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strawbeebo · 3 years

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~♡ Damned If I Do ♡~

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen

Pairing: Kento Nanami x Fem! (She/Her) Reader

Warnings: ❌MAJOR SPOILERS!!❌ Seriously, if you aren’t caught up with the manga, don’t even finish reading this description lmaooo

Words: 5.5K

Genre: Fluff & Angst

A/N: this has shit that’s 100% me taking shit into my own hands and assuming the shibuya incident ends with things going well for those still alive and everyone returning to the Tokyo school for rehabilitation and mourning so ye ye ye. also i’m delving into completely unfamiliar territory so don’t @ me if it makes no sense LMAO

As always, if you enjoy this and want to see more of my work, PLEASE consider reblogging as it’s the best way for my works to get around and keepin’ me motivated to make more for y’all!

❌ MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD ❌

Gojō remembered the first time he met you, after all, how couldn’t he? It was actually a pretty funny situation, but if Nanami had a say in it he would heartily disagree.

It was his birthday, something Nanami had never put much thought into and actually preferred others to treat it in the same way. For the longest time, his birthday was just another day that happened to show that he had been on this hell of an earth for one year longer than the year before. It was a countdown leading to nothing when he had nothing he really wanted to live for, but when he met you, that seemed to change in a blink of the eye. Well, at least your relationship felt just like that, a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ type situation, but despite that, the handful of years he had spent with you felt like something he never could have even dreamed up happening.

You had met by chance, running into each other at the grocery store. It was nothing special, he had quite a few more items than you did so he offered up the spot ahead of him so that you could get through more quickly. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately so, the line was still fairly long so you decided to strike up a conversation with him following your list of ‘thank you’s’. You thought he was nice, a little bit on the serious side and not overly cordial, but you could tell just from that short conversation that he was the type of person you could sit with and not say a single word and still feel comfortable and content. He had a sort of calming, mature air about him and with a handsome face to match, you couldn’t help but think about how surely a man like that had someone waiting for him back home, wherever that was. Either way, before your conversation could go on for long, you had to turn your focus to checking out, so you thanked him once more for letting you pass him and simply went on your way, not thinking in the slightest that such a minor encounter with a stranger would change your life like it had. Your life continued on as normal and so did his and, for a few months at least, things went on as such until the two paths of your respective lives came together once more.

This time, it was at a small café that you later learned was near his place of work, so he frequented it often. You actually didn’t see him at first, he had intentionally chosen a table that was at one of the corners closer to the entrance so he could be away from the noise of the front counter, but the cafe was a bit packed that afternoon so it didn’t really matter in the end. You had only noticed him because you were looking for a place where you could sit and your disappointment in the fact that there didn’t seem to be any empty tables was soon replaced with intrigue in response to seeing that vaguely familiar face. It took you a moment, but his unique features allowed for your memory to be jogged quickly as you made your way over to him after putting in your order, starting with a small wave to get his attention.

To your surprise he actually remembered you, though that was for the better since it made you feel a little bit less creepy about remembering him. You introduced yourself, something you didn’t feel like you had to do last time but for some reason with this meeting, you felt it was appropriate. He returned the favor, ‘Kento Nanami’ was his name, something that at first didn’t seem to suit him well, but who were you to say? Your small talk continued and, while you didn’t actually have any intention of ‘using’ him for the empty chair that sat across from him, the topic of how busy the cafe was came up and his request for you to sit with him followed soon after. You turned him down initially, you assumed he was working since he had both his laptop and his phone laid out in front of him and you didn’t want to be an annoyance, but he politely insisted it was not bother for him, so you eventually accepted his offer.

You were only on your break after all, so you figured it wouldn’t be long and that if you drank your coffee and ate your chocolate croissant quietly, he wouldn’t regret allowing you to share the small table, though once again to your surprise, it was him who started up another conversation a few minutes after you got settled. You talked about your respective work, his disdain for his job being clear as day even as he seemed to try and justify it either to you or to himself, but you almost felt bad speaking of your boring day to day job that didn’t seem nearly as bad as his. Aside from work however, you spent a lot of time talking about good places to eat in the area as it seemed you shared a love for good food amongst a few other things. He was as nice to talk to as you had initially imagined he would be, to a point where you had to cross your fingers and hope that he didn’t notice your interest peak and your eyes flicker to his ring finger when he happened to mention living alone. To be honest, you had never really been one to put yourself out there unless the person who you found an interest in had a clear interest in you in return, but when you stood up to leave, you felt compelled to slip him your number written on a piece of notepad paper you always kept in your purse, telling him if you ever happened to be out at the same time, you’d like to meet up for coffee or something another time.

He, much like you, wasn’t particularly romantically focused, but he accepted the offer nonetheless. If anything, he wouldn’t deny it was nice to have some company that wasn’t his coworkers. You were polite and all, though for some reason, he felt a want to get to know you on more than a ‘small talk with a stranger’ level. He didn’t have much to go on, but that was all the more reason to get to know you more, and that he did. You had one more meeting over coffee, and then once again, this time at a different café you had told him about. He liked to stick to his routine, but it was cute how excited you got raving about how amazing their cherry danishes were, so he decided it couldn’t hurt. From there his feelings of ‘it couldn’t hurt to go’ slowly turned to him waiting to see you again, for once tapping his pen in annoyance not just because he wanted to get out of another pointless meeting, but because he wanted to see you. You had become a breath of fresh air in his mundane life, one that made all those late nights seem slightly less exhausting and after some time, made the idea of making money for himself come second in his thoughts. Your coffee dates turned to dinners out, then to him cooking dinner for you, then to nights spent together that ended with both of you being late for work the following mornings.

You had gotten more than ‘close’ over the span of a year or so, so much so that after many evenings of you commenting on how you could tell something was wrong, he decided that you were someone he could trust with the information regarding his former work as a sorcerer and eventually, you were a big part in convincing him to go back to it, something that, thinking back, you both regretted and welcomed as a fantastic idea. Despite the injuries you’d see him with, he seemed...lighter, as if something that had been previously bothering him had vanished with him returning to the objectively much more relentless work. Still, you could tell he was happy in his own way and as cheesy as it sounded, if he was happy, then so were you. A few months after that and you decided there was no point in living separately if you were spending almost every night over at his place anyways, so the two of you moved in together. Things were about as normal as you could possibly imagine being with someone who did what he did, but with you, a sense of normalcy was all he wanted.

Another year passed and he fully welcomed his thoughts making the change from thinking about how he was going to live out the rest of his life in a tedious manner to how he was going to live his life with you in it. Hell, even his acquaintances could tell you were more than just some woman he was seeing because if you were, they wouldn’t know about you at all. He was rather private like that, everything about his personal life was very much on a need-to-know basis that in his eyes, they didn’t need to know, especially Gojō, but unfortunately you had asked for a few contact numbers just for emergencies and Gojō happened to be one of them. It didn’t take him very long to abuse said connection though, and before Nanami knew it, he was walking into a private party room of a small restaurant the two of you frequented often, only this time he was met with an obnoxiously loud array of ‘Happy Birthday’s being shouted at him. Still, the sheepish smile you wore as Gojō explained he had been secretly planning this little surprise party with you was more than enough to make him ok with his birthday being celebrated in such an over the top way. More than that, something about the way you interacted with his coworkers and students made him...oddly happy. The way you handled Itadori’s numerous enamored questions about your relationship, being able to hear that loud, full on laugh you let out at the stupid stories Gojō told about when the two of them were in school, and all the little small talk in between as you got to know eachother. He hated to admit to thinking of them as his family, but he knew there was no other explanation as to why he felt so fortunate to see you all get along so well.

That night felt like it went on forever, though slowly the party began to thin. The students left first, they had lessons early in the morning after all, and eventually it was down to him, Gojō, and you. You shared a drink with them before tapping out early with an apology, you had pulled an all nighter the night before and the exhaustion was starting to set in, but you insisted he stay out a little bit longer and enjoy himself and after a quick kiss on the cheek goodbye and a whispered “Happy birthday, Kento.”, you were off to hopefully catch the last train home. Nanami knew what was coming next as he could see the knowing look on Gojō’s face before he even turned back to look at him, and maybe it was the alcohol, but he didn’t mind the conversation that he knew was about to follow.

It started with a simple comment.

“She seems awfully nice. Too good for you, don’t you think, ‘Nanamin’?~”

If he were being honest, he would have answered ‘yes’, but that wasn’t something he really wanted to get into. Instead he brushed him off, making a comment on how he sincerely hoped he wasn’t suggesting that somehow Gojō would be a far better option for you, to which he laughed in return. They talked quietly like that for a while, after all Gojō hadn’t gotten to hear the whole story yet and he was intrigued about how this seemingly normal woman managed to wiggle her way into the overly serious and stoic Nanami’s heart. He didn’t ask that directly though, instead he just listed off different harmless questions about what you did for work or what kinds of things you liked. It wasn’t the answer itself that necessarily mattered, but with the way Nanami spoke about you, he could tell that he was simply taken by you. For someone so blunt and pessimistic, when he spoke about you, even if his tone didn’t change, Gojō could practically see the passion he held for you in his eyes. Still, he couldn’t let his carefree reputation be tarnished so to hide his interest he would crack a few jokes and, as always, Nanami would respond with something clever. The night droned on like that until finally, in a slightly more serious tone, Gojō asked a question that Nanami had already asked himself many times over.

“So, you gonna’ marry her?”

It was a simple question with a technically simple answer, however it took much more pondering than one would think. The life he lived was a dangerous one, one that rarely made room for romance at all, let alone marriage, but somewhere along the way, you had helped him break from his repetitive schedule of a life that was meticulously planned and for once, this was something he was certain of even if the outcome itself wasn’t so. The two of you had already had this conversation, more than once actually since he was the one who needed some convincing, so it was really just a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. Still, he didn’t have to let Gojō know that.

“....I’ve thought about it.”

“Uh huh. So can I see the ring?”

He should have known there wasn’t a single thing on this planet that Gojō couldn’t pick up on. With a sigh, he reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out the small black box that he had carried with him practically every day that he wasn’t working since he had bought the damn thing and placed it on the table. Gojō snapped it up almost immediately, flipping the lid open and lowering his glasses to look at the ring properly. It was simple, something that wasn’t surprising since Nanami didn’t put much meaning into materialistic things and you didn’t seem like the type to want something too excessive anyways.

“A sorcerer’s salary sure doesn’t buy much does it.~~”

The box was snatched away from him in a matter of seconds as he continued to laugh it off as Nanami mumbled about how ‘he shouldn’t have bothered’ despite the fact he knew Gojō was just messing with him. Slowly, the topic faded and after one more drink, they were back to their own personal realities which, luckily for him, involved slipping into bed with who he was sure was the love of his life.

The morning came and went and your worlds settled back into their odd sense of a different kind of ‘mundane’, one that involved curses and demons, but was saved by the comfort and love you had for one another. However even that could only hold up your spirits for so long and with every passing day, it seemed like Nanami was always coming home with worse news, and that was with him sparing you as many of the details as he possibly could. Even with him explaining it to you, there were still things you didn’t understand, but you knew that things were escalating in the world of jujutsu sorcerers and curses. The flashes of true normalcy and happy days seemed to appear so few and far in between lately, the days where you could visit him and the students he helped out with became a thing of the past as said meetings were deemed ‘unsafe’ by the higher ups.

Then, all at once, it seemed the steady decline of the situation seemed to falter just for a moment before sinking even deeper than any of them could have possibly imagined. You knew this mission in Shibuya was different from anything leading up to it just from the way Nanami spoke to you before he left. He made a point to never treat you like a child or as if you couldn’t handle the work he did, however this time, unlike before, he made a point of telling you about the amount of sorcerers that would be there and that they already had an idea of what the curses’ plans were. He was reassuring you that this would be no different than any other mission, and that alone was enough to let you know things were much more dire, but as if that weren��t enough, he held you with a lack of his usual confidence, keeping his arms locked around you for longer than usual before pressing a sweet kiss against your lips that you wished to god you could have savored more than you did. He assured you once more, told you he would call you as soon as he possibly could, and he was gone.

You didn’t even live that close to Shibuya, but with the amount of noise and the way the ground shook that night, you felt even people halfway across the world could feel the sheer amount of power that was devastating the area. You didn’t dare turn on the news, so instead you simply waited. You kept waiting until somehow, you fell asleep. You waited through your morning coffee that you could hardly stomach, waited through the calls and texts from coworkers and friends asking if you had seen the news, you waited and waited and waited. Every call that wasn’t from him became irritating, and as the afternoon passed and the sun began to set, you felt every wave of emotion fall over you. You began to agonize as night fell, calling Gojō you don’t know how many times before eventually falling asleep, no doubt due to stress.

You woke up to a call from the principal of the school Kento worked for, someone you had never even spoken to before, asking you to come to the school the following day. That wasn’t the call you were waiting for, that wasn’t who you wanted to hear, but what else could you do? How long could you reasonably wait to hear Kento over the phone apologizing for being so late and complaining about the amount of overtime these curses were running up? All you could do was agree to be picked up by one of the few sorcerers left, who oddly enough wasn’t the usual black haired man who you had seen drop off Kento on occasion. The young woman didn’t speak much aside from confirming your name, but you were glad for that as you didn’t know what you would say. Or rather, you didn’t want to ask the question that was clawing at your skull because somewhere deep past the threads of hope you were hanging on to, you knew what the answer would be. You could feel something was wrong from the moment you woke up that morning to right this second as you walked with bated breath before being asked to sit in a small lounge room.

It wasn’t long before you heard the slide of the door and were met with the familiar young face of Itadori and lengthy figure of Gojō who, for as strong as Kento had described him as, looked particularly exhausted and lacked that usual grin he always wore.

“...We need to talk.”

Never had those words made your chest feel so tight, but as the rest of his explanation spilled past his lips, you felt emptier than you ever thought was possible.

You knew from the beginning of the end that he was gone.

You knew, yet nothing could have prepared you for the words your heard cried from young Itadori’s mouth as he practically collapsed down onto his hands and knees with his head bowed to the floor as he sobbed out a whirlpool of apologies and regrets that made your stomach turn in knots. You felt cold and painfully numb, as if you were off in a dream somewhere watching all this happen, your brain scrambling for a way to prove that none of this was real. You didn’t feel in control when you got on your knees and hugged Itadori close to you, your own tears finally beginning to spill from your eyes as reality set in and yet, you still tried to mutter through your own weeping that it was ok, it wasn’t his fault, it will be okay. It felt like an eternity that you were crumpled on that floor next to this poor boy, your thoughts completely shut down by your emotions. You had talked about this so many times, sworn up and down that no matter what happened to him, you wanted nothing more than just just be with him. Now, you couldn’t remember how you convinced him of that, because suddenly you weren’t sure how you could possibly be ok with him gone. What was next? Did you even have a single faction of your future planned that didn’t involve him? Over and over your brain went back and forth, between acceptance of this new reality and ridiculous explanations as to the ‘fact’ that somehow, they were wrong. That they missed something, that Kento hated overtime more than anything else and would be waltzing in with nothing more than a few scratches and bruises and ask you what you were doing on the floor like that. It was then that you must have either passed out or dozed off as you could have sworn you felt the phantom of his embrace and his lips pressed to your forehead.

——————————————————————————

For all the late night dramas you watched on television, you could never quite understand what people meant when they said ‘it all passed in a blur’ in regards to what followed after a loved one passed away, but now you knew with certainty that description was not far off from reality. You felt as though you did nothing but cry for days, days that were spent at the school since the mere thought of going home to an empty apartment made you feel sick. Every time you thought you couldn’t cry any longer, there was always something, an item belonging to Kento being offered up to you or a question in regards to his funeral that would send you further down the spiral that you already thought you had reached the bottom of.

The numbness began to fade, slowly, but as awful as it sounded, luckily things around you seemed to be moving just as slowly due to the sheer amount of chaos there was to be dealt with. You tried your best to pull yourself back up again and you were fortunate for the lack of pressure from the others to do so because the reality was, you didn’t know what to do, so for a while, you really didn’t do much of anything. Some days you cried for hours on end, some days you were angry, some days you just didn’t feel much of anything. Days turned to months, though now some of those days were occupied by grief counseling that seemed to help the more you got used to it. You were finally able to return home, though even after another few months of counseling, it felt hard at times with how empty it was. Still, having all of Kento’s friends and acquaintances nearby helped and you all supported one another in the ways that you could.

Eventually you found yourself able to think about Kento more fondly and less about the fact that he was gone. You slowly began working again, you were lucky to have an understanding boss who didn’t have a problem with you having days here or there where you still couldn’t quite handle a normal work day. You also took your counselors’ advice of taking care of yourself physically quite seriously, though most of that motivation came from the fact that if Kento could say something to you now, he would be more than willing to scold you for missing meals or not drinking enough water. Little things like that were working their way into your thoughts more often and you found yourself able to smile again, pushing yourself forward with the idea that Kento would give you as much time as you needed, but you knew he would still hope that you’d be able to find your old flow of life once more.

It had been a while, you still felt off in regards to being social, but you had finally decided to reach out to Gojō and ask him out for a drink. To be honest, you hadn’t been keeping up with the sorcerers as of late. At first you obsessed over it, your lover had given his life over their cause after all, but it was doing you no good and eventually Gojō genuinely convinced you that he was going to keep you up to date on everything significant and let you know what was happening. As far as you knew, they were still in a bit of a recovery period, thought that was partially because the opposition had been awfully quiet while they were left with little to no leads to follow. Still, Gojō was more than happy to hear from you about something other than updates and happily accepted your offer.

He wasn’t surprised at your choice of restaurant being that same one both you and Nanami had loved, but he still felt ill prepared to face that longing look you had as the two of you met up in front of the place. You still looked worn down, but you seemed well off enough considering the situation and the amount of time that had passed.

“He pretended to be pissed off the last time we were here together, but he was really happy that day.” You started, nursing a cup of the shared bottle of sake the two of you had ordered.

“Really? I’m sure he’d deny that with everything he had.”

“Yeah,” You said with a short laugh and a tired smile. “He probably would.”

The two of you talked a bit about nothing in particular, you could tell he was avoiding any mention of his work and the current state of things, but you didn’t mind. That wasn’t why you wanted to see him anyways, though to be honest, you didn’t know exactly why you had wanted to meet up with him. Maybe you just wanted to feel close to Kento again, a part of you dreaming of a world where the three of you were chatting over drinks, just like before. Your chatter quieted, the silence between the two of you drowned by the quiet murmur of the other customers before you finally decided to speak something that had been on your mind as of late.

“I- um…” You started, the telltale tightening of your throat creeping up on you as you gently fiddled with your cup. “...I’ve- I keep thinking...or maybe daydreaming...I think about what would have- what we would have...been.” You finished, stumbling over your words in the process as you tried to fight back against your own emotions.

You knew that thinking about all the ‘what if’s’ was probably horrible for your mental state, but sometimes, when you were really alone with your thoughts, you just couldn’t help yourself. A part of you thought that maybe if you thought about it enough, if you wished for it hard enough, your dreams would somehow come true. Even knowing that in the end that could never happen, those thoughts were always bittersweet in a way. In the end you were and always would be happy for everything you had with him, even if your time together was cut short.

“This has been a topic of debate, you know.” He spoke, tapping a finger on the table a few times as if in thought. “The consensus was ‘don’t give it to her’ but I disagree and I think Nanami would agree with me for once, so I took it anyway.”

For a moment, you weren’t sure if he had heard you correctly, or maybe he didn’t understand what you were saying? Your questions were quickly snuffed out before you could even ask them though as a small black box was placed down in front of you and your heart just about stopped. Your mouth hung open as you looked at him and he simply gestured for you to open the box. You did just that, staring at the simple ring with a single pear-cut opal set in the center, a stone you had commented on loving seemingly years ago. Your fingers felt tingly as you reached for it, your mouth finally closing once you finally held it in your hands. All at once your emotions began to overflow with the tears that threatened to spill from the corners of your eyes.

“I’m no expert, but I think you woulda’ gotten married. Obviously I would be the best man and Nanami would find some new ugly tie to wear.” He said with an air of reminiscence for something that never actually was.

“You’d probably look great, but that’s a given. Then you’d party and get drunk and finally go home so you could do some stuff that would end up with us having some good news a few months later….Ok maybe no kids but I’m sure the two of you could make a damn good night out of it.”

You were silent for a moment, and then you burst out with laughter that quickly dissolved into crying as he handed you napkin after napkin to wipe your face with. You wondered how Gojō could make everything sound so simple and make you somehow both overjoyed and saddened at the same time, but after a while, you were left smiling even though you still had tears running down your cheeks.

“I’m sorry that couldn’t come true.” He spoke in a more serious tone, a gentle smile gracing his features. “-But, who knows? Maybe it could, someday, with someone. Point is, you should know that all Nanami ever wanted was to be happy with you. Whether or not that was for a hundred years or two, he was more willing to ride that train through than he was with anything else. He knew there was a chance that being happy with you could only last so long, but he’d want you to keep living and loving the things and people that you do. That’s what he fought for, after all.”

You nodded, laughing once more through your most likely obnoxious crying. You knew there was no way you could ever get over that want to have lived a happy life forever with Kento, but you also knew it would break his heart if you were never at least able to enjoy the rest of your life alongside the grief you held. You wiped your eyes once more, your tears finally ceasing, and you slipped the ring onto your left ring finger and lifted your hand up to admire it and everything it represented.

“Would you look at that!~ Guess he really did have an eye for perfect measurements.”

You smiled and gave him a nod, unable to tear your eyes away from the ring that now sat proudly on your finger. This was where your life and your love had led you, mourning for the loss of everything you had and yearning for the things that you now knew would have been, yet you knew from him proclaiming it many times that if there was one thing Kento cherished, it was the fact that you gave him something to look forward to, a reason to truly live rather than just go through the motions. He would want you to live the rest of your life just the same, even if it was without him. You would love those you held dear, you would laugh til’ you couldn’t breathe and cry until you ran out of tears. You would eat your favorite foods, sleep in on your days off for as long as you could, and be sure your calendar was marked with little “X’s” for even the smallest of things to look forward to. You would live your life to what you felt was the fullest with him in your heart throughout all of it until maybe, someday, you could see him once more to finish your story with a long awaited “I do”.

#jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #nanami kento #nanami kento x reader #jjk

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alittlewhump · 3 years

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Unbidden - Act 2, chapter 2

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Content warnings: non-sexual noncon touch mention, just a tiny taste of drugging (fade to black)

Once Jerhyn had bemusedly agreed to Morgan's request for a more private meeting, just the two men and two watchful guards, things went much more smoothly. He'd been able to properly explain the situation with the dark wanderer, and the sultan had divulged a story passed down through the royal family concerning the imprisonment of a great evil within a tomb deep in the desert. The story had unfortunately been rather shy on specifics, but that proved to be a convenient segue into an inquiry about the city archives. They were housed on the other side of the city, staffed by a small team of dedicated archivists. Jerhyn assured him that they would be happy to welcome his inquiries. Lut Gholein was proud of its history.

After that was settled, it had been simple enough to convince Jerhyn that his time would be better spent searching for the source of the demonic activity rather than just reacting to it. He'd promised to share whatever he learned with the mercenaries and the local clergy, which had apparently been something of a surprise. Jerhyn had reassured him quickly that yes, of course the priests of Akarat would be keen to know more, he simply hadn't expected an outsider to consider that angle. Luckily, he seemed content to drop the issue there. There were few enough places that welcomed the Order of Rathma with open arms, and Morgan did not wish to test the hospitality of this one if he could avoid it.

He also made it clear that he was not affiliated with Blaise in any meaningful capacity, and that her considerable skills were her own to direct. After all she had done for him, it was the least he could offer in return. The mention of her got a chuckle out of the palace guards. Apparently she had arisen quite early and demanded an audience with the commander, who did not appreciate being roused. He apparently hadn't expected her to accept his cranky, blustering challenge to a test of her fighting skills, and had expected even less to be soundly beaten. So she had already earned her rank and a great deal of respect. Morgan noted that news seemed to travel quite fast in this city. At any rate, he was glad to hear she was doing well for herself.

All in all, the meeting had been a great success. Pleased with the progress so far, Morgan set out to explore the city. It was one of the largest he'd ever visited. Its centre was dominated by a sprawling marketplace spilling over with all manner of vendors. The sounds and smells were a little much to handle all at once. He would be able to manage brief excursions, but it would definitely be draining. Luckily, the archives were located away from the market. It would probably be possible to avoid the marketplace by taking the smaller side streets, once he got a better picture of the city's layout.

As promised, the archivists were polite and accommodating. After a brief tour, one of them even introduced herself as a local historian. She sat with Morgan for about an hour, patiently answering his questions as best she could. Her specialization was in more recent history, but she was at least able to fill in some of the details. The tomb from the royal family's story was that of Tal Rasha, a powerful mage who had died imprisoning a great evil. The identity of the evil sealed away was apparently the subject of some academic debate, as was the actual location of the tomb. On one hand, that meant there was plenty of reference material. On the other hand, it also meant that there were likely to be a lot of false leads. That was fine by Morgan, though; he enjoyed puzzles, and if he could approach the research from that angle, so much the better.

He settled himself in with a small collection of texts to start with. The archivists took turns checking on him about once an hour, then less often as it became clear he wasn't going anywhere. At one point the historian brought him a cup of wonderful-smelling spiced tea, which he thanked her for and promptly forgot about until after it was stone cold. It had gotten strong and bitter, but it sufficed to get him through another few hours of reading. All the parties seemed to agree that the tomb had been surrounded by a multitude of identical fakes, though estimations ranged in the exact number of those, and guesses as to what distinguished the true tomb varied wildly. It made for fascinating reading, and nobody bothered him except to helpfully point out the storeroom where the oil for the lamps was stored.

It occurred to Morgan about fifteen minutes later that the bit about the lamps had probably been a cue. He approached the archivist ready to apologize for overstaying his welcome. She reassured him that although they generally closed overnight, that restriction would be waived due to him being on royal business. That was welcome news, though he didn't recall mentioning the sultan's request. However, now that he had stood and moved around a bit, it was becoming clear that it was time to seek out a meal.

After confirming which materials he was permitted to borrow - enough to get him through the night, anyway - he left with a heavy pack and directions to a tavern that sounded promising for both food and local knowledge. Although it was his least favoured method of gathering information, it was inescapable fact that people often knew little tidbits that weren't considered important enough to record. Sometimes those scraps of information could prove vital, so he would seek them out as best he could.

Since artificial lighting was readily available and he'd been granted unfettered access to the archives, it was easy for Morgan to slip into a more nocturnal schedule. He spent the hottest part of the days sleeping or meditating in his room at the palace, slowly but surely expanding his magical reserves and refreshing his training in emotional control. That left the mornings and evenings to canvass the locals for information, and the long cool nights to pore over materials in the archives.

None of the merchants or inn staff were able to provide any useful leads, but he had received a plethora of advice on how best to avoid and treat sunburn, including several referrals to a local alchemist. It was something of a relief that his complexion seemed to be regarded as more of a curiosity than a deformity here. The alchemist in question was called Lysander, and he operated his stall by the edge of the marketplace. He was a pleasant, professional man who did not question Morgan when he requested one of each different analgesic preparation in his arsenal. Not one of them had any effect on the pain in his injured arm. That was disappointing; it would have been preferable to chalk up the earlier failures to some sort of error in the preparation on his part, but Lysander was highly regarded and very unlikely to be selling faulty product.

A couple of days in, Morgan was pleased to encounter Cain on his way to the archives. The scholar seemed genuinely interested in his research, and soon began joining him. It was unexpectedly nice to have the quiet company, a companionable silence settling comfortably between them. It was also its own kind of luxury to stay within the city, to be able to go about his business with just the clothes on his back and perhaps a coin purse instead of having to bring everything with him.

The room where he left his things was... well, it was a unique but overall tolerable situation. As promised, none of the other members of the harem guild gave him so much as a second glance, which was a relief. Jemali continued to be aggressively flirtatious, but at least he generally honoured his agreement about physical contact. He was naturally expressive with his hands, so Morgan resigned himself to the occasional touch on the arm or shoulder when he got too close to the other man.

Attempts to explain the prickling discomfort of being touched didn't seem to stick. He supposed the courtesan had little enough reason to care. Most often he retreated to Morgan's room to rest, snatching a brief nap in between whatever else he was doing. Sometimes he would talk about his work. Morgan wasn't especially fond of those times, but thankfully Jemali seemed to want an outlet more than a conversation partner.

The priests of Akarat had given Morgan a warm enough reception, though he'd been careful to avoid mention of his own profession beyond working for the sultan. They made it clear that unless his work produced substantive results, they were not at all interested in learning about his research. That was agreeable for all parties, he felt.

Occasionally, Morgan would venture out into the desert surrounding the city. He quickly learned to spot the signs of the various aggressive insects that seemed to thrive in the desert environment, from the particular patterns the enormous beetles left in the sand to the nearly invisible hives that housed swarms of blood-hungry flies. There were other creatures as well, but the insects were the most dangerous; they didn't take any notice of any golems he raised, interested only in living flesh and blood. At least the misshapen things that might once have been related to vultures, and the occasional undead, could be distracted by his constructs.

He'd managed to locate a few tombs, all in various states of disrepair. Unsurprising, really, given their distance from the city and the aggressive fauna surrounding them. Similar to what he'd seen with Andariel, the dead inside were risen and restless. Fortunately, the supplies he needed to lay them back to rest were easy enough to come by. Lysander raised his eyebrows at Morgan's requests for specific oils but produced them without further comment. There was generally little else of interest in the tombs, but it felt pleasantly useful to be able to carry out these small acts of service to punctuate the long stretches of information gathering.

He was learning much about Lut Gholein - the infrastructure of desert waypoints was particularly interesting, like portals but in fixed locations - but next to nothing about the tomb of Tal Rasha, even with Cain's help. The evidence leaned toward Baal, Lord of Destruction, being the evil that was contained within it. Unfortunately, most references to its location had either been removed or redacted. It made sense for the tomb to be hidden, to prevent grave robbers from targeting it and unwittingly unleashing Baal onto the world. That was a sensible precaution which also happened to make his current objective much more difficult. It wasn't as though he could actually track the dark wanderer through the desert; the wanderer was much too far ahead for that thanks to Morgan's long convalescence. Any traces would have long since been erased. He had to find the tomb some other way.

From time to time Blaise stopped in, usually staying for just a minute or two to share the latest news from the mercenaries. Perhaps she'd been asked to keep communications open. It was a little unusual that it was never any of the other mercenaries, but Morgan wasn't about to complain. Known allies were always preferable to strangers.

Morgan was on his way to the archives one night, later than usual. He hadn't realized how late it had gotten while he'd been reading until the oil lamp had guttered out. Rather than refill it in the dark and risk waking Jemali, who had fallen fast asleep on the bed after airing some complaints about a particularly demanding client, he decided to take his research elsewhere.

He liked the city at night. Everything was softer, the smells of the marketplace just lingering memories, the last of the vendors packed up for the day, the chatter and bustle stilled. If he sat still for long enough, one of the innumerable stray cats would find the courage to rub hopefully against his ankles. He'd made the mistake of feeding one of them once, and they'd not forgotten. They were charming little opportunists. None of them were around this evening, though. Perhaps they'd found someone with a steadier supply of food for them, he thought as he turned down a narrow street. It was nice to imagine they were being cared for.

"Hey," a voice called out softly from somewhere above. "Pale one." Morgan looked up to see a man raising a hand in greeting from a second storey window. The voice was vaguely familiar. "You ever find what you were looking for?" Ah, it was one of the many people he'd tried asking for information. Nothing in particular made this one stand out from the rest, as far as he could tell. People often blurred together, and he was too far away to see the man's face clearly.

"Good evening. I'm making some progress."

"Well, good luck with that. Akarat guide you."

"And you."

The man retreated inside and Morgan resumed walking. He followed the street to its intersection, gazing up at the skyline to orient himself with the looming silhouettes of the palace and the city gates. The streets were mazelike at times, and he still hadn't determined the fastest route across the city from the palace to the archives. Maybe if he tried taking the left fork this time...

The sharp sting of an insect bite interrupted his musing. He swatted at his neck, annoyed. The damned things were usually less active after dusk, but there was no real escape. For half a second, he was confused by the unfamiliar feeling under his fingers. Why would an insect be made of metal, he thought fuzzily as the world tilted around him. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

#my writing #story: unbidden #noncon touching tw #drugging tw

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senacal · 4 years

Text

Dr. Charles Xavier (Pt. 1)

Request: Requested by @saltysebastianstan

Pairing: Charles Xavier x Fem!Reader

Part 2

Prompt: Could you please do a Charles Xavier x female reader, where Charles has been asked to do a lecture about mutation at your non-mutant university, and let’s say he takes a liking to you due to your knowledge/interest rather than the other girls.

OH MY GOD, YOU COULD TURN THIS INTO A SERIES... IMAGINE

Warnings: None that I come to mind.

Author’s note: I am going to do my very best to fulfill this request because I love it, and I love Charles, and this is the first Charles Xavier’s request I have had, so I hope I do well. I have been thinking of this all week, and I did some research about a mutation to accurately portray a sort of understanding about the subject lol Xx.

Requests are open!

(Gif not mine)

For a whole week, (Y/N)’s nerves were on fire. She knew she was excited, why wouldn’t she be when her dreams were about to come true? But she didn’t understand why she was so nervous. The whole week she couldn’t sit still. (Y/N) was continually shaking her leg, fiddling with whatever was in her hands, or drumming her fingers. (Y/N) just wanted to make sure that she had everything she needed before the most important day of her life happened. What day would that be? Well, her university, (Uni of your choice), had recently booked Dr. Charles Xavier, the current expert on Mutations to give a lecture, and (Y/N) was excited because she had a keen interest on the field.

(Y/N) knew there were people out there with unique abilities, sure she wasn’t one of those people, but it was okay because she didn’t think she’d be able to handle the responsibility and stress of continually having to hide who she was. The reason she knew about these unique individuals was that she had met a mutant when she was a young girl. Instead of being afraid, she was intrigued. It was fascinating seeing the way the mutant maneuvered to keep themselves hidden from prying eyes, though it didn’t seem to work since (Y/N) caught sight of them. Regardless, ever since her encounter with that mutant, she had been obsessed with learning more about them.

With her limited access to mutant knowledge, she was only able to find a few things out about their biology. It wasn’t too different from human biology, but the added X-Gene made a mutant, a mutant. So it was a dream come true when she learned that Dr. Charles Xavier would be giving a lecture about mutations. Perhaps her excitement was transferring into anxiety. Dr. Xavier, as the guest lecturer, was possibly her only shot at comprehending her preferred subject to the full extent. Perhaps it was the fear that she would never be able to turn her major into an actual career. Her family was always telling her to change her field of study to the point that (Y/N) had told them a little white lie. She may have added a minor in medicine, but she didn’t give up her interest in mutation. It was enough to appease her family, and she continued to learn about mutation under their noses. It was a win-win situation.

So here she sat in the lecture hall, awaiting Dr. Xavier’s arrival. She was tapping her pen against her notebook, absentmindedly looking around the room. She made sure to get a good seat where she could both see and hear him. She also made sure she had extra pens in case her current one crapped out on her.

The room was already starting to fill with a big crowd, and the lecture wasn’t due to begin for ten minutes. (Y/N) went from tapping her pen to shaking her leg. She bit the tip of the pen and glanced at the people around her. They were talking animatedly about their daily lives, who was screwing who, who was a bitch, or who was a total hottie. (Y/N) sometimes found herself wanting to fit in among them, but then again, most of these girls were sorority sisters who only cared about partying. Don’t get her wrong, they were beautiful girls, and they all had their strengths, but they were rather dense when it came to their social lives.

(Y/N) huffed out a small breath as she looked down at her notebook. There were various pages filled with notes of her own, but she was opened to a blank page so she could compare her notes to the brilliant mind of Charles Xavier. (Y/N) dated the page at the top right corner to pass a fraction of the time.

“Excuse me, may I have your attention please?”

(Y/N) looked up to the podium to see the Dean calling everyone’s attention. She glanced at the clock to see that the lecture would begin soon. (Y/N) inhaled anxiously and exhaled softly. She faced the front, eager for the start of the speech.

“Wonderful, wow, I wasn’t expecting such a big turn out,” The Dean spoke with a slight chuckle. “Well, as you all know, Dr. Charles Xavier will be joining us shortly to inform us all on Mutations. As usual, be respectful, no talking unless addressed, and don’t hesitate to ask questions.” The Dean looked off the side of the stage, “Very well, everybody, welcome Dr. Xavier.”

The crowd clapped as none other than Charles Xavier walked on stage. He had a broad smile plastered on his lips, and he waved to the masses.

“Wow, when Dr. Gregory said a big turn out, I believe he was downplaying it just a little. Welcome, thank you all for joining me today,” Charles cleared his throat, “Now, I know many of you are probably wondering why I’ve taken an interest in such a broad subject, mutations can be anything. From the color of your eyes to the dimples in your cheeks. And, of course, physical modifications,” Charles’ gaze scanned the crowds, “The answer to that is simple. I find it fascinating,” He smiled.

(Y/N) couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, ‘That makes two of us.’

Throughout the lecture, (Y/N) noticed that Charles was looking around the room as if he was looking for someone. It was a possibility that he was only surveying the crowd, but it was almost too constant for that. He had to be looking for someone, but who? (Y/N) shrugged off the thought and instead chose to focus on his words.

“Of course, this leads us to the homo superior, distinguished from their possession of the X-Gene. Now, this gene, placed on the twenty-third chromosome in a person’s DNA, allows for the greatest mutation experienced in reality.”

(Y/N) scratched down notes as quickly as she could, ‘If that’s the case, would that make the father a deciding factor for its inheritance or the mother?’

“Despite the thought of the mother carrying the child with an X-Gene, the X-gene is transferred from the father. It’s almost like the father is the deciding factor in both sex and mutant status,” Charles spoke as if he heard (Y/N)’s question, which was ridiculous unless he did hear her thoughts.

Once the lecture was over, (Y/N) couldn’t help but feel accomplished. She had learned a lot more that day than any other. As a bonus, (Y/N)’s questions seemed to be answered even though she hadn’t asked any out loud. It was the best day of her life, just as she had predicted. (Y/N) stayed in her seat, scanning the notes she jotted down; she made small annotations next to the one’s that she would cross-reference with her own. Absorbed in her mind, (Y/N) didn’t notice the approaching figure or the lingering girls next to her.

‘Now that I’ve distinguished that the father is the deciding factor in passing on the X-Gene, perhaps it’d be easier to determine their birth rate. I don’t believe pregnant mutants have a reliable doctor to ease them through their pregnancy.’ (Y/N) bit the tip of her pen, ‘I think I know what I want to practice now.’ She couldn’t help but feel giddy. It turned out her added major in medicine wouldn’t be a waste after all. She’d learn all she could about practicing medicine and mutants so she could help bring them into the world.

“Dr. Xavier! You’re British, right?”

(Y/N) looked up from her notes and noticed the blonde girl sitting next to her became engaged in a dull conversation with Charles. She couldn’t help but raise her brows at the poor attempt at flirting. It was pretty apparent that he was British, what with the accent and all.

“Uh, yes, I am,” Charles glanced in (Y/N)’s direction as if he were hoping she’d save him from the conversation.

“That’s so cool, I’ve always wanted to go to England, but then I thought Paris would be a better destination, you know?” The blonde girl shrugged, “Have you been to Paris?”

“I have actually. I’ve given plenty of lectures in the city quite a few times. How did you find the lecture? Did you enjoy it?” Charles asked in the hope of engaging in a conversation about his work.

“Oh, I got lost after you mentioned something about the mRNA or whatever, but I liked hearing you talk.”

(Y/N) laughed to herself, ‘At least she admitted it.’

‘Indeed, but I’d much rather have a competent conversation about my lecture rather than the expenses of Paris.’

(Y/N) frowned and looked up when she heard Charles’ voice in her head. ‘What the fuck?’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your mind, but I don’t think I can continue to converse with this poor girl.’

(Y/N) shook her head, her eyes wide. “Dr. Xavier?”

Charles looked at her, relief evident in his expression, “Yes, Ms…”

“(Your Full Name), I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?”

“Of course! I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.” Charles politely excused himself from the girl with whom he’d been conversing.

(Y/N) packed her notes and utensils, “So, you’re a telepath?”

Charles shrugged as if to say ‘guilty.’

“So, I have to ask, your lecture, were you basing your responses from the questions I was thinking?” (Y/N) wondered.

“Partly, yes. It was a first that someone’s questions were loud enough for me to hear without meaning to,” Charles shoved his hands in his pockets, “I was pleasantly surprised, of course, even more now that I’ve placed a beautiful face to the beautiful voice.”

(Y?N) nodded, “Does that line work at all?” She stood from her seat so that she could look at him without tilting her head too much.

“I beg your pardon?” Charles caught off guard, shifted where he stood.

(Y/N) huffed an amused breath, “I appreciate the compliment, Professor Xavier, but I’m only interested in what you have to say about mutants and mutation.”

“Why is that?” Charles asked.

“Just like you said, it’s fascinating.” (Y/N) winked at him, “now that I’ve saved you from your conversation, I’ll be on my way. I’ve got a class in an hour.” (Y/N) waved and left Charles, where he stood.

“Charles, did she just brush you off?” Raven asked from behind him.

“I… I think so.” Instead of being offended, Charles bored a smile.

“I have to get her number because that was the best thing I have seen all week,” Raven boasted.

Charles rolled his eyes, “Oh, shut it, Raven.”

“C’mon, you can’t tell me that you don’t want her number either,” Raven stepped next to Charles and rested her arm on his shoulder.

“Of course I do. If you had heard the questions (Y/N) was asking, you’d be just as intrigued.” Charles brushed off Raven’s arm, “Let’s go now; I’m ready to head home.”

Raven raised her brows, “What, no parties?”

“No, I’m not really in the mood.” Charles shrugged.

“Wow, I have to mark this day down for the history books. Charles Xavier doesn’t want to go to a college party!” Raven clutched her heart, “I never thought I’d see the day.”

Charles rolled his eyes. He walked away from her, intending to go to his car.

“Charles, just one party, please?” Raven begged as she skipped to catch up with him.

“What for? You never want to go to parties.” Charles scoffed.

“Because, I want to get drunk,” Raven grinned.

“That makes the two of us,” He conceded, “Fine. We’ll go to a party, but then we are going home.”

“Deal,” Raven beamed. She just hoped that girl would be there and knowing Charles; he was thinking the same thing.

#Charles Xavier #charles xavier x reader #charles xavier x fem reader #fem reader #part 1 #reader is not a mutant #x-men #x-men x reader #x-men x fem reader

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prettyblfan · 3 years

Text

Coffee Shop Boy

Chapter Two

Just as he thought by the time he had finished his shift and set off for school Sorawit managed to completely forget about his encounter with very mysterious That.

As he walked into his classroom he instantly locked eyes with his best friend Nam. Despite only being in Viangpa Mork for only 3 months him and Nam seemed to connect instantly, she practically took Sorawit under her wing because he was too gullible for his own good. During his first week of school some boys in their class convinced him that the girls toilet was actually the boys toilet, ever since then she's felt very protective over him. However, this was practically the same for Sorawit after all Nam was pretty, popular and funny a complete package so he felt like if was his job to protect from all the shameless creeps that through themselves at her.

Sorawit pulled out his seat next to Nam and smiled,

"Have you done the maths homework" he cheekily asked putting on his sweetest voice. He plan to do it this morning but all the customers decided to pack in all at once so in the end he didn't have any time to finish it.

"No, I though you would do it! that's why I didn't bother" Nam said pulling a pout while she flopped onto the desk in front of her.

"Ahh, why don't you ask one of the multiple guys who have a crush on you" Sorawit responded, despite how calm they both seemed the end result of not handing in homework was quite harsh. They'd get one or two whole weeks of detention. As they went to a very high ranked and respected school it was only natural that standards were set to such a high level, but regardless they couldn't help but think it was stupid.

"No way, they always end up expecting soo much more in return, i can't handle the entitlement." Nam said dryly her voice dripping with disgust.

Sorawit knew exactly what she meant, whenever she'd show the smallest bit of kindest or even ask for a favour they always seemed to think that they deserved something in return. And that something was her body. In alot of situations although Sorawit couldn't fight he'd end up stepping in and trying to protect her.

"Umm, I guess we'll just have to settle for one week of detention then." Sorawit laughed after all his friend's safety was his top priority.

Just as both Nam and Sorawit were prepared to accept their fate one of the girls in their class came in yelling,

"Miss Jane isn't in."

It was this one line that seemed to save their lives, miss Jane was their maths and foreign language teacher as well as a tutor at the school. She was only strict because wanted the best for them but sometimes she could really be too ruthless.

As they no longer had a teacher for two of their lesson both Nam and Sorawit messed about, joking and talking the entire time.

For Sorawit the rest of the day went by without a hitch.

By the end of school Sorawit felt like death, maybe waking up at 3 am wasn't going to work for him. As he almost feel asleep against his bike Nam flicked his head.

"Are you gonna give me a ride home today or not" Nam said impatiently as she hopped onto the back of his bike (Sorawit is too much of a soft boy to be riding round on a motorbike, so he has a bicycle a yellow one at that).

Before Sorawit could respond the most obnoxious sounding voice echoed out.

"Nam!"

Standing at the gate was a couple of boys probably a year older than them. They were all in Sorawit's eyes dressed like gangsters, their pants were unnecessarily low and they all opted for darker colours (yes this is what gangsters look like in Sorawit's mind, maybe mine too). The one that called out to Nam was tall but not that handsome the only thing that stood out about him was the polished black motorcycle next to him.

Sorawit looked at Nam puzzled.

"It's a long story, just ignore them." Nam said urging Sorawit to hurry up.

Sorawit despite being known for not being very quick witted caught on quite fast, this must be one of Nam's countless admirers.

He pulled Nam along on his adorable yellow bike and although others may not not agree with him, Nam in fact said it was too girly. Regardless Sorawit didn't see anything wrong with it. It was just the right amount of cute, the yellow made it stand out and the small daisies dotted about the bike made it even more pefect in Sorawit's eyes.

As they approached the gates they were quickly blocked, just as Sorawit had expected. However, Sorawit knew for a fact they wouldn't try anything as long as they were on school property, but unfortunately he couldn't say the same for when they had left.

"Nam let's hang out today, on me" he said eying her up and down.

"Pong, I remember telling you I was busy when you asked me yesterday." She replied obviously not interested in hanging out with him at all.

"What, busy hanging out with this loser instead." The guy now known as Pong spoke sizing up Sorawit. Eventhough he was tall Sorawit was indeed 100% bone.

"Pong." Nam warned, it was quite clear that she had enough, half because she knew that this would end alot worse for Sorawit than for her. And the other half was tired of guys constantly thinking she was interested in them.

"Nam, what does he have that I dont." Pong paused briefly looking at Sorawit before bring his eyes back to Nam.

"Now don't be stupid."

It was that line that made Sorawit snap.

"Her not wanting to hang out with you isn't being stupid." He said standing tall trying to make himself appear as tough as possible.

"What?" Pong replied before laughing along with the rest of his friends, they all looked completely amused.

Nam quickly sensed things were going to take a turn for the worst if things continued going the way that they were.

"Pong I'm seriously busy today I have a bunch of work to catch up on, I have alot more time on the weekend let's hang out then" she spoke alot softer.

"Huh, fine." Pond said a lot calmer now maybe because Nam was being a lot more docile or because a teacher was approaching.

The whole situation was over rather quickly after that, Pong and his group of friends had left before the teacher arrived and Nam had explained to that said teacher that the whole thing was a misunderstanding.

Sorawit was now sitting in the Pink Lilly attempting to complete his homework as the staff around him began to prepare for the evening shift. He was thinking about the conversation that he had with Nam while he was taking her home.

She said playing along was always the safer options especially with guys like that.

It made him worry to the point he had to convince her not to go and see him on the weekend.

"What's wrong you're pulling a pout." Ploy said squeezing his cheeks with a soft smile.

Ploy was a University student in her 20s that worked at the Pink Lily part time, she was kind and energetic but she was always in other peoples business.

"Umm I'm fine" Sorawit mumbled out before resuming his homework that he had been neglecting for the past half hour.

Before Ploy could prod for more information, Bun had stormed and was clearly in a mood. A way worse one than usual.

"Who does he think he is?" Fuming Bun slammed his hand down on the front counter.

"Why do handsome men think its okay to be so arrogant" Bun continued to rant furiously.

"P'Bun????" Sorawit called utterly confused, who could have made him so angry.

"Bun, what's wrong?" Ploy also questioned after all seeing her boss this angry was rare.

"Huh, what's wrong. You won't believe what happened today!" Bun responded quickly pulling out a seat. Finally seeming to calm down he recited what took place earlier today.

Bun had gone into work for his regular morning shift at 3am hence why he wasn't there to help ease Sorawit into his first shift. But the real trouble began after his long lunch break around 4ish when a young man was rushed in with a bullet wound, Bun was assigned to treat him. So naturally once he heard the man was accompanied by two other men he had quickly gone to question them after all bullet wounds weren't very common in Viangpa Mork. When he had confronted them he was ridiculed and mocked (more so softly teased, but okay Bun. I'll have to make a special chapter about their first meeting after all this is a That x Sorawit centered story) by a tall well dressed handsome man which only pissed him off more. He'd come to know that the arrogantly handsome man was Tan.

In his 3 months in Viangpa Mork he had only heard from other residents that Tan was one of the many sons of a very affluent family that owned multiple business in the city, and he had been doing a lot of work out here recently.

But the icing on the cake for Bun was that everyone loved him, not the police nor a single soul had come to question them or see what was going on. The whole situation was perfectly swept under the rug.

Bun had finished his story with a huff, just retelling it had seemed to annoy him.

"Wow, i mean it is expected after all rumour is that their family does dabble in..." Ploy trailed off unsure if she should finish her sentence. Tan and his family were doing way more for Viangpa Mork than the governor, in the past couple years their investments had gotten them things they never thought they'd see. Like new school buildings and more focus placed on education. They had even gotten Ploy into university through their Helping the Youth fund before that she never thought she would even have the opportunity to go.

"In what?" Sorawit asked, he hadn't been able to catch onto what she was implying like Bun had.

"Never you mind, my shift starts now so I'll see you later" Ploy wore a light smile before returning to work.

Bun had assumed it would have been something like that but he really thought Viangpa Mork was a quite and unproblematic town.

"Ah, Sorawit how was your shift this morning" Bun asked realising that he had been to caught up in himself to ask.

"It was fine but," it was at this moment that Sorawit had remembered his encounter with That.

"But what?" Bun said urging him to continue.

So, for the remainder of the evening shift until the start of the late evening shift Sorawit proceed to tell Bun about the oh so mysterious That. Although he sub consciously left out his heart pains and stomach twists that he felt around the boy, the rest of the story was relayed exactly as it happened.

After he had finished Bun had agreed the boy was strange and that in future he should try to keep his distance.

Sorawit had quickly retired for the night after he had finished talking to Bun feeling completely exhausted.

As he laid in bed,

When he was just about to fall asleep for a split second the very mysterious That flashed across his mind.

Regardless of what Bun had said earlier a part of him couldn't help but hope that just maybe he would see him again.

At last I have done, I hope you like this chapter. Cause i really do.

Oof my hate for men really showed at Nam's part, but do not worry I shall not allow for creepy old men or men at that to get their hands on her.

Any way onto the next chapter! That visiting his favourite coffee boy once again.

Again not proof read cause I live on the edge.

#that x sorn #manner of death #boys love #fanfic #tan x bun #tatsorn #tat x sorawit

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yoongi-sugaglider · 4 years

Text

Daegu Quarantine

Jungkook x reader

Gang/ zombie apocalypse au

Warnings:

Gore, violence, zombies, mention of drugs and drug dealing, weapons discharge in self defense, main character death, zombies, course language, zombies, drinking, did I mention zombies?

Summary:

They were the top of their game, known throughout the city as the smartest and most dangerous crew to ever hit the Daegu streets. But what’s going to happen when this group of young men encounter something right out of a horror film?

Word count:2282

Part 11===Part 12===Part 13

“There’s no way we’re making it there on time.” Namjoon grumbled as those of us that’d volunteered to go suited up.

“I mean you’re welcome to stay behind.” Having tucked the last of my ammunition clips into my belt loop I glanced up at him, a bit of challenge in my eyes as I looked him up and down.

“Now, now children, no arguing. We haven’t got time for this. Joon if you don’t want to go, stay here with the others and hold down the fort.” Despite his words Jungkook’s voice left no room for argument.

Namjoon grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his weight into the door frame. “I’d rather we all went. It’s not safe Boss.”

“I’m well aware, Namjoon. But one of our own needs us. Family doesn’t leave family hanging. No matter what.” The finality in Jungkook’s voice rang through the room, instantly sobering all of us and causing us to subconsciously straighten our spines with pride.

Jeanette walked into the room at that moment, eyes going wide at the tactical vests and weaponry being distributed between us by Seokjin.

“Uh...I was going to ask if there was anything I could do to help but…”

Jungkook shook his head, giving her a soft smile. He smacked a fully loaded clip into his gun and after ensuring the safety was on he tucked it into the holster attached to his bulletproof vest. “No, Tae’s gonna hang back here with you and Jimin and Namjoon are gonna be here to watch the place. Unfortunately you’d just be a liability if you came along.”

“Yeah...I figured. I’ll uh...do laundry or something.” She shrugged, brows creased with worry as she turned to Yoongi who was finished loading up and was now approaching her silently.

I turned from them, giving the quiet assassin a moment to speak with her in private.

“Hobi, you’re sure you’re ready to go out there?” I tried hard to keep the uncertainty out of my voice but I could tell a bit of it leaked through. The inflection alone seemed to hurt his pride as he scowled in my direction.

“I’ll be fine.” His curt words were cut short by Jungkook striding towards the front door.

“Let’s get this done.”

***

It didn’t take us long to get to the main street that ran through the middle of town. Thanks to our last excursion we’d learned to scale the roofs of buildings as often as possible to avoid the chatterers wandering in loose packs throughout the city. When it came down to it, they were the least of our worries with what we were about to walk into.

“Building coming up at 9 o'clock Boss.” Taehyung’s voice crackled to life in our ears, slightly startling us but not enough to throw off our concentration as we lined up in the alleyway across from the massive hotel.

The street was filled with motion from what I could see over Jungkook’s wide frame. Flames licked at the cars and bodies littering the road from the explosion we’d heard through the video call. Small clusters of the chattering monsters ambled about, having been drawn by the noise but without motivation to do more than move about like cattle without a purpose.

“Rose says the bottom three floors were pretty heavily booby trapped since the place emptied out the other day during all the chaos. The people that were left alive are huddled up in the floors above and below her but nobody’s on her floor….yet.”

I sighed, acknowledging Tae’s information through the tiny hidden speaker in my earpiece. I knew Jungkook had heard him but he was too busy formulating a plan to get us in and out safely to answer at the moment.

“Is there a backdoor in?” Yoongi’s voice was clipped, evidence of either his nerves at being down on the ground and exposed or at the situation in general. I wasn’t sure which and was too busy watching our surroundings to ask.

“Yeah but it’s a single entrance exit situation. No roof access either...but it looks like the building next door might just be close enough for you to window hope to the fire escape. It’ll be a floor below Rose’s but it’ll get you in without having to worry about any East side surprises.”

Hoseok groaned. He hadn’t had any issues keeping up so far, but jumping from a window to a fire escape, let alone one that was 8 stories above street level seemed like it would end up being a struggle for him.

“You’re welcome to stay behind if you think it’s going to end up being an issue.” Jungkook glanced back to Hoseok, having read the man’s frustration before he could even speak a single word.

“Nah, you’re gonna need all the fire power you can get. I’ll manage, gimp leg be damned.” Hoseok grinned, a strangely maniacal expression that did not suit his usual sunshine demeanor in the least.

Seokjin, who’d been quiet through most of this, shifted the massive bag on his shoulder and cleared his throat. “If we’re gonna do this we need to move now. That woman isn’t gonna have too much longer if we keep pissing around like this.”

Jungkook nodded, shouldering the shotgun he’d taken with him and nodding towards the building beside the hotel.

“Y/n take point. Hoseok and Jin, I want you two center and Yoongi and I will take up the rear. We move fast, no hesitation. We don’t have much for obstacles and Tae’s got his eyes on us from the sky so we should be able to get there pretty quick.”

We nodded our affirmation at the orders and after taking a last moment to check that our safeties were off we moved.

A rush of adrenaline flooded my body as I darted out into the open, dodging a burning pile of clothes and taking down two moving figures that’d spotted my movement. I tried not to think of what the burning mounds could be as I pushed past an overturned car and moved towards the middle of the four lane street. That was something I would have to unpack later, once I was safe.

My mind barely registered the shots being fired behind me, knowing that the bodies dropping before me that I wasn’t taking down were being handled by the boys behind me.

I made my way into the second set of lanes, grimacing when a body stumbled in my direction. I could barely resist the urge to throw up. It’s entire left arm was missing, nothing but a tangle of flesh left behind though the creature still seemed determined to swing that side of its body around as if the limb was still there.

I fired at it, growling when my own forward momentum caused the bullet to go off target and hit it in the one good shoulder it had instead of the glistening gore covered expanse of its forehead.

“Mother f…” I swore, finger squeezing the trigger twice more and missing once again. It continued to come towards me unabated. It afforded me a moment to take in its glazed , almost milky eyes that seemed manic despite being empty and void of any semblance of a soul.

Instinct took over as the creature came too close for me to safely fire my weapon and not get covered in gore. I couldn’t risk catching the infection. I raised my foot to chest level, using every ounce of my forward motion to thrust my leg into the creature’s chest. It stumbled backwards, uttering a series of what could have been described as very desperate chitters and clicks before falling into one of the questionable piles of clothing and fire.

The thing set on fire almost immediately. It would have been very satisfying and cathartic to watch one of those things be consumed by the fire. But I had other things to focus on, namely surviving this.

Moving past it I rushed to cross the last of the wide road, sweat pouring down my arms in waves of stress as I shot two more creatures making their way towards me.

The second shot didn’t come though and I cursed once again. “I’m out, cover me while I reload!” I shouted behind me. A shadow crossed over me, blocking out the sun as I released my clip and fumbled with my vest for a second round of ammunition while still rushing towards the office building beside the hotel.

The shadow eased some of my panic, stilling the shaking in my hands as I heard Seokjin’s windshield wiper of a laugh cascade over me from between the shadows wide shoulders.

“Come on Boss Lady, we got this.” He chirped, sending me a reassuring grin when I glanced over my shoulder at him.

Finally the clip clicked home just as I ducked beneath the overhang of the office building. I breathed a sigh of relief as the shade cooled the panic glistening on my skin. Though the feeling didn’t last very long.

The building’s expansive lobby was empty of living souls. Shattered glass and flickering shadows filled it, lending it a foreboding aura as I crunched over debris. My head was on a swivel, darting here and there as my eyes followed the barrel of my weapon in search of threats.

“Clear!” I tried to keep the volume of my voice controlled, not wanting to alert anything hiding around any corners. I turned back to the front door, breathing a sigh of relief when I counted all of my boys filing into the building safely.

“Tae? We got schematics on this place?” Seokjin moved ahead of me as he spoke, weapon forever at the ready as Hoseok switched with me to take point.

I couldn’t help but eye Hoseok, noticing that his limp was slowly getting more noticeable from the amount of moving we’d been doing. He paused at the escalator that took up the center of the lobby, leaning forward in an attempt to catch a better view of the second floor.

“You should have an escalator ahead of you. Non operational due to power loss but still effective.” Came Tae’s reply after a moment of silence on his end.

“So...you’re saying we’ve got stairs right?” Seokjin chuckled at his own joke, ever at the ready for a pun or two. Even if the situation didn’t call for one.

“Yes hyung...you’ve got stairs.” Tae’s voice came out exasperated, clearly the stress of having his friend in enemy hands was getting to him. “Up the...stairs and down the hall to the left should have a line of offices. About half way down there’s a set of emergency stairs that’ll take you to the right floor.”

Jungkook nodded, signalling me to take point once more. We pushed on, never breaking formation as we headed up the stalled escalator and onto the next floor. It was relatively plain. Some of the office doors were open, peeking in revealing that they were filled to some extent with paper covered floors and chairs and sometimes whole desks that’d been overturned in the officer worker’s haste to get out during the initial wave of panic.

At the fire door that led to the emergency stairs I paused, ears trained to the expanse of metal in the hopes that there would be no sound coming from the stairwell.

“There’s no point, door’s too thick babe. Just get it over with.” Jungkook had ended up behind me, a reassuring presence as I steeled myself to open the door.

“The alarm should be disabled, but I can’t guarantee it. Just be careful.” Tae’s voice crackled over the ear piece, though it sounded far off due to the signal being partially blocked in the building we were in.

After taking a few calming breaths I raised my weapon, bringing my free hand up to press the door open. There was no alarm, though there wasn’t any light either so the entire stairwell was cast in some pretty serious shadows.

Our steps were quick as we made our way up and up and up. Landing after landing flew by in a blur, each thankfully empty so we could move with relative safety. At the 8th landing we all paused, catching our breath and taking time to rest our legs.

Seokjin pressed forward from the group, shooting me a bright grin as he handed off his massive back and hefted his favorite weapon into position.

“Jin...really?” My jaw had dropped as I recognized the bright pink wrapped automatic rifle in his hands.

He snickered, slapping a banana clip into place and posing with the AK on his shoulder like some sort of Columbian drug lord. “Baby girl needed some breathing time so I thought I’d take her for a walk. Better to get her out now than to have to struggle around with the bag once we’re in the hotel.”

Jungkook shook his head, a quiet chuckle forming on his lips as he took the weapon’s bag from me and slung it over his shoulder. After reloading his shotgun he glanced around at us.

“We’re gonna have to move fast. Once we’re in the hotel we’ve got to push with everything we’ve got. Rose will be waiting for us at the elevators so once we’ve got her we get down and out as quickly as possible.” He looked to Hoseok, glancing down at his leg for only a moment before motioning for Jin to open the door.

The stairwell flooded with light.

For only a moment there was silence. And then Seokjin started firing.

#bts boulangerie #bts x reader #jungkook x reader #bts gang au #bts zombie au #bts fluff #bts angst #bts fanfic #bts scenario #bts reactions #bts #imagines #bts jeon jungkook #bts jeon jungguk

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kumoriyami-xiuzhen · 4 years

Text

Hakuoki Drama Shinsengumi Oni-tan Track 2 Translation

well... finally got around to finishing ssl’s harada’s cross short stories... been super sleepy this week... which doesn't help with me being swamped with stuff to study since i finally booked the exam for the aws course im taking... it’ll be a month and half before I can resume my normal pace for all things... that is assuming I’m still stuck at home doing nothing aside from looking for a job. oh well. lol. im in the health>everything category... stay safe people!

anyway, this is my translation of Shinsengumi Oni-tan track 2! according to the drama info page, I believe this is the very first audio drama that either Amagiri’s or Shinaranui’s VA participated in tho i can’t remember who it was... however, this cd is definitely both VAs’ first appearance in a Hakuoki drama.

due to content of this, out of all the dramas i have TL for, i’ve wanted this translated the most... unfortunately since all i got for resources are images and a video of the translation, it’s a serious pain in my ass to translate it since my CH word recognition ability is very bad...

well, no pain no gain as they say... though i think i suffer way more than what i get back in return lol. finals edits will be done later when i get to making my subtitle video (delayed due to me being busy).

anyway, enjoy~!!!!

do not repost elsewhere or else!

Hakuoki Drama CD: Shinsengumi Oni-tan Track 2: A Letter from the Yase

Translation by KumoriYami

Shiranui: Ah~ahah~ really, this is turning out to be a real hassle. hey, Amagiri, have you read this letter?

Amagiri: Yes, I've already checked it. Having received a letter from the Yase princess, I was contemplating on what should be done next.

Shiranui: Then, what's to be done [what do you plan on doing?]. Do you intend to/Should we tell Kazama about this? If it's anything related to that guy, it'll be even more troublesome.

Amagiri: I don't blame your way of thinking, but because he is the leader of the western clans, there's no choice but to inform him of this.

Shiranui: Mah~ na.

Kazama: Amagiri, you've come.

Shiranui: oh, you're finally here.

Kazama: Shiranui. Why are you here?

Amagiri: His presence today is owed to oni relations.

Kazama: What business do you have. If there's nothing, hurry up and go.

Shiranui: mah, mah, quit being so inflexible. Compared to that, what's the matter with you. I just had nothing important to do so I went out. Were you checking on that girl's condition/situation [check for Kazama in audio here]?

Kazama: Of course. My wife has constantly been mistreated by those wild dogs. To check on her situation is my/the duty/obligation as a/of the husband.

Shiranui: I was only joking. However you actually did that./You actually went [check audio for if sounds like a question]?

Amagiri: I'll be asking this just in case, [but] you didn't forcefully touch her/come into contact with her right?

Kazama: Hmph, how could that possibly happen. As long as my wife sees me, she will graciously cheer aloud [roughly says: thankfully cheer for (me). reword later?]. So today I only watched her from a distance.

Shiranui: You should really learn how to distinguish/what the difference between screaming and cheering is.

Amagiri: Observing from a distance, this type of activity is still not appropriate as a leader.

Kazama: The next time I'd like to prepare glasses to watch her from a distance [or maybe: something to watch her from a distance. the version i used for this translation says glasses.... check other tl later since im assuming this to be binoculars/telescope], but I won't be talking about that now. Instead of that, there's something you should know.

Shiranui: Ah? It's not going to be something boring again right?

Kazama: It can be considered boring/simple/ can't be considered complicated, in a sense. This was something that just happened after I encountered the Shinsengumi recently on my way back. I don't know why, [but] among that pack of dogs, [there seems] to be someone who's inherited the blood of the oni.

Shiranui: Eh... Amagiri: Hmm

Kazama: What's with that response? That reaction, are the two of you thinking that I'm an idiot?

Amagiri: No. We didn't mean to imply that, but how could that be?

Shiranuui: To confirm then, you saw an oni that wasn't Kodo's daughter?

Kazama: They're unrelated to my wife, I saw a young man, it's impossible for me to mistaken the characteristic [not sure if this is more of the 'mistaken in what i saw' sense or unable to be mistaken in this' kind of sense. check other tl after], he must have inherited the blood of the oni.

Shiranui: It turns out it was like that. Indeed, this can be considered simple/not complicated. Actually, this was sent/delivered recently.

Kazama: What is it, that letter.

Amagiri: Nn. This was from the oni living in Kyoto, Princess Yase's envoy delievered it.

Kazama: Huh. Is that woman finally going to bow down before me?

Shiranui: Why do you immediately imagine that.

Kazama: Then, don't be surprised otherwise [roughly says something to the effect of 'don't leave a man's appetite in suspense' so i put down what i thought made more sense. double check both tls later], hurry up and read the letter.

Shiranui:......."To Amagiri, Shiranui, also Kazama" Ah, by the way I added that in because it doesn't make sense [to not do so], [though] this letter was mainly directed towards me and Amagiri [check other tl later].

Kazama:......By the way [check audio and other tl], Shiranui. Are you deliberately adding in details while reading this to make this more interesting [literally: to add oil and vinegar, which figuratively means: 'adding details while telling a story (to make it more interesting)']?

Shiranui: Don't use such unpleasant words, that's basically how it reads.

Kazama: Che, it seems that Kyoto's oni do not know much about manners/etiquette. It seems that oni princess has inherited that lunacy of her ancestor [the translation of "血肿," used here means hematoma/swelling of soft tissue due internal hemorrhage... so I put in what I kinda thought was appropriate given the time period]. How laughable [check other tl. i’d guess ‘amusing’ though].

Amagiri: Can I continue reading this? [continue with this]

Kazama: Ah... Hurry up continue reading. What's wrong with that guy [check tl]?

Amagiri: "then before I get to the main point, I will first say, if you're still coveting Kodo's daughter, you should give up," she said.

Kazama: That's ridiculous.

Amagiri: It seems that the Yase Princess is speculating that, she [that girl] is fond of someone in the Shinsengumi. Perhaps it's he harsh/strict and strong Hijikata... or perhaps it’s Okita or Saito, who are excellent swordsmen/have superior swordsmanship. Of course, it's possible that it's Todou or Harada, since it's hard to guess/determine who it might be [reword later].

Kazama: That's utter nonsense/what a load of nonsense [check audio. the tl is the same where it says 'that's ridiculous']! Get to the point.

Shiranui: Really, you're impulsive as ever. Anyway, it says that a different clan [while i use the word 'clan' here, and most of the other times i see the word '族', it can also mean race/nationality/ethnicity/social group (ex - office workers). may use "group" since it's more ambiguous when I get to making the video] of oni entered Kyoto not so long ago.

Kazama: Oh? there are [other] oni in Kyoto? Where are these oni from?

Amagiri: Based on their whereabouts, they should have come from the west [says 'western part' so i might change this to 'from western lands']. So if we know something, That's why she's saying that if we know something, to please tell her.

Kazama: So it's like that/that is to say, the person I saw recently in the Shinsengumi, is the someone who probably comes from an oni clan fro a different part of the country, as mentioned in this letter.

Amagiri: That is very likely. Although Kyoto has long history, the bloodlines of many oni clans are around here/in the area. [may just omit bloodlines entirely here]

Shiranui: Joining the Shinsengumi, that sounds impossible/Then joining the Shinsengumi is even more impossible [check other tl and audio]. Then as the leader of the Western clans, do you have any idea/know anything about this oni clan?

Kazama: No/I don't know, at least I have never been in contact with them.

Amagiri: Then I'll contact the village to investigate [check tl again since the tl i wrote says 'fight'. probably wrote something down incorrectly]. How do you intend to handle this unidentified oni clan?

Shiranui: The Shinsengumi being involved in this, already makes this a real hassle. If that guy becomes a member of the Shinsengumi, we'll be fighting sooner or later.

Amagiri: Did he know that the Shinsengumi is hostile towards us, or did he know that there's a female oni within the Shinsengumi?

Shiranui: Either way it's a problem.

Kazama: hrn...

Shiranui: I'll first say, that even if it's me, I don't want to fight against another oni. There are a barely any of us to begin with/ There aren't a lot of us to begin with.

Amagiri: Then, what should be done, Kazama.

Kazama: That remains to be seen. let's go. Amagiri. Shiranui. Based on my observations, I'm afraid that the strength of his bloodline is so weak that he doesn't even know that he is an oni. Those who have inherited the noble blood of the oni, even if they don't know it, answering to the call of humans [check other tl], is something that must never be allowed.

----------

ah i wish i could have someone reading a letter from sen about why saito is better than kazama lol....hahaha i can only wish.

unfortunately im still really busy so i don’t when i’ll be able to translate the next track of this... still would like to have it done before end of the year though.

also, the reason why the sanan tsukikage chapter TLs were taken down from that blog i found was apparently because the site itself had problems with the images that were uploaded along with the author’s translations... i think?

Well, regardless of the reason, i was able to save the tl of sanan’s 1st tsukikage chapter since it got re-posted, and guess that means it’s only a matter of time before the tl of chapter 6 gets re-uploaded so i can go save it later....

#hakuoki #hakuouki #hakuoki drama cd #hakuoki drama translation

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razorblade180 · 4 years

Text

Shackles pt7: Trap

“Finally, we’re here...” Blake said as she stood in front of Jacquelyn’s house. Nothing suspicious so far, but that could change quickly. Who knows what the clay carved house held inside. At least it beautiful

She was ready to proceed but looked back to see Yang and Jacquelyn on the opposite sides of the oasis. Yang was washing up her pale face while Jacquelyn drunk water from another. Both of them looked better than when they woke up but still not like their normal selves; especially Yang. The closer Blake walked to her the more she thought about the possibility that Yang just might be pregnant. ‘There’s no way she’s actually...well...it’ll explain some things. Still, why wouldn’t sh-’

Her train of thought was cut off suddenly by pressure building around her ankle. Blake looked down to see Yang looking at her with a concerned expression before pointing in front of them to the water. Blake had gotten so wrapped in her own mind that she didn’t realize how far she’d walk.

Yang:Uhhh going for a swim? Hehe I thought cats were supposed to hate water?

Blake:......

Yang:...I know that wasn’t exactly my best material but-

Blake:Are you pregnant?

Yang:*eyes widened* What? W...what would give you that ide-

Blake:Yang you’ve been pale, tired, sweaty, and irritable. This situation is stressful I know but you handle pressure like a diamond so this shouldn’t be getting to you so easily. Also you look like you wanna vomit since you woke up. Please don’t lie to me.

Yang:...Sigh, this isn’t how I expected you to find out.

Blake:Why didn’t you tell me sooner!?

Yang:I tried to but in case you haven’t noticed, shit keeps popping up! I wasn’t expecting to trek across the desert to investigate the disappearance of a supposed to be terr....terr...

Blake:Yang? Hey are you okay?

Yang:Nausea.....also... ugh, haven’t eaten. B-But....*covering mouth*

Blake bends down and holds her partner’s hair back. Yang bent over and felt bile slowly creep up her throat before managing to hold it down. She quickly reached for her bag and pulled out a pill bottle and took a capsule with some water. Her face scrunched up from the taste but it was an improvement from what she was about to experience seconds ago. She put the bottle back and pulled out packs of crackers and granola.

Blake:The duffle bag is for your pregnancy? I thought you had huntress gear in it or something.

Yang:There’s bullets and gear in it. Also everything I needed to have a comfortable trip that my doctor told me to bring....

Blake:How far are you along?

Yang:Almost three months. Believe it or not but I went an entire month not realizing I had a bun in the oven.

Blake:W-Wow you are not showing in the slightest.

Yang:Give it another month or so. Mom said I’ll blow up like a balloon. The point of this whole trip wasn’t only to reconnect but give you the big news. Figured it was the perfect excuse to reach out and all. Not having you in my life during this whole process didn’t feel right ya know?

Blake:That’s really sweet and all but you still should’ve told me this before I let you come along for this.

Yang:Then you would’ve tried to talk me out of tagging along. I tried to stop this adventure before it even started remember? I wasn’t about to guilt trip you with this though.

Blake:It’s not guilt tripping it’s allowing me to see everything that’s at stake; and of course I would try to talk you out of it. Taking a boat to Menagerie had risks in it of itself. I’m surprised Jaune or Ruby let you out of their sight.

Yang:Yeah....well....it might be because they don’t know....since I wanted to break the knews to my best friend first? *shrugs*

Blake says nothing to that. She only registers the statement then says it in her head. No, there’s no way Yang just said. There is no way that she’s currently in the desert with two secretly pregnant women. The hard part about this adventure was supposed to be finding Adam. Not this!

Yang continued to eat as she watched Blake’s facial expression constantly shift at this new information. It was a little hard to watch. Before she could speak more on the matter, Blake took her hand and started walking towards Jacquelyn who was still cleaning up.

The maiden only had the chance to raise her head before she too was pulled to her feet. Blake continued walking until they both were in front of the house.

Jacquelyn:Woah, what’s going on?

Blake:From here on out I’m officially taking point on this. I decide how we’ll proceed, be the first to engage in combat, and anything else serious; we clear.

Yang:That’s a bit extreme.

Jacquelyn:Yeah I can still-

Blake:Am I clear!?

......

The two women looked at each other then back at Blake with a nod. Not realizing both of them were agreeing to this formation for the exact same reason.

Blake:Good, you two can keep resting. I’m going inside the house.

Jacquelyn:I’m coming too. Last thing I need is to be accused of something because you got hurt inside

Yang:Yeah that doesn’t give me confidence. I’m definitely going in too.

Blake:What did I just-sigh, fine. Just stay behind me.

Irritated, Blake ignored the doorknob and simply kicked it open. A piece of her wanted something to be in here. Shooting a thing sounded nice right now. The interior was bigger than it looked outside. A decent sized living room welcomed them that had a hallway in the bag. The door on the left was creaked open while the one further down on the right was shut.

Yang:Not much for decorating huh?

Jacquelyn:It’s hard enough getting fresh produce out here. The market is far and being a maiden doesn’t automatically give you the greenest thumb.

Blake:What’s the two rooms back there?

Jacquelyn:Open door is Adam’s room. Closed door is mine.

Yang:You don’t sleep together?

That question didn’t receive an answer. Not verbally anyways. Just pouting and a red face that screamed “it’s complicated.” Jacquelyn walked over to a wall to the left, applying pressure to a spot near the middle. That section flipped around to reveal a chest with lien and other supplies.

Blake:Of course there’s hidden compartments.

Yang:You’re not selling me on believing this isn’t a trap.

Jacquelyn:This is why I think something is wrong. If Adam abandoned me then why not take all of this? It would have been easy. Yet he only took a third at best. It doesn’t make any sense.

Yang:Neither does he.

Blake:Yang, not helping.

Yang:Just saying. You sure you checked every inch of this place? There’s no hidden tunnel that leads to Atlas or anything crazy like that.

Jacquelyn:We wouldn’t be living in a desert if magic could do all that, and no, I’m not sure. I was....frantic last time I was here.

Blake:Then I guess we’re searching top to bottom. Maybe-

The sound of her scroll vibrating made her jump. Blake opened it up to see a banana icon bouncing up and down. It wasn’t uncommon for Sun to give her a good morning call, or to see if she actually went to bed. Something she wished she had for once. Maybe she should tell him about her current situation, but that might cause a few problems. It did with Yang in more ways then once. Nevertheless, Blake answered.

Blake:Hey Sun, morning. Listen I can’t really talk right n- what do you mean Ilia was almost abducted?

Jacquelyn whipped her around and looked at Yang before looking at Blake.

Yang:Ilia was almost what?

Jacquelyn:Speakerphone, now.

xxxx

Sun sat on a beanbag in his teams little gathering spot, filled with trinkets of various things. It was essentially a thieves den if they were being honest. Ilia sat across from him, lightly resting from her experience.

Sun:Five guys randomly crowded Ilia. Apparently they called her White Fang trash then tried to take her somewhere. These dudes were armed fairly well. Luckily me and Neptune caught them off gaurd. Sage and Scarlet got involved too. One escaped though, a guy named Trigger. The other four are tied up in our den but they aren’t being too chatty.

Blake:Where’s Ilia right now?

Sun:In front of me. Wanna talk to her?

Blake:Are you too the only people in the room right now? If not then I need you both to be.

Ilia:*stretching* We’re alone! I’m fine if that’s what your concern is. You sound more on edge than I do, and that’s saying something.

Blake:Guys...there’s something I need to tell you both. Something I should’ve done for some time now. Adam is....

xxxx

Blake told them everything. Adam, Jacquelyn, where they’ve been, their encounters; everything. That includes what she doing right now. The only thing she didn’t mention was her two partners in this adventure being pregnant. The group had switch from voice call to holographic video, the sight of Ilia leaning against the wall with her hands on top of her head made Blake uneasy. Sun held a neutral expression. Yang could tell he was working through all info he was just given. He seemed to be doing it well.

Sun:So, these things might be connected?

Blake:I’m not really sure.

Jacquelyn:They have to be, I’m sure.

Ilia:Even if they’re not, you should’ve told us, Blake. You should’ve told me!

Blake:Ilia I-

Ilia:Adam was apart of my life too. Longer then yours even. I gave that man a grave on Menagerie out of respect because no one else would. How could you let me do a thing like that when you knew he was alive.

Blake:I didn’t know how you would react.

Ilia:And that makes it okay!?

Her words made Blake flinch. Sun put his hand on Ilia’s shoulder to calm the girl. Ilia looked at him then looked at the guilty expression all over Blake’s frown. Ilia knew the her friend had reasons for not telling the people closest to her about such a secret. That didn’t ease the frustration, it just made Ilia sad and anxious. She knew how to remedy that. She went over to her weapon to take it into the next room.

Sun:What are you doing?

Ilia:If anything is connected then those four we have will know something about it. I’m gonna see if they do.

Blake:Ilia, you can’t just-

Ilia:For all we know we’re on borrowed time and I’m not about to feel sympathy for a bunch of thugs who attacked me. Trust me when I say I’m not gonna lose any over this.

Yang:So that’s it? Torture is okay now?

Ilia:Focus on the things you actually have control of over on your side of the screen.

Yang bit her lip before walking off. Blake knew that she wasn’t gonna fair any better in changing Ilia’s mind. She simply nodded while Jacquelyn looked at the chameleon faunus and gave a quiet thanks. Adam told Jacquelyn much about her, about the girl’s passion and ability to endure. Now she got a glimpse of it before walking away.

Sun:We’ll check in with you in a little bit. Be safe okay?

Blake:Ummm are we okay? You haven’t said much.

Sun:My love for you isn’t fragile. You had your reasons and I respect that.

Blake:Doesn’t mean I made a good choice.

Sun:True, but I’m not counting it as a wrong one. Right now we gotta keep our focus right?

Blake:*nods* Right, see you soon. Love you.

He gives her a dramatic kiss to the screen in an attempt to make her feel better. Yang can’t help but overhear them and wonder how he could be so calm. Sun hung up and gave Ilia a concerned look of displeasure as she stared at the door.

Sun:Need extra hands?

Ilia:I would never ask you or anyone to do what I’m about to do. Just make sure I’m not interrupted okay? I’ll be okay. Things like this, it’s essentially the same as riding a bike. All I gotta do is find my balance and coast.

Sun:Well I will be out here then. Don’t push yourself, and I’m here to talk if you wanna. This Adam news must be a lot to take in.

Ilia:Thanks Sun, I mean that.

With a deep breath, Ilia walked into the other room. The time for emotions had come to a halt. Right now she needed results. Ilia needed her old self.

xxxx

Jacquelyn:You have good friends.

Blake:I have the best friends. Everyone last one of them, including you.

Jacquelyn:Me? Do you not remember our conversation by the fire?

Blake:I do. Admittedly I am a little jealous of you too. Still, I can’t help but also feel a little...inspired by your results.

Jacquelyn:Oh, well, thank you. *red* I’m touched. Maybe I was a little-

“BOMB!!!!” Yang cried out, several feet inside Jacquelyn’s room. Her words barely registered to the others. All they can see was fiery flames of an expanding explosion coming at them in what had to be a fraction of the second. The humble house in the middle of the desert had faded way. Pure destruction, taking its place.

Part 6

#rwby shackles #rwby #jacquelyn frost #yang xiao long #ilia amitola #sun wukong #blake belladonna

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nxtchios · 4 years

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Ambivalent (Dean Winchester x OFC) - pt.1

prompt: llya and Nicky, a pair of amateur hunters have an interesting encounter with the legendary winchesters,

wc: 2k

-I’m just getting back into writing so constructive criticism would be very nice.

----

Nicky watched Ilya yank her sneakers off with a scowl. Her baby pink socks were a stark contrast to the grimy asphalt, but this didn’t seem to catch her attention as she began knocking her hand on the back of her shoes. “I don’t understand how I could have possibly ended up with rocks in both shoes! We haven’t even walked anywhere rocky!” Nicky didn’t say anything. He leaned back against the brick wall of the library and watched as she grumbled to herself. “Aha!” The rocks in question tumbled out of the shoe after a particularly brutal hit and Ilya’s freckled face beamed with satisfaction. Her smile didn’t waver as she leaned against the wall across from her companion to balance as she slipped her shoes back on

The two didn’t really understand each other and they didn’t have much in common, but it was moments like this that made him think that it didn’t really matter. Their differences and quirks made for good entertainment, even if it means standing outside in the cold while they were supposed to be researching. With both of her shoes back on, Ilya finally stood up straight with a sigh. “You ready?” Nicky nodded, and with that they shuffled inside.

The pair had become something close to friends throughout the last few months. Their meeting had been about as confusing as any of their other interactions, if not a bit more traumatic, and since then, they were like shoe strings and belt loops. Ilya was a walking juxtaposition and thinking about her for too long and too hard left Nicky with a headache on most days. She was a pretty flower with thorns, and in their short time together Nicky had gotten pricked more than once despite his best efforts to stay out of the way.

Ilya was quick to take the lead once they pushed through the doors. The wrinkled little lady behind the front desk glowered at her as she sped by without so much as a hello. Nicky followed closely behind, and within minutes they were seated in the back behind an ancient looking desktop.

“Jesus, I know funds are low but these things are older than me!” Ilya ignored the glares that were shot her way as she continued to complain about the state of the computers. “The lady, what was her name again?” Nicky pulled his phone from his back pocket and started searching through his notes. “Hold on…” Ilya grunted and tapped impatiently on the mouse. “Any day now would be nice.” Nicky rolled his eyes at her and continued scrolling. “Ah! Her name was Avery Sampson.” Ilya straightened up and started typing.

“Avery, Avery…Aver- Aha! Avery Sampson. Found dead in her apartment four days ago. Her neighbor reports seeing her well and alive earlier that day despite an autopsy showing she had been dead for weeks! I think this is our kind of thing.” Nicky shoved his phone back in his pocket and leaned back into the hard plastic of his seat. Regardless of if it was ‘their kind of thing’ or not, he knew she wouldn’t let up so he figured he’d just agree. “Sounds like it.” Ilya grinned. “Ok. Gimme a second to find her address, and we should be set. Sounds like it could be a skinwalker to me.” Nicky didn’t say anything, but Ilya didn’t seem to mind. After finding what she was looking for, she leapt from her seat, and the pair made their way back to their motel.

The first thing Ilya did when she walked through the door of the dingy motel room was snatch her suit from her bag and lock herself in the bathroom. Nicky used the time he had alone to start getting ready.

Inside the dingy restroom, Ilya turned the squeaky handle. The shower head spluttered angrily before spitting out a harsh spray of water. Within minutes the bathroom filled with steam and Ilya, her mind racing a mile a minute, stripped down and stood under the water.

After their first few hunts together Nicky had realized that Ilya made it a point to shower before any major investigative step or confrontation. After asking her about it, she had simply said that it helped her get in the ‘zone’ and to ground herself. Despite her own words, she scrubbed anxiously at her skin.

She had been excited to find another job, but she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something was off. The whole case just seemed too easy to find, like it was dropped into her lap. Ilya had been hunting long enough to know that most things that seemed easy were anything but. She was being set up, and she knew it. The only problem was that Nicky, although he was pretty intuitive, wouldn’t take ‘a gut feeling’ as a good enough reason to go running. After all, he had his own reasons for doing what they did, and despite how passive he let himself seem, he was determined in carrying out his goal.

She turned off the water, and got dressed quickly before meeting him at the table in the middle of their shared room. “Here you go” He handed her the fake FBI badge and pocketed his own before straightening himself out one more time and making his way towards the door. Ilya glanced at the plastic image of herself and sighed heavily before following behind her partner.

Clarissa Madison, Avery’s neighbor, insisted that there was no way in hell Avery had been dead for as long as the coroner had suggested. “I swear to God I saw her. And it wasn’t just an out of the corner of my eye sorta’ thing. I mean I saw this girl head on, she looked me right in the eye! And then the cops are lighting up the entire block at 2 in the goddamn morning, and I’m thinkin that Morgan, the old lady down the street finally croaked or broke her hip or something, anything but Avery being dead! It literally makes no sense. And the poor girl, she went so brutally, I can’t even imagine how her boyfriend is gonna feel when he gets back.”

Clarissa flopped back into the red leather of her couch with a dismal sigh. “She had a boyfriend? Where is he?” Ilya leaned forward with her elbows digging into the flesh of her thigh. She had been on edge since they pulled up to the house. If Nicky had noticed, he didn’t say anything about it, and Clarissa was too far gone off a strawberry margarita mix to pay anything any mind.

“Yeah, they didn’t tell you? Kid’s name is Aiden. I can’t remember his last name right now, but he’s a sweetheart. Was head over heels for that girl. He’s gonna be so so so upset when he hears.” Nicky scribbled her words down quickly, and Ilya huffed. They had been there for three hours, and all they had gotten from her was senseless babbling with the occasional crumb of helpful information. “It is sad, but I think it’s be really helpful if we knew where he was so that we could talk to him a bit and find out if he knows who would want to do something like this.”

Clarissa pushed her dark hair from her face and pouted over her drink. “Well, Agent...McMahon was it?”

“McCall.”

“Agent McCall, I really don’t know. All she told me was that his poor mother was having some issues and he went up to visit her. I’m just not so sure on where ‘up’ is.” Ilya’s jaw clenched and she pushed herself up quickly. “Well, Miss Madison, thank you so much for speaking to us today.” Nicky followed suit and stretched out his hand for her to shake while Ilya showed herself out. She was halfway down the driveway when he cut her off and stared down at her suspiciously. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so agitated all of a sudden?”

She grunted before dragging him towards the car. He squeaked in protest as Ilya pushed him forward and got into the passenger seat. For a minute, he stood outside glaring at her through the windshield before he huffed angrily and threw himself into the drivers seat roughly. “I have a bad feeling about this hunt. It was too easy to find.” Nicky shoved the key into the ignition and started the car. “You didn’t seem to think anything was wrong earlier. So what if it's easy, it's a job. Plus, nobody’s out here trying to sabotage a bunch of random hunters. You're being paranoid.”

“I’m not being paranoid, I’m acknowledging a gut feeling. And I didn’t tell you initially, because I didn’t notice until earlier, plus I knew you’d respond like this. Your stubborn ass only cares about one thing.” She grunted angrily and turned away from him to peer out the window at the passing trees. Nicky scoffed. “So what, you wanna just leave and ignore the whole situation? Isn't the whole point of this gig to help?”

Ilya didn’t say anything, and the rest of the ride was silent until they made their way back to the library.

“I should really invest in a laptop.” The library was packed with kids who had trickled in after school, and the pair stood impatiently against a back wall as they waited for a computer to free up. “It’d probably be quicker to go buy one and do what we need to do than wait here.” Ilya grunted, “That sounds plausible until you consider the fact that we are very, very poor.”

Nicky couldn’t argue with her there, so he stayed quiet as they waited.

It was another half an hour before they got what they needed, and were back on the road. “The boyfriend only lives a few blocks from the motel. Do you wanna check it out now, or do you think we should wait until tomorrow? You seem a little high strung.” Nicky only meant to soothe Ilya’s growing agitation, but she just grunted in response.

“We should go now. I don't wanna drag this out any more than we need to, plus we don’t know when he’s’ coming back.”

By the time the pair had changed and driven to the house, the sun had set. Ilya parked the car at the end of the street and she and Nicky strode up to the driveway. Just as they had expected, it was empty. Nicky made quick work of picking the front lock, and within minutes, the two were inside shining their lights throughout the dark halls.

The rooms were neatly made up, and what little paperwork was left out was stacked neatly where they sat. “Looks like he was a little bit of a clean freak.” Nicky grumbled in response and continued on past the kitchen and towards the back porch. Ilya watched him go before walking into the master bedroom.

The door groaned on its hinges as she pushed it open, and she cringed as she stepped past the threshold. She passed the light across the room, finding it in pretty much the same condition as the rest of the house, pristine. Before she could get any further though, the familiar sound of a gun cocking stopped her in her tracks.

“Who the hell are you?”

Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes met a shadowy figure to her right. She cursed herself as she realized he had been hiding behind the door. She started to move the flashlight over to get a better look at him, but he was quick to stop her. “Don’t move. What are you doing here?” Ilya opened her mouth and closed it again. If anything, she should be asking the same thing. “I’m a friend of the owner, Just looking for a sweater that I left here before he left.” The figure scoffed, “Bullshit. Don’t make me ask again, what are you doing here?”

Fair enough, she thought. “Why should I tell you?” He reached for his pocket and Ilya tensed, but quickly relaxed as he pulled out what looked to be a badge. “I’m FBI.”

Ilya couldn’t stop herself before a laugh bubbled past her lips. “You’re a hunter!” Now it was the man’s turn to tense up. “Oh, thank god, a burglar would’ve sucked.”

The man lowered his gun tentatively, and Ilya took the opportunity to shine her flashlight at him.

The man was insanely tall with dark hair that reached his shoulders, and at closer examination, Ilya decided that he was quite handsome, Had the situation been any different, she probably would've been smitten. “You here about the skinwalker situation?” The man squinted at the light in his face, and nodded. “I’m Sam by the way, I’m here with my brother, Dean.” Ilya moved her light away from him. “I’m Ilya, I’m here with my friend, Nicky.” Sam nodded. “I guess we should go meet up with them. I can’t promise that my brother’s introduction will be as nice.”

“Fair enough.” With that, Ilya lead him out back towards her partner.

#dean winchester x oc #dean winchester #supernatural #oc #spn fanfic series #dean winchester x ofc #sam winchester #spn #dean winchester x original female character #slow burn #friends to lovers #dean winchester x hunter!reader

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disastrousjest · 4 years

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Journey to France @silvercharict

Stand Arrows, that was what they had started calling the mysterious ancient arrows that they had encountered in Egypt. The ones that had given Dio’s followers the powers that they had and needed to try and stop the Stardust Crusaders from reaching them. Of course, it hadn’t worked. Although they had had their fair share of struggles with the stand users they had faced, it had been Jotaro that had won in the end. Managing to defeat Dio and bring him back to life. With Dio gone, Joseph would have thought that their journey would have ended there. Everything had seemed to go back to normal. At least as normal as they could be. They had left Egypt, three people lighter than what they had arrived with. Avdol, Kakyoin and Iggy had all lost their lives during the fight, a devastating blow to the three remaining crusaders. Even now it was heartbreaking to think of the death that they had had to endure in order to stop Dio and save Holly’s life. Joseph had been determined to make sure that they hadn’t died in vain though, deciding that after the Speedwagon Foundation had uncovered more of the stand arrows, he would stop at nothing until they were all collected and in their possession. They were much too dangerous to be out there in the world where someone with bad intentions could get their hands on them and use it to their advantage the way that Enyaba had to serve Dio. It was far too risky, and it could only lead to more death, if they weren’t careful. It wasn’t but about a year or so after the foundation had found out about the arrows that they began to surface again. Collecting them all could take some time, but he was willing to put in the effort to do it.

“Thank you. No, that’s all the information I need. I’ll handle it from here,” Joseph said into the other end of the receiver as he hung the phone up.

He turned then to face his wife, who was fussing about what color she should wear for the day. He hated to have to leave hear alone again after having just gotten back from a dangerous journey, but he felt like the should be part of this. Joseph Joestar was seventy years old now and despite his growing age, he was still in decent shape. He wanted to try and help collect as many of these arrows as he could while he was still able to. It seemed that the legacy of the Joestar family would never actually come to a peaceful end at this rate. Even now, he was having to clean up after the mess that Dio had left behind. All because of the arrows that had been uncovered and used by Enyaba. He didn’t anticipate that he would have anymore peaceful years left in his life going forward. He could just leave the situation to Jotaro and Polnareff, trusting that his grandson would be able to carry on the work. Although with Jotaro busy with schooling he wasn’t sure he wanted to disrupt his education for that. He at least deserved to have something out of all this mess. Part of him felt responsible for everything though, so maybe that was why he was so set on doing as much as he could for the time being, despite his growing age. Those that had lost their lives, he had been the one that allowed them to even come on the journey in the first place. If it hadn’t been for him, they might not have ever gotten involved and as an extension probably wouldn’t have ever lost their lives. He wasn’t sure if Suzie would be able to understand that aspect of it, but he hoped that she might. Especially since she had been there whenever he had had to leave Italy for Switzerland. She had known of the dangers then; this shouldn’t be much different right?

(She’s not going to like this.)

“Suzie, I have to leave for a little while. The Foundation found something...” He said after he had cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Will you be gone long?” She asked, turning to him.

He deflected his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. “Well that’s the thing. I don’t really know. It pertains to something we found in Egypt…. “ (I always hate doing this.)

She looked at him a little surprised at first, and then smiled coming up to him and placing her hands on his shoulders, gazing up at him. “Okay dear. Call me when you can and be careful.”

(She took that easier than I thought!)

Of course, the days leading up to his departure he had to spend with Suzie after that, doing the things she liked and helping her carry anything if and when they went shopping. She knew that his work was important and after learning the truth about what had happened a year prior after he left for Japan, she had made it clear to her husband that he was to be honest with what he was up to. This was her way of getting back at him, something that she had held onto since their younger years together. Suzie always proving to be a fairly good opponent when it came to pranks and tricks. Although her’s had always been a little more subtle than his, she had her ways to get under his skin. And as much as he found it to be bothersome, he didn’t complain too much about it. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to make sure that he suffered at least a little bit for having to leave so soon after they had jut settled back down in New York. It couldn’t be helped though, he had to go after the stand arrows, and he had to track them down as soon as he possibly could. Already, there was no telling how many people had been subjected to them. Or what would be waiting for him whenever he got to where the latest reports would take him. So, he would endure Suzie’s wrath for as long as she needed him to if she was going to continue to allow him to track down the arrows and prevent from any destructive stands being developed. That was the last thing that they needed.

Luckily for him, he knew someone else that would be able to help with the hunt for the Stand arrows. While Jotaro was busy and couldn’t be available readily, they still had their friend Polnareff. Joseph hadn’t seen him since they had parted ways back in Egypt, but he was certain that there wouldn’t be a problem in recruiting him for the mission. Actually, he had been lucky—or unlucky—enough that the first sightings of a stand arrow being used were in France. It would be something new for Joseph, out of all the countries he had been to so far, he couldn’t say he had ever visited France. And he would be able to pick up Polnareff while he was there, too. With his things packed and ready to go he was ready to head out of the country once again. This time his destination would be Paris. Already, he had made arrangements with the Foundation to cover his stay somewhere nice in the downtown area and gotten all the paperwork he needed to get across the border. After he had found out and confirmed everything with the Foundation, gathering from them all the information he needed he put a word out that he would be arriving in Paris in a few days. It was just an unlucky trade that in those days leading up to his departure he had to answer to his wife for. That’s why by the time he had gotten out of the car at the airport, he couldn’t have been happier to be boarding a plane. It had been a long week leading up to this point and honestly, he was just looking forward to reuniting with his young friend. And at this point, getting away from New York and Suzie’s antics was something that he felt he could use. It was just his hope that it didn’t go as bad as it had the year prior. He didn’t think he would ever forgive himself for what had happened to Avdol, Iggy and Kakyoin.

The flight to France had gone smoothly without any issues, another thing he was grateful for. Although upon actually arriving to Paris and observing the signs. He came to realize that he didn’t know a lick of French. This wouldn’t have been the first time this happened, although the last time he had had some help from Speedwagon. When he had gone to Italy, he had never bothered to pick up on the language. It was his hope that like most places around the world, they could speak English. Because otherwise the trip was going to be off to a rocky start. Although if everything had gone according to plan, there should be someone from the Foundation waiting to meet with him because of the fact that he couldn’t speak the language. Now all he had to do was figure out where he was supposed to be meeting them.

(Oh boy. Maybe I should have brought a dictionary.)

#silvercharict #arrows #auoptions #sorry for your wait

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walls-dmc5 · 5 years

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Walls - 2nd chapter “Arrival”

Words: 4,2k

Warnings: slight angst, canon-typical violence

Hope you enjoy! 🌹

The first things that reached Cara’s ears once they got as close to the tree as possible were horrifying screams and cries mixed with the deafening sounds of gunfire and blood spilling.

Cara’s eyes widened as her mind tried to take in and process what was happening in front of her, but the flashing lights, the inhuman screeches of the demons, the people screaming for their lives and the fleshy mess of the tree threatened to overwhelm her immediately. The young woman gripped the weapon in her hand tighter.

Breathe, she told herself and Cara closed her eyes. She took a deep breath through her nose, held it there and then slowly exhaled through her mouth. She was in the midst of a life threatening danger but granting herself a second to focus on her breathing allowed her to shove the overwhelming noises and visuals into the background, allowed her to remember the mission at hand and to focus on her goals. Her heartbeat slowed a bit.

When she opened her eyes again Cara had a chance to take in the situation properly.

The tree was huge.

From afar it didn’t seem this big and even though she had the measurements of it from the military it was still an entirely different thing to be standing in front of it. Just the roots alone seemed to cover an entire district… if not more.

A sense of nausea settled in the pit of her stomach as Cara took in the disfigured corpses and remains of the civilians who couldn’t outrun those vile demons, pierced by these fleshy roots and tentacles of the tree. Demons were never kind to people, there was no mercy in their attacks and killings, but even so, Cara has never witnessed such a massacre before. There were still people running around here right now, the military was still here despite their failed operation earlier…

… but how many people have already lost their lives in this city?

“Alright, let’s keep going. No use hanging around here.”, Cara heard Dante’s voice as he already walked past her. There was a calm confidence in the way he carried himself over this battlefield which upset but also amazed her. She desperately wanted to know if he really was such a carefree person that none of this affected him or if this was another layer that kept her and other people at a distance.

The tattooed man, V didn’t really seem to fit into this group with his lean frame and the cane as Cara noticed when the man approached Dante to tell him something that Cara couldn’t understand. And yet he seemed to know about the happening and horrors around them because Dante changed his direction after V’s mouth stopped moving.

The others followed Dante, so Cara did the same, but not without noticing that the other two women looked at the situation around them with disdain all over their face. Despite what they may have seen and gone through in their lives, this didn’t seem to be something they have come across before.

More than anything though did it surprise Cara to see the blonde woman like this. She wasn’t wrong about her, about what she sensed earlier. No way. Now that they were in the midst of all this chaos and fighting the energy that this woman emitted was almost buzzing, Cara could’ve sworn one could see it if the lighting had been better. Not to mention this huge fleshy sword on her back which looked incredibly heavy, and it rested on her back like Cara’s bag pack which she left in the helicopter in which they arrived. It made Cara incredibly curious about her and what her involvement with the others was.

This was not the time to ask or let her mind wander though.

Bullets from two pistols dug themselves so fast into the tentacle root that suddenly shot up from the ground in front of them that Cara could barely follow what just happened. She just caught a glimpse of two pistols in Dante’s hands which he put back under his red leather coat as fast as he pulled them out. The speed impressed Cara immensely. And for the first time she caught a glimmer of assurance that there may be a reason behind Dante’s laid back, seemingly uncaring, attitude. Maybe he really had the skills to carry himself so confidently forwards. Maybe that was all his attitude was… an attitude. Maybe he did care after all…

Dante dealt with more of the roots the same way as the first and Cara admitted that she was amazed by it. She could take these things on herself, no doubt and no problems there, but she wasn’t that fast nor effective. She didn’t have a gun, so she would have to engage in close combat, which again, was not a problem but it would take a moment longer.

A moment they probably did not have.

They barely encountered any other demons on the way as they seemingly climbed up the roots of the tree until they seemingly reached something that could be considered an entrance to the tree. A pathway leading into pure darkness that was surrounded and kept closed by fleshy living roots. The roots were covered up by thin red strings, creating a layer of bright red veins that seemed to flow together in the middle. It looked like a very macabre and abstract eyeball.

Cara has seen this phenomenon before. In different shapes and forms but the purpose was always the same:

Protecting a demonic entity from enemies.

And if this is here, Cara thought as she scanned their surroundings. The roots created an almost hilly environment, giving any demon enough space to vanish and spawn again without getting seen by them. Cara tried to keep as much as possible in her field of view, her hold on her weapon relaxed, ready to tense and swing it whenever it was needed. The sounds of the gunfire from the military were quite distant from where they were now. Cara really hoped these guys would be alright. She should’ve known they would dive back into battle after she left. They didn’t have any other option. They needed and wanted to do what they could to protect to the people. If she had done a better job earlier maybe there wouldn’t be a need for them to be here anymore. They could be home. With their families…

Cara gritted her teeth.

She would make this right again. She would take the goddamn tree down.

She looked at the covered entrance to the tree, a burning determination in her blue eyes. Whatever was lurking inside of there she would face it. And Cara could not deny the pulsing curiosity inside of her. Despite everything, this was something new, something she’s never seen before. The prospect of learning and getting new information about demons and hell was exciting, even though it was anything but a priority in this moment.

Dante and the two women approached the entrance, hands on their weapons, and Dante swung the sword on his back once down the red veins and roots, the end of his red coat swirling up. A move that looked so easy, almost boring to him. There was no tension in his muscles from what Cara could tell, there was no effort in swinging such a heavy sword like this. That feeling of a hidden energy was all over him, tangible to anyone who ever had any experiences with the supernatural, but it was still completely different to Trish. She was carrying that energy openly, no hiding or suppressing it, but Dante seemed to hide it… it was covered up by so many layers and Cara wondered if it was intentional or if he wasn’t aware of it himself.

The red veins fell apart, bled out until they lost their color and turned to dust in front of Dante. But even now there was barely anything visible from the inside of the tree. In fact, it seemed as if the entrance was still covered up. The entrance of the tree looked like a foggy black night, no stars or moon as a guide, no promise of finding the sun at the rise of dawn, and for the very first time since this whole mission started did a cold shiver run down her spine. She took a deep breath to keep it from affecting her too much.

“Alright. Then let’s get going.”

Cara made an attempt to walk up towards Dante but his raised palm stopped her dead in her tracks. She knitted her brows.

“We had a deal, miss. Remember?”

Cara stared at him. She did remember his earlier words, but he couldn’t be serious, right?! He would bring her here just to keep her from coming with them now?!

“I can help.” She stated. It wasn’t a question nor a plea. Cara knew what she could do. If she couldn’t take on the demons inside there, she could lend them some strategic ideas. Maybe they would face something she actually knows about – theory or not.

But most of all, she wanted to go with them. She wanted her shot at this. She wanted to learn about what was happening inside of there.

And she felt like she literally achieved nothing by just staying outside here while they fought to get this mess right.

She was supposed to do that.

So many people died because she made too many analytical and strategic mistakes today.

She needed to go in there.

“Listen,” Dante started, his voice hard but friendly “I get that. But this is my gig.”

“Leave this to us. We’ve been doing this together for many years,” Trish smiled at her, one of her arms on her hips. Her smile was genuine

“Yeah. This is not the time and place to rethink our plans and strategies because someone joins the team. We know each other. Let us handle this.” The black haired woman adjusted the huge weapon on her back. She smiled, a fiery determination in her eyes that told Cara that she didn’t mean to offend her but that she was just confident in her own and her partner’s skills to do this. And Cara understood this. They haven’t seen her fight before, they weren’t aware of her skills and abilities, and this was a life and world threatening situation.

She probably wouldn’t want to experiment and let a stranger join them in her situation either. It could prove to be fatal for them and the mission.

And still…

“Maybe you’re better off clearing the path here,” Dante smiled at her, something glistening in his blue eyes that Cara couldn’t quite identify.

But as soon as the words were spoken a hideous screeching sounded behind Cara. She gripped her weapon tighter on instinct as she was fully aware of the demons spawning around them.

“Get rid of those things for us, so when we come back we can celebrate,” Dante elaborated his earlier words, clasping his hands together.

Cara felt as if she was being cast aside. As if they tried to find something to do for her so that she wouldn’t feel useless, but deep down she knew they were probably right. Maybe helping out here and killing the demons that spawned from the tree was the right and only thing she could do right now.

She sighed.

“Alright.”

“Nice! Now, lets get going.” Dante made a waving gesture over his shoulder and simply stepped forward into the tree, no doubt, no hesitation, not even a second glance at the roots still surrounding the entrance. Cara really wanted to know if he was affected by any of this or if this really was just another job and nothing new at all.

“Keep your head up. Also, seems like you got work to do as well.” Trish walked past her, nodding behind Cara where the demons were still spawning, before she vanished inside the tree as well.

The other woman, Lady, walked behind them without looking at Cara again. There also was nothing left for her to say. They didn’t know each other. If one looked at it rationally then Dante and Trish were overly nice to her by letting her tag along this far and even gifting her some encouraging words.

V walked after them last, cane in hand, steps slow and head lowered. He did not look at Cara nor did he say anything. Cara got the very distant feeling that he also wasn’t that close to them. Either it was because he kept them at a distance with his walls and barriers around him or Cara was missing the bigger picture of this entire situation.

But he was also the one that kind of convinced Dante to let her come along. Even so… he also simply said some help on the ground might be useful. He also never mentioned her tagging along with them.

Cara sighed defeated once they all vanished inside the tree.

Maybe they were right.

Maybe she should stay here and get rid of these vile demons. Maybe this way she could help the civilians and the soldiers fighting for everyone’s lives better this way.

And she would let Dante and the others handle whatever was causing this.

Because despite his weird attitude, there was something about Dante and these other people that at least told her about the potential in these people. Trish was not human, Cara was certain of it, and there was something going on with Dante too, but she couldn’t put her fingers on it yet.

But Cara was sure, these people were probably their best shot at dealing with this right now.

Cara turned around, gripping her Kama in her hand and facing those disgusting insect-like creatures that screeched and focused their entire attention on her.

Cara raised her weapon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A veil of darkness settled around his heart and soul when he passed that invisible barrier separating the pits of the hellish environment from the human outside world. Dense, suppressive air hung heavy around him, keeping him reminded of the dread and severity of their fateful situation.

Blood covered by thin skin engulfed by grey and black roots stretched over the ground, creating a twisted nightmarish image of a thick forest soil. And yet it was anything but lively nature.

His steps were slow, his eyes were lowered, a stark contrast to the blue-feathered demon now at his side burning with electricity. Eagerness and enthusiasm in every flap of his wings, drive and ambition in his strong posture, determination shining in those bright yellow eyes.

V looked up at the feeling of a vibration wandering through the air, a faint red glow illuminating the colorless roots for the length of a heartbeat.

He paused.

Wrong. This was wrong.

Too many roots twisting and growing, too much blood spilling and flowing. It fueled the darkness around him, creeping into his bones and grabbing a hold of his heart and mind.

“This is far worse than I thought,” his tongue tingled, and words spilled from his mouth without control, his lips refusing to close again, his brows raising.

Dante and his two companions stopped walking and turned around to him. V stared at the man, his expression open and sincere as he felt reality claiming his hopes and their chances of success in this grim situation.

You can not win, he wasn’t able to banish the thought from the dark corners of his mind as he stared at the devil hunter, proud and confident as usual but incapable of comprehending the hopelessness of their fate.

“There’s no crime in turning tail, V,” Dante told him as V stared with too much openness, too much sincerity into his light blue eyes. V’s mind wandered to the one option he still had, the one shot at raising their chances, the secret he kept hidden from Dante, the one secret he needed to keep hidden…

“These things might be a little too much for ya.”

V lowered his head to the side, retaking control over his emotions; the openness disappearing, leaving only the cold resolve behind that allowed him to face the severity of their reality without faltering, without abandoning his goal, while also refusing to show Dante and his companions to see through the darkness that clouded his mind and soul.

“You’re right.” He spoke deliberately, “I’ll leave the rest to you.”

He turned around, face lowered, his steady voice sending his words into the heavy dreadful air, leaving nothing but a decision behind that was made without a doubt.

“What, what... what?! Oh, oh, oh, my, my V… all the way down here and turning tail, really?! Hu?!” the feathered demon complained, his determination and eagerness shining through in his words, not understanding his master’s decision but not going against him either.

“One must always have an insurance policy,” the summoner replied as he walked back outside of the tree, his choice of words just hinting that his last words to Dante were not truthful. He would leave this hellish Nightmare and return.

And hopefully return with hope and a new chance of loosening the strings of darkness that settled around him as this horrid scenario turned out to be much worse than he could have imagined.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cara pressed her knee into the demon’s head, keeping it pinned to the ground as she twisted the blade of her Kama inside its thin neck until the sound of flesh snapping and blood spilling reached her ears, effectively ending another demon’s life.

The amount of demons was dwindling fast. She almost got rid of the entire wave of minor demons that spawned before Dante and the others went inside the tree. While she was certain the demons could spawn endlessly usually there was a pattern visible after some time. They would spawn, fight until they’ve either won or were all killed and then there would be a period of calm. A moment in time that allowed a fighter to take some deep breaths, to rest the strained muscles, to calm the racing of the heart. Sometimes demons didn’t spawn again in that place.

She was sure, though, that this wasn’t the case in this situation.

She rolled to the side to avoid the claw of another minor demon from stabbing her through the head. Luckily this already put her into position to ram the Kama inside its insect-like back. These demons could swing their claws pretty fast, but they were slow and not agile at all in their movements. It was easy to overcome them.

The demon screeched in agony and Cara groaned as she effortfully pressed the blade deeper down into its body until the demon finally disintegrated in a fleshy and bloody mess.

She turned her weapon in her hand facing the last two demons that remained. They kept their distance to her, not charging at her right away; not because they were thinking or capable of coming up with a strategy but more a natural instinct to preserve their own lives as they know and have realized that most of their kind has been eliminated already.

“Don’t you think this is too time-sensitive?! We’ll probably be too late and if we are it’s gonna be the end.”

“Well, we have to take the risk.”

Cara turned around, the demons still in her field of view, as she heard two voices behind her. She has heard V’s deep voice before, it was hardly confusable even after listening to it for only a very words, but the other voice was totally unfamiliar; high, a bit pitched, and slightly panicked.

Cara’s brows furrowed as she spotted the tattooed man walking out of the tree, but alongside him was a… bird? No. That was not a bird. The blue glowing feathers, the unusual beak and most of all its capability of human speech. This was a demon. A demon that did not enter the tree with these people.

Where did it come from?

Who was that demon?

And V seemed to be… friends with it?

But what made Cara question the unexpected situation even more was the fact that only V and that blue bird came out of the tree. No one else. And not enough time passed for Dante and the others to have made any significant progress. And Cara also couldn’t imagine that they may have lost. V’s calm composed posture didn’t speak of that. Neither did the bird demon’s earlier words.

What was going on?

V noticed that she was still there of course and for just a moment he stared at her. Though the moment was so short, so brief that it seemed as if he had just let his gaze glide over his surroundings and just happened to linger on here for an instant.

V tapped his cane on the ground once and Cara stared in undeniable wonder and fascination as black smoke appeared seemingly out of nowhere and gathered under his feet, engulfing them in clouds of smoke and lifting them barely noticeable off the ground. It intrigued her. This demon at his side, this smoke under his feet; there was something going on with the man but again, she could not see past what he offered visually. He did not have the same sense of energy around him as Dante or Trish, but the feel of distance he created around him was still intimidating.

But in this moment it sparked Cara’s curiosity and at the same time she wanted to get away from this intimidating atmosphere around him.

And then V quite literally took off.

Cara stared a bit baffled after him as the man slid on these black smoky clouds over the ground, much faster as if he just walked, the bird flying after him. She looked after him until he vanished behind some destroyed buildings and the screeching of the two remaining demons pulled her back out of this unexpected scene.

Taking on the last two demons took the young woman longer than it should have.

They actually tried to coordinate themselves to only charge at her at the same time to raise their chances. It wasn’t an issue for Cara dodging their attacks, but it was much harder finding an opening to take them out.

Once again Cara used her knees to keep the demon pinned on the ground, her feet stopping it from moving its claws. She gritted her teeth at the effort it took to keep the creature in this position. It was a minor demon, but its physical strength succeeded her easily. So she had to make this quick.

“That’s how we get inside?! This better be worth it,” an unfamiliar voice reached Cara’s ears as she pushed the blade into the demon’s skull, flinching at the sound of bones cracking and blood starting to flow from the wound.

She looked up to see V with the demon bird but ahead of him was another man. The same silvery white hair as Dante caught her eyes immediately. Such an unusual hair color it surely was an eye-catcher. He looked pretty young, though his expression was something between suspicion and annoyance as if he didn’t want to be here at all. He was much more open than any of the other people she met today; there were no walls or barriers he created around him to keep her and other people at a remarkable distance. He actually seemed… approachable. Cara also noticed real quick that the man was missing his right arm and to her it didn’t look like he was born with this condition. The way it was bandaged made it look like a rather fresh injury.

The young man noticed her and looked at her, then staring at the demon that was slowly disintegrating underneath her. She met his gaze only for an instant before he turned, his hand on the handle of his sword on his back and went ahead into the tree.

Cara looked after him before she looked back to V while she was standing up, finally no more demon arounds for the moment. V’s brows furrowed the tiniest bit for an instant as he looked around the area which was completely free of demons now.

“V, come on, we gotta hurry,” the blue bird chimed in, a sense of panic evident in his unusual voice.

“You, come along.”

Cara’s look on her face turned to one of utter surprise. This was the last thing she expected to hear right now. V’s expression was unreadable. She knew he was analyzing her again just like he tried earlier but nothing about him allowed her to do the same yet again. Maybe it was also because it was really dark around them that she could barely see his face, not to mention his eyes. His deep voice also did not allow her to take a guess why he was saying this now. Earlier he was also the one who sort of persuaded the others so she could come along, but now…

She didn’t know why, she only knew it wasn’t out of sympathy, he had something in mind, but right now she also wouldn’t ask or complain. She never would’ve entered the tree on her own, she wouldn’t survive this, but now…

She simply nodded and followed after the tattooed man, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she entered the tree.

#dmc5 #devil may cry 5 #v #nero #dante #lady #trish #cara #my oc #griffon #fanfiction #my fic #walls #2nd chapter #arrival

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seriouslyhooked · 5 years

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Lost Souls and Reveries (Part 13)

22 part AU written for @cssns. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6,Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12. Story available on AO3 Here and FF Here. Banner created by the amazingly talented @shipsxahoy!!

Killian Jones is a wolf shifter without roots, without plans, and without a pack. He’s a rogue, someone humans should avoid and shifters should be wary of given his lineage. But one night years back set him on a path he didn’t realize he was taking, a path leading to a future he is destined for. That future is tied up in one woman – a human named Emma Nolan. Together Emma and Killian will find not only answers, but a love that’s truly fated. But will love be enough to set them free, or will past demons win out in the end? (Answer: love always wins – I am writing this so despite some tiny pockets of angst it’s basically a fluff-filled insta-love fest). Rated M.

A/N: Hey everyone! So after a long time away this chapter comes bringing some interesting new elements to the mix. I know that we have the Liam confrontation still to come, but there was another important thing that needed to happen too: Elsa and Anna needed to find out about magic. This chapter is bringing us to that moment, as well as throwing in some other elements as well. A lot of this you guys might have guessed at some of this, but I’m hoping you enjoy the layers and elements I’ve had tucked away in my mind since starting this story. As always thanks so much for reading and I am really looking forward to seeing what you all think!

Life as Emma knew it was totally and completely different than it had been just weeks ago.

Before this summer started, and before she’d found the gift of a mate and learned some big secrets about how the world really worked, she’d lived a normal life. There had been some instances of strangeness, and certainly there had been struggles strewn into her story here in Storybrooke Maine, but on the whole she’d been just a regular girl who met each and every day with a certain set of definitive facts. She didn’t even ever think about them, they were just supposed to be given parts of life, and one of those fundamental truths was that magic wasn’t real. It was a figment of fiction, a childish dream, a beautiful, hopeful imagined force, but it wasn’t supposed to actually exist.

Yet now she knew better. Emma had witnessed first hand some of the varied ways magic manifested itself. She’d seen shifters and encountered Ruby’s visions. This morning she’d even witnessed a bit of spell casting by Killian’s cousin as well, but Emma had been told by Ruby that it was nothing compared to what she’d see in the future. This was ‘mild magic’ but the magic brought about by Emma’s oldest and dearest friend was supposedly far more miraculous. That was amazing to imagine, but at the same time it didn’t make things any less uneasy. She was currently walking up the road to Elsa’s house preparing to tell her she was a witch and that was crazy. There was nothing about that that was normal or expected, and as such Emma was just a tiny bit concerned.

“You’re going to do the talking, right?” Emma asked, checking with Ruby for the fifth time this morning about what was going to happen when they got to Anna and Elsa’s home.

This reveal had been on Emma’s mind in some capacity since Ruby and Granny showed up in Storybrooke, but now they were on the precipice of the confrontation and Emma was more than a little nervous. This was a huge secret and also a very intimate one. It would explain so much about Elsa and about Anna and their family, and Emma imagined it would be a real awakening for her friend, but at first Elsa might resist. All these years people had been teasing Elsa about her dreams or lovingly pushing the thought that maybe she truly had a gift. Emma and Anna had always known Elsa was special, but now there was more information and more possibility. If Ruby’s assessment of Elsa’s gifts was right, there was a whole new world that was about to open up to Emma’s best friend, and Emma knew that while Elsa would eventually be grateful, she might very well be hesitant at first.

Understandably Elsa was not a great proponent of change. Losing their parents so young had impacted both Elsa and Anna in incalculable ways. For Anna it had made her want to live each moment to a fuller extent. She never let a day pass where she didn’t tell people what they meant to her. She ended every friendly hang out session with an ‘I love you,’ and a huge hug at the very least. Anna was continuously grateful and energized, but she also took risks. She always said that life was all in the way you lived it. She never wanted to be afraid, and so sometimes she took things to extremes.

Elsa was almost a polar opposite, and Emma knew it wasn’t merely because she was a more introverted person. So much of that tendency towards caution had come from being the eldest sister. She’d taken on the role as caregiver and as pseudo-parent, and though Emma’s family and the whole town had come together to help the girls when their parents passed away, Elsa never shied away from her responsibilities. She became Mom and Dad and sister, guide and best friend, teacher and peer. As a result, Elsa would do anything for Anna, but in the rest of her life she was guarded. She never expended too much unnecessary energy and never gave too much away. She sided with safety and certainty, and this big reveal would hardly feel like a sure thing.

“I’m doing the talking,” Ruby promised, her hand coming to Emma’s arm in a sign of comfort. “Well, at least until you get comfortable. And you will, Emma. I promise. It’s gonna be great. I can’t see everything, as you know, but I can sense how things will end and it’s going to be more than okay.”

“I’d trust my cousin on this, love,” Killian said from Emma’s other side, squeezing her hand in a reassuring sign of connection as he did. “Ruby is never wrong about these things. If she’s confident enough to voice a vision, it will come to pass.”

“Damn right it will,” Ruby said with pride, and Emma was happy for this tiny fleeting moment.

Killian’s family might have come because of a bad situation on the horizon (and according to Ruby’s estimates they were still some time away from any kind of confrontation) but they’d done their best to live and be themselves since then. Killian’s deciding to stand his ground and confront Liam for better or worse here in Storybrooke seemed to embolden Ruby and Granny. With a plan somewhat established, they eased into things and had even started to show some signs of hope. Ruby’s visions were still unsure in regards to Liam, but her instincts weren’t as harried and afraid as they had been before, and Emma was more than glad for that.

“Sorry. I don’t mean to second-guess your abilities,” Emma said, not wanting Ruby to feel that she didn’t respect all that her new friend was capable of. “It’s just kind of a lot. Today I have to go tell my best friend she’s got magical powers. Then I have to ask her if she’s seen the future lately because there’s danger looming in a town that never really tends to see it. It’s a little…”

“Overwhelming,” Killian said at the same time that Ruby filled in with her own “totally bizarre.”

“Yeah, both of those actually,” Emma agreed, barking out something like a laugh again and leaning into Killian, pulling a little extra strength from him as they walked up the rest of the steps to Elsa and Anna’s house. Before they could knock though, the door flew open and there was Anna looking out of breath, as if she’d been sprinting around the house for some time.

“Aha! I knew Elsa’s hunch would be right. She mentioned that there might be guests today off handedly when she woke up, and then she said we didn’t have to clean because it was just a thought. That obviously wasn’t going to happen. Elsa knows what Elsa knows, right? Only problem is this place is so big it’s hard for just two of us, and I can never figure out how to vacuum the walls right. But it’s fine because you’re here now!”

Anna said all the words so quickly that Emma wondered if Killian and Ruby would need a translator. It was just like her friend to be going a hundred miles a minute. Her thoughts ran fast, and her tongue ran faster, that was what Elsa and Anna’s Grams had always said and she wasn’t wrong. But where others might have whiplash from the speed of that largely random monologue, Emma was totally comfortable with it. It was indication that things were as they always were here in her friends’ house, and though Emma was about to change that, she took it as a good sign that Anna immediately hugged her close in a welcoming gesture without even saying a traditional hello.

“I’m sorry, the walls?” Killian asked aloud, drawing Anna’s attention to him with the apt question. Emma watched as her friend’s eyes lit up, and she didn’t miss the way that Anna’s gaze flicked back between Emma and Killian a few times before she answered.

“Yeah. It’s like the one thing I’m not a complete disaster at,” Anna said, as if that was any kind of explanation, and Emma shared a look with Killian trying to convey that she would fill him in on Anna’s quirks and skill sets a little later. Meanwhile Ruby chuckled aloud, and Emma thought perhaps her gift made her privy to some of those images of Anna cleaning, which were, admittedly, always a riot.

“You’re never a disaster, Anna,” Elsa proclaimed from inside the house before she appeared at the doorway, looking much less windswept and out of breath than her sister. She also handled the presence of guests so differently, offering a smile and a more socially polite greeting to them all. “We were hoping to see you today, Emma. And you brought company! Hi Killian.”

“Good to see you, Elsa” Killian replied genuinely. Elsa’s smile grew at Killian’s honest enjoyment in seeing her and then her eyes moved to Ruby. Emma waited for a second to see if there would be any immediate recognition. Maybe Elsa had seen Ruby in a dream or something, but there was nothing past a mild friendliness there and Emma knew that for now Ruby was just any other person to her friend.

“Elsa, Anna, this is Killian’s cousin Ruby. She’s, uh, visiting?” Emma said, not meaning to have her inflection change so it sounded like a question, but Ruby went right ahead as if that introduction wasn’t weird and stilted at all.

“It’s really great to meet you two. I feel like I already know you guys.”

“Oh score, he’s got family! And where there’s family there’s like a million embarrassing stories and deets about how he’s going to treat our girl,” Anna said, again seeming to forget herself. After a moment she had the good sense to look a little bashful. “Oh shoot, did I say that out loud?”

“Yup,” Killian and Ruby responded at once, the latter seeming to have a lot more fun with this than the former, but Emma knew Killian had a soft spot for Anna and for Elsa. She’d watched over the past few weeks as he got to know her friends, and he’d said more than once that since they were Emma’s chosen family so to would they be his.

“What my sister probably meant to say is that it’s nice to meet you too,” Elsa said graciously. “And won’t you come in? I wouldn’t have bored you with the details, but since Anna already shared, we have in fact cleaned the house today.”

Everyone walked inside and Emma could almost imagine seeing this house for the first time again as Killian was (with Ruby it was doubtful, seeing as her gift had so much range and possibility). For Emma, this estate had always been one of the most gorgeous in Storybrooke. Anna and Elsa’s family had been some of the founding members of this town centuries ago, and they’d been old money from back in Europe well before that. At one time there’d even been a habit by some people of calling them the town royals, at least among their more jealous and less kind hearted neighbors, but that was before the tragic accident that took Anna and Elsa’s parents from them too soon. Still this house was a symbol of tradition and grace. It was old but still fresh and though it had gotten a little colder when they lost their parents, Elsa wouldn’t allow coldness to linger. She certainly could have, and Emma would have never faulted her friend for giving in to sadness, but for Anna, Elsa had always been strong. Part of that strength meant keeping this house alive and vibrant, and she’d managed to do that every day, no matter how hard it had been.

Looking around the ‘sun parlor’ (basically a fancy rich people word for sitting room with a full wall of glass windows), Emma noticed the subtle differences between their childhood version of this home and the one they were in now. Before, this place had been the epitome of prim and proper. It was still lovely, because it had been filled with the love of family, but Elsa’s mother had been meticulous in her desire to keep things as true to the original integrity of the old Victorian home as she could. Elsa, in comparison, had warmed things up. There were live plants strewn about because of Anna’s love of all things natural, and they were all blooming beautifully. There were also so many more pictures of their family and friends on the mantles and side tables. They were snapshots of happy memories, both long ago and also recent, but it never felt morbid or sad. It was a memorial and yet a living breathing tribute to the sisters now as well.

“This is a beautiful home you two have,” Killian said, showing his good manners and making Emma’s heart squeeze tightly. It was a simple compliment, but she knew both of her friends would take it as sincerely as it was meant.

“Thank you,” Elsa replied. “It’s a labor of love, but it’s always felt worth it to us.”

“You got that right,” Anna said sitting down after all of their guests were seated, and then, because she was hardly as patient as her sister, she got right down to the point. “So. What brings Killian’s mysterious cousin to our house? Emma’s got that look about her like she’s got to say something, so I’m betting it’s a doozy.”

Emma’s stomach flipped at Anna’s perceptiveness, though she should have known this would come. She was wondering what would be the best way to proceed. Emma and Ruby definitely needed to be here, as did Anna and Elsa, but though Emma would love the comfort of having Killian by her side in what could be a trying time, she wanted to make sure all parties were comfortable. This was a huge reveal to Elsa and to Anna, and though Emma knew that they loved Killian because she cared so much for him, she didn’t want anything to feel forced. As if he read her mind – whether through the mating link or through his own well-honed Emma radar – Killian squeezed her hand gently and brought it to his lips to press a gentle kiss. Then he announced his intention as their eyes still held.

“I think it might be best if I take a look around the gardens, maybe scope out this sea walk I’ve heard so much about. Would either of you mind?” Killian asked, finally turning to Emma’s friends, but they just smiled and nodded that it was fine, both of them clearly thrilled at his open affection for Emma. “I’ll be right outside should you need me, love.”

“Thank you,” Emma whispered to him before pressing a kiss to his lips and watching him slip out the door to the patio. Killian headed towards the gardens, a place where one could get lost for hours, but she was sure he wouldn’t get turned around. As a shifter, it was one of his many gifts to have that all too keen sense of direction.

“Okay that’s not fair,” Anna exclaimed, her head shaking and the braids she had in this morning following suit. “I mean seriously that man is just crazy about you. I want one!”

Emma laughed at Anna’s outburst and so did Ruby, and the slight tension that had arisen felt like it dwindled considerably. Still Emma could see that her friend, though honest, was also doing this on purpose. It might be Elsa who was a once in a generation witch, but now that Emma knew of magic and of the magic that ran in this family, she was absolutely certain Anna had gifts of her own. Perhaps they were more hidden or subdued, but they were definitely there. Elsa had always been the one with dreams that were uncannily accurate, but Anna had a way of knowing people and situations just like this one.

“Not to worry, Anna. You’ll definitely find someone,” Ruby said and though it could have been construed as a harmless comment, Anna’s eyebrows rose and her smile widened.

“Oh my gosh, you see stuff too don’t you?!” Anna exclaimed, practically squealing. “I know you do! That’s the same face Elsa makes when she has a dream. Now you have to tell us what the hell is going on!”

“You good with that, Emma?” Ruby asked and Emma nodded, moving to sit with Elsa and Anna on the couch as Ruby told them all that she knew.

Though Emma had heard most of this already, it was another experience entirely to have this conversation with Elsa and Anna present. Ruby was giving a basic 101 run down of magic and the supernatural world. Since humanity itself was formed, so to had magic been living and breathing on this earth. Many people in the know considered magic to be another of the elements that people were more familiar with. It was an essence and an energy that always came from nature somehow, but it manifested in many ways. Sometimes it took the form of witches or clairvoyants, and other times it could be seen in other supernatural beings. Ruby hadn’t mentioned shifters specifically yet, focusing instead on what was truly pertinent to Elsa and Anna, but Emma felt completely compelled by what they discovered too. It was still so new and so amazing that conceiving all of this could be real was a challenge.

The element of magic, it turned out, was all around to those who know how to wield it. For witches and warlocks and other spell-casting peoples, magic was a gift mostly held by families that originated from different hubs of magical influence. Long ago there were places on earth where magic was far more present than others. Ruby listed a few off the cuff: portions of the Amazon, oases in the Sahara, islands off of current day Malaysia and more. As such, the people who came from those areas were exposed to a very rich natural spirit for millennia. That spirit was then internalized by more sensitive families, and then, even if they left, the gift of magical ability was transferred with them.

“My family was from Ireland originally,” Ruby explained, drawing a pendant that she had that didn’t look so dissimilar from the one of Killian’s that Emma had found. As she did so, a breeze swept through the room but it was contained, gentle, warm, and well… wonderful. It smelled sweet, like the fresh bloom of wild flowers, and as Emma looked at the light swirling in the room, she could see these sort of spiritual etchings dancing in the wind of feathers, leaves, and, as one might expect with the scent, petals. “It was just a tiny Celtic town to the south of the Isle, but according to the diaries that all of the women in my family kept, there was a spring there where magic flowed freely. It was their job to protect the spring, but eventually it dried up and so they moved here.”

“This is… it’s impossible. But it’s real,” Elsa said, her fingertips trying to trace some of Ruby’s magic as it flittered through the air. As she toyed with the magic in the air, her whole being was overcome with an undeniable excitement. There wasn’t any trace of the fear she expected. If anything Elsa looked totally free to believe in something amazing and all consuming. “Magic has been real along. Just like Grams always said. I thought she was teasing, or maybe giving us something beautiful to dream of. I never thought… but it’s always been here. I can feel it now.”

“It has,” Ruby replied, her own joy at seeing Elsa experience this growing more and more by the second.

“You said the spring dried up?” Anna asked, continuing the trend that had emerged of her being the one to ask questions that all of them were thinking. “Did something happen?”

“No, it was just nature taking its course,” Ruby said, pulling back her magical display so the room was as it had been. “It was a couple hundred years ago, and then they came here, or rather, to America, hoping to find a new place to call home. The witches in my family bounced around a little bit before moving further out west. Magic loves forests and the untouched spaces of nature, and as the world has changed, so too have the places that magic likes best.”

“Can wi- wi…” Elsa faltered over the words, still clearly grappling with the new information she was hearing about herself. “Can people who access magic turn into animals by any chance? Like maybe wolves?”

“Let me guess, lots of wolf dreams have been happening since Killian came?” Ruby asked, feeling like she already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Elsa hedged. “But they’ve been around a long time. Since that day in Boston…” Elsa looked to Emma and now, finally, Emma felt like she could jump in for a bit.

“The wolves from that night are more than I ever thought they were. They are not animals, but magical people who can transform their shape. They’re called shifters,” Emma explained. “Not all shifters are wolves, but that night when I was attacked it was a rogue wolf who came after me and another rogue wolf who saved me.”

“You were attacked?!” Anna exclaimed, somehow more worried about that than the fact that Emma was telling her that people could turn into giant animals or that witchcraft was real. “And you knew, Elsa?”

“I’m sorry, Anna, I should have told you but…”

“But I made her promise not to,” Emma said, explaining the story as quickly as she could and filling in on how Elsa had been there. She’d had a dream that brought her to the city, but for a long long time they’d all just considered it this mental break. It couldn’t have been real, but now they knew it truly was. “But what I didn’t realize then is that the shifter was Killian.”

“Holy shit, your Killian?!” Anna asked, completely losing herself in the reveal before looking to Ruby. “Killian’s a wolf? That’s so awesome! So are you a wolf too then? I thought you were a witch.”

“Guilty on both counts,” Ruby said with a grin. “It’s very rare, but witches and shifters can be mates and when they are you end up with hybrids like me.”

“Oh my God mates, that sounds so… hot!” Anna said, play fanning herself as she heard. Emma couldn’t help but let out a laugh at her friend’s antics, but she continued to search Anna’s demeanor to see if she was really okay with all she was finding out or if there was more to this. Anna seemed so completely on board, and Emma wondered how that could be.

“But you said the wolf that saved you, sorry, Killian, you said he was all black right? Like midnight. And the attacker was more tan?”

“Yeah. Like a dull colored sand, why?”

“The one I’ve been dreaming of is lighter than just a pure black,” Elsa said, her confusion clearly gnawing at her.

“Let me guess, dark gray coat, that gets darker at the paws.”

“Yes,” Elsa said, her desire to know who it was winning out. “You know him?”

“It’s Liam,” Ruby confessed, and then, realizing that neither Elsa nor Anna recognized the name, she filled them in. “Killian’s brother.”

“Oh my God, so Elsa is dreaming about Killian’s brother?” Anna asked, looking almost giddy. “Wait that’s a good thing right?”

“It’s complicated,” Ruby said, deflating Anna somewhat, though Elsa seemed to already know that was the case. “And honestly, that part of all of this can wait a while longer. I think you guys will face enough today just hearing your story.”

“So you know about us then,” Elsa asked without the inflection of a real question. “You’re going to tell us about our family?”

“There’s no need for that. They can tell you themselves.”

Silence greeted Ruby’s statement, and it was one of the first times that Emma had ever seen Anna stunned into quiet like this. The pain in her friend’s eyes was mingled with a soul crushing hope, and Emma could understand it. Ruby hadn’t given her too many details, but from what she had said every old family of magic had a repository somewhere with stories and spells and all other kinds of things. It was passed down from generation to generation, and Emma assumed it would be like in the movies where there was a giant book written kind of like a diary.

“How?” Elsa asked, her voice coming out stronger than Emma would have ever imagined as she took Anna’s hand and squeezed it tight and then used her other hand to hold onto Emma.

“There’s a room in this house that no one knows about. There’s a hidden door. That’s where the answers are.”

“A hidden door?” Elsa asked, confused. “We don’t have anything like that. If we did we’d have found it by now.”

“One of you has,” Ruby said, looking to Anna with a soft smile. “You just haven’t remembered in a long time.”

At the words a spark of recollection appeared in Anna’s expression, and Emma knew her friend was working through the recesses of her mind trying to figure out exactly when that happened and where she’d found it. After a moment her eyes lit up and she jumped from the couch.

“It’s out back in the green house. But there was nothing there. Just a bunch of old herbs and dried up plants…”

“There’s a hatch door to a lower level somewhere. It won’t take long for you to find it. I can’t see what’s down there – there are blood protection spells meaning only your family can access that space, but there should be a box there. It’s blue and has your family crest. Inside there are jewels, crystals, and precious stones. They’ll tell the story if you two unlock them.”

“I’m sorry, so the stones are going to… talk to us?” Elsa asked.

“You’ll see,” Ruby said, offering a smile as Anna jumped up.

“We have to go,” Anna said, reaching back for Elsa’s hand. “We have to go right now.”

“All right, all right,” Elsa said, still not looking like she fully believed it. “Emma?”

“I think it would be best if you two did this yourselves,” Emma said, trying to hold back tears as she came to stand up with her friends.

“But you’re our sister, too” Anna said, immediately agreeing with Elsa and Emma swallowed back a lump in her throat.

“Always have been and always will be. But this… it’s your legacy and it’s a part of you guys that I think deserves the utmost care. Plus we don’t know how this blood spell thing works yet. I might not be able to go in at all. But I’ll be right here if you need me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” Anna and Elsa asked at the same time, and Emma nodded, extending her pinky to them both and twisting tightly when they extended theirs.

“Promise.”

With that, Elsa and Anna headed out to the green house, leaving Ruby and Emma alone for pretty much the first time since Granny and Ruby arrived. It should have been a strange or awkward time, but Emma found it comfortable despite the circumstances. She and Ruby discussed a number of things about magic and about what her friends would find. They were going to be blessed today, not just with their story, but with their story told by their mother and their grandmother. Ruby might not be able to see the story, but she could feel those spirits being close. Ruby explained that it was possible to infuse sound and images into precious gems, and she had a few from her family that had always meant a lot to her. But at one point, after a bit of time discussing this new life changing moment for her friends, Killian caught Emma’s attention. He was outside and in wolf form along the tree line, looking back at the house, or more precisely at her.

“I’ve never seen Killian like this before, so happy and centered,” Ruby mused aloud, her eyes looking towards Killian as she smiled with pride and real joy. “Even when we were kids and his Mom was still here, he was always quiet and always just a little more reserved than me or the other pack pups.”

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like, growing up the way he and Liam did. The way you did, in that pack run by their father. Was it hard when they left?”

“Almost as hard as losing Liam,” Ruby confessed, her expression turning somber and remorseful. Emma wondered if Killian could hear them, but at this distance she thought it was probably doubtful. “But we have the future. I’m afraid to say anything for certain, but it doesn’t feel as menacing right now as it did before. I was panicked when I could sense Liam again, but I still see things. Good things. Things happening years down the way. I have to believe they’ll really happen. You’re going to make them happen.”

“Me?” Emma asked, shocked that she would have any sort of role. “But I’m just a human.”

“Maybe,” Ruby said, not sounding fully convinced, “But even if you’re human, Emma, you’re special. You bring out the best in Killian. You mean the world to Anna and Elsa. You have a light in you. It’s not magic per se, at least I don’t think, but it’s something, and I know it’s important. It might just be the most important thing any of us has to offer.”

Emma thanked Ruby quietly, flattered at the compliment, but unable to respond in any meaningful way because at that precise moment her phone began to ring. She’d been so unplugged for days that Emma was surprised she’d even brought it with her, but the tell tale sign of her mother’s ring tone told Emma that patience had finally run thin for Mary Margaret Nolan. Strangely that was of huge comfort to Emma, and before she so much as greeted her mother, she had a pretty good idea of where this conversation was going to go.

“Hi Mom,” Emma said, thinking about what the proper tactic was for this exchange.

In a regular situation she would apologize for being off the grid. It had been days since she spoke with anyone in her family, and that was not normal for them. But she wasn’t actually sorry for all that had happened the past few days, and Emma also knew that though her mother always meant well, she had a real knack for taking harmless statements and making them a little more innuendo packed than was strictly comfortable.

“Oh Emma, honey, you know I love you, and God knows I love Anna and Elsa nearly as much, but would it be too much for you to call your parents when finally surfacing after days and days away? We miss you.”

“I miss you too, Mom. And sorry about the delay. Things are kind of happening over here. It’s, uh, unexpected.”

“Well surprise guests will do that to you.”

“How did you know about that?” Emma asked, slightly afraid that her mother was going to rehash some truly crazy series of informants, but what she actually heard surprised her even more.

“Easy, I’m having lunch with Granny right now.”

“You’re what?!” Emma asked at the same time Ruby said, “She’s what?!” Well, look at that, even a surprise for the all-seeing Ruby. For a second Emma wondered how she’d heard what her mother said on the phone, and then she remembered Ruby had shifter hearing. She was going to have to get used to that.

“I know! It’s the wildest thing. We just happened to meet at the diner – she was questioning the integrity of the lasagna after ordering it, a good indicator of a person’s character as you know - and we got to talking.” Emma smiled at one of her mother’s strange marks of a person, but it wasn’t the first time she’d heard this bit about the lasagna. “I can’t imagine how you must be feeling, Emma. First you find out your true love is a shifter and then you find out your best friends have a magical bloodline -,”

“Mom!” Emma yelled into the phone interrupting her. “You can’t go around saying things like that. Someone could hear you.”

“Emma, I’m at home,” her mother said in a slightly chastising voice, surprising Emma yet again. “Do you really think I’d be so careless? Besides, I can keep a secret you know.”

If someone had said that to Emma even a month ago she would laugh in their face. Mary Margaret Nolan keeping a secret? Yeah right. It was not her style, but that assumption had been proved wrong. She’d kept mum about shifters for years, and in doing so she’d proven that it was possible for her to not give away a private confidence. “I thought you said you were having lunch at the diner.”

“No, I said we met at the diner. I ended up convincing her to come here. Because again, that lasagna is questionable at best. She’s a funny one though, won’t let me call her anything but Granny. But I like her.”

“You realize she’s a shifter too, right? She can hear you.”

“She could hear me if she were human; she’s sitting right in front of me.”

Emma heard Granny say hello in the background and at the same time Ruby came closer and said hello herself. This could have started a whole big conversation, since her mother was clearly curious about Killian’s cousin, but Emma redirected to get some better answers.

“So did you know about Anna and Elsa all this time too?” Emma asked, hating to think this might have been yet another secret between she and her parents. Before they died, Elsa and Anna’s mother and father were good friends of Emma’s parents. But it would be a little strange that they would tell them and not their children about their family legacy.

“Oh no, honey, Granny told me. Gigi never confided in me about any of that, not that I’d ever blame her after the incident where I accidentally told you girls her real name.”

Emma felt a giggle bubble up at that memory. Yes she remembered that day. It wasn’t every day you heard the name ‘Gerda,’ and Anna and Elsa had gone bonkers over the big reveal. They’d been fixated on it for weeks, months even.

“I’m sure Gigi had all sorts of plans for how she wanted Anna and Elsa to hear all of this,” Mary Margaret said, her voice sounding out with more than a touch of sadness for her old friend. “But things happen that we can’t control. And I’m just glad that the girls are getting the chance to learn who they really are now. And it’s so amazing! I knew about shifters – your father told me that you know everything now so you know how that went – but magic… well it’s just so exciting, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Emma said, letting out a steady breath. “Exciting would be a good word to describe the last few days.”

“Exactly, and with so much going on and so much left to talk about, I think it’s only right that everyone come to the house for dinner. I have to meet Ruby, and I want to check in on Elsa and Anna, but most of all I want to make sure my new son-in-law knows what’s what.”

“Mom,” Emma said with a blush growing over her cheeks before lowering her voice as quietly as she could while still being heard on the other end of the call. “We’re not married.”

“Ha! Maybe not yet, but don’t think a wedding is not already in the works. This mating thing sounds lovely. Your Aunt Gwen told me a bit about it a few years back. It’s like this great big love that means more than any simple ceremony can ever express, but every princess deserves a wedding and you’re darn well going to have one.”

Emma didn’t even have time to groan before Killian approached, stepping into view at the patio door with an intense look in his blue eyes. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Well this was fun. Apparently he could hear her phone calls and from quite a bit of distance away. Emma was doing all she could to not die of embarrassment, but the only thing getting her through was the look on Killian’s face that said he truly did love her and was planning for forever together. It wasn’t like her mother had picked this idea out of nowhere. Clearly Killian felt the same about them getting married, even if they hadn’t gotten there yet.

“Okay well can we table that talk for now, please? There’s more than enough to keep us busy in the meantime,” Emma begged, not wanting to state the obvious aloud – there should be no wedding being planned since Killian hadn’t exactly asked her to get married.

“Absolutely, but we will see you all at seven. Pass on the invite to Anna and Elsa.”

“Tonight?” Emma asked, wondering if it was a good idea. “I don’t know, Mom. They just found everything out, they might need some time -,”

“We don’t need time,” Anna said, drawing everyone’s attention to the doorway where she and Elsa were standing. The sisters were holding hands again, and it was clear there had been some tears shed as they went through their family’s things, but both of them still looked happy. Emma imagined there must be so much relief even though there was the sadness of looking to the past, and with a silent nod between her and Elsa, her friend conveyed that to her as Anna continued. “What we need is some really good chicken parm. I’m talking pasta for days, the good imported cheese your Mom gets in Boston, and that home made sauce even magic couldn’t replicate.”

Everyone laughed at that, and since Emma had automatically put the call on speakerphone when Anna and Elsa came out, her mother took the initiative and replied herself. She had all of those ingredients, and she would see to it that Anna and Elsa’s favorite meal was made and ready. With that, Emma hung up on the call, and she looked first to Killian, finding his eyes shining with so much love. She held onto that, and then looked quickly to Elsa, needing to know that her friend was all right.

“Are you sure this is okay? It’s a lot to reconcile and it’s all happening very fast.”

“Fast is the way things move these days,” Elsa said with a smile that was small but also true. She looked at Emma and at Killian, nodding whether she consciously knew it or not. “And so far that seems to be a good thing. We’re not different people because of what we know now. I’m no different than I was before.”

“No, you’re not,” Emma said gladly, watching Elsa exhale a ragged breath as Ruby chimed in.

“You’ve just got some cool new abilities,” Ruby said cheerily. “And now that you guys unlocked your family secrets I can see so much more, for you and for Anna.”

“You too?” Emma asked, finding herself filled with excitement for her friend. For once Anna looked a little sheepish, something Emma had never noticed her friend experiencing before, but she acknowledged the unexpected surprise.

“Yup. Visions might not be my thing, but according to Grams messages and some of Mom’s too there’s a lot in store for me as well. But for now let’s put all of that on ice. I wasn’t kidding when I said I needed that chicken parm, because honey, it has been a day.”

Everyone could readily agree with that assessment, and in the interest of honoring her friends’ wishes, Emma held back on questions about what came next and what they had learned. Soon enough her friends would tell her. It was always just a matter of time before they shared everything with each other, and whenever that came Emma would be more than willing to listen and learn.

“How are you doing, love?” Killian asked a few moments later, when they’d all decided to head outside together to the beach walk. Elsa and Anna were talking with Ruby about summers in Storybrooke, and Emma watched at how a solid friendship was forming between them already, her heart filled with happiness as her family and Killian’s blended together.

“I’m good,” Emma said, looking to Killian and seeing his concern and affection, shining as brightly as the sun in the sky this lovely summer day. “Better with you here.”

“I feel I could say that in any moment,” Killian agreed, stopping their stroll and pulling her into his embrace. “Any instance is improved with you beside me.”

“Guess we better stick together then,” Emma teased and she delighted in the growl from Killian as his mouth claimed hers in a fierce and hungry kiss. It was impossible not to get swept away in it, her hands roaming, her body arching for closeness as she tasted him and reveled in the heat and charge between them. But before they could take things way too far given their setting, Killian pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers gently.

“Forever, Emma. That’s how long we’ll have each other.”

“Forever,” she agreed.

With that, the two of them rejoined her friends and Ruby, finding themselves enjoying a weirdly normal afternoon in the midst of so much change and transformation. And though Emma was a bit preoccupied with the idea of dinner at her parents tonight, she knew, deep down, that whatever may come she would always have Killian, and the two of them together would always make it through.

Post-Note: So there we have it. Truth be told I have SO many thoughts and ideas about Elsa and Anna’s magical reveal. I would love to write a whole scene from their POV about that, adding the layers of magic I have imagined for this story and giving their experience with the big change in their lives. Unfortunately I don’t really have time to create that chapter, at least not yet. I am debating, however, adding some extra scenes and glimpses into this story when I have the whole thing done. That being said, I have only managed to get a couple of chapters written before my school year, so it’s looking like it’s definitely going to be summer before this whole story is told. As of right now I am looking to move to a monthly posting schedule. I have this chapter, one for February and one for March all written, and I am hoping I might find a bit of time in the next three months to craft together a chapter for April, God willing. Anyway, I would love to hear what you all think, and rest assured there will be some more CS moments in the chapter next time. There’s still a lot of stuff that has to happen, so we aren’t getting full blown fluff for a while, but I trust you guys will still like the story all the same. Thanks so much for reading and hope you have a great rest of your weekend!

Tag list: @jennjenn615 @winterbaby89 @kmomof4 @teamhook @ultraluckycatnd @resident-of-storybrooke @coliferoncer @artistic-writer @snowbellewells @eastside-divebar @snarkycaptainswan4 @allofdafandoms-blog

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kondo-hijikata · 5 years

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Pairing: Pre-Relationship to Relationship Kondo/Hijikata Rating: T Summary: Hijikata had no particular interest in meeting the new Tennen Rishin Ryu heir…until he saw the size of his shoes. [AO3]

<< Chapter 1

.*Before the Storm*. Chapter 2

As the waning sun painted the tree line in crimson, a kiseru pipe was packed, lit, and brought to a shapely mouth. The first pull was slow and the exhale just as indulgent, with white smoke drifting up and out toward wide open shoji that remedied a once too-humid space with fresh air.

The summer heat was like Hijikata’s preoccupation with the young master, both lingering and vexing him relentlessly from early June to mid-July. Despite these current parallels, the two were ultimately destined to be at odds, though. The days would grow shorter as the year wore on, with promise to an end of sticky and suffocating conditions. Unfortunately for Hijikata, his interest seemed resolute to do just the opposite. It flourished and deepened all on its own, without any new fuel to feed it, or a looming conclusion in sight.

An irritated scoff suddenly filled his room and he drew from the pipe again, sitting cross-legged with an elbow against his knee and chin weighing down heavy in a supportive palm.

That he was even still thinking about Kondo was absurd. Hijikata hadn’t seen or heard from him since the day they’d met just over four weeks ago, but that brief encounter was enough to ignite a fire in his chest and fill his head with questions that only his new acquaintance could quell. As if this weren’t infuriating enough, he wasn’t rightly sure how to go about articulating the things bothering him in the first place because they were so…indicative. Personal. Revealing. And certainly not fit or fair to inquire of someone he barely even knew.

Why aren’t you judging me? Everyone else tells me I’m wasting my life, so why don’t you? Why the hell are you so…nice?

And while I’m at it! How did you even get adopted into a samurai family? You really just…let go of your status without consequence and people actually take you seriously? You think it’s possible that someday I—?

Oh, now he was really veering off the rails of rationality. Hijikata scowled further and closed his eyes. These inquiries were so inane, so annoying, and not to mention so utterly pointless. So what if Kondo hadn’t derided him? It didn’t constitute approval. So what if he’d apparently earned his status, and seemed to embody the spirit of bushido as it was meant to be? Yeah, that was rare, okay. So what if he was humble and gentle around others, but a force to be reckoned with when a weapon was in his grip?

So what if he was handsome on top of everything—immaterial, truly, but an attribute which only complemented all the other things already so damn impressive?

“So fucking what?” Hijikata grumbled aloud, removing the pipe from his lips and ridding loose ash in the bowl with a pointed tap. Why did he, should he, care? Why should any of it matter?

…He knew exactly why, however—just as well as he knew the reason for asking these obvious questions of himself in the first place. They allowed him to deflect: from the anxiety of being wrong, or the dizzying, impossible notion that he might actually be right.

His first impression of Kondo was too positive. It was too good, too utopian, too much of a wild dream come true. Ever since his childhood, Hijikata had pined for the unlikely day he might meet someone exactly like this man who appeared out of thin air to teach lessons at Hikogoro’s dojo.

The samurai he encountered through the humdrum routine of his life were lazy bottom-feeders, and the ones who weren’t would never give him the time of day because of where he’d been born. They judged him for having hands which sewed fabric, for the medicine chest that clung to his back. Neither group viewed him to be a worthy contender in kenjutsu, and each side dismissed him on preconception alone.

But Kondo hadn’t. And Kondo was like him, born in Tama and raised of the land. Unlike Hijikata though, he’d somehow managed to traverse the constraints of classism and become a real samurai who didn’t throw the weight of ego around and, and, and—

Hijikata tossed his head aside. It was too ideal to be reality, too goddamn ideal. There had to be a flaw somewhere and he needed to find it, even if the letdown would be unthinkably severe should he discover his first impression was misguided. Yet…hope was already so fleeting and fragile, and his first touch with Kondo offered a dangerous glimmer of promise to whet a faith within him that’d gone long parched.

For all his life, Hijikata had sought the validation that would prove his dreams weren’t frivolous, that his birth class didn’t define him—only to be shoved aside and ridiculed again and again, because who had ever heard of a farmer becoming a samurai?

No one. Until now.

So, what if Kondo did approve? What if he really was as great as he seemed, if he could provide the blessing Hijikata had so desperately yearned for all this time? What if Hijikata could follow in Kondo’s footsteps, if they could actually become friends and bond over a crazy mutual goal?

His heart beat a little quicker as he stared out at the carefully chosen landscaping just beyond the doors. He’d felt trapped for so long in this one place, in this one room, going nowhere and doing nothing of importance when a whole country was out there for the taking. Hijikata had longed for the day when the view from his room shifted from meticulously pruned shrubs to a field of wildflowers—a disorderly and chaotic tangle, but beautiful if only because they weren’t strangled into obedience.

The kiseru went untouched for some time while his eyes fixated in an unseeing gaze. He wanted to be right. He wanted to be right so badly. But pinning all of his hopes, the most delicate of his dreams, to one person he barely even knew was beyond reckless. He was playing with fire. And if he didn’t watch out, he could get—

“Don’t burn yourself!”

Hijikata’s spine went ramrod straight, the daze rattled clear out of his brain. The hand that held his pipe lifted from resting on his knee and his attention snapped to find Nobu on the porch, a palm braced against the shoji.

“Were you sleeping?!” She stepped quickly over the threshold and despite having posed a question, gave him no chance to reply. “You could burn the whole house down, Toshi! Don’t smoke when you’re tired!”

His expression darkened as his cheeks went alight, simultaneously feeling annoyed at her lecturing but all too grateful for the distraction. “I wasn’t sleeping!” The petulant snap of his retort was followed by his pipe clanging against the ashtray again, and once it was put out, he set it down.

Nobu pursed her lips and slowly lowered to sit in informal seiza, the chastising bite from her demeanor slipping away since there was no longer a perceived threat. That was one of the best things about her—she could be dramatic and sometimes overbearing, but practicality was always first and foremost in her mind; when it was time to let things go, Nobu did and she always moved on fast. In kind, her voice deepened with consideration as she cocked her head. “Daydreaming, then? I said your name twice but you didn’t reply.”

“I was just thinking about something.”

She swept her hand slowly over the tatami, reveling in the texture as she often did. “Like what?”

“Nothing, just forget it.” Hijikata’s lashes fell as he shook his head.

“Well, what is it, something or nothing?”

Damn it. “Nothing.” He swallowed and stiffened his back, then looked to her. “It was stupid anyway. Did you need something?”

She hummed a negative reply. “Just wanted to ask how work was today. I thought I saw you stalking past the sitting room when you got home.” To Hijikata’s consequent cht, Nobu offered a sympathetic smile. “That bad, huh?”

His shoulders crept up and over a half-sigh, he brushed his fingers through his hair and flipped the ponytail out of the way. “Not any more than usual. Some guy came in to yell at us because his wife’s kimono was the wrong colors. Mind you, she picked them out.”

Nobu squinted. “And was Murakami-san there?”

“Yep. He came running out while I was handling it.” Hijikata huffed and diverted his attention forward, his eyes narrowing while recounting the situation. “Apologized right from the get-go and said we’d remake it the right way. Then he went on to lecture me, saying I was out to make his business an enemy to the public, that I’m—” His nose went high into the air, his tone turning into one of mockery, “—never allowed to oppose any guy wearing two swords ever again.” Disgusted, Hijikata sunk back down. “Blah blah. It’s always the same shit.”

“Well, if the patron was a samurai—”

“That man was no samurai,” he interjected.

“—it’s no wonder why he’s so entitled.” Nobu stressed her words, not allowing herself to be interrupted or misconstrued.

“Neesan, it’s bullshit, all of it.”

She sat still and silent, her hands now joined in a lazy fold just over her knees. Eyes remained studiously on him, and Hijikata was all too aware that she was trying to read between the lines.

“These assholes, they just get away with everything.” Taking fistfuls of hakama, he squeezed the material over and over to abate the animosity welling up inside of him. “They get whatever the hell they want because they’re born to the right privileged dickbags who were also raised the same damn way.”

“I…see your point, Toshi, you know I do.” A pensive moment. “And you know I appreciate what you’re saying. But there’s not too much we can do about it.”

He snapped his face to her. “Are you telling me to just be complacent?!”

Nobu scoffed and sat taller. “No. No, I’m not saying that at all. You can fight back, but you have to be smart about it. You can’t do it head on.” She cut him off before the rebuke could begin to leave his tongue. “I’m aware that’s not a satisfying answer for you, but you of all people know I’m right.”

Hijikata’s mouth was set in a line, wearing discontent openly across his features but he didn’t speak out—immediately, anyway. “Neesan, I’m quitting. I can’t do it anymore.”

A deep inhale filled her chest and as it left her lungs, she shook her head in surrender. “That’s up to you, Toshizo. But you have to be the one to break the news to Tamejiro-san. You know the strings he pulled to secure your apprenticeship there.”

“Yeah, I know,” he droned. “It’s just whatever. Murakami has no backbone. He’s an enabler. I’ll just find another apprenticeship in the same field.”

“Well.” The inflection in Nobu’s voice meant unsolicited cautionary advice was about to rear its head. “I hope it’s as easy as you think it’ll be. But I have a feeling it won’t.”

“Heh. What’s another failure on the already huge pile of failures I’m sitting on?” The words left him unaffected.

“Toshi…”

“Whatever.”

Nobu’s tongue poked out to wet her lips and her eyes closed for a brief time. “Hey, you do what you need to do. Tamejiro-san won’t be happy about it, so you’ll need to find a way to do right by him. He’s just looking out for you like any good brother would.”

“If he really wants to help me, then he should mind his own damn business.”

“Come on, stop that. Don’t you know we all want the best for you?”

Hijikata deflated. Of that he’d certainly been aware, but what he hadn’t ever learned was how to explain to his family that their concern with his successfulness (or lack thereof) was smothering and sometimes more harm than otherwise. He sure as hell wasn’t about to try explaining it now.

Nobu seemed to catch the hint, though. “Anyway…look. It’s all gonna work out in the end, okay? You know I have your back, so just do whatever you have to do. If you need me to help smooth things over with Tamejiro-san, I will.”

His shoulders shook with a huff, but he couldn’t prevent the tiny smile that wanted at his lips. “Thanks.”

“Now enough of this gloomy crap!” She clapped once and her eyes caught a shine as they widened, the room suddenly feeling much lighter with the change in mood. “I have some good news for you! And I’m sure it’ll make you feel better.”

Warily, Hijikata’s brows narrowed. “Well, what is it?”

“Katsuta-san is coming by tomorrow!”

Oh, fuck. And just when Mister Golden-Perfect-Handsome-Samurai had been out of his thoughts for more than three minutes… He exhaled sharply and looked away before he gave too much away. “Okay? So?”

“So you should make sure to be around.” Nobu leaned closer. “Aren’t you interested in talking with him more?”

“Why, so niisan can jump in every other word again?” Hijikata snapped, but immediately regretted the response. It wasn’t Hikogoro’s fault for returning hastily with lunch that day, just as he’d pulled Ishida Sanyaku from his chest at Kondo’s inquiry about medicine. Hell, for all his brother-in-law knew from the level of attitude Hijikata had given him, he probably rushed back to save both men from themselves. How could he possibly have guessed that the conversation was only just getting good?

“Oh, he did, huh? I’ll have a talk with him, then.”

Wincing, Hijikata held out one hand and stammered, “Just…never mind. Forget what I said just now, will you? Anyway, thanks for the info, but it really doesn’t concern me.” Relaxing his posture, his lashes fell once again with dismissal. “I have work tomorrow.”

A snort. “Ah yes, at a place you’re quitting.”

…As always, Nobu was on point. He cracked one eye open as she stood, and then watched while she walked back to the porch. “He’ll be here around noon. Training starts midday, I believe.” Raising her brows she waited expectantly for his agreement.

“Neesan.”

“Mm?”

“You know…” Hijikata peered right past her and into the garden, and suddenly pointed to it. “We oughta move that primrose bush a few centimeters to the right.” Nobu’s face pinched in confusion and she pivoted to the flowering plant in question. Upon returning to him, suspicion was written openly across her features.

“It’d look better if everything wasn’t so evenly spaced,” he explained.

“Toshizo…” She paused with a cant of her head. “You are most welcome to dig it up and put it where you please. Just don’t kill it.”

“Aa, of course,” he said over a breath and reached to pack his pipe again. “We can’t have that, now can we…everything has its place.”

“Dinner’s at the usual time,” Nobu said slowly in parting—but lingered a moment further to glance back at the primroses. Just when it appeared that she might speak again, she set off down the porch and disappeared.

Hijikata watched the tobacco smoldering a reddish-orange hue in his pipe.

So, Kondo would be back tomorrow… That was fine, just fine. It wasn’t like Hijikata would spend the rest of the evening thinking about that, wasn’t like he’d rush out of the textile shop tomorrow to get home before his arrival.

He took a pull and let the calm wash over him. Nope, it wasn’t like that at all.

“Where in Edo do you think you’re going?! Hijikata!!”

Ignoring the irking shrill of Murakami’s shout from the back door he’d slipped through, Hijikata’s feet hit the dirt until he rounded a stone-walled corner and the agitated old man’s yammering no longer reached his ears. Pressing his shoulder blades to the hard surface, he panted to catch his breath and allowed a triumphant grin to spread clear across his face.

He was home free and ready to wash the sweat from his skin, not because Hijikata wanted to look presentable for Kondo or anything, oh no. The day was simply beyond humid despite it being only late morning, and he hadn’t worn a hat to shield from the sun. Where was his hat? Forgotten in his room. Certainly not on purpose. Definitely not because he didn’t want it to wreck his hairstyle.

“Fuck, it’s hot today,” he groused while pulling at his hakamashita to generate airflow, and resuming a faster-than-usual pace, all too eager to feel the comfort of cool well water easing the heat.

When Hijikata had awoken to birds chirping outside his door at some ungodly hour today, he’d flirted with the idea of just not showing up at all or sending some kind of sob story letter in his stead—but that meant he’d have to deal with the nosy people at home asking questions, especially since Tamejiro was coming to visit.

Heading out had seemed like the correct decision at the time but now, as he felt tiny droplets lining his brow after just having wiped away the previous ones, he wondered if he’d really made the right choice at all. Were the prying inquiries worth the luxury of staying much drier in the shade of his room? He was beginning to think so. He’d feel much cleaner, at least.

Whatever the case, depending on the hour, he might have still have the time to bathe and wash his hair out again before Kondo showed up, but that was entirely reliant on—

Hijikata stopped short on his heels when he turned the next corner and made no certain effort to conceal the displeasure radiating from him at the sight ahead. The brats of the neighborhood were all huddled around some crouching guy with a wide-brimmed hat—one of their hifalutin fathers, he assumed—and getting a lecture of some sort. Little bastards had probably gotten into a fight or stolen something, wrecked something, like they usually did. And while Hijikata wasn’t one to call the kettle black when he was a pot himself, his bad behavior meant consequences when he was young, not pretty little speeches or slaps on the wrist.

It wasn’t like the harsher discipline made him change his ways, though, so perhaps there was no room for him to talk. Nevertheless, he didn’t particularly want to overhear what nonsense was transpiring but avoiding the situation meant heading another street over—which meant adding three more blocks to a schedule already too tight. Therefore, the fetid kid-contaminated path would have to do. Hijikata would just hold his nose, close his ears, and walk quicker.

Strangely, none of the children were crying or looking agitated from the assumed scolding and in fact, they seemed more interested in what that hoity-toity dad was saying. What was the world coming to?

As Hijikata neared, one of the boys in the front spoke up. “So…you’re really not gonna tell my mom that I punched Mantaro then?”

The hat-clad dad shook his head. “Nope, but as long as you keep your end of the deal, okay?”

Wait a minute…

Hijikata’s eyes narrowed and his steps slowed at the sound of a voice so unsettlingly familiar. He had noticed that the dad wore a pair of swords, but dismissed it because anyone could do that in the boonies of Tama without consequence. While it was technically illegal to bear blades if one wasn’t in the samurai class, the Bakufu couldn’t protect all this wide open space like they could a crowded city and was content to turn the other cheek at the bending of the rules. As such, ordinary country peasants took up kenjutsu, not so much for status or even interest as it was protecting themselves and their possessions. Still, that didn’t mean…

“But we’re not samurai, Mister! We’re farmers. We don’t know nothin’ about…” The boy studied a word that had been written in the soil with a stick. “…bushimichi¹.”

The dad tossed his head back and laughed—and that was when Hijikata stopped dead in his tracks and felt the color drain from his cheeks. This guy was no dad, he was—!

“Good try, but it’s read bushido, not bushimichi.” Kondo stayed crouched to maintain eye level and crossed his arms over the peaks of his bent knees. “And so what about being a farmer? I’m one too, you know.”

A high pitched choir of “eh?!” rose from the lot. The same kid who spoke earlier piped up again. “But you’re a samurai!”

“I am now, but that’s because I was adopted. I was actually born in Kami-Ishihara, not too far from here.”

“What?! No way, Mister!”

He chuckled. “I mean it!”

“Are you saying that anyone can be a samurai?”

Kondo shook his head. “Oh, no. Not just anyone. If you want to become one, you need to earn that honor and live it every day, no matter where you come from.”

“But…” Another child spoke out, the gears clearly turning in his head. “What about the people born into the samurai class?”

“Especially them.” Kondo looked into all the inquisitive eyes focused on him. “I’ll tell you boys something. You’re all from Hino, right?” Enthusiastic nodding ensued. “Even if this world sees you as farmers and nothing more…” Lifting one hand, he pointed to his heart. “If bushido is in here and you let it guide you, then what they think doesn’t matter. But!” His tone went serious. “But. Understand that being a samurai isn’t about status. It isn’t about walking around just saying you are one. The most important thing is acting the role.”

And with that, Kondo reached forth and gently flicked the first outspoken kid on the forehead. “So quit picking petty fights in the middle of the street!” Giggling erupted from the lot. “That’s un-samurai-like, I’m telling you!”

Hijikata remained frozen in a mid-summer inferno, goosebumps dotting his arms while his mouth had gone dry. His attention had been unseverable from the moment he’d made the realization, and only the gods knew if he’d even blinked or drew breath since then. All that mattered, all he’d been cognizant of was Kondo, who was now rising to stand while the children dispersed and—oh no! Tossing his face aside to hide it and hoping with all hope that he wasn’t seen in his current state, Hijikata began to pivot.

“Hi—Hijikata-san?!”

Fuck.

There would be time to process this entire situation and the emotions that billowed because of what he’d just heard, but for now Hijikata swallowed hard and stowed those feelings…tried with all his might to calm his racing heart and bate his breath. He kept his features out of sight only long enough to blot the sweat from them, and upon turning again, he found Kondo approaching with that same large smile he’d shown the first day they met.

“Wow, it is you! Imagine meeting you here! –Uh.” Rubbing at his neck, Kondo chuckled. “I mean…you live here, so I guess it’s not that strange, is it?”

Hijikata forced a laugh, not that he didn’t find the clumsy statement amusing, but the recovery from it was so… Well, it was…endearing. He prayed that Kondo simply presumed the flash of heat he felt burning clear across his cheeks was from the sun. “Aa. Um, my sister mentioned you’d be visiting, but she told me it would be around noon…”

It was hard to look at Kondo directly while feeling less than put together, so Hijikata gazed down the road with a squint and idly ran fingers through his hair.

“Oh, she was definitely right,” Kondo agreed. “I have this annoying habit of always leaving too early. Which means I also arrive too early. Which means I wind up needing to walk around and bide my time so I don’t impose.”

…Was it weird to not face someone when they were speaking? It was definitely weird. And rude. Hijikata ventured a glance and this time held it, when he realized what Kondo had just said. “You don’t have to do that, you know. You’d never be imposing.” A nod. “My family talks so highly of you. I guarantee that you could waltz into our place in the dead of night and my brother-in-law would start doing backflips.”

He felt the laugh which followed, felt the good-nature of Shimazaki Katsuta wash over him. It tingled, had butterflies flitting about in his belly, made it impossible to look anywhere else. And yet, strangely, Hijikata found himself not only minding but even wanting more of this bizarre sensation.

“Hikogoro-san is something else!” Kondo shook his head. “I keep asking him to not hype things up about me like that. Honestly, and I hope you won’t repeat this because I’d hate to hurt his feelings, but it makes me a little uncomfortable.”

Hijikata blinked. “Why?”

“How about we find some shade?” Kondo suggested. “I feel bad making you stand out in the sun. That is, if you have time? In fact, do you want to wear my hat?” He began reaching for the clasp. “I can make do without it—”

“No, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Hijikata chanted and raised his hands, equally as embarrassed as he was flattered that his comfort was being considered. Oh, why the hell didn’t he just bring his damn hat? Every sane person of an adult age wore a hat on a day like today. It was ridiculous to be without one. “Thanks, though.”

“You sure?”

“Mm. We could just head back to my place. It’s really close.” Hijikata dabbed at his face again with his sleeve. “Anyway, if someone in my family finds out that I was just hanging around with you and didn’t bring you back, I’d catch hell for it.”

Kondo grinned. “Guess we’d better get going then.”

And just like that, Hijikata was back on his way home with unexpected company at his side—company he’d needed time to ready himself for, or so he thought. Without even realizing it, the relentless self-conscious needling had slipped away while their conversation wore on and now, he was more concerned with not doing something mortifying like tripping over his own feet. He wasn’t clumsy by nature, and that was all the more reason to be super careful.

“So, yeah,” Kondo spoke up as they walked. “I respect Hikogoro-san more than I can put in words and I treasure my friendship with him in the same way.” His voice matched everything about him, Hijikata thought; it was warm and inviting, a pleasure to take in. “I’m just a regular guy, though, you know? Nothing special.”

…What? Hijikata’s face snapped to the side as he looked incredulously at Kondo over his shoulder. “But…you became a samurai.”

“By adoption,” Kondo insisted. “And I was adopted only because I was in the right place at the right time. That’s why I’m slated to take over for my father and inherit his sword style.” A breathy laugh followed and he shrugged. “It could’ve happened to anyone lucky enough, I promise.”

Despite not agreeing with that statement in the least, Hijikata let it go and his voice flattened, almost as if he’d meant to speak to himself. “You really meant what you said then.”

“Mm?” Kondo met his eyes.

“What you said to those kids back there.”

“Oh, you overheard that…”

Watching as his companion turned forward again in what appeared to be a pensive moment, Hijikata could feel the chagrin beginning to rise up from the pit of his abdomen—the looming discontent that it’d all just been a hefty bit of lip service. But then, the soft line of Kondo’s profile hardened and his chin dropped in a firm nod. “Absolutely.”

Validation. Just like that.

Approval. Freely given.

Acceptance. Affirmation. A sanction.

Hijikata’s feet halted in mid-step, and when Kondo realized the space at his side went empty, he paused and peered back. “Something wrong?”

Heat baked the dirt road that they stood upon, both as still as lifeless mannequins, as if the swelter hadn’t been oppressive and the humidity not suffocating. Neither spoke and neither moved, each reading the other like they were tangled in a high-stakes game of Go instead of friendly dialog.

At last, Hijikata moved his piece. “I didn’t expect you to say you actually meant it.”

There was silence for a moment longer, until Kondo’s expression shifted into something unexpectedly severe and his tone fell harsh in the same instant. “Do you disagree with me, Hijikata-san?”

…Apparently Kondo had been offended by the assumption that Hijikata believed samurai status was inherited, and not earned. And to leave such an incorrect premise unaddressed would simply not do, especially when it couldn’t be further from the truth. Hijikata’s bound hair swished with the shaking of his head. “Not at all. I agree with you completely.” He watched as Kondo’s demeanor immediately relaxed. “It’s just…it’s not something I expected to hear from a samurai, that’s all.”

“Hey, uh…” Kondo closed the distance between them, rubbing at his arms before setting hands on his hips. His eyes dropped to the ground for a beat before raising back to Hijikata’s. “What would you say to a match today?”

Hijikata’s brows raised, caught off guard by the abrupt change in subject. “What?”

“I mean, when we get to the dojo. Would you face off with me?”

Exasperation colored his response. “And what in the hell makes you think I have anything to do with kenjutsu?”

A breathy laugh fell from Kondo’s lips and his attention wandered off to nowhere important while he scratched at his jaw. “Sorry. I didn’t think it was an off-limit topic. Well, we all have our reasons.”

With his features going serious, Hijikata pressed, “No, answer my question. What makes you think I can fight?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” A beat. “Hijikata-san, you might sew fabric and you might sell medicine…” Kondo found his gaze then, and there was a particular directness in it that spoke novels all on its own. “But the calluses on your hands tell me those aren’t the only things they’re capable of.”

Well…shit.

¹ bushimichi: I needed the kid to misread the word bushido, so I swapped the "do" kanji reading with its other reading "michi." Suffice to say, this is a made-up word. Just wanted to make a note of it in case anyone wondered.

Chapter 3 >>

#uss enterplaid #toshisami #hakuouki #t1 #long post #writing on plaid paper

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dayntee · 5 years

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[PoE] Worst Kept Secrets

Ever have one of those mental prompts where you had a specific scene play out and then you just had to write everything else around it? That’s what this ended up being.

Also, I totally finished this before midnight, so I’m still tagging it with Watcher Wednesday because why the hell not. Also available on AO3 here.

Summary: Aloth reflects on his rapidly growing appreciation for his captain, wondering when, if ever, is the right time to act rather than contemplate. Urged in part by his alter ego and inspired by the decisiveness of the Watcher, he decides a certain conversation is long overdue.

Notes: As with most of my play-through companion pieces, I took some slight liberties with this one in terms of how the timeline wound up playing out. While the events referenced did happen pretty close together, they’ve been reordered slightly to fit a better, more accurate narrative of the dynamics I imagine in my Watcher’s party as well as to line up with Aloth’s proclivity for privacy rather than what would have been a spontaneous make-out session that would have otherwise happened in the middle of The Gullet.

No plans for a direct sequel… I think you all can figure out how the rest of this plays out and fill in the blanks. ;)

Spoilers for the Aloth romance conversation (duh).

Since the group had returned to The Defiant, Aloth kept replaying the scene repeatedly in his mind. Edér’s panicked face as he realized he may be too late to save Bearn, the resolve and concern on Idralia’s as she reassured they’d chase after the lad, and the relief and genuine gratitude that warmed even the wizard’s oft self-concerned heart. They were traveling the route now, following the bearings a sailor had overheard the Partisans of the Lighted Path mention in port, and the captain was hopeful they might make it in time.

‘It’s just like her,’ he mused, and realized that he was no longer absorbing the information of his latest grimoire acquisition. He had been flipping the pages for several minutes, yet couldn’t recall a single formula his eyes had skimmed. He frowned; these wanderings of his mind, the ever-present distraction of the captain, the painfully obvious torch she carried for him, and the distinct inclination he should do something about them were growing by the day.

‘Tha’s because ya aught act in’nead a fiddle fad ‘roun, an ya know it,’ he heard the echo deep within the recesses of his mind and frowned further. He hated when Iselmyr was right. What was more troubling was that, as a result of having suppressed her outbursts, the few that surfaced now were more accurate and… thoughtful than ever.

“I know,” he resigned to himself, slowly closing the grimoire with a sigh and running his fingers over the edges, a half-hearted attempt to distract himself. ‘But I can’t possibly give her what she would want,’

“An whas tha? A haus an’ hearth? A stiff drink? Or migh’ be somethin’ ya only handle alone when the lass could be helpin’ ya wit it?”

“That’s quite enough of that,” he muttered, closing his eyes and pushing the cackling alter ego down, back into the mental partition he’d slowly perfected over years of patience and practice. And yet, she had had a point once more; he hadn’t even bothered asking what Idralia might want. She was hardly a traditional woman and, at the very least, she deserved honesty in this particular matter. It was what she unerringly gave to all and what he was long overdue on returning.

With a deep, steadying breath, he tucked his grimoire into the pack he’d hung from a stray nail next to his hammock before standing, his eyes glancing up the pathway to the captain’s cabin. It was on his mind and it would be until he did something about it. One way or another, this was a dance they couldn’t keep up forever, and he wanted to act on the resolve while it remained.

He couldn’t help the smile curling across his lips as he leaned in the doorway to her quarters, hands folded in front of him. When she finally looked up to acknowledge his presence, she wondered what secret it was this time he was finally willing to share. As was customary when she gave her full attention, she removed her hat and eyepatch, setting them on her desk, and beckoned him forward. Aloth took the invitation, nudging the heavy door shut behind him.

“For the first time in a long while,” he began, “I feel truly confident in where I’m going. What I’m doing.” The conviction in his voice was refreshing to Idralia’s ears, and she smiled as she turned in her chair to face his approaching form. “With you, I mean,” he added and her heart skipped a beat. It was, perhaps, the worst kept secret that Idralia harbored feelings for the mage. She wasn’t, however, certain as to where they stood and her intensely keen awareness to Aloth’s needs for privacy and space had kept her at a distance since he’d left Caed Nua.

Tentatively, as though she were testing the coldest of waters, she replied, “Me too,” and watched with anxious relief as his lips twitched with a smile.

“You and I have so much in common. We’re both careful with our words. With good reason, of course,” he was moving closer and she suddenly felt paralyzed by his approach. Doing her best to keep calm, she simply kept his gaze, her eyes studying his and trying to glean any hidden meanings he brought to the conversation. It wasn’t without notice; his pace faltered for a moment, and his words reflected it. “And yet you’re decisive where I’m uncertain. Somehow, you know what must be done, and you don’t hesitate.”

Where she would have expected him to break eye contact, he held it, and her heartbeat climb into her throat. “I admire that,” he concluded, and she felt blush hit her cheeks like a fresh can of paint on a clean wall.

“Well, everything comes down to being truthful,” she shrugged helplessly, as if it were the only answer she could ever offer. Idralia was, if nothing else, honest to a fault, and Aloth’s smile widened further.

“That’s precisely what I mean,” he clasped his hands together. “I don’t know that I could trust myself with the decisions you’re making. My own brief time hunting the Leaden Key has taught me there is nothing enviable about the position you’re in.”

There was his doubt creeping in again. It was as if he couldn’t help it. While she herself was a fan of self-deprecating humor, Aloth practiced self-doubt as devoutly as others did religion. She shook her head. “You give yourself too little credit.”

He gave her a pitying smile. “Whatever my faults, a lack of self-awareness is not among them,” she rolled her eyes at him pointedly, and he stepped closer, little more than an arm’s length away. “Perhaps what I mean is, if we must be caught between the Gods and the Wheel, I’m glad you’re on our side.”

That softened her, and she stood, smiling at him genuinely. “And I’m glad you’re at mine,” it was uttered before she could stop herself, knowing there were so many other ways she could have thanked him for the compliment without added implications. Just as regret began to sink in, it withered at the sight of the corner of his lips twitching in poorly-concealed pleasure.

“That means a lot. Thank you,”

The lack of rejection, of the usual familiar trepidation or distance in his response, broke a flood gate of emotion and she closed the space between them without another thought. Her lips hit his and she knew now she had no other choice but to commit to the moment, even if this was to be the line she should never have crossed.

At first, he froze, surprised by both the sudden movement and physical contact. A fleeting moment of doubt melted in Idralia’s heart, however, as Aloth began to return the kiss. The seconds felt an eternity, his movements slow, but deliberate and soon insistent. Though his shoulders remained rigid and his back tensed, he leaned into her, one hand tentatively resting in the hollow of her shoulder blades while the other brushed lightly through the back of her short-cropped hair. She had never been held so carefully before, and she could tell that, despite the turn of his head and full contact he made, he was still, as always, in doubt.

They parted all too soon (or at least so she believed), and she found her hands had come to rest on his chest, trying her best to hold herself steady. Her lips parted slightly, breathing at a light but controlled pant. His clear blue eyes were full of questions, brows knitted as his pupils skittered back and forth, studying the now fully-flushed Watcher for answers.

“Well, that was… unexpected,” he began, “But not unwelcome,” he quickly added, that slight smile grabbing the edges of his lips again. She wanted to join him in mirth, but she was feeling unraveled, vulnerable. Emotions she was both long unacquainted with and seemed only drawn out by him.

“I… really care about you, Aloth,” she said carefully, though now it seemed silly to tip toe around the subject. Still, if she was going to lay things bare, then there was little point in mincing words.

“And I’ve come to care for you,” she felt his embrace on her tighten only just so, enough to reassure her. “I’ve always been solitary by nature,” he continued, and a thoughtful frown began to overwrite his features. “It’s been a… relief to let my guard down around you, though,”

The dissonance between his features and his words concerned her; she wasn’t sure she could bear this to be a fleeting encounter between them. Not after so long. Not after everything they had been through and would undoubtedly continue to go through. I have to reassure him.

“That… makes me very happy,” again she was careful and methodical with her words, though no less forthwith along the way. She looked down from him slightly, noticing her fingers had begun to grip gently into his robes, and she flexed them as though testing the reality of the situation. His arms sank from around her shoulders, slowly resting his forearms on her hips, hands clasped loosely behind her, and pressed his forehead to hers, urging her to make eye contact with him once more.

“Then I hope you’ll understand where I’m coming from,” he murmured, and she brought her eyes back up to his, giving him her rapt attention. He released the embrace on her waist and took a step back, and suddenly she felt so very cold, as though he’d traveled miles away. “I’ve spent most of my life hiding parts of myself – my name, my identity, my Awakening – from everyone else. I’m not sure I know another way, Idralia,” the use of her name, the rarest of occasions, rang in her ears. No Captain. No Watcher. This time, they were Aloth and Idralia and none of the other events of the world were in question.

“You… You don’t have to,” he turned his head slightly in question, and she elaborated. She crossed her arms, left hanging from his vacancy, and held herself. “I just… want to be with you as you are, whatever that means,” Five years. It rang in her mind again. After five years, she was simply happy she could express her feelings to him in the clearest way possible. “I… always have,” she added quietly, unable to keep the thought to herself.

“After living with Iselmyr for so long, I’ve come to value privacy. The space to think and reflect in solitude,” his eyes roamed her face again, gauging her reaction, and she smiled helplessly at him again. What made him think anything else was going to change?

“It’s not as if I don’t do the same, from time to time. I don’t want to take that away from you,”

“I don’t know where exactly our journeys will take us. Or what will happen when we find Eothas,” his gaze drifted downward to hands that were clasped once more, perhaps hoping to see an answer neither of them had. “And I will have to return to my work with the Leaden Key if we survive this ordeal,” the last statement was firm, stern. She understood immediately how important it was to him. Perhaps another day, she would reaffirm with him that was a task she would be more than willing to assist with. He shook his head, as though clearing his thoughts.

“I don’t want to make a commitment to you that I can’t honor. And I certainly don’t want to deceive you about my intentions.” It was a much clearer statement, and she was grateful for it.

“Then we won’t make demands of one another,” she stepped forward again, though she hesitated as she reached up to gently touch his face, running her thumb across his cheekbone. He didn’t pull back and, in fact, seemed to lean slightly into her touch. At that, she smiled. “Let’s just enjoy our time together – however much we might have.”

He smiled, fully, and her heart soared. “Yes, I like the sound of that,” He barely had the time to finish his thought before her lips were on his again, and he didn’t miss the eagerness in her affections. He let his eyes drift shut and his hands once again wrap around her waist, this time with more conviction as he pulled her close, and the contented sound she released crumbled another barrier within him. The hand on his face dropped to his shoulder, grasping a handful of his clothing, while the other slipped beneath his arm to rest a hand on his lower back.

This embrace proved less reserved, and she took little time before parting her lips and urging him silently to deepen it. He obliged, tilting his head to better align their mouths and allow their tongues to intermingle, relishing the electrical current of their newly explored passion. Her grip tightened on him, her fingers bunching the cloth of his robes, and without either realizing, they drifted together through the room.

Their movement was either leadless or cooperative, though it wasn’t clear which, and only when Idralia’s back met the resistance of the side of the cabin wall did their lips part and the pair gasp for air. Aloth studied her features more closely than ever before, from her lidded green eyes to the kiss-bruised lips that seemed fuller, more alluring.

“Stay with me,” she whispered, and he found her forthrightness, though expected, continually endearing. The smile he returned to her, slight and sly, gave her all the answer she needed, but he kept her hungry lips at bay by pressing his forehead to hers once more.

“Tell me. What is it, exactly, you’d like for me to do?” his question was less an inquiry and more an instruction, and the subtext was agonizingly enticing. Even now, he was teasing her, and his confidence in the situation was reminiscent of his assurance in battle or any other situation in which he knew he had full control. It was him at his best, and it was for her.

“Aloth, I’ve wanted this for more than five years. I don’t need anything complicated,”

“Then I shouldn’t keep you waiting any longer,” he asserted before he claimed another of what would be far from their last kiss of the evening.

#pillars of eternity #watcher wednesday #watcher idralia #aloth/watcher #aloth #aloth x watcher #aloth romance

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icy-warden · 6 years

Text

A companion piece for this drabble, written by @smolpocketsmonsters for the prompt Brake up/Make up (Aether x Vergil AU)

Vergil’s point of view at the argument and the situation overall Ψ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)Ψ

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“Don’t you have any bit of self-preservation?!”

His raised voice visibly startled Aether. He was a little surprised himself by it too, rarely having to shout to get his point in conversation. This time though, it just came out, unconsciously. Because of the man before him, who ventured into the Deep Roads to fix someone else's problems and almost stayed there, forever. The fleeting thought made his skin crawl. But what's worse, Aether was stubborn in his conviction about being right in the matter.

“You’ll ruin yourself and for what? For weak gratitude?” He scoffed, fuming. Inwardly, a thousands thoughts raced all around his mind. The darkness and dangers of the undergrounds, darkspawns lurking in every shadowed corner, the taint spreading so rapidly, eating away those who got infected, the nightmare of the agony before death and the possibility of the transformation into a ghoul... Of Aether withering away because of the ludicrous want of mending problems of anyone impudent enough to ask.

“I do it because it has the chance to make me happy.” Aether's snappish tone halted the erratic musings in Vergil's head. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that though, would you? You’d never do something without getting something in return.”

The words felt like a slap. He almost laughed at how wrong and right Aether was at the moment. How he learnt to make an exceptions for, in his plans and actions, because he knew it would please this one person. Just for the glimpse of an appreciative look on his face and lifted mood.

All for naught, it seemed. How pathethic he became, trying to change his ways and for what, a scraps of affection now and then, whenever they meet again.

“Happy does not help me in achieving my goals.” He forced himself to stay calm once again, swallowing the want to say something else entirely.

“So it’s all about power to you. Great. Then tell me, why the hell are you here? What do you get out of all these visits?”

This is how he sees me after all this time? The disbelief made him pause momentarily, the ugly, sharp feeling spreading from his chest. And what else should you expect, straying form the path for few stolen moments?

He felt oddly betrayed.

Vergil schooled his face into a blank mask he often used when talking with strangers. If he had to protect the remains of his dignity, be it. He won't stay where he's not welcomed.

And it seemed he wasn't.

Later, he stormed into his room with cold fury, the want to unleash his anger simmering just under his skin, the chill in the air becoming more and more prominent. He caught himself though, when the slip in control started to freeze the floor under his feet, frost expanding visibly in circles. Vergil cursed silently and sat down, crossing his legs, begrudgingly starting his breathing exercises.

This won't do.

He couldn't let himself lose the discipline like that. To let some strong emotions guide him and mud his will, leaving him open and ready to be picked apart.

Weak. Vulnerable. Alone.

He spent the rest of the evening methodically packing his belongings, coming out to eat dinner with Leliana, notifying her of his departure at dawn next day. She didn't ask about the abruptness of his depart, knowing that he won't tell a thing, if he didn't wish to. She didn't need to, as she heard enough earlier.

Vergil caught an hour of sleep, napping on the couch. The sheets smelled too much like them, reminding him of the person he slept with not so long ago. But it felt like a year and it took much (too much, the voice in his mind snarled with distaste) not to use the stairs and knock on the door of the room above his.

The power of wounded pride.

He scoffed quietly, staring into the night through the open windows. He didn't hear a sound form Aether's chambers and he chastised himself for even looking out for it.

Focus. You need to come back on the search and proritize more precisely. Do not stray this time, because you won't have any time left.

He let himself foolishly think that maybe he had something he could come back to and feel-

To have something more beyond the neverending climb up, up, duty and responsibilities. To simply breathe sometimes and share his thoughts, desires and plans.

The last clash showed him clearly the nastiness of reality and where he can bury his wants.

He curled on his side, letting out the heavy sigh and wishing the crushing feeling of disappointment to just go away.

That would be a lesson to draw the right conclusions. And learn form the mistakes, to not repeat them.

He hadn't have the time for more mistakes.

“Leave.”

And when the first morning light came, he was on the path away from the castle. Vergil didn't spare a glance at the sight behind him.

“Leave.”

So he left.

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His patience was thinning. With the reports from Avernus (close but still not at the closure of the experiments, keep looking, Commander), the official Grey Warden's inquiry to the Inquisition about the expedition to the Deep Roads and equally official answer (or lack of it).

The arrangements for two underground travels of his own Wardens, one he had to go himself (he preferred to handle the Architect in person) and came back none the wiser, except few matters straightened out.

The case of the Warden under his command, who's taint came visible and caused concern (she was a young human and only seven years after the joining), but not panic, as they knew that their time was limited. His Wardens trusted his leadership, and the years of his hard work and dedication to build the respect and a solid stronghold seemed to pay back.

But still, there were hundreds of small matters - nobles, Amaranthine still rebuilding, visits to the king's castle, the long and tiring (mentally and physically) travel to Weisshaupt, just to talk about the mess the Orlesian Wardens left by their uprising and how to proceed with the situation.

Days became weeks, weeks months and months flew by unnoticed.

His patience thinned, his calm was slipping, the control harder to maintain. He pushed forward, though, counting on his his closest companions to match his pace (and they did), to give, serve, search, hold, think, fight.

He needed potions to help him with sleep these days, as too many things wanted to catch his attention and he knew that he'd be useless without proper rest. That was what the logical part of his mind was telling him, as the other part was hungry for more, for constant run for knowledge and slightly desperate for winning the race with time. Whenever his body demanded to release the bottled up stress, Vergil either trained twice as hard, be it his magic or weapon skills, until he felt ready to collapse. Or easily picked an eager somebody to spend a night with (and squash the dregs of the sentiment, of what if, how is he now, still a bitter, nagging residue in his thoughts), tiring himself to shut eyes and forget for a moment.

One of Morrigan's rare letters came and he was off to meet her at some hidden location. He didn't blame her for the secrecy. They exchanged information and talked like old friends could. She expressed her concern at Vergil's visible fatigue and life choices in few scorching words, gifting him with some of her better potions, a private jab from the Blight times. He wouldn't let her have a last word and commented about her change in priorities thanks to the family she had. He hadn't expected the slight softening of her features and the fondness of her melodic voice, when she said “Caring about someone beside myself is strangely satisfying. It was foolish not to let myself taste it earlier. The fear of loss too strong to take the risk, blinding with hesitation. Isn't it, my friend?”

He dismissed the words then, but they echoed in his mind now and then, making his travel back to the Keep oddly melancholic.

Vergil hardly stepped into his office and was informed by Nathaniel about the crow waiting for him, with the letter bearing the private sign of one of Inquisition's members.

The chill stopped him for a moment, the slick dread of the first thought of “Something happened to Aether and they were kind enough to inform about it.” When Vergil composed himself (enough to stave off the weird anxiety coiling within), he proceeded to get the piece of paper in his own hands.

Ambassador Josephine was stating her concern about Aether's well-being, or actual lack of it and his health taking a plummet down in the past months. She noted that the inner circle tried every method available to improve his condition, but without results. And it seemed to worsen day by day, thus they ask him for help in solving the situation. As a friend they seemed to be in the past.

He glanced at the date. Written a week ago. He unwittingly counted the days the travel would take and-

Vergil cut off that thought.

Him, a savior? He scoffed, tossing the paper on the desk. The sour taste of the last encounter with Ae- the Inquisitor, still making him strangely uncomfortable. Why should he care? He thought, getting pieces of his armour off, with more force than necessary. Let him do what he wants and crumble, if he wishes to save everyone. He left the clothes carelessly scattered on the floor, the steps to his private chambers visible in every piece. He was in need of a long bath. The time for the distractions ended. How dare they presume he would leave everything without thought just because-

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Two days later the crow was leading the lone traveler, on the fastest path to the Skyhold.

#Dragon Age #Dragon Age Fanfiction #Vergil x Aether #Aether #s.warden #WardenTxt #Inquisitor and Warden

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