh expression she wore through the first few years of Hogwarts. Her hands were clenched on the edge of the sink to the point were he knuckles were white. Her breathing was hard and intense. Her whole body was tense and shaky.

He slowly opened the door and walked up to her slowly, not wanting to startle her.

“Merula, what’s wrong?” he reached out to touch her shoulder, but she whipped around, clutching her wand, and pointing it at his throat, sporting an angry and defensive look, like back in first year. Her violet eyes shone with a familiar defensiveness masked with anger. It’s almost like she had reverted back to her 11-year-old self, and didn’t realise that they had a good relationship now.

“Wow, calm down. It’s just me!” Thomas defended himself, showing his empty hands to her, instantly calming her down, as she lowered her wand. Her breathing shallowed, and her bottom lip quivered, as she stared into Thomas’ eyes. He took her into his arms and hugged her, entangling her hair into his fingers.

“It’s ok, I’m here.” He looked down at her as she looked up to him. “What happened there?”

She placed her head on his chest and sighed. “A lot has happened the past two years. It builds up, you know?” she said quietly.

“I get it.” He kissed the top of her head, pulled her closer. “Well, I don’t, put I’m here for you.”

She sighed before responding. “That’s all I need. I’ll tell you about some of it later. It’s just hard, you know?”

“I really do. These two years have been tough, being separated, but you’re here now. I’ll never leave you.”

“And I’ll never go.” She pulled away from the embrace and looked Thomas in the eye and smiled. “Let’s go downstairs. Let’s see our friends.”

He smiled down at her warmly. “Yeah, I think it’s about time we caught you up on stuff.”

“You got that right!” she laughed, smiling widely. Thomas couldn’t take it anymore, and took her head in his hands and brought his lips to hers. Their mouths moved perfectly in sync with each other, with the perfect balance of intensity and loving passion. The world stopped for a minute, nothing else mattered to the pair in that time. Just the fact that they finally have each other once again.

They broke apart, catching their breathe, sharing loving stares.

“I really missed you.” Thomas smiled at Merula.

“I missed you too.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. “Now let’s go.”

The pair entered the kitchen hand-in-hand, causing the rest of the group to stop their conversation and smile at them, Penny gesturing toward the two empty chairs next to her and Rowen.

“Wait!” Tulip’s voice sounded from the left of the table. “Merula, you’re great and everything, but the Death Eater get-up is really off putting.”

Merula looked down at the black robes draped over her body. “Oh, I forgot I was wearing these.” She chuckled slightly, drawing her wand. She waved it over her body, mouthing an enchantment. Suddenly, her long robes shimmered, magically, as they transformed; her top turning into a green button-up blouse, a black skirt falling half-way down her thigh, black tights appearing on her legs. The only thing that remained was her signature black boots.

“Now that’s better.” Ben chimed in, staring at Merula in awe.

“Dude, stop staring.” Thomas scolded Ben with a stare. Ben quickly looked down at the table. The rest of the group snickered at the response.

“Aww, getting jealous are we, Tommy?” Merula taunted, dragging him over to the empty seats.

“Oh, shut it.” He poked her in the side, causing her to recoil in her chair.

“Don’t do that!” she laughed.

“Will you two stop flirting? It’s sickening.” Tulip said, throwing a ball of tin foil in between the pair. “Seriously, it’s bad enough with the Khanna’s over there.” She pointed to Penny and Rowen, who both blushed furiously.

“Tulip!” Penny screeched. “We’re not married yet!”

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that.” Merula turned her attention to the engaged couple, with an intrigued expression.

“Oh, Merlin, I forgot you didn’t know!” Said Rowen, covering their mouth in disbelief.

“Oh, I am so sorry, Merula, I forgot you weren’t here when we told people!” Penny exclaimed, clasping her Merula’s hand in hers.

“It’s ok. I get I was gone a long time, I missed stuff.” She shrugged and turned away from penny to face the table, looking down at her lap.

“Wow. That got depressing reel fast.” Tulip muttered.

“The truth tends to do that.” Merula looked at Tulip with an intense stare.

A minute of awkward silence fell upon the group after that comment. No one looked at anyone, and no one made a sound.

“Well, why don’t we fill you then!” Said Thomas, trying to lighten the mood. “No point in keeping you in the dark!”

“Yes! Lets!” Penny agreed, matching Thomas’ tone. “Did you know Tonks got married?”

Merula’s face relaxed and she smiled lightly. “So I’ve heard. To a werewolf, right? Grayback talked about him a lot.”

“Yeah. His name’s Remus. He’s a good guy, you’d like him.” Said Tulip.

“She also had a baby! His name is Teddy, he’s about a month old now.” Penny added. “He’s so cute! A metamorphagus like his mamma!”

Merula smiled and huffed. “That I didn’t know. He sounds cute.”

“I didn’t know you liked kids.” Thomas turned to Merula with a warm smile.

“You would be surprised by how much you don’t know about me.” She replied, leaning back in her chair.

“You still haven’t told us things?” He asked, looking slightly hurt at this.

“I don’t have to tell you everything.” She snapped back at him, with a terrifying glare.

“Wow, what was that about?” her face morphed into a shocked expression, as if her aggression surprised even her.

“Sorry, I have no idea what just happened.” She thought for a second, then looked up at the group. “I think my time with Death Eaters has brought back some old habits.”

“Wow, they really damaged you, didn’t they?” Rowen stated.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Ok, lets change the subject.” Penny’s voice was high and wary, as if trying not to startle Merula. “I’m telling you about our wedding plans!”

They spoke for several hours about this and that, Merula only snapping twice more. Their chemistry was perfect, as if there had been no time away from each other. Eventually, the sun went down, and the group ate dinner, and slowly, one by one, went upstairs to bed. Thomas and Merula trudged up to his room, Merula looking slightly awkward while he guided her through the door.

“You ok? You look a little off.”

“Do you realise this is the first time we’re going to be sharing a room?” Merula looked up at the taller man with a small smile.

Thomas closed the door before answering, “You’re ok with this, right? If you are not comfortable with this, I’ll sleep on the floor or something…”

“No, no, there’s no need for that!” She answered quickly. “It’s just weird to think about, is all.”

At that comment, Thomas walked over to Merula, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards him, pressing his lips on hers in a tender kiss.

“I know I’ve said it before, but I really missed you.” He said, pulling away from her. She smiled and giggled. It melted his heart.

“I missed you too.” After that, the couple heard a light knock at the door.

“Come in.” Thomas answered. Penny opened the door slowly, peaking through the crack.

“Hey, I just realised you don’t have anything to wear tonight, so I brought some stuff you can borrow.” She lifted a folded cotton tee-shirt and green, cotton pants. She walked into the room and handed them to Merula.

“Thanks, I completely forgot that my stuff is at Ismelda’s.” she looked down at the bed clothes in her hand.

“Ismelda’s? that’s where you’ve been staying?” Thomas asked, half laughing.

“How have you survived?” Penny asked, also laughing.

“I honestly have no idea.” Merula shook her head, rolling her eyes. “I’ll get my stuff soon, while she’s out.”

“I’ll leave you two be.” Penny backed out of the room. “Night.”

“Night, Pen.” The pair said, waving her out.

After the door was shut, the couple changed into their pyjamas and climbed into the double bed, placing their wands on the night stands. They shared silent stares, smiling sweetly at each other, purple eyes meeting blue.

“Do you know how much I love you?” Thomas asked, smiling lovingly.

“You are so cheesy.” She said, lying down onto her back.

“Only because I love you.”

“Oh, shut up!” she laughed, hitting his chest with the back of her hand.

“Never.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. “You are mine, forever, so get used to it.”

He nuzzles his face into her messy, brown hair, while she shifted to have her back to him. The lights dimmed to darkness and they closed their eyes, slowly falling asleep together.

The next few days were filled with recounting stories from the past two years, Merula slipping out to Ismelda’s house to gather her things, and the occasional panic attack. The whole group now realised what would trigger her anxiety, and learned how to calm her once she fell. Merula would wake up in the night from a nightmare, both old memories and recent. Thomas was the most well versed in helping Merula, due to him knowing the most about her life and bad experiences.

Everything as fine until the 1st of May. The group was sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast (or if you’re Merula and Tulip; two mugs of coffee), when they received a letter from Bill, telling them that the next day, a great battle in Hogwarts would take place. Hopefully the one that defeated the Dark Lord for good, in his words.

The group shared concerned looks, not knowing what to do. They wanted to help their school, and help defeat You-know-who for good, but they had also quite recently found peace in their lives, and didn’t want to throw it all away so quickly.

“What if something happens?” Penny muttered through the silence. “It’s likely we won’t all make it out.” It was strange hearing the usually optimistic penny speak so negatively.

“Don’t talk like that. We’ll all be fine.” Rowen grasped her hand in his, staring into her eyes, lovingly.

“I have to agree with Penny.” Merula chimed in, after being quiet for a long time. “I hat to say it, but with the way Death Eaters fight, it’s real likely not all of us will return in one peace.”

Thomas wrapped his arms around Merula’s shoulders. “So, what do we do? Fight or stay out of it?”

Everyone looked down at the table, not knowing what to do. They were silent for a long time, no one looked at each other, or made the slightest sound. That was, until Tomas spoke up.

“I want to go. I mean, Hogwarts is like a second home to me. I don’t want to see it get destroyed.”

“But what about everything we’ve built? What if you don’t make it back?” Merula said quietly.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll come home.” He said into her ear, massaging the back of her head.

“If you’re going, so am I.” Rowen puffed out their chest in bravery. “I won’t leave you alone mate.”

“I’ll go too.” Ben said. “I’m terrified, but do what I can for you guys.”

Tulip and Penny agreed with them. Everyone looked determined, except Merula.

“You guys really don’t know what you’re going up against, do you?” She looked around at her friends with a worried expression.

“That’s never really been our style.” Thomas smiled at his girlfriend. “You should know that by now!”

She sighed and laughed under her breathe. “I guess so.”

“I guess I’m in, too.”

The group stood in the old grand hall, standing around the bodies of their old friend and her husband. Tulip was curled over Tonk’s body, weeping into her chest at the loss of her dead friend, and partner in crime. Everyone cried, and mourned, suddenly filled with a new motivation: avenge their friend and her family.

They stood with the Weasley’s as they watched the dark lord and his followers strut back to the castle, Hagrid holding the body of Harry Potter.

Merula scanned the Death Eaters, looking for familiar faces. Her eyes landed on Ismelda, who was glaring at her old friend, mouthing ‘traitor’. She looked away, saddened by her friend’s feeling of betrayal. She didn’t want Ismelda to hate her, but their lives had gone down separate paths. Ones that didn’t cross.

Merula couldn’t listen to the Dark Lord’s victory speech. She hated the fact that she only got to spend a few weeks with Thomas after two years. Now it was all going to end. She grabbed at his hand and clung to him for dear life. He looked down at her, a sad smile on his face as he looked at her.

It was here that he realised that Merula was the final piece to his puzzle of life.

However, before anyone could say anything, Potter dropped out of Hagrid’s arms, and shot a spell at the Dark Lord. Suddenly the battle commenced, once more, and everyone was separated, fighting their final battle.

Several weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, the group was packing up the safe house to move to their own places. Everyone was feeling nostalgic, as they looked at everything they had used through the two years. Luckily, Merula had only spent a few weeks here, so she was the voice of reason, snapping everyone out of the nostalgia and focusing them on packing.

It took about three days to divide everything up between them. Thomas and Merula were the only ones who needed to find a place to live. Therefore, they stayed in the safe house on their own, and they didn’t know how to take it. They felt awkward at forts, having never lived alone together, but they got used to it, eventually.

They did end up finding the perfect home for them. A little house in the outskirts of London, in a small wizarding community.

One year later, Penny and Rowan finally got married. It was a beautiful wedding; everything went perfectly and to plan, which is what they deserved, after the past few years that they’d had.

However, it was a constant reminder to Merula that she had missed a huge portion of her relationship with Thomas. She wondered if she would be in this place if she had stayed…

But she pushed those thoughts away: today was about Penny and Rowan. She had to make sure that her friends were happy.

That night, after the wedding, Merula and Thomas lay in bed, quietly chatting about the day. After a while, Merula shuffled closer to Thomas, resting on his chest and looking up at him, smiling.

“You’re cuddly today.” He smiled.

“Shut up.” Her voice was muffled, as she turned into him.

“What’s up with you today?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” Merula sighed. “Just a long day.”

They fell asleep, peacefully, Thomas thinking about their relationship, and Merula’s mind going blank of thought.

Another year later, Merula and Thomas were sitting in the hospital, waiting for Rowan to come out of the room and tell them the good news. They had been waiting for an hour, now, discussing what could happen with the Khanna’s future.

“This is weird, seeing Rowan and Penny become parents.” Thomas laughed, thinking back to all the crazy hijinks they got up to through Hogwarts. “Those two were crazy in school, imagine their kid!”

“If you think they were bad, imagine our kid.” Merula laughed, absentmindedly. Thomas was thrown off by her comment. He hadn’t realised that Merula had thought about that sort of thing. They had never talked about the future that much, but Thomas knew he wanted her in it. He wanted the marry her, have a family with her, but he didn’t know if she wanted the same…

Before Thomas could respond, the pair looked up at the doorway as the blurred figure of Rowan appeared, looking ecstatic.

“I have a daughter!” He cheered, eyes wide in excitement. He bounced on the spot, staring at his friends. His glasses were off, tucked into his breast pocket, his hair was ruffled, and he had bags under his eyes. “I’m a father.”

The couple smiled at each other, then at Rowan, standing up and congratulating him, and asking for more information.

They let Rowan go back to Penny, telling him they would see them in a minute. As he ran off, back to Penny and his daughter, Merula and Thomas sat back down, smiling at the news. Thomas was still curious about Merula’s comment, so decided to ask about it.

“What did you mean, earlier?” He asked. “By the ‘our kid’ comment.”

Merula’s eyes widened in panic, like she forgot that she said this. “Well, you know… Hypothetically, if we were to have a kid… you know, we caused a lot of trouble in Hogwarts, imagine our combined personalities.”

She spoke quickly and panicked, as if she was hiding that she had thought about this before.

Thomas laughed, imagining Merula’s cunning ambition, and his charm and courage. That kid would cause a lot of trouble.

“Yeah, that would be a nightmare.” He thought to himself, ‘But one I’d love to have.’

After a few minutes of silence, Merula asked if he wanted to see Penny, and he smiled, nodding and standing up. They wondered down the halls towards the room Rowan said they were in, and knocked, peeking in.

They spent a while with the new family, admiring the baby, Ash, and Merula asking Penny questions about the experience.

1997: the biggest moment of their lives so far was coming up.

Thomas had spent months planning and planning, trying to make it perfect. He made himself a schedule to follow for the night, to make sure he had enough time for build-up.

However, what he didn’t see coming was the fight. Honestly, as the day got closer, he probably should have seen it coming. Merula had been working late a lot, having a few large projects come across her desk recently. She usually came home around six, but for the past week, she was coming home between eight and nine. She was always tired when she came home, and she just wanted to relax. Thomas had expected her to come home early, as she knew they were going out, but Thomas was stuck at home, waiting for her to return.

She didn’t get back until 9 O’clock at night. Thomas was angry at having not been told she would once again be staying late, missing their date and screwing up his plans.

He sat in the living room, perched on the edge of the couch, waiting, an angry look on his face. When he heard the front door open, he leapt over the back of the couch and strode towards the door, ready to confront Merula.

“Hey, Thomas.” She said, quietly, sounding exhausted. “I’m sorry I’m late. I know we’ve missed our date, but you know I have this huge assignment.”

“I thought you were leaving early.” Thomas crossed his arms and stared at Merula, intensely.

“I know, I was, but Mr Gordan needed me to stay, and he just piled files on my desk needing them for tomorrow.” She sighed shaking her head while talking off her shoes and cloak, putting them away. “I tried to go, trust me, but he insisted.”

Thomas sighed, rolling his eyes and walking towards the kitchen. “We missed everything. I had such a great night planned, and you missed it! You didn’t even send me a message!”

“I’m sorry, ok? I didn’t mean to upset you, but I had to do this, or I’d get fired.”

Thomas leaned over the sink as he filled the kettle, groaning in annoyance. “I know. But I’d have liked to have a heads up! I feel like you’ve been spending more time at work than with me.”

Merula sighed and frowned, staring at Thomas. “I know, and I’m sorry about that. But this project will be done soon, and I’ll go back to my usual hours. Trust me, this is just as hard on me as it is you.”

“Oh, really? Because it feels to me like I’m the only one trying in this relationship at the moment!” He snapped at Merula, making he jump slightly, her face changing from annoyance, to shock, and then to anger.

“Well, I’m sorry that I’m trying to make something of myself!” She growled, glaring. “I’m sorry that sometimes I have to work late, but that’s just how it is if I want to do well. I thought you supported that!”

“I do, but it would be nice to actually see you sometimes!”

Merula looked down at her feet and back at Thomas, glaring angrily at him. “Thomas. I spent my entire life with people telling me what to do. Telling me how to live my life. That was, until you. I never thought that I’d have this sort of life, but now I do, and here you are, trying to control my life, like everyone else!”

She walked around the kitchen, gesturing wildly as she spoke. She stomped around the table to get closer to Thomas and shout more. She explained her project and why it takes so long to complete, and why she has to come home late a lot. She whirled around, still shouting and waving her arms, when Thomas couldn’t take it any longer.

Merula finished explaining her job to her boyfriend, and stopped, waiting for a response. When she didn’t hear one, she whipped around to confront him, but he wasn’t standing by the sink.

Instead, he was crouched on the floor, on one knee, staring up at her, all the venom in him having disappeared, replaced with a loving and hopeful gaze.

“I’m sorry I snapped. I know You’re just doing your job, and I love that you’re making something for yourself, I really do.” He took in a shaky breath at smiled at her, as she stared down in shock, confused by what was happening. “I love you, Merula, with all my heart, and I’ve known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you since you came back from undercover. I just hope you feel the same way.”

Merula’s lower lip was shaking now, as she slowly realised what was happening. Tears started to form in her violet eyes, and she covered her mouth, trying to stop any noise coming out so she could listen to him.

“This is the reason tonight was so special to me. Because I was going to do this. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Thomas reached into his blazer pocket, and pulled out a green velvet box, opening it, revealing a silver ring with two emerald gems, side by side. “So, Merula Snyde. Will you marry me?”

Merula collapsed to the floor, crouching on the floor in front of him, small tears falling down her face. She bit her lip, smiling wide. She nodded aggressively and laughed. “Yes. Yes, of course you idiot!”

Thomas laughed and smiled, taking the ring and slipping it onto Merula’s finger. He pulled her into an embrace, and Merula kissed him, passionately.

All was well once more.

#wow nostalga #remembering when the game first came out and i thought this up #that was so long ago jesus #you can tell i hadnt thought the characters all the way through #Thomas isnt described how he is now #i like this though #its cute #merula snyde #mc x merula #jacob's sibling #thomas donner #penny haywood #rowen khanna #tulip karasu #ben copper #ismelda murk #hogwarts mystery #oof the mems

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