#but now my dad is apparently able to express feelings (towards animals?) so we might keep it?

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

re: your last ask about the time travel shenanigans—holy fuck yes please more of this. like, not only is it funny as hell, which i appreciate, but it's also a. more c!thomas and b. points to just how interestingly both the plot and characters of this series have grown over the years and i am ALL for it

"Janus!" is the first thing Thomas exclaims when he sees the Side Formerly Known Exclusively As Deceit rise up where Logan would usually stand. Which just might be a mistake, if Janus’s expression is anything to go by.

Okay, in Thomas's defence -

This is a really, really weird day, even by his standards. Because, like, Logan's currently standing in front of the stairs, and that's not where Logan's supposed to be, and his shirt and tie are all wrong. And had had been grinning. Openly. He had been openly grinning when Thomas had first woken up and looked in his wardrobe and realized that his favorite t-shirt apparently doesn't exist anymore and all his clothes are a half-size smaller than he's used to but also they still fit and - okay, no, back to Logan. He'd gone downstairs and tripped over a chair that wasn't supposed to be there and called out Logic. And he'd been about to ask him what's going on and why everything feels so off and also why Logan's standing in Virgil's usual spot instead of over to the right of the stairs. But then he'd noticed all the aforementioned Very Weird Clothing Things. And he'd stopped and said, "Uh, Logan?" and Logan's grin had dropped and he'd stared at Thomas for a full ten seconds then whispered, "what the fuck," with great emotion.

And then Patton had shown up with a ridiculous amount of pun-riddled cheerfulness that Thomas had been able to clock as sixty-percent fake within about half a second. And his clothes had been all wrong, too, and after a lot of confused, borderline-incomprehensible yelling at each other, Roman had showed up and added to the chaos.

"I am scared and confused and on the verge of completely losing it!" Thomas had declared at some point, which had been the cue for an ominous music sting somewhere to Thomas's right that made everybody jolt in terrified unison.

"Did somebody say scared and confused and on the verge of completely losing it?"

"Virgil, thank god!" Thomas had practically yelled, and just about thrown himself across the room to get to him - before pausing midway and allowing his brain to process... wrong hoodie. Wrong amount of eyeshadow. "Wait. No, hang on, is this - "

"FUCKING WHO," Virgil shrieked, leaping backwards half a flight of stairs, which had led to another round of confused yelling, with Thomas trying to assure them all that he's fine he hasn't had some sort of strange head injury or whatever, he's just really happy to see Virgil and no of course that's not weird, what do you mean who's Virgil, that's Virgil right over there, Roman please put down that sword things are already out of hand -

And at some point Thomas had got it into his head that the most reasonable course of events was to summon the one person who always seems to know everything that everybody else doesn't, which brings everything up to speed, more or less. Roman had gone, "Thomas, what are you doing," and Thomas, feeling slightly manic at this point, had said, "I'm trying to summon a demon, obviously," because the best way to get hold of a certain someone probably is blatant lying, and boom, instant Janus.

"Jeee-sus Christ on a cookie-shaped canoe, what is he doing here?!"

"Janus!"

So, Janus pops up, he looks literally the same as he always has (except maybe with shorter hair? Wait, they all have shorter hair, including Thomas, wait a second -) with his half-snake-face and his hat and gloves that cosy-looking capelet of his. And although his expression reflects faint bewilderment and that very particular 'wait, what' emotion that results in being pulled abruptly away from something you were busy with, he looks so normal that Thomas thinks for a moment he might be the only sane person left.

But then Janus makes a series of start-and-stop noises of incomprehension, and gestures wildly towards Virgil, who's crouched midway up on the stairs behind Logan, looking like a cornered wild animal, and snaps, "Why for the love of everything that's holy would you tell him my name?"

"You think this is me?" Virgil retorts, hands going up to grab desperately at the bars lining the side of the staircase. "I don't understand anything that's going on! He somehow knows my name! He's - he's being nice to me!"

It suddenly occurs to Thomas that this might just possibly be a time travel sort of thing. It would explain the clothes shift. And the altered layout of his house. And the fact that when he'd checked his phone this morning it had told him it was 2016, and also it hadn't been his phone, it had been the one he'd broken a few years ago in a tragic piano-moving-related accident.

...Okay, yeah, this is absolutely a time travel thing.

"Is somebody going to explain why Thomas ruined all of our heartfelt name reveal moments in one fell swoop?" Roman demands. "I thought we agreed we were going to do them gradually and draw them out as long as possible for dramatic effect!"

"I agreed to none of that," Virgil snaps from his position halfway up the stairs.

"Yes," says Logan, "yes, I think we all would like to know what's going on. Thomas? What's going on?"

"Uh - " Thomas, who has just come to a rather startling realization about time travel and also about how shitty his Sides' taste in costumes were pre-wardrobe change, doesn't really have a prepared answer for this. "I have... I am - I just - "

Thomas struggles for words. Really struggles. And everyone's just standing there, watching him with expressions that range from terror to confusion to suspicion, and they all look so weirdly young in a way that's hard to pin down. It's the clothes. It's probably the clothes, or maybe it's the way they hold themselves. Roman, carelessly confident, without a doubt in the world. Patton, still wearing a fixed dad-grin, politely baffled and looking back and forth. Logan, who hasn't been systematically beaten down and pushed back over the course of many, many years. Virgil, who's basically just a ball of grey-and-black anger and acerbic anger at this point. Janus, who's... Janus. Who's looking at him in a way that Janus has never looked at him before.

And Remus is probably lurking somewhere in the back of his mind, too, doing whatever Remus does, and - would Remus be any different now, four years prior? Thomas hadn't had any significant problems with intrusive thoughts, not back then... or, well, back now. Maybe he's calmer, maybe Thomas could actually talk with him. Try to work something out, try to understand.

But wait, he's still got to give the Sides right here and right now an answer.

Hm.

...Thomas has been through a lot in the past four years. Not, like, fantasy protagonist a lot, but more like a extended psychological journey of self-discovery and mental health crises. Now, he wouldn't trade any of this for the world, because he's learned a hell of a lot about himself in the process - but also? The Sides have put him through a lot of horrifying realization-type things.

Which is why he absolutely one hundred percent deserves to do what he's about to do next.

"I," says Thomas, with an extraordinary amount of confidence and self-assuredness, "am psychic."

And the dead silence holds. Now even Patton is staring at him in disbelief. Janus has graduated into outright horror, his face twisted up into a oh god no I am somehow responsible for letting him delude himself this far expression.

"Thomas!" Roman gasps, almost instantly lighting up with genuine enthusiasm. "Oh, Thomas, I'm so proud, we've been working on this for years. Tell me, does this extend to telekinesis, or just somehow knowing all our names and nothing else?"

"What?" Janus says. "What - no. No, you can't seriously be going along with this - what? That... what? That doesn't even make any sense?" He turns wildly from left to right, and - okay, it's very enjoyable to see him out of his depth, to be perfectly honest. Thomas likes Janus a lot, knows he has his best interests at heart, but the whole courtroom thing had been a major dick move. This is satisfying. "Are any of you getting this? Does anyone here understand what's going on?"

"I'm psychic," Thomas repeats doggedly. "I acquired magical psychic powers and now I know all of your names and tragic backstories. Surprise! I unlocked my full potential and the ninety-percent of my brain power that I wasn't using."

"That's - that's a widely-perpetuated and wildly incorrect myth," Logan says weakly.

"Nope. Turns out it's true, and I was only using ten percent of it, and now that I've gone full big-brain, I know that Patton's repressing all his bad feelings because he doesn't want to bother anyone with them, Virgil acts all scary and menacing because he thinks it's the only way that I'll ever listen to him, and Janus is secretly a huge dork with a heart of gold - uh, yellow, I guess."

"How dare you," Janus breathes, looking horrified.

"Wha - " Patton suddenly looks very pale indeed.

"Also, Roman, you're my hero; Logan, please never stop smiling like that ever again, it's literally my favorite thing in the world and if you ever stop being enthusiastic about teaching me things I will cry - and Virgil, I love you."

Virgil lets out a choked little noise like he's just been punched directly in the stomach.

"I love all of you," Thomas adds, an afterthought. "I never say that enough. Janus, that goes for you as well. You're right, I need to take care of myself more."

"I'm - " Janus is still looking around at everyone in complete disbelief, but now his gaze fixes onto Thomas, his eyes wide. "I'm what?"

Thomas is now on a roll. An extremely cathartic sort of roll. "And Remus -"

Everybody immediately panics. Virgil and Logan's hands both immediately leap up to clasp over their mouths, which seems to be a reflexive reaction on Janus's behalf. Patton lets out a deranged-sounding high pitched giggle that edges into genuine hysteria.

"Brother? What brother? I don't know what a brother is!" Roman says loudly. "I've never had a brother in my life! Thomas, your glorious psychic powers are malfunctioning. Have you tried turning them off and turning them on again?"

" - I'm not going to lie and say I love him, but -" Thomas stops abruptly, and staggers  backwards to catch himself on the couch as a thought strikes him out of literally nowhere. "Son of a bitch -"

"Does being psychic make you swear a lot?" Patton asks weakly. "Because, uh. Not sure I like this side of you, kiddo - "

"Logan," says Thomas. "Logan, what's the date today? This is so, so important, what's the date."

"It's... October," Logan says, very slowly. "October twentieth. 2016?"

"Holy shit," Thomas whispers, and then says it louder, "holy shit. Okay, listen. I was going to sort out all of our collective psychological issues in one impressive emotional speedrun, but I've realized we have something much more important to do." He pauses, and takes in a very deep, shuddering breath. "Guys. We can save Vine. Excuse me. I've just realized I’ve got to make a lot of calls."

#storytime #timeswap au #asks #please note that everything in my storytime tag is (by definition) rushed and unedited content and this is no exception #that being said. enjoy. #character!thomas #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #sad to announce that remus is once again not here :( #Anonymous

[ofendlesswonder]

ah so exciting! would love number 25

25. “I need a place to stay.”

A shadow falls over Kara’s desk, and she pauses her proofread of her latest article to glance up at the person hovering by her shoulder, jaw dropping open when she gets a glimpse of messy blond curls.

“Carter?” It’s been months since she’d thought of him, longer still since she’d seen him, but the face is unmistakable, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. “What are you doing here? Is your Mom here?”

She hasn’t seen Cat in months, either, not since she left to ‘dive’ into pastures new. No one has seen her recently, in fact—she’s effectively disappeared off the face of the earth, is only mentioned in gossip columns when they’re speculating her whereabouts.

Not that Kara has a Google alert set up for her name, or anything.

“No, she’s in Washington.”

“D.C.?” What on earth is she doing there? And what on earth is Carter doing here, backpack slung over his shoulder, eyes red-rimmed and cheeks blotchy like he’d been crying.

“Yeah. She took a new job there.”

Kara feels like he’s reading from a script she isn’t privy too, has no idea how any of this has led him to be here, standing by her new desk and scuffing his converse along the floor. “Okay…”

“But I don’t want to live there. I didn’t want to leave here, but she said it would be temporary. That we’d come back. Only now she wants to work in the stupid White House and she’s looking at apartments and a new school and I—I don’t want it. We had a fight.” He sniffs, rubs the back of his sleeve across his cheek like he’s scrubbing away the remnant of his tears. “And I said I wanted to come back. Live with Dad, if that’s what it took.”

Kara can only imagine how Cat would have taken that.

Not well, by any means.

“She sent me back, only I don’t want to live with my Dad, I want to live with her, but here in our old apartment. He wouldn’t even meet me at the airport. He said I was old enough to get a cab.”

Kara’s jaw tightens—she knows Chris is an asshole, but this seems like a new low, even for him.

“So, I got a cab, but not to him.”

“You came here, instead.” Here, to some semblance of stability, of familiarity. The apartment is gone—Kara had helped Cat list it for sale, and it had been snapped up in no time, and she wonders if Cat had ever really considered a move back to National City. The apartment is gone, but CatCo. is not, and Kara remembers countless afternoons where Carter had come by after school, curling up in Cat’s office with his homework. Sometimes, Kara had helped him with a particularly stubborn math problem, or talked to him about his favorite anime, keeping him entertained until his mother was off the clock.

“I need a place to stay,” he says, voice small, eyes glued to his shoes. “Can I come home with you?”

Yes, she wants to say, without hesitation, recognizing the small, scared child he so desperately tried to hide, the one who felt like he had nowhere else to go. Yes, of course you can—but it’s never that simple, is it?

She has a secret identity to protect, and he’s supposed to be with his father, and Cat might kill her, and—

Wait.

Does Cat know where he is?

“No,” he says, when she asks. “I didn’t tell her. And I turned off my phone, so she wouldn’t track me.”

“Carter.” She can’t help the admonishment, because she knows how much Cat cares about him—she’d do anything for him, and she imagines her pacing up and down a hotel room in the capital, already on the phone to the police. “You should call her.”

He makes a noise of discontent.

“At least let her know you’re safe. She’ll be worrying.”

“Can you call her?”

“I…I don’t know about that. I think it would be better coming from you.”

“Please?” He peers down at her with eyes so like his mother’s that Kara aches.

“All right,” she sighs, and makes the mistake of glancing across the bullpen. Snapper is glaring at her, his face red. Great. Someone else who wants to kill me. Could this day get any better?

“Kara?” Cat answers the phone sounding harried, and Kara recognizes the faint note of panic in her voice. She lets herself bask in the familiarity of it for one long moment—months, since she’d heard Cat’s voice, months, since she’d last felt the comfort of it. Months of missing her, in a way she knows she isn’t allowed to. “This isn’t a great time.”

“Uh, I know.” She looks at Carter, who avoids her gaze. “Something about a missing fourteen year old?”

“How…how do you know that?”

“Because he’s standing right in front of me.”

“Carter’s with you?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Why?”

“Good question. Should I let him explain it for himself?”

Carter shoots her a sharp look, but Kara forces the phone into his hand anyway, pointedly turning away like she’s not listening as he lifts it to his ear. She stares at the blinking cursor on her computer screen as he talks, trying to summon the will to finish her work.

No such luck.

“Could you…could you keep an eye on him for me?” Cat asks, when Carter gives her back her phone. “I’m going to fly out as soon as I can, but it’ll be a few hours before I can get there. I know it’s an imposition, and he’s supposed to be with Chris, but he said he’d be more comfortable with you.”

Her gaze flickers to Carter, to the hopeful expression on his face, to the pleading note in Cat’s voice, thinks of the opportunity to see her again, even if for just one more day.

“Okay,” she says, and knows it’s the right decision when Carter lurches forward to wrap his arms around her neck. “I’ll watch him.”

“No runaway trains this time,” Cat says into her ear, and Kara laughs, remembering her last ill-fated babysitting attempt, a lifetime ago.

“I’ll try my best.”

 ***

The knock on her door comes at nine thirty, not quite loud enough to wake the sleeping teenager stretched out on her couch.

She pulls open the door, comes face-to-face with the woman she’s been trying so hard not to think about for the past few months, and Kara thinks, as their eyes meet, her heart thudding painfully in her chest, that she’s been fooling herself, because it all comes rushing back the second their eyes meet.

There was only ever one reason why things would have never worked with James, one reason why Kara hasn’t been able to so much as think about dating since they’d ended things, one reason why her life has felt so empty these past few months.

Only one person who could make her heart pound, set butterflies free in her stomach, make her palms—physically impossible though it may be—feel damp.

And that person is the woman standing in front of her now, her eyes as wild as her hair, mussed from the wind, a faint flush on her cheeks and Kara wonders if she’d raced up the stairs in those three inch heels, desperate to set eyes on her beloved son, to see for herself he was safe and well.

“Come on in,” Kara says, standing aside to let her past. It’s the first time Cat has been inside her home, and the gravity of the moment isn’t lost on her.

She’s glad she had the foresight to tidy up a little, while Carter had been in the shower.

If he’d noticed that the amount of cleaning she’d done shouldn’t have been possibly in such a sort frame of time by human hands, he’d had the grace not to mention it.

“I, uh, didn’t want to wake him up,” Kara says, pitching her voice low, when Cat gravitates toward the couch, gazing down at Carter with such open affection she feels like she has to look away. “Seeing as he’s had a hard day.”

She’d tried to distract him as much as possible, enlisting his help with the fun of filing while she’d been at work, and then with food and games once she’d taken him home. He looked like he’d needed it, lost in his head, spiralling over the choices that had been made for him, bits and pieces of his life over the last few months spilling out over the course of the afternoon.

“Thank you for looking after him.”

Kara shrugs. “It wasn’t any trouble.”

“Still. You don’t owe me anything. Not anymore.”

“On the contrary, Ms. Grant. I owe you a lot.” She’d forgotten how hard it was to think, with Cat’s eyes weighing heavy on her face. “My job, for example. I wouldn’t be a junior reporter without you.”

“Nonsense. You got that job on your own merit. Otherwise you wouldn’t be doing so well.”

“You read my articles?”

“Of course.” Cat looks offended she thought otherwise. “Is Snapper still giving you hell?”

“I think he likes to torture me.” Her nose wrinkles, and Cat laughs, some of her worry ebbing away now Carter is within her sights.

He’s still sound asleep, and Cat doesn’t look like she wants to wake him. Bathed in the glow of the lamp on Kara’s coffee table, she’s breath-taking, and Kara looks away before she’s caught staring.

“Do you, um, want a drink or anything?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose any more than we already have.”

Panic seizes her heart at the thought of Cat leaving so soon, because when would she see her again? Would she leave right away, ushering Carter back to the CatCo. jet and across the country before night truly fell? Or would she linger, perhaps let herself remember all the things she loved about this place?

Not that that would include you, you idiot.

“Please,” she says, trying not to listen to the voice in her head. “I…It would be nice to hear what you’ve been up to these last few months.”

For a moment, she doesn’t think it’s enough. Thinks Cat is going to leave anyway, slip away even though Kara only just got her back.

But then she blinks, and her lips curve into the smallest of smiles, and she says: “Very well. What have you got?”

Good question, Kara thinks, because probably not a lot. Whatever Alex and Maggie had left over last game’s night, which turns out to be a bottle of cheap whiskey Cat turns her nose up at. Kara doesn’t blame her—apparently it left a killer hangover.

“I’m trying to cut down on drinking,” Cat says, and her gaze flickers over to the back of the couch. “I’ve been told it’s not very healthy. Apparently it’s bad for my liver.”

A sentiment she’d never once shared before, but Kara bites her tongue. It’s none of her business, the ways in which Cat has changed. None of her business, to wonder if Cat’s been throwing down scotches to try and chase away the memories of the city she’d left behind.

“How about a tea?” Cat suggests, and Kara blinks at her.

There’s a request she’s never made before.

“Regular, peppermint or camomile?”

“Regular is fine.” Kara brews a pot, wonders why she feels so jittery, but she knows the answer. It’s because Cat is here, in her space, after so many months away. Here, in a place thus far untouched by her, and Kara knows when she’s gone she’ll feel the imprint of her, remember the way she’d stood, leaning against her kitchen counter, looking out of place and like she was exactly where she belonged at the same time.

“So,” she says, once she’s handed Cat a steaming mug. “Washington, huh?”

“Carter told you.”

“Only a little. He didn’t say what you were there for.”

“I was offered a job. White House Press Secretary.”

Kara nearly chokes on a sip of her own tea in shock. But then, she thinks, it makes sense. She could see it—Cat, at the front of a room full of reporters, tearing them apart if they dared ask her the wrong thing. She could certainly think of no better person to have fighting your corner than Cat Grant.

“Is that what you want to do? Get into politics?”

“It’s something I’ve considered.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“My, my,” Cat says, clutching her mug between long fingers and throwing Kara a lazy smile. “Look at you. Am I being interviewed, Ms. Danvers?”

Kara ducks her head, feeling her cheeks warm. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

“It’s all right.” Cat’s voice is gentle, her eyes unguarded when Kara dares to look her way. “To be honest, I don’t know what I want. I thought getting away from here would bring me clarity, inspiration for my next big thing, but…instead I found myself wandering without purpose. Less a shark stuck in a tank and more a tiny goldfish, lost at sea.”

“Then why not come back? It...it’s not the same without you.” Too much, probably. Too close to spilling the truth, maybe, but it’s too late to take the words back now.

“Because my reasons for leaving haven’t changed.”

What reasons, Kara wants to ask, because the ones she’d been given had never made any sense. Cat handing over the reins to her beloved company just didn’t seem like something she’d do, especially without so much as a glance back. What reasons, Kara wants to know, but the line they tread is so thin—she thinks of Cat’s razor-sharp voice saying strictly professional and never wants to feel an ache like that again.

“And what about Carter?”

Cat glances toward the couch again and sighs. “I hadn’t realised he was so reticent until today. I know he struggles with change, but…I thought this would be a good one. He could go to a better school, have more opportunities. I didn’t know he was so attached to this place.”

“Of course he’s attached. It’s his home. It’s all he’s ever known, and you—no offence—are yanking it away from him.”

“I suppose you have a point.” Cat’s lips purse. “When did you get so wise?”

“Learned it from the best,” she says, and Cat’s smile is tight. “Are you…are you going back there tonight?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think Carter and I need to have a discussion, first. One where I listen to him instead of making the decision for him. I just…I thought I was doing the best thing for him. For both of us.”

“So you might stay?” She can’t quash the hopeful note in her voice, watches a shadow pass across Cat’s face and wonders what it means.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I can.” Her fingers tremble, the tiniest amount, as she sets down her empty mug, runs them through her hair.

“Why?” Just do it, she thinks, because when she wakes up tomorrow, Cat might be gone, and there are too many unanswered questions for her to be left with. “What’s so bad about being here? What are you so desperate to get away from?”

“Oh, Kara.” Cat’s eyes close, a sigh rattling through her chest. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then help me to.” She knows she’s being obstinate. That there’s a reason Cat doesn’t want to tell her, that she has no right to know.

But she remembers Cat saying goodbye, Cat’s arms wrapped around her, heart beating so loud it was impossible for Kara not to notice, the shimmer of tears in her eyes before she’d blinked them away. Remembers the countless times Kara had reached out, over the past few months, only to be ignored, like she meant nothing when she knew she’d meant at least something.

“Please, Cat. I just want—”

She’s cut off when Cat surges forward, settling one hand on the counter beside Kara’s hip and wrapping the other around the back of Kara’s neck, drawing her down into a kiss. Kara freezes, brain short-circuiting as Cat’s lip brush against her own, soft and warm, but when she feels Cat begin to pull away, her bravado failing, she snaps into action, discarding her mug on the counter and splaying a hand at the small of Cat’s back to keep her close.

It’s been building for years, she thinks, as Cat parts her lips for Kara’s searching tongue, nails digging into the base of her skull. Years of working closely together, a spark igniting but neither of them willing to give it space to grow, too terrified of what might happen, if it grew into a fire they could no longer control.

“That’s why,” Cat breathes, when she pulls away, heart hammering almost as fast as Kara’s.

“Seems like a pretty good reason to stay to me,” Kara says, leaning in to kiss her again, but Cat stops her with a shake of her head.

“It’s not. Kara, you shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t want me.”

“I know,” she says, and when Cat flinches, she doesn’t let her pull away. “I know there are a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t, why we shouldn’t be together, but I also…don’t really care. I’ve spent the past few months missing you like crazy, and it hasn’t diminished the way I feel about you. Doesn’t that mean something? Doesn’t that mean it’s worth trying?”

“I…” Cat trails off, meets her gaze and traces the pads of her fingers across Kara’s cheek, looks at her like she barely believes she’s real. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to.”

“You start by letting me in. By not running away when—” She hears movement on the couch, hopes to Rao Carter hasn’t heard any of their hushed conversation. “Carter’s waking up.”

Cat is quick to slip from her arms, and Kara feels the loss of her like a physical ache, chilled to the bone in the places she’d just been burning with warmth. “I don’t want this to be the end of it,” she says, knowing Carter’s not yet fully conscious, knowing they have a few more stolen moments. “I don’t want you to go to your hotel room and talk yourself out of it.”

“Kara Danvers, are you asking me to spend the night?”

“No, because I know you’d turn me down.” She can sense it, in the nervous energy radiating from her. Cat isn’t a person who lays her heart on the line, is someone guarded and careful, isn’t reckless the way she had been tonight. She needed time to process, time to think it through, and Kara would give her that—as long as she wasn’t going to slip away without saying goodbye. “But we should talk. Tomorrow.”

“Before five.”

Kara frowns. “Why five?”

“Because that’s how long the Press Secretary job is on the table for.”

“You haven’t accepted it?”

“Not yet,” she says, and Kara feels hope bloom in her chest. “I told them I had some things I need to consider first.”

“And now?”

“Now I have even more things to think about.” She reaches out, catches Kara’s fingers with her own and squeezes, and Kara’s heart thuds in her chest. She wants to lean down, wants to kiss her again, already misses the heat of her mouth, but a head pops over the back of the couch, Carter rubbing at his eyes.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Don’t you ‘Hi Mom’ me,” Cat says, eyes narrowing until Carter gulps. “Do you have any idea how worried I was, young man?"

“I’m sorry,” he says, his head hanging. “But I wanted to stop you doing something stupid, and this was the only way I know how.”

And thank Rao he had. Her day would have shaken out very differently had Carter not arrived in the bullpen, she knows. She’d have finished her article and gone to hang out with Alex and Maggie, probably, tried to ignore the ache seeing the two of them so happy seems to incite, lately, craving something similar for herself.

“Hm. Well, we’ll talk about it later. For now, I think we’ve taken up enough of Kara’s time, don’t you?”

Not enough of it, Kara thinks, but she bites her tongue. Space. Time to process. Not snuggling up together on the couch with a movie.

“Thanks for today, Kara.” Carter looks only a little sheepish as he gathers his things, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

“Any time, buddy,” she says, meaning it more than he’ll probably ever know. The urge to kiss Cat goodbye is so strong she can barely stand it, and she balls her hands into fists at her sides so she doesn’t reach for her. “I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow?” She asks, before Cat slips through the door, dizzy with the feeling of being on the cusp of something she’s wanted for so long.

“Tomorrow,” Cat agrees, looking like it pains her to say it, looking like she doesn’t know how she’s possibly going to muster the will to leave, green eyes so heavy on Kara’s face it feels like a caress, feels like the ghost of her kiss, makes her feel like she’s burning from the inside out. “Goodnight, Kara.”

Goodnight, and not goodbye, and Kara hovers in the doorway, watches them go down the hall.

“You are in big trouble,” she hears Cat say as they turn the corner, slipping out of sight. “What were you thinking?”

And she shouldn’t listen, she knows, but she catches her name, as they start down the stairs, and can’t help but tune in to a snippet of conversation.

“I was thinking I missed home, and that I was sick of you moping after Kara for the past eight months, and it was time someone did something about it,” Carter says, then: “Ow!” as Cat must smack him over the head.

“Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again.”

“But did it work?”

“None of your business.”

“It totally worked.”

Kara shakes her head, unable to bite back a smile as she steps back inside and lets the door shut behind her.  

#supercat #supercat:fanfic #this was supposed to be short... 🤷‍♀️

[gryphonablaze]

heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey who wants a one shot fic that I wrote for daughter of the lilies by the awesome meg syv, aka bludragongal who I’m not gonna actually tag here bc I’ve tagged her in half a billion posts already ,, 

the fic is titled ‘saving face’ because I love me some puns

‘Eugh, snow… I hate it, I hate it I hate it I hate being cold…’ Lyra was sitting as close to the fire Thistle had started as she could without being burned. 

‘Hey, are snowstorms a thing? Like magic storms, but snow?’ Thistle asked. Everyone was quiet for a while. 

‘Don’t know. Probably, but hope not. Anyway, cave is goot place to trap heat. Glad ve found. Also glad Thistle can make voodless fire. But vhy only now bring up?’

‘Beceause most places we camp chalk won’t stay on the ground, so it wouldn’t work anyway. It’s complicated, too. I don’t remember half the runes. And you can’t write ‘em down without setting the paper on fire.’

‘Then… how did you get it to work?’ Brent asked.

‘Muscle memory. I couldn’t teach someone how to do it, but I could draw it out with my eyes closed if I needed to. When I was a kid, every fireplace in the house used these. The kitchen, too.’ 

‘You vere raised by mage? Is that vhy you not go to magic school?’ 

… Oops.

‘Er… yeah.’

‘Hrm. Explains vhy you so goot.’ 

‘Ooooooh, backstory!!!!’ Lyra teased. ‘You’ve said your dad didn’t like animals, and apparently he’s a mage. What else do we know? I need to start taking notes.’

‘Hey, cut it out.’ Brent ‘gently’ punched her in the shoulder. Didn’t seem like he meant it, though. 

There was a noise like the clattering of a rock. 

The fire went out. 

Something whistled in the air. Thistle leaped to her feet at the same time that everyone else dropped like flies. 

‘What the--’

Behind her were five cave elves.

Her teammates were unconscious, and there was some sort of antimagic that put out the fire… and rendered her defenseless. 

Claws cut through the air. The cave elves expressed confusion when she dodged the blow. Thistle went for Brent’s discarded sword. 

They clearly hadn’t been expecting for her to be able to see in the dark. 

They seemed to get over that surprise quickly. 

One of them said something, and the others backed away. Did he want a one-on-one fight? 

Apparently.

Despite not knowing how to use it, Thistle was at an advantage with a weapon. Even so, she was still on the defensive. She dodged more than a few attempts at disarming her. 

Did cave elves have some sort of honor-duel system? Was that a thing? Would they be left alone if she won this fight? Was it to the death? Not like she could ask, between the language barrier and being preoccupied with combat. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the other four standing over Lyra, a fist raised, ready to concuss her.

Oh, so this was a distraction. 

She flipped like a switch.

‘rrrrRRRRAAAAAAAGGHH!!!!!’ Thistle took a powerful, haphazard swing at the dueling elf. His surprise earned him a shallow slash on his leg. 

You don’t get killed by being careful, she heard Gwen scold her. You get killed by being reckless. 

Yeah, well, she had no magic and was outnumbered five to one. No amount of careful could save someone from that. Might as well do something. 

With another roar she rushed at the other one, who immediately jumped back so as to avoid being skewered. 

A phwt! through the air and something stung her in the neck. She picked it out. It was a dart. Paralytic poison, by the feel of it. Would put someone out of commission just long enough to knock them unconscious. Good thing it wouldn’t affect her. 

Thistle chased another elf away from Brent and turned toward two that had just now stopped arguing over how to handle Orrig. She stepped forward. Something swept her feet out from under her. 

‘GAH!’ 

In an effort not to land on the blade, she tossed it aside with both hands. Which meant she could not catch her fall. Thistle hit the ground face-first. She tasted blood.

It was hard to get any air without inhaling blood. But Thistle was saved from the effort of trying. She choked as one of the cave elves pulled her up from the ground by her hood. 

And then dropped her. She landed hard on her knees, and fell into a coughing fit trying to catch her breath. She barely heard the cave elves panicking amongst themselves and running away. 

~~POV switch~~

The fire went out.

He couldn’t move. 

‘What the--’ 

Foreign chatter, the swing of steel, the sounds of struggle. Something was here, and Thistle was fighting it, alone, not using magic. If he had to guess, the talking sounded almost like the two cave elves that took a bite out of his arm a few months ago. 

He heard Thistle let out a scream of pure fury. Damn. He’d seen her angry before, but he was very glad that this wasn’t directed at him. 

He was starting to regain movement when he heard a yelp, followed immediately by a sickening crunch. Brent managed to remove the poison dart from his shoulder. Gods, this was like the cave elf job. Thistle was hurt, and he couldn’t do shit to help her. He could barely reach out an arm in futile desperation. 

A gasp. Distressed conversation. Something had started wailing like a child. He heard footsteps running away. Just like the cave elf job… 

As the assailants grew more distant, the fire relit itself and began to grow from a flame barely the size of a candle. Thistle noticed the light and pulled her hood up. There was just enough for Brent to see the outline of long, pointed ears and short fluffy hair. Ears like Lyra’s. So she was an elf? Huh.

No, right now was not the time for wondering what she was hiding. He could see blood on the ground and all down the front of her vest.

‘Are you guys alright?’ 

‘You’re asking us if we’re alright?’ Lyra’s words were slightly slurred. ‘You look like… I can’t even think of something witty. You’re covered in blood, and you’re asking if we’re alright?’ 

‘Yeah, well, poison is usually more dangerous than a nosebleed. If it isn’t wearing off by now, then it’s a different type than I thought, and that could make for some serious problems. But you’re talking, so that’s a good sign. Brent? Orrig?’

‘Vill be fine.’ 

‘Yeah, I’m okay.’ 

‘Good.’ Stiffly, Thistle got up and went over to her bag and dug out some gauze to hold against her face. ‘Now that the antimagic is gone,’ Her voice was nasally, ‘I’m gonna set some wards. I should’ve done that first thing.’  she started grumbling. ‘It even crossed my mind, but I chose not to, I almost got us all kidnapped or killed…’ 

‘Did you know there vere things in cave?’ Orrig asked sternly.

‘Well… no, but I still--’

‘Then is not your fault.’ 

#daughter of the lilies #fanfic #one shot #poor thistle being badass and having to save everybody #remember that meme I reblogged a while ago #the button dillemma template torn between 'want to see fave char badass and competent' vs 'want to see fave char broken down needing care' #well hehehe #you best believe I'm smashing both buttons so much rn #dotl

[albertasunrise]

No More - Chapter 4

Summary: Frankie has been your best friend since you were in the 2nd grade. You were each other’s first’s, he, your first love and as you’d both gotten older you always somehow fell into bed together after one too many drinks with the boys. You don’t know how much longer you can keep this up but fate has other plans for you both and events are set in motion to decide for you.

Warnings: Angst, Bitch Ex, Fluff

Pairings: Frankie/ Reader

~

Frankie’s recovery was slow. His physio was extensive after having to have his left leg reconstructed and it meant it took him some weeks to build up the muscle strength in it again. He was on a concoction of drugs, pain and antibiotics, after he’d had to have his kidney and his spleen removed. The Millers had temporarily moved in with Frankie to take care of him when he was let out of the hospital and you’d gone around almost every evening so that he could spend time with Emma. You’d been shocked how quickly he’d taken to becoming a father, desperate to do anything to help that was within his capabilities. As time went on and he was well on the way to recovery he started to take more and more on, relishing being able to feed her, bath her and sing her to sleep. Neither of you though discussed the situation between the two of you. He’d not pushed the subject again, despite how desperate he was to confess how he felt but he knew that he had to prove himself and so he started with Emma.

‘So... I wondered if you had any plans this weekend.’ He says suddenly, pulling you from your book.

‘What do you mean?’ You ask as you turn your head to look at him, smiling as he bounces his smiley daughter on his knee.

‘Well, the doc said it’s important for me to be moving around and walking about.’ He starts, pulling a face at Emma and making her giggle ‘The weather is supposed to be really good this weekend. Thought maybe we could take Emma to the zoo.’

It had been four months since the accident. Frankie was able to walk unaided now and had been taking regular walks, often to get Emma to sleep as she always dosed off in her pram after she ate. He had really thrown himself headfirst into fatherhood and you’d noticed. A few times you’d seen him crying as you left for the night, his shoulders shaking as he tried to fight back the tears as he watched you leave. He’d received a monumental payout from the accident. Turned out the guy who had hit him was a multimillionaire and had paid Frankie a massive fee not to take him to court. He’s sad down with you, asked you what you thought and you’d appreciated him doing that, ultimately telling him to take the deal.

‘Yeah, that sounds like a wonderful idea.’ You reply as you smile at your daughter, her arms waving in delight at the attention she's getting from her parents.

‘I wanted to show you something.’ He said as he pulled her against his chest and stood up, holding his hand out to help you to your feet.

‘What?’ You ask as he leads up up the stairs.

A sense of Deja Vu washes over you as you walk up the stairs of his childhood home, eyes scanning over the photos that hung on the wall and smiling at the ones of you and him as children, the ones of his parents and now taking pride of place, Emma. He stops beside the door that had once been your bedroom, pushing it open and motioning for you to look as he bounces the baby in his arms. You look at him suspiciously as you take ginger steps towards the doorway, eyes growing wide with what greets you. The room had been completely transformed. The walls had been painted a subtle pink and a whitewashed Crib sat proudly to the middle of the wall on your right with a changing table sat opposite that was painted in a similar finish. Piled neatly in the corner were several stuffed toys and sat underneath the window was a chest that you recognised. It had been yours when you were a kid and you’d moved it with you when Frankie’s parents had taken you in. It was unchanged, just lovingly restored and when you walked over to it and carefully lifted the lid you sobbed when you saw the toys you’d kept inside are still there.

‘Thought maybe you might want to give them to Emma.’ He states as he takes a step inside, smiling against Emma’s cheek as she rests her face against his lips.

You close the lid and continue to scan your surroundings, smiling at the artwork that hangs on the walls and the mobile above the cot.

‘Do you like it?’ He asks, a little nervous at your continued silence.

‘I love it.’ You reply as you finally look at him, your smile spreading from ear to ear ‘When did you do all this?’

‘Well, I had some time on my hands.’ He chuckles ‘The guys helped me with it but I wanted to get something together for her.’ You nod as you watch Emma look around ‘There’s one more thing.’

You give him a bemused look, following him out of the nursery and down the hall to what you knew to be the spare room. This room was also different although in more subtle ways. There was a desk set up in the corner that adorned a large monitor and other computing equipment and in the far corner stood a tall mirror with an elegant wardroom and dresser beside it.

‘What is this?’ You ask, turning your head to look at him.

‘It kills me every night when you take her.’ He starts, the pain evident in his expression ‘I thought maybe if you had somewhere you could sleep, that some nights she can stay here. I know that you’re not comfortable leaving her yet so this way you don’t have to. This way I can help with night feeds and breakfast time.’

‘Frankie-‘

‘Please. Before you say no. At least think about it.’ He begs ‘I’m not asking you to move in here or anything. I’m just asking you to give me a chance to help more. I’ve even set a desk up so that you can work here and I can take care of her during the day. I’m not going to be able to work for a while so why not be a stay at home dad. The payout means I’m financially sound for a while.’

‘Frankie. I wasn’t going to say no.’ You chuckle, taking a few ginger steps towards him ‘I think this is a great idea.’

‘You do?’

‘I do.’ You reply, smiling at the goofy grin that spreads across his face.

‘Great!.’

~

‘What do you think she’ll want to see first?’ Exclaims Frankie excitedly ‘I think the penguins!’

‘Frank she’s 4 months old.’ You giggle ‘She’ll probably poop and fall asleep.’

You can’t help but love how excited he is about this day trip. He was insistent on wearing the baby carrier so that he could show her call the animals. You’d been concerned that his leg might struggle but he said he was fine. So here you are, him with a giggly Emma strapped to his chest and you with the buggy, pushing around the armoury of items that babies apparently require.

‘Oh look the penguins are this way.’ He says, practically skipping and you can’t help but chuckle at his excitement.

Sure enough, Emma is mesmerised by them, watching them swim with comically wide eyes as her little hands wave around as if desperately trying to pet them. The two of you coo at her as she laughs and wiggles with glee as one penguin seems to take a particular interest in her, smiling when she squeals at him waving his wing at her.

‘I think you made a new friend baby girl.’ He says sweetly as he places a kiss on the top of her head.

‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Comes a voice, pulling you both out of your family moment.

You and Frankie turn to see Emily stood across from you, arms crossed and her face red with rage.

‘So her brat is yours then?’ She spits, venom dripping from every word.

‘Emily-‘

‘This is hilarious. You cheat on me with her and knock her up in the process.’ She scoffs, eyeing Emma angrily ‘Poor kid. Having a dad like you.’

‘Don’t you dare speak to him like that!’ You growl, taking a step forward ‘He’s an amazing father to Emma. He went through hell four months ago but despite that he has gone over and above to show her how loved she is.’

‘Hell huh?’ She tuts as she tilts her head to the side ‘Fall of the bandwagon again did you Fish?'

‘His car got t-boned and he almost died actually.’ You state, taking pleasure in the shock that spreads across her face. ‘Lost a kidney and his spleen. Had to have his leg reconstructed and went through months of painful physio so that he could walk again and yet he still bathed her, fed her. Despite the pain, he was in. So he’s an incredible father and I’m just glad I was able to give him the chance to prove that…’

'Unlike you’

The guilt that flooded her features only inflated the satisfaction you feel in taking her down a peg. You could see her brain working, trying to find a comeback but struggling.

‘Why she so small?’ She finally says ‘You get on it whilst knocked up?’

‘I was in the car with him.’ You growl ‘Accident brought on an early labour and she ended up being a month premature.’

Her face paled at your statement but you felt no satisfaction now. She’d brought your daughter into this feud. She’d made it personal. She stood there for a moment, mouth opening and closing as she thought of what to say but in the end, she turned around and practically sprinted out of view, leaving you seething in silence.

‘You okay?’ Frankie asks finally as he places a friendly hand on your arm.

‘Yeah.’ You reply as you turn and smile at him ‘Yeah I'm fine.’

‘Thank you.’ He says, and you give him a confused look ‘For sticking up for me. I really hope that I’ll be a good dad to Emma.’

‘Frankie I meant every word.’ You state, your expression serious ‘You are an amazing father to Emma. She’s so lucky to have you.’

You see his cheeks pink at that, giving you a little nod as he places another kiss on his daughters head in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

‘Shall we go see the giraffes Bean?’ You ask as you stroke Emma’s cheek with your finger, giggling when she squeals in reply ‘Take that as a yes.’

‘Do you want to carry her for a bit?’ Asks Frankie as he watches you with her ‘I’ll push the pram.’

‘No, it's fine.’ You reply, smiling sweetly at him ‘I like watching you with her.’

Emma loved the giraffes even more. She wriggled like crazy as her hands grabbed at the docile creatures. One of the keepers had noticed her reaction and invited you over for snack time. You filmed on your phone whilst Frankie held his hand flat so the giraffe can eat the snack the zookeeper has given him and you desperately try to stifle your laugh when the creature's large blue tongue sloppily licks it out of his hand. Emma squeals with excitement at how close it had gotten but she quietened down when it lowered its head to inspect her, the keeper telling Frankie that it is okay to pet him. You couldn’t believe your eyes as you watch Emma, very gently, pet the giraffe's snout and you found yourself tearing up as your eyes lock with Frankie’s, the two of you amazed at how in tune she is with the creature. The keeper organised for the three of you to stop in on feeding time for a load of other animals, Frankie being particularly excited about the lions. You both stood there in awe of their majesty whilst Emma squeaks and squeals as she watches the cat pace in his cage ready for his food but she stops dead when one lioness starts to roar. The sound is so powerful it vibrates through you and you both look down at Emma, concerned that the sound will scare her. Instead, she is dead still, her eyes open as wide as they can go as she stares and the cat, her mouth slowly opening wider and wider. You both can't help but chuckle at her amazement and you share a loving glance sith each other, both in awe at how innocent she is.

Emma is fast asleep by the time you get back to the car and the two of you envy her. The day had proved to be an eventful one but one that you’d never forget. You’d Whatsapped the giraffe video to the boys and Benny had replied with several laughing emojis at Frankie's reaction.

New girlfriend Fish? He asked, and Will replied to that with a GIF of R2D2 falling flat on his face captioned DEAD.

Frankie just sent a middle finger emoji which elicited another flurry of amused responses.

‘Today was wonderful.’ You say sweetly as you buckle yourself in ‘Thank’s for suggesting it.’

‘I’m just sorry we bumped into her.’ He replies, his expression guilty.

‘No need.’ You reply as you press the start button for the car ‘She’s a bitch.’ You shrug before giving him a smile.

‘I wondered if maybe you’d like to get a pizza and stay tonight?’ He asks, changing the subject completely.

‘Sounds like a plan.’ You reply ‘Could murder a stuffed crust pepperoni.’

‘God yes.’ He replies ‘That’s why I love you.,’

You freeze at his exclamation and so does he, the two of you looking away awkwardly. You focus on the road whilst he looks in the back to check on Emma, smiling at her little feet twitching as she sleeps. He inwardly scolds himself for his slip. That’s not how he wanted to tell you. He just hoped you hadn't taken it so literally. When you pull into his drive you turn your head to see Emma starting to stir, her face scrunching as she yawns and her mouth forms an adorable O.

‘I’m just going to dash to the house and get some fresh clothes for me and her.’ You say as you turn to look at Frankie.

‘I’ll get her fed and watered then.’ He jokes ‘I’ll order the pizza too. Pepperoni yeah?

‘And stuffed crust.’ You clarify ‘Forget the stuffed crust and I’ll never forgive you.’

‘You’ve got it!.’ He replies with a small salute.

Hopping out of the car he grabs the baby from her seat and carries her inside, bouncing her in his arms as he grabs a bottle from the fridge and places it in the bottle warmer. Emma is more awake now and tugging insistently at the collar of his shirt.

‘Did you have a good day baby girl?’ He asks sweetly as he looks down at his daughter, smiling when she squeals in reply ‘So how is daddy going to woo mummy hmm?’ He asks her ‘How am I going to prove to mummy how in love with her I am?’

She just stares up at him with her big brown eyes, her lips pursing as she starts to blow raspberries at him.

'Should have known I wouldn't get a serious answer out of you.' He chuckles as the timer on the warmer dings to let him know the bottles done 'Right you hungry Bebé niña?'

She suckles eagerly on her bottle, eyes comically wide as her hands grab at it. He watches lovingly as he feeds her, unable to contemplate how one can love someone as much as he loves her. He'd known the moment he looked at her that she was his and he'd never been happier in his life. He found he couldn't be angry at you for keeping it from him. He'd not exactly given you a reason to but he was glad that you had in the end. That he now had the chance to be a father to this angel in his arms.

~

‘This pizza is heaven!.’ You say, rubbing your belly as you sink back into the couch.

‘Good.’ He replies as he turns his head to look at you ‘Gino does make the best pizza in town.’

‘Well, I’d agree with that statement!.’ You say as you smile at him.

The two of you share a lingering look. You can feel your heart speeding up when his hand brushes yours. His eyes drop to your lips before returning your gaze again and you find yourself leaning in, his hand suddenly resting on your hip as your lips brush against his. Then... Screams.

‘I’ll get her.’ You say as you roll your eyes and smirk at him, sprinting up the stairs to tend to a wailing Emma.

‘Thanks a lot, baby girl.’ Frankie grumbles as he scrubs his hand over his face ‘So close.’ He finishes as his head falls back against the couch.

~

Chapter 5

#frankie morales #Frankie Morales Fanfiction #Frankie Morales x you #frankie morales x you #francisco morales #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfiction #Pedro Pascal characters #Pedro pascal

[fishylife]

Street Dance of China S4 Ep 3

(I’m having problems with Tumblr not saving my posts...)

- Oh no people are going to start getting eliminated! :o Well, I’m still really glad that we had two whole episodes of people just dancing and having fun and getting the opportunity to showcase who they are and how they dance.

- This question just occurred to me, but where do people look when they watch dance performances? As I watched the Go Go Brothers, I was thinking to myself, “Where do I look? If I look at one of them, I might miss what the other Brother is doing!” Just my musings lol.

- I am super shallow but people tripping makes me laugh, so yes, Nelson accidentally tripping did make me chuckle. (+ Rochka’s reaction)

- Yibo and Yixing discussing the SDOC theme song. It made me laugh because the lyrics are kind of hype but Yibo and Yixing aren’t exactly the most facially expressive people lol.

- After every performance Henry’d be like “let’s collaborate!!!!!!” Han Geng finally stepped in being like aight Henry you gotta take it easy on the recruitment because we’ve literally only seen three performances. I’m still not really sure of the format of the show from now on, so I’m not sure if they form new teams afterwards.

- Yixing was so guilty about not giving Bouboo a vote.

- Rochka’s shock @ Boubou not getting four votes.

- He’s ashamed.

- I think if a dancer gets less than 4 votes, then other dancers are allowed to challenge them for a spot to advance, but whoever loses is eliminated out of the tournament, so you have to be super confident to challenge. And if a dancer only gets 1 or 2 votes, they are eliminated.

- Yibo asked Rochka why he wouldn’t challenge Bouboo and Rochka said he’d never go against his teacher/big brother v.v They exchanged hearts but then Rochka pretended to throw the heart away and crush it lol.

- While I was expecting a bit more from Bouboo, I don’t think his challenger JC Jun was better than him. JC Jun was kind of wobbly, and I think his dance didn’t match the music as well as Bouboo’s did.

- Yixing had his head down when he voted for Ibuki too, so I think he just gets nervous about voting.

- Henry wanted to say that Ibuki was like lightning but he said the word for a flashing light/disco light and Han Geng wanted to give him shit for it.

- Yixing said that he thought AC’s waacking almost felt like krump.Yixing said that if he was to collaborate with AC, AC should do the arm swing, and Yixing would do the waacking lol. I am all for seeing Yixing doing more dance styles! Not gonna lie, I think he’d look cute doing waacking.

- Ye Yin’s performance was really nice! The music was unique and the way he danced, with the tap dance and folk-like elements really suited it.

- Rochka said he wants to know Ye Yin more and said they also have the same smile.

- Xiao Jie said he’d never battle Ye Yin but he got peer pressured by the captains into freestyling to Ye Yin’s self-produced song lol.

- To show face, you know? The entire time he was like “but this doesn’t count, okay?!!!!” since he wasn’t actually challenging Ye Yin, and it was just for funsies.

- The judges were a bit troubled by Xiaoming’s performance because at the end, he was supposed to fall but his fall wasn’t coordinated with the sound effect in the music. Xiaoming was like yeah, it’s pretty difficult but I’m hoping that my challenger wouldn’t be able to get it too and Yixing was laughing his goose laugh. But Xiaoming was eliminated with zero votes in the end.

- Kelo and Uwa had a horror mental hospital-themed dance which was interesting. Kelo said it was based on a nightmare he had as a child.

- Yang Kai wasn’t impressed though. He said he’d performed something similar with Liangliang before. He felt that Kelo and Uwa were performing but not really dancing. I can see where he’s coming from. Kelo and Uwa got three votes.

- Xiaohai ended up challenging them. He used the wheelchair too but like...somehow his expression just makes us unable to not laugh.

- I think he did really well considering he’d only heard the music once. And he returned to the wheelchair at the end of the performance lmfao

- Apparently when Xiaohai was looking up at the beginning, he was asking Li Yulong (who I assume is the person in charge of the music) for music cues but Li Yulong just laughed at him lol.

- Yibo basically said that Kelo and Uwa’s performance felt a bit abrupt in the story telling side, and that there weren’t really highs and lows to their performance.

- Rochka was talking crap about Bouboo behind his back and Yibo tattled which resulted in Rochka getting whacked in the face.

- Zyko taught Yibo and Rochka how to do his fancy leg moves.

- Yixing talking krump with Auju. Auju was like you’re really good for someone who’s only been learning for a year, but then Yixing was like, I practise 6 hours a day and Auju was like ?!?!

- Zyko + Henry (with Henry’s infamous “getting down while playing violin” move)

- Poppin’C introduced himself, saying he was from Italy and Switzerland, and Yibo and Yixing were thinking of all the things from Italy they knew. Yibo was like “...Valentino Rossi...” and Yixing was like “....pizza.....” These two spacey twinks istg.

- Anyway, Poppin’C’s performance was nice. Not only were his moves clean and impressive, but he also expressed the lyrics through his dance.

- Rochka fanboying over Poppin’C’s dance :P At one point, the lyrics were about hearts, and Poppin’C did some moves where he made a heart and Rochka here is saying how cute it was.

- Poppin’C said he missed his daughter and everybody’s like ?? a baby??? :3 :3 :3

- Also, I saw Uwa in the audience, so I think that the eliminated contestants get to continue watching.

- Poppin’C said that before, he was more fierce, but now that he has a daughter, he’s a little smoother and sweeter :3 Also he was describing that the singer’s voice in the song made his skin feel like chicken and everybody was like ??? Luckily Yixing saved the day lol. In Chinese, goose bumps are called “chicken pimples” or something like that.

- Bozi was next. In his introduction, Bozi said he was from Guangzhou, and maybe that’s why it sounded like so many people in the audience were pronouncing 波子 in Cantonese.

- Eleven said something very interesting about B-boys. He said that in their profession of dance, they don’t fear b-boys who can do tricks, but they fear b-boys who can listen to music. I think it’s a reference to the fact that b-boys are often doing their own thing and disregard the music, which makes sense. Sometimes b-boys are closer to gymnasts because they are so focused on the spins and other really athletic moves they do. But because their moves are so difficult, they sometimes don’t move to the music which is supposed to be the point of dancing.

- Bozi passed with 4 votes. And he did a bit of krump at the beginning, which Yixing admitted he fell for haha. Bozi said that Eleven helped him choreograph that part, so it’s Eleven who knows Yixing well >3

- The director asked Bozi who he thought his biggest b-boy rival on the show was. Of course, we all thought he was going to say Lil Kev, but he ended up saying Xiaoji and Xiaoji was like ?? me?? Bozi’s reasoning was that he’s more troubled by dancers with a different style from him because he doesn’t know how to beat them. From the small clips they showed, I think Xiaoji has a more animated style, whereas Bozi is more serious and reserved.

- Acky-san cheering on MT Pop lol. (”Embarrassing dad at baseball game” mode activate)

- MT Pop has really impressed me in the competition so far though. The way he moves is so cool and creative. I think he purposely goes for a kind of...monster vibe? Like he often has this creepy smile on his face lol. He’s not only dancing, but he’s using popping techniques to change how he moves entirely, including simple things like walking or how he turns his head. I think MT Pop is my favourite contestant.

- He said the monster from Pan’s Labrynth inspired this dance. So I guess I was kind of right that he does draw inspiration from monsters and other creatures.

- Low key mad at Han Geng for not giving MT Pop his vote lol. Geng-ge said he wanted to give someone a chance to challenge. Of all people, why MT Pop?? I don’t want him to goooo.

- Henry wanted to try doing the voiceover for the challenger and Han Geng indulged his overdramatic ass.

- Baby Dolphin challenged. He had some cool moves at the beginning, but I think he fell apart a bit towards the end, based on the judges’ reactions (as we didn’t see the full performance). Plus, I think MT Pop’s approach to dancing is just too unique and interesting to eliminate at this point.

- Kabamba had an interesting performance that had African and Latin influences, with big and energetic movements. Tianci challenged but he went with a general hip hop approach which did not suit the music at all. (I looked up Kabamba. Her name is Latrice Kabamba, but she also goes by 林珊娜 on her social media, which is why she’s sometimes called Nana on the show).

- Acky-san was repeating everything that people were saying around him. Stuff like jiayou!! and other words of encouragement. Dianmen who was sitting next to him was just lol’ing.

- Ma Xiaolong was performing to a song called 棋 and this word usually refers to any kind of board game. Ma Xiaolong’s first moves looked like he was putting pieces on a board and you just know that kind of stuff draws Yixing’s attention right away.

- I think Kenken’s style of dance is the kind of dance that the general public would really enjoy. Whereas some kinds of dance don’t really appeal to people who aren’t into dance, I think Kenken’s kind of dance will attract both the dance-conscious people as well as those who aren’t. I definitely got that vibe from him in the dance that he choreographed, and also his individual performance.

- Not even gonna question this. Perfection. Rochka catboy here we go.

- Okay, I agree with Colin’s performance not making the cut. Based on his introduction, he was supposed to be a popping expert, but his dance didn’t showcase that. His dance was more of a contemporary dance piece, but while we’ve had performances similar to that, his choreography didn’t stand out in comparison. After his performance he had a bit of a cry. Yixing mentioned that it was hard to judge because of the emotional aspect. But admittedly, this emotional stuff is usually the reason why I don’t like competition shows. It was revealed that Colin had lost his grandfather. Now, I’m going to sound cold, but I don’t like it when sob stories are brought in, because it makes us feel bad when we don’t like a piece of art that comes from very pure intentions. Yixing’s reasoning for not giving a vote was that he felt that the emotions overshadowed the dance, which is a problem because this is a show about dance. Han Geng’s reasoning was that he felt that the skill level could have been better. Yibo was quite moved by the performance, and I think that’s why he gave his vote to Colin.

- We got a preview for this week’s hotpot show.

- Yixing and his emotional support giant cup

- Lots of laughing (including Yixing laughing) which is good for the soul

#thinking out loud #cvariety #street dance of china #screencaps

[lochrannn]

Warnings: Sexual Content (M Rating)

Characters: Lila Pitts; Diego Hargreeves; Allison Hargreeves; Klaus Hargreeves; Hargreeves Siblings (background)

Relationship: Lila Pitts/Diego Hargreeves

Roommates AU; Fake Marriage; Slow Burn; Mutual Pining; Emotional H/C

Chapter 5/?

-

They meet at city hall just after midday.

Lila worked a half day shift and Diego had already been out of the flat when she got up. She doesn’t know where he’d gone, but now he’s strolling down the pavement to where she’s waiting for him outside the building with a thick folder under his arm.

“Shit, how many documents did you bring? I thought all they needed was a passport and birth certificate? Did I forget something?” Lila asks hurriedly, already rummaging through her tote bag, half hoping she’ll unearth some missing documents that she accidentally packed in without realising it.

“Huh?” asks Diego as he stops in front of her, “Oh no, I brought some work, I kinda assume we’re going to be in there a while.”

Lila looks up at him in annoyance but the angry complaint about how he didn’t warn her and therefore she didn’t bring anything to keep herself busy dies on her tongue as she realises, she’s never really seen Diego out and about before. But here he is, looking confident and like he belongs, in a way she doesn’t really, with his brown skin, dark hair, mahogany coloured bomber jacket, and black pants all warm and earthy, creating a complete contrast to the gray cityscape and sky.

Taken aback by how quickly her anger melts away, and not quite sure why, Lila just turns towards the steps of the building in a huff of mild embarrassment for how irrational she’s being.

Inside, Diego takes a number and sits down on one of the uncomfortable looking wooden benches at the back of the waiting area, and after giving the space and the smattering of people in it a cursory look, Lila decides that there clearly isn’t a better alternative, so she settles in next to him.

For a little while, she tries not to let the boredom get to her, but it’s quite hard, especially considering that she also doesn’t want to let her mind wander to what she and Diego are about to do. It’s not like Lila’s trying to repress the idea that she’s taking the necessary steps to get married to him very soon, it’s just that she’s very strenuously avoiding actually thinking about it too hard. She’s not too sure why this is the balance she has decided to strike and can apparently live with, but knowing her and Diego will be married, in those words, that’s okay. Thinking about what that entails and what it means, instantly makes her heart rate spike in so many different and indescribable ways, that she’d rather not touch that thought.

So she starts nibbling on her nails. But very quickly she has a niggling memory of her mother chastising her, grabbing her wrist firmly and saying, Stop that, you’ll end up looking like some trailer park hussie!

Irritated she pulls her finger out from between her teeth and folds her hands in her lap and starts bouncing her knee instead.

After a little while she notices that Diego who, she registered out of the corner of her eyes, was leafing through his file, has gone still beside her. She turns to look at what's up and is startled by the way he’s watching her intently. For a moment his eyes bore into hers and they are so close that shadows of memories of Diego leaning in to kiss her lips, her neck, and all the way down her body right after looking at her like that play out before her mind's eye, but then he says something and Lila feels completely foolish when she has to say, “Sorry?” in a small voice to get him to repeat what he said.

“I asked if you’re nervous,” Diego says in a very gentle voice, one, she presumes, he would probably use if he were dealing with a skittish animal.

Lila feels like this situation can’t get any worse, but just as she’s pulled herself together and is about to scoff at him, Diego goes on in a very serious tone, “Lila, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to! And if you’re worried about taking back the money, don’t be! I’m not cashing that cheque till you get your visa, okay? You don’t owe me anything.”

This is just too much, so Lila shakes her head, mostly so she can close her eyes and doesn’t have to look at how sincere he’s being, or at the deep, brown softness of his eyes, and says, “I’m not nervous, Diego, I’m just fucking bored!”

“Oh… uh… right,” Diego answers a bit sheepishly and now Lila feels guilty for apparently making him feel awkward. So again she’s just about to speak, tell him, she appreciates his concern all the same, when Diego gets there faster than her once more and flips open his file again while saying, “Uh... if you want... but you really don’t have to, just it might keep you occupied—” he cuts himself off when she levels a raised eyebrow at him, expectantly, “You can help me look through these files,” he finally finishes, holding roughly half the stack of papers that he was going through out to her.

They are searching for a name. It’s barely any less boring than sitting around doing nothing. It’s just a seemingly endless list of unalphabetised names with addresses, a copy of a magazine subscriber list from the 60s. Diego’s apparently helping some genealogist with a project and though he agrees with her that it’s a bit tedious, he also argues that he is apparently being paid very good money.

For a long while they just sit in bored, if oddly comfortable silence, while searching through the names until Lila breaks the stillness, “I got him!”

She’s weirdly excited as she leans over to Diego with her page, finger just under the name Carl Cooper written in slightly faded typewriter letters.

“Show me?” Diego says reaching for the page but not pulling it out of Lila’s grip, they’re hands brushing as he tries to take a closer look at the corresponding address and Lila is suddenly very aware of the warmth radiating off of his body as he leans in so very close to her. She thinks she can even smell his soap.

“That’s our guy!” Diego says delightedly, picking up the biro he’d clipped to his folder and circling the name before taking the piece of paper gently out of her hand and smiling at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling distractingly. “Thanks!” he says with genuine gratitude.

“Yeah, whatever,” Lila grumbles, but she’s not able to hide the smile in her own voice, so to gloss over it, she asks instead, “Is your work always this boring?”

She almost regrets asking him instantly, because only the other night she got to see what it’s like when it’s less boring, but Diego leans his head back against the wall and his expression turns contemplative.

“Well, no… I mean, I guess, some parts are this boring. A lot of looking through files or going on stakeouts in my car. This one, yeah, this was tedious, but usually this kind of work is all part of the bigger puzzle I’m trying to solve. And then, when I get to find the people I’m looking for, it makes it all worth it, you know? Sometimes that’s loved ones who got separated somehow. Totally worth a couple of hours slogging through some files.”

He’s looking down at her, head still tilted against the wall behind them and Lila finds she can’t look away but also hasn’t got anything to say about what he’s telling her. She never took any interest in what a detective does, wasn’t even really ever into cop or detective shows, but somehow, the way Diego tells it, it’s quite fascinating.

“I’ve got a knack for finding asshole dads who are trying to get out of paying alimony as well. Definitely less noble work, but also necessary, if you ask me. And those often end up being the least boring of my cases,” Diego goes on and Lila wonders whether he’s just trying to keep her entertained now that they have no more files to search through. “ ‘s how I got this,” he says, pointing a finger up towards the scar in his eyebrow.

“Oh yeah?” Lila asks, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible about it.

She’s been massively intrigued by all of his scars, but at no point has she felt in a position to ask. Afterall, what if there’s a really traumatic story behind them. But he has a bunch of them. There’s the one in his brow and another behind his left ear. One on the top of his left arm, and one more on his right hip. Lila quickly stops thinking about that one and why she could trace it exactly on a piece of paper if she were given something to draw with, and also doesn’t think too hard about the long scar that reaches from his cheek all the way along the side of his head above his ear. Lila is genuinely a bit wary of what the story might be behind that one.

But she quickly draws her thoughts back to the present and the fact that Diego seems happy to tell her about the scar in his brow and so she asks, “What happened?”

“Asshole father who didn’t want to pay his alimony,” Diego offers with a light chuckle and a shrug, “Fucker faked his own death and then when I found him, I’d barely said a word before he smashed a bottle in my face. Apparently I was lucky I didn’t lose an eye.”

Lila hisses in sympathy at the image.

“Guess we’ll have to talk a bit more about shit like that before our interview with immigration,” Diego says casually and Lila looks at him quizzically as she’s not quite sure what he’s talking about. “Interview?” she asks.

“Yeah, we’ll have to do an interview to prove that this is not just a sham wedding,” he starts explaining, brows drawn together, then his eyes drift off to the side, “Lila, did you not know that they’re gonna want to see proof we’re, like, actually married? … Shit! Our numbers up! Come on, let's go!”

Diego touches her elbow gently and Lila follows him in a bit of a daze, not to one of the windows that are situated all along the long hall that they walk down, but to a small office that they are ushered into by an equally small man, who asks them to sit in the two chairs opposite his desk.

The next fifteen minutes during which they go through all of the proceedings of applying for a marriage license do nothing to settle her nerves, because again she’s getting to see another completely new side to Diego. She guesses this is what he’s like when he’s really on the job and considering how good he is, she misses half a minute of conversation wondering why his business is failing.

He’s commanding, not letting anything slide, but he’s endlessly cool and charming all the same. And for a second Lila is concerned it’s just the fact that she’s slept with him and maybe in this moment would like to sleep with him again that’s making her see him in this way, but she notices that the clerk they’re dealing with seems at least as flustered and is hanging off every word Diego says as much as Lila.

At one point she almost jumps when he confidently takes her hand out of her lap, laces their fingers together, and says, “We were planning on getting married next year but circumstances have changed and my girlfriend can’t continue her degree, so now her visa’s running out and we discussed it and decided to pull the wedding forward, we didn’t want to end up getting separated by this!”

The clerk nods understandingly and Lila could kick herself for not having put even a fraction of the amount of thought into their plan as Diego seems to have. It’s brilliant. This explanation for why they need a license now is believable but also contains enough of the truth that they have very little to prove at this point, except for the fact that they are, indeed, in a relationship.

At that thought, Lila’s heart skips a beat and her focus zeros in on their joined hands for a moment.

When they are walking down the steps after all the application forms have been sorted, Diego offers to give her a lift home, but Lila makes up an engagement with a friend on the spot and quickly heads away in the direction of the bus stop. She needs some time to clear her head after that whole experience.

-

Diego gets into his car, lets out a very long breath, and then tips forward, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel in frustrated exhaustion.

How can hanging out with one person be both something that is so enjoyable and so painful at the same time?

Lila was fun and sparkly as ever, but she also helped him out, took an interest in his job. And even if that was mostly out of politeness, she asked all the right questions and listened so attentively. And, god, her beautiful, lively face is so distracting, he hardly knew where to look.

Diego’s certain now that he is royally screwed. He’s done a lot of dumb shit in his life, but this takes the cake. Spending time with Lila is so fucking close to the real deal and within the next couple of weeks they will be married, and he thinks, maybe a bit overdramatically, this’ll probably be the death of him.

He sits back up straight, turns the key in the ignition, and moves his car into traffic.

But he can’t back out now, they’ve actually put their plan in motion, and Lila is relying on him to get it together, so the very last thing he wants to do is let her down. Even if it kills him, he mentally adds with a wry smile.

#otp: just be gentle #lila pitts #diego hargreeves #dielila #diego x lila #diego/lila #tua #the umbrella academy #fanfic #ongoing fic

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 2, Ch. 9

PART 2: THE YEAR OF MISCHIEF AND SNEAKING AROUND Chapter 9 - The Bittersweet Goodbye

Nova

I couldn't believe that another year at Hogwarts has come to an end. Oh, listen to me, sounding like Dumbledore! We had only a few more days before Hogwarts Express was going to take us back home.

Unlike last year, when we could just do whatever we wanted the last couple of days, in Penny's opinion that was packing, we had 2 things to do this year.

First, was going down to the Quidditch Pitch and cheer for Charlie as he got a tryout invitation the week before exams started!

Apparently, the Gryffindor Charlie spoke to at the beginning of the school year was right about their Captain not picking Charlie just because of his little brother who cost them the Quidditch House Cup! The team was fed up with the Captain picking favorites as he blamed the rest of them for losing, so they kicked him off the Team with McGonagall's approval. The Gryffindor Chaser that thought Charlie was better than the ex-captain's younger brother invited him to try out for Seeker again and it was all happening in a few days! Bill, Penny, Tulip, Tonks, Jae, and I decided to go and watch his tryouts and give him a confidence boost from the stands.

The other thing the Second Years had to do was pick their Elective Classes for our Third Year. We had to choose at least two and we could pick between Muggle Studies, Divination, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Study of Ancient Runes.

The one subject I was sure to choose was Care of Magical Creatures but I was rather indecisive about the other one. Tulip decided to go for Ancient Runes and Divination. Tonks picked Divination as she thought it could be fun making up predictions with Tulip and she chose Care of Magical Creatures as well. Penny chose Arithmancy and Muggle Studies as she said that her dad would be proud if she would learn about his 'culture' as well.

It looked like I wasn't the only one who struggled to pick their second subject as Charlie was first debating between Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies. But the very next day at breakfast announced that he was thinking about Divination instead.

—

As I couldn't decide for several days, I decided to owl Bill and ask him for advice. He was more than happy to meet me in the Great Hall and he dragged Charlie along as he changed his mind to Muggle Studies again.

“I picked Ancient Runes, but as I want to become a Curse Breaker that was an obvious choice.” I nodded as my dad, who was a Curse Breaker, took Ancient Runes as well.

“I wanted to stay far away from Divination and Arithmancy but later found out that both could help with my career too.” He rubbed his chin.

“I was also thinking about taking Muggle Studies as my dad would just love that.” He chuckled to himself, remembering how much his dad is interested in anything Muggle related.” In the end, I decided to take them all as I was hoping I could learn as much as possible since you never know what I could encounter during my career.”

“And you have time for all the subjects?” That seemed like a lot of work.

“It's...manageable.” Bill said slowly and I had a feeling he had a trick up his sleeve for attending all the subjects.

“So, Ancient Runes it is.” Charlie said, obviously not as ambitious as his brother. He just wanted the subject that would help him become a Dragonologist and that was Care of Magical Creatures.

“Charlie, really think this through.” Bill frowned. “You are stuck with the subjects you pick until the end.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “And we are back to square one.” I chuckled.

“I never thought this was going to be so hard. But I think I wouldn't be good at Divination or Arithmancy so it's either Muggle Studies or Ancient Runes.” I scratched the top of my head.

“Even though, neither would come in useful if I become a Magizoologist.” I continued. Charlie beamed at my career choice as if he had just heard it for the first time and was extremely proud of it.

“Perhaps, Ancient Runes wouldn't be so bad for you. You might need to rescue a creature from a cave or come upon a cursed cage or something like that.” Bill thought out loud.

“Ancient Runes it is!” Said Charlie again.

“We don't have to take the same subject, you know.” I chuckled.

“C'mon, Charlie! Don't you want to take Muggle Studies?” Bill mocked him and ruffled his hair.

“And have dad send me letters twice per week asking for me to describe in excruciating details what I have learned? Are you mental!” Charlie frowned at him.

We debated Charlie's subject for another hour before he decided to take Divination. The next morning I sat next to him at breakfast and pulled out my Elective Subjects form. I wrote down Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. I peaked at Charlie's paper and he had written the same.

“Didn't you decide on Divination?” I asked, smiling.

“I changed my mind.” He answered sleepily. I couldn't help but giggle.

—

The next morning, the group and I went to the Quidditch Pitch to watch Charlie become the next Gryffindor Seeker. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he wasn't going to get the position.

Besides us, there were quite a few Gryffindors on the stands. Apparently, the Team wasn't the only one who wanted to change their Seeker. To mine and Bill's surprise, Professor McGonagall came to the tryouts as well.

She greeted us with a smile and we sat down next to her.

“A big Quidditch fan, Professor?” Bill grinned.

“I would rather not be reminded of this year's season, Mr. Weasley.” She pursed her lips. “I spoke to Madam Hooch as soon as I found out that your brother was going to try out as our new Seeker. She told me that he is on top of her class and that, without being biased, of course, said that with him on the Team, we might get a chance to win the House Cup next year.” She tried hiding her excitement but at that moment I think she forgot she was talking to her students.

The Gryffindor Quidditch Team flew to the pitch and opened the giant chest in which all the Quidditch balls were held. They first wanted to see Charlie fly around, then he had to do a couple of really fast laps and some weaving which of course was no problem for him. Then the Captain asked him if he has any tricks up his sleeve and he flew high in the air and performed the Wronski Feint.

I only knew about the move because Charlie told me about it and showed it to me proudly last Summer at the Burrow.

I chuckled as I saw that he left the Gryffindor Captain with an open mouth as it looked like he was about to crash but flew up at just the right time. We all cheered, including McGonagall, who winked at Bill.

After performing a few more tricks and catching the Snitch twice the Captain has decided and Charlie officially became part of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!

We waited for him in front of the Gryffindor tent in order for him to change.

He was startled by Professor McGonagall, who walked to him as soon as he came out, shook his hand, and said something that sounded like: “Congratulations, Mr. Weasley.” She then said goodbye to us and walked towards the school.

We waited a bit not to look like complete animals and then ran to Charlie shouting and cheering.

“Nice job, mate!” Jae said to him.

“Mum is going to cry when we tell her.” Bill grinned and ruffled his hair.

“I knew that old captain was a fraud!” I said as I hugged him.

It was finally time to board the train and head back home. Bill decided to be in a compartment with his friends this year so Jae could join us. We couldn't stop laughing when Tonks told us her plans for the Summer and we realized that they were just like last year's: not giving her parents a rest for naming her Nymphadora.

Tulip said that she was going to be a 'good girl' and work in her mum's shop again as she wanted to get as much money as she could because next year, we were allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Jae, Tulip, and Tonks then started debating what they would get at Zonko's Joke shop and how they could use each thing to prank Filch and Snape.

Charlie and I listened to them for a while, then we started to daydream about Care of Magical Creatures. We couldn't believe that we were going to finally be able to take the subject and finally see who will buy Butterbeer to whom as we will get to explore the Creature's Reserve at Hogwarts and see who got more creatures right.

Then we turned to Penny, reading a book until now, as we asked her about her plans for the Summer, and she told us that unlike last year's Muggle Vacation, they were going to visit some old family friends of her mum's. She couldn't decide who was more against it her or her dad as the Muggle Beach adventure was apparently an annual thing and they were going to break it this year for the first time.

Penny and Tonks then made a bet on who was going to be better at predicting as Penny chose Arithmancy which was all about predicting the future with numbers and Tonks took Divination. Charlie and I decided it would be a shame if we didn't get in on the bet. I bet that Penny was going to be better because she looked rather suspicious as to why she agreed so quickly to make a bet with Tonks. Charlie bet that Divination was Tonks' secret talent just like Herbology. Whoever wins the bet, gets free Butterbeer from the other person, of course.

All of our bets and most plans for our free time in our Third Year revolved around Hogsmeade and Butterbeer as we couldn't wait to explore the little village, especially in Winter as we heard it was so beautiful when covered in a fresh sheet of snow.

The train ride was over as quickly as it began. I couldn't believe how much time Charlie and I spent daydreaming. As we were waiting for the crowd in the corridor to get thinner Charlie asked me if I was coming to the Burrow this year as well. As much as I wanted to come and spend time with him and his family again, I had to decline.

Last week before the exams ended, my mum sent me a letter saying that both her and dad were getting more time off this year and that we would get to spend a proper vacation together as a family. She also told me that much to my disappointment we were going to America to spend some time with our pompous relatives. A few days after my mum sent me the letter I also got one from my aunt from Scotland, inviting me to stay with her as her Abraxan was expecting babies again.

It was cute seeing Charlie trying to hide that he wasn't sad at all that he won't be able to see me during the Summer. Before leaving the train I hugged him and whispered that I would try to convince my parents to come to the Burrow for a visit and I was happy to see that that cheered him up a bit.

We were all making our way through the crowd when I spotted my mum standing next to Mr. Weasley, I mean Arthur. I ran into her arms and felt her fingers brushing my hair immediately. She also gave a hug to Charlie and for that, his cheeks turned pink.

He blushed even more when my mum told us that she and Arthur were thinking of our families getting together for a picnic this Summer as my dad would be delighted to see his old friend again, now that he'll be able to get some time off work.

I also had the opportunity to introduce her to Penny and Tonks, as she already met Tulip when we visited her mum's coffee shop, and as I watched them converse, I couldn't decide who was more excited to meet who. Tonks was asking her a bunch of questions about being an Auror and Penny wanted to know if Aurors ever need to use their knowledge of Potions and where.

On our way home, she told me that they were exactly as I described them to her and that before they introduced themselves to her, she knew exactly which was which. My mum was quite proud of it, while I chuckled as I couldn't help to think that their hair was what gave them away.

END OF PART 2

#harry potter hogwarts mystery #hp #harry potter fanfiction #hphm mc #harry potter hogwarts game #hp hogwarts mystery #hphm charlie #charlie weasley #charlie weasley fanfiction #hphm #hogwarts mystery mc #the weasleys #hphm tonks #hphm fandom #hphm au #hphm characters #hphm fanfiction #hphm tulip #hphm penny #bill weasley #weasley family #weasley fanfiction #ron weasley

[expelliarmusmyass]

the potter twins, a series

a/u // no voldemort, slytherin!fem!reader

warnings // light cursing, mentions of fighting, anxiety disorder, anxiety attack depiction

series summary // y/n and harry potter are twins where the world doesn't feel wide enough for the both of them.

chapter summary // y/n and harry are forced to have dinner with the malfoys.

a/n // haii peeps so this is officially my first fic and i wanted to let y'all know that it has been very poorly edited so if there are grammar/spelling mistakes, i'm vv sorry !! this chapter was mainly setting up the story for the upcoming chapters so just expect more angst as the fic goes on :)

tag list: @whitewineandpizzapuffs

"okay, i know it looks bad," was all harry could muster out without laughing. "but on the bright side, it could be worse, y/n." he continued. harry had dim-wittedly opened a package from fred and george's joke shop he received in your room without your permission and without taking any proper damage control precautions. y/n liked keeping her room in somewhat of a clean fashion, sure, maybe to some people it looked unclean or a mess as others would put it, but it was a fairly organized mess. you could tell y/n tried.

but harry's idiotic self decided that his twin sister's room was the best place to open a mystery box the weasley twins had sent, the possible factor they might have sent something explosive or colorful completely blowing over his head. harry tore through the brown parcel and opened the box without thinking and explosions of colorful powders and assortments of what might have been fireworks flew out of the box, causing harry to drop it on the wood floor. a loud thud sounded and your head shot up, watching your brother shocked and partially scared expression making you laugh.

but the powders and fireworks flew around your room, knocking everything over and staining your sheets and carpets. after about thirty seconds, it had finally stopped and you let out a relieved sigh.

"heavens, harry, if i still didn't have the trace on me, you'd be blasted out of the side of my wall. help me clean this up right now and maybe i won't dye all of your whites bright pink with a red sock next time i do laundry." y/n said sternly, finally getting up from your bed to face your brother. he laughed quietly and the pair spent the next few minutes picking up what they could , y/n looking rather disappointed when she found a her last batch of laundry covered in pink and blue pigment. harry walked over to y/n's bed and pointed out the green and purple all over her white sheets.

"well, at least now you have an excuse to give to mum when you ask her for those new beddings you've been wanting," harry joked, turning to you to see your reaction. he honestly didn't know if you'd be mad at him for cracking jokes right now or be willing to laugh it off. you chose the latter.

"yeah, i guess you're right." y/n chuckled lightly. nothing important had broken, and you knew the weasley twins wouldn't have put pigment in there to stain anything permanently, so there wasn't a reason to be too mad. plus, y/n always was a fan of jokes and would typically never take them too personally. you were known for being able to take a joke, and you got along with everyone you met easily. it was sort of a knack you had, being naturally good with not only people, but most living things. you did very well in herbology and were exceptionally compatible with creatures of any sort. hagrid trusted you with any creatures he had and you visited frequently to take short trips to the forbidden forest to feed and take care of other animals and such. you sympathized with neglected creatures and were a great second mother to anything you met.

harry started walking towards the door as you both had finished cleaning up what you could, and he quickly turned around to tell you something your parents had sent him to come up to say. "sirius, remus, and peter are coming for dinner and mum and dad told me to tell you to wear something nice. apparently we all started caring about our appearances in front of family we see nearly every day, but mum insisted." harry's eyes were trying extremely hard not to roll to the back of his head, you knowing how much he despised wearing formal clothing.

"are you serious? okay, when she said that, did it sound like she wanted me to wear like, clean jeans, or," you paused while trying to hide the disgusted expression creeping up on you, "a dress?" you finally said, unable to control the sour face your muscles were contracting to make. you hated wearing dresses. something about them just made you hate the way you looked. it didn't feel like you. you begged your parents more often than not whenever you went out to just let you wear anything else, but you almost never won that argument.

harry only let out a sigh through a smile. "they're making me wear a tie. you take a guess." you let out an exasperated groan and dramatically dropped onto your bed. "dad said he would give you five galleons if you did it." you sat up in your spot and darted your eyes to him and shot him a glance as if to say really?? to which he replied with a nod.

"fine," you said after a short moment of thought. "but i'm not going to enjoy it one bit." he gave you a sarcastic smile, walked out your door, gently shutting it on his way out. you turned to scream into your pillow, but it was covered in yellow powder from fred and george's box, and you had just showered, so why ruin that?

you walked over to your closet a few feet from your bed, past the sofa chair your slytherin robes had been thrown on. you were sorted into slytherin in your first year, being separated from harry for the first time in eleven years, insecure about being in the house of mean, vicious people as others had described it. harry was quite shocked at first, but saw your anxiety and got over it as quickly as he could manage. you and harry still did almost everything together in your first year and became close friends with the weasleys and hermione. your parents were immensely proud of their son being sorted into the same house as them, and hardly did anything to cover it up. it sometimes felt as if your whole purpose in life was to be a gryffindor alongside your family, but you were in slytherin no less, feeling like a disappointment to everyone you grew up with. while your parents may not have been as enthusiastic of your sorting, sirius, remus, and peter could not have been more supportive. you felt better about your house after being able to talk to them about it, sirius knowing what it felt like to betray what you thought was your destined life.

you turned to see the pile of unopened letters that were delivered to you this morning by hedwig. you had an owl of your own, with dark brown, almost black feathers, currently unnamed, that you found in an alley with part of his wing severed and you took him home to help him, your father scared and mother quite proud of your instinct to take care of a harmed animal. he eventually took a liking to you, and your brother for that matter, and became your owl after that. he was still working on his flying skills, but he had improved massively all things considered. you looked back at the untapped letters and immediately promised yourself you would open them in the morning.

you snapped out of whatever trance you were in and kept walking to your closet, now only five steps away and opened it, looking for a dress to wear. your mother always urged you to keep your eye out for dresses, since she knew you would never voluntarily buy one, she always made sure you told her which ones you liked so she wouldn't get you something you didn't. she was the one that always brought home dresses in your size and ones you liked so that wearing them wasn't as bad as it already was. you settled on a slip dress patterned with constellations that went just to your knees. this was probably the one you liked the best. it hugged you in all the right places and you thought you didn't look that bad in it. you slipped on some black, worn converse so at least something wasn't uncomfortable the whole night. if you couldn't control the dress, at least you could control the shoes.

you faced your mirror, brushing out your hair that had been up in an effortless bun all day, and put in some earring your father had gifted to you for your birthday last year. you took a deep breath and finally worked up the nerve to walk out your door to the new, talking voices in your house you could only guess were your guests. as soon as you saw your uncles, you immediately felt relieved and rushed down the stairs to greet them. you pushed past harry, ignoring his annoyed comments along the lines of "you really don't have to push" or "that hurt and you know it, y/n," you honestly weren't paying attention enough and were to busy hugging the three men that had walked through the door.

"there's my favorite gryffindor and slytherin" remus said, after hugging the two of you. both your father and sirius shot him dramatic looks of shock and offense, surely they were remus's favorite gryffindor's, but remus shooed them away and gave them you two are really doing this right now? looks. you and harry laughed, while your mother had to hold back your father from slapping remus right across the face. you noticed sirius, remus, and peter as well as your father were all wearing suits of different colors, remus in a maroon one, sirius in a pinstripe black one, your father in a deep, navy blue one and peter in a flattering dark green suit. your mother wore a beautiful navy dress to match your father, and you finally couldn't keep it in any longer.

"will someone please explain to me why everyone is wearing nice clothes? last time i checked, i was allowed to wear sweatpants while enjoying dinner in the comfort of my own home." you said, confused, and very over your dress after being in it maybe five minutes. harry agreed with you and turned to your mother, a questioning look in his eyes.

peter gave your parents a concerned look. "james, lily? you seriously haven't told them yet?"

"told us what, exactly?" harry said through raised eyebrows, turning to my father.

lily finally worked up the courage to say something since apparently your father couldn't. "y/n, harry, we're not eating at home." you looked at them, unsatisfied with the answer your mother had just given you.

"so, what, we're getting food at a restaurant, i still don't see why you want me to wear a dress and harry a tie." you questioned, still gravely confused.

sirius stiffened a little, and after a while, finally said, "james, if you won't tell them, i will."

"tell us what, dad?" harry asked.

james stiffened and let out an exasperated sigh. "okay, uh, here we go." he seemed the most uncomfortable he'd ever been until lily grabbed his hand to let him know he wasn't alone and she was right there. he looked over at her calm face and instantly relaxed. "we're having dinner with some people at the ministry."

harry still wasn't fully convinced that was all it was. "if we're just having dinner with some people at the ministry, why is peter looking like he might piss himself from pure fear?" you turned to take a quick glance over at peter, who was aggressively trying to hide his shaking, thin body. james finally gave up trying to ease his children into what he was about to say.

"the malfoy's. we are having dinner at the malfoy's." both harry and y/n started shouting protests, most in between the categories of "WHAT IN MERLINS NAME ARE YOU THINKING YOU MUST BE BLOODY JOKING" and "I REFUSE TO GO YOU CANNOT MAKE ME DO THIS", with the occasional "YOU MUST BE NEW HERE".

lily finally snapped and sternly said, "i don't want to hear anything else out of the two of you. i raised you to be better than this. you can and will be better than this."

the next thing you and harry knew, you were standing outside the malfoy manor, the breeze barely blowing in the mid july air. your parents and co. were a few feet in front of you, waiting for the door to open up to let them inside the dark house. you and harry quickly looked over with each other and had a two second conversation with your eyes. wonder twin power, as dad called it.

harry did nothing to hide his annoyance. we are not doing this, y/n.

you looked back at him, begging for him to show some sign of maturity. you were going into your fourth year, after all. come on harry, i don't want to do this any more than you do.

great! i don't see the issue here.

look at them, harry. they want us to try. can we just try?

no. not with malfoy. come on, y/n it's malfoy, for merlin's sake.

harry, stop being a baby. if you can't be the bigger person here, at least pretend like you're not going to strangle him when we walk into that door.

harry finally dropped it, and nodded, letting you know he wouldn't drop kick malfoy. at least immediately.

the ten foot oak door opened wide with narcissa and lucious malfoy there to welcome the guests into their house. draco walked into the room, the most unenthusiastic smile plastered across his face as he eyed you and your brother. he looked at you with less hatred than he did your brother. you had to take a step in front of harry to stop him from launching himself at the blonde haired twig, and grabbed his hand without thinking. he looked back at you confused, but found his sister's hand in his calming and comforting. he relaxed a small bit after that, but kept his guard up in case the family of rats decided to pull anything with his family, especially his sister.

"hello, draco." you said after a minute of silence between the three of you, the adults still involved in meaningless conversation.

he replied only with an obnoxiously fake smile, and turned to your brother, who was still clutching your hand.

"you know, potter's, my parents say this dinner is going to be the joining of the two of our families. wouldn't be a bad idea. your parents certainly need the help." harry was about the jump on the tall boy and let go of your hand but you refused to get in trouble this early into the night and grabbed his wrist, making him turn to face you.

"hey," you muttered under your breath only loud enough for him to hear, "calm down. you can do this." you rethought what you had just said. "okay, just, give it a minute." he relaxed his tense shoulders and looked back at draco with a convincing, small smile.

"thanks for the insight, malfoy." harry dryly responded.

draco returned him that stupid smirk he always had. merlin, he annoyed harry. "i'm just saying, your parents could work so high up in the ministry if they had the help of mine. the money you'd make. surely, neither of you haven't seen more than a hundred galleons at a time." draco laughed at his own rude, ignorant joke while harry waited for you to loosen your grip on his wrist and prepared to tackle draco with his entire body weight behind him. this time, you had to get across to your brother in a harsher way or the both of you would end up grounded for two weeks.

"harry! stop it!" you pleaded loud enough for draco to hear. sometimes, you hated draco so much and you would love nothing more than to see your brother beat the living shit out of him, but you knew there was no way you would hear the end of it from your mother if you let harry hurt someone.

harry pulled you away from the blonde git, still giggling like a four-year-old at his own stupid joke, and stood in front of you, forcing his hands out of yours. "why can't i hit him? just one, really, really good one? not one? once, okay?" you looked at him angrily.

"come on, harry. at least wait until you have a justifiable reason to hit him." he looked at you, convinced you were rethinking the words you just said after the conversation you just had. "okay, you know what i meant. please promise me you'll at least try to act like someone with half a brain and don't go jumping stupid blondes who just don't have it in them to shut their mouths." harry wanted to roll his eyes at your insistence of not beating up the one person he thought you two could not stand, but he laughed at your snide comment. he liked having a funny sister.

he took a deep breath and you both entered the dining room where the adults and draco were gathering to sit around a deep brown, wood table. you watched as the seats filled up and, against your will, you sat in between harry and draco, in some attempt to separate them. lucius sat at the head of the table, your father on the opposite head, harry on his left and your mother on his right. you sat next to harry and draco directly to your left and his mother beside him. remus, sirius, and peter all sat across from you, sirius directly next to lucious (protective measures, you thought) and remus next to lily. peter looked utterly terrified, but felt safer in between two very capable wizards. a plate of salad was placed cleanly and neatly in front of every guest, but no one seem inclined to eat right away. finally, your mum took a bite of a salad, eyes widening slightly as she went in for another bite.

"this salad is delicious, narcissa." narcissa nodded her head in thanks and tasted it herself. sirius and remus started to help themselves to their plate, clearly hungry but not wanting to be rude. draco didn't touch anything, nor did harry, still eyeing draco, making sure he didn't do anything to his sister, sitting quite literally six inches away from him. you ate your food quietly, nodding along with the boring conversation about ministry business and such. you continued dinner, unable to stand the dreadful conversation that seemed to engulf the adults around you. you stole some quick glances from a clearly uninterested draco, and found yourself being able to have your eye conversations with harry most of the night. it kept harry from having to think of thirty different ways to murder malfoy and make it seem like an accident. although it didn't mean you couldn't.

dinner dragged on, and you had finally mustered up the courage to ask where the nearest bathroom was. you got up from the table and walked down the hall to the extravagant bathroom that had no business being as expensive as it seemed.

as you made your way back, you discovered everyone had gotten up from the table and moved into the sitting room a few doors away.

you saw a pair of glass doors leading outside to a beautiful garden you couldn't help but want to sit in. you need the peace and the quiet. this was a lot.

there were many things in the world you liked doing. at the top of the list, it might be something along the lines of making people laugh, playing quidditch with your family and uncles, making friends with both people and magical creatures. but the first thing on that list, the one thing you loved most in the world, was sitting alone and observing. you felt the most yourself when you didn't have to say or do anything for anyone. after a while, you would get exhausted being around too many people, and being the only one in your family to have clinical anxiety wasn't helpful. harry didn't really understand why you felt so nervous to do so many ordinary, every day things, but he supported you anyway and taught himself how to be helpful should an anxiety attack present itself. your mother and father on the other hand, felt guilty, thinking that your anxiety was something that was their fault. you tried for years to explain to them that it was nothing they did and they pretended to understand, but were terrible at hiding it and you and harry both knew they were lying every time you told them not to worry and they replied with "i know's" and "we wont's." being alone allowed you to let go of everything that seemed to bother you, even for a short second. it was nice. freeing, almost.

you pushed open the glass doors, not forgetting to shut them gently and completely, and made your way through a knee high maze of flower beds and magical plants. the sun had just begun to set, the sky a piercing orange with scattered streaks of red, not a cloud in sight. it's perfect, you thought to yourself. absolutely perfect. there was something about a cloudless sky that made your heart melt. you walked through the fairly large maze, recognizing a handful of plants and not hesitating to tend to plants in need of weeding. you heard a few footsteps from behind as you were weeding a bed of flowers, your hands covered in dirt and soot, a pile of weeds you picked to your right.

harry crouched down beside you, watching sweat dripping down the side of your forehead, heavily concentrated on getting rid of the numerous weeds growing all over this beautiful garden. harry couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"y/n, really? now you're weeding their garden?" harry mocked.

you turned to face him, drops of sweat trickling down your cheeks now. "shut it." you said, amused. you stood up and both you and harry made your way over to a fountain a few steps from where you two had just been. you rinsed your hands and splashed your face, harry leaning against the fountain, looking off into the direction of the sun. he finally understood why you liked going outside as the sun set so much, it really was beautiful.

"what'd i miss inside? i got a bit carried away weeding out here, it's just calm today. needed to get away and get my mind away from whatever that train wreck was." harry dissolved into giggles at your taunting remark.

"you didn't miss anything worth watching. just malfoy being an ass. i am lucky i have you to restrain me from smacking the guy right atop the head every time i see him. although i can't blame him completely, have you met lucius?" you liked when harry made jokes. he was funny when he wanted to be. usually it would be you making the rude comment and harry being the one to laugh, but today, harry was different. he seemed easier to talk to today. harry was always naturally more kept to himself, and you the more outgoing type. you brought out the best in each other. he didn't feel as distant today. it was nice. you leaned back against the stone fountain and looked back towards the malfoy manor. it looked gorgeous in the scarlet light beaming from the sun, and you noticed the reflections of yellow and white off the windows.

harry noticed you distracted expression and "you know, i finally realized why you like coming outside as much as you do. it's peaceful here. something nice about a cloudless day." that caught your attention and your head whipped around to face him.

"what did you say?" you asked, trying to hold back your complete shock and partial excitement.

harry met your eyes and then looked back at the sky. "what, about the clouds? i don't know, i see so many clouds all the time, something about seeing a beautiful sky without any clouds kind of, i don't know, makes me feel...good. in a way. i guess. i don't know, you're the twin that got the better vocabulary." it meant the world to you that harry said that. you didn't know why, it just felt like you weren't alone, in some weird way. you smiled at your brother.

"how are you holding up, harry? must be hard, having to contain yourself the entire dinner without using your salad fork to commit first degree murder," you joked, standing upright, moving your body from off the stone fountain. you noticed the carefully carved floral patterns and depictions of all sorts of animals and plants.

he only chuckled at your question, shifting his body weight, his side now leaning against the fountain and facing you. "i'm not going to lie, it's been hard. he was right there, and after a while, i had to distract myself from throwing myself over the table and putting my fork in his eye." he said through a grin. i gave him a sarcastic look and lowered my head before asking a question.

"what do you think they're talking about? i mean, it's odd how mum and dad are willingly having dinner and being, well, friendly, with the malfoy's. i don't like it. peter looks horrified, i don't know how well he's doing, and remus and sirius look like they might hurt someone who looks at them wrong. i don't know, it's just... weird." you said, kicking a few rocks that were at your feet. harry didn't exactly know how to respond.

"i don't know," he said after a minute of thought, "but i bet they're being smart. i trust mum and dad, at least enough to be confident in their decisions." harry always knew what to say when he saw you anxious. it wasn't super obvious right now, but he'd spent almost fourteen years with you and could read you like an open book. he knew you would start getting lost in your own thoughts if he didn't say anything and he knew how bad it could get. he decided to stop it while he was ahead and try to do what he could in advance.

you liked when he tried to get your mind off of getting lost in your own thoughts. he was pretty good at it, and even when he didn't say exactly what you needed, you knew he only wanted to help. your brother was kind and thoughtful when he wanted to be.

"thanks harry." you nodded and harry walked off to rejoin his mother in the sitting room. you went back to weeding as it was nice for you to do something familiar. you felt a pretense behind you that you knew wasn't harry and your face became bright red.

"are you weeding my garden?" draco said confused from behind you. you sprung up, and turned around, trying your best to conceal the fact your dirt-ridden hands were slightly shaking and sweat dripped down the side of your face for the second time today. you and draco shared the same house and most of your classes, and for whatever strange, odd reason became good friends, bonding over the fact you felt like you disappointed your parents at times. he was, to your complete and utter surprise, a good person to talk to and joke about your problems when you felt your family wouldn't be able to understand. but you took the liberty of convincing draco to keep your friendship a secret, not wanting bad blood between your families because of draco's and harry's petty feud. you felt you two hid your friendship well, him tossing the occasional harmless insult your way in public and you always having a response at the ready. you two would laugh about it later in the common rooms when no one was there, or sometimes you would joke and write fake letters to each other, pretending you were relatives or friends from back home as to not look too sketchy in front of others.

it really started first year when draco found you in moaning myrtle's bathroom first year, the first week of school, when you had finally been able to get away from everyone while they were at dinner and be alone with your own thoughts.

your anxiety was through the roof. you hated being in slytherin, dirty looks from other house as you wore your green tie walking around with harry and his red one. everyone knew you two, your parents were quidditch legends and went on to work great positions in the ministry. everyone knew what house they were sorted in. you didn't care much until your second day when other students started asking you how it felt to disgrace your family name by being slytherin. it hurt you, the pressure of feeling like you would never be able to live up to your family's expectations of you. your brother was perfect, a golden boy as of the first day in your parents eyes. you felt like you had to work harder to even match harry and his effortless greatness.

you were in the courtyard, sitting with harry and ron, discussing potions class that had ended just fifteen minutes ago.

"i mean, seriously, what is up with that snape?! why would he become a teacher if he seemingly hates children so much?!" ron cried, the confusion most clearly showing in his voice. harry bellowed with laughter and you chuckled convincingly enough as to not draw attention to your shaking hands and racing heart. you let your hair fall in front of your face as you told the two boys you needed to go to the bathroom, neither of them noticing your flushed face as you sprinted across the halls and down to steps to the bathroom you knew you wouldn't be interrupted in.

you flung open the door, running across the dim lit and stone washroom with your heart leaping out of your chest, your air seemingly escaping your lungs with every breath you took. you couldn't stand being alone when you were forced to face your own anxiety, but you couldn't bring yourself to drag your brother into this one. your back against the cold wall, slowly sliding down until you were slumping on the floor, you let the tears stream down your face, allowing yourself to be feel the anxiety that had been in building up inside you for hours.

as the minutes passed by, your breathing got worse and your shaking intensified, causing you to fall onto your side, not enough strength in you to pick yourself up. you laid there for a moment, finding the floor comforting, but you heard footsteps just outside the bathroom and instantly attempted to hide the mess you had just become. you were unsuccessful.

"y/n? y/n potter?" draco malfoy said, shocked at the state you were in. he didn't have a clue what to do; should he try and help you?

"hi," you said weakly. "draco, right?" draco looked back at you, unfamiliar with the idea of being called by his first name rather than his last. he wasn't used to hearing his first name without his last name following it, let alone by itself and by someone in his own year. he quickly pushed the idea to the back of his brain.

"yeah," he replied, confusion visibly plastered on his face. he had no idea how to react to any part of this situation. after a short beat, he finally worked up the nerve to suggest the only idea that came to his head. "do you want me to get your brother?"

"no!" you exclaimed, draco slightly taken aback.

"okay, i won't, merlin." draco said, more sarcastically than promisingly. you wiped away the tears you could and did your best to hide the obvious shaking in your shoulders and legs.

you looked at the gel-haired blonde with puffy eyes and sighed. "i'm sorry if i said that more alarmingly than needed. i didn't meant to scare you or offend you. i just get anxious and had a bit of an episode, and sometimes i'm easy to anger during them, but i promise i'm nice otherwise." you took a deep breath. "it's just, everyone knows my parents and knows they were gryffindor's and i feel like such a failure when they have this amazing, perfect, gryffindor son and then a slytherin daughter. do you have any idea what that feels like?" you looked at him, and widened your eyes. "sorry. i know you don't care." you looked away, embarrassed. what you didn't know was that he knew exactly what it felt like to be a disappointment to people you looked up to. he sympathized with you.

draco stared at you and the only thing he could think of to do in the moment was something y/n wasn't prepared to hear.

"i can stay here. with you. if you'd like." he was even surprised at the sentence that formed in his mouth. you looked at him, not convinced he wasn't joking, but nodded anyway. he put his arm around you awkwardly, but instantly relaxed as he felt your shaking come to a slow stop. from that moment on, you knew you had someone who could understand what you felt when you thought no one else did. you came to each other about your parents and became each other's best friend in the next three years, cleverly hiding your friendship in any measure necessary. you thought it was fun, but always hated the fact you hid something so important to you from one of the people you were closest to: harry.

"y/n?" draco repeated, forcing you to snap back to reality. you hadn't realized you had been standing in front of draco lost in thought not saying a word.

"sorry," you replied, "zoned out." draco only laughed.

"okay, y/n." he turned to look down at the pile of weeds by your side. "having fun, at least? you know, with all your...weeding?"

you looked back at him with a half-hearted smile. "shut it." you only said, turning back to your weeding as not to arise any suspicions of your close bond.

"alright then," he continued anyway, his head now looking up towards the piercing scarlet sky, never really taking in the beautiful view until you had pointed it out to him while you two were in the common room one night at hogwarts. you told draco that the skies are always the most eye-catching at sunset and not to let anyone tell him different. he liked to argue it was at the sunrise, but he knew you were right. "do you think harry suspects anything?" he asked hushed, a sliver of worry in his voice.

you let go of trying to be subtle and stood up facing him. "let me tell you from the girl who has to share his dna, for a very bright guy, harry is stupid when it comes to noticing his own surroundings. he's clueless. not just to us, but to everything. he's always off in his own world, oblivious to everything around him, so we shouldn't worry about him finding out unless someone sees us together and finds a way to make it into every day conversation. are we good now?" you responded, trying your best to convince your dear friend your twin brother was as dull as you knew he was. draco's pouted lips curled into a smile as he still faced the setting sun in the distance. you rolled your eyes at your idiotic best friend and leaned against the stone fountain you were talking to harry at just moments prior.

"yeah. we're good. i'm glad i have an over thinker like you for a friend. if i didn't, i'm convinced our allyship would have been outed by now," draco laughed to himself. "but you're a cunning slytherin, y/n." you turned to look at him, eyes narrowing as he looked at you with a look you knew he meant.

your hair blew in the gentle breeze again, the july evening finally creeping up on you as you rinsed your hands yet again in the fountain. "are you done?" you said after a moment, looking back at draco with a sarcastic smirk. he tried his best not to look amused by your comment, but couldn't hide his emitting snicker.

"no, no, please continue with your sappy and cheesy and other food related adjectives to describe your gratefulness for our friendship, i want to hear it, draco. it really interests me, i find it fundamental for my survival." you joked. he elbowed you in the shoulder, you pushing him back, and after a moment, you heard angry footsteps behind you.

"don't touch my sister, malfoy." harry said, no desperate measures taken to hide his rage. you eyed him angrily, the obvious displeasure on your expression as you two had another one of you split second eye conversations.

did he hurt you?

i'm fine, harry. let it go.

no. he's not allowed to touch you. you're my sister.

harry, get off your high horse. i can take care of myself. he didn't do anything and i would have asked for you if i needed you. i can make my own decisions, and i trust you to be confident in mine the way i support yours. are we understood?

harry's eyes burned into yours, but you had played this game before. you glared at him, and he finally dropped his gaze from you and turned back to malfoy.

"you stay away from her, malfoy, you hear me?" harry bellowed, bitterness riddled within his words.

draco opened his mouth to say the million rude things that had popped into his head but you turned your head to him, your lips scowled and eyes pleading for him to just drop it. he read your face and sacrificed his moment to tell your brother off, leaving him with a glower and a slow walk in direction towards the house.

after draco was out of earshot, harry turned to you, concern building in his eyes.

"are you okay? did he hurt you?"

you pulled away from your overprotective brother. "i'm fine harry, no need for your distress. he wasn't doing anything, were just joking around. he's not that bad if you actually get to talk to him for once, harry."

harry only let out a contemptuous laugh as his head wrapped around the thought of draco malfoy being able to hold a conversation without smacking him atop the head. "y/n, you must be joking." you rethought what you had just said and dropped it.

"harry, can we just ask mum and dad to go back home now? i'm tired and i'm going to start saying things i don't mean if i stay at this house for a minute longer." you said, trying to reason with your more than aggravated brother. he nodded, putting a hand behind your back as you both made you way back to the manor. harry was officially done with his act of being polite for the night. he couldn't stand draco malfoy and hated him even more after he witnessed him talk to his sister.

you and the rest of your party bid your goodbyes to the rest of the malfoy family and were home sooner than you thought. you took off your uncomfortable dress and showered, changed into sweats, and flipped onto your bed all in what felt like one swift movement. it felt good, being in the comfort of your room, something familiar and constant in your life. this night turned into something you wouldn't want to relive again. you were tired and your last thought before you drifted off the sleep were of how good your soft pajamas felt on your skin, completely ignoring the pigment from hours ago that still stained your pillow cases.

you were awoken by a loud noise outside your window as you shot up to find an owl fluttering against the window pane. what in the world- you thought to yourself as you opened the window to let in the owl and let it rest. you untied the letter from the owls leg and check to see who the letter was from. from aunt pamela the cover of the letter read. you knew who it was from instantly: draco. he often used this ploy when he wrote letters to you and wanted to keep it disguised. you tore through the top of the letter and began to read what it had said-

"my dearest y/n,

i hope this letter finds you in good health as my owl is quite fearless and will not hesitate to fly through a storm or rough wind of some sort.

the last time i saw you, i believe we were interrupted during our last conversation. i was in the middle of telling you all the sappy and cheesy and other food related adjectives to describe my gratefulness for our friendship, more relationship as i am most definitely your aunt.

but returning to our conversation, i really do love having you as a friend niece. it's nice to have someone i can talk to that knows exactly how i feel.

i hope to see you again soon before your classes restart. i would like to discuss your upcoming year before you're off. in private, preferably, we don't want anyone like your brother listening in on our talk.

i'll see you soon.

aunt pamela"

you tried to keep in your laughter. so much for subtlety on draco's end. you found a quill and ink and some loose parchment and began to write him back, completely ignoring your insistence on hiding your friendship.

"draco,

your letter was stupid and you could have done better. i expect more from you, malfoy. so much for subtlety.

i'm joking. although i will admit you do need some work when it comes to being vague.

to answer your question, i would like to see you at least one more time before the school year begins, possibly to discuss upcoming events. i heard the ministry is conducting some sort of big event this year that involves the participation of other schools. i wonder what that's all about.

anyway, maybe we can go for tea one day. write back soon.

love,

your dearest y/n"

after you felt confident in the owl's ability to travel safely back to malfoy manor, you knotted the letter to its leg and quietly opened your window to let it out. the next day, you and your family were visiting hogsmeade and diagon alley with your uncles again. you looked forward to it, saving some money to visit some shops you missed. you turned your lamp back off and fell sound asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. tomorrow would be a good day.

at least, you hoped.

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part Three

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: An AU originally based off of the 2012 TMNT universe, but can be compatible with most versions of the characters. <3 2k words. A03 link can be found here. Also special thanks to @cloakedrabbit and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading!

“Oh my gosh.” April cleared the space between them in two steps and fell to her knees before the cage. “He can talk – you can talk!”

The creature lurched backwards as April drew near, eyes shining with pent up tears of fear and frustration. His entire frame trembled as he spoke again in a slow, raspy voice, still anxiously glancing back and forth between April and Casey. “Need out NOW. Need help – Small Brother trouble – not know where- hurt hurt - need out out out!” At the last three words, the turtle slammed his open palms against the glass again and then resumed squawking and crying out.

April placed her open palms on the glass and turned back to Casey, eyes wide. “Tell me that I wasn’t the only one who heard that.”

Casey drug both hands roughly through his hair as he rapidly shook his head. “Holy crap.”

Turning back to the turtle, April knocked on the glass again to catch his attention. The turtle was still hammering at the walls and letting out distressed screeches that made April want to clamp her hands over her ears. When he didn’t acknowledge her, the redhead chose to raise her voice and call over the noise. “’Small Brother’ – was that the other turtle I saw with you?”

Mentioning the name did the job – the turtle instantly snapped to attention and placed his own palms on the glass, eyes furrowed into an expression of startling ferocity. The claws on each hand suddenly seemed much larger when they were less than an inch away from her own. “Small Brother – where?”

April saw Casey’s reflection in the glass, his body tensed in anticipation of the creature lashing out again. “Small Brother is still out there - in the ocean. I don’t think any of the other scientists saw him.”

The turtle huffed in relief, eyes closing for a moment as his shoulders lost some of the tension they had been holding. “Brother safe. Brother safe. Good.”

The three sat in relative silence for a moment, the only sound in the room being their heavy breathing and the low whoosh of water and air being pushed through the pipes overhead.

“What the heck are we supposed to do?” the teenage boy finally muttered as he stepped forward and sunk to the floor beside April. The turtle drew back warily at his approach, but made no move to start screaming again.

“I- I don’t know.” April waved her hands uselessly. Her mind was still reeling with shock over the new development. “I don’t even know what he is at this point – there’s no procedure for this.”

“Should we tell your dad?” Casey fidgeted with the string of his hoodie and scuffed a sneaker on the linoleum, still staring at the turtle. The turtle blinked back at him and wrinkled its snout. It took April a moment to realize that not only was he listening to them, but he was comprehending what was being said, at least to a large degree.

April tried to imagine explaining the situation to her dad and the other scientists. Instantly, an image of the turtle screaming in terror as it was strapped onto an exam table and prepped for dissection entered her mind. She shook the thought aside. “I don’t think we can. Not without it leading to him…” She allowed her voice to trail off as Casey nodded in silent understanding. They watched as the turtle tensed, as if it understood their tones.

With a pitiful whine, the turtle rapped on the glass again and whimpered in such a way that sent a dagger through the teenagers’ hearts. “Need help. Need out.”

Casey suddenly leapt to his feet, causing both of his companions to jump in surprise. “You know what? Screw procedures.”

“What - ?”

The teenage boy turned to look April in the eye as she rose to her own feet, one hand still placed on the glass. His expression was filled with the same fierce determination that April had seen many times right before Casey had leapt into an argument. “This thing obviously has a family – a brother, at that! – and doesn’t deserve to be trapped like a freaking animal. I mean – yeah, he’s an animal – but it’s just not freaking right!”

“Casey –”

“- He deserves to be back with his family! And I’m sorry April, but if you disagree –”

“But I agree with you!” The girl snapped back, earning a look of surprise. April glanced back down at the cage, where the turtle had started breathing heavily again in anticipation and was looking back and forth between them. “Heck, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re right. I don’t care what this will do to research- he needs to be back in the ocean. It’s just not right to keep him here.”

As if on cue, several things suddenly happened at once. The lights above the door to the exam room began pulsing with a muted orange glow, causing the turtle to let out a cry of sudden agitation. Energy renewed, he leapt back at the glass and strained against the chain on his leg, eyes full of fear as he stared pleadingly at the humans. Then there was a loud click, and a hissing sound filled the room. Casey and April both took a step back, fists clenched and shoulders tensed as a clear gas began to fill the tank. Within a minute, the turtle’s whining was silenced and he sank back to the sand, eyes shut and breathing beginning to slow.

April pivoted on her heel as the gas clicked off and the lights returned to normal, her teeth clenched in anger. “C’mon, Casey. Let’s go find my dad.”

***

Of two things in his life was Doctor Kirby James O’Neil proud – his beautiful daughter, and his ability to negotiate. The pride of neither, however, could quell the rising headache that surged behind his eyes as he placed the phone back on its receiver and reached for his coffee mug. Discussions with the Board always left him feeling drained and in need of caffeine.

He raised the almost empty tin to his lips, mentally making a note to bring a second mug to work the next day, and was just beginning to take a sip when the door to his office slammed open and April raced in, closely followed by a gangly teenage boy who looked more out of place in the research building than a fish out of water. Dr. O’Neil lowered his mug automatically, his eyes moving to check the clock on the wall before he stood and moved around the desk.

“April, honey – I was just starting to wonder whether the school bus was running late.” The man smiled warmly and extended his hand towards the boy. “And am I right to believe that you are Casey Jones? April told me that she was doing homework with one of her classmates recently. It’s nice to finally have a face to put with the name.”

“Uh, yeah. You too, sir.” Casey shot a quick glance at April, brows furrowed as the two seemed to have a mental conversation, and then reached out to receive Dr. O’Neil’s outstretched hand. “We actually wanted to come talk to you about some stuff you’re doing.”

“I’m sorry?” Kirby cocked an eyebrow at this and turned to April.

“It’s about the turtle, Dad,” the girl explained. It was then that Kirby finally took a good look at his daughter. The girl’s cheeks were flushed from running, and she was trembling ever so slightly as an electric energy pulsed behind her blue eyes. “And yes, Casey knows about it.”

Dr. O’Neil raised his eyebrows in surprise and took a step back to lean against his desk. When April was this worked up, the safest procedure was to back away and allow the storm to pass. “Ok. Also, I would have preferred that you not leak information – no offense to you, lad. Is everything alright? Or wait – is it about your injuries? I was afraid that you might over-exert yourself today.” The man paused, and then turned to grab the manila file that still laid in the center of his desk, opened from the phone call. “Which reminds me – I need to make a mark on the file about the incident before I fax everything out.”

April rapidly shook her head and threw another side glance at Casey. The boy was dancing from one foot to the other, obviously itching to speak, but waiting for April to finish. “No no, I’m fine, but – wait – what? What are you faxing?”

“The turtle’s file, of course,” Dr. O’Neil tapped the folder excitedly. “I suppose April has explained the basics of the case to you, Casey. Well, we took blood samples this morning, and the creature’s biological DNA almost perfectly matches that of an average loggerhead sea turtle – which is clearly not what you would expect upon observing it, right? Upon closer inspection, however, we were then able to see that there were varied sequences of genetic code that had been mutated– as if this creature were once an average turtle and then something external happened to it that managed to permanently alter its very DNA!”

“But – what could do that?” April’s hands were still balled into fists, but her shoulders lowered slightly as she cocked her head in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Casey nodded half-heartedly from behind her and offered a small ‘it doesn’t?’.

“That’s what’s so remarkable – it shouldn’t be possible for something to change DNA! It would be one thing if the turtle had been born with a mutation in its DNA that caused it to develop like this, but based on what we saw there was a specific moment – likely very early on in life or perhaps while still in its incubation stage – that traumatically and dramatically changed it!” Dr. O���Neil waved his free hand wildly as he spoke, making gestures that Casey immediately recognized as being something April would do. “Whatever happened, it’s clear that this creature is truly one of a kind! I told the Board of our findings, and they ordered that we transfer the turtle to their main base immediately for further examination and dissection. Apparently they have several scientists in the head department who specialize in bizarre cases of this sort, so they were highly interested in the acquisition. Right now they’re currently negotiating a sum to pay for Hamato Laboratory’s discovery and handling of the subject.”

“They’re going to dissect him?” Casey’s voice was thin and angry when he spoke again, though Mr. O’Neil seemed too excited by the topic to notice. Even so, April elbowed him sharply and the teenage boy quickly closed his mouth, though it was obvious that he was still mentally fuming.

“Of course. This is clearly a large moment in marine biology – if something occurred to make the creature like this, we have to know what caused it in order to prevent the same thing from happening to other innocent creatures.”

“When are they moving him?” April suddenly interjected with a tight smile. “I had… hoped that they were going to be handling that here. I wanted to watch the procedure.”

Dr. O’Neil hesitated in his answer, staring curiously between his daughter and the boy at her side. “The Board seemed really eager to get started, so I’d imagine a transport is likely already on its way. If they don’t stop for the evening, I’d assume they’ll arrive around midnight.”

April’s smile tightened, but she forced an accepting nod and wave. “Man, that sucks. Okay. Well, we’re heading to the library now – got a big test tomorrow. See you at dinner. Bye, Dad!” Without another word, the girl suddenly grabbed Casey tightly by the arm and dragged the struggling boy out the door.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. O’Neil!” Casey called out as the two disappeared.

“Err, you too, son!” Kirby stood unmoving, suddenly alone in his office and pondering the meaning of what had just happened. He briefly considered calling April’s cell phone and asking what in the world was going on, until the desk set flashed the Board’s caller ID and began to ring again. With a tired sigh, the man sank back into his chair and reached for his empty coffee mug.

Next Part!

#tmnt #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #tmnt 2018 #tmnt 2012 #savannah drabbles #nickelodeon #sea turtles au

[misssunflowersandsangria]

Earthquake

Authors Note: Hello all!  I have another Ino Shika Cho drabble collection in response to the Mitsuki Disappearance Arc in Boruto.  I hated that Team 10 had such a big role but there wasn't any kind of scene showing how their parents responded to it... :sigh:  and so here we are.  If you haven't gotten that far in the anime I think that you can still read and understand it but proceed with caution if you don't want spoilers at all.   Whelp either way I hope that you enjoy it! 

Ino

Inojin stood at his parents' door wondering whether he should knock or not. He knew that his loss couldn’t compare to what both of them had experienced but right now he needed them. 

His need for comfort won out over his embarrassment and he knocked on the door.  “Come in.” He walked in his eyes downcast while Sai and Ino moved so that he could settle between them. It had been years since he’d needed to crawl into bed with them. 

Ino looked down at her son and pulled him into her arms the glittery tears in his eyes breaking their hearts. Sai had filled her in on everything that happened. Inojin had told them a little as well, the rest of his team filling in any missing details.  Her baby had been through a lot.

Inojin clutched onto his mother trying to hide the tears in his eyes.  “I know it’s stupid to be this upset because you lost grandpa and uncle but it hurts.” Sai and Ino held onto him a little tighter.  He was starting to learn what the Shinobi world was really like and how high the stakes could be. They knew that he’d have to grow up but it still pained them that they couldn’t protect him forever.

Ino stroked his hair comfortingly.  “It doesn’t matter who or what it was.  A loss hurts. Akkun meant something to you even if it was just a short time with him.  Sometimes the best relationships are only a snapshot in time.” Ino assured him trying to validate his feelings. 

Inojin was his father's son and emotions could be difficult for him.  Processing this was going to take some time. When Ino found out what was going on, she and the rest of the Ino-Shika-Cho moms stormed in and camped out in the Hokage’s office while their husbands tried to keep them from rushing to Iwagakure.

“Does it ever stop hurting?”  The pain in his voice was enough to level their foundation. They fought so hard for peace. So that their son wouldn’t have to experience the same heartache they did and yet here he was in tears. 

“I wish that I could say that it does, but time does help. Thankfully you have wonderful memories of what you shared with him when it becomes really painful.”  Sai tried to explain but knew that it might be of little comfort right now. 

Ino tilted her son’s face so that his eyes that were so similar to her own could meet hers.  “From what it sounds like you gave Akkun a wonderful gift. You gave him a heart. He was able to care about someone so much, to find something so precious to him that he put himself in harm's way, for you. And for us, to make sure that you came back home.  We’re thankful for him.” Inojin nodded brushing the tears away. It was true, that little creature was the reason that he was home safe with his parents, he’d always be grateful for him. 

Inojin nestled between his parents feeling their love and support surrounding him.  He was thankful that he had a heart, that he had people that were worth protecting. 

“I uhm I love you guys. I just wanted you to know.” Sai and Ino both looked at each other the tears matching in their eyes.  Sai held his family close as they all latched onto one another. 

“We love you too baby.”

Once Inojin fell asleep they tucked the blankets around him and made their way to the kitchen too overwhelmed to sleep. 

Ino fell into her husband's arms in tears needing him to be strong for her. While Inojin was gone she had to have faith in his skills and the other genin but the reality was that he may have never come back.  She didn’t know what she would have done if that was the case.

Sai whispered words of comfort while rubbing her back. “He’s okay my Love, he’s here and safe, let’s just be grateful.” Sai felt like a fraud saying that knowing how worried he had been, but his wife needed comfort right now.  When he was in the Anbu, even during life or death missions, he didn’t know fear, that emotion had been trained out of him. But while Inojin was gone that terror had a grip on his heart. He wanted to learn about emotions, to feel and express them but he’d be happy to never experience that again.  

Ino took a deep breath and nodded.  It was always so difficult when Sai went away now she had to worry about Inojin leaving too.  This was the life that they chose but it was still hard for her not to be concerned about the two boys in her life.  In spite of it all, they were both incredibly proud of him and it made her happy to know that he used the Yamanaka clan jutsu. 

“We’re going to really start training him. I need him to be strong and able to care for himself.”  Sai nodded kissing her forehead recognizing the sheer determination in his wife’s eyes. 

They may not be able to keep him safe from all the sadness and tragedies of the world but they would make sure he had all the tools he needed to fight the darkness that existed. 

 Shika

 Shikadai dragged his feet down the path towards his home.  He was nervous about how his mother was going to react to this last mission.  

“Come on son, it will be fine I promise.”  His father assured him but he was still hesitant.  His mom was scary on a good day after this last stunt he didn’t know what sort of level of rage she was at.  

“We’re home!”  Shikadai stood there eyes downcast as his mother made her way towards them.  

“Shikadai…”  He shut his eyes and steeled himself for the inevitable berating.  Instead, he was surprised when she kneeled in front of him and gathered him into her arms. 

“Mom?”  He asked surprised.

“I’m very proud of you my little fawn.”   An unusually soft voice told him.  

Shikadai stood there in shock.  “What?”

He looked up at her admiration shining in her eyes.  “You used your intelligence and skills to keep your friends safe.  Not only that but you helped save another village. You were steadfast and brave in the face of danger and despair.  You acted quickly and thoughtfully. My son, you represented your village and your family well.” Shikadai felt tears appear in his eyes at the sincere pride in her voice.  He had so much to live up to because of his parents’ legacy that the pressure could be overwhelming at times. Moments like this helped. 

Temari held onto him a little tighter.  Since he’d gotten older he shied away from affection.  She missed holding her little fawn. When Shikamaru had filled her in on what was going on she tried to remain calm trusting in her son’s abilities. That she and Shikamaru had trained him well.  As a shinobi, she could understand, as a mother she was scared. She wasn’t used to feelings of fear but it took a hold of her. What was worse was the feeling of helplessness because apparently you can’t just cross country borders without authorization.  She wasn’t surprised at how quickly and efficiently Shikamaru worked to get Naruto clearance. She could tell how worried he was. Thankfully he had enough frame of mind to get the help that they needed. The two Shikas in her life had both come such a long way. 

“I’m happy that you’re okay.  And that you’re home safe.” Shikadai held onto her a little tighter.  

“Me too Mama.”  She placed an affectionate kiss on his forehead. 

“Wash up, I’ll have dinner done soon.”  Shikadai nodded heading towards his room.

He turned back to look at his parents.  “Mom, dad, thank you.”

 Temari took a deep breath before facing her husband.  “This is going to be our new normal huh?” 

Shikamaru pulled her into a tight hug each needing the other to ground them.  

“Yes, he’s far too intelligent and talented not to use his skills as a shinobi.” 

“I guess we’ll just have to get used to it then.” She couldn’t have a panic attack every time that her son went on a mission. So she’d have to make sure that he was prepared when he was on one. 

“He's grown a lot.”  Temari sighed thinking about her little baby that would look at her like she placed the clouds in the sky. 

“Yes, he's a lot more motivated than I was as a kid.  It makes me tired. I must say though that we make good kids.” Temari grinned in response. 

He kissed her softly a teasing glint in his eyes. “We did such a good job with Shikadai.  You’re really sure you don’t want one more?” 

She laughed in response her fingers running through his hair. “Hmm pretty sure, but we should keep practicing just in case.” 

Shikamaru kissed her softly and sweetly thanking the universe for his wife and son, the life he was lucky enough to live.  “I like how you think Princess.” 

 Cho

 The Akimichi family was sitting together enjoying a quiet dinner.  Karui had cooked all of her daughter’s favorite foods. It was her way of congratulating ChouChou on her mission and to process her feelings.  She was proud of the kunoichi that her daughter was growing into but that was still her baby out there.  

“Mom?”

“Yes little bug?”

“I want you to help me train using your jutsu.”  Chouji and Karui looked at her, surprised by the request and her motivation.  

“Really?”

ChouChou nodded in response. “Yes, I was thinking about everything that happened and if I can manage to use both then I'll really be able to help my team and friends.  I need to get stronger.”

“Okay, you know that I'm not going to take it easy on you right?”

Her eyes met her parents, fierce and determined.  “I don’t want you to be. Akimichis are not weak, we’re strong and reliable and I’m going to work as hard as I need to keep the people I care about safe.”

Her parents looked at her sheer pride present on their faces. “Alright, we’ll start tomorrow then.”  The small family smiled at each other before resuming their dinner. Grateful that they were there safe and complete. 

 After ChouChou went to bed Chouji found his wife outside training under the starlight.  The light from the moon reflecting off her katana blades, her lightning sending shocks of light across the dark sky.  He watched her enchanted at how effortlessly she moved, switching between using her blades or her jutsu. He rarely got to see her use her ninja skills unless they were training.  They seldom went on missions together as they had done before ChouChou was born. He was just as amazed now as he was back then.  

“Don’t just watch, come train with me, don’t want you to get rusty Honey.”  She teased him with a smug smile. He made his way towards her pulling her into his arms.  Her strong sturdy presence calming his own lingering fears and worries. 

“Wouldn’t want that now, would we.  After that dinner you cooked I could use some exercise Sweetheart.  Don’t take it easy on me either.” She kissed him affectionately so thankful for him.  She not only had an incredible husband and daughter she had a wonderful clan and extended family that loved and supported each other.  While she, Ino and Temari waited for information about their children they all agreed that their training would start in earnest. This incarnation of Ino-Shika-Cho would be the strongest yet.  They would make sure of it. When Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were younger their fathers had taken the bulk of responsibility for training them. This time around the moms would carry that responsibility as well.  The three of them were amongst the most talented kunoichi of their generation and their children would be a reflection of that. 

Their families had all experienced an earthquake but together they’d make the world shake under their feet. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21702238

#shikatema #shikamaru x temari #InoSai #saiino #sai x ino #chouji x karui #choukarui #INOSHIKACHO #inojin #shikadai #Chouchou #team 10 #Family Fluff #fanfic #nara family #yamanaka family #akimichi family #boruto next generation

[lawbreaker13]

Why is everybody so upset with Stormy Weather 2? This was like a super important episode??

Seriously guys, I don’t know what the problem is. There are flashback episodes in basically every show, but this was a crazy important marker for Miraculous Ladybug. I’m gonna go into detail about everything that was learned, but I just want to start by saying that what this episode did for us indefinitely was set itself on a timeline. It explicitly stated that everything through Chris Master happened within a year-and-a-half timeframe before this episode. It also set Marinette in a place where she’s officially declared, in writing, that she and Adrien are “just friends.” Like, she used Adrien’s “just a friend” line. And we know how this show is with parallels, so I count that as a pretty big one.

I’m gonna get more into this now though, so here we go.

Right off the bat we have the idea of change. Chloe taunts Marinette with the idea that she’ll never change (and we all know how much Marinette likes to challenge Chloe’s words). The word “change” is something that is brought up throughout the whole episode, so watch out for that.

We have Marinette genuinely reflecting. Like not just thinking on her rooftop and complaining about how Chat Noir is a glutton and would drop his guard for a couple of macaroons, she’s really thinking over her life’s choices. It’s framed in such a different light than the way we normally get our characters thinking.

“Adrien has become a true friend.” “Adrien’s become a friend who I can talk to about anything.” “Can you still be in love with someone even after they become your friend? Do you think I’ll ever be able to tell him that he means much more to me than ‘just a friend?’” This is what Marinette thinks of relationships. She thinks that the friends-to-lovers trope is crap and that you have to dive straight into a relationship. And that’s why whenever Adrien talks about her as a friend she becomes so heartbroken. She doesn’t think it’s a step in the right direction, she thinks it’s completely on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I don’t know WHAT Gabriel is plotting with “Ms. Tsurugi” or whether that means Kagami or her mom, but I’m a little terrified.

"Things may not be going exactly as we had planned, but change can be a good thing.” Gabriel’s first line is about change. Hm.

Nathalie’s entire monologue gives us so much background I don’t even know where to start.

She’s starting to regret having taken the job in the first place

She really, genuinely cares about Adrien

She officially, canonically, is in love with Gabriel and it’s because his dedication to his wife is admirable which show how much of a detail-oriented person Nathalie is because WOW she’s missing the big picture here, and also that there is going to be some major love triangle stuff going on towards the end of this between Gabriel, Emilie, and Nathalie (but how might that work?? Redemption arc??? Prison marriage????)

Emilie’s condition is progressively getting worse

Nathalie is still getting sicker, despite only having used the peacock miraculous once (on-screen)

(Also, side-note, hearing Nathalie speak so much at once was like an out-of-body experience for me and her passionate voice about Gabriel was...something)

Adrien really just wants to talk to his dad about his day and their relationship is so screwed up that he can tell by LESS THAN a side glance that Gabriel doesn’t want to hear it from him. Like geez.

Gabriel can recognize familiar emotions. So...does an emotion from Chat Noir feel the same as emotion from Adrien??? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Nooroo just wants to see Gabriel and Adrien happy together. Gabriel is a dick. This is not new information, just needed to be reiterated again.

Also, save Nooroo, please.

Gabriel does in fact have the ability to feel remorse. However, he chooses to ignore it, in his own words “at any price.” The only things worth changing his mind are his family, though he does care about Nathalie too. We’ll see how well that holds up.

“People don’t change, they only grow.” Huh. Episode themes from Gabriel Agreste.

“My father will never change.” YOU GUYS PICKING UP ON A THEME HERE????

Plagg’s “I like people who never change. You always know what to expect!” is first off, adorable, second, reverse psychology. He does this to Adrien consistently throughout the series. Considering he’s the one who keeps trying to change Adrien’s mind about Ladybug, he obviously knows what he’s saying isn’t entirely truthful. But Plagg is an adorable, cheese-loving psychopath. Whatcha gonna do?

On the complete other end of that, Plagg talking Adrien through all the ways he’s changed shows how much he cares about him again.

Why Plagg is defending Gabriel, I don’t know. But this is definitely something to note. Does he really think Gabriel is changing for the better? Is Gabriel supposedly changing for the better? (I vote no) Is he unintentionally setting Adrien up for disappointment in a later episode? Guess we’ll see!

Side note, Plagg pretending not to know Marinette’s name is one of my favorite things. It’s not like he can’t say it because Tikki can talk about Adrien, he just chooses not to. And he knows very well who she is. This was confirmed in Weredad.

The scarf has been brought up again. Everybody note this immediately.

ZAG does, in fact, have somewhat of a legitimate animation budget. That volcano is sick.

Of all the villains to use as a filler, Stormy Weather was a solid choice, you all have to admit. Especially when you contrast the repetition of a villain to the episode’s theme.

Ladybug puns. This has been confirmed.

“A little change is good, don’t you think?” HMMMMMMM. Just think about how this was followed by the line “I love that girl.” HMMMMMMM.

Nino and Alya chill on Alya’s bed. Nino never regrets meeting Alya. He loves his girlfriend. Alya loves her boyfriend. They are one of the sweetest canon couples ever to exist.

Nino has a flirty voice he uses on Alya. This is important information.

I don’t want to get into what would’ve happened had the twins not burst the door open, but I want this thought to be noted.

Nino has been adopted by the Cesaire family.

Chloe literally stands on her rooftop with a bat signal every time there’s an akuma. Obsessive much?

"There’s nobody nicer than me!” *cue reel of Chloe being the worst human in the country* is honestly one of the best jokes in this series.

“Once a villain, always a villain,” has an incredible amount of significance but it can pretty much be summed up into the idea that Chloe doesn’t understand change.

Ladybug knows that she and Chat Noir know each other really well now. She reflects on how much they trust each other, literally with their lives, and how their relationship is the reason they have new powers and fighting abilities.

Also, character development. Did anybody see that super soft look Ladybug gave Chat Noir when he said he always agrees with her? Would Ladybug have stopped to admire anything about Chat Noir 2 seasons ago? HMMMMMM.

I would like it to be noted that professional cinematography equipment is several thousands of dollars and it physically hurts me to think of that camera screen breaking in the cold.

Apparently you can take down a super villain with a photocopier and a pencil. Take notes, people.

Alya’s sisters have an akuma victory dance. More important info.

Marinette has gathered up enough courage to write Adrien a note. Last episode she tried to express her feelings. She very well had it in her to do that again, and what she chose to do was to make it clear that they were just friends. She wants Adrien to know that they’re on the same page. It’s in writing. And in Adrien’s hands.

“Good job, we’ve got ourselves a new and improved Marinette!” Change, anyone???

“She’s always been that way. She never changes.” HMMMMM.

Plagg wants Adrien to move on. He’s genuinely trying to convince him by reminding him of how Ladybug is not interested. But maybe there are other girls out there? Hint hint.

*Looks at valentine from Marinette* “You can’t just change your feelings just like that.” *conveniently timed note from Marinette arrives* GUYS. IT’S CALLED SYMBOLISM. Or something like that. Also foreshadowing.

Now this I need to explain super in-depth because there are so many complaints about this part. Adrien was just looking between the two notes. He knows how Marinette gets around him and he knows how it compares to when she’s talking to Chat Noir or Alya. He remembers things from Troublemaker. And he’s holding the two notes in his hands at that moment. Incredibly similar handwriting. He thinks. He remembers how she had pictures of him in her room. And he consciously knows that the valentine he got in response to his own is not from Ladybug. He knows it’s from someone at school. Doesn’t think, he knows. Adrien has figured it out. “No, Marinette couldn’t possibly be in love with me,” he says sadly with slight question in his voice. “She’s just a friend who loves fashion. Besides. There’s Luka.” *cue flashbacks of Adrien watching Marinette and Luka on a date, with the absolute saddest music I have ever heard play in this show playing in the background while he reflects* Guys. This is how Adrien thinks. This is what Adrien thinks of relationships. He believes that you can only like one person at a time. He can’t like Marinette, he likes Ladybug. And Marinette can’t like him, she likes Luka. He DID figure it out. The only reason he dismissed it is because he doesn’t understand her feelings. He doesn’t understand that love isn’t clear-cut, finite, one-and-done. He knows for a fact that she went out with Luka once, so how could she like both of them? That’s not possible...is it?

And are you telling me that “It’s just a person that has similar writing, that’s all,” wasn’t spoken in the most melancholic, disappointed tone of voice that Adrien has ever used on anyone other than his father?

Adrien’s 14. Marinette is 14. They don’t understand life. They don’t understand how complex feelings and relationships are. They think you fall in love with your soulmate and it’s golden from there. They’re dumb kids, but they’re not stupid. Adrien did figure it out. But he can’t bring himself to believe it. He doesn’t understand. And be honest. Did you understand when you were 14?

A couple side notes about the episode that didn’t fit directly into my play-by-play.

That valentine thing went full-circle. Dark Cupid was the first episode with any real lovesquare plot-progression and here we have the exact same setup, but this time with internal monologuing. We start with Marinette reading Adrien’s letter and end with Adrien reading Marinette’s letter. Just like we did in Dark Cupid, but this time it’s in reflection. It’s a parallel. I’m not fabulous at analysis, but I do know this much. Parallels.

This was a Valentine’s Day episode in the same way that Chris Master was a Christmas episode. Themed but not centered. It was a nice change of pace if you ask me.

The end card is always kind of a mini-synopsis of the episode. In this one, we see Marinette, confident and proud of herself for accepting Adrien’s friendship, and Adrien, staring longingly at a valentine that he knows isn’t from Ladybug, wondering if it could possibly, possibly be from Marinette. Huh. That feels a little backwards, doesn’t it?

And I’m just still so stuck on how sad that music was with the Luka flashback. Like, that kinda hurt to listen to??? Wow Adrien.

Side note, I just...I can't get over this. When you were a kid and you heard someone liked you (let alone was in love with you) did you believe it? I'm an adult and I wouldn't believe it if someone told me they liked me. When you feel as unloved as Adrien does every single day, the idea of a good friend of yours being completely in love with you sounds almost...too good to be true, doesn't it? Why should he think she likes him? Especially since he’s just drawing that conclusion on his own?

I personally would like to believe that the reason the rest of the episodes have been postponed is so that we can mull this over for a little while until the rest of them come out. Because from this point forward, there will be some changes. And speaking of which.

CHANGE. Can we all agree that that’s what this episode was about? Why would they place it on a timeline otherwise? Why would they explain to us what came before unless we’re supposed to know what comes after? IT’S THE CONTINUITY THAT WE’VE BEEN ASKING FOR. ACCEPT YOUR GIFTS.

This is the best continuity and information we’ve been given since episode one. And it’s set up in a way that my 6-year-old cousin could understand perfectly. It’s a show for everyone, guys. And this episode was the perfect example of it.

I personally think this is one of the best episodes thus far. In fact, if it weren’t for my Marichat-loving heart, it would be number one by a long-shot. Of COURSE they needed a recap episode. Because if they didn’t have one, do you know what we’d say? “Oh, but Thomas Astruc says there IS no continuity! Did he LIE???” Let the man win for once. We asked. It was delivered. This. Is. Continuity. This. Is. Character development. This. Is. Plot. This. Is. Miraculous.

Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.

#This was a spectacular episode and no one can tell me otherwise #I loved every minute of it #I stopped EDITING for this episode #DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT TAKES TO GET ME TO STOP EDITING???? #DO YOU??????? #A lot #It's a lot #Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #Stormy Weather 2 #Stormy Weather #Dark Cupid #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Change #TAG THIS AS CHANGE #Ladybug #Chat Noir #Just a friend #Gabriel Agreste #Nino Lahiffe #Alya Cesaire #Ladybug and Chat Noir #Nathalie Sancoeur #Adrienette #Adrinette #Marichat #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Episode analysis #Mine

[cyborgsquirrel]

Sanctuary: Chapter 6

Pairing: Wolfstar

Summary: The epic tale of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, from their first meeting until their happily ever after.

Link to Prologue

Link to All Chapters

Thursday, 2nd September 1971, 11:42 am

'Self-inflating, unpoppable, animal balloons,' James said, producing a fluorescent orange box from his trunk and waving it in the air like a Quidditch seeker who'd just caught the snitch. 'We're going to fill the Great Hall with them tonight!'

'The whole room?' Peter asked. 'We'll need a lot of balloons.'

'Not as many as you might think, my good man.' James slapped his hand down on Peter's shoulder, making him wince. 'These balloons blow up to ten times life-size and I have 5000. That should be plenty.'

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck. When he got up to mischief at home, he didn't plan it. His pranks were spur-of-the-moment; potential consequences never entered his mind until after. But this was different. This allowed him the time to think, and he was thinking about what would happen if someone caught them.

It was making him a little nauseous.

His mother was a powerful witch, and her punishments could be brutal, but she may as well have been a first-year next to the teachers of Hogwarts. There was no telling what they might do. He knew they gave "detentions," but he didn't know what that would entail. James and Peter didn't seem concerned though, and he didn't want them to think him a coward.

'There'll be riots if people can't reach the food,' Sirius said.

That was good. It was neither for nor against the plan. Merely an observation. It could be taken either way.

'But if we do it tonight, we'll be knackered for Defence tomorrow.'

A reasonable objection, he thought.

'Excellent point,' James said, pointing at him. 'I'm looking forward to Defence, don't want to be too tired to enjoy it. Operation inflatable breakfast is hereby postponed until tomorrow night.' He jumped on the bed next to Sirius. 'But we should still prank someone now, too. Any ideas?'

Sirius' heart sank. There was no putting him off. He would have to go through with the prank or risk losing his friendship. There was only one choice, really. The alternative was unthinkable. But, if they did something mild and got caught, at least he would have some idea of what to expect from the school punishments.

'What else do you have?' Sirius asked.

James leapt off the bed and dashed back over to his trunk.

'A few firecrackers, five dungbombs and some nose-biting teacups.'

James pulled each item out as he spoke, placing them on his bed, and Sirius ambled over to examine them.

'Not much to work with.'

Sirius poked at the dungbombs.

'Suppose we could set these off right outside the Slytherin common room.'

'Do you know where the entrance is?' Peter asked, joining the others in staring at the items laid out on James' bed.

'No, but we can find out if we follow some Slytherins.'

James started digging around in his trunk again.

'They'll see us and won't go in,' Sirius said.

'I have something that will help, but you need to swear to keep it secret first.'

James stared at them with an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. He glanced back and forth between Peter and Sirius. They both promised, and James pulled out a cloak made from a fluid-like, silvery material.

'What is it?' Peter asked, stretching out a hand to touch the shimmering fabric.

'Watch,' James said.

He swung the cloak around his shoulders, and his body vanished, leaving his head floating around in mid-air, plastered with a ridiculous grin.

Sirius gasped, 'No way!' at the same time as he heard a squeak from Peter standing behind him.

James' grin widened, putting his face in grave danger of breaking in half.

'It's been in my family for generations. Dad gave it to me for my last birthday.'

'Pranking will be a breeze with that,' Sirius said in a tone laced with awe.

'I know! Pete, grab the dungbombs. We should all be able to fit under here. Bring the firecrackers too. We can use them to set off the dungbombs.'

The boys crowded together under the cloak to test it and found they could all fit if they crammed together, but the confines of the cloak made walking difficult. After ten minutes of practise, they found a workable rhythm, and they stuffed the cloak in James' bag before racing down to the dungeons.

-o-o-o-o-

They lurked in the dungeons under the cloak for forty-five minutes before seeing a group of giggling Slytherin girls heading away from the Great Hall. Sirius, being the tallest of the three, was in the middle, and he was getting rather sweaty from being surrounded by the body heat of his friends.

They followed the girls at a distance until they paused in front of a blank stretch of wall, before disappearing through it.

'That must be it,' James said, before throwing the cloak off and running over. 'Hand me a dung bomb and a firecracker, Pete.'

Sirius stuffed the invisibility cloak into his bag, and Peter handed both James and Sirius a dungbomb and a firecracker. James showed them how to combine the items and set the firecrackers for delayed detonation. They worked fast, setting up the five dungbombs in concealed locations around the entrance to explode ten minutes later. They planned to be well away by then.

Finished, they turned and broke into a run towards the Great Hall; they were almost there when they turned a corner and ran straight into Mr Filch, the school caretaker.

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?'

Sirius' stomach dropped into his shoes.

'Three trouble-makers up to mischief, no doubt. Running from the scene of the crime, are we?'

'No, sir. We're, um, we're just, um, going to lunch!' Peter stammered.

James was offering his most innocent expression, wide-eyed with a grin the size of a Quidditch pitch and nodding along with Peter's stilted explanation for their hurry.

'A likely story. You three will come with me. I'll have you strung up by your ankles. That'll teach you to muck up my school with your filth.'

The word "filth" sent chills through Sirius' body. His mother used the term so often in her rants that his mind associated it with pain and fear. He went into a panic. The room was spinning around him, his heart was pounding and he couldn't breathe.

'Sirius, are you okay?' James said, moving in front of him and grabbing his arms.

Sirius focused on his friend's face and tried to calm down. He stared into his eyes, deep pools of swirling brown with specks of green. As he watched, the colours solidified and came into focus. His breathing evened out, and he was able to speak.

'Yeah. I think so. But what's he going to do to us?' Sirius breathed.

James let go of his arms.

'Nothing. We'll get detention if he can prove we did something, but he's not allowed to hurt us.'

James studied him for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth, searching for something. Sirius wasn't sure what.

'We'll talk about this later, okay?'

Sirius nodded and the three boys followed Filch down the corridors to his office.

Inside the spacious room, there was a desk with four chairs lined up in front of it and one much larger and more comfortable chair behind it. Along the walls were filing cabinets, several rows of them, stacked up to the ceiling. Someone had labelled them all, though Sirius couldn't make out the words. The room was lit by a single oil lamp hanging from the ceiling, which cast eerie shadows in the corners. Sirius shivered. A deep sense of unease filled him when he spotted the chains and manacles hanging from the wall behind the desk. He rubbed his wrists, recalling the soreness such things caused after spending three days chained up in the dungeon at home.

Filch told them to sit down and moved behind the desk, pulling out parchment from the desk drawer before seating himself. He muttered under his breath as he filled out three forms, recording their crimes. He was just finishing up the third when the sound of a distant explosion, followed by screams, reached their ears. The boys all glanced at each other.

'What did you do?' Filch asked, sneering. 'Stay here until I get back.'

The moment the caretaker left the room, James was on his feet and scanning the filing cabinets.

'Quickly, men! We only have a few minutes. See what you can find,' he said.

Sirius leapt from his seat. This was more like it, the type of spur-of-the-moment mischief he was used to. He ran his hand over the fronts of the cabinets as he read the labels. Most were labelled with letters of the alphabet. Records organised by surname, Sirius assumed. One drawer was labelled "The Prewetts." Sirius pulled it open and found stacks of detention slips for the same two boys. They ranged from September 1965 to the most recent, which were dated that morning. Filch had apparently caught the two trouble-makers charming the suits of armour in the dungeons to attack Slytherins. Sirius grinned. They sounded like his kind of people.

'Guys! Over here. Look!' James said.

Sirius hurried over to where James was pointing at a filing cabinet on the back wall. Squinting at the label in the dismal light, he read "Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

'Nice one. Let's grab something quick. He'll be back soon.' Sirius said.

Peter walked over to the door and cracked it open to peek out while James pulled the drawer open and rooted through it.

'He's coming!' Peter hissed, closing the door and rushing back to his seat.

James snatched something small from the drawer, shoved it in his pocket and grabbed Sirius' arm, dragging him back to his seat.

The boys sat down with seconds to spare. Filch stormed into the office looking murderous and slammed the door closed behind him.

'Dungbombs in the corridor, stinking up the entire castle. You'll pay for this. Yes, you will. You just wait until Professor McGonagall hears about it.'

He continued muttering as he filled out a second set of detention slips with their details and sent them on their way. Sirius still felt a fluttery feeling in his stomach when he thought about what the detentions might involve, despite James' reassurance that it wouldn't be painful. He pushed the worry to the back of his mind. He would face it when it happened.

-o-o-o-o-

Remus was sitting in the shade of an ancient oak tree, his back against the trunk and his knees bent. His Defence textbook rested on his thighs, creating a hard surface on which to write. In his hand, he held a quill, and an inkpot rested in a convenient recess in the ground beside him. He had been staring at the blank parchment for several minutes, trying to decide how much of his Hogwarts experience to include in the letter to his mum.

Coming to a decision, he dipped his quill in the ink and began his letter. He wrote steadily for a few minutes, then read it through, scratched out a sentence here and a word there, added another paragraph, then removed it again. When he was satisfied with his account of events, he pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and copied the revised letter out neatly.

Mum,

I'm having a wonderful time here at Hogwarts. It's everything I always imagined it would be. When we arrived, the first years were taken to the castle by boat across a giant lake. The castle looked so beautiful in the starlight. We were sorted into our houses by a talking hat. Seriously, I'm not kidding. The hat has the ability to see into, and speak into, the mind of the person wearing it. It knew my secret but promised not to tell, and it said I was brave. It placed me in Gryffindor house, which I told you would be the best house for me to be in, I don't know if you remember?

I'm in a dormitory with three other boys. It's a good-size room though, lots of space, so it's easy to avoid bumping into each other. The bathroom has four shower cubicles, so there's plenty of privacy. You know I was worried about people seeing my scars. I had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore this morning; he told me the arrangements for Sunday, and it all sounds very well thought out and safe. I'll tell you more after, though. Professor Dumbledore has also given me access to the kitchens, so I don't have to eat in the Great Hall. Wasn't that kind of him?

My first lesson this morning was Transfiguration. It was a basic theory lesson, and I didn't learn much that I didn't already know. But Professor McGonagall said something interesting when she was warning us of the dangers of attempting magic above our ability. She said that our magical cores act as an immune system, and they have to shut down once a month to cleanse themselves. Apparently, this happens during the full moon. I thought you might find that as interesting as I did.

I have had no other lessons yet, and I was surprised at first by how many free periods are scheduled into the timetable, but when I thought about it, I realised it was necessary. Six hours of continuous magic casting would be exhausting, I expect our timetables will be fuller in later years when we're stronger. I have double Potions this afternoon. I'm not really looking forward to Potions. I hope the ingredients don't smell too bad; you know how sensitive my nose is.

It's lunchtime now, so I'm off to visit the kitchen for some food. I'll write to you again soon.

Love you lots,

Remus

Remus read the letter through again and was satisfied that his meaning was clear enough for his mum to understand, while still being subtle enough that if anyone else read it, they wouldn't be able to guess he was a werewolf. There was also just enough negativity in the letter that it wouldn't seem like he was pretending to be happy. He rolled the parchment into a scroll and sealed it before putting his things away and climbing to his feet, tucking the letter into his pocket as he did.

As Remus climbed the stairs to the Owlery, he found himself wishing that he knew how to fly. He was fairly certain he'd climbed more stairs since arriving at Hogwarts the day before than he had in the entire rest of his life combined. When he reached the summit, he collapsed to the floor and stayed there for several minutes, reminding his lungs how to breathe.

Once the feeling had returned to his legs and he was no longer gasping, he entered the circular room and searched the rafters for Rieka. She spotted him first though, and flew down to land on his shoulder, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck and greeting him with a low whistle.

'Hey, Rieka, how do you like the owlery?'

She hooted softly and nuzzled him again.

'Good, I'm glad you're happy here.' He pulled the letter from his pocket. 'I need you to take this to Mum, okay?'

Rieka hooted again and flew over to the perch in the centre of the room so Remus could tie the letter to her leg.

'Well, look at what we have here. A little baby Gryffindor. All alone,' a voice drawled from the entrance.

Remus whipped around. It was another first-year - greasy-hair, hooked nose - his name sounded like snake. What was it? Remus wracked his brains but couldn't remember.

'What do you want?' he asked.

The boy's tone had been aggressive, and it unnerved him. His heart raced in his chest, and his palms felt sweaty.

'Oh, nothing difficult, I assure you. I wouldn't want to tax your tiny Gryffindor mind. Just a little lesson in where you belong. Depulso!'

A blinding white light shot from the end of the boy's wand and hit Remus square in the chest, causing him to fly back into a heap of owl pellets, feathers and animal carcasses, piled up at the edge of the room.

'And don't you forget it.'

The boy turned, no doubt intending to sweep dramatically from the room in a flurry of robes, but Rieka had other ideas. She flew from the perch and out of a window, wheeled around and dived at the boy, claws outstretched to attack. He lifted his arms in defence of his face and stumbled back, away from the angry bird. Rieka's talons tore shreds in his arms, and the boy screamed in pain, stumbling further until he too landed in the pile of owl detritus.

'Get the hell away from me, you crazy bird!' the boy shouted, pulling himself to his feet and rushing out of the door.

Rieka hopped over to Remus and hooted.

'I'm okay. Thanks for sticking up for me, girl.'

Remus stroked her head before dragging himself to his feet and inspecting his robes. They were filthy, covered in feathers and slime from the rotting carcasses, Remus gagged at the stench.

'I better get cleaned up before potions.' He turned to Rieka. 'I'll see you when you get back.'

Rieka hooted again and flew out the door, and Remus followed.

-o-o-o-o-

'I think we should allow three hours to blow up the balloons. We probably won't need that long, but better to have too much time than not enough,' James said, pacing back and forth in front of Sirius' bed like an Auror captain planning a raid.

Sirius was sitting on the bed next to Peter, listening to James run through his plan for the following night's entertainment.

'So, leave the dorm around one in the morning then.' Sirius said. 'The prefects will be finished with their patrols by then, and we'll be back in the dorm well before any teachers should be getting up.'

'Yes. I'll set my alarm and wake you up.' James pointed at Sirius. 'You'll be with me. We'll open the balloons and let them loose in the hall. Pete will stay by the door under the cloak and keep a lookout.'

The door to the dorm opened, interrupting their planning session, and Remus walked in covered in feathers and something slimy that smelled like death. All three boys stared at him.

'What the hell happened to you?' Sirius asked.

Remus glanced at him.

'I don't want to talk about it,' he muttered before grabbing a clean set of robes from his trunk and hurrying into the bathroom.

Sirius stared at the closed door for a moment. Should he go talk to him or leave him alone? Remus had no positive feelings towards him and probably wouldn't want to open up to a person he disliked. But this might be the opportunity he was waiting for to show Remus he wasn't a complete asshole. Sirius was vaguely aware of James continuing his instructions for the prank but was too focused on Remus to listen. Why was he covered in feathers? Had he fallen over in the owlery or had someone attacked him? He was on the verge of getting up to try his luck when Remus exited the bathroom.

'Mate, tell us what happened?' Sirius said.

'I'm not your mate, Black. You made it clear what you thought of me yesterday by the lake.'

Remus stepped over to his trunk and retrieved his cauldron and potion's kit from inside.

'If you don't bother me, I won't bother you,' he said, his voice calm, before strolling out of the dorm and closing the door behind him. Not even bothering to slam it.

He wasn't angry, Remus just hated him. Fuck.

'Well, that went well,' James said.

Sirius threw his pillow at him, scoring a direct hit in the face.

'Shut up,' he said. 'How am I supposed to fix this when he won't even speak to me?'

'I don't understand why you're bothering at all, mate. He seems a bit stuck up to me.'

'The problem isn't that he's stuck up, it's that he thinks I'm stuck up.'

'So, show him you're not.'

Right, Sirius thought, but how?

-o-o-o-o-

After visiting the kitchens and grabbing a bite to eat, Remus had half an hour left of his lunch break and decided to spend it in the library, getting his Transfiguration homework done before the moon. It was due Monday morning, and he wouldn't be out of the hospital wing until lunchtime at the earliest, so he wanted to hand it in on Friday. Especially since it wouldn't take him long to complete.

His first sight of the library took his breath away. So many books; he was in heaven. The collection took up almost the entire fourth floor of the main building and was spread throughout one vast, irregularly shaped room with several smaller rooms leading off it. He wandered around for a few minutes, reading the signs above the shelves, before settling at a table with a red-headed Gryffindor and pulling out his homework.

'Oh, hi. I recognise you from class this morning. You're the one who knew all the answers.'

Remus' face warmed.

'You got one right too,' he said.

'Not as many as you though. I'm Lily. It's nice to meet you.'

Lily held out her hand for him to shake. Remus almost panicked, but he had prepared for that possibility.

'I'm Remus, but I have a phobia of touching people,' he said, nodding towards her outstretched hand. 'I'm sorry.'

Lily pulled her hand back.

'Oh, no. Don't apologise. You can't help what you're afraid of. I'm terrified of spiders, so I get it.'

'Thanks,' Remus said, giving her a smile before dipping his quill into his inkpot to begin the Transfiguration work.

They worked in companionable silence for fifteen minutes, and Remus was almost finished when he heard Lily greet someone.

'Oh. Hey, Sev.'

'Hello, Lily. I came to show you the way to Potions. I didn't want you to get lost.'

Remus looked up at the voice that had sneered at him so cruelly in the owlery and caught the eye of the greasy-haired boy - Snape. That was his name. He raised an eyebrow at Remus.

'Something I can do for you?'

'No.' He gathered up his things and turned to Lily. 'I'm finished here, I'll see you later.'

Remus hurried away from the table. He had been hoping that he and Lily could be friends, but she was already friends with the boy who had attacked him for no reason, so maybe she wasn't as nice as he thought.

-o-o-o-o-

Sirius, James and Peter were some of the first to arrive at the Potions classroom after lunch and were lucky enough to nab themselves seats at the back of the room. Sirius and James sat together, and Peter sat alone at the desk in front of them.

When the last few stragglers had slipped into their seats, the teacher stood up and waved his wand at the blackboard.

"The basics of potion-making" appeared on the board in excessively curly handwriting. Sirius groaned. Another tedious bloody lesson.

'Good afternoon, class. My name is Professor Slughorn. I hope you have all had yourselves a superb meal because this class will be fairly physical. Today, you'll be learning all the basics involved with potion-making. Who can tell me what those might be?'

Sirius took a peek at Remus on the other side of the room and was surprised to see he didn't have his hand in the air. Instead, he was holding his head in his hands with his elbows on the desk. He nudged James.

'Hey, what do you think is wrong with Remus? He looks ill.'

After glancing over, James shrugged.'Dunno, mate. Maybe he's sick.'

While they were talking, a Slytherin student had answered Slughorn's question - stirring, chopping and stuff, nothing important, - and earned herself five points. Remus was now taking notes while covering his nose with his sleeve. Sirius turned back to listen to the teacher.

'First, you'll be learning how to time the heating of your cauldrons, so please place your cauldrons on the fire pits in the centre of your desks and fetch some water to fill them.'

'You set the cauldrons up, mate. I'll go get the water,' Sirius said.

Sirius wandered over to the closest sink and joined the back of the short queue, finding himself behind Snape. He eyed the boy's greasy hair with distaste but kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to start anything in the classroom. That resolve changed, though, when Snape reached the front of the line and rolled his sleeves up to keep them dry while he filled a jug for his cauldron. His pale white arms were marred by long vivid-red scratches. The marks were unmistakable. His mother's bastard of a bird had attacked Sirius often enough for him to recognise owl talon marks when he saw them. The injuries were severe and Sirius could only think of one reason Snape wouldn't have gone to the hospital wing for treatment. Because he had been doing something wrong when it happened. Sirius had been accused of many things in his brief life, but being slow wasn't one of them. It took him but a moment to put together the gashes on Snape's arms with the memory of Remus arriving back at the dorm covered in feathers and realise the truth. Snape had attacked his Remus. And that was unacceptable.

He returned to his desk with a full jug of water, seething. After explaining to James and Peter what he had seen and deduced, they all agreed that Snape's behaviour could not go unpunished, bullying would not be tolerated. They finished setting up their cauldrons before concocting a plan.

When everyone was ready, Professor Slughorn started to speak again.

'Now, almost every potion recipe calls for at least one timed period of heating, and it's very important to time it to the second. Even a second or two out, either way, can ruin a potion. Your desks are fitted with a timing charm. If you look, you will see a circle carved into the bottom corners of each desk.'

Slughorn paused to allow everyone to locate their timer. Sirius looked down at his desk and found the circle, and he could see James doing the same on his side of the desk.

'If you tap the circle once with your wand, it will light up to show a clock face. Tap it again while saying the length of time you need to set it for and tap a third time to start the timer. Test it now. Please set your timers for five seconds.'

Sirius took out his wand and tapped the circle. It lit up with white light, showing a clock face with black numbers and three black hands. He tapped again and said, 'Five seconds.' The thinnest and longest of the three hands moved to the one. He tapped a third time, and the hand ticked back to the twelve, one increment at a time, before flashing randomly in a multitude of colours.

'As you can see, the alarm is silent to avoid disturbing other students, so you will need to watch your timer. It is advisable to set your timer in advance so you need only tap it once when you begin heating.'

Professor Slughorn moved to stand behind his demonstration area, which he had already set up with his own cauldron.

'Now onto the actual heating. The fire pits in your desks are fitted with heating and cooling charms because you won't learn the spells for fire until third-year. Once you have learned them, of course, I will expect you to use them in this class. If you look down at your desks again, you will see five symbols carved in front of the fire pit. The first is "extinguish." This, rather obviously, extinguishes any fire in the pit. The second symbol is "low heat."'

He tapped his wand on his own desk, and a small fire sprang up under his cauldron.

'The third is "medium heat."'

He tapped his wand again, and the fire got a little bigger.

'The fourth is "high heat."'

He tapped his wand a third time, and the fire roared higher, licking at the sides of the cauldron with long orange flames.

'And the fifth is "cold-fire."'

He tapped his wand one more time, and the fire shrank and turned ice blue.

'Simply tap your wands on the symbols to activate the fire and tap your wand on the extinguish symbol to put the fire out. Cold-fire should be used for a period of five to ten seconds after each and every time you heat your potion. This will rapidly cool the potion so it does not overheat.'

He tapped his wand on his desk again, and the fire beneath his cauldron went out.

'It is not necessary to be overly precise with the timing of cold-fire, although too long is far preferable to not long enough. Now, I would like you all to practise using the heating charms and timer together until you're confident that you can do it quickly without fumbling.'

Sirius had a lot of fun playing with the heating charms, repeatedly bringing his water to a boil before rapidly cooling it with cold-fire. He eventually decided to practice with the timer and got the hang of it easily, it was simply a matter of moving his wand smoothly between the timer and the fire symbol. He found it was easier if he positioned his wand above the timer and then found the correct fire symbol with his eyes before tapping. James and Peter both seemed to master the skill just as easily. After a few minutes, Peter turned around to talk to Sirius and James.

'These automatic heating charms are cool, right?' James asked. 'I wonder if we can figure out how they did it. We could use them to set off pranks. If we could link a charm to a symbol on the other side of the castle, then we could set it off when we're nowhere near it. No one would ever know it was us.'

'The symbols are runes, I think. But I don't know how you would link it up to a charm,' Sirius said.

Professor Slughorn coughed to get the class's attention.

'We'll be moving on to ingredient preparation next, but please leave your cauldrons where they are as we will be using them again later. Now, take out your potions kits and remove the jar labelled nettle roots.'

The next hour of class dragged as they learned how to correctly slice, chop, grind and shred ingredients. The time to take revenge on Snape arrived at last when Slughorn handed out vials of unfinished swelling solution and asked them to pour it into their cauldrons so they could practise the skill of infusing a potion with pure magic.

Sirius felt a nudge against his thigh under the table and reached his hand to grip the thick tube James was handing him. He grinned at his friend before preparing the firecracker - the last of their supply - and waiting for Slughorn to turn his back. As soon as he did, Sirius launched the explosive through the air, over the heads of other students, and it landed with a splash in Snape's cauldron. He stared at it for a moment, stunned, before it erupted in a series of pops and bangs, splattering the boy with potion. The places where the potion hit immediately swelled, distorting his face and body into grotesque shapes. The red-headed Gryffindor next to him screamed and started trying to wipe it off, which only spread the potion, causing more swelling. Sirius, James and Peter were bent over laughing, Sirius had tears in his eyes.

Snivellus deserved it for hurting his Remus. Maybe he'd think twice next time.

Chapter 7

#fanfiction #harrypotter #marauders #wolfstar

[dinahsirenweek]

Meeting Her

May 24th- First Meetings: To celebrate when they met in canon

A DinahSiren powerless AU

Dinah and Laurel almost meet several times... but only once the most obvious of events occur... they might just find their way.

If I owned anything in the Arrowverse... you already know.

After a long day at the SCPD Dinah walks into a bar for a well deserved scotch on the rocks, gesturing to the bar tender and walking to the stool at the other end of the bar top.

The seat was warm... seemingly having just been used, the bar tender walks over and sets Dinah's drink in front of her saying "You must be starting a trend, this is the second scotch I've served to this seat tonight." and walks away.

'Well that's a coincidence.' Dinah thinks to herself and downs her scotch calling for a second.

___________

Laurel walk out of the bar towards her bike thinking... 'Is it supposed to rain tomorrow?'

___________

It's Dinah's day off so to relax she goes down to the park to watch the birds.

___________

Today Laurel decided she would call into work and take a walk through the park.

Walking along the trail around the pond laurel looks towards the large oak and sees the birds fly away.

Laurel wonders to herself 'I wonder what could have them all upset.' and continues walking.

___________

"We really need to find you someone." Laurels friend Felicity says taking more popcorn out of the bucket they were sharing.

Laurel looks at Felicity without missing a beat "I also need to stop agreeing to these movie nights..." taking a handful of popcorn herself.

Felicity continues unfazed by the empty words says "I have a friend I think you would get along with, her nam..."

"You say that every time we see each other anymore... Can we not just have a movie night?" Laurel says at this point feeling very exasperated.

"I just want you to be happy..." Felicity says but finally gives in after seeing the tired expression on Laurel's face and extends the popcorn bucket in Laurels direction asking "More popcorn?" with a shy face.

___________

Dinah grabs her clock and grumbles after seeing that it's 5:24am and get's out of bed with a sigh saying "I'm gonna kill whoever's at my door this damned early." through her teeth.

Throwing her door open all Dinah sees is a blur of what she is able to discern as her friend Renee and his daughter Zoe.

"It's not even six in the mornin' man, what are you two doing?" Dinah says closing the door and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You're a cop... how did it take so long for you to wake up." Renee asks and Dinah glares at him.

Zoe steps in and asks "Aunt Dinah, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us to my school in..." she looks at her watch and looks back at Dinah with a smile "About forty-five minutes."

Dinah looks between them and asks "What for?"

"I can't just walk in with him..." Zoe says pointing over her shoulder at Renee "On parent day, you know how he is about boys."

"You got it kid, I'll be ready in ten." Dinah says with a smile then looks at Renee and says "Coffee... whole pot, my travel mug is over the sink."

___________

Laurel wakes up that morning quarter past six and rushes around to get everything she needs for her day, just as she get's out the door of her apartment she runs into Felicity who asks "Do you have a minute?" in a meek voice.

"I'm running kind of late Felicity..." Checking her watch "I have two minutes."

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry and you don't need anyone else... And I wanted to give you this coffee cause I figured you might forget again." Hoping that Laurel would forgive her and they would be alright.

"First of all yes I did forget so thank you." Laurel says taking the coffee "Secondly, I forgive you... thank you for letting my singleness be as it is... For now." Extending her arm to give Felicity a side hug and finally say "Last of all... I need to get to work so... Can you get me a cab while I lock up?" and Felicity runs out of the building.

___________

Running out of the building Felicity stops in her tracks and yells for a cab then hears "Felicity?!" from behind her.

Turning around Felicity yells in excitement "Dinah! Renee! Zoe!" and tackles them all in a hug.

"It's good to see you, we have a thing but can we catch up tonight?" Dinah asks taking a large drink from her travel mug.

"Yeah for sure... Wait are you are two a..." Before Felicity is able to finish her question Zoe steps in while Dinah tries to stop choking on her coffee having realized what Felicity meant saying "Oh nonono, I'm taking aunt Dinah as a dad buffer for a school event." pointing at Renee for emphasis and Felicity shakes her head in acknowledgement then says "O-o-oh, my bad."

Renee looks at his watch and says "It's about that time, we'll see you tonight at Dinah's place Felicity."

____________

Walking out of the building looking at her phone Laurel asks Felicity "Animated this morning... Who were you talking to?" looking up and around before looking at Felicity expectantly.

Felicity just smiles and says "Some old friends."

____________

Later that night

*knock knock knock*

Dinah opens the door to her apartment and Felicity walks in holding a bottle of wine out "I hope that's okay, I didn't know what else to bring.

"It's great." Dinah says and looks at the bottle and smiles "Actually, this is exactly what I needed... After dealing with all those P.T.A. moms." popping the cork as they walk into the dinning area.

"I hope it's okay, i invited a friend... I don't know if she'll show up though... justice never sleeps and all that." Felicity says semi rambling.

Dinah get's a curious look on her face and asks Felicity "What do you mean?"

Felicity says "She's a lawyer and she's been working on this thing for months... I don't know." with an almost worried look on her face.

"Maybe we could all sit down for dinner after her case is done if she can't get here tonight." Renee says with a smile, lifting a glass of wine in a toast saying "To justice, done right."

"SALUD!" They all say in unison raising glasses.

____________

About a week later

Laurel just got home from a long day in court, just sitting down in her sweats listening to some smooth jazz she hears a knock at her front door, hoping they'll go away she closes her eyes and tries to ignore it... But the knocking continues.

Throwing the door open with a huff Laurel sees Felicity and tries to smile.

Felicity looks at Laurel and says "I'm sorry to bother you so late but I know that you just got through that big case so I wanted to let you know we are having a small party to celebrate... Here is the address and information." She says holding out an index card.

Laurel takes the card and gives a simple "Thank you." with a tired smile.

___________

Dinah get's a call just after Felicity get's to her place and says "I have to get to a scene, feel free to stay and tell your friend congratulations for me alright." And walks out the door.

"Be safe aunt Dinah!!" Zoe calls after her.

"I really wanted her to meet Laurel... I think they would get along rather well." Felicity says with a pout just as she pulls her phone out of her pocket to read the text that just came in.

I can't make it to the party tonight, one of my clients was assaulted tonight - Laurel

That's fine... You aren't the only one apparently. - Felicity

"So... Pizza, i heard a rumor about Hawaiian being on the menu." Felicity says with a wide smile.

___________

"What happened?" Dinah asks walking under the yellow tape.

"I'm not sure, all we know is that this lady was walking down the street and got assaulted... By who... is what we don't know." says the badge heading this case under Dinah.

"I want that woman taken care of, anything she needs you get it for her, once she's no longer in shock get all the information you can without causing her any issue." Dinah says taking a clipboard from another officer.

___________

"What went on?" Laurel asks her client sitting on the curb with her.

"I was walking down the road headed home and this large man grabbed me... Then I woke up." the client says with a confused look on her face.

Laurel starts to ask "Did he..."

Her client shook her head and said "No... but he did slam my head into the ground apparently." grabbing her head lightly.

Then an officer walks over to them and asks if there was anything that they needed while popping open a first aid kit.

"No, all I really want to do is give you the information you need and get home." the client says matter-of-factly and Laurel follows with "I would like to request a proper meal for her before anything... and before you ask I am her lawyer so please do what I say or I'll have to speak with your superior officer."

___________

The next day

"I am sorry I wasn't able to be there Felicity, would you like for me to get you something from He-brews?" Laurel asks over the phone call.

After hanging up and placing her and Felicity's coffee orders Laurel hears a woman behind her say "Excuse me..." Laurel turns around and her eyes go wide.

"Is your name Laurel by chance?" The woman says with a curious smile on her face.

Laurel can only nod her head yes before blinking to bring herself back into her brain and finally says "Yes, that's me... May I ask who's asking?"

Extending her hand the woman introduces herself "My name is Dinah, Felicity's friend... You were supposed to be at my apartment yesterday."

Laurel takes Dinah's hand and says "Well in that case, thank you for inviting me into your home... and it's nice to meet you." with a small aw stricken smile.

"The pleasure is all mine." Dinah says with a shine in her eye and a wide smile on her face.

And Laurel thinks 'Wow... She literally glows.'

---©©©

Submitted by @13unknownmind

#dinahsiren #dinah drake #e2 laurel lance #dinahsirenweek #dinahsirenweek2020 #submission

[thewhumperinwhite]

Café: Cottage 4/Car Ride

Pax reacts quickest. For better or worse.

Previous: Teaser 1 / Teaser 2 / Hospital/Squad Car / No More Squad Car / Empty Bar / Used Car Lot 1 / Used Car Lot 2 / Gas Station / Roadside 1 / Roadside 2 / Forest / Treetops / Cottage (1) / Cottage (2) / Interlude: Police Station / Cottage (3)

TW for: gun violence, blood/gore, guilt/self-loathing.

@whumpitywhumpwhump

Short update so I don’t get blocked. Also please note that Sol cares about cars but I don’t so please forgive any inaccuracies regarding Specific Models Of Jeep.

----

The worst thing in the world, Sol is discovering, is when you can see the disaster happening like it’s in slow motion, and you’re just too slow to stop it.

Kent’s face runs through the whole gamut of emotion when he lowers his bloody hand from his mouth: mild disgust into worry into realization and then he looks up at the little girl, Sam, who is maybe thirteen and doesn’t have time for any look on her face other than fear which is all it takes for her to dive for the shotgun and point it at Kent’s face.

Sol has been waiting tables for six months now. Before that he did some scurrying around the streets of the city, avoiding trouble, but that’s what he’s good at, avoiding; he’s never been in a gunfight before. The only guns he’s ever seen in real life are the two he’s seen in the past however many days since the real world ended.

So he sees the gun moving and he freezes. Just for a second.

Pax gets there much faster. Sol doesn’t even really see them move, because he’s frozen by the knowledge that he’s about to see Kent Graves die.

The shotgun going off is the actual loudest sound Sol has ever heard. Pax grabbed ahold of the barrel to yank it away from Kent’s face which means the shot hits their shoulder at absolutely point-blank range, and they spin backward onto the floor in an explosion of blood.

That’s what unsticks Sol’s muscles, finally. He runs forward, drops to his knees next to Paxon, who has curled into a ball, clutching the bloody mess of their shoulder, their eyes wide, their mouth opening and closing like a gutted fish.

“Oh, god,” Sol hears Kent say, and the little girl says, “I— I— I— didn’t I— I wasn’t even— I wasn’t—”

Sol doesn’t dignify any of that with a response, doesn’t even really see the stricken expression on her face, just reaches forward to yanks the too-big gun out of her relaxing grip and without looking throw it over his shoulder toward the hallway as hard as he can.

“He’s not bit,” he snaps at her, already turning back to Pax and the blood pulsing out of his shoulder in a spreading pool on the dirty carpet. “He’s sick. He was sick before you pointed a gun at him.”

He leans over Pax, and knocks their hand out of the way to press his own over the wound. It’s— it’s bad, he can feel sharp things that must be bone, but it’s essentially a very terrible graze, not an actual hit, which he hopes is better.

“I didn’t,” the girl is muttering, still leaning against the door, doing absolutely nothing useful, “I, how was I supposed to know that, this isn’t—”

There’s a lot of blood, too much, squeezing through Sol’s fingers; he presses down harder on Pax’s shoulder, feels something shift under his hand. Pax makes a horrible wounded-animal noise; Sol feels very nauseous but muscles past it.

“I need— something to bandage it with,” he says. The hand he isn’t using to hold Pax’s arm on sort of hovers at the hem of his shirt; in a different world he’d take it off and use it, but—

“Here,” Kent says desperately, already tugging his borrowed shirt off over his head, sounding almost relieved. “Here, take this, here.” He presses it into Sol’s free hand; the cloth is warm from his still-too-high body temperature, and Sol feels a moment of complete panic; Kent is dying of fever and Pax has just had his arm blown off, and Sol is alone.

“Wait,” the little girl says, and she crawls forward into his space, taking the t-shirt from him. “Wait, I can— I know how to do this.” And she pushes Sol’s hand away from the wound, her lips pressing into a thin white line at the sight of it, and winds the shirt around their shoulder, tight, pulling it into a messy but serviceable knot.

“Fuck,” Pax says when she pulls it tight, with a full-body wince. They roll onto their back, slamming their opposite fist into the carpet, arching their spine. “Fuck that hurts!”

The little girl stares at them, then up at Sol, the set of her shoulders somewhere between defensive and expecting-a-slap.

“I,” she says, and then she takes a deep breath and meets Sol’s eyes firmly. “There’s—there’s a clinic a few miles up from here. I bet it’s not still open, but there might be— stuff to take. Real bandages at least.” She glares at Sol, and then at Kent, who is breathing hard, staring straight ahead like he’s on a different planet. “If you swear— If you swear to me you’re not bit. Hey.” She reaches forward, and shoves Kent once on the chest; it doesn’t look like a hard push, but he jumps like he’s been shot, his eyes refocusing with a truly worrying amount of effort. “If you killed my sister and now you’re hiding a bite, I’m going to kill you, all of you, I swear to god.”

Kent looks at her with his blue eyes reflective as glass, and then slowly shakes his head and croaks, “No. No, I haven’t been bitten.”

She nods, apparently satisfied. “Then you can use my dad’s car, I guess. I’ll get the keys.”

——

It’s a soft-top jeep, because of course it is; Sol’s always kind of liked the look of them, before zombies ripping through the roof and eating him was a concern.

Sam is thirteen, which Sol hates, but tall for her age and wiry, and Kent is apparently either too foolish or too Kent to protest her swinging his arm over her shoulder and supporting him on his way out to the car. Which leaves Sol half-carrying Pax, avoiding the mess of their shoulder as best he can; they’re already gray with pain that clearly gets worse with the slightest shift of their left arm. Who knows when they’ll be using their sword again.

“My duffle’s in the bedroom,” they mutter through gritted teeth as Sol supports them out to the carport. “Don’t— I’m not leaving it.”

Sol sighs. “Fine. Yeah.” Getting Pax in the backseat is a terrible operation; their shoulder shifts once and they make a noise Sol is going to remember until the day he dies, and Sol is almost grateful for the opportunity to scurry back and grab their duffle from the bedroom. He tosses their horrible pink jacket on top of the bag too and slings their sword over his shoulder, and on the way back he pauses and, hating every second, picks up the gun from the hallway floor, carrying it by the end of its stock like it’s a dirty diaper.

Sol didn’t have a strong opinion on guns one way or the other a week ago. Those were the fuckin days.

——

Pax has experienced many injuries in their life, but this is actually their first shotgun blast. 

It is not the most fun they have ever had.

The bright side is, it’s pretty clear none of their vital organs are involved; the downside is that as a result they are very much still awake by the time Sol has finished arranging them on the back seat with jittery hands, on their back with their useless arm dangerously close to the edge of the seat and their head in Kent’s lap.

“Sunshine,” they say, and Kent looks down at them, with an expression that makes it clear that he’s about to start saying very stupid things. “Don’t let my arm— fall off the seat, or it’ll strain the joint. And if you say ‘sorry’ one single time, I— will kill you.”

Kent blinks down at them, his pretty face even more tragic than usual, and rearranges Pax in his lap so he can hold their arm in place. He’s shaking, but not hard enough to jostle Pax too badly— if anything, it just feels like the car is already running.

“You didn’t— have to do that,” Kent says in a quiet, horrified voice.

Pax reaches up with the hand it doesn’t hurt to move, and then realizes they have no idea what to do with it. They grab a lock of Kent’s sweaty hair and give it a light tug.

“Shut up,” they say, and they stick their tongue out at him.

At this point the front passenger door opens, and the little girl who shot them climbs into the passenger seat. Pax meets her eyes in the mirror, and makes sure to give her an unimpressed look. She glares at them, and then looks away. 

“Wouldn’t mind— a sorry— from you,” they point out, and have time for her to look back in the mirror at them defensively before the sound of the trunk slamming shut startles them all and makes Pax jump in a way they immediately regret. “Fuck me,” they mutter, and Kent slides a shaky hand into their hair in a way that will fuck up the curl pattern but does, admittedly, feel pretty good.

“Okay,” Sol says, sliding into the driver’s seat and running his hands over the wheel with transparent nervousness. “Where the fuck are we going, kid?”

“I’ll give you directions,” the girl says tersely, and Sol starts the engine. Pax squeezes their eyes shut, and keeps it together.

——

Pax jolts in his arms every time the car hits a bump. By the end of the ride their teeth are visibly clenched together and they’re covered in sweat. 

Kent isn’t thinking very clearly. His skin feels tight across his face, and his hands feel like they’re— in a different room, or attached to someone else’s body. 

Which isn’t nearly enough. There isn’t— there just isn’t anything he can do that will make this right.

Kent almost wishes his father were here. He’s the only one who might be able to come up with a fair price for him to pay.

#the café at the end of the world #whump #original whump #zombie apocalypse whump #gunshot wound #guns tw #guilt tw