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farfromstrange · 2 years

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Foreigner's God: Chapter 4

Main Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x OFC

Chapter Summary: It's time for the legendary Stark Party to turn some heads - and Tony does, just not in the way he's supposed to. Once again Eliza has to fix his mess, though this time it seems there is no space for rehabilitation.

Warnings: shit-ton of angst, trauma, panic attack, alcohol consumption, this almost made me cry writing it and it's not going to get any better from here on

Word Count: 19k

Read Chapter four: "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" here on AO3!

Got back safe. See you tonight! Can't wait.

received 4:23.

This is Matt, by the way.

received 4:23.

Thank you :) See you tonight x

sent 4:24, read 4:24.

“What’s got you so excited?” Pepper asked from behind the chair Eliza sat on.

She stopped giggling at her phone screen and looked up at the woman, her neck bent at an uncomfortable angle. “Nothing,” she claimed. “Just a funny video Pete sent me, is all.”

She clicked her tongue. “Uh-huh.”

“What? It’s true.”

“I know.” She still carried the same knowing grin. “I was just teasing. Relax.” Her hands caressed her shoulders with slightly more pressure, feeling the knots underneath the skin and the hot fabric of her bathrobe.

Eliza slumped back in the chair. “I’m sorry,” she was quick to say. “I’m just a bit on edge. This whole party makes me all shaky and stuff. I’m not as okay with it as I look on the outside. You know I don’t hate them, but I hate the fact that Ross and his judgy politician friends are gonna be here.”

Pepper hummed. She dug her fingers into her tense shoulders with delicious pressure. It hurt, but other than that Eliza felt oddly relieved when she began to massage the stress from her muscles. “You don’t have to worry,” she said. Her face appeared in the mirror and she stared into her eyes with a smile. “It’s all gonna work out. We’re just going to have some drinks and then Tony will make his speech and then after that, we can enjoy the party.” Her fingers ran through the mess of hair on her head.

She leaned back, though the sentiment only lasted for so long. Pepper pulled out the hairbrush to untangle the curls. She was never a gentle hair stylist.

“Now, why don’t you tell me how you want me to do your hair, huh? Are we feeling more feminine today or do you want me to tie everything up in, like, a straight ponytail or a bun?”

Eliza grunted. “I don’t know how I’m feeling,” she admitted. “But I guess you can keep them open. If you take those annoying bitches in the front and braid them so you can tie them together at the back, it’d be great,” she told her.

The woman had the strands already parted before she was done talking. “Like that?” she asked, demonstrating.

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

“Alright. Are we gonna use a normal clip or the butterfly one?”

“You even have to ask?”

“My bad.” Pepper reached for the dressing table. The lavender-colored clip was indeed shaped like a cute little butterfly. Specks of gold decorated the wings. It fit perfectly with the outfit Tony picked out for her. “Butterfly it is,” she said. “What’s the Russian word again?”

“Babochka.” Eliza smiled. “Butterfly.”

“Babochka. I have to keep that in mind for the next language lesson that you’ll give me. I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I want to know what the people around me are saying.”

“You mean you wanna spy on them?” She raised her eyebrows.

She shushed her. “You’re never too old to learn new skills,” she said. “Now, let’s see what I can do for you tonight.”

The night came soon and subtle. Eliza had to give it to Tony, the golden pantsuit did wonders to make her feel confident. The fabric fit perfectly where it was supposed to and fell loosely down her thighs. He even added in a low-cut top that hugged her curves. The designer must’ve added a few inches - the top itself didn’t look like it was made to be worn that way. With the jacket though, she had never looked better, and she’d worn many high-class outfits before this one.

She got Happy’s issue with the employees sorted first thing after she came back to the compound. By the time darkness rolled around, the chaos had settled down. The ‘A’ on the front shone brightly from the outside of the compound. The sustainable energy that supplied the building put all the work into keeping the Avengers’ trademark burning. What had once meant the world, now meant nothing at all.

Tony asked for a red carpet leading up to the front door and fairy lights instead of the big spotlights he used to demand at every event. Properly planning an event wasn’t one of his strong suits. He tossed in the idea, demanded everything, and then sat back as he expected the work to be done for him.

“Eliza,” she didn’t even hear Happy approach behind her.

She stood by the big window, looking out at the decorated driveway. Employees added the last finishing touches. Somewhere in the distance, reporters pulled up in their vans, ready to crowd behind the barrier to catch the upcoming guests off guard. With everything finally calmed around her, she almost forgot the seriousness of the situation.

“Hey,” she said.

”Have you seen Tony?” he asked.

Eliza grew suspicious at the nervous undertone in his voice. “Have you checked his office?”

“Yeah.”

”Dressing room?”

“Yeah, checked there too.”

“Pepper?”

“Would I be here if I hadn’t done any of those things you just asked?” The crease between his eyebrows was deeper than usual. Happy always worried too much, but the depths of the crease were seemingly endless this time around, and that never represented a good thing.

“I don’t know where he is,” she told him. Her voice wavered. “The party’s starting in half an hour, he’s gotta be somewhere.”

“I checked everywhere!” Happy cried. “I can’t find him. Pepper can’t find him. He’s supposed to give a speech a-and open the floor, but he’s not where I asked him to be.”

“I haven’t seen him since this morning. Are you sure you checked everywhere ?”

“As long as he’s not hiding in the fridge, yeah, I’m sure.”

“Jesus!”

“Yeah, he did that once. I had to pull him out of there, drunk off his ass with a Martini in his hand, but he still managed to deliver. Anyway, we need to find him. Soon.”

“Wait, he was in the fridge?” she asked. “How did he get there?”

“Does it matter?!” he said. “This can’t be happening.” He was sweating. She saw the stains on the soft blue shirts as he threw his arms up over his head. “I thought tonight‘s gonna go flawless. We did everything according to plan. That idiot-“

“Hey,” - Eliza gently placed a hand on his arm - “I’m gonna go check. You greet the guests, alright? I’ll look for Tony and make sure the room is entertained until he’s back. We can do this. This ain’t the first time. There’s more on the line now, yeah, but that’s not on you. I have to fix this.”

She didn’t have to fix anything. She swore she wouldn’t make it her responsibility anymore, but when did she ever get what she wanted?

“You’d do that?” Happy asked.

“You’ve been stressed all day. The least I can do is take some responsibility.”

She dedicated her life to taking responsibility. Once, she associated the noun with what she was forced to do in the past, but on this day, Sokovia and Lagos stood high in the sky, and she had to take responsibility for the tragedies the Avengers caused in the name of ‘good’. After New York, the team had never flown higher. They never learned how to fly, but you don’t need to know how to use your wings when you’re levitating. No one prepared them for the fall they would take - big publicity meant more space for delusions of grandeur. The Avengers flew straight into the sun, some more than others, but in the end, they all carried the fault one way or another. It wasn’t just on one person, in particular, the Sokovia Accords, and what happened after was everyone’s doing. The consequences of their actions. Icarus.

Eliza suffocated under mountains of pressure as the clock came closer to reaching eight pm. She searched every last inch of the compound. The rough edges of her heels dug into the skin on her soles and the back of her calves. She leaned against the wall to take a breath – walking in these shoes was a whole workout – when she heard it. Somehow, she ended up in the basement, between boxes and old memories.

“Who’s there?” she asked. She didn’t get an answer. Turning the corner, there he sat, on an old armchair between moving boxes and furniture.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Tony.”

He looked up from the half-empty bottle of Scotch in his hand. “Shit,” he said. “I’ve been caught.”

She stepped further into the dimly lit hallway. “What are you doing here? Everyone’s been looking for you. The party’s starting.”

“Already?” He checked his watch. “It’s eight. No one’s on time at a party, especially not me. You know that.”

“This isn’t a joke!” Eliza said.

Tony laughed. He emptied the glass, then stood. He tried to, mostly. He was shaking.

“You’re right, it’s not,” he said. “You’re the only one who’s allowed to laugh about crappy situations. Got it.”

“Are you seriously drunk right now?” she only stared at him blankly. The loss of words reached its breaking point. She was at a loss for everything - words, sounds, feelings, everything. She was just numb at this point. Numb and furious.

“You know what, I am. I’m sick and tired of pretending everything’s fine. Look around! This place is a dump. You know this?” He kicked over a box that stood to his right. The metal inside clanged loudly as it came rolling to the floor.

Eliza looked at her feet. She could recognize the circular object anywhere. Painted red, white, and blue with a white star in the middle – it was a national treasure. The sign of someone standing for the nation, not against it.

Tony scoffed bitterly. “Captain America,” he stated. “Turns out that piece of vibranium my father made for him doesn’t make him a better person after all.”

“Why is it in a moving box?” she asked.

“To think he got the ball rolling in the first place because he just wouldn’t listen…”

“Why is Steve’s shield in a moving box?”

“You know, he was my friend too. We got along great before the whole Lagos debacle. I left him alone with you guys for one second and there he goes! He only did the mission because he was still holding a grudge. I mean, he was right to take Rumlow out, but at what cost? The kid barely knew what she was doing. No one taught her how to control her powers. You guys raised hell with that one. I don’t know if Steve failed to train you or if you just weren’t ready. Wanda surely wasn’t.”

“Would you stop?” Eliza growled. “This is my friend you’re talking about!”

“You always say ‘they’re my friends’ whenever I criticize any of them as if that makes what happened any better. People died, Eliza,” he said. His eyes drilled sharply into hers through his glasses. “I agreed on the Accords because I wanted to do a good thing. I made a compromise. I thought it would do us some good to finally have some control. People died and it was our fault! The Accords were supposed to help prevent something like this from happening again. And then-” he pinched his brows. “And then we somehow landed in Berlin and we did exactly what I didn’t want us to do - fight each other. We destroyed a perfectly good airport in the process. Tell me, do you think I was wrong to agree to the Accords? If you care so much about your friends, why didn’t you go with them?”

“You know it’s not that easy, Tony. I made the conscious decision to believe in the purpose behind the Accords. That doesn’t mean I hate Steve and everyone else now. We disagreed on one thing. A big thing, I give you that, but it was still just a disagreement, not the end of the world.”

“Well, you make it sound like you made the wrong decision and now you’re stuck with me. Maybe it’s the killer in you, or it’s the part of you that’s so obsessed with wanting to be someone else - I don’t care! I feel like you don’t want to be here and it’s driving me fucking crazy.”

She threw her arms up. “Maybe I made the wrong choice!” Her voice echoed. “Maybe I should’ve gone with Steve,” she said. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now anyway because I’m here, no one else is. So you can go cry about how I have some valid regrets about how things went down and maybe, just maybe, have a slightly different opinion than yours, or you can pull your shit together and we can try again.”

“Why?” he shot back. “My words mean nothing. You tell me I don’t listen, but have you ever heard Rogers listen to anything I have to say? I don’t think so. And look where that got us! Look where it got them !”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Tony!” she called his name louder this time. “I know you’re drunk, but the shit you’re saying hurts.”

Fresh tears pricked her eyes. The black eyeshadow used as eyeliner already started to disappear around the edges. All of Pepper’s work was about to be washed down the drain.

Tony pointed his finger at her. “You hurt me first,” he said with his whole chest. His voice broke, it cracked like a fragile vase, and the anger stuffed into the four words bubbled hot like the water from a geyser.

“ I hurt you ?” she asked. “First it was Steve, now it’s me, seriously?”

“You all hurt me! Every single one of you and you didn’t even care to ask how I’m feeling about any of this stupid shit.”

“Is that why Steve’s shield is in that box?” Eliza pointed to the ground where the contents of the carton lay splayed out.

“He doesn’t deserve it. Doesn't need it now anyway,” he said. “So I’m having it shipped out.”

He reached for the shield, but she put her foot down. He didn’t stand a chance against her strength. She used all of it. Her eyes darkened. “No.”

“No?”

“You’re not gonna ship it out,” she said. Her voice itself was a warning. “This is who Steve is – or was. Either way, it’s not leaving the compound. Not if I can help it.”

Tony pulled at the shield again. “That’s not your choice to make, you realize that, right? You’re not in control here.”

“Steve was my family! You’re not taking what little I have left. I don’t care if it stays in the basement, but you’re not taking Steve’s shield.”

“ I’m your family, too!” She launched back. He seemed to realize soon enough that the tone of his voice was picked poorly. He stared at Eliza and she stared back, dead tears in her eyes. He sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Eliza breathed heavily. “Fuck you!” she said. Her throat tightened.

“Fuck me?” Tony scoffed. He pointed to the other moving boxes around him. “Alright, fine. If you want to hoard their stuff, go ahead!” God, he was so bitter. “I think Romanoff also left some stuff here. Knock yourself out! Less trash I have to take out.”

She exhaled shakily. The air burned in her lungs. She hugged Steve’s shield tight to her chest. The scratches from their fight were still fresh on it. “What happened to you?” she asked quietly.

“Honestly? You guys did. And now I’m here and have to stare at all the shit they’ve left me like I’m a masochist who likes to torture himself. This stupid party was a mistake.”

“You can’t just pull out now.”

He was one walking mess, worse than her, and he didn’t give a single fuck.

Her heart filled with rage and pain, so much pain. So much blue, so much red. She could see her colors floating around, but there was no fix for the way she felt. No power in the world could take away the disappointment she felt. She had to suffer through it. This was her curse, her personal hell, an endless fire pit with no rope to the other side.

Tony snapped his fingers. “I can,” he said. “I fucking can! Do you know why? It’s my party. I could stop this all if I wanted to. Send Ross back to whatever hellhole he crawled out of. I don’t care. I just want to be alone.”

She snapped. “That’s not your choice to make!” With the high audacity of her voice, the shield flew out. The vibranium grazed his neck and landed in the wall behind him, set in stone. She panted. “You can’t just say that shit and believe the world spins to your beat! It doesn’t work that way,” she said. “It’s not just your life that’s on the line here. You have money, you have houses; I have nothing. Rhodey has nothing. Peter is a child who looks up to you. We have absolutely nothing but each other and you want to ruin that for us? You want us to crumble the way you are right now? Is that really what you want us to remember you by? You want us to be mad and spiteful until you die one day, or one of us dies?”

“Don’t!” he shot back. “ Don’t pull the kid into this.”

“You pulled him into this, not me. You’re lucky no one knows who he is. What you need to do is prove to everyone and him that you’re the man everyone takes you for. You’re a role model, Tony,” she said, teeth bared. “You’re supposed to be the man that children look up to. Peter looks up to you. You pulled him into war and now he looks up to you because you made him something. You’re his idol. Just this once, act like it.”

“That’s not gonna happen.”

“I don’t care what you want, Tony! I passed that point a couple of minutes ago when you blamed me for your suffering when you know damn well you’re not alone in this lake of misery. I just need you to have some common sense and get that stick out of your ass because damn you! I tried to make this work. I tried to make amends and fix this. I couldn’t. You couldn’t. No one could. This fucked up situation is why we’re here today in the first place. You agreed to this. There was a time when you were still happy to be doing this. I don’t give a fuck if you mean it or not, just try to be normal for one fucking night. That’s not too much to ask, is it? If not for me, do it for Pepper and Happy. They love you, for whatever fucking reason. This is important to them. If you don’t come out, they’re gonna be so fucking disappointed. I can’t have you let them down like that.”

“Why do you care?” he asked.

“I don’t. I care about my friends though, and they care about you. I’m not gonna stand by and watch you hurt them. Before that happens, I’ll tie you to a fucking stick and put you where everyone can see how miserable you truly are. Maybe then you will finally grow a brain cell or two.”

“You,” - he wiggled his finger - “are bad. Insufferable. I can’t believe this is working.”

“Don’t.” He looked at her and all he saw was emptiness, a face too consumed by disappointment to show anything else. “Drop the bottle,” she told him. “Straighten your tie, get that speech into your thick skull and then join the party like you’re supposed to. I’m not gonna ask again. Also-“ she tore the shield from the wall. Pieces of broken cement rained down. “Don’t you dare touch this,” she said, the warning sounding more like a threat. “You get rid of this and we’re done, understood?”

Tony sighed. He lessened the distance between them. “For your information, Eliza, I was never going to get rid of it,” he said. “I was just going to store it in one of the empty safe houses until I found a use for it.”

“Oh, really ?”

“Yeah, but nice of you to assume that I’ve never really cared about any of you. It truly lifts my spirits.”

And then he left, without uttering another word to her. He might have been drunk and bonkers, too, but he had a point. Not even Tony in his worst moments of anger would’ve thrown away all their memories at once.

The speakers played a soft nineties tune in the background, voices slowly filling the ballroom to the brink. People swarmed from all sides into the beehive and got offered drinks and conversation. The clicking of high heels mixed with the high echo of dress shoes.

Eliza slipped from the darkness into the crowd. The current dragged her down. She inserted the earpiece to inform Happy about Tony’s whereabouts. He wasn’t pleased, but he showed her his gratitude. She straightened her jacket.

The guests didn’t pay attention to her. They found the interior of the compound more interesting than the party itself. After some time, she lost count of familiar faces. She met most of them at least once, but there was still a handful that she didn’t recognize.

The barkeeper smiled at her. “Drink?” he asked.

She switched eyes between him and the crowd. “Me?”

“Yeah, you. You seem pretty lost. You wanna drink?”

He dug through the crashed ice before him.

“Yeah,” she said. “Drink sounds great.”

“What’s your poison, darling?”

Eliza almost hissed at how sharply and easily he flirted. He was only a few years older than her, brunette, dressed in shades of brown and a pair of suspenders. His hair was fluffy, not slicked back. Rings covered his slender fingers. Hipster was the first word that came to mind, the second was ‘attractive’, at least conventionally so. Not quite her type but nice to look at.

She walked over to the bar. “Tequila, neat. Without the salt or the lemon. Just straight-up tequila, please.”

“That bad, huh?” he cocked an eyebrow.

“You have no idea.”

“Alright, tequila coming right up!”

He poured the clear liquid from the bottle into one of the crystal glasses she’d helped move upstairs earlier. His fingers handled the liquor skillfully. He played with the bottle, tossed it around, circled it around his head before he turned it, and allowed the hard liquor to run into the glass.

Eliza chuckled, yet she couldn’t fight the urge to roll her eyes at his desperate attempts to make her smile. The chuckle was dry. She didn’t feel like smiling. She would’ve laughed if he’d dropped the bottle, but other than that, she didn’t feel like anything other than getting drunk.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Eliza,” she said.

“Eliza. That’s a nice name. You’re one of Stark’s, right?”

The familiar burn of alcohol ran down her esophagus. “Unfortunately,” she said.

“I’m Benji,” he introduced himself. “The bartender.”

“Nice to meet you, Benji, The Bartender.”

“You too, Eliza. Can I make you anything else? Snack, maybe?”

“I’m good with drinks, for now, thanks.”

“Well, if you want to drown your sorrows, you know where to find me.” He slapped the counter. A couple stood at the other side of the bar, waving for him to take their order.

Eliza stared into the glass. The blurry picture of exhausted eyes stared back at her. She dreaded the evening more so than ever.

“Eliza.” The voice speaking her name in such a sweet, unique manner made her smile. She left the empty glass on the bar, quick to turn around and greet the man.

“T’Challa!” she said. It came more out of surprise than anything. “I mean,” - she dropped her voice - “ King T’Challa.”

He clicked his tongue. “Nonsense! Come over here.” The strong arms wrapped around her. “It is nice to finally see a familiar face.”

“It’s nice to see you. Been a while since we last met.”

“Yes, the circumstances of our encounter were a lot less… pleasant, I believe. But I’m glad we’re over that now.” He pulled away from the hug. He always smiled without care, his most valuable quality. “Tony Stark has invited me and my family to the party,” he stated. She followed his opened arms to the bar again. “I’m afraid my sister and mother couldn’t make it, but I am here today for all of us.”

“He really wants this to look as convincing as possible,” she said.

“I know this is more for Mister Stark’s sake than for ours, but I didn’t want to miss the chance of seeing you again. We parted on a slightly bad note the last time.”

Eliza scoffed, her head nodding out of instinct. “How is he?”

T’Challa smiled. He didn’t need to hear the name to know. “He is good. Ever since we woke him up, he’s been talking about you and Captain Rogers. I’m not sure he enjoys it very much, but the children like him,” he said.

Her voice dropped. “That’s something,” she said. “Say hi to him for me when you get back, will ya?”

“Of course. I think it is going to make him happy to know you are doing alright.”

“I’m alive,” she corrected him. “Far from alright but I’m here, I’m breathing. You can tell him I’ve got it all under control and that he doesn’t have to worry.”

“I will. He tells me he is sorry for what he did.”

“I know, he told me too.”

“And he’s also sorry you had to choose sides.”

“We all are sorry for so many things. Doesn’t change what happened. We have to make the best out of it now.”

“I believe you are right,” T’Challa said. “You are wise, for your age. That makes you a valuable partner. If this night goes well, perhaps you would appreciate a trip to Wakanda, eh?”

Eliza raised her eyebrows. “Really?” she questioned. “You wanna invite me to your home?”

“I’d love to have you in my home. We take family and friendship very seriously in Wakanda.”

“That’s nice.”

Benji came around again. He asked T’Challa for his choice of drink, to which he answered, “I’d like one of those beers you Americans like to drink so much.”

He handed him a bottle and fixed up another glass of tequila for Eliza. He left her behind with a wink that could’ve meant many things, but the most obvious choice was also the least preferred. The pair stood at the bar, indulged in their drinks and the faint sound of conversation. Their topics weren’t limited to Berlin or Wakanda, which was nice because finally, for a few minutes, her mind revolved around something other than the danger waiting in the darkness for them, without the weight of the past on her shoulders.

She laughed at something he said. “Sounds like your sister and I might just get along,” she said.

“I think you might be right,” said T’Challa.

“Perhaps I’ll take you up on your offer after all. When this is all over, I’m gonna need a vacation.”

With this, she didn’t mean the party. He wasn’t aware of what her life had come to. He would’ve understood if she had told him, he was wired that way, but this wasn’t Wakanda’s fight. This was hers, maybe even Daredevil’s if she squinted and ignored his overprotective personality. She had so much to worry about, so much that was still open, left to do. Hydra wasn’t a casual topic of conversation to throw into the ring while having drinks at a party.

“That would be lovely,” his voice sounded through her strain of thought. “We can cook a nice dinner and then I’ll take you on a trip around the city.”

She smiled. “That sounds lovely.”

He clinked his glass to hers. “I’m glad we agree.”

Eliza let her eyes trail across the room. She sensed them before they even walked through the door.

Foggy didn’t lie when he said they’d look fucking dashing. The man himself chose his best grey suit for the evening. He paired the outfit with a pink tie and pink dress shoes, which, to be honest, made her stare a little too long. He knew how to dress to impress.

Karen chose something blue. The dress fell down her long legs like a second skin. She braided half of her hair to the side, revealing her pale neck and the golden earrings she wore. The woman was beautiful, yet her hands fiddled awkwardly in front of her torso as if she was more than uncomfortable.

Their partner though – Eliza choked on the tequila. “Shit!” she cursed under her breath.

If she hadn’t been convinced of Matthew Murdock’s endless ability to get every person in a ten-mile radius into bed if he just so much as smirked at them before, she sure as hell was now. The man walked in and instantly sucked all the air out of the room. He knew what he was doing, she could see it in his face. His suit was black, the deepest shade in existence. The edges shone like acrylic in the slightly yellow lighting. He replaced his tie with the perfectly tied fabric of a bow around his neck. The white button-down strained against his chest – he chose the tightest size simply because he could.

The women in the room ogled him. Their husbands hardly paid attention to them, almost balls deep into the younger halves of younger guests. The female population was left reading the room and damn it! Once Matt walked in, Eliza could’ve sworn she heard at least a dozen panties drop. Her fists clenched around nothing. The reflex came out of nowhere, tensing her muscles in every inch of her body. Her jaw locked tight.

The music moved into the background. The crowd of people parted in the middle and the spotlight fell on the man on the other end of the ballroom. She saw him stand there in all his glory, the world around him just supporting actors in his movie. He smirked as if he could see her as if he could hear the beating of her heart loud and clear. The light danced in colorful hues around his body, reflecting off the red glasses, his face captured perfectly in the radiance of his aura.

She let her arms hang loose, staring at him. She eyed every inch of his body closely. She took in the way he moved, the way his suit crinkled as he walked. Time was a construct. Every second ran by in slow-motion. The room was dead-silent, frozen in place. The light opened a path towards her. It didn’t make sense. In some way, he saw her. Not with sight but in a metaphorical sense, which ran even deeper than whatever feelings she associated with the man before. He managed to scratch part of her she never even knew existed.

T’Challa chuckled next to her. His voice dug through the cotton that silenced all sounds. “Are these friends of yours?” he asked.

Eliza blinked. The crowd exploded. Matt disappeared. He wasn’t fully gone, just casually making his way through the abundance of people, hand tightly wrapped around Foggy’s bicep in fear of getting lost or trampled over, the other cradling his cane like a lifeline.

She licked her dry lips. The entire area of her mouth transformed into the Sahara desert. “Kinda,” she said.

T’Challa cocked his head. Her voice came merely as huffs of air, vocal cords straining against nothing. She was in no way tied down, though she felt suffocated. The chokehold this man had on her was immaculate, just like the sound of her two heartbeats. She felt the control just slipping from her fingers the closer he got.

It wasn’t even out of the question that Matt Murdock was in full control of her right brain – she wasn’t thinking anymore at this point. There was no nice way of saying this. She was physically infatuated with this man. Of course, she’d been attracted to many people in the past, but this went beyond saying ‘I’m attracted to you’. Her body was obsessed with him. The second he walked in, her heart dropped and every ounce of her body reacted in a disgustingly hot way.

Eliza nudged her left brain to jump in, and be rational, but her right brain was too focused on the man now before her to even consider acting compliant with reality. She straightened her shoulders, putting the mask back over her features.

“Eliza!” Foggy said. He waved, only a few feet away. “Hey, found you.”

“You found me,” she agreed.

“Bring it in!”

“Oh-“ he wrapped his arms around her. “Okay. This is nice.” She patted his back.

“It’s so nice to see you again.” He was way too cheery. His arms loosened and he stepped back again.

Karen smiled warmly. Something changed on her face. The reservation from before had vanished. Her blue eyes matched her dress. This time, when she looked at her, there was a soft glint in them. She was letting her guard down to prove to Eliza she could trust her, that she was willing to try again.

Eliza smiled back. “You came.”

“Turns out Foggy was right,” Karen said. “This party doesn’t seem so bad. It’s, uh, nice to see you again, Eliza.”

Foggy didn’t even give them a chance to indulge in conversation. “This place is amazing, holy shit!” he gushed. “I’ve never been somewhere with this many doors, man. Or rooms. Or lights. Or cameras. Or people. Ever. I still can’t believe it. Wow. To think Captain America was in the same room once is so fucking cool.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” she said.

“He hasn’t stopped talking since we got into the cab,” Matt chose to chime in. He smirked, eyes crinkling behind the glasses as if he knew exactly how she was feeling around him. “Nice seeing you again, Eliza.”

Eliza tried to casually lean against the bar. “Hi,” – she moved her hand from the counter to the back of her head, then back to the Mahagoni; honestly, she didn’t know what to do or how, she couldn’t even breathe – “Matt- Matthew,” she said. “How are you?”

He titled his head. “I’m fine,” he made it sound more like a question. “How’re you?”

“Good, good. Yeah. I’ve never been better.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Better now that you’re here. All of you, I mean. Not just you, that would be weird.”

“Okay,” Matt chuckled.

Change the subject. “You guys look great!”

“Thanks,” Foggy said, beaming like a child. “I was waiting to get this bad boy out of the closet. You look smoking too though. Can’t believe you’re not the center of attention already.”

Eliza snorted. “Well, thank you.”

Karen rubbed her knuckles. Her eyes fell on the man next to Eliza. “Uh, who’s this?” she asked.

“Shit!” she cursed again. “I forgot. This is-”

T’Challa only chuckled. “It’s alright,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is T’Challa, I’m a friend of Eliza’s.”

Karen took his hand with a smile. There was the ghost of a blush resting on her cheeks. It could’ve just been the heat though.

“Karen Page,” she said.

Foggy gaped at the man. “T’Challa as in-“ he closed his mouth again. “Oh, my god!”

“Please, none of this.” T’Challa motioned for him to rise from his bow. “We don’t do that where I’m from.”

“But you’re a king .”

“I might be a king on most days, but today I’m just a normal man visiting his friend. Besides, title doesn’t matter to me. In Wakanda, we’re all equals.”

“I knew you seemed familiar,” Karen said. “I’m sorry, your highness.”

“You people watch too much British television. Call me T’Challa, I insist.“

“Foggy Nelson,” the man introduced himself and went in to shake his hand wildly. “I’m Eliza’s lawyer. It’s so nice to meet you, your high- I mean, T’Challa.”

Matt nodded in his general direction. “Matt Murdock,” he said.

T’Challa nodded back. “Nice making your acquaintance, Mister Murdock.” Turning back to Eliza, he said, “I am going to give you and your friends some space to talk.”

“You don’t have to,” she said.

“I need to check in on my sister now anyway. I will find you later, yes?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Okay, have a nice evening.” He curtsied, leaving at least two of them speechless.

Foggy waited until he was gone to gasp loudly. “You know the king of Wakanda?” he asked.

“We fought on the same side,” Eliza stated. “They don’t have the same traditions in Wakanda as we do here. He’s, uh, pretty great.”

“Yeah, and he’s a king! This just keeps getting better and better.”

“He’s humble,” Karen said.

“Yeah, that’s just him. He likes everyone.”

Foggy gasped again. His hand grasped Matt’s jacket in absolute disbelief. “Is that Elon Musk?” he choked out. Any more of this and he was surely going to have a heart attack.

Eliza turned in the direction he was pointing. “Oh, yeah,” she said. The Tesla CEO stood in the corner with a couple she’d met once at an industrial fair Pepper took her to.

Foggy was hyperventilating at this point. “How can you act so casual?” he screeched. “That’s fucking Elon Musk, Eliza!”

“I know. I’ve helped him and Tony with the rendering of his newest model.”

“You did what? Oh, my god! I think I’m in heaven. This can’t be real. Matt, tell me, am I still breathing?”

His friend patted his hand awkwardly. “You’re fine,” Matt said. “It’s just nerves, Foggy. It’ll pass.”

Karen took the opportunity to slide in and ask, “So you’re an engineer?”

Eliza found herself under her scrutinizing gaze again, or perhaps she was just too worked up and interpreted a little too much. Sweat pooled inside her palms. “Uh, not really,” she said. “I work for Stark Industries, is all. I helped modify the algorithm for Elon, but that was before the Accords, so I don’t do that kinda stuff anymore.”

“Karen,” Matt’s low, warning tone came out again. “Eliza is Miss Pott’s second in command. She helps with the sales of Stark Tech. Her work is just as important as ours.”

She bit down on her lip. Here we go .

Karen frowned. “That’s not what I meant,” she insisted. “I was just curious. Besides, I think Eliza can speak for herself.”

The tension between the two grew by the second. Eliza didn’t know if she was truly the reason for their argument or if she was simply the catalyst for an already existing issue that they just hadn’t resolved yet.

Eliza chose to act on the line Karen tossed her. “She’s right,” she said. “I can speak for myself. Matt’s right though. That’s kinda what I do.”

“It’s a cool job,” she said.

“Thanks.”

“Is there anything else you plan on doing, like going to college?”

Matt hissed. “Karen!”

“Matt,” Eliza retorted. He tilted his head in surprise at her harsh tone. “Don’t be a dick,” she said. “She’s just trying to make conversation. You act like a jealous hag and it’s honestly not sexy at all. Jesus!”

Karen pulled the loose blonde curl in her face behind her ear. “Thank you,” she smiled.

She caught a glimpse of Foggy saying, “That was not cool dude,” to Matt, but the music tuned out anything else.

The blonde kept her attention on Eliza. Curiosity sparked in the deep blue of her eyes. She’d never seen such a radiant shade before. Her eyes were framed by soft black eyelashes, which made the irises pop even more. She was drawn in by the way all of Karen’s emotions acted like wild ocean waves that came and went. Her eyes were the endless sea and she was simply swimming in it, picking up on every conflict possible.

“I’m sorry,” she said eventually. Her lip contorted and she laughed shyly, hands in front of her face. “We got off on the wrong foot. I never meant to back you into a corner. It’s just, I haven’t been friends with these two for long so I tend to get a bit overprotective sometimes.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Eliza said.

“Yeah, I figured you would. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you… how’re you holding up?”

“I’m fine, really. Thanks for asking though.”

“Yeah, no- no problem. You seem good friends with the people here.“

“What can I say, people like me.“

“They’d be stupid not to,” Matt’s voice silenced them at once. Eliza’s mouth opened and closed like a fish on dry land.

Not even the slightest bit surprised at his words, Foggy raised his eyebrows. Wow, the words hung loose on his lips. “Hey,” he said then. “I’m gonna get us all some drinks. Karen, can you help me?”

“What? But we were just-“ she said.

“I can’t carry them on my own, Karen.” Foggy made sure to put enough pressure on her name.

She slowly realized. “Oh.”

“Will you help me or do you want me to break everything? Let’s be real, that is so gonna happen.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She wasn’t happy, nor was she satisfied. Her head hung low, the glint gone from her eyes as she looked at Eliza once again, reservation replacing whatever positive feelings she harbored about her.

Eliza crossed her arms instinctively. Karen’s gaze burned under her skin. She didn’t trust her, not even remotely. She cared about Matt, wanting the best for him. The man seemed more than a colleague to her, so it was understandable that she was suspicious of the new girl. The two barely knew each other. She was at least ten years younger than him. She couldn’t even blame Karen; she wasn’t sure how she would have reacted in her position, but she knew she wouldn’t have been happy either.

The pair disappeared into the crowd. “Where are they going?” Matt asked.

“The other bar,” Eliza told him.

“There’s two?”

“Don’t even ask.”

“Oh, can you tell I’m not used to this kind of establishment?”

“ What ?” she dragged out the word.

He began to laugh. His eyes were crinkled, his teeth white and bright. “That’s fair,” he said.

Eliza smiled back at him. She searched for his arm, pulling gently. “Uh, would you like something to drink?” she asked.

He offered his hand instead. “Yeah, good idea. Lead the way?”

She reached down. Their hands fit together like gloves. The callouses of his fingers were rough, and so were hers. The constant fighting eventually took a toll. Cracked knuckles, broken fingers; the skin was dry from all the scrubbing and disinfecting wounds.

Some nights, Tony used to ask her into his lab. She helped him bring his newest visions to life – she’d never considered herself an engineer, though ever since she joined the Avengers, she grew a lot of new talents. Working with her hands was just one of them.

Feeling Matt’s fingers gently around hers, yet the skin so rough it brought friction, eased her anxiety. She wasn’t the only one with unusually worn-down hands. She savored the feeling of his hot skin on her always cold one. Truth to be told, they both could’ve used some hand moisturizer.

Eliza placed his hands on the bar. Matt patted along the Mahagoni wood, tracing the patterns on the clean counter, mapping out his exact surroundings down to the smallest detail.

His lip twitched. “This place is fancy,” he said.

“And expensive,” she added.

“It feels expensive.” He swirled his fingers around the wood again. “Tony Stark really doesn’t have to worry about money, does he?”

“No, that’s the least of his concerns, and it shows.”

“You said it, not me.”

Benji walked over from the other side of the bar, towel casually draped over his shoulder. “Eliza,” he sang. “Another drink?”

He stopped in his cheery walk. His eyes got stuck on the man beside her. The slow fall of his features came like dominos. First, he appeared conflicted, trying to make a connection. Then, the realization hit.

“Oh, I should’ve known this was gonna happen,” he muttered under his breath.

“I beg your pardon?” Eliza said.

Matt leaned into her. “He thinks we’re a couple,” he said.

“Boyfriend, right?” Benji proved the suspicion to be true. “What d’you drink?”

“Not her boyfriend. And Macallan, neat.”

She spun around. “First of all, he’s right. We’re not a couple,” she said. “Second of all, Macallan? What’s wrong with you? Does your tongue still work?”

“My tongue’s fine,” he chuckled.

“Then why the fuck would you drink Macallan, on purpose, and neat? This just keeps getting worse and worse. I think we might need to sign the divorce papers for our non-existent marriage tonight. It’s just not gonna work out between you and me. Oh, and I’m taking the kids with me.”

“You can have them, not sure they were mine anyway.”

“ Hey !“

“I’m still ordering Macallan.”

She gagged. “You’re disgusting.”

“Macallan,” he told Benji. “Make it extra neat.”

“If anyone asks, I don’t know you.”

“Put ice in.”

Benji switched his eyes from one side to the other. “Are you sure you’re not a couple?” he asked.

The pair exchanged a look, then turned to him, both frowning like it was the last thing they’d ever do. “We’re not,” it came out of their mouths simultaneously. “I mean, we’re not-“ They stared at each other.

“Stop mimicking me,” Eliza said.

“I’m not mimicking you,” he said.

Benji sighed, “No offense, I barely know you but I sure as hell know that you two are idiots.”

“None taken,” – she lifted her finger, not because of his words but because of the glass he placed in front of Matt’s smug face – “I take offense in that !”

“I don’t care. It’s tasty. I like it.”

Benji was about to pour her another tequila. She licked her lips. “Vodka,” she challenged. “Straight.”

He pursed his lips, saying ‘alright’. The glass clinked against the wood before her. He wished them fun, distanced, and dissatisfied. Eliza wondered if they behaved that suspiciously – she liked Benji, he was a cool guy, but in the end, he wasn’t her type either way – yet she still felt a bit offended that everyone assumed the two were in a relationship. She and Matt barely knew each other, they just had a shit ton of chemistry. That was normal in the first stage of friendship – right?

Matt’s features fell. “Vodka,” he repeated her order. She could’ve sworn by the way his head tilted, that he was no longer joking.

“Yeah,” she nervously swirled the clear liquid around. “Too much for you?” she asked.

His head remained cocked to the side. “You drink alcohol?”

“I mean, yeah. I’m twenty-three, not a minor. Almost everyone drinks these days.”

Her mind was too busy to focus on the obvious reason for his sudden mood change.

Matt remembered what he read in her file vividly. He was aware of all her priors, which he had every right to as her lawyer. When he took her case, he planned for it to be just a way to make up for what he got her into, but Eliza’s story ran deeper than what was available to the public.

The very contents of the file caused him to eye the drink in her hands more closely. He smelled it on her. This wasn’t her first drink and judging by the way her heart beat fast with anxiety, this certainly wasn’t going to be her last one. Stress drinker, he noted. Or in less pretty words, alcoholic. She had the tendency, she had the means. He just couldn’t quite figure out why, after everything she’s been through, she’d still try so hard to sabotage herself.

Matt sipped his Macallan, trapped in the line of thought. He decided to lighten the mood again. This wasn’t any of his business; by attempting to control her, he’d just make it worse. He had to restrain himself from claiming her and tying her down so that nothing could happen to her because damn it, he wanted to so badly.

“Straight vodka,” he said then. “What are you, a psychopath?”

Eliza scoffed. “Not exactly,” she said. “My throat’s just numb.”

He chuckled into his glass. “Not yet, sweetheart.”

“Matthew Murdock, I swear to god-“

“Oh, bad girl,” he said. “Using the lord’s name in vain. That’s a sin, you know.”

“What are you gonna do, punish me?” She scoffed. “Please, I do that myself every day.”

“That just shows me you’ve never been properly punished before.”

She straight-up choked on the sharp taste. The vodka burned down her throat like acid, landing in the wrong pipe as she tried to swallow but the liquor came down the wrong way. She coughed, feeling the fire expand inside her chest. Matt instantly patted her back to divert the coughing fit. She waved around wildly, trying to ease the ache with wind, but her lungs protested. Eventually, the pain subsided.

She looked at Matt through teary eyes. He grinned, smug asshole. “You alright?” he asked.

“Fuck you,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re alright.”

“Why do you always do that?”

He frowned. “Do what?”

“This.” She was grasping for straws.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yeah,” – she huffed a frustrated groan – “I don’t either.”

He nudged her. “Want anything?”

She glared at the glass, warning, “Don’t even think about it.”

Matt pressed the cold drink against her lips. She flinched back. He laughed, wholeheartedly.

“Come on, try it,” he said.

“No!”

“Please?”

“Absolutely not. Get that thing away from me.”

He reached for her jaw. The pressure burned sweetly as he pulled her forward, fingers holding her face tightly so she couldn’t move. “Open,” he ordered.

“Matt,” she warned again.

The world around them seemed so loud, so clear. She was afraid someone might see her. This was quite the compromising position, though she didn’t dare move. A strange shiver went down her spine right where she could’ve needed it less.

He smirked, glasses sliding down ever so slightly. She caught sight of his brows, and the tips of his eyelashes. She stared hard, urging for more, but he had her chin tilted up in no time. Matt placed the glass against her lips. She let him. He guided one of her hands to the Macallan.

“Drink,” he said. The demand hung heavy in the air. She squeezed her thighs together, crossing them. “I’m gonna show you how good it actually tastes, you just have to trust me.”

That low voice, she thought. Wherever it came from, she cursed him for even knowing what he could do with it. She opened her mouth hesitantly, letting the liquor rest on her tongue. She refused to swallow at first, though his grip tightened and she couldn’t stand it any longer. She swallowed the bitter taste.

“And?” he asked.

Eliza licked her lips. His hand was still on her. “It was-“ she shivered at the squeaky sound, “I still hate it.”

Matt chuckled. He loosened his grip slowly. “I figured. I just wanted to see your reaction.”

“You- you- UGH !” She downed the vodka in one big gulp. Mixed with the Macallan, she wanted to puke right then and there.

“What?” he smiled innocently. “Everything alright?”

“You’re a menace, Matt.”

“Eliza, am I making you nervous?”

“You know exactly what you’re doing,” she muttered. “And you know it’s working, so let’s not talk about it.”

Eliza realized it was plain and simple. She wanted to kiss Matthew Murdock. The light shone a beautiful light on his plump lips. All she wanted was to trail her tongue over it, bite it, claim it until he forgot his name and she forgot hers.

She didn’t kiss him. She refused to give in to temptation. This was what he wanted. Kissing him would’ve made her only another notch in his bedpost. He flirted like it was the only thing keeping him alive; he had a revolving door, somehow she just knew that. And she didn’t want to be put in this position with all the other women he did or did not sleep with. Although it was very tempting and required a lot of self-control not to give in. Matt knew how to rile her up, that was for sure.

He penetrated the comfortable silence between them. “You still wanna get divorced?” he asked.

Eliza choked on her drink. The bubbly laughter came naturally at this point. He joined in, gently patting her back to help her breathe again.

She wiped the access vodka off her lips, saying, “I have to consult my lawyer first.”

“Oh, really? Is he any good?”

“Yeah, he’s a really good lawyer. You should meet him sometime.”

“If that’s so, maybe you should give me his number. You know, for research purposes.”

Eliza laughed again. “You’re fucking hilarious,” she said, laughter turning into giggles. “Oh, god! I think I haven’t laughed that much in years .”

“You have a nice laugh,” he murmured.

She left the question hanging in the air. Insecurity was her partner in crime. It was the only feeling that never left her, always sticking around. She never cared much about it until now. Matt broke through the walls she built up and made her do the things her insecurities used to prevent her from doing.

“And you’re quite the charmer.” She fluttered her lashes at him. “Lucky for you, I like it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

He could tell by the smirk in her voice that she was going into full offense.

“I’m a flirt, sure, but I’m not the kind of person you take me for,” he said. “The innocent blind man I pretend to be, that’s just not me. Not really. It’s… there are things you don’t know about me, Eliza. And I’m afraid-“ he cleared the lump from his throat, nervously swallowing the Macallan as if it was going to make this any easier. It didn’t.

“What?” she asked, her voice soft. She placed a hand on his arm, the muscles tense underneath her touch. “What is it, Matt?”

“I’m afraid that’s something that won’t make this work.”

The words swirled around her head. “What?”

“I don’t know what this is, you and me, but I know that I don’t deserve you.”

“Matt, where is this coming from?”

He emptied the glass in one gulp. “I should go find Foggy and Karen.”

Like the snap of two fingers, the switch was flicked. The light around him turned dark. His features contorted, hand tight around his cane. The skin around his knuckles turned white. His feet turned away. Just like that, he distanced himself. He flew into space, bringing more than two worlds between them. Physically, they were mere inches apart, but he drilled a mental gap between whatever it was they shared before. The hole was steep, deep – she couldn’t cross to the other side without falling to her imminent death. Going after him would ruin her, she realized. She hadn’t seen it before, but she did now. She saw Matt Murdock in an entirely different light. He wasn’t the man she took him to be.

He drove them wide apart, the water to her lungs, clouding her senses. Without reasoning, without a word of explanation.

“Matt,” she said his name again. “Matt!”

He sighed. “I’m sorry for wasting your time,” he shrugged her off.

“You can’t just do this and expect me to be okay with it. What happened in the last few seconds? Did I do something, or miss something? I-“

“It’s not you, it’s me.”

The classic. She scoffed. All the bullshit he could’ve given her and he went with the least believable.

“Can we talk about it?” she asked.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“Uh, your mood swings, for example? You can’t just push me away when we’re trying to get to know each other. That might work with the women you fuck, but not with me.”

Eliza wasn’t usually one to be persistent. She kept her distance, refusing to let anyone get close. She didn’t have to force people to stay in her life because they weren’t there in the first place. Matt had drawn her in, without warning, and he was willing to throw it all away in the matter of what? Seconds? She never thought much of herself, but she refused to let him ruin this. She liked what they had, a little light at the end of this endless tunnel. If he had issues, she wanted to know. She deserved that much.

“You have to trust me,” he was so close again, his alcohol-stained breath hot on her cheeks. “You’re… You’re too good for this world, Eliza. I thought I could ignore the fact that I’m not the man you deserve and need, but spending time with you has shown me that you’re better than anyone on this godforsaken earth and I can’t- I can’t drag you down with me. I just can’t.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “What kind of bullshit excuse is this? If you don’t like me, just say so!”

“I do, I like you, which is exactly what I was afraid of.”

“Oh, so you just wanted me to be your toy then?”

“What? No!”

“Then why are you pushing me away, Matt?”

His lip twitched, hand on her arm, fingers digging into the soft flesh there. “God,” he grunted. “Why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?”

“Why do you have to be so fucking mysterious?”

“I-“ he sighed. She saw wild emotions flash across his face.

Matt was done for. His attempts to pull himself out of this failed miserably. He was pathetic, playing the hero, acting like he knew what was good for her. He knew who she was; he didn’t want Matt Murdock to ruin her, he just wanted her to get the life she deserved.

Daredevil could help her out and then disappear, and become history. Matt figured he had to distance himself before he put himself in a position where the truth would tear her entire world apart. She thought too highly of him. The thought of causing her any kind of pain hurt him more than any knife ever could.

But he was done for, hook line, and sinker. There wasn’t much he could do but bare it.

“The heart is hard to translate, Matt,” she said. “It has a language of its own. Help me understand, please .”

“I-“ he groaned quietly. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” The sentence, though made out of only six words, carried so much vulnerability in the way he executed it.

“You don’t have to,” Eliza told him.

Boldly, her hand mapped out the fabric of his suit all the way to the bow around his neck. She let her fingers run along the skin underneath, the stubble on his cheek. He flinched at the softness of her touch.

“What are you doing?” he rasped.

“I don’t know yet.”

“Please.”

The word meant so much more than its definition. He said it because please, just, please. The only coherent thought on his mind. The pathetic whine of the word ‘please’. What happened to him? What got him this way? He wasn’t thinking straight. He wasn’t thinking at all.

“Why is your heart beating so fast?” she whispered into his ear, hand now on his neck, just ghosting over his pulse point.

Matt let out a heavy breath through his already parted lips. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me,” he said.

“I think I might have an idea.”

Eliza pulled his face closer, her lips searching desperately for their way home. She wanted to park them where they belonged – the most anticipated place in the entire universe, it seemed. A desired little house in the middle of a whirlwind. He was the gift that just kept on giving.

Matt tasted her. The tiny distance between them clouded his senses. He was scared of what it would be like if she became a part of him and if it would suffocate him, the feeling of her so overwhelming he felt every single one of his senses absolutely overstimulated.

As fast as she’d pulled him in, her warmth disappeared. His face fell forward into nothingness, lingering just above the crook of her neck. He listened; her heart momentarily stopped, then jumped a heavy beat. Adrenaline cursed through her veins, fueled by fear and anger. He inhaled the scent radiating off her skin. What had smelled like desire disappeared into solely the taste of her perfume.

He opened his mouth to ask why she pulled away, pathetically searching for words in his fogged-up brain.

“Is this thing on?” Reality came back to him in Tony Stark’s infamous voice over the big speakers in the room. There was a hint of bitterness in there, trying hard not to slur his words as he spoke.

“Good evening lovely guests. You all know me, but for those who don’t, I’m Tony Stark. I own this fucking place. If you have any complaints, keep them to yourselves. Ungrateful bastards.”

Murmurs went through the crowd. Eliza pinched her nose.

“Unlike popular beliefs, I’m happy that you’re here today,” Tony said. “Makes telling you the truth so much easier. You know, I did write a speech. Or Pepper did. Anyway, I’m not gonna say any of it. A bunch of bullshit on paper doesn’t even cut close to what I want to say. Besides, I don’t believe in scripts. You’re here because of the Accords, right, to make my public reputation better? Well, if you really thought that’s what’s gonna happen, I’m so sorry to disappoint you. I’m talking to you, Ross. Over there, hi!” He waved towards the right corner of the room where the man in question stood crammed between people, champagne in hand. He stiffened entirely as his name left Tony’s mouth, all the attention suddenly on his presence rather than the stage.

“Oh, god!” Eliza swallowed.

“I just gotta tell ya, I don’t regret a thing I did. Not a single thing. In fact, I would do it all again if I could. People are dead, you know. We’re murderers. Some of us have body counts higher than a college kid on crack. They thrived off it once. I called them out, you know. I wanted to change the world and if that meant giving up some of our control, I was willing to do whatever to keep us together as a team. We did good, but we did a shit-ton of bad. Heroes aren’t supposed to cause chaos and death. Apparently, Steve Rogers didn’t share the same thought. The people I made into something turned their backs on me just because I introduced a solution to a bigger problem. Unbelievable, right? You give and you give and you give and no one gives you a single piece of fucking gratitude back. Honestly, Ross, it would’ve been kinder if you’d just killed us all. I don’t care. I made the Avengers, they blew it and now I have to suffer the consequences. It’s just not fair.”

The knife drilled deeper into her chest.

“Everyone keeps telling me what to do,” he carried on. “You have to do this, say that, act this way. I realize now that I don’t have to do anything. I’m done. So fucking over it, you can’t believe it. Rogers screwed up, that’s not my fault. He wouldn’t listen. Now I have a kid giving me orders. What did you think would happen? You know, I’m not the orphanage for lost children, let alone those who want to tell me how to do my job.”

The thread snapped. Their connection was swept away into oblivion, drowned by the deep dark sea. Eliza took Matt’s glass, emptied it, and smashed it back down on the counter so hard, that shards went flying everywhere. She ignored the mess she made, knowing all eyes were on her, knowing she was the center of attention, the lost orphan telling Tony how to do his job.

Tony laughed. “I was foolish to think the Avengers were actually going anywhere. It was my mistake to agree on it. I should’ve known. God, I should’ve seen this coming. And to think you’re here now, the stupid ass idiots that you are, and expect me to be a good person? I’m pretty sure you claimed me the villain just a couple months ago. You want the publicity, crave it, want me to embarrass myself. Yeah, I see through you. Ellison over there from the Bulletin,” he said. “Fucking Fox News. You want to paint me the villain, the rich bastard with an ego higher than the Empire State? Fine, so be it! I’m not gonna let anyone tell me what to do anymore. I’m done. Throw me in jail for all I care. This whole place won’t run without me anyway.”

Rhodey appeared on the stage. He grabbed Tony by the shoulders. Eliza was there, on the side. Her eyes glowed red. She reacted without thinking. The flames wrapped around his chest. The words stopped flowing. He stopped fighting. Rhodey apologized profusely to the crowd, carrying the man away. Happy came, too, and he tried to get Tony out of the room.

Eliza met his eyes. “Are you happy now?” she asked.

“Drop it,” Rhodey told her. “You can kick his ass later. Right now, there are people out there that need some explaining and a big fat apology.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Her chest felt constricted.

“Go out there, make a speech.”

“Rhodey, I can’t !”

“Yes, you can.”

It wasn’t a question, not an offer – he needed her to do this. She had no other choice. She was the only Avenger left that people would listen to. The spotlight loved her, they loved dramatic stories and they loved pain. These were people, many people, and they were waiting, watching, curious and judgmental. They made up their minds already. The same people who scrutinized her talked about her behind her back. Her hands were shaking, sweaty. Her heart beat up to her throat. The balloon in her chest deflated.

“You have to,” a voice said in her head. “There’s no other way.”

The spotlight burned in her eyes. She squeezed through it, the crowd seemingly millions of people on top of each other. They stared at her, waiting, anticipating. They were expecting her to talk. Secretary Ross in the corner had his eyes trained strictly on her, confused yet curious about how they were going to fix this. He’d always seen her as a child, not old enough to take responsibility or be a hero. Eliza hated the spotlight, hated being the center of attention.

She took the microphone with shaky hands. “Wow,” her voice reached over the speaker. “That was a lot. And offensive. Honestly, if there was an award for the biggest idiot, Tony would win in a landslide.”

The crowd laughed hesitantly.

“Needless to say this wasn’t planned. It was rude and he had no right to speak to you that way,” she said. “I’d like to apologize on behalf of all of us. I can’t tell you he didn’t mean it, he probably did. He’s drunk and he does stupid shit when he’s drunk, that’s just Tony. Still doesn’t give him the right to treat his guests like that, especially not after everything that happened. I have no clue what he was supposed to say, so I’m just gonna freestyle. Be warned, I don’t usually give speeches – I struggle to find words. I’m the lost orphan, after all.”

They didn’t know if they could laugh, but she saw their lips twitch, a little less tension filling the room.

“It’s okay, you can laugh,” she urged. The crowd did. “It’s funny. Tony said I give him orders. Considering what he just did, I kinda wish I actually could. He’s mad, I don’t know why. We invited you here today to show that we’re still strong, right? That we’re sorry for what happened. We wanted the press to know all that. I’m not sure if you’d believe me if I tell you that now, so I’m just gonna walk you through a hypothetical real quick.”

Eliza absentmindedly placed the mic stand aside. The cord fell at her feet, she balled it into her fist, preventing the possibility of an embarrassing fall.

“Imagine you’re a kid,” she began. “You’re being tossed into this big world, alone. Your parents are gone. The life you thought you knew disappears right before your eyes. You’re staring into the face of someone you don’t know, and it’s a mirror, right? You’re staring at yourself, the person you’re supposed to know, but as you see yourself you realize, you don’t even remember how you got there in the first place.

“One second you’re somewhere else, someone else, and the next you’re being taken away by strangers. You’re told that you are this person now, with this history and that name. You’re a teenager at this point. You’ve never been to school, never been in love, you’ve never seen the world. But one day, you’re just supposed to be. Those people train you, and give you something to do. They raise you. You finally get to see New York City. Great, isn’t it? Empire State Of Mind.”

She earned a couple more laughs.

“In the next move though, the city you used to know is being attacked,” she said. The crowd gasped at the horrible memory of the year 2012 that instantly came to mind. “You’re a kid, right? You don’t know what to do, you just have to function. They trained you for this, this is your purpose. You’re supposed to be a hero. All while you’re just there, running along with it because you still don’t know who you are. Think about it. Who you are and who you’re supposed to be aren’t the same person. And you’re so scared because the sky is opening up and people are dying – you know you have to do something, but you don’t know how. Until you meet this group of six people. They’re supposed to work together the same way you’re just supposed to exist, and they’re not happy about it, so for once in your life, you feel less alone. They have your back, they integrate you. With them, you have the strength and the will to save the world. It’s not just you who’s scared anymore, those six are too and that fear is what makes you stronger. You realize at that moment that you’re that person. You’re right where you want to be. You’re supposed to be a hero, you accept that because you know damn well it’s true.”

Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She met the eyes of T’Challa. He smiled softly at her. Next to her, the picture opened up.

“You’re me,” Eliza said. “Those six people are the Avengers and I’m part of that. Or I used to be, anyway. They were my family. SHIELD brought me up, but the Avengers raised me.”

She saw Natasha, the redhead with stars in her eyes. Steve, the man that was tossed into the world the same way she had. Bruce, Thor, Sam, Wanda, Rhodey…

“We made mistakes, I admit that. We wanted to do good but ended up hurting people instead. We did so much damage, too much to count. It was only a matter of time before something like the Accords would happen. This hasn’t been easy on any of us. In the end, we’re all only human. We have feelings. Everyone has their opinion and different reasons for their opinion. You don’t really know what someone’s thinking without talking to them first. There’s an explanation for everything. I learned that. It’s true. We don’t know what drove the others to their decision. We may never know. That’s why I think it’s bad to villainize. They messed up badly, I agree, and I believe feeling the law isn’t the right thing to do. Still, we can’t understand something unless we have all the facts. I don’t agree with what Captain Rogers did, but he was my family. I lost many friends that day. I know the Accords were necessary, I signed them. I still believe they exist for a reason. We needed control because we became reckless over time. It’s better than countless deaths in the name of doing something good,” she said. “I know better than anyone that recovery takes time. Tony needs time. You don’t forget the loss of family that easily and it’s even harder to stomach it when you’re being blamed for everything.”

Fury was on the other side of the room, Maria next to him. Peter on the right, and Bucky too. Vision was floating somewhere in the air. They all wore black as if they were at a funeral. And so Eliza realized, they were. She was the very person about to lay the Avengers to rest, for good. There was no other choice. The truth hit her so hard, that her stomach twisted painfully.

“The Avengers are gone, but our legacy will live on.”

It wasn’t fair. Tony didn’t deserve it. She tasted her heart on her tongue, blood dripping from her teeth. The light was bright, too bright. The air was too thin, her clothes too tight.

“I’m sorry,” she broke off. The technician took the microphone from her as she fled the stage.

Rhodey was there, waiting for her. His hands reached for her shoulders, a burning trail. “You did good,” he said, or she thought he said it. She saw his lips move but the sound never reached her ears.

There was water everywhere. She was drowning, lungs filled with liquid instead of air. The voices around sounded like the echo of drums. Boom, boom, boom – the sound settled deep into her brain.

Eliza flinched away at his touch. It burned, it burned so badly. “Don’t touch me,” she choked out.

“Kid, where you going?”

She didn’t know. She simply bolted for the door in hopes to catch some oxygen. The people shouted for her. She didn’t slow her steps until she was inside the bathroom.

She barely felt the water on her hands. It ran in cold droplets through the tap. The person staring back in the mirror was a stranger. Wild eyes, sweaty forehead, cheeks as pale as death. She slapped the water against her skin, but the fire only burned more.

The golden suit jacket weighed at least a hundred pounds. The silk scratched at her skin like rough asphalt. She shrugged it off, in desperate need of any kind of freedom. The walls of the room seemed to crumble in. With every second, they inched in closer. With each heartbeat, the oxygen escaped her lungs in a hurry, leaving nothing behind but dry emptiness that burned deep crescents into her chest. The tissue of her lungs swayed over the scolding flames of a life in shambles. It singed away the flesh, setting whatever air was left on fire in a desperate chemical reaction.

She slid down the wall. The water was up to her head by then. She could barely see through the fog that cornered her vision. Her hands clawed at the skin around her throat, the black tank top, and the tiles that felt like nothing behind her. She couldn’t feel anything solid – the world felt like a void; the more she clawed, the further she fell. The ceiling lowered down on top of her. The box closed in. She curled up, head between her thighs, scared of the world, scared of her mind. The darkness had it out for her, hungry to feed off her corpse, to kill her slowly and intimately by suffocating her, drowning her in the ocean of her very own fallen dreams.

Someone knocked on the door. She heard herself croak out, “No.” Not now. Her voice got caught in a breathless sob. She choked on it.

The door opened anyway. Someone said something and she was sure she recognized the voice, but her mind was barely present and she didn’t dare open her eyes. The world was too close now, squeezing her tighter and tighter and tighter. She needed to get out, needed to escape. By grabbing her limbs, curling in on herself, she hoped to push the world away and preserve herself like cryofreeze. The darkness in her mind was calmer than whatever was happening around her. If she were to die, she wouldn’t want to stare into the void as it sucked the life out of her for good. At least that’s what it felt like – the world trying to drain whatever she thought she had left to give. She was defenseless.

Her helplessness attracted the creatures of the night, the soul-eaters, the monsters who set out to ruin her. They all had her face. Every demon carried her distinctive features. They ate away at her, grinning, as she was forced to watch. She squeezed her eyes tighter, but even then the walls crashed down on her. The water swallowed her entirely.

The dark, dangerous ocean had her trapped. The sirens called out on the sturdy sandbanks for her to reach their beautiful hands. She couldn’t see them but she could hear them, loud and clear through the rustling of the waves. She was underwater, floating, but the hands were closer than ever. The sirens threw a lifeline; she reached for it.

She reached for the hand, or the hand reached for her, she wasn’t so sure anymore. The sudden physical contact sent her spiraling. The hands clawed at her not just once; they were everywhere, her mouth open, the water filling her lungs, flooding the desert.

“Don’t touch me!” she said. Her own voice sounded distant.

The hands were gone again, quickly, faster than they’d touched her. She tried to breathe, the hold was gone, but she couldn’t focus. She wanted to, wanted to swim to the top, but the water kept pushing her down. She opened her eyes. While the light was shrill, it was better than the endless Dead Sea behind her eyelids. The walls kept caving in, though, through the fog, she could make out the silhouette of a creature before her. It wasn’t one of her demons, no.

The voice, the face, the beautiful siren – her lifeline sat before her, trying hard to comply with her wish not to touch her. He wanted to claw at her, shake her out of it, but he couldn’t. His eyes were a red swirl into the depths of hell. Her breath hitched if that was even possible, and she inched further back into the tiles.

“Hey,” he said. The red spiral disappeared. “It’s me, it’s me.” He reassured her once, twice, even a third time.

She saw his eyes through the blur. They seemed so much more human now. Soft, guiding, a safe haven. If she swam fast enough, she could make it to shore and he’d hold her, breathing life back into her. She just had to make it out of the water, out of the restraints dragging her further to the bottom of the sea.

“Sweetheart, I need you to focus. Focus on your breathing.”

Her head screamed, no! Her mouth opened, squealing it. ‘I can’t.’ She was screaming for help, internally, words betraying her in the real world.

“Yes, you can. C’mon! Look at me. Right here.” His finger moved. She followed the faint movement until she settled on his face. Tears bubbled out of her eyes like a loose tap.

“That’s it,” he said. “I’m right here. Focus on me. Tell me– hey, keep your eyes on me!” He instantly reached for her head when it threatened to slack. The darkness lulled her in. “You can do this. Just focus on me. Just like that, there you go. I’m gonna keep my hand there just in case. It’s just me, I promise. I won’t hurt you.”

She believed his sweet voice. She had no other choice.

“Tell me, five things - five things you can see.”

She remembered that. Something familiar. She swallowed, pointing out his face. “You,” she choked out. Her voice sounded so foreign, so far away.

“Me,” he said, he was smiling. “Good. What else? Four more things. I’ll count with you.”

She darted her head around. “Sink,” was that even a word?

“Okay, the sink. That’s two.”

“You-“

“You already said that, sweetheart. Focus. What do you see? I need three more things. Wanna help you, alright? Three things.”

She saw the hint of red next to her head. “Glasses,” she said.

“Alright, my glasses.”

“D-door.”

“Hmm, the door.”

“And lights. So many lights.”

Eliza broke into a sob. It was the first thing close to breathing since she stormed into the bathroom. She lowered her head. His hand tilted her cheek back up.

“We’re not done yet,” he said.

She knew him, she recognized him, the name laid on her tongue, and yet she couldn’t call out for him. She merely clasped her hand around his forearm, afraid he might leave.

“Four things you can feel. What can you feel, tell me.”

Her fingers traced over his wrist. “Your pulse,” she said. Her hand trembled. “Y-your breath. The floor,” – she felt it, she knew it was there – “My heart.” And how it was beating so fast, so loud.

“What can you hear?”

“Your voice. Music, I- I think.”

“There’s music,” he assured her, thumb stroking over her skin. “One more, sweetheart.”

She inhaled sharply. “Myself.” The walls slowly backed off. Scared for life, they retreated to where they came from.

As the fog slowly cleared, she anticipated what he was going to say next. “Two things you can smell,” she was right. “You’re doing good, sweetheart,” he said. He never missed a beat with his praise.

Eliza actively smelled the air. She smelled it, she felt it. Her lungs throbbed with the harsh attack. Air filled the empty space. The oxygen burned sweetly.

“Alcohol,” she smelled. “Flowers.”

“And what can you taste?”

Too aware of the tears that flooded down her cheeks freely, she licked her lips. “Salt.”

Relief washed over her. The ocean dried out. Her lungs filled with oxygen. The black dots vanished from her vision. She was still light-headed but the world finally stopped spinning. Matt knelt before her, brown eyes fixated on the wall next to her head. The worry kept his brows furrowed.

She saw him, truly saw him as if it was the first time and everything just came back at once. The dominos began to roll. More tears pricked her eyes. Her mouth opened in incoherent sounds – hiccups, sobs, pleas. She clutched so tightly onto him, that the suit crinkled between her fingers. She became a part of him, and wanted him to swallow her whole so she would never have to leave again. She needed him closer, melting into her like candle wax.

He whispered soft things into her ear. “I got you,” he said. “I got you. I’m here. It’s okay.”

Funny how he was the only person there for her when she needed it the most.

“Let me get you a glass of water.”

Eliza protested when he let go of her. She wrapped her arms around his thigh. “Don’t leave me,” she pathetically cried.

Matt was quick to assure her. With the glass in hand, he settled back down before her. “Hey, it’s okay,” he wiped her tears. “I’m not leaving you. I’m still here. See?” He took her hand while the other guided the drink to her lips.

She was suddenly so incredibly thirsty. In a matter of seconds, she had emptied the water. He went back to the sink to fill her another one, which she drank just as fast.

“Good girl.”

Without another word, he began to gently clean her face of the smeared makeup. She didn’t question how he did it, she simply enjoyed his hands working her skin gently. It grounded her, knowing she wasn’t alone, knowing he wasn’t pressuring her to talk or do anything else. It was just them in the silence of the bathroom. When he thought he got the worst of it, Matt tossed the paper towels into the trash.

Her muscles slacked. Eliza felt her entire body collapse in itself. She rolled to the side, to the floor. He followed her movement worriedly, hand under her face, cradling her. He shielded her from the hard tiles, her personal lifeguard.

“I’m so tired,” she said. A lonely tear slipped past her lips. “I’m tired of being tired.”

Matt smiled. He lifted her head a little, allowing himself to sit back against the wall. Her cheek landed on the soft fabric of his slacks. He kept stroking her face, her hair, everything he could reach until her heartbeat slowed down. His fingers worked wonders to ease the tension; he had a magic touch that brought her the comfort she needed so desperately.

“He ruined everything. I only ever needed my family and he just… his pride-“ she cried into his pants.

“I know,” he said. “You don’t deserve that. The way he spoke about you… he had no right to say that. He’s so very wrong about so many things, Eliza. I doubt he knows about the damage he’s doing. He considers it self-preservation without even thinking about how this might make you feel.”

“I’m used to this, Matt. Or I should be. This isn’t the first time. I’ve been disappointed before. Every time things get hard, he does something like this. I thought- I thought I was better at this. I thought it couldn’t hurt me anymore but I still care so fucking much. I still want him to see me. He keeps hurting me over and over again and I let it happen. I make the same mistake every damn time. How can I be so fucking stupid?”

“You’re not stupid. You just need someone to take care of you. You’re afraid he’ll leave you for good if you don’t try to keep him around-”

“Everyone else did.”

“Eliza-“

“You wanted to leave me too. Everybody does. I should be used to it. I should know better. There’s a reason this happens time and time again, but I won’t learn. I’m so foolish, God!” Despite her words, she dug her nails further into his thigh. He held on tighter, too.

“I was wrong,” Matt said. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was just scared. After what happened, I-“

“I need you,” the statement was barely audible.

His hand stilled. “Need me?”

“I don’t know why or how but I need you, Matt. Everything hurts. My heart burns. I can’t-“

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just hold me, please. Help me not to break apart. I don’t know. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t fight, I can’t breathe, I… I need you to hold me and tell me everything’s gonna be fine because I’m so tired.” She broke off into a breathy sob. “I’m so fucking tired, Matt. I don’t want to be alone. I can’t.”

“It’s okay. Just keep breathing. I got you.”

She nodded against his thigh, tears staining his slacks darker. “Thank you,” the words came between shakes.

He shifted to get out of his suit jacket. Eliza shivered as it went around her bare shoulders. It smelled like him. “Put this on,” he nudged gently. “Lift your arms for me.”

Her limbs were heavy. She strained. The cotton almost swallowed her whole.

“There you go. Better?”

She nodded.

“Good. Take what you need. I’m here.”

She hugged his jacket tighter. They became one.

The silence slowly became deafening. It was comfortable at first, but the more she listened to his heart, the more her thoughts began to spiral.

“Would you’ve kissed me?” she asked.

Matt tilted his head. “What?”

“Would you’ve kissed me? If I’d initiated it, I mean. Or would you’ve left, like you were planning to?”

He paused. His breath hitched. The legs underneath her shifted slightly. Eliza lifted her head. She slowly got back up, every muscle aching, but she wanted to look at him. She wanted to look into his eyes as she anticipated the answer.

He shuddered at the loss of her warmth. The smell of her mixed with his now further away. “Yeah,” he said.

“Yeah, what? You would’ve kissed me or you would’ve left?”

“You’re not gonna like my answer.”

“So, the latter.” The first crack ran through her heart.

“No, both.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means that if I’d kissed you, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. You don’t deserve to be treated like a toy that’s just being passed around.”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to do that,” she said.

“That’s the thing. I would never do that to you, Eliza. Never. You're not an object and you’re not a toy. From what I can tell, you’re capable of taking care of yourself. I’m gonna leave the fragility thing for you to judge. I mean, I can’t see you.”

Eliza’s mouth opened in surprise. “Did you just make a joke?”

He laughed, eyes crinkling. “Yeah, that was a bad one. Sorry.”

“No, it wasn’t,” she chuckled. “It’s just that people don’t usually joke about my problems other than myself.”

“We both have issues,” he stated. “Would be weird if we didn’t laugh about it. Why else would God have made us this way?”

“Ah, here comes the catholic. Good one.”

“Joking about trauma makes the magnitude of pain easier to bare.”

She placed her forehead on his shoulder. His scent filled her nose, filled her mind to the top. He tilted his head to the side, cheek running over her hair. His nose was buried so deep, that he felt and smelled every last bit of her.

“Thank you,” she said, muffled through the fabric of his dress shirt.

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. She barely felt it, only the ghost of his breath and slight wetness reminded her of this small gesture. Her heart skipped a beat. She was incapable of controlling it, her body just reacted. Her nose lifted to muzzle into his cheek. He exhaled, shaking, eyelids fluttered close.

“What if I were to kiss you right now?” she asked, barely breathing the words. She felt desperate, empty, and alone – he was the only one that could fill her needs one by one. He was the comfort she sought.

He chuckled breathlessly against her. “You won’t,” he said.

“I might.”

“You won’t. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re sad and confused. You crave touch more than anything right now. Your brain is probably foggy. You’re not lucid enough to make conscious decisions and doing anything other than hug you would be me taking advantage of you and I wouldn’t be able to live myself.”

Instead, she pressed her lips against the stubble around his jaw. “I like you,” she whispered into him then.

He placed one hand against her throat, foreheads touching once again. He kept it there, holding her flush against him. His hand didn’t apply pressure, he just stroked along her pulse point, grounding them both.

“I like you too,” he whispered back.

She sighed. “I should go home. Happy’s probably looking for me and I really can’t talk to Tony right now.”

“Let me take you.”

“No, I’m fine on my own.”

“You shouldn’t be.”

“I want to. Please. I just need to get out of here, clear my head.”

She distanced herself. Matt followed her face with his unseeing eyes, making sure she wasn’t lying as she spoke. Once he was positive she was telling the truth, simply uttering her wishes, he nodded, still hesitantly.

“Can you hand me my glasses?” he asked.

Eliza reached for them, slipping them back on his face. “I like your eyes,” she said. “But I understand why you wear them.”

“People stare,” he said.

“I know. You have nothing to be ashamed of though.”

“Thanks. I, uh, appreciate it.”

She stood up on wobbly legs, grabbing her heels from the corner she tossed them in. Her suit jacket came close behind. She slapped the dirt off.

“Here,” she attempted to slip out of Matt’s piece of clothing.

He lifted his hand, halting her movements. “Keep it,” he said. “It’s cold outside.”

“That is so cliché,” she said.

“Just worried about you.”

“I know and I appreciate that, but I can’t take your jacket. You’re gonna freeze.”

“I’m a big boy, cold doesn’t bother me.”

“What are you, Elsa?”

“If that makes me a Disney princess, sure.”

She snorted. “Can’t talk you out of this one, huh?” She played with the fabric of his suit absentmindedly. It was soft, freshly washed, and ironed. His scent was all over the fabric, mixed with whatever natural laundry detergent he used.

Matt shook his head. “No. You’re stuck with it now.”

“Okay then. I promise to bring it back to you tomorrow.”

“No rush. I have several suits in my closet.”

“Here I was, thinking you were gonna say bodies.”

He laughed, going in for a hug. She took his offer gladly. He was calm and comfortable in her presence. She held onto him tighter, hoping to keep him inside for just a little longer.

“Call a cab,” he said. “Text me when you get home. I need to know you’re alright. If anything happens, call me.”

“I’m gonna be fine,” she assured him.

“I know, just wanna make sure.”

She smiled. “Go back to the party. Have fun. And if anyone asks, you haven’t seen me.”

“My mouth’s closed.”

“Thank you.”

Eliza touched the door handle. “One more thing,” she said and turned around to face him. “You’re a good person, Matt.”

He leaned back for a moment, surprised at the sudden confession. His cane stood pressed to his chest as if it was the only thing keeping him upright. “How do you know?” he asked.

“I just do.” She opened the door. “Have a good night, Matthew.”

“You too, Eliza,” he smiled. “Take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

She hailed herself a cab home. The driver didn’t say anything. He didn’t comment on the smudged makeup or the suit jacket she buried herself in. Even as she silently cried in the backseat, trying her hardest to keep from sobbing, he didn’t speak. Once or twice he glanced back, worried, but his eyes returned to the road in an instant.

Her apartment was dead silent. The loneliness engulfed her in a tight hug. In the back of her head, she knew Daredevil was about to come around sometime that night. It was only eleven then.

Eliza lay down on her sofa. She didn’t even bother to turn the lights on. She hugged Matt’s suit jacket tightly around herself, letting the warmth relax her muscles. She was oh so tired. The night seemed less frightening to him.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, the tiredness taking over. Tony’s words, the speech, the eyes of the people in the crowd, and the pictures of her lost friends haunted her. She felt guilty, dragging Matt into her mess. He’d felt the need to take care of her like he had no other choice but to act. Everyone did.

He was probably still worried, not quite able to understand what happened. She should’ve never allowed him to take care of her, but deep down she knew damn well that he was the only one who cared to help. She needed someone, anyone; it just turned out to be him at that moment.

She wasn’t sure how long she slept. In hindsight, it must’ve been half an hour or two until it happened. A cold breeze reached through the window. Eliza opened her eyes. She was sure she’d closed the window before she even left the apartment, and it was still closed when she lay down. The floor tiles creaked. The sound wouldn’t have been audible to the untrained ear, but she heard it, loud and clear. This wasn’t paranoia or a bad dream. She was wide awake and aware that someone was in her apartment. Not only did the sounds give it away but the energy of another soul in the room hammered hard against her own.

She caught a glimpse of an empty wine bottle next to the sofa. Her gun was in the kitchen, it was too much of a stretch. Carefully, she reached for the glass. The tiles creaked louder. A whiff of cologne filled her nose. He came closer.

Eliza rolled off the leather, quick on her feet, pointing the makeshift weapon into the darkness. The silhouette halted. She barely saw him, the moonlight blocked by her own figure.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Are you using a wine bottle as a weapon?” he asked in return. The voice sounded familiar, but the adrenaline made it hard to pinpoint.

“The question is, why aren’t you using a wine bottle as a weapon?”

“What are you gonna do, Angel, stab me with it?”

She lowered the weapon. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

He chuckled breathlessly. “I’m not,” the words were barely out before his stance shifted and he fell face-first to the floor.

Eliza jumped in the air. “Jesus Christ!” She fumbled for the light switch.

Daredevil lay in her entrance hall. She should’ve put two and two together right then, but Eliza wouldn’t have been Eliza if she saw through the easiest of riddles without making it complicated first. His outfit was different. He wore a dress shirt with matching black slacks. Instead of his mask, he wore something that seemed like a scarf wrapped around the upper part of his head. Blood soaked through the white at the back. Beneath him, even more, blood came pooling out.

She methodically checked if he was alright to move. He protested, the pain of being shoved onto his back far too great to stay unconscious. His lips parted.

“Fuck!” Eliza cried out.

The white shirt was shredded, with deep cuts torn through at least five places. She couldn’t possibly tell in how many places the fabric was cut through. The blood was everywhere. It seeped through the white like a sponge. The dark red traveled all over his torso. In the shredded parts on the shirt, the blood came spurting like straight out of a geyser. The cuts went deep, deep into his skin, further than they should've been, drawing everything his heart had left out of him.

She placed two fingers against his throat. His pulse was weak. The thudding was faint. His heart seemed to be weak from pumping all the blood while losing it to the many incisions littered all over his flesh. Looking further, a thick trail ran down his face from underneath the mask. Blood colored his cheeks red. Some droplets made their way back into his body by passing his lips. He licked it away weakly.

“What the fuck happened?” she asked.

He frowned at the unusually high sound of her voice. “Got into a fight,” he said.

“This wasn’t a fight! You were straight-up impaled. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m gonna be fine. I just…”

“You should be in the hospital right now. I’m calling an ambulance.”

He grabbed her wrist harshly. “No! No hospitals,” he panted. “I need you- I need you to do it.”

Eliza bit her lip. The voice, the outfit – the blood was distracting, sure, but her mind kept reeling about the face behind the mask. The small voice that kept saying ‘it’s not possible’ turned from loud screams into nothing but a quiet, unsure affirmation. She’d always been exceptionally good at lying to herself, but this denial was a new high, even for her. The truth lay right before her eyes, yet she didn’t want to believe it. She tried listening to the small voice instead of the big one throwing names at her. Emphasis on tried.

She sat back on her heels, heart heavy in her chest. The thoughts incapacitated her, paralyzing her. She forgot to breathe.

“What’s wrong?” he choked out.

She didn’t move.

“Angel?”

“Take your mask off,” she said.

“What?”

“Take your mask off. I need to see your face.”

He shook his head weakly. “No.”

“I need to,“ - she shuddered -“I need to know. I need you to show me I’m wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I may be young, but I’m not stupid. Take it off !”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“Say it.”

He only sighed.

Eliza, exasperated, took matters into her own hands. She reached for his head.

“Don’t,” he struggled.

“No, I refuse to be lied to,” she said and slapped his weak hands away. “This is on you.” She pulled the mask off.

He really believed she was stupid enough to never figure it out. Even worse was that if he hadn’t shown up the way he did, she probably wouldn’t have, and it completely destroyed her. Her eyes watered. The truth hurt more than she anticipated. It drilled into her bones and settled in like a bad disease.

Brown eyes stared upwards. He knew what he’d done, she saw it in the depths of his irises, the doors to his soul. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Eliza squeezed the tears away. She wasn’t going to do this, she wasn’t going to show him how much this hurt her. She thought her world had crumbled once, that it wasn’t possible to ruin her anymore, but she’d been wrong. This hurt, bad. The realization that he really lied to her, all this time, leading two lives and playing with her - it was all too much.

“Save it, Matthew,” she said.

“Eliza-“

“No! Whatever pathetic excuse you have, I don’t want to hear it.”

She opened his shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you don’t die,” she said. “And then you’re gonna tell me the truth because I’m done being disappointed by the people I care about.”

“Please." He reached for her hand. “I never meant to lie to you.”

She glared at him. Could he see it? Matt was supposed to be blind. He wasn’t supposed to go out at night and beat up criminals. Her thoughts drove in circles. How could she have been so naïve and not realized it sooner? She should've felt it. She should've known he was one and the same person. Both men turned her world upside-down. She didn't want to believe it, perhaps she tricker herself for the very same reason she used to refuse to see the faults in her family - she didn't want to be disappointed or lose them or even both. She didn't want to be hurt again. Her heart was barely healed from what she went through. She knew another hit could be fatal. She should've known because now that the truth was out, she felt nothing but shame and regret. Death would've been much kinder than the monstrosity that was the realization of the man she cared so deeply about turning out to be someone else entirely.

“I thought you were different.”

The words cut sharper than the knife that stabbed him.

Matt had been in pain many times before that very moment. He’d been stabbed, shot, and beaten. Eventually, he got used to the pain and numb to the feeling. The magnitude of the situation didn't een come close to what he experienced before. It was the kind of pain that you were not prepared for. You can't prepare for something like that. The pain tore him up from the inside out. All the guilt he appointed himself saw his soul as the last feast he would ever have. He couldn’t see her face, but the pain in her eyes was visible even without sight. Even without his super senses, he could've told that the look on her face was pure agony. She wasn't scolding him or ready to beat him up - honestly, it would've been better than whatever he had to face. He hurt her, badly, and in return, he hurt himself. Her disappointment melting into unwanted rejection caused him the kind of pain that turned into self-hatred in its purest essence. He wanted to reach for her, hug her, cry into her shoulder how sorry he was, but she was distant. Not only emotionally but physically. She made sure to put enough distance between them so she didn't have to look too closely at him, afraid of what she might have done if she had taken the time to analyze him closer. Her heartbeat was calm - too calm - and her breathing burned even hotter on his skin. The lack of a proper reaction was worse than any emotional breakdown he expected her to show. He had planned for her to find out on her own terms, in a setting that was more comfortable and with enough time to explain. He wanted to control the damage he knew even back then he would inevitably cause because he was Matt Murdock, after all. He sabotaged everything in his way.

Eliza reacted the only way she knew how to, not at all. She only touched him where it was necessary to fix his wounds. She refused to look him in the eyes. For a second, she even considered not helping him at all. The evil part of her brain that used to be her standard of thought urged her to stop and let him suffer. It wanted him to bleed out the way her heart was slowly dying inside her chest. She wanted him to feel all the pain and more because the villain in her mind couldn't stand the thought of being hurt anymore than she already was. But this wasn't her anymore. She wasn't cruel. She was raised into a teenager by people who wanted her to be always kind. She tried to be understanding in the worst situations. Though it was hard to remain composure after something as heavy as this revelation came to light.

Her heart was millions of feet away from when he last touched her.

It was then Matt realized that whatever he dared to touch would eventually rot under his fingers, no matter how hard he tried to keep his lives separate. Daredevil wasn’t the reason his life went to shit, it was Matt Murdock who set out to ruin everything. He had no one else to blame but himself. Not even Daredevil could protect him from the addiction to hurting himself by screwing up over and over again until he was all alone with no one left to love him.

He desperately reached another hand out to her. Maybe it was all a bad dream. He needed more than just her fingertips to assert her presence. He needed to know she was still there.

She wasn't.

"Eliza," he said softly.

Her entire body jolted backward. "Don't touch me!" the demand was quiet yet harsh; to his ears, she was screaming.

He let his fingers fall back beside his mangled body. "Sorry," he said.

"Sorry won't fix this."

Sorry won't fix this. The words repeated in his mind over and over again. It wasn't the first time he heard something like that being said to him. He leaned his head back, neck bent over the back of the sofa. The material was rough underneath his now bare skin. It scraped and scratched him. He was in pain, simply hurting all over without a second to breathe. Matt knew then that he deserved it. He deserved every last ounce of pain he was in. Even if it had stopped, he would've been willing to do anything to make him bleed again just so he could suffer. He was a masochist of the highest order. He didn't get off on it, not this time. He wanted to feel pain because he hurt someone he deeply cared about. He wanted to rip his skin off and burn the remaining flesh over an open flame until he was screaming. He deserved it. The pain was only proof of the kind of man he really was.

She called him a good person before, he told her he wasn't, but she insisted there was hope for him after all. He had been foolish to believe her. She had been foolish to have faith in the words herself. But most importantly, she had been blind. She had been too blind to see the truth that was right in front of her eyes and for that alone, she wanted to follow this man to hell. There was nowhere else she would end up than the fiery pit beneath humanity. He surely wasn't going to heaven.

Sorry won't fix this. Matt wasn't easily scared, but this one scared him plenty. There was a high chance she meant it. And if there was no recovery from the truth this time, what else did he has left but the broken pieces of the life he destroyed for himself?

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skyloftsword · 10 months

Text

Gonna post my thoughts about Tears of the Kingdom here. Very, very positive I love this game, my new favorite game of all time but I have some minor issues with it. (Anyways my opinion without spoilers is: loved the story/characters, loved the music, loved running around this Hyrule again, loved the puzzles, Ultrahand is underwhelming but still fun, a few nitpicks and no DLC announced yet why Nintendo).

SPOILERS of course

I’ll start with my issues that I have with this game. Ultrahand is not as fun as I was expecting it to be. I still enjoy it of course but it does not control well at all. Also the reach is like super, super short which really just makes stuff more annoying than it needs to be. However for the most part I still really enjoyed using it. Also there’s a few things that should have been shown off/told because while I do have ideas about them and they don’t affect my experience at all, they still really should’ve been stated. These are pretty much my only notable issues with the game (also please give us dragon petting DLC Nintendo).

I love the story and characters so much. I love Rauru and Sonia’s relationship so much especially after doing the Stone Monuments side adventure. I really loved watching the memories especially since they told us what was going on instead of mostly just building up Link and Zelda’s relationship this time. The plot twist was very obvious but it still managed to hit harder than almost every other impactful moment in the franchise for me (I always make sure to give the Light Dragon a bunch of Silent Princesses and stay on her head for a while every time I play). The old sages are whatever but they served their purpose well enough. I didn’t mind the repeated cutscenes they gave because I just thought of that as them being for the new sages. Mineru was also a great character, I love her design so much. The new sages were great as well. Tulin was definitely the highlight of the bunch. Sidon and Riju were also great and I love that Sidon was still worried about losing his loved ones. The Regional Phenomena quests were also far more interesting as well because they weren’t just “shoot 5 targets and then fight a very easy (but cool) Divine Beast battle”. Not to mention the dungeons actually being the locations of folklore is great. Zelda was amazing in this game I want to have a spinoff where Link and her just goof around with no Ganondorf or evil guy (let them be happy Nintendo).

The music of this game is absolutely incredible. I cannot put into words how much I love the Colgera and Demon Dragon themes. Not to mention the main theme hits so much harder after completing the story (I cannot listen to the ending of it without shedding a tear). I love the ambience while running around Hyrule and I really do not mind that a lot of BotW tracks were reused (because they’re also good, also MM reused a number of OoT tracks as well). Though I would have really loved a jukebox feature like Odyssey and Frontiers have so I can listen to songs while roaming Hyrule.

Anyways roaming around Hyrule and seeing what changed really made me feel how I felt back on March 3rd, 2017. Back then I felt like I was never going to have this feeling ever again, but nope, this game managed to bring that feeling back once again despite even finishing a 100% playthrough of BotW a week before launch. I love running around Hyrule with the sage ghost things so much too. I will say, everyone is right about them being annoying as hell to activate.

So uh yeah, I love Tears of the Kingdom to death. I love this Hyrule, this cast, pretty much everything about it aside from a few issues. Now please Nintendo, move on from this Hyrule and cast. Let the next Zelda game be more unique.

#totk spoilers #I love this game so much #totk

0 notes

poisonedapples · 3 years

Text

Patton’s Home for Traumatized Kids - Chapter Three

New School and Friendships

Chapter Summary: Roman has his first day in a new district while some bonds are strengthened.

First Chapter Previous Chapter Story Masterlist

Warnings: Past abuse mentions, mentions of hidden cameras, anxiety, some bullying, crying, and food mentions

Chapter Word Count: 5,860

Taglist: @shade-romeo, @grayson-22, @pixelated-pineapple, @acrobaticcatfeline, @astrozei, @edupunkn00b, @princey-7258

“Hey, dad?”

“Yeah?” Roman’s dad turned to face him. Roman felt his whole body start to shake.

“You know how you said that…I could ask for anything from you? Since, uh- since you didn’t know what present to get me last time?”

His dad smiled in a way so normal it was disturbing. “Got an idea?”

“Yeah, uh…I want a canopy bed.”

His dad’s face dropped, and Roman could feel the anxiety and regret bloom through his chest. “You know why I can’t do that, Roman.”

“Please? I know it’s probably a bit much to replace my whole bed frame, but I could make my own canopy for cheaper! I’ve already looked at a bunch of ways online how, I just need you to buy the materials-”

“It’s a no.” Roman’s dad looked angry, and Roman would’ve done anything to run the other direction at that moment. To burst out the door and never come back. “Nice try, Roman, but I’m not stupid. Come back when you have a better idea.”

Roman blinked to fight back the tears. “…I’m sorry.”

“Go back to your room.”

Roman ran up the stairs as fast as he could, wishing more than anything that there was a lock on his door. Instead, Roman took his desk chair and propped it against the knob for some kind of security, curling into the corner of his room as he shook and tugged at his hair.

He tried to block out the knowledge of the security camera on his shelf, hidden well but not well enough, pointed right at his bed.

***

Several fast knocks came onto Roman’s bedroom door, waking him up with a jerk. He groggily pushed open the curtain in front of his head to grab his phone and look at the time. Six o’clock on the dot, it read. Ugh.

The knocking on the door didn’t stop, and Roman whined. “What?” He called out.

“Get dressed, we need to leave the house by 6:30.” He heard Logan call back.

“Fine, fine.” Roman pushed the curtains out of the way and practically rolled out of bed, grabbing the clothes he’d organized for himself the night before. He put on a pair of jeans with a white and red t-shirt, nothing fancy but fancy enough for a first day surrounded by strangers. He grabbed his backpack and put his phone and some earbuds in his pocket before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

“Morning, kiddo!” Patton chirped as he made breakfast, “Didja sleep well?”

“Yes, I did.” That was a lie. He had some strange dream where his dad was also there, and he only managed to calm down and fall back asleep an hour ago. He still couldn’t stop thinking about it, even if the dream was hazy now.

“Good to hear! Be ready by 6:30 so I can drive all of you to the school. Then once you get there, you can ask about your schedule at the office.” Patton laid down a plate of bagels with cream cheese and strawberries in front of Roman, so Roman began to eat.

Once he finished his breakfast, Roman rushed back upstairs to style his hair and brush his teeth before they had to leave. As he brushed his teeth, he stared at the shower to the left of him and sighed. He touched his hair, feeling the grease slick onto his fingers.

He really needed to shower. He hadn’t showered since he got here, and with how thick his hair was it was really starting to gross him out. He hated feeling greasy and grimy, but Roman hadn’t checked the bathroom for cameras yet and he refused to shower until he did. Though, he knew that was also just an excuse. Roman also felt too tired to take care of himself.

Just brush your teeth, he thought, they told you that if you can’t shower, at least brush your teeth. Greasy hair can be fixed, cavities are expensive.

He spit out the toothpaste into the sink and rinsed out his mouth. He grabbed some face wash and decided to use it as quickly as he could to hold back the gross feeling he felt. It would help him feel a little cleaner, at least. A little more presentable for the first day.

A loud bang came onto the door. “Roman, hurry up!” Virgil called out, “Some of us need to piss!”

“Just a second!” Roman vigorously splashed water on his face and quickly dried it with a towel, rushing out of the bathroom so that Virgil could run in. He sighed again, walking downstairs to wait on the couch until it was time to go.

“Alrighty, everyone got everything?” Patton eventually asked, making Roman crack open the eyes he didn’t even realize he closed. Patton smiled and clapped his hands together when his response was tired hums of agreement. “Perfect! To the car!”

All three kids bunched themselves together in the back of Patton’s car, Roman and Virgil at the window seats while poor Logan was squished in the middle. Roman squeezed his legs together so he could fit his backpack between Logan and himself, acting as a barrier so Logan couldn’t touch him. It was uncomfortable, but it was what Roman had to do.

“So, Roman, are you excited?” Patton asked, making Roman open his eyes again to look at Patton through the rearview mirror. Roman leaned his head against the window.

“More nervous. I’ve never been to a new school before.”

“Well, hopefully you can make lots of friends here! The school is pretty big, so there are certainly lots of options!” Patton laughed at himself and Roman closed his eyes again.

We’ll see about that.

Eventually, after a failed attempt of getting in some extra minutes of sleep before school, Roman felt the car come to a stop. He opened his eyes and looked out the window to see the front of the large school building, kids with smiling faces talking to each other as they walked inside while others looked tired yet excited. Roman wasn’t feeling it.

“Alright, kiddos, have fun!” Patton exclaimed, “Remember to check in with the office for your schedule, Roman!”

All the kids started to pile out of the car, grabbing their bags off the floor to rush inside. Once they were all out, Patton’s car drove away to head for work.

Roman looked at the building as Logan and Virgil walked inside. It seemed huge compared to his old school, where the county was much more rural than here. They still had twenty minutes until school started and kids were already swarming in from multiple entrances, both from the main entrance and other doors connected around the building. Roman walked inside and held his arms close to himself, desperate not to be shoved around by the other students.

The office was fairly easy to find, considering there was a giant sign over the door in bold, white letters reading Office. Roman opened the door and stepped inside to get in line, feeling a little bit better that he wasn’t the only student having first day issues. The line shrank very quickly until it was Roman’s turn to ask questions, being faced with an old lady who could either be very sweet or the rudest person in the building. Roman could never tell.

“Uh, I’m a new kid at this school, and my guardian told me to come here to get my schedule?” Roman asked.

“Name.” Okay, well, rude it was, then.

“Roman Goldsberry.”

The desk worker didn’t respond, only typed something on her computer and didn’t make eye contact. “Next door to your left of that entrance is the counselor’s office. Your counselor is Mrs. Walters and she’ll call for you shortly.”

“Okay, thank you.” Roman had never scurried out of an office so quickly in his life. So much for a great first impression.

In the other office, Roman sat on a waiting chair and awkwardly glanced at all the college items they had hung up on the walls, waiting until his name would be called. The school day hasn’t even started yet, what’s taking them so long?

Roman drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair and waited. There was a lot of college stuff in this room. Granted, high school’s whole thing was trying to take you to college, his old school was the exact same. And he should really start thinking about that stuff since he’s a sophomore now. He only had two more years left after this, but it’s not like he could go anyway. He wasn’t even supposed to graduate high school, let alone college.

Besides, his dream was stupid anyway, so it didn’t matter.

“Roman Goldsberry?” A voice called out, taking Roman out of his thoughts. Roman stood up to follow the counselor into her office.

“I’m Mrs. Walters, and it’s nice to meet you Roman!” She said cheerily as she sat at her desk with Roman sitting right in front of her. “Your schedule was a bit last minute to pull together, but I tried my hardest based on your last school’s transcript and your test scores from last standardized testing. All I need is to schedule some extra electives for you. You have advanced English 12, advanced geometry, advanced biology, and world history. You can also choose Spanish 3 here if you wish to continue that. You also still need your gym credit, so you can take regular PE or strength training. I also have a list of other electives here if you want to look at that.”

“Yeah, I can look.” The counselor handed Roman a paper of all the electives organized by their subject. Well, Roman definitely wanted to continue Spanish, so that choice was easy. Strength training sounded like a fun way to do gym class with less dodgeballs to the face, but it was only a semester long, so he’d need to pick another semester class for the second half of the year. And he could join another painting or drawing class as his last elective, but he’d already taken those at his old school…

Roman gazed at the arts section of the packet, trying to find something he might like. His eyes lit up as he noticed the names of two classes: set design, which was a semester long and sounded magical, and something called sculpture. “What does the sculpture class teach?” Roman asked.

“It’s an art class that teaches you how to sculpt with different things. Like clay, wood, things like that. It’s a very hands-on class if you’re interested.”

Roman smiled. “I want that one then.”

The counselor typed something into her computer. “Have you chosen your other classes?”

“Yes, Spanish 3, set design, and strength training.”

“I’ll put you in strength training for this semester, but next semester you can join the set design class. I’ll email your elective teachers to inform them you’ll be joining their classes, but for now…” The counselor printed off a piece of paper and handed it to Roman. “This is your new schedule. Your first class is English with Ms. Fritz, and her class should be up on the third floor at room 316. Do you think you can make it there?”

“I can, thank you.”

The counselor smiled. “Have a nice first day.”

Roman walked off to head toward his first class, going up two flights of stairs and wandering across half the floor before he finally found his classroom. Thankfully, the halls were full of students desperately trying to locate their classrooms, so Roman didn’t feel as weird. He eventually stumbled upon the correct room number after checking multiple hallways and trying to follow their scattered number system. He looked at the door with a paper rabbit and a book with a phrase reading hop into a good book, and could guess immediately what type of teacher this would be.

Roman pushed open the half-cracked door and stepped inside.

The dozen kids who were already sitting stared at him when he walked in, but quickly resumed their conversations shortly after. Roman glanced at an empty seat off in the middle row near the other end of the class and moved to sit down in it. He looked around at the other kids off in their own worlds, with no one to get excited to see him and strike up a conversation. He was sitting alone in a class where it seemed like no one else was.

Roman got bored quickly with no one to talk to, drumming his fingers on the table and starting to daydream instead.

The long lost princess with the power to see into the future is forced to hide in protected wilderness, Roman thought, picking up from an old story idea he’s had for a while. Can’t have a teen novel without an orphan, so she lives with a guardian healer instead. Then, she needs a trusty companion to not only start her adventures, but to assist her alongside them. Perhaps he could be a peasant boy born with more magic power than the normal peasant has? It sure would be interesting. Or maybe, he’s not a trustworthy companion at all! What if he’s using the princess to promote his own selfish ideals? But as the story goes on, they actually become close friends and he has an intense internal conflict as he turns into the antagonist! Then maybe-

“Alright class, I think it’s been late enough for us to start!” Roman tried not to be aggravated at the teacher for interrupting him. The teacher stood at the front of the class with a wide smile. “I’m Ms. Fritz, but of course I’m sure a lot of you already know that since you had me last year. I teach all grade levels for advanced English, so if you keep down this path you might stick with me until graduation! Now normally, teachers will start their first day with class expectations, maybe a rubric or a supplies list, but I have a better idea! How about we travel across the class and try to get to know each other better? I can pass around a ball, and if you catch the ball, you have to share three fun facts about you!”

A sense of dread filled into Roman after hearing that. He usually didn’t mind games like this since it was a mindless way to pass the time, but he didn’t have any friends to pass him the ball anymore. Was he just going to sit there until the end? Sounded awkward, no thank you.

“I think,” Ms. Fritz said with her hand gripping her chin in thought, “I’m going to start with the new kid.”

Roman perked his head up as all the other kids turned to him. Well, that was unexpected.

Ms. Fritz tossed Roman the ball, and thankfully he caught it without making a fool of himself. The teacher smiled at him encouragingly as he stood up, looking around at all the kids waiting for him to talk. What should I even say?

“Can you say your name first?” Ms. Fritz asked.

“Well…I’m Roman. Uh, I like to paint, I’m half french, and…” Roman tried to think. What else was interesting about him? Something that shared a lot about him as a person?

Quickly, it dawned on him. One idea that I could possibly share, he thought. Well, it’s a bit invasive, but they’re all looking at me. So whatever.

He took a deep breath in. “…I’m a foster kid.”

When Roman admitted that, all the kids seemed to be more interested in him, leaning closer as their eyes widened. It was the first time Roman ever said it aloud, and it was so strange to hear coming from his mouth. He was a foster kid. That was an important part of his identity now.

He didn’t know how he felt about it.

“You’re half french?” Ms. Fritz pulled Roman out of his thoughts with that question. “Do you know any french?”

“I’m fluent.”

“That’s so cool! Can you say something in French for us?”

Roman seemed to think about it. “Quelque chose.”

Ms. Fritz blinked. “Well, I hope it was appropriate to say in a classroom. When did you move here, Roman?”

“Like…four days ago. Very recently.”

“You only got added to my roster last night, so I believe you! How about you pass the ball to another kid now?”

Roman looked around the room awkwardly before making eye contact with a random girl and tossing her the ball. He sat back down and only paid half his attention to what the other kids were saying. Well, at least he didn’t have to wait awkwardly anymore.

The rest of the class went like that. It seemed like a lot of these kids were students that Ms. Fritz had in the past, as well as being students that were also close friends with each other. They talked a lot and made lots of jokes with the teacher, and they seemed really close, which Roman understood since he was the same with his old group of advanced kids. The extra conversation dragged the game out longer than it probably should have been, but Roman didn’t mind. He didn’t want to actually work or anything anyway.

Eventually, the game ended, and the last kid tossed the ball to Ms. Fritz. “Alright,” she said, “That game dragged out longer than I thought it would, but that’s fine! The bells are shorter the first few days anyway. We only have a couple minutes left, so talk amongst yourself if you want, I don’t care. The assembly should be after your fourth bell for the sophomores, so don’t let your teachers forget!”

All the students turned around to talk to the kids around them. Roman simply watched their conversations with no one to talk to himself, realizing how all the new kids at his old school must have felt. It was like looking in from the outside, where no one else could see you. Roman was just…there.

“Hey,” the kid in front of him turned around to face Roman. Roman almost jumped at the sudden attention. “What’s your name again?”

“Oh, Roman. Roman Goldsberry.” Roman turned to sit properly in his seat and leaned in closer. This was a good start! He seems nice, maybe I can make a friend!

“Roman Goldsberry!” He mocked, turning to his other friends to laugh. “That’s such a pretentious name. And very American sounding, by the way. I thought you were French?”

Roman’s shoulders sagged. Nevermind. Eight in the morning on my first day, and apparently I’ve made an enemy before a friend. “I’m half french, not fully french.”

The kid turned to his friends and made a face at them before they all laughed. Roman felt his blood boil.

“So your dad is the American?” The kid asked.

“Yes.” Roman hoped his sharp tone would help them realize not to mess with him.

“Are you close with your dad?”

Roman froze, and the group of kids turned to each other to make faces at each other again. He really didn’t see what was so funny. Who asks a complete stranger a question like that out of the blue?

Before Roman could snap and tell the kid to mind his own damn business, another kid from the other side of the room scoffed. “Mitchell.”

“What? I’m just asking!”

The other kid opened their mouth to retaliate, but a loud and obnoxious bell went off before they could. Kids started to get up to rush to their next class, and Roman joined them. The sooner he got away from Mitchell (who had no right to bully Roman for his name when he was called Mitchell), the better.

Roman rushed out into the hall and hyper focused on the schedule in his hands. World history, room 203. The next floor down.

Roman was so occupied in trying to find a flight of stairs, he didn’t notice the kid trying to catch up to him.

***

The rest of Roman’s day wasn’t half as eventful as his first bell. History class had a chill teacher, which was nice, then next was his strength training class. His teacher was a little confused when he showed up but was happy to have Roman on board. He seemed very strict with his class rules though, and Roman hated that considering one of his rules was they had to change into gym clothes. Which meant Roman had to wear gym shorts.

…Well, guess he’d have to get used to wearing multiple pairs of boxers again.

Besides that, he also got lost on his way to sculpture, so he showed up ten minutes late telling this random teacher he was her student now. At least she didn’t seem bothered. After that, they all went to the sophomore assembly where they were told the school rules and updates, which Roman’s pretty sure he was the only kid who actually listened. Then, after the assembly, Roman went to the cafeteria to eat a lunch that Patton packed him. He hadn’t actually brought a packed lunch to school in years, so the sentiment was…strange.

Not that Roman would complain about an edible lunch, though.

Roman looked around the cafeteria for a place to sit. The place was starting to become crowded as more students got out of line for buying lunch, so Roman needed to find a spot fast. It’d be easier if he made a friend to sit with, but after the morning Mitchell incident, Roman hadn’t cared to try again in his other classes.

That’s when Roman spotted him. A kid with thick glasses eating a fruit cup as he worked on some papers next to him, completely ignoring the world to finish some homework. Roman wasn’t exactly close with his foster brothers, but hey, maybe Logan could prove himself a little useful. He had to be lonely too, right?

Roman took his chance and sat across from Logan. Logan didn’t look up from his papers. “Hey there, nerd!”

Logan glanced an eye toward Roman. He focused back on his work. “Hello.”

“How’s your first day of high school going?”

It took Logan a solid minute before he responded. “It’s going alright. I got unlucky with a teacher of mine, who already gave us a homework packet for the week, so I’m trying to get a head start on it.”

“Really? What teacher?”

“Mr. Owens, he’s the more strict teacher of the two that teach medical technology.”

Roman’s eyes widened. “Medical technology? That’s a class here?”

“Yes. I had to do a lot of things last year to get into it, however. It’s part of the intensive medical learning path. However, the extra work is necessary.”

“…Right. What other classes are you in?”

“Advanced biology, advanced geometry, advanced English, medical tech as I just mentioned, German 2, health, and painting.”

Roman tilted his head to the side. “Wait, I thought most of those were sophomore classes?”

“And I took freshman classes my eighth grade year. Your point?”

Roman blinked. “…Fair enough.”

Roman brought out his own sandwich and ate it in awkward silence. Logan seemed so focused on his paper that he wasn’t saying a word, and trying to spark conversation with him when he was like this was next to impossible. He felt like he was intruding by sitting next to Logan, the air feeling thick for a reason Roman couldn’t quite place. Once he finished his sandwich, Roman had enough.

“I think…” Roman said, “I’m going to sit…somewhere else.”

Logan didn’t react. “Alright.”

Roman stood up and awkwardly shuffled to an empty spot at a table on the other side of the cafeteria, placing down his lunch box and trying again. Well, he thought as he opened up a cheese stick wrapper, better get used to being alone, then.

“Hey, excuse me?”

Roman looked up at the voice while he was mid-bite. It was the same kid who scolded Mitchell back in his English class, tired circles under their eyes and a gray sweater on despite it being August. Though, Roman had been freezing in most of his classes today, so maybe this person had the right idea.

“Oh- I’m sorry, were you sitting here?” Roman asked.

“No, you’re fine, I just…” The kid looked side to side anxiously. “…Mind if I sit with you?”

“…Oh! No, I don’t mind at all.”

The kid smiled and set their lunchtray across from Roman. “Thanks. I’m Elliott by the way, they/them pronouns.”

Roman’s brain took a minute to process what they meant. “Uh, hello! I’m Roman…he/him?”

Elliott seemed to get happier when he said that. “Nice to meet you. How’s your first day been so far? Besides for you-know-who this morning.”

Roman laughed. “Well, aside from that uncalled for mess, it’s been quite normal. I got lost a few times, but that’s not new for me. My teachers seem quite alright so far.”

“That’s good to hear. We have a lot of good teachers, I think, unless they teach calculus, then they have some serious issues. But so long as you don’t act like an idiot it’s easy to get past those teachers.”

“I’ll keep that in mind! Hopefully I stay on this hot streak, though.” Roman took out a water bottle from his lunch and started to drink it. “But it’s the students I’m more worried about. They all seem so off on their own. Or just outright rude like that guy this morning.”

Elliott groaned, leaning his head on his hand and slouching. “I’m really sorry about him. He can be a huge jerk for no reason. I think he’s just itching for a fight.”

“You seem to know him quite well. Old friend or something?” Roman asked.

Elliott groaned again. “…He’s my ex.”

“…No offense to your type or anything, but…ew.”

“Oh no, yeah, dating him was definitely an ew,” Elliot sighed. “We broke up like, four times in the span of a year and a half. It was a mess. Eventually, over the summer I broke up with him for good. I think he’s still upset about that and taking it out on the first easy target he finds. That, and he’s a jerk.”

“Well, he’ll soon learn I’m not one to be described as an easy target.” Roman gave a cocky smile and posed.

The bell sounded off again, and all the students stood up from their tables and started to swarm the trash cans and cafeteria exits. Roman and Elliott gave each other a look as they also stood up.

“So…what class do you have next?” Elliott asked nervously.

“Let’s see…” Roman pulled out the schedule from his pocket and looked at it. “Advanced biology with Mr. Weber.”

Elliott’s eyes lit up. “Me too! Uh…wanna walk together then? I can show you where it is.”

Roman smiled. “Of course!”

The two kids headed down the stairs, talking more and laughing long after they sat down in the class and the bell rang. Roman continued to whisper to Elliott during class until the teacher gave them both a warning glance, shutting their mouths but smiling at each other.

Even as Roman tried to pay attention, he felt a weight lift from his chest.

He’d obtained a friend after all!

***

The entire bus drive home, Roman spent it texting Elliott’s number that they’d given him right after biology ended. He talked about his last two classes and listened to Elliott ramble about his bad luck with classmates this year, grinning to himself with his eyes glued to his screen until his stop came. Virgil banged his fist on Roman’s seat to get his attention, making him jump and stand up to get off with Virgil and Logan.

During the walk home, no one said anything. Roman was off in his own world and Virgil just looked tired, with Logan staring intently at his own shoes as he walked. Virgil unlocked the door for them all to come inside, and they all branched off into their different directions. Virgil got a snack from the kitchen while Roman and Logan ran up to their rooms.

Roman spent a lot of his time in his room now that he’d gotten the curtains around his bed. Lying there was a lot softer than hiding on the bathroom floor with his legs propped up, and Roman was still confused as to how he managed to get away with installing this. He’d have to make sure Patton never entered his room again in case he planned to rip the curtains off their hooks.

He’d have to make a plan to effectively keep him out.

But for now, Roman actually needed to talk to Patton as soon as possible. He needed to ask for gym clothes, since that was the only thing Roman still needed to get for class, and he wanted to get it over with so Roman wouldn’t need to keep worrying about it. He was almost certain Patton had come home half an hour ago, but Roman just ignored him and stayed in his room. But he had to take advantage of the fact that he was remembering to ask for the clothes, so there was no time like the present to go find him.

Roman hopped out of bed and exited his room, making his way downstairs to the living room. He figured Patton would be either watching TV or doing something in the kitchen, but when Roman looked around, he didn’t see him anywhere. Virgil was sprawled across the couch on his phone, but no one else was around. Roman put his hands on his hips.

“Where’s Patton?” He asked Virgil.

Virgil didn’t look up. “Upstairs. In his room I think.”

Roman groaned and stomped back upstairs. He hated going into an adult’s room, so he instead opened the door and poked his head in so he wouldn’t have to step inside. But before he could get a word out to Patton, Roman stopped himself.

Patton was sitting on his bed with the lights dimmed, his back resting in the headboard, but what shocked Roman was that Logan was there also. He had his face hidden in Patton’s neck as Patton rubbed his back and played with his hair, holding him tight to his chest while Logan sniffled. Roman had never seen Logan emote before, so watching him cry was…disturbing. Roman wanted to run over and rip Logan from Patton to protect him.

Patton looked at Roman in the doorway and smiled. “You gotta remember to knock before entering, kiddo. What do you need?”

Roman forgot the main reason he came here. “Is Logan okay?”

Patton looked down at Logan and whispered something in his ear. Whatever Patton said, Logan agreed with a quiet nod of his head. Patton rubbed at Logan’s neck in a way that made Roman’s skin crawl as Patton began to speak. “He’ll be okay, kiddo. He’s just a little overwhelmed from school today. Do you need anything?”

Roman took a step inside Patton’s bedroom. It made his whole body shift into fight or flight, but he couldn’t leave Logan alone with him in good conscience. “I just wanted to say I need to buy gym clothes by next Wednesday. I’m in a strength training class this semester.”

Patton smiled. “That’s fine, we can go shopping this weekend.”

Roman looked down at the floor. “Well…I was more thinking, like…I go into the store while you wait in the car.”

Patton raised an eyebrow at him. “I need to buy the clothes, kiddo.”

“You can just give me the money. I’ll stay within the budget and give you any left over, so…please?”

Patton’s face dropped a little, but he didn’t get angry, so Roman considered that a win. “Sure, kiddo. We’ll do that Sunday.”

Even after the conversation seemed to end, Roman still stood near the door, shifting on his feet awkwardly. Patton shifted his eyes between Logan and Roman as if he was analyzing both of their mental states, but Roman’s throat felt stuck as he tried to bring out the words he wanted to say. He was so scared, but he couldn’t force himself to ask the question he knew he needed to ask now. Yet his feet refused to make a run for it out the door despite his fear.

“Do you need something else, kiddo?” Patton lightly prompted. Roman attempted to swallow the rock he felt in his throat.

“Can I…Can I stay with you and Logan?” He hated it, but he had to do it. He didn’t know what Patton would try when Logan was vulnerable.

Patton looked down at Logan, and Logan nodded. Patton turned to smile again. “You can if you want, Logan doesn’t mind.”

Roman carefully walked to the other side of the bed, sitting as far as possible from Patton but keeping his eyes glued to Logan. He knew he wasn’t helping much, not saying a word and not even being close, but it was something Roman had to do. Just because him and Logan weren’t close didn’t mean he’d leave him in danger. Even if Roman felt stuck in his head and couldn’t find the power to move his arms.

Roman sat there for a while, watching Logan’s chest rise as Patton rubbed his back. It felt like ages before Logan’s chest slowed and he fell asleep on top of Patton, somehow not caring at all about being asleep in Patton’s presence. Roman’s heart ached for him. He was too trusting and innocent for his own good.

“I gotta do some chores,” Patton whispered, “So I’m gonna tuck him in and let him nap. Do you still wanna stay with him?”

Roman nodded, not being able to get the words out himself. He felt stuck as Patton lifted Logan up gently, petting his hair to soothe him when he stirred. Roman helped by tugging the covers back from his end of the bed so that Patton could tuck him in and let go of him sooner, his hand on the back of Logan’s leg making Roman anxious. Patton tucked Logan under the covers and watched his reaction. After a few seconds, Patton grabbed a squishy stuffed frog from his bedside table, handing it to Logan who curled around it in his sleep. It’d be cute if Roman wasn’t so worried.

“Tell me if anything happens, okay kiddo?” Patton said right as he was halfway out the bedroom door. Roman nodded, only finally relaxing after Patton left and slowly closed the door.

Roman immediately ran over to lock it. He didn’t have his security bar, but this would be good enough. Hopefully Patton wouldn’t test anything when he knew Roman would be by Logan’s side.

Despite all of Roman’s worries, Logan slept peacefully on the bed. He didn’t shift or seem distressed at all, just snuggling closer to Patton’s stuffed frog and resting. Logan was calm.

Roman sat on the floor to block the door and watched to make sure no one took that away from him.

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legends-live-in-memories · 3 years

Text

Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century

AYO! Day 2 of MGI Trope Tussle! Team Enemies-to-Lovers for the win. I bring you another oneshot. but this time i used 3 prompts like a dumbass.

Fics Masterlist

Daminette Oneshot 4.3K words (no warnings except slight cursing)

Summary:

“Marinette is invited to the Super-Rockin' Wedding of the Century and she needs a date. Alya is both her best and worst wingman.”

Day 2 of MGI Trope Tussle, I used 3 prompts to make this thing: 1. "You don't have to like me, you just need to pretend you do." 2. "I like your costume. You look very cute." "Are you making fun of me?" 3. 'Write about a very unusual wedding proposal.' this is the culmination of all my efforts.

without further ado:

It was the biggest news on the internet. Global sensation, international rockstar, Jagged Stone, was officially engaged to childhood friend turned manager, Penny Rolling. Memes and fan theories stormed every corner of the web. Trending topics including #rockstar_wedding and #RollingStone permeated every social media platform. Guest lists were speculated, dress designers were tagged in every post that even mentioned the words ‘wedding’ or ‘bride’. It was total mayhem but none felt it worse than up-and-coming Parisian designer, M. D. Cheng, privately known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The young adult was up to her neck in design templates, and was drowning in half-baked ideas and sketches. While the internet has only heard about the proposal for a solid two weeks at this point, Marinette was in the know for six months. Jagged Stone had contacted her in advance because he needed her help with the proposal itself.

And what a proposal it was.

Jagged had outlined his idea in simple terms but it was still so mind-boggling that Marinette needed him to draw some visual aids to completely convey his idea. Initially it sounded simple enough but the more the man spoke, the more Marinette felt her brain fry at the mental picture. It first involved recreating a scene from Penny’s favourite movie. Which sounded rather romantic, if you ignored the fact that her favourite movie was Bride of Chucky. Then it involved Jagged dressed as the Tinman from Wizard of Oz. Oh, and the proposal had to happen on Halloween because that was the anniversary of their first date apparently, and based on everything else this plan entailed it might as well have been. Marinette’s role in all of this was to simply re-make the white wedding dress Chucky’s bride, Tiffany, wore because Penny already had the leather jacket to match. Of course she did. She didn’t even want to know how Jagged acquired the Tinman suit. Not her barrel of monkeys.

While many thought Jagged was the eccentric one of the pair, due to his loud personality and being an actual rockstar, the more Marinette worked for the two of them over the years, the more she learned how absolutely wrong they all were. It turned out it was Penny’s idea for Jagged to dye his hair purple, and she was the one to ask him out on Halloween all those faithful years ago. Her calm and collected demeanor was an impressive cover for the absolute weirdo she actually was. And Jagged had planned a proposal that was undoubtedly perfect for her. Regardless of how abso-fucking-lutely bizarre it was.

To each their own and let’s move on.

The set-up for the proposal started with Jagged, dressed as the Tinman, playing the part of Chucky, who begins the body-switching chant from the movie. Everything from that point on was resting on Penny’s love for the movie. Without hesitating, Penny, dressed as Tiffany, and playing her part, knew the lines by heart and immediately began reenacting the scene with Jagged. Her lines involved telling ‘Chucky’ to kiss her while she reaches for a knife that’s supposed to be in his pocket. Instead, as Jagged was still dressed as the Tinman, Penny pulled out a slip of paper. On said paper, the words ‘All the Tinman wanted was a heart’ were written in Jagged’s almost illegible chicken scratch. When Penny was distracted with the piece of paper, Jagged had gotten down on one knee and pulled out the engagement ring. The actual words of his proposal were never actually said because, upon seeing the ring, Penny flung herself into the man, clipping her chin into his metal-plated shoulder, but she wasn’t complaining.

So that was how the proposal went.

Wedding planning started almost immediately since the newly engaged had already picked a theme. And this is where Marinette began to regret every life choice she has made since she was thirteen; starting with opening the mysterious box she found on her desk and ending with agreeing to being the main designer for the Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. One thing that wasn’t well-known but not a secret about Jagged was that he was a superhero fan. He grew up enjoying the fictional ones in his childhood comic books and he adored the real ones he witnessed in his adult life. His song that he dedicated to the teenage Ladybug was only one part of his… appreciation. His hero-worship went so far as to beieve that a hero-themed wedding was appropriate. Or he didn’t, but also didn’t care about adhering to societal propriety and went with that theme anyways. So the Rockin’ Wedding of the Century was now the Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. And twenty-three year old Marinette was incharge of the entire wedding party’s outfits.

Perfect.

As a small mercy from some god, both the bride and groom to-be had a rather short list of people in their parties. Marinette was also able to design appropriate hero-themed outfits for all of them and scheduled them for fittings in the coming weeks. That, surprisingly, was the easy part as there were plenty of heroes to draw inspiration from. However, that wasn’t the cause of her current crisis right now.

No. Marinette was up to her neck in unnecessary designs and ideas because she’s been avoiding one particular contingency in her acceptance of the wedding invitation.

She needed a date.

She needed a date because she had promised Penny that she wasn’t overworking herself and to prove it, she would bring a date to the wedding. Rather than call any of the people who expressed interest in her at some point in time, she designated herself to wallow in her situation and distract herself with designs. In the midst of her one person pity party, her phone rang under the sea of ripped out pages. She scoured for the device and hastily answered before she could accidently send the caller to voicemail.

“Hello?” She didn’t check the caller ID and was delighted at the sound of her best friend answering her.

“Marinette! How’s it going over there?” Alya’s voice was mixed in with the busy street life of Metropolis. She had moved there immediately after high school, snatching an internship with the Daily Planet and attending the local community college. She and Marinette don’t call often due to time differences, but when they do it’s like they’ve never parted. She always looked forward to her calls.

“It’s going great, Als,” if she ignored her current dilemma, then yeah, everything was perfect. “But you wouldn’t happen to have an available bachelor willing to be my date to the ‘Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century’ in your back pocket, would you?”

Alya’s answering laugh was both comforting and teasing and Marinette felt herself missing her even more. What she said next, however, took Marinette by surprise.

“Actually I do.”

“Pardon?”

“Well,” she took a pause to build suspense. “I know a guy who knows a guy. But it’s nothing shady, I swear.”

“That’s not comforting.” Oh god. What has she unintentionally signed herself up for?

“You know my coworker, Jon? The guy who does the photography for all my field work?” Alya had met Jon as soon as she had started her internship. Both of his parents were top journalists at the Daily Planet so he volunteered to act as tour guide for all the new interns. He and Alya, from the exasperated stories Marinette has heard from Nino, got along like a house on fire. If he was involved, Marinette was starting to doubt even further that this was going to end well for her.

“Yes, I know Jon. How is he by the way?”

“He’s fine, but I remember him telling me how he tried to set up his best friend on several dates over the years and how they all ended poorly. He’s as approachable as a brick wall; not just a prick but the whole damn cactus. Or so Jon says.” How does that sound like someone Marinette wanted to bring along with her to the wedding? “But he’s totally your type so I could ask Jon to wrap him up in bubblewrap and send him your way whenever you want.”

“How,” and Marinette said this with a lot of feeling, “is he my type exactly?”

“Green eyes with daddy issues.”

“ALYA!” Marinette was absolutely floored at her bluntness. She wasn’t even sorry about shouting into the receiver.

“Am I wrong? You have a type and he fits that type. Jon mentioned how this guy and his dad hit several roadblocks when they first met. And I’ve seen pictures of him so ‘green eyes’ checks too.”

“That is not my type of guy.” She can’t believe this was how this conversation was going.

“Adrien.”

“I didn’t even know who his father was at the time, Alya.”

“Felix.”

“His dad is dead! That doesn’t count as ‘daddy issues.’” She can feel her cheeks flaming as the call went on. Any hotter and she was going to set her sketchbooks on fire. “Besides, I dated Luka so he doesn’t fit the criteria.”

“He’s an outlier and that’s only because his eyes are blue.” Okay, fine she had a type. “And besides, you don’t even have to date the guy. You only need him to accompany you to the wedding and you both go your separate ways after. No harm, no foul.”

Right. That was true. No strings attached. She could do that.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but,” she held her breath and let it out loudly, ignoring Alya’s chuckle at her dramatics.” Give Jon my number to give this guy. And send his number to me.”

“Wahoo! Look at you, girl,” Alya was hooting and hollering over the speaker and Marinette found herself going along with the theatrics. “Okay, I will. But I gotta go, my cab is here. Bye!”

“Bye! Stay safe. Oh before you go, what’s Jon’s friend’s name anyways?”

“Uh, Damian, I think.” The call ended before Marinette could respond, but it was okay she mused. Tossing her phone onto her couch, she flopped down onto her floor and stared at her ceiling contemplatively.

What could go wrong?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Alya had described this Damian guy as ‘not just a prick but the whole damn cactus,’ she was right. Marinette had been texting back and forth with Damian for a month, and the guy was making this idea seem less and less worth it by the day. Whenever Marinette tried to learn more about the guy, he would ghost her for days on end before replying with a half-assed response at best. She knew nothing about him other than that his first name was Damian and that he was from Gotham. She had no idea how the ball of life that was Jon was even friends with someone like Damian. She asked as much to Alya in their most recent call.

“How did they even meet?” She was pacing the floor plan of her apartment, ready to tear her hair out. “Did Damian bully him in school or something?”

“Apparently their dads knew each other and introduced them,” Alya sounded half awake, stifling a yawn; probably because Marinette had called her at 1 am, Metropolis’s time. “Their brothers being friends also forced them to get along.”

“And that’s another thing!” Marinette had paused in her pacing and was now staring intently at a potted plant in the corner of her living room. Any more rage in her glare and the plant would have wilted and died. “He doesn’t tell me anything about him. I don’t need to know all his personal information, but if he’s going to be flying out to Paris on my behalf, I think I at least deserve to know his last name.”

“Hey, M,” another yawn echoed through the speaker, “I love you, truly, but maybe this could wait for holier day time hours?”

“I guess,” a vindictive part of Marinette felt like this was payback for all those inopportune calls when Marinette was busy with clients. “Sorry for interrupting your sleep.”

“It’s no big deal. But have you tried talking to him about it? If he’s ghosting your texts, try calling him. If he ignores you then too then maybe you should try finding another person to be your plus one.”

“The wedding is in two weeks, Alya!” Marinette partially regrets waiting so long to vent her frustration about the situation but she had tried to tough it out. “I would have much preferred if you were my plus one. You sure there’s no way to convince your parents to skip out on the family trip?”

“Sorry, M. Once the news about the proposal hit the internet, I tried everything. I even tried to use work, saying that I could cover the ceremony for the newspaper. My folks won’t budge though. My dad’s aunt is important to him and he wants us all at the funeral.”

“Right, right, I forgot about that.” Now she felt like an ass. “Send you dad my condolences when you see him again.”

“Will do. Good morning, Marinette. And don’t worry too much about the guy. Everything will turn up great. I can feel it.”

“Thanks, Alya. Good night, get some sleep.”

The line went dead and Marinette let out a rather weary exhale. She had no idea how this was going to work. She pulled up her contacts and searched for what she had Damian saved as.

‘Douche’ flashed on her screen and she hit the call button without remorse. She didn’t care that it was also currently 1 am in Gotham. He didn’t deserve that much consideration from her.

“What?” His voice was gravely and deep. And also really pissed if his clipped tone was anything to go by.

“Damian? Hi, this is Marinette, the girl you’re accompanying to the wedding in two weeks?” Her voice was pitched as if she was dealing with an irritating customer. Fake and polite.

“I know who you are. Why are you calling me at this unreasonable hour?” Fair, but Marinette was still aggravated at him so she wouldn’t concede.

“I’m calling because we need to talk.” She heard him scoff over the line and she felt her blood boil even hotter. She took several calming breaths to reign her temper in. “Don’t hang up.”

“Look,” She didn’t give him a chance to refuse and kept talking, getting everything off her chest. “This wedding is important to me and I promised the bride I would bring a date. After that you can delete my number and we never have to speak to each other ever. You don’t have to like me, you just need to pretend you do.”

“Whatever,” he sounded less annoyed from when he first answered the phone. “I will act as cordial as the situation requires, and nothing more. I also have my attire secured for the wedding and accommodations in Paris already prepared. I will see you at the wedding.”

“Than—” The sound of the call ending interrupted her and her frustration was back tenfold. With a cry in anguish she flung her phone onto her couch and stomped into her kitchen to channel her rage into baking.

Three loaves of bread and a dozen eclairs later, Marinette felt calm enough to finish the final touches on her outfit for the wedding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the day of the Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. The Rolling-Stone’s, as they were asking to be called, had kept the ceremony small. Relatively. Only two hundred invited guests, few of which were asked to bring a plus one. Marinette was over the moon at the array of outfits people were sporting. Some chose full-on cosplay while others, like herself, went for more subtle nods to the heroes. In honour of a previous Ladybug, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, Marinette based her outfit off of Wonder Woman’s uniform, Hippolyta’s daughter. A navy blue sequined halter top bodice that flows into a blood red A-line skirt. She paired it with a thick silver belt, silver gladiator heels rather than boots and broad silver arm cuffs. It was simple but effective. Besides, all attention should be on the bride and groom today.

A tap on her shoulder caught her attention and she turned only to come face first with red with black spots. Ladybug. Someone chose her as inspiration. How flattering. Looking up to see who was wearing the Ladybug-themed suit jacket, she stared at a pair of deep forest green eyes and a sneer to ruin that ridiculously handsome face. She recognized him from the photo Alya had sent some time ago. Damian.

“Hi, Damian,” at least one of them had to be civil and Marinette knew it was going to be her. But the idea that of all the heroes for him to choose from he chose her sent her into poorly stifled fits of giggling. Images of him going ‘Lucky Charm’ and ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ were almost too much to bear.

“I don’t know what’s so amusing about my choice of attire,” his face was starting to flush in similar shades to his jacket and that made Marinette laugh harder. “Ladybug is a well respected heroine and I thought it appropriate to pay homage while in her home city.”

“No. No no. There is nothing wrong with it. I like your costume, you look very cute.”

“Are you making fun of me?” His irritation was rather cathartic for the still giggling woman.

“No, I just didn’t think you would have put that much thought into your outfit for today. You always gave me the impression that you were ready to back out at any time.”

“I made a commitment and I had all intentions to see it through the end.”

“Could have fooled me.” And her snark was back. Now was not the time to pick a fight with the guy, he did fly all the way to Paris on her behalf after all.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” and Marinette wanted to know how he managed to sound so condescending with that statement. “How did you even get an invitation to this wedding anyways? You’re not a celebrity and you don’t look like family either.”

“Actually,” she said it with more force than what was probably necessary but his slightly accusatory tone was just so irritating. “I am the lead designer for the wedding party,” her chest was swimming with confidence at the chance to talk about her job. “I’ve worked with the bride and groom for years; M. D. Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette will deny to her grave the rush of satisfaction at the absolute gobsmacked look on Damian’s face. A real fish out of water. Mouth open wide ready to catch flies. She wished she could capture this moment forever.

The moment was over too soon because Damian was regaining his composure and slipping into his default stoic expression. He cleared his throat and fixed a look at Marinette. It was rather intense.

“I believe I owe you an apology then.” He looked put-out at admitting something so menial. “I believed you were nothing more than a socialite chain climber.”

“A what?”

“When Jon reached out to me saying that a friend of one of his coworkers needed a date for an event, and when that event turned out to be the wedding of someone of such popularity, I figured you were only trying to increase your own social status by showing up with me on your arm.”

“And you said ‘yes’ anyways?” Marinette was confused but pieces of the mystery that is Damian were starting to fit in place. But something else stuck out as odd to her. “Also, how would you being my date increase my social status anyhow?”

He scoffs before answering. Bitch.

“What? It wouldn’t be the first time one of Jon’s set-ups ended that way. Besides, we’ve had an agreement that I can’t turn down an offer until meeting the person face to face.” Weird deal but some friendships are just like, Marinette supposes. “And being seen with me is enough to make anyone more popular.”

“...And you are?”

“Damian… Wayne…” He spoke as if he was talking to a small child. As if it should be obvious who he was like he was some celeb— Oh shit.

A name had flashed into her mind. On the finalised guest list, Marinette had only seen it once in passing, there was a name that belonged to someone Jagged was rather excited to see. He said the friend was an old college buddy. She remembered that much. She had completely forgotten that ‘a billionaire playboy’ was also attached to the name. Damian was the son of Bruce Wayne. Suddenly everything in the past few months made perfect sense. The cold shoulder, the ghosting, and his prickly disposition. He was overly guarded because he had justified reasons to be. Now she felt like an ass.

“Oh.” Real intelligent, Marinette.

“Oh? What, you didn’t know?” He sounded incredulous at the notion and he had every right to be. Marinette could only shake her head. Words were failing her now, her brain trying to rewrite the memories of every interaction the two ever had.

She was saved from further mortification by a call for everyone to find their seats. The wedding was about to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ceremony was beautiful. Penny’s dress was a silver grey, tied back with a golden belt. Instead of a long train, Marinette had attached a black cape that shimmered in the right lighting. Penny wore a tiara with two peaks to imitate the ‘bat-ears.’ A Batman-themed wedding dress was not something she ever saw herself making, but she was proud at how beautiful and confident Penny looked in it. Jagged was adorn in a royal blue suit with bold red lapels. He also had a matching red cape. His hair was styled in the familiar sleek way Superman wears it. The two made quite the pair.

The reception was a lively affair. Jagged had dedicated several songs to his new wife and they dazzled the crowd on the dance floor. Marinette didn’t pay much attention to the speeches beyond a quick glance at Damian when his own father stepped up to the podium. He had buried his head in his hands, looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. A courtesy pat on the back was all Marinette gave to him.

The two hadn’t really spoken much since the revelation that they had completely misjudged each other. The awkward tension was almost palpable. As Marinette was gathering the courage to speak to him, to try and officially clear the air, she was being dragged by one of the bridesmaids onto the dancefloor. It was time for the bride to throw the bouquet. All the unmarried women were being corralled into a tight cluster and Marinette got swept up in the tide.

Marinette wasn’t focusing on the actual game, trying her hardest not to get trampled, when she saw something move in her periphery. Years of being Ladybug had left her with finely honed instincts so she could not be blamed when she immediately jumped and caught the incoming object. The bouquet. She had caught the bouquet. Oh that was just her luck. Deafening squeals of delight brought her out of her own head and she was suddenly being embraced in Penny’s arms. She returned the hug, sharing in her delight, before breaking away to sit down.

“Nice catch.” His voice had surprised her, she hadn’t expected him to speak to her for the rest of the night.

“Uh, thank you. Just lucky, I guess.” Damian didn’t get the chance to respond because he was being dragged by his own father to join all the bachelors in catching the garter. Marinette was equally uninterested in this spectacle and had let her mind wander to other things.

A loud uproar caught her attention again and her eyes zeroed in on Damian holding the tossed garter. He made his way back over to her, dropping himself into his seat gracelessly. The two sat in silence, contemplating the implications of them both catching the garter and bouquet. The games were done purely for tradition’s sake, with total disregard of what it was supposed to symbolise. Still. One’s mind couldn’t help but wander. Minutes ticked passed and Marinette was beginning to wonder if someone was going to talk about the elephant in the room.

“So,” Damian’s voice was slightly strained, like he wasn’t used to being this flustered. It was kind of endearing. Wait what?

“So.”

“While marriage seems far out of reach for right now,” Oh god. He was going to talk about it. “How does dinner sound, next Friday?”

“Wait,” he wanted to spend more time with her? After their disastrous first impressions? “Really?”

“Really. I believe we started off on the wrong foot,” he let out a soft chuckle, almost self-deprecating. “Which isn’t really new for me, but it’s not everyday I meet someone who doesn’t recognise me at first glance. I think you’re someone who I would like to get to know better. If that is something you are also interested in.”

“Yeah,” Marinette knows all about wanting to get acquainted with someone who she’s had a bad first impression of. Just look at her past relationships. Wow, she really does have a type. Damning thoughts for later. “Friday works for me. Seven pm?”

“Perfect. I’ll text you the details then.”

“Wonderful, I can’t wait.”

The rest of the evening was spent in companionable silence with small bouts of conversation in between. They shared a couple dances on the floor and parted ways at the end of the night with budding anticipation for Friday.

As Marinette was preparing for bed that night in the comfort of her apartment, she sent a text to Alya that her friend would see later in the day.

You were right, I do have a type :(

#maribat #daminette #maridami #mgi trope tussle #mgi- server event #enemies to lovers #speedrun #i #like a dumbass challenged myself to use three prompts and i delivered #i hope #i hope yall enjoy #tumblr do me a solid #dont hide my posts #please #im begging #ml x dc #mlb x dc #tumblr please stop hiding my posts #no beta this is tussle

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hohoz · 3 years

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How RE Village (8) SOLVED almost every problem that I had with RE Series

Okay - a few weeks ago I made a post that was “The ones that suffer the most” where I showed and explained my main problems with Chris and Jill and the RE series in general

RE 1 is my fav game of this series and probably one of my all time favs, I player every RE there is to be played except 4 (because I dislike Leon, sry)

Recently, specially after 4, the franchise had a few problems, specially in writing/map design/lore

Resident evil 5 for example (I love this game) but it has it flaws, Chris there is only driven by anger and action - Sheva is used as a tool for lore exposition and to be Chris’s new partner

PLEASE: be aware that game at that generation didn’t have much lore - with some exceptions, like God of War 1 2 3 were a simply game with a simple lore, and the most recent GoW has evolved a little bit in the storytelling

Until we hit rock bottom in RE6 - I know a lot of people like this game, but this is only and action game, bad writing and generic stages.

Chris there is so mistreated that makes me mad (if you want to read more about this go to my other post “the ones that suffer the most”)

Until RE7 appeared, Capcom had a new engine and they wanted to do a game that was more horror like - since RE is know for being a Survival horror game.

I liked 7 - some people complained about Ethan being without emotion and others complained about the mold, a few didn’t like the FEAR vibes from Eveline.

I personally enjoyed the game, I thought RE series was going back on track, that game has it’s problems but it was really nice compared to what we had in 6.

After that game I had a conversation with my best friend and I said that I wanted a game that portrayed Umbrella’s fall since the only game that shows this is Umbrellas Chronicles (and that is most a resume of what happened)

And I said: “Bro, I wish that when they made that game, they could tie some mythological lore and human evolution before Umbrella - using Spencer, this would solve LOT OF STUFF and open new ways to handle this series”

and guess what - this happened in RE8 and kudos to the one writer that did that, i have my gratitude.

RESIDENT EVIL 8 is probably one of the BEST RE games that we had IN YEARS

And I want to address all thing that I loved in this game and do some predictions to what will happen in the next games.

“WELL WELL IF IT ISN’T ETHAN WINTERS” (The Father of the year)

My father was not a great guy... really, so I want to be the best dad ever, I really want be like Ethan - a guy who is ready to sacrifice and fight every monster in the way to save my family.

Ethan was a character that in RE7 was used to make us fell like that it was us in the Baker’s house, so that is why he didn’t had that much personality (in my opinion) but they changed that in RE8, here he has nice dialogues AND a diary

He has one of the best story line in the whole REverse, a guy that did EVERYTHING in his power to save his daughter - and you saw that playing the game, every sentence line that he delivered, he tried to save others too and even tho Chris said to him stay put ... but he couldn’t, he had to go to the altar, he had to help Chris, he had to go forward and keep going, specially after having the tools to face Heisenberg.

The plea from a father, that was his last wish, after he heard that Mia was alive he knew that someone had to stop that monster, he made a promise to his daughter “Daddy won’t let those weird fairy tale monsters get you” so he trusted Chris, to be the one that teaches his kid how to be brave and strong

I will not address Chris and Rose situation here because this is Ethans part and he deserves completely all the spotlight, his sacrifice was 100x times better than Steve (CV)/Piers(6)

My cheers to Ethan Winters - You have my respect !

Revelations -> RE8

So leaks from earlier times said that RE8 sucked and Revelations 3 was amazing

Revelations FYI is know for using old tales in RE stories

Revelations 1 - Dante’s Inferno

Revelations 2 - Frans Kafka

Revelations 3 - Dracula

But since RE8 sucked, Capcom said to the REV3 team that they could make REV3 become RE8 and they accepted

Revelations series is one of the best in the games, they handle Jill in a way that I love, Claire and even Barry - so they deserve all the spotlight for making this awesome game - you CLEARLY can see that they love this series and that they treat all the characters with the love that they deserve.

Keeping that in mind, they are the same team that made Rev 2 and in REV 2 we have this file here

So they had a plan for Jill and we can see that in RE8 - I will address that later but keep that in mind - this team cares for the old characters, they were the ones that brought Barry back to the games :V

Chris Redfield

This is a hard one, because he is my fav character and I usually have the most critics regard him, since I’ve expect a lot from Capcom

In the latest games they made him kind dumb, only muscles type of guy and an alcoholic that let all the people in his surroundings die (RE5,RE6,Vendetta)

RE6 treats him the WORST

But in RE8 he had an amazing part in the storyline, it was obvious that he wasn’t evil and they FIXED HIS EYE COLOR - FINALLY

I still don’t like the model face that much but it’s way better than 7 - so I believe Capcom, I still feel that he need more jawline

But let’s go to the most important thing - here he really feels like a squad leader and a veteran, he has his team but he is the one in the front line, he covers and ask for help when he needs, everything about his line delivery makes you feel like “Woah, this guy is a badass, he is not some stupid guy only driven by emotions”

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FINALLY GETTING THIS RIGHT

If you remember my post about the ones that suffer the most / Jill is also in that list and I will talk about her a little bit later but if my guess is right RE8 saved her character aswell

Another thing that I enjoyed here is the fact that he is kind of a mercenary / Neo Umbrella kind of guy, even tho he is one of the founders of the BSAA

So I will give you all my score to this game:

9/10

I won’t give 10/10 because of some technical issues, the cursor lock didn’t work and mouse sensitivity was i dunno, not the best.

RE8 and the future (PREDICTIONS) - Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, BSAA, Neo Umbrella, Ada Wong and Rosemary

First let’s look Rose

The first time I saw Rose all grown up - I thought to myself : She has the same problem as Eveline (age a lot faster than normal)

But she also absorbed Miranda’s power since the metalicite (something like this) thought that she was a better host. - so maybe she will live longer or something because I doubt that they will do a 14 years time skip.

This is not the same as Terra Save logo (Claire’s job) but it kind reminds me of it - her shoes appeared at least 3 times in this cut scene so maybe they are trying to show some hints with this

She really reminds me of Jodie (Beyond two souls, a game where a girl has a lot of power and the gov uses her in missions and stuff, but she also is learning how to be her own person)

Another thing here is that they don’t have a logo in this car, it really reminds me the car that Chris as using in RE8

This supports the theory that Chris’s organization is dealing with her instead of the BSAA, the she is a hot headed girl and that she had a lot of powers.

So here you can say that she is just a kid because she is a teenager, but what if she actually grows older really fast (like Eveline) maybe this is just 1 year later / 2 yrs later. (after RE8)

So this is the tricky part, this is Chris’s guard/soldier, someone that Chris trust to stand by her side, in my mind I do believe that Chris is kind of a father figure to her, so when this guys says this he is thinking about hot head Chris but she replies “Yeah” thinking about Ethan - (she has the mold memories, so she can actually remember Ethan’s memories)

Now let’s look at this

BSAA

So in REV1 is hinted that BSAA is not the best organization in the world, but since our heroes work there we think that they are the good guys right ?

In REV 2 (it’s important to remember that the team that created RE8 is the same from the REVELATIONS and they had this file here in REV2)

This email is from Jill and what does Jill have ? T-Virus

Wesker is a different case since he was a project and she had the vaccine but this would make a lot of sense if they had this tests with Jill to get the T-Virus

If that is the case, they explained Jill’s absence in the main games, could even explain why Chris left BSAA and opened a new window to a lot of possibilities

My Predictions:

- Chris had trouble dealing with BSAA and Jill’s case, he wanted to get her out of there, maybe he removed her from there but that resulted in him being expelled from the force

-Jill may or may not know what they are doing with her blood, but she will have a huge part in the BOW used by BSAA

-Chris is married to Jill (sorry- I had to place this here, in a perfect world he has two kids with her and they all love aunt Rose)

-Chris will hopefully be a father figure to Rose and they will be in a game together since in the end they came to get her

-Rebecca is still involved in BSAA activities (leak from new REV3) if you consider Vendetta canon, she maybe the one that used Jill’s sample of blood to create the virus soldiers

-Barry maybe retired

-I don’t think Leon will be in this game, but he will get his RE4 Rmk

- I do believe RE9 will be release after Code veronica rmk and MAYBE they will do a game about Umbrella’s Fall (Chris and Jill in Europe against Red Queen and BOWs)

But that is it, you can see a lot of elements from old RE games in RE8, they tried to do something really smart and the game felt amazing to play, that was something else and it’s been a while since a player a RE game that made me feel that way <3

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purplerose244 · 3 years

Text

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (2/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

For now, nothing to complain about! We got Nya, we got MAYA AND RAY, we got GILES PANTON BACK A LEGO SHOW!!! 😍😍😍

Of course now I'm definitely curious about what the story is really about, like I'm guessing Wojira will wake up at some point so... Great Devourer all over again maybe? 😅 Idk, for now I just wanna enjoy Nya having her moment 🥳

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

New alert for reader, during the Nexo Knights period I was and still am the hugest Clay fan. Now that his voice is in this season I might scream more than necessary... keep that in mind 😅

I love the humor in this, all random but still kinda clever 😂😂 Maybe I'm biased because I love Jay but still 🤷‍♀️

I really like the design of the marine world, very cool!! 🌊🌊🌊

I guess I'm not really seeing any big plot twist moment for now? Ninjago seasons have history of basing seasons on a "we need to prevent this event from happening but it will happen anyway", so I can see Wojira waking up no matter what 🤷‍♀️

I wonder if that will be shocking? Usually when this situation happen, someone makes a major sacrifice (Zane with the Overlord, sensei Garmaron with Chen, again sensei G with the Preeminent...). Maybe Maya? I DON'T WANT THAT 😭 But I am curious, everything is going nicely and I'm not sure what it will bring! 🤩 I'M EXCITED SO LET'S GO!!!

THE WRATH OF KALMAAR

So this is the name of Clay's new incarnation, neat! 👍

Okay really, for having a season lately the main character just can't help but be trapped by the villain: kinda Zane in the ICE Chapter, Jay in Prime Empire, Cole in Master of the Mountain... we can call it a tradition at this point 🤷‍♀️

Giant serpent, yadda yadda, I wonder if we're gonna address the Great Devourer at some point? Not mandatory, but the reference would be very cool 🤩

Clay's new incarnation is a prince I- *hyperventilates in awe*

Nya playing dumb lol, I don't know if that's personal experience as she used to get kidnapped a lot in the past or she just have too many idiots in her life 😂

ALSO ANOTHER BEST GIRL'S SMIRK

NYA YOU'RE TOO MUCH ILY ❤💙❤💙

Jay I love that you're so worried about Nya but maybe try NOT TO DIE? YOU'RE WITH LLOYD AND ZANE YET YOU'RE THE ONE GOING FOR THE SACRIFICE WTH?? 😱 But he's worried about his cool GF I kinda get it, also he didn't do it so good...

WHAT. THE. HECK.

WHO ARE YOU OH MY FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER YOU'RE ADORABLE I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU YOU ABSOLUTE CUTIE 🤩🤩🤩

So Giles is doomed to voice LEGO characters with daddy issues 😂 That being not having a dad at all or having one that is... a good guy? Idk he seems chill with the surface at first glance, I wonder what's the story of this family

Maya reminds of my mom, she also mentions her work a lot and I study the same thing. But she doesn't want to brag, it gets annoying but she just wants to give me advice. It's nice to see actually 👍 Also Ray reference NEAT ❤❤❤

Wow, if any child-parent couple of this show was doomed at going semi Emperor's New Groove style, I would've bet on Ed and Jay honestly 😅

Oh HECK yes I knew that with my water girls things were BOUND to get cool 😎 ... yeah I know where the door is *goes away*

JAY NO WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TRYING TO DIE STOP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! 😱😱😱

My GOSH that scared the crap out of me 😅 Jay honey we have too many deaths in this team, you're not helping... BUT YOU POWERED AN ENTIRE SHIP BECAUSE YOU LOVE NYA AND YOU DIDN'T DIE AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BLUEBELL 💙💙💙

They were all so worried, I love this ninja family so freaking much 💜💜💜 Also better not tell this one to his GF 😂

And Bluebell?

Welcome to the "change eye color because of elemental power" team! WE GOT ANOTHER ONE I LOVE WHEN IT HAPPENS!!! 😍😍😍

Awww, Zane letting Jay be the captain, that was so cute of him 💕

Another great episode! Doing great so far but I still wonder if we got into the main story. Feels like there should be more, well we got time! Next one! 😊

LONG LIVE THE KING

Sooooo... that's one very telling title 😅 If we're going full Lion King on this one, I think I know where this is going 😵

Maya: Don't they know that metal taste terrible?!? (Again feels like Kai could say something like this 😂)

FINALLY NYA USING FREAKING WATER POWERS UNDER THE SEA!!! Thank you Maya for saying out loud what we were all thinking 👌👌

NINJA TO THE RESCUE!!!

Pff, okay, the fact that Kalmaar is all evil and cruel and then he gets startled like that, it's kind or adorable! 💕 Honestly Giles got such a deep voice, with Clay it was firm warm and reassuring, here we got plain devious and I ADORE it 😍😍😍

Maya come on don't doubt your daughter 😅 But I like her, and if she knew Nya they way we all do she wouldn't doubt that she could make it every time 😎

Yeah I was right, the king seems chill... oww I fear what's coming then 😳

Okay, so Kalmaar thinks that the world should go back to be lead by them like in the past, while the king just wants peace with the surface. And as we know, no drama no season so...

Yep, saw the death coming 😅

WHOA DID NOT SEE THAT LITTLE BLAME ACT COMING KALMAAR IS SO EVIL!!!... with a glorious voice but still (Rose focus on something that is not that godlike voice, you can do it 💪💪)

THE OLD ONE TWO I LOVE THIS SO MUCH COMBO ATTACK!!! 🌊❄🌊❄

Awww Benthomaar is actually really cute, he's so worried about his father 😢 And he's adopted apparently? I wanna know the story!!! 🤩🤩

Yep, there's the reason why Zane got a mask even though he doesn't need one, it completes his attire 😂😂😂 My gosh how I love this nindroid ❄

Did... did Jay just say phooey? Dude Ducktales ended a while ago but I'm still not over it 😭

I said it once before I'll say it again, Ninjago is really REALLY good at making death scenes. Like, omg, I genuinely felt sorry for them 😢😢 I also really liked that the king didn't ask to be avenged, he still wanted peace and he asked his son to protect the ninja and he cried actual tears...

MY HEART WTH 😭😭😭 So we're adding this to the real tears moments of the show, with Jay crying over pie, Zane with the flashback of his dad, Jay crying over Nya and Lloyd thinking the ninja are gone... my world this show is angsty 🙂

Third startle for prince Kalmaar, I love the gag 😂 Oh wait, king Kalmaar 🤷‍♀️

Okay, we got a coup, the ninja running away because they got framed, Benthomaar is most likely going to join them or at least help them, I guess Wojira will come out at some point while... Kai, Ray and Cole are still playing videogames? 😅

THIS IS GETTING COOL I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT AAAAHHH HECK YES THERE IS THE HYPE!!! 😍😍😍

Although I hope we get more stuff with Nya and Maya, that's what I like 🤩

ESCAPE FROM MERLOPIA

I'm good at English and I can follow most of it, but the fantasy names are tricky so I didn't get before that this was the name of the place 😅 It's nice, at least it's not another Atlantis 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

LLOYD I SWEAR TO YOUR GRANDPA IF YOU TRY TO DIE AGAIN 😱

NYA YOU ARE NOT A GOOD SUBSTITUTE NONE OF YOU ARE OMG 😱😱

Ah, there he is, my new son Benthomaar 💙 He is so lovable already, I know nearly nothing about him and I like his character already a lot! He could relate with all of the ninja really, but maybe with Jay the most? They were both adopted after all 🤔🤔

*scribble note for a fanfic for later if this doesn't come up in the season*

Alright moving on 😗

I am so happy Nya gets a season, Kelly got a great emotional range that doesn't come out often in my opinion, but with a full introspection of water goddess we are all blessed by her voice acting 😍

Gotta say, admitting that Bentho didn't have to help them to answer the usual 'Can we trust him' question is pretty reasonable, like, better than other stupid answers 😅

Also don't mind me

Just screenshotting by ship 💙❤💙❤

Somehow lately we are letting Jay do the talking and I both hate and LOVE the fact 😂😂 Plain Bluebell nonsense, heck yes that's my jam👌👌

MAYA IS SO COOL OMG 🤩🤩

I literally can't not laugh at the startle gag with Kalmaar 😂

LLOYD WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT SELF SACRIFICING!! PLEASE IT'S NOT EVEN YOUR SEASON!! 😱😱😱😱

Aww Jay is still the Captain, nice! Wonder if it's giving him Skybound flashbacks... I hope not considering all he went through that time, poor Sparky 😅😅

ARE THOSE LITTLE WU ROCKETS?? 🤯

Can we skip a season and hang out with Pixal one time? I really wanna know how she organizes her free time to create these things 😍😍😍

THANK YOU LLOYD FOR NOT DYING ONCE AGAIN, MUCH APPRECIATED!!! 💚💚💚 My green bean needs a vacation... they all do 😅

THEY ARE

SO BEAUTIFUL 💙🌊💙🌊

Alright, back to the island hoping Kalmaar will not track us and follow us so he can get to the place and discover the amulet 🙂

Are we not calling the others? I miss my flame babe and Rocky ❤🖤❤🖤 Also RAY WATCHA DOIN I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING 🤩🤩

THE TALE OF BENTHOMAAR

Wait what? Shark boy backstory? SHARK BOY BACKSTORY?!? 👀👀👀

Wow, I see that Kalmaar didn't change a thing growing up, still the same gonna-be-a-villain 😂 Of course his voice got a lot deeper and cool and okay you know I love his voice moving on

I find it kinda funny that Kalmaar is so focused on royal blood and superiority, while Clay was basically a farm boy who worked his way up. Giles knows how to get the character no matter what 😍

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

BABY BENTHOMAAR AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

The king seems like such a good pers- fish- creature 😅 Now I'm double sad that he died, my world, why do I always care so fast, it's not healthy in this show where everyone could die 😰😰

I'M SORRY IS THAT KAI'S HAIR??? 😂😂😂 I LITERALLY CAN'T LOOK AWAY WTH I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS

Literally every frame of Benthomaar makes me love him even more 😢

Interesting that we got an academic villain, he kinda reminds me of Clouse in a way, maybe even Harumi since she studied her way to her plan as well? I like that we got a bit of personality too!

Using your little bro for your own purpose... it's very evil but kinda also brotherly like 😂

Benthomaar really gives me that very PRECIOUS vibe, kinda the perfect son but also a naive and unaware BABY 💙

LEGO HUG 🤩🤩 Not exactly reciprocated but still 😅

Ooohhh, so this is how he found the temple! I like this, it shows that Bentho is most likely physically stronger than Kalmaar, while evil brother is focused on brain and studies. They are planned differently, I like it! 😚😚

Ouch, peer pressure... sibling pressure? Eh you get what I mean 😂

POOR BENTHO 😭😭😭 YOU GOT THE NINJA NOW DON'T WORRY WE'RE NEVER GONNA LEAVE YOU ALONE YOU PRECIOUS SHARK BABY!! 🦈🦈🦈

Bentho: will I really fit in with you guys? Do you really understand how I feel?

Lloyd: Jay was adopted, Nya's parents were gone most of her life, Zane lost his father while mine turned evil

Bentho(tearing up): yeah that can work

Okaaaaayyyyy, I like that we got a bit of backstory for Bentho too! We didn't get much for Vanya in Master of the Mountain, which is the only thing I was sad about (very little detail, AMAZING season 🖤🖤🖤), nice to see it here!!

But I really want more Nya and Maya interactions, I hope we'll soon get to them again!! 😍😍😍

Alright, getting somewhere here! I'm very curious about what's next 🤩🤩

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sillyrabbit81 · 3 years

Text

The Pull

Summary: Alternative Universe. Vampire Henry. Henry, Crown Prince of the Vampires is avoiding his responsibilities because of his mother's fate. When Henry finds his mate, the circumstances are eerily similar to his mother's. Rather than risking his mate's life, Henry chooses to run, but can he run from his fate?

Pairing: Henry x OFC

Word Count: approx 2.4k

Warnings: mention of death, mention of abortion (although it didn't happen), and swearing

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 3

Chapter Two

Rowena POV

"David, I can't wear this!" I complained on the phone. I held up the dress again. "It's just too much, too revealing."

It was a simple white silk floor-length skirt, but the top of the dress was two long vertical pieces of silk, barely wide enough to cover my breasts, which crossed at the back before wrapping around my waist and tied in a bow on my lower back. There was no way I could wear a bra. It would only take a slight wrong move, and there would be an embarrassing nipple slip.

"Yes, you can," my brother said. "Lawrence had it made for you to wear as a gift. He wants to meet you and make a good impression." Lawrence was David's partner, they had been together for over a year, but I was yet to met him. Lawrence and David seemed to travel together an awful lot, so it had been challenging to find time for us to get together.

"Have you seen it?" I asked.

"Of course," David replied. I was surprised. David was my older brother and had always been a little protective of me, especially since our parents died when I was 15 and he was 20. Maybe he had finally let that go considering I was now 26.

"You know I'd never wear something like that. It's gorgeous, but it's too revealing for me."

"Rowena, it's Halloween. It's an excuse for excess." I rolled my eyes. For David, being a day that ended in 'y' was an excuse for excess.

"Why does your boyfriend want to see me in this?" It just seemed over the top for a party. I gathered that Lawrence was wealthy, but still, it's just a Halloween party.

"Because he wants you to fit in. Honestly, you'll stick out less wearing that than anything else. Besides, no one knows you there, and you'll have a mask. Just pretend you're someone else."

I grumbled. "What time did Lawrence say the stylist was coming?"

Although I couldn't see him, I could hear David's victorious smile through the phone. "At six pm. The driver will be there at eight."

"That seems late, David," I said. "I won't arrive until nearly nine."

"I know, but that is Lawrence's style."

"Promise you won't leave me alone." I wasn't afraid of being alone at parties usually but by the sounds of this one, the dress and the fact that I was having my hair and makeup done professionally made it feel like a big deal.

"Lawrence and I will take good care of you," David promised.

I said my goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Feeling only a little more confident after the phone call, I jumped in the shower, washed my hair, and shaved my legs for the first time in weeks. I put on a robe and slippers and went up to the main house to see Charlie since I had half an hour to kill before the stylist arrived.

Charlie was staying there tonight with Alice while I went out. He had his own room and often slept there now that he was getting older and wanted space from me. Charlie and I mostly ate our meals up at the house and just kept basics in our two-bedroom flat above the old stables.

Charlie and Alice were sitting together at the dining table, playing with a random assortment of lego pieces. "Hey, Mum. I made this for you." Charlie handed me a flower made from the blocks. He was such a sweetheart of a boy.

"Awww, thanks, Babybear. I love it." I kissed the top of his head and sat with them.

"I thought you had to get ready for tonight," Alice asked.

"I have an hour," I replied.

"You're still going, aren't you?" Alice asked. She seemed more eager for me to go than I was. Alice was Charlie's paternal grandmother. Charlie's dad, Alex, had been my boyfriend when I was 17. Despite being on the pill, I fell pregnant, and Alex tried to pressure me into an abortion and refused to be a part of his life. Alice had been horrified by the way Alex had treated me. In an unexpected turn of events, she had stepped in to help raise Charlie. Charlie rarely saw Alex, but Alice saw that we both wanted nothing. The woman was a saint.

"Yeah," I said reluctantly.

"It'll be good for you," Alice said, squeezing my hand.

"I know." I sighed.

"Charlie, go get Nanny a glass of water, please. My throat is feeling dry," Alice said. She had something to say to me outside of Charlie's ears. Being a kind and helpful kid, Charlie immediately got up and went to get her one. He made me so proud.

As soon as he left the room, Alice said, "Rowena, don't feel guilty getting out there again."

"How can you say that?" I asked. I had tried dating a few times over the years. It always ended disastrously. Always my fault too. I had developed severe commitment issues.

"Charlie is my grandson, and I want his mother to be happy. Not lonely and depressed. It would be best if you had a life beyond Charlie. I've been telling you that for years."

Charlie came back with a book, and Alice read to him. As mothers often are, I was struck by how handsome my little boy was. His blonde sun-bleached hair and deep brown eyes were framed by a face that had lost nearly all of its childhood fat. At nine years old, he was almost as tall as me already, and he would probably take after his father in that regard. In fact, his eyes were the only thing that came from my side of the family as they were the same colour as David's and my Dad's. Charlie looked so much like his father, sometimes it hurts to look at him.

Kissing him again, on the cheek this time, I said goodbye to Charlie, told him to be a good boy for Nanny and went back to our flat above the garage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I arrived at Lawrence's house not long after the sun had set. House was probably too humble a word to describe it. It was a borderline castle. I had thought Alice's family was wealthy, but this was another level. It was like something out of the Great Gatsby.

The car drove around the circular driveway and pulled up near the front door. A valet opened the car door, and he escorted me into the house, where he told my name to a butler who asked me to follow him.

Looking around the room, I was grateful to David for insisting I wear the dress. Everybody was dressed like it was a Hollywood awards show, and I mean everybody. Not to mention they all looked like actors or models. I had never in my life been around so many beautiful people. And I don't mean just beautiful because they were thin. There were people of all shapes and sizes, but everyone moved with grace and ethereal ease. They seemed so other.

This was crazy. Who the hell was my brother mixed up with? This whole night must have cost a fortune. Beyond a fortune! All for a Halloween party?

I was led from room to room, the house full of beautiful creatures. More than that, the house was decorated in a way that would put Versailles to shame. The decadence of the furnishings was lush and rich. Every piece seemed to be a precious antique but shone like it was brand new. Gold leaf decorated the cornices, and priceless framed artworks, tapestries and mirrors filled every wall. Even the wooden floor was an intricate parquetry design that appears to have taken years to lay.

At first, I thought I imagined it, but I noticed that everybody stared at me as I moved through each room. I felt heat rush to my cheeks. Did I look so different from everyone else? I supposed I did, but the eyes following me made me thankful for the mask.

After what seemed like hours but couldn't have been, I was taken to a large hall and presented. Yes, presented. What the fuck?

My escort stopped outside the room and spoke to a man standing just inside the door. The man rapped his cane on the floor three times and thundered, "Rowena, sister of David, Inamorato of Duke Lawrence." An eerie silence fell as every face turned to me. Some even bowed their heads. What on earth was going on?

"Rowena!" David was at my side, clutching my hands to his chest. "I've missed you so." He leaned over and kissed both my cheeks. Everybody in the room seemed to return to normal, and sounds of chatter resumed. David was wearing a mask and wore an elegant dark grey suit. He looked so different. David has always been handsome, but he looked so unlike his usual self, and I couldn't pinpoint the difference. I didn't even have the words to describe the change. I know it had been months since we had seen each other, but it wasn't that he had lost weight or gained muscle. What I could see of his face was inconsistent with my memories of him. Then I saw his eyes.

"David, what the..." David cut me off and embraced me. His smell was mouth-watering, and I wondered what cologne he was wearing. He had never smelt like that before.

"Come, meet Lawrence!" David exclaimed, gripping my hand tightly. Maybe he had put on muscle because he was stronger than I remembered.

David lead me further into the room. I followed, but my head was spinning. Why did everything look so beautiful but feel so... unreal?

"Lawrence, my love, this is Rowena," David said.

The man who sat before me took my breath away. I had no word to describe him other than impressive. He wasn't tall or large, but he seemed to take up all the space in the room as if by looking at him, your eyes couldn't see anything else. His skin was like a midnight sky lit up by the moon, which seemed to reflect the light as it was so smooth, flawless and radiant. His hair bounced with large curls, and although it was dark too, it seemed to shine with its own light.

As Lawrence stood, his movements were so polished they almost had a serpentine grace. His white lace mask framed his eyes, black with a red rim around the pupil, just like David's. Lawrence came towards me, and I was captivated, struck immobile by the force of his presence. Then all of a sudden, the fear left me as though it was never there. I sucked in air, not realising I hadn't taken a breath since I laid eyes on him.

Lawrence grasped my hands to his chest, just like my brother had. "Oh David, she is lovely, isn't she?" He lifted my hands to his lips and kissed both of them before lifting my arms wide and inspecting me. "She does look luscious in this dress. I do have excellent taste, do I not?"

I looked to David, who was beaming proudly like he had passed a test by bringing me here and meeting Lawrence's approval. Stunned, I looked again at David's smile. Something was wrong with it.

Lawrence was still talking, "You were right that she would be a hard one to crack. She seems to see many things others don't. Including you, by the way." David laughed at Lawrence's observation.

I tried to speak, to ask again what was going on, but nothing came out. I kept trying to breathe but I felt suffocated. The more I tried, the less air seemed to come in.

David grabbed my shoulders and caught my gaze. His voice was solid and musical, and the force of his words almost made me fall. "Rowena, it's alright. You can breathe." And all at once, I could.

"This dress is too tight." I managed to say.

"Nonsense," Lawrence said dismissively, "it's perfect. He is going to love it."

"He?" I questioned.

Lawrence sighed and glanced at David. They looked at each other for a few moments, then David took me by the arm and led me to a cluster of sofas. "Come, sister, sit with me and let's catch up."

Even the way he spoke seemed to change. It can't have been that long since I'd seen him. I thought back and realised I hadn't seen him in about two years. We occasionally spoke on the phone, but years had passed since I had physically seen him.

Lawrence left us mingled around the room, which I saw now was a ballroom. Some people danced, some drank wine, and others socialised. Something was wrong with all of it, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

David started to talk to me, asked me about little Charlie. I went to get my phone to show him some pictures and realised I must have left my bag in the limo. Before I could tell David that, he said, "never mind, the driver works for Lawrence. He has it. You can get it before you leave."

How did he know where I had left my phone? This was too much. "David, what's going on? There's something wrong here. This place is... off."

I suddenly felt bewildered, like I couldn't concentrate on anything. I felt a curious pull towards the back of the hall. I stood and looked back and started to walk towards the doors. It was like I was trapped in a gravitational pull towards... something. Without warning, a spontaneous feeling of arousal hit me, and my body was on fire. I let out an audible moan. I felt a desperate call come from between my legs to ease the rapidly growing craving. And not just by anyone, by Him. Wait, who was Him?

David held my arm and tried to lead me back, but I wouldn't allow it. I struggled for him to let me go. David was about to say something when another announcement was made, "The Crown Prince, Henry, Son of Alfred, King of all Sanguisuge."

I looked first to David to question what on earth that meant when I caught sight of the Prince.

It's Him.

I felt like I was falling, plummeting to the ground. The floor rushed to meet me, and my vision went dark.

Masterlist

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@henryobsessed

#henry cavill #fanfic #alternate universe #Henry Cavill vampire #alexander skarsgard #werewolf #vampire #henry x ofc

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7wanderingpaws · 3 years

Text

Captain Bucheon 03

Warnings: strong language

Word count: 5.9K

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tags: @wooya1224 @to-all-the-stories-i-love @jennxx3 @realllllrica

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Third: Saving is Caring

“Lee Nari!”

Someone was shouting your name but you couldn't tell who exactly because the entire corridor you were residing on - the forsaken fifth floor, also the top floor of the building without an elevator - was flooded with girls. They were rushing to the opposite direction you were heading to, and you frowned deeply at anyone who made even the slightest brush against you - or your chest.

“Come to room number 501!” they shouted again.

“As if,” you scoffed to yourself and dodged one hand that was about to land on your breast.

“Aish, I was gonna try if they were actually real,” you heard the girl whine but her voice got quickly blocked out by exciting squeals.

Finally managing to land in your room, you basically kicked the door open, pissed, to find Yuyeon preparing in front of her make-up mirror. Her eyes were shining and she seemed way too happy.

“What the hell is happening out there?” you grumbled, slamming the door shut with your foot to isolate yourself from the annoying squeals. “It looks like a sect or something.” You dropped your bag in the corner and threw yourself on the bed, needing the relief in your tired muscles.

Running had been taking its toll on you the past weeks, let alone your job was tiring mentally, as well. There hadn't been any slip-ups or issues anymore like last time for which you were eternally thankful. That one time - yeah, you weren't sure you could deal with that again.

“You are coming toooo!” squealed Yuyeon as well and was fast to drop the blusher on her messy table before standing and jumping over to your bed, making you fly up on the mattress too.

You whined again and tried to kick her off your bed but she climbed over you and wiggled her eyebrows at you, a cheeky glint leaving an unease in your tummy.

“We-” she leaned into your ear, “are going to watch porn.”

You gasped and pushed her off of you, pink rising up to your cheeks. “What? Are you nuts? Why would you watch-”

“C'mon, Nari,” giggled Yuyeon, sitting up properly to let you sit up as well. Her shirt slid off her shoulder and her bra strap was showing which made you reach up to bring the shirt back to its original place. “I know you've already experienced it all but-”

This time, a horrified gasp left your mouth and you were fast to shut her up with a: “I haven't experienced those things at all!”

She frowned, pouting. “But you made out with Baekhyun and you said he touched you-”

Your head was starting to spin as you shook it so violently. “No, no, no, don't bring that up. He stopped when he found out I'm a virgin and it doesn't even matter!!”

“But Nari, he is a grown up male that knows eeeeeverything there is to know about, you know, sex, and he was hot and -”

“Yuyeon, please,” you begged, hiding your face behind your palms. You felt attacked at the memories of you and Baekhyun being all touchy. “It isn't that exciting,” you tried but you knew it was a terrible, terrible lie.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don't have to come if you don't want to but it will be fun with all the girls. We can talk about boys and men and, I dunno, just enjoy.”

You pursed your lips, not so sure. A good rest was what you needed, NOT temptation. Let alone, you wouldn't be able to get Baekhyun out of your mind were you to watch stuff like that. When you were about to speak up, Yuyeon added:

“You know, ever since stuff happened, we didn't really go out like that anymore… I kind of miss fooling around with you and just going against the rules - although now we can't do it since we are old enough to be naughty, but despite that I just miss doing cheeky stuff with my bestie.”

It was heart-warming to see Yuyeon be honest with you. Even the fact that she mentioned Baekhyun was a step forward for neither of you mentioned him unless necessary. Yuyeon was tiptoeing around you for one year in order to give you time to get over the mess that the mentioned male did to you and then she grew accustomed to your indifference towards your surroundings. You didn't talk about it and she didn't want to pry too much, always listening to bits of your thoughts here and there.

Yuyeon didn't feel guilty for mentioning Baekhyun's name; if anything, she hoped that you got over it and wouldn't react to him too much. For her, of course, Baekhyun was still on the “hated people” side like Chul. But he was also your ex and you were talking about girl stuff. Exciting stuff. Mature stuff. Baekhyun's name had to be mentioned for he was the whole package in the past.

“I know, and I'm sorry about that,” you murmured, averting your gaze. Her knees were bent, her skin showing as her shorts had ridden up. “We should start getting back on the track, right?”

The corners of Yuyeon's lip lifted in a small, encouraging smile. “Yes. So how about starting with the porn?”

You laughed out loud, smacking her thigh loudly, making her wince. “Okay, okay, just because it's you!”

“No, it's 'cause you are super curious as well!” she said, sticking her tongue out at you. “How it's all done and stuff.” She was growing red in her face, but her blush looked pretty and made her even more youthful. It made you grin wider and you shook your head at her and also stuck your tongue out, playing the silly one.

“You talk too much! Go finish your make-up, you're friggin ugly,” you rolled your eyes in mock and climbed off your bed, ready to change into more comfortable clothes.

When her slap landed on your butt, you abruptly turned around, glaring at her but both of you eventually giggled. Yes, this will be the best way to get your mind off stuff and hopefully have a good girls' night.

The room 501 was crammed with girls and pink and magazines and make-up and perfumes and smartphones with instagrams open. They were all chatting excitedly while one of the girls, you presumed the person living in this room, was behind her laptop, searching the websites that already screamed porn.

Both you and Yuyeon plopped down on the bed, shimmying yourselves between two girls who immediately took you in, wanting to socialize. That part was a little painful on your side as you weren't looking for new friends; especially not the ones who kept commenting on your chest and choice of clothing.

“Isn't it hard to run for you?”

“Don't people stare a lot?”

“Has anyone touched without asking?”

“How do you buy your bras? Korea is full of A cups and B cups are already considered huge anyway!”

You sighed and ensured the very concerned girl that you were able to get the cup of your size just fine - though, only in a few shops that were designed for ladies that were more blessed. You definitely couldn't just walk into any shop of your liking.

“Okay, girls, it's about to start!” shouted one and smashed the space on her keyboard, starting the forsaken video.

Everyone went silent right away, almost waiting with bated breaths for what was about to go down.

With a small frown, you were focusing on the small story they were trying to fool you with, immediately presenting a beautiful woman with blue eyes, of course. The man, though, wasn't a catch at all - not for you, at least. Some girls' eyes sparkled at the sight of the main male character and the way he was tanned and incredibly muscly.

“He looks like he could crash her bones,” whispered eagerly Yuyeon into your ear while not tearing her eyes away from the screen.

You hummed; the more it went on the more distrubed you started to feel. It was all incredibly bizarre and their love story was faced paced.

Founding yourself zoning out and blocking out the scenes that quickly grew heated and, well, disturbing to you, you spotted a calendar of models on the desk. It wasn't too far and you grabbed it quickly, not wanting to be in the line of vision of other girls who were literally drooling while hiding their faces behind their hands at the rated scenes.

Taking the calendar, you listed through what seemed like an endless amount of sexy pictures of firefighters in Bucheon. Just as expected, they were either shirtless or pants-less or both. Thank God they had underwear. You didn’t deny it; they were so handsome it almost seemed questionable. What were they like in real life? Were they really as passionate about their work as it said on the calendar? And, more importantly, were they really as handsome as the pictures were portraying them to be?

You kept listing through the pages, sometimes stopping to read. When you spotted a familiar face though, you almost fainted. On it, the month of May, was none other than Baekhyun. A black leather jacket was on him, underneath he was shirtless with his dark blue ripped jeans low on his hips, red supreme underwear poking out to tease the eager eye. The way they were hugging his thighs had a strong effect on you. As he had his thumb (the one with the mole on it) causally hooked in the belt loop hole, it brought your attention to the thin, and what looked like very veiny, skin that disappeared in the underwear. He had lean muscle that wouldn’t intimidate a girl. In fact, it would affect her heavily. You noticed a few more moles on his abdomen, the ripped muscles making the skin on it exceptionally tight. Saliva collected in your mouth and you quickly swallowed, averting your gaze to the upper part of his face. His hair was styled like a rock star’s with a comma hanging over his forehead, his dark eyes glaring at the camera, charcoal black eyeliner making them seem deadly. His lips were parted ever so slightly, scarcely revealing his front teeth, and your gaze hooked on them just a little while longer than they should have. You remembered the moments he would bite them. When he would lick them. When he would smile with them; or kiss you with them. He looked stunningly hot and dangerous. You couldn’t believe you once had this man to yourself.

You had heart palpitations.

Slapping Yuyeon’s arm, you tried to get her attention. You needed to vent, otherwise you’d suffocate. Yuyeon was too preoccupied with the disturbing video playing which was why the girl sitting on your other side spoke up excitedly into your ear:

“Oh my god, that’s the captain of the police, Byun Baekhyun! My oldest brother went to the same school with him.” She stared at the picture. “He is so fucking hot.” She was basically salivating over the picture. With her words, you felt something move within you. What it was you weren’t sure, but you didn’t like it. It made your chest tighten up and your mood dampen. “There are many hot guys in that calendar but Baekhyun has his own charm. I’d go for him any minute.”

Not sparing any more time with the picture, you harshly turned over the page, revealing a mediocre looking police officer. He was very handsome, thanks to plastic surgery, but after seeing Baekhyun, all the males seemed dull and boring. Despite your wild thoughts, you muttered: “He’s okay, I guess.”

She nudged you with her elbow. “C‘mon, I can see the redness in your cheeks,” she giggled and just in that moment there was a loud moan coming from the laptop. You felt yourself burning up even more and you squirmed on the bed, warmth pooling in your belly. These feelings were so foreign to you.

“You’re friends with Oh Sehun, right?” She was adamant about talking to you. So you nodded in response. “Well, he is good friends with Baekhyun. Yeonhee, the one who lives in this room, got the calendar from him. She likes Sehun but I feel like she has secondary intentions. If she could get Baekhyun she would not hesitate to go after him,” she giggled into your ear just when another moan resembled the room.

You sighed. “Sehun is a good guy, you know?” you muttered to her and looked at her huge eyes, the way they seemed dilated. “I hope you can tell her not to toy with him.” You looked back down, now a doctor on the cover. A doctor?! “Or else she will deal with me and that won’t be nice.”

The girl went silent. Maybe you came off as rude but you didn’t have many friends; nor were you looking for more. So if someone played with someone that belonged to you, they could rest assured you wouldn’t let it slip. “Do you perhaps know Baekhyun?”

And there it went again. Silently, you cursed your luck. This man seemed to be everywhere you went and mentioned by anyone you talked to recently. You never realized just what power Baekhyun had over this city. Realizing you probably took more time to answer, you quickly shrugged your shoulders. “Just a little bit. He is quite older than us so I doubt he has interest in us, kids.” It hurt to say, but you knew it was the closest to the truth. Baekhyun made the age difference between him and you crystal clear and even used it as a barrier between the two of you. Even though he wanted you, it was a crucial reason for him to stop moving forward with you. Or more like, he wanted to take things slow. You scoffed out loud.

“Well, I guess he just hasn't met the right one. The young ones are always better than the older ones. The older guys are just too afraid to admit it,” she told you and leaned further away, most probably wanting to end the conversation. She must have noticed your defensive, indifferent position and figured she wouldn't get a juicy talk with you.

That was fine by you. Because right now your head was so full of him; you couldn’t produce a single comprehensive sentence without giving yourself away. You so wished to meet him again and talk to him. You so wished things would have gone differently between the two of you.

There were now harsh pantings in the background and you groaned inwardly. You slapped Yuyeon’s thigh to finally get her attention. At the impact, she jumped up and glared at you. “I’m leaving,” you mouthed, not wanting to wait for her reply, but she stopped you abruptly.

“Are you okay?” she whispered in your ear, but the disturbing noises were blocking out each of her words.

You only managed to nod quickly before scooting off the bed and, while ignoring the curious stares of the other girls, you quickly made your way out, desperately searching for fresh air that would hopefully help you clear your foggy mind.

Once out in the corridor, you inhaled deeply, trying to shake off the feelings in your body. How could you become so easily affected by a simple picture? It was the stupid background noise, added your brain and you rolled your eyes. You needed to let out your frustration and even though it was hard to believe, you decided you would make good use of it.

You would go running. For the first time. By yourself.

When you reached the running track, the main headlights of the field were already turned off, throwing the space into a darkness lit up by surrounding street lamps. That was good enough, as you seeked some kind of hiding. Deciding to pour your frustrations into your challenge in jogging, you padded over to the running field, feeling the ground softer under your running shoes. There was a group of boys wrapping up a football game while a lone man, a student, was making laps, unbothered by the minimal lighting.Without paying anymore attention to your surroundings, you slowly increased your walking into a light jog, not wanting to strain yourself too much.

Your hair was flowing behind you in a high ponytail while the remnants of winter were biting into your skin, making your cheeks and nose red. You tried to focus on your breathing, wanting to make sure you wouldn't mess it up and therefore increase your stamina but it was fruitless as your mind immediately wandered off to the picture of Baekhyun in that calendar. It effectively quickened your heartbeat and you grew warm all over your body.

After two laps though, you became quickly tired and out of breath, your lungs on fire. There was an uncomfortable, sharp feeling in your side, the pain dull but making moving difficult nonetheless. The man who had been running the whole time without stopping didn't seem to break a single sweat the whole time.

“Oh, isn't that Lee?” you heard the boys talking to each other as they finally managed to clear up the field.

“The one with the boobs?”

You were fast to roll your eyes, angry tears burning up in your eyes at their careless words. Screw them all. Instead of staying on the field, you went inside the gym next to the field to get some water and try to calm down. Even though it was cold outside, a cold drink would hopefully help quieten the small rage inside of you. People like those were the ones you despised. They didn’t know anything about you and, naturally, you didn’t know anything about them. Yet, you were constantly under their scrutiny and sexualized in more than one way.

“Idiots,” you murmured to yourself, your skin heating up at the change of temperature once you entered the small building.

As you were filling up your bottle with the cold water, you heard the jerks entering the gym as well. They were laughing and joking amongst each other, their throaty laughs reaching your sensitive ears.

Cursing under your breath, you finished filling the bottle and turned to leave, just to stand face to face with all of them. They were grouped up on you, smirking.

Without sparing them another glance, you moved to walk around them but someone grabbed your arm, yanking you backwards, your back hitting the wall next to the water filter. It took you off guard and you managed to hit your head, too, and you scrunched up your face, hissing. “You piece of shit,” you spat angrily, your rage growing more when you noticed the dude’s hungry eyes on your chest.

“You surely are feisty! We heard so much from the seniors about you,” one of them spoke up, his eyes barely visible as they were shaped like slits, thin like pupils of a cat in broad daylight. “We all know you like to go against the rules.” A round of snickers resonated the otherwise empty space and you felt your heartbeat pick up in fear.

“Okay,” was your blunt answer and you once again wanted to step aside but the same jerk grabbed your arm, bringing you back. You gritted your teeth.

“You ain’t leaving just yet, little kitten,” he murmured darkly and this time, you felt like you wouldn’t be able to escape. “We won’t do anything bad. Just give us a little show of what you’re hiding underneath that hoodie of yours.”

If someone was living in your body right now, they’d know in an instant something terrible was happening, for your legs were shaking like a jelly, becoming one with the asphalt and therefore making you unable to move. Despite that, you scoffed, stubbornly insisting on showing your confident side. Those idiots wanted a reaction from you, but you wouldn’t give in. “Then turn on some porn. Though I’m not sure you’re ready to see that either with your tiny, premature, out-of-control dicks,” you said in a levelled voice, cutting each word off to emphasize the meaning so that their small brains would understand. “You ain’t shit,” you added when you saw some dudes growing red.

“You little bitch-“

There was an unexpected shadow that swooshed past and just in that second, too many things happened at the same time; a familiar scent hitting your nose; a sound of skin slapping skin reverberated the empty space followed by a groan. “She said to leave her, so respect a lady’s wish,” a low growl reached your ears and you almost fainted when you spotted short blonde hair and a handsome profile. Even from the side you could detect he was glaring, a stern gaze bringing out his authority and dominance that would make anyone quiver and render into submission. “Just a tip for the future if you want to get your dick wet,” added mockingly Baekhyun. He was staring down the group of young students for a little longer, surprisingly none of them making a fuss, before Baekhyun looked down at you, your shocked expression making your eyes much bigger than they usually were. “Let’s go.”

He didn’t wait as he started to walk ahead, only a couple of steps later looking behind his shoulder to double check whether you were following him or not.

Your legs had a mind on their own when they moved after Baekhyun, but your heart was beating crazily fast, the unexpected presence of the only male who was able to make you speechless and make you go crazy at the same time still stunning you. Why was he there? How did he know where you were? Oh, was it because you wished to meet him again? If so, then you wished all your wishes would become true this fast.

He led you outside of the gym, the annoyed voices of the boys barely reaching you now that they were out of ear shot. Cold air hit the dried sweat on your skin, making you shiver. Baekhyun stopped abruptly when he reached the track again and turned to look at you with an unreadable gaze. His heavy breathing was condensing into small puffs, his nose a little red. The chilly air biting his cheeks made his eyes water. You couldn’t stop staring at him and at the way he looked in that moment.

“You should-“

“Thank you,” you muttered at the same time as he spoke up.

Both of you went quiet right away and awkwardness creeped into the space between the two of you. Growing red, you averted your gaze, looking at the ground and hoping your wild heart beat would calm down.

“You should have been more careful,” he finally told you quietly, ignoring your word of gratefulness. There was a slight scolding undertone in his voice. “Those jerks are little kids who think with their dicks.”

You grew even more red at his words. Baekhyun must have heard their stupid request. Your throat restricted and your heart once again started to beat loudly. “I would have been okay,” you insisted. “But thank you anyway.” You meant it. You really did.

Baekhyun saw you averting your gaze again and he took the time to observe you. You were still too young, but he definitely noted the way your facial features matured, with each passing year turning you into more of a grown woman while leaving the teen girl behind. Your hair was long and it seemed you lost some weight in your cheeks. He couldn’t imagine how much of a hard time you were having the whole time he wasn't by your side. And then you had perverts following you around.

He cursed mentally, hating the simplest idea of anyone imaging you in a more mature way than you let on to a plain eye. Those bastards should have been thankful he didn’t actually use fists as he so wished. Because when they asked you to undress, he swore white spots of anger were blinding him, his emotions a wild hurricane of rage and hatred. The only thing moving him forward was to protect you even though you would have hated it.

“Just be careful next time,” he added gently, his features softening.

You looked up at him upon detecting the tone of his voice. “What are you even doing here?” Just then you took notice of his outfit and you recognized it. He was the person running when you arrived. He had been here the entire time, but you were swimming in sweet obliviousness. And just like that, the picture of him in the calendar popped up in your mind, making you avert your eyes right away. Heat pinked your cheeks which Baekhyun mistook for the coldness biting your cheeks.

“I come here to run,” he told you in a somber voice. “And we also work out here with Sehun so if you think I followed you here, you’re wrong.”

“I didn’t think you followed me here,” you retorted, wanting to roll your eyes.

“Well, on the contrary, I didn’t know you run too,” he said, a hint of tease present in his voice, though he didn’t smile. Showing his relief of you communicating with him could be a strategic bad step on his side.

You sighed at the mention of running and the reason behind it. “I’m doing a race at the festival so I have to practice. I’m not enjoying it and I’m not doing it out of my own will.”

“Then why would you do it if you don’t want to do it?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“Because I’m in the student council,” you replied almost in a whine. “They asked me and I couldn’t say no!” You threw your arms around, making it sound like a big deal. And for you, it was a big deal. You didn’t like how you were easily pushed around.

Baekhyun nodded, a small smile stretching his lips when he saw your comprehension. Sweet university life. “You must be very liked by everyone.”

You froze at that. That wasn’t true. How would you tell your ex the reason everyone was all over you was because you had huge tits and you were friends with Chul? “It’s not like that…”

Baekhyun nodded, noting your discomfort but deciding against questioning it. He didn’t think he was anywhere near the position to stick his nose into your business. For all he knew, he’d scare you away like that time in the bar but, frankly, he didn’t even utter a single word that night to give you a reason for your abrupt fleeing.

“So you run here often, huh,” he heard you say and then saw you shuffling your feet, the small stones of the track field rustling under them.

“Yeah, I do,” he replied almost breathily. There was an upcoming question hanging in the air but he already forbade himself to hope.

You bit your lip harshly, bringing Baekhyun’s attention to the action. You were gnawing on it and you felt your body and mind betraying you. You were supposed to be mad at him. You despised this man standing in front of you so why was your heart beating frantically and, at his gentle tone, butterflies fluttering in your tummy? You felt warm just by his presence. He saved you. Yes, he didn’t even touch you, didn’t even take your hand like they do it in the movie. However, you witnessed the rage, the anger, the hatred, the need to fight but going against it so as not to cause problems. He cared about you, and he was still mature about it.

“Okay. Well, then, I guess I’ll see you around,” you muttered eventually, causing Baekhyun to deflate invisibly. An eager question cut through his mind: and when do you come to run here? I don’t like that you run here alone.

“Where do you stay? I’ll take you home,” he spoke up casually.

“I live in the dorms, it’s no biggie,” you shrugged just when the group of boys flooded out of the gym, spotting you and Baekhyun. They were noisy once again and immediately took advantage of the situation when they shouted:

“If it isn’t the love birds! We thought you’d be home and fucking her by now but guess who didn’t get their dick wet now?” They laughed in unison, finding their words funny and mocking.

You pulled a disgusted face, though you reddened in embarrassment at their words, and looked up at Baekhyun who was glaring at them again. “Come, I’ll walk you to your dorms,” he muttered so that only you could hear and this time, he took a hold of your hand, his skin soft and a little dry in your sweaty palm. You were shocked at how quickly your hand clasped around his.

Cat calls reached the both of you as the boys approached you. “Woohoo, they are about to do it-“

Baekhyun was fast. Before you realized the warmth of his hand leaving yours, you heard a loud snap, his fist landing with the dude’s face. You squealed, covering your mouth in shock and just like that, Baekhyun had professionally put the lad down, having both his arms locked behind his back. It vastly made you remember when he did a similar move with your brother in his office at the police station, and chills ran down your spine.

Right. Baekhyun first arrested you, and then your brother who was still in jail until now. Baekhyun lied to you to get closer to you. Right. Right, right, right.

“Don’t ever even imagine her in your filthy mind,” Baekhyun’s voice thundered through the space. It kept growing more distant as you realized the hasty steps you were making backwards before you turned around and started speed walking out of the field and towards the dorms. Angry tears blocked out your vision and you quickly tried to rub your eyes, annoyed that you always let your tough stance sway whenever he was around. He dared to be kind to you. He dared to be soft to you. He dared to-

“Nari! Wait!”

Baekhyun was jogging towards you and your breath hitched in your throat, hearing his fast approaching steps. “Nari!”

Sooner than later he caught your wrist and wanted to stop you but you surprised him. You were now far off the field, not a single soul around. Your palm landed on his cheek and Baekhyun’s face snapped to his right side. “I hate you!” You shouted shakily, more tears spilling down your cheeks, the snot out of your nose. You were a mess. “I hate everything you put me through, Byun Baekhyun! You lied to me! Why did you lie to me?! I loved you!” You shouted again, and squeezed your eyes shut.

Baekhyun slowly turned his head back, your slap still stinging on his cheek. His eyes were wide but he knew exactly what was happening. “C’mon. Don’t hold back. Let it out. Hit me again,” he encouraged in a low tone that made you frustrated even more.

You were breathing raggedly and pushed him in the chest, making him stumble backwards. He could have easily fought you, he could easily stand still, not budging under you, but he let you. He knew you needed this to finally let go of your suppressed feelings and, hopefully, of the heavy past he made you go through. “You fucking liar! You fooled me, played with me, made me dream of something beautiful just for you to crash it! You ruined my family! I hate you! I hate you so much! You make me go crazy with hatred!!!”

Another strong push. He was surprised at how strong you actually were; when emotions spoke, people could be either extremely vulnerable or extremely strong. You seemed to be the opposite, for speaking up about your emotions made you scarily strong. “I hate that you made an idiot out of me! You fooled me and I trusted you the whole time! You locked up my brother! You did it in front of my eyes!! As if I didn’t matter shit to you! You were so fast to let me go when you thought I’m the criminal! That was all my worth to you!” you hiccuped, more cries taking over you as the painful memories kept swimming in front of your eyes, making you relive the emotions, the scenes. Those memories were blinding you and Baekhyun just let you open the Pandora box. You were breaking down.

It hit you too, that you never talked about your feelings. You couldn’t talk for a long while after being in shock at the events, and then you became one with ignorance towards your own emotions.

You took a deep breath and pushed him again just for you to lose your strength that was fueled by deep anger. Baekhyun couldn’t even pretend to step back. Your palms were still, pressing against his sturdy chest but you couldn’t make him move anymore. You were crying now, your voice shaking and your eyes still squeezed shut. “What did I do to deserve this… when all I did was love you honestly, purely,” you wailed, your voice sounding almost like a wolf’s howl in the empty streets of the campus. “I was just seventeen…”

Baekhyun was quiet the whole time, emotions of guilt eating him away just like they had been for the past year. His own heart was in pain and he knew how hurt you were but seeing you like this made his heart split into two. You were a complete, utter mess.

You didn’t know how much time passed without any of you speaking. The only thing you grew to realize was that you were in a tight embrace, the arms of your ex-lover protectively around you as his palm was drawing soothing circles into your back. His breathing seemed much more steady compared to yours, his scent filling your senses with comfort and familiarity you had been looking for ever since you met him a year ago. Your nose was on fire from crying, skin harshly clashing with the cold night air, but Baekhyun's presence made everything seem bearable. Even if it was just for a few minutes that you could pretend all was okay.

Squirming a bit, you moved away from him and he was fast to drop his arms, not wanting to upset you more. Your hand came up to wipe the tears and snot away, not caring you probably looked very un-ladylike in front of your eternal crush. “Leave.” You told him and turned around, heading towards the direction of your dorms. Your head was pounding, making you groan gently at the discomfort.

“Nari, wait,” he tried, making a step after you with a reached out hand but you turned your head as you walked, dismissing him with a single glance.

“I don’t want to listen right now.”

><><><><><><

A/N: sorry it took me a while to update. I hope some people were waiting and looking forward to this chapter even though it took me time ❤️ let me know your thoughts please? ^^

#exowritersnet #baekhyun fanfiction #baekhyun #baekhyun fluff #baekhyun scenario #exo fanfiction #baekhyun angst #baekhyun smut #baekhyun fanfic #exo #CB #mywritings

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365days365movies · 3 years

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February 18, 2021: The Danish Girl (Review)

Before I go into ANYTHING else...let’s talk about the actual Danish Girl, Lili Elbe, or Lili Ilse Elvenes.

Oh, uh, full warning, this is gonna be LONG, so skip to the bottom if you’re just here for the Review! OK, history time!

Now, what the film The Danish Girl notes about the beginning of the transition is pretty spot-on, from what I can tell. After marrying portrait painter Gerda Gottlieb in 1904, the two lived in Italy and France before moving to Paris in 1912. Yeah, that’s over 14 years before they’re shown doing so in the movie. Inaccuracy #1. In 1908 (here comes number 2), Elbe (Einar at the time) painted this portrait of trees along a fjord in Denmark.

Yeah, NOT in 1926, as the film says. But, yeah, that’s a nitpick, I recognize that. Anyway, the revelation came when model Anna Larssen (not “Ulla”, which is Inaccuracy #3) was late, and Gerda asked Elbe to fill in. When Larssen eventually showed up, she suggested the name “Lili”. Basically, this scene from the movie was pretty goddamn accurate.

Except for the dates, anyway. Because while the movie mostly takes place around 1926 and afterwards, this probably happened closer to 1920, in Paris. So, yeah, Lili spent a LOT more time as Lili in real life. Additionally, Lili was pretty goddamn public about the whole thing, inviting guests and hosting parties as herself, rather than as Einar. At the same time, Gerda was getting pretty goddamn famous for her paintings of Lili, like this one.

Which, yeah, are really good! Also, they were considered lesbian erotica by many! YEAH! And here’s a fun fact: Gerda may not have been straight-up straight. Yeah, the film and the book (we’ll get there) kind of ignored the fact that their marriage was annulled by the Danish government, not by the two of them. Inaccuracy #4. Now, obviously, their relationship ended, and Lili ended up getting together with a man (we’ll get there, too), but there are a LOT of unanswered questions about Gerda’s sexuality, and views of sexuality (which is barely hinted at in the “male gaze” speech in the beginning).

After the annulment, the two just...drifted apart. Their relationship dissolved, and the details on that are fuzzy. By 1930, Lili was headed on a completely different path. She wasn’t a painter like Einar (and it turns out that she thought of them as two entirely separate people, like two souls living in the same body, which the movie got mostly right), and she was mostly unsatisfied with her career, life, and other things. And that is where Drs. Erwin Gohrbandt and Magnus Hirschfeld come in, NOT Kurt Warnerkros...yet. He’d come in for the other five (YES FIVE) surgeries, but wouldn’t be involved with the first. Inaccuracy #5, and also #6, while we’re at it! See, the film would make you think that Lili was the first complete gender reassignment surgery, but she was actually the second. The first would be Dora Richter, in a procedure that was performed by Dr. Hirschfeld from 1922 - 1931. YEAH. BIG-ASS INACCURACY THERE. Here’s Dora, by the way:

Anyway, Lili had her first procedure, to remove the testicles, performed in 1930. In the same year, the divorce between Lili and Gerda was finalized, and Lili legally changed her name. Two more procedures were performed, the first to implant an ovary, and the second to remove the penis and scrotum. Inaccuracy #7, by the way. And, hey, let’s go for number 8! Let’s talk about Henrik, a dude who didn’t exist. He and Hans were both very loosely based on an art dealer named Claude Lejeune.

Claude was an art dealer (there’s the Hans part), and was indeed in love with Lili. They got together around early 1931, and he’d actually been in love with her for a good, long time. He proposed to marry Lili, and she accepted, also hoping that the two would be able to have children together. But to do that, it was believed that Lili would need a uterus. And, obviously, having children would be MILES more complicated than that in basically EVERY way, but this was early in medical science’s understanding of some of that biology.

In any case, however, Lili would need both a uterus and a vagina to feel whole. And so, the fourth surgery was scheduled. And she had that surgery in 1931, a couple of weeks after Dora Richter successfully had the same surgery performed. But, sadly, Lili wouldn’t be so lucky.

Lili’s body rejected the uterus, and while transplant rejections of any kind wouldn’t necessarily be fatal now, they definitely were back then. They attempted to remove it, but that subsequent 5th surgery caused infection, which caused a fatal heart attack three months later. Lili Elbe died on September 13, 1931, at the age of FORTY-EIGHT. Yeah, Inaccuracy #9.

By the way, you may be wondering: what about Dora Richter, the first successful person to get these surgeries? Well, she disappeared...in Germany...as the Nazis were coming into power...yeah. Fuckin’ YIKES.

And so, that’s the true story of Lili Elbe. And there are far more differences than that, I’m sure, but those 9 inaccuracies aren’t insignificant, that’s for sure. Although, it probably doesn’t help that the movie was based on a fictionalized book.

Oh, uh...did I not mention that? Yeah, this movie is based on The Danish Girl, by David Ebershoff, which means that this film is essentially a cinematic game of telephone. Which, uh...not great. Granted, Ebershoof made some other...interesting changes, which the film didn’t inherit. In the book, for example, Gerda is named Greta, and is American? Um...why? I dunno, it’s kind of weird. Oh, and that’s not including one more issue with the movie. But, you’ve waited long enough, huh? Recap of the film is here and here if you wanna check that out! Let’s get to the Review already!

Review

Cast and Acting: 8/10

I am...conflicted. So let me start here by saying that the acting in the film in and of itself is fantastic, all-around. Not a weak actor in here, that’s for sure. Let’s start with the side-roles, for once. Ben Whishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Amber Heard are all good. Heard’s accent is a little shaky, but they’re still all solid performances. OK, how about Alicia Vikander? She’s great! And she won the Oscar for...Best Supporting Actress. Um...wait...Supporting? But not Best Actress? Uh...OK. That’s a little weird, let’s be honest here. But, Alicia Vikander did deserve that win over...oooooooh, Rooney Mara in Carol? Maybe not...damn.

And OK...let’s get into the elephant in the room, huh?

Eddie Redmayne is fantastic as Einar Wegener/Lili Eber, and I genuinely think he had a great shot to win Best Actor...but, yeah, Leonardo DiCaprio definitely deserved it, I think that goes without saying. Hell, that year had a SOLID line-up for best actor. And Redmayne had even won it the year before for The THeory of Everything, another biography where he played Stephen Hawking. But ALL of that said...HNNNNNNNNNG, there should have been a transgender actor cast in this role, ideally. Now, I’m fully aware how difficult that would be, as Hollywood isn’t extraordinarily diverse in terms of including trans actors in massive mainstream projects. It’s better now, but it’s nowhere near ideal. But if anybody knows an actor who would’ve fit this role and performed it well, I’m DEFINITELY interested. So, despite that controversy, Redmayne was pretty goddamn great in this role. But, uh...that doesn’t mean everything is perfect...

Plot and Writing: 5/10

OK, that seems low, I know. But it’s pretty goddamn damning that this movie was based off of a heavily fictionalized book instead of the actual life story of Lili Eber and Gerda Gottlieb. And because of that, there are not only some missed opportunities, but some straight-up damning inaccuracies. That’s a set of pretty poor decisions, I tell you what. Not sure why Lucinda Coxon came to that decision when adapting this screenplay, but it wasn’t exactly nominated for Best Screenplay. And the writing certainly isn’t bad, but it is...overly saccharine sometimes, especially for a film based (loosely) on a true story. I dunno...just not the best set of choices here, sorry to say.

Directing and Cinematography: 8/10

Tom Hooper shouldn’t direct musicals. However, since this wasn’t a musical, directing and cinematography here is pretty damn good! Real talk, this is a gorgeous looking movie, and the way shots are framed are fantastic. Perfect? Weeeeeeeell...given the fact that painting is a main focus of the film, for both Gerda and Einar, there should’ve been more painter-quality shots in here, I think. And while the cinematography by Danny Cohen is pretty fantastic, I can’t say that it’s perfect. Still, in terms of lighting and general skill, it’s still quite a good looking movie.

Production and Art Design: 10/10

But the deficiencies in the direction are EASILY compensated for by the production design! Like, hot DAMN, this is a good looking movie, like I said! That goes from the construction of the sets, to the gorgeous outfits all over the place, especially Lili’s outfits. Some iconic pieces of wardrobe there, that’s for sure! But if I have ONE complaint...this movie never once felt like the 1920s. Yup, good old anachronistic complaints from me again! Yeah, I’ll change the record one of these days, I promise. But even with that, it’s hard to ignore just how good this movie looks, to be honest. It’s just...gorgeous.

Music and Editing: 8/10

As I type this, I’m listening to a track of the film on YouTube, and it is a beautifully delicate tune. I’m not sure that I’d be able to associate it with the film if presented to me on its own, but it’s definitely a nice track to listen to by itself. Playlist worthy? For somebody, almost certainly, but not for me. One of these days, a film like that’s gonna pop up, I swear. But for now, Alexandre Desplat and his score are gonna stay off my iPhone. This really is a nice score, though, I promise. Editing by Melanie Ann Oliver is pretty good as well, and I’ve no complaints about it, to be honest. Overall, this side of things was quite nice, if not the most notable thing I’ve ever seen or heard.

I might have been a little harsh, but it’s still got an 78%.

This is a good movie, but...I dunno, the inaccuracies do bug me. Hell, there are WAY more than what I’d mentioned, and I mentioned a lot. Not to mention the other glaring issue: no trans people at any stage of the production? Really? No script consultants, no writers, no NTOHING? That’s...egregiously bad. Like, holy shit, guys. And, yes, this includes Redmayne, because even though he performed admirably in the role...I dunno. I’m no expert on ANY of this, as a cissexual dude with cissexual experience, but it feels a little...reductive, is all. Like I said, if any other actors have been suggested for this role, I’d love to know. The whole thing feels...I don’t know, just not great.

And by the way, that’s without even TOUCHING the question as to whether or not this film is authentic to the trans experience. Again, I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA, but I’ve also heard that this film isn’t universally acclaimed in the trans community, so to speak. And I’m definitely interested in the reasons for that. All I know is this: from the perspective of a complete outsider, I was intrigued by this films view of the transgender experience, specifically as seen in the earliest days of those realizations happening and being publicly known and reported on. And that’s all I can really comment on, in truth.

WHOOF. That was a goddamn topic, huh? And now, I’m going to continue on the the month of romance with...wait, the 19th is my 5-year anniversary with my GF, pictured here:

Ravishing. Anyway, I think I’ll let her pick from my choices for this next one. Hold on a sec...OK, then. Sing it with me now! AND DO I DREEEEEAM AGAAAAIN, FOR NOW I FIIIIIIIIIIIIIND...

February 19, 2021: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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What I Thought About "Eda's Requiem" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

...

...HOW IS SEASON TWO SO GOOD?! WE'VE HAD SEVEN EPISODES SO FAR, AND EACH ONE OF THEM WAS A HIT!

Take "Eda's Requiem," for example. It's yet another episode where I have NOTHING bad to say about it! That's two weeks in a row where that happened! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!

HOW!

...But anyways, "Eda's Requiem." It's another fantastic episode, and I'm about to dive into explaining how and why. Just keep in mind, it's gonna require spoilers to do so, so be wary of that as you keep reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Eda’s Checklist and Grom Photo: Within the first second, "Eda's Requiem" perfectly sets up Eda's central conflict in the episode. Despite spending years being on her own and looking after herself, she now has two kids that she's constantly caring over. Eda can try all she wants to say that she doesn't care, and I bet she has in the past. But given the hard work she's putting into getting King and Luz what they need and having a grom photo of the three of them together pinned in her mirror, it's pretty clear that those two knuckleheads wormed their way into her heart and are never getting out.

Eda’s Worried About King and Luz Leaving: And thus, that's precisely why something like this bothers her so much. Eda inadvertently adopted two rambunctious rapscallions (Yeah, I know. I'll get to it), so the idea of them not being around her anymore is going to be terrifying. That is a situation most parents, especially mothers, can identify with. It’s called empty nest syndrome and it proves just how much Eda loves Luz and King that she can't stand the thought of her babies leaving the nest. It's yet another well-made, wholesome, found-family moment that this series continues to excel at each week, making me extra excited for more like it to come...while also readying myself for heartbreak when one of them eventually does leave Eda.

Eda and Raine’s Music: Ok, I don't know the exact instruments that were played during this episode, but I also don't care because it was all (for lack of a better term) music to my ears. Every time Eda and Raine played resulted in melodies that are so beautiful and filled with so much emotion and feeling that I'm honestly tempted to listen to them again, multiple times, on repeat. Shows rarely do that for me, as background music doesn't always draw me in as much as lyrical songs do. Usually, it takes something so extraordinarily composed to give me the desire to listen again, and that's the case here. So huge congrats to Brad Breek for doing so. Seriously, the man's been killing it this season.

Eda’s Bard Magic Causing Things to Turn to Ash: This was assuredly a surprise side-effect of the curse. The fact that Eda can sort of do magic at all was its own shock. To then reveal that a specific type can do dangerous things to people and environments is...Well, it definitely brings up its own fair share of questions. Like, how can she do this? Will she do it again, one day? And are there other types of spells that can be negatively affected by Eda's curse? We don't get answers for any of these questions, and odds are, we never will. But that's alright with me. Because if a show makes me consider these many possibilities after a brief amount of time, it is a show that has to be doing something right. Even if I don't get the answers I want, the fact that it caused such a reaction makes me less willing to care.

Raine Whispers: Hey, would you look at that. Another fun, interesting, and compelling character added to the list of this shows' other fun, interesting, and compelling characters...how is this series so good at this!?

Joking aside, Raine's pretty good. I like Raine. They could have been this super serious leader who lost all their fun after years apart from Eda, but I'm glad that they're not. There are moments when Raine takes their job as leader of the BATs seriously, as one would, but I still prefer the fact that they kept a jovial nature despite how grim their situation is. It's an admirable trait to have, and it avoids the trope of making leader characters boring just because they're the ones who have to take things seriously.

Oh, and also, Raine's Disney's first non-binary character who has a stake in the plot. This is a tremendous deal, as you don't usually see that many non-binary characters in children's animation, let alone ones that hold importance to the story. So it's pretty cool for the writers to feature Raine, as it helps several kids feel as though they're finally seen and respected. And the fact that Disney of all companies gave the thumbs up is even more impressive. I hear people say that Dana Terrace should have pitched The Owl House to more progressive networks to avoid pushback, and while I absolutely see your point, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Disney is the largest entertainment industry of all time, so if you want to make LGBTQA+ representation normalized, you gotta stop making splashes and start making waves. Because if the same company that made three racist cats in the span of a few years manages to say that being gay is a-ok, then you know there's something wrong with you. Yes, Disney ended up screwing over the show anyway. But for that one moment, when kids felt pride after seeing a character like Raine, then, in the end, it's kind of worth it.

Also, if you're still having issues with more representation like this popping up in kids' shows, then allow me to redirect you to the complaint department.

...I made that post earlier today for this bit. YOU HAVE BETTER APPRECIATED IT!

Day of Unity is meant to be a Secret: At least, that's what I got when Raine stumbled over their own words. So if it's true, then I wonder why? Why does Belos want to keep the most critical change in the Boiling Isles a secret? Does he want to make it a surprise for his grateful subjects, or does he not want to spread worry and fear amongst the wild witches? It has to be something big if he doesn't want his followers to even say the words "Day of Unity." Whatever reason he has, we most likely won't know until the future. A future that I grow more and more afraid of each week.

Hooty Eating Echo Mouse: My heart sank in that brief moment when I thought that Hooty intensely screwed Luz over in getting back home. But looking back...it is pretty funny.

Just the suddenness of Hooty eating the poor creature that Luz desperately tried to earn its trust is priceless in how shocking it was. And also, Luz's expression.

That was the look of a young girl who immediately shoved her hand down an owl demon's throat the second the scene cut away. The Owl House may not always be a hit in the comedy department, but scenes like this prove that when it's funny, it is hilarious.

Luz and King Entering the Grand Prix: Not much to discuss here. It's just a cute subplot that adds frivolity to the intensity of what's going on through Eda and Raine's story. But I will say that I love how both stories occasionally interconnect with each other through the many moments of Eda being worried about King wanting to leave to find his father and avoiding any conversation about it. It helps both plotlines feel like they belong together, without being something like "Through the Looking Glass Ruins," whereas both stories could have been in their own episode. Which is neat.

How Bard Magic Works: I really love how this season is diving into how the other magic types work. More specifically, the ones that seem a little vague. I mean, stuff like healing, potions, and plants are easy to figure out, but what does it mean when a witch's talents are construction, beast keeping, and bard magic? We've been getting a lot of clearing up lately, with bard magic looking like a witch can control their environments and enemies through the power of music. Which is fair. Music is pretty powerful in the metaphorical sense, and I actually love that it's powerful in the literal sense when in the Boiling Isles.

The BATs: Not much to comment on these three either. The BATs have the potential to have an entertaining dynamic, but they do very little in this episode that I can't say much other than I hope they make a return in the future. But I will make this claim: Amber is my favorite. I'm sorry, but her screaming "You're not our mom!" to then go, "Bye, mommy Eda" is just too precious for me not to love.

I'm a simple man who falls for cute s**t. Leave me alone.

Raeda (RainexEda): Well, EdaxCamila, you were a fun crack ship while it lasted, but I'm afraid that this is now goodbye. The current canon has provided an incredibly adorable and believable relationship that I would be a monster not to support with my whole bi-heart. It's been real.

Ok, back in serious mode: I love these two together. Eda and Raine are grown-ups, and they still act all flustered near each other as if they were still Luz and Amity's age. It's definitive proof that you're never too old to get flustered near a crush, and seeing them interact adds a sense of wholesomeness when seeing them together as well as heartbreak when they're forced apart. Plus, we get confirmation that Eda's LGBTQA+! Whether she's bi, pan, or whatever, now that we know Eda can catch feelings for someone like Raine, it's yet another case that The Owl House is the most important series to the community. Because having the main character be queer is fantastic in its own right. But having the same apply to the motherly mentor figure? That's is an extra bit of normalization that anybody would be willing to appreciate.

Unique Guard Designs: Not many fans are going to appreciate this, primarily compared to everything else this episode does perfectly. For me, I actually like that you see a few Coven Guards looking differently from the others, as it helps make them less like clones and makes it seem like anybody of any body type could be a part of the coven.

Gus Looking Uninterested when Presenting Grand Prix with his Dad: I am positive that you didn't notice this (I didn't even notice it until someone else pointed it out), but there's something to dissect here. It hints that perhaps Gus isn't as interested in his father's field of work as one might think. If he did, he would look a lot less bored and much more excited to be helping Perry Porter present the race. It could just be the race itself, but judging from Gus' expression, it really seems like the kid would prefer to be anywhere but there. And why would he have that reaction to a race that his best friend is competing in? To me, this seems like an inkling of what Gus' relationship with Perry could be, which may not actually get time to shine, what with how little wiggle room the series has now (Thanks Disney). Regardless, it is interesting to notice, and it will certainly have fans thinking for a while.

Bump Being Smug of Luz Being in the Lead: That's it. Principal Bump looking smug as his human student is beating the students of his rivals is yet another moment that proves why Bump is easily the best cartoon principal.

Darius: First of all, this guy is f**king fabulous, and I love him. *Snaps*

Second, he is definitive proof that you do NOT want to f**k around with Coven Leaders. Lilith may have had her intimidating moments, but none of them compare to the guy who can turn himself into an abomination monster where only magic that hasn't existed before can take him down. It's genuinely scary to see Darius lose control, and I fear for the day when Luz inevitably ends up in his crosshairs.

With that said, Darius' still a ton of fun! He may be threatening, but he's just a flamboyant guy that hates the idea of getting his outfit the tiniest bit dirty. And I love that. I love that these Coven Heads have actual personalities instead of being generically evil. I consider it preferable to make villains entertaining rather than blatantly scary as I'll remember the personalities first and the villainous acts last.

Eberwolf: But this one's my favorite. I told you: I'm a simple man who gets easily swayed by cute s**t. And Eber? I mean, just look at her:

She's just a cute widdle rascal! I just want to pinch her cheeks, give her a belly rub, and--

...Eberwolf is not a cute widdle rascal. She is a strong, independent woman, and I will respect her as such from this moment forward...lest I feel her wrath.

That is all. Let's move on.

Eda and Raine Attempting a Final Performance: This was the best scene of the episode. It looked gorgeous, it shows the dedication Eda and Raine have for stopping Belos, and it says so much through so little. Go back and look at how Eda and Raine regard one another when performing Eda's requiem. Through their expressions and a few short words, you know they understand that if they complete the song/spell, they probably won't make it in the end. And yet, they don't care. They both know bad stuff will happen if Belos wins, so Eda and Raine put everything to the side, both their feelings for one another and the people they leave behind if it means putting an end to a tyrant. That level of dedication...Words can't fully describe how powerful that is.

Raine Sacrificing Themselves Instead: But in the end, Raine can't do it. Not when they know the life that Eda has and the people she'll be leaving behind. It's an extra bit of nobleness to the character seeing that Raine refuses to take away a woman from two kids who need her the most. A tad bit selfish, sure, knowing what Belos has planned. But when it comes to love, the romantic, familial, or platonic, the best decisions aren't always the logical ones.

Eda Crying: Luz crying tears me up, but seeing Eda cry is a whole different level of heartbreak. Like Lilith, Eda has her emotions locked up tight, with the closest she came to weeping were those two tears in "Young Blood, Old Souls." In "Eda's Requiem," she cries but almost quickly stops herself. As if she knows that doing so isn't going to save Raine. That is...even worse than seeing Luz break down after losing Eda. The fact that Eda refuses to give herself time to mourn losing someone she loved is tragic because crying is the most natural way of showing grief. Turning that off isn't healthy, and seeing her do it with little resistance is sad to me. It's sad to see a character I love can easily shut off all emotions despite how badly she may want to embrace them. It's one of those moments that, again, by doing so little, it shows so much.

“No one watches Crystal Balls anymore. It’s all about streaming.”: Oof. Even I felt that burn towards cable.

King’s Message: King's message was the pick-me-up I needed after the heart-wrenching sadness this episode put me through a few minutes ago. Seeing King say who he is and listing all the things he loves is nothing short of adorable. On top of that, I adore that Eda willingly recorded the whole thing. She may not want King to leave, but that doesn't mean she'll sabotage the one thing he wants. Especially not after Raine gave up everything so Eda could be with her kids. The opening scene may prove how much Eda cares about a rascal like King, but this heartwarmingly sweet moment reveals just how far she'll go to make him happy.

King’s Dad Reveal: ...ok, I'll be honest, I did not think we'd get that reveal this soon. Dumb of me to say, considering the number of times I've said that these writers don't waste time getting to the s**t, I know. But still, it's pretty cool knowing that King's dad is alive and well, added with the fact that we've got a fair idea of what he looks like. At this point, it's only a matter of time before we see him figure out where the Clawthorne residence is and witness the tear-jerking moments that will follow.

King Changing his Name to King Clawthorne: Not the official adoption I was expecting Eda to make...but DANG IT, is it still diabetes-inducing levels of sweetness!

Personally, I feel like the main reason why Eda breaks down this time is not only because she shouldn't be worried about King leaving her life, but also because Raine's sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her kids really do need Eda because no matter how far apart they'll be, she will always be a part of their life...dang it, I'm going to cry too!

What those Coven patches really do: Well...that was horrifying to see.

...Writers, if you kill off the best non-binary character in animation (it's a short list, I know), we are going to have PROBLEMS!

IN CONCLUSION

"Eda's Requiem" is--surprise surprise--another A+. The emotions hit hard, the representation hits harder, Raine is a fantastic addition to the cast, and it was all surprisingly cute at times. Season Two is currently on a hot streak, constantly winning with every episode that's come out so far. When a bad episode does eventually show up (IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!), I'll be sure to sing my requiem then. For now, I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house reviews #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #raeda #king of demons #toh darius #toh eberwolf #what i thought about

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hops-hunny · 3 years

Text

Distance Makes the Heart Grow

CHAPTER 8

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Mafia Boss!Neville Longbottom x Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 4k

Summary: (Y/n) lives a normal life. But that’s the issue, it’s normal, it’s plain, and it’s growing boring. Everyday she wishes for something, anything to spice up her life. But, when her old school friend (and crush) shows up at her bakery with a new look (and what looks like a new life), what will it bring for her? Will their puppy love grow? Will his big secret lead to the end of them or will it spark a new beginning?

Warnings: none!

A/N: sorry it took me so long. The rest of the date will be in chapter 9!

(Y/n) huffed, crossing her arms across her chest at the mess Twyla had made. Originally, she had thought asking her to help her get ready for her date was a good idea. The two of them hadn’t spent as much time together as she had liked too and she knew how much Twyla adored fashion. But now, as her various designer dresses and shoes were scattered around the floor along with makeup palettes that had been tossed aimlessly, her patience was wearing thin.

“Was this mess really necessary? I hope you know I’m not cleaning this.” she said, causing the girl to turn around. She tossed a dress on the bed beside the girl before continuing to sift through the manmade jungle she had caused.

“I know. Neither am I, that’s what the maids are for!” she turned, watching as her friend bit at her lip nervously, picking with the skin around the bed of her fingernails. “You know for someone going on her first date, I seem more excited than you do!” when she didn’t get a response she looked over at her shoulder giving her a concerned look.

“I-it’s not that I’m not excited! Trust me, I am. I’ve been waiting for this date for over 7 years. It’s just..” she sighed, looking away from her as her cheeks heated up in embarrassment. “What do you even do on a date? O-or say? What am I supposed to wear?!”

“A good date will flow naturally no matter what you’re doing. And you said Nev was taking you to some fancy restaurant but also on a gondola ride, right? Pick out a dress that’s fancy but also gives you flexibility. Hold up, lemme look I think I saw the perfect dress.” Twyla dove back into the pile of clothes, causing her to giggle at the sight. She continued to lift and throw things until she popped up letting out a loud ‘A-ha!’ she watched as the dress was tossed on the bed along with a pretty pair of strappy white sandals and a purse in the same shade of white. Once she picked the items up, Twyla began to shove her towards the bathroom with the items.

(Y/n) looked in the mirror, letting out a shaky breath. She felt beautiful, undeniably so. Twyla had already taken the liberty of styling her hair and doing her makeup. They had gone for a natural but ethereal makeup look. Dewy foundation, subtle but glowly highlight, a thick layer of gloss along with some individual lashes to make her eyes pop. She felt like a fairy, a princess even. Reaching a jittery hand towards the doorknob, she opened it peaking her head out. Twyla looked up smiling before her jaw dropped at the sight of her friend’s full appearance. Squealing she walked up to her, twirling her around to admire the full look. Sure, she had seen her in a dress before, and even makeup. But this outfit, this look, was much more like her. Yet Twyla couldn’t help but feel as though something was missing.

“Hmm.” she trailed, eyes gazing across the room. Her eyes lit up at the sight of what it was. The diamond encrusted crown lay gently on top of a velvet pillow along with the diamond necklace and earrings. She handed the earrings to (Y/n) to put on before placing the crown on top of her head. Turning her around towards the vanity, she unclasped the priceless necklace before placing it around her neck. “Oh my…(Y/n) you look so beautiful! Like a, like a princess.” she felt her ears tingle from her kind words, smiling as she admired her appearance in the mirror.

“Now, let’s talk lingerie.”

----------------------------

“Didn’t peg you for the nervous type, boss.” Blaise piped up, chuckling as Neville fiddled with his tie for what seemed like the thousandth time. He glared at the man through the mirror, grumbling under his breath. Blaise wasn’t wrong, he rarely was. The bigger problem at hand was that he was nervous and he didn’t know how to handle it. Neville had punched some of the most powerful men in the face, made people gravel and beg for their lives, hell, he had even killed men and throughout all of that, he had not an ounce of nervousness in his system. But now, when he was taking the little baker girl who he had been madly in love with since they met in school all those years ago, nervous was the main thing he felt. He was excited, sure, plenty, but in actuality he had never been on a real date with someone he had feelings for.

“Do you even know what to do on a date? You were quite the playboy before she came back into your life.” Ron added, mixing around the scotch in his glass, pouring some for Neville who instantly downed it, not even wincing at the taste.

“ ‘S not true!” he said, turning his head some to glare at him. Seamus cackled, wiping the invisible tears in his eyes as he slapped his knee.

“Please boss, you went through more women than George does bullets on a mission, which is a fuck ton.” he said, causing everyone else to agree. The guys had all gathered in the spare room to help him get ready, calming his nerves and even giving him a few pointers. Although a lot of the advice was useless, he was able to make sense out of some of it.

“Okay, well, suppose I am nervous. How should I...what should I do on a date?” he asked, coughing over the last part to cover it up. They all heard loud and clear though, starting to overlap one another before Blaise whistled, causing everyone to silence. Neville gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

“Well, did you buy her flowers?” Draco asked, breaking the silence. He scoffed at the ridiculous question.

“Of course I got her flowers! Did you really ask me of all people that? I picked and charmed a bouquet for her the other night. Each flower was handpicked from my garden with intention behind every single one of them.” he rolled up one of his sleeves, seeing if he preferred them rolled or down. Pondering it he decided to roll them down.

“Well combine that with what we’ve taught you and you’re all set.” Harry said, shrugging some as he looked up from his newspaper. Neville gawked at the men. Taught? The only thing they had taught him was that he needed better friends!

“Taught me?” he let out an exasperated laugh, walking towards them. “Taught me? You haven’t taught me shit! I’d have half the mind to-” a knock on the door caused his breath to hitch. The boys all gave each other knowing smirks but their jaws dropped as the door opened revealing the (h/c) girl in all her glory.

There she stood, skin glowing in the soft streams of sunlight that came from the evening Italian sun. The soft lace and tulle draped across her skin delicately, bits of sparkles from the fabric shining brightly. What caught his eye the most was the crown on her head. Even though he had saw it on her yesterday, it was having the same effect on him today.

“Holy shit.” Seamus whispered, forcing his mouth closed. Not a single pair of eyes weren’t on her.

“Listen, if Nev fucks his date up tonight…” Blaise trailed, causing the girl to giggle, looking at the ground shyly. She glanced up at him through thick lashes, watching as he made his way over to her. He bowed, pressing a kiss to her knuckles causing her to giggle some. As he looked up at her, a soft barely there smile graced his face.

“I don’t think that’ll be happening.” he said as he stood up, grabbing the bouquet of flowers from behind him before handing them to her. “What are you doing here, petal? I said I’d come get you from the room.”

“Twyla was really adamant about you seeing me as soon as possible.” she smiled at the scene that had taken place a few moments beforehand. “She said that I looked too good to be kept waiting.”

“You know, that girl’s always speaking nonsense but for once I’ve gotta say I agree.” Neville said, stroking her cheek gently as he leaned down, placing a soft peck on her lips. “Ready to go?” he asked. She nodded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his arm, waving before exiting the room with him. Seamus watched as they left before standing up, wiping his hands on his pants.

“Where are you going, Finnigan?” Harry asked, quirking a brow at him. Seamus smiled, winking some.

“Launching operation ‘make sure the date goes well’. You didn’t think I was gonna miss out on this did you?” Draco eyed him suspiciously as the vein in his forehead began to throb.

“Twyla set you up to this, didn’t she?” Seamus turned once he got to the doorway, flashing him a smile.

“ ‘Course she did!”

------------------------------

“Woah! I’ve never seen a car like this in person before.” (Y/n) said, in awe as she walked up to the vintage car. Neville smiled some as the driver came over, bowing as he opened up the door. He slid the driver a large bill, thanking him in italian.

“Yeah, you like it?” she nodded, looking back at him as he climbed in the back of the convertible with her. He pulled her into his side, pulling his Dior sunglasses over his eyes to protect from the evening sun. “It’s mine. Should I have it imported back to England?” her eyes widened. Although Neville had a lot of nice things, she never failed to be surprised when he had something new to show her. She leaned into his side, pulling her legs up onto the seat as the car began to move.

“It’s pretty. I think you should leave it here though. You know, as a memory of tonight.” She looked up at him, smiling some. Neville felt his heart race as he looked down at her. He felt breathless. Whatever he had done in the past years to have the angel of his dreams sitting next to him, going on a date, he’d do it all over again just to see the smile she was giving him. He leaned down, capturing her lips into a passionate yet loving kiss. Their lips locked till they were practically breathless, pulling away. (Y/n) let out a breathless giggle.

Neville pulled out another large bill, leaning forward to hand it to the driver. “Guida piano, sì?” the driver looked at him through the visor mirror, giving him a nod along with a knowing smirk. He sighed to himself as Neville turned back to the girl, laughing at something she had said.

“Ah, giovane amore.”

--------------------------------

Neville opened the door for the girl, holding her hand as she stepped out of the car. He decided first that they could get dinner. It’d be an easy way to set the tone for tonight and give him another opportunity to spoil her yet again. He made sure to pick the best restaurant money could buy but even then, she deserved more. More than money could buy. He smiled as they reached the reception desk, clearing his throat to catch the attention of the man behind the desk.

“Welcome sir, name?” he asked, looking up at the man cluelessly. A few others in the restaurant were noticeably tense, but continued to work.

“Longbottom.” he stated, watching as the man looked through the reservation book. He sucked on his teeth, giving Neville a fake look of sympathy.

“Sorry, it looks like you’re about 5 minutes late! I’m sure if you come back tommo-”

“Did you hear what I said? You might wanna listen closer this time. I’m Neville Longbotom.” the man behind the desk blinked at him blankly before his eyes shot up in a sudden realization. He began to scramble, trying to form some sort of apology. Neville slammed his fist on the desk, leaning forward as he began to speak through gritted teeth. “Just get me my fucking table, yeah? My lady should never be kept waiting and if she has to stand here for one more god damn-”

“Yes, yes! Right this way sir.” he said, grabbing the menus. At some point he dropped them but continued to walk, leading them to a private table near a large window. (Y/n) gasped, leaning against the window to look at the breathtaking view. Below her was the ocean, the sunlight cascading across it as seagulls flew around freely. While she was distracted, Neville took the opportunity to pour two glasses of wine before tapping her shoulder. She turned around, smiling at him.

“You seem to be enjoying the view. I take it the table choice is fine?” he asked, pulling her chair out for her. He pushed her chair up before taking a seat in the one across from her.

“It’s beautiful, I haven't seen anything like it. Last time I saw views this beautiful was Hogwarts.” she tensed slightly as he reached across intertwining their fingers, before relaxing. Her heart was racing wildly, a million different thoughts running through her head. Her and Neville had spent many moments together, far more intimate than this. But there was something so nerve wracking about being with him in public where anyone could see them. (Y/n) found herself growing self conscious about the pressure of it all, but decided to push it aside. She had been waiting for this for years and she wasn’t going to ruin it with a few negative thoughts.

“Yeah? If you like this, you’re gonna love what I have planned for after this.” he smiled at her. After this? He had more than this planned for them? Her wonderings of what it was didn’t last long when the bread was brought out, causing her eyes to light up. As soon as the basket was placed on the table she reached for a slice of the expensive bread, layering butter on it.

“Th-they’ve got the good bread! With the butter that’s all smooth.” she muttered with her mouth full. Neville bit his lip to contain his laughter at her childish display. “Y’know what I’m sayin,?”

He smiled at her, grabbing a piece of his own. “Somehow I do.”

--------------------------------------

After 30 minutes of good conversation and 3 bread baskets later, the two were finally ready to order. (Y/n) opened up the menu, gaping at it in confusion. There was so many elaborate names with descriptions even more confusing. Neville noticed this, pulling her menu down to look at her a bit.

“You alright, pretty girl?” he asked, ignoring the impatient waiter that was supposed to take their order.

“I’m alright it’s just...there’s so much confusion. All I wanted was chicken alfredo and I don’t even see it on the menu.” her eyes continued to scan the menu, becoming more perplexed as the names grew longer. Her eyes followed the tattooed finger as it pointed to a name that she didn’t even wanna think about pronouncing.

“ ‘S right there. Don’t worry dove, I’ll order for you.” her shoulders relaxed some as she gave him an appreciative smile. As he sent the waiter off, a silence fell over them. It wasn’t necessarily awkward, but it was clear something needed to be said and for once, it wasn’t on Neville’s end. Did she really wanna ask him now? ‘I should at least wait for dessert, that way it won’t be awkward if he says something I don’t wanna hear.’ she thought to herself.

The silence was encroaching, slowly becoming unbearable. It was suffocating, she felt like she was on a rope, dangling above all the words she wanted to say but couldn’t.

“So I-”

“Do you-”

They both looked at each other as they began to laugh. “You can go. I insist.” he encouraged, taking another sip of his wine before she could protest.

“I was just going to ask if you picked the bouquet yourself? It’s far too beautiful to be store bought, the flowers look happy.” she said, smiling down at the bouquet fondly. When the waiter first came, Neville heavily urged them for a vase to put them in. The waiter originally had been hesitant but when Neville’s jaw began to clench he quickly went to look for a vase in the back room. He smiled at her eye to detail, nodding as he cleared his throat placing his glass back on the table.

“Yeah I did.” he secretly snuck his hand across the table, the edges of their fingers brushing against each other. “Do you remember flower code?” she moved her fingers under his, smiling when he tightened his grip on her hand.

“Of course I do. We learned it together during the spring in the astronomy tower together. Best spring of my life.” she sighed fondly at the memory. “Forget-Me-Nots for true and everlasting love, violets for faith and affection, however, the tulips are leaving my mind. I can’t remember what they mean for the life of me.” she huffed, looking off as she tried to recall their meaning. He chuckled, placing a kiss on her knuckles. He trailed his kisses as far up her arm as he could reach from his position at the table.

“Tulips, well, tulips represent perfection and royalty because that’s what you are to me.” their eyes locked in a passionate gaze, (e/c) meeting his own dazzling ones. “My tulip, so perfect. I have every intention to treat you like royalty.” she was left wordless. Was this all real? She had read many fairy tales growing up and now here she sat, experiencing one of her own. Sure, those fairytales never had dangerous tattooed men with hearts of gold, but the way he looked at her, holding her with such delicacy let her know she had found her prince charming.

---------------------------------

(Y/n) was thankful she had worn a dress because if she had worn jeans? The button would have flown straight off her pants. Her alfredo was delicious, every herb and seasoning used done so perfectly. Not another bite could fit in her. However, when the dessert menu (that featured pictures of each and every dessert) was brought out, she didn’t see why it wasn’t a good idea to get dessert!

“It all looks so good! Like I made it, but better.” she breathed out, eyes scanning the dessert menu eagerly. But when she saw the triple chocolate cake, it was like she was falling in love all over again. “This. We need this Nev or else I might die.” he laughed at her serious expression, rolling his eyes some.

“Alright, love. Un ordine della torta al cioccolato, per favore.” the waiter nodded, writing it down before walking off again. The same silence from before fell over them but this time, she was going to do it. She sighed, grabbing both his hands in one.

“Listen, Nev. There’s been something, or someone, I’ve been meaning to ask you abou-” her eye began to twitch as a familiar figure stood next to their table. She gave her a bone chilling smile before turning to Neville who was much to her surprise, even more upset than she was.

“Ah, Neville! What a pleasure it is to see you here!” she said, holding out her hand for him to kiss. However he glared at it, leaning back in his seat.

“Can I help you Gisele? Actually even if I can, I don’t want to. Get lost.” he said, waving his hand for her to go away. But as expected, she didn’t budge. She leaned forward onto the table, gripping the edge with her red manicured hands. Her cleavage was on display as a fake pout graced her face. “I’m on a date and I’d rather not see you.”

She gasped, placing a hand on her chest in surprise. “A date? Oh my, is that what this is? Gosh I am so sorry! When I met, er what was it? Ah, (Y/n), over here the other day she said you weren’t together!” he raised a brow at this, looking between the two.

“You two met? Why didn’t you tell me, love?” he asked, turning his attention to the girl. She gave Gisele a disgusted one over before looking back at him.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly the most pleasant meeting.” she pushed out, looking at him. He rubbed at his chin a bit as he hummed.

“Really? Do you recall what she said to you?” he asked, knowing it couldn’t have been good. Gisele’s expression gave it all away. Although she feigned being unbothered, her expression was slowly cracking.

“You know as a matter of fact, I do! She said I was a knock off version of her and that you were using me as a replacement for the original!” she said, giving Gisele a wide tooth grinned. Gisele’s lips were parted as she searched for the words to say, mind blanking.

Neville looked between the two girls as he took a sip of his wine. “Now that you mention it, you two do look alike. I never really noticed though, I didn't spend much of any time looking at her face. But now that I am…” he trailed off, eyes tracing Gisele’s features, “You’re definitely not a knock off of her. I think it’d be an insult to you to even insinuate that she’s a knock off of you!” Now it was her turn to be surprised. Had he really not noticed their semblance to one another? It was clear now that not only was it a coincidence, but Gisele’s whole story was a lie.

“You- I- you ruined everything!” she shrilled, stomping her foot angrily. “That should be me in your seat, me on this..” she tuned her out as she looked at her own glass of wine. It would be a shame if the wine was to somehow end up on her ugly little polka dot dress. She squinted her (e/c) eyes, watching as the wine splashed all over the girl’s dress. Gisele paused mid sentence, gawking at her dress. Neville began to cackle, eyeing his date suspiciously. His thoughts were confirmed when she sent him a wink.

“My dress! Look what you did to me!” she wailed, motioning to the giant red stain on her dress. A few people turned to look at them all, whispering as they pointed at the girl.

“Me? I didn’t lift a finger.” she said, shrugging as she gave her an innocent look. “I suppose that’s what happens when you meddle in people’s business.”

“Is there a problem ma’am? Sir?” the voice sounded familiar, but an octave deeper. Turning her head her eyes widened at the sight of both Twyla and Seamus. Both of them were in costumes, fake beards and mustaches on their face along with wigs. She went to say something but when the blonde put a finger to her lip, she quickly decided against it.

“Yeah we got a complaint from the head chef. You’re to be escorted out of here immediately. Come along now.” Twyla said, dragging Gisele along with her. Seamus went to follow but was stopped by Neville. He pulled him close, leaning near his ear.

“Next time if you’re gonna spy on your boss, make it a bit less obvious.” he pat his shoulder, tightening his grip. “Although I’m glad you were able to handle this, I’m gonna ask that you leave. It’s not a suggestion but an order from your boss. I’m a big man, I can handle my date on my own.”

Seamus nodded, tipping his hat to them both. “Boss, mini boss.” and with that, he was gone. Neville turned to her, thanking the waiter once the cake was sat down in front of them, two golden forks on the plate.

“Let’s have dessert, shall we?”

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TAGSLIST: @vayeya11 @pink-hufflepuff @clancyscookies @elemental-of-magic @beewitchedlou @simpforremuslupin @mottergirl99 @nevillelongbottomsgirlfriend @redpanda-poetry @vibingaesthetically @de4d-s0up

#Neville Longbottom #neville x reader #neville longbottom x reader #neville x you #neville longbottom x you #Harry Potter #harry potter x reader #harry potter imagines #harry potter imagine #mafia!au #mafia!neville

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch47: Use Your Words, Old Man

Intro: Jamie reaches another milestone, and 2021 ticks by with many more memories for the Rogers and Stark family.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: I adore the edit again... @angrybirdcr did good!!!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 46

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

May 2021

“Jamie, no!” Steve swooped down and picked up the tot who had been toddling, albeit, unsteadily, towards Lucky giggling away. Lucky, however, was fast enough to understand and jumped up bolting towards the door of the room, leaping over the baby gate to avoid Jamie’s vice like grip on his ears.

“NO!” Jamie yelled and Steve stopped dead, Jamie in his large arms, as Katie looked up at them both, her mouth falling open.

“Did he just…?” she held her breath. The fourteen month old had been uttering the odd thing that sound like a word for a good few months now, but nothing that anyone would recognise as a proper term.

Until now.

“Yeah I think so!” Steve grinned, looking at her then his son. “Did you just talk buddy? Did you just say no?” “NO! No, No!” Jamie wriggled in his dad’s arms, grabbing at his shirt. Katie, who had managed to get the last few iterations of the word on her phone camera, grinned as Steve placed him back on the floor where he headed over to this play-mat and landed with a thud on the floor, picking up a pile of the large, coloured blocks he liked to play with.

“Of course his first word would be no.” She sighed as Steve sat on the couch next to her. He laughed and dropped a hand to her knee.

“To be fair, honey, that’s what we spend half our time telling him one way or another.” Katie snorted, that much was true. Since he had been fully mobile and walking unaided over the last two months, they had constantly been moving things out of his reach or removing them from his grasp, followed by the word. Nine times out of ten the tot was content to let them do so, but the odd time he would throw a temper tantrum to rival those of his Momma’s.

“NO!” Jamie called again, clacking the blocks together and Steve gave a grin, moving off the couch to drop by his son on the play-mat. Katie watched the two of them for a moment, smiling to herself. She knew it was a cliché but she literally couldn’t have wished for a better father for either of her kids. They were experiencing first parenting issues at both ends of the spectrum, with Emmy five months off her fourteenth birthday and Jamie two months on from his first. It wasn’t easy, hell, they spent half their time second guessing their decisions. Where they being too strict or too lenient with Emmy? Was Jamie developing right? Were his toys educational enough? Was the floor clean enough for him to be crawling or lying on with having a dog in the house? But, when she saw moments like this, Jamie now trying to push his large, red Mega-Block into his Dad’s mouth, Steve clamping his lips together and shaking his head making their son screech with laughter, all her worries faded away.

Jamie really was fast turning into a miniature version of his dad, which was another thing Katie loved. Steve himself didn’t see it, but there had been a moment a few weeks back where the soldier had recognised someone he knew, loved and missed daily in his Son, and it had choked both Parents up.

Steve was led on his back on the bed, Jamie cackling away as his dad was holding him at arms-length and then bringing him back down again to blow a raspberry on his cheek, repeating the motion over and over, until he paused and his eyes widened a little. Katie frowned slightly at the look on his face as Steve gulped, looking into his son’s eyes, their familiarity hitting him like a brick.

“Soldier, what is it?” Katie asked, as Steve’s eyes misted up and he swallowed thickly.

“His eyes. Erm, do you think they’ll carry on turning green?”

Katie frowned. “I don’t know, I doubt it. Apparently most babies, if their eyes are gonna change, will have done it by six months. Why do you ask?”

“I just, well, I never thought I’d see those eyes again.” He whispered, gently resuming his actions.

“I’m not following you, love.” Katie frowned

“He has my ma’s eyes” Steve’s voice was choked as he looked at her, bringing Jamie down to his chest, pressing a kiss to his head, a soft smile playing on his face.

“Then you see your mother’s eyes every time you look in the mirror.” Katie smiled, leaning over to give him a soft kiss as her own chest felt slightly tighter than normal. She wiped a tear Steve hadn’t even been aware he’d shed off his check gently with her thumb, leaving her hand trailing softly across his skin. “Because when I look at him all I see is you. Those eyes are yours.”

He looked up at her and smiled, “yeah?” “Yeah,” she nodded, “I think you’re more like your mother than you realise. Maybe not in looks completely but, well, she raised you single handed. You’re the man you are because of her.”

“She was a fantastic woman.” Steve sighed.

“Well then you should be proud.” Katie said, and he smiled looking over at her.

“I am,” he replied softly, his attention going back to his son, “and you know what else I’m proud of?”

“What?”

“That you’re a Mrs Rogers too.” He looked at her again. “I know it’s just a name but, I really am glad you took it. Jamie has a Rogers momma as good as mine, helping to carry the name forward.”

“You sentimental sap.” Katie sniffed slightly as her own tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

“I love you so much.” He beamed at her, pressing his lips to hers softly. “Even if you are still a Stark really.” She laughed against his lips,”jerk.”

Katie turned back to the laptop she’d been looking at, flicking through a few spreadsheets with the latest figures the SIDE accountants had produced. Steve and Emmy’s idea around the support groups had been well received by everyone involved with the foundation and as such they’d started drafting up the paper work and working out the estimated funding. Steve had consulted Rhodey about the programme and the Colonel had enthusiastically agreed it was a great idea, and as such they’d pitched it to the Government, President Ellis’ reaction had been the same as theirs – why didn’t we think of this before?

As such, they were currently working up the particulars such as how they set up across the country, mobilisation, publicity…and Steve had taken up control of the project, his natural leadership qualities made him a superb Project Manager. He’d also expressed an interest in actually running the ones across New York himself, another way he felt he could help.

They were aiming to open the first ones in September, running two a week for the time being, just to see how well they were received and, from a purely selfish point of view, Katie was enjoying working alongside him again and having him at home permanently instead of traveling with the Military.

“How many groups do you think you’re gonna have eventually?” She asked and Steve tuned to look at her, momentarily confused by her sudden change of topic until he realised what she was talking about.

“I dunno.” He shrugged. “I’d like eventually to maybe run them three times a week, twice a day. Give everyone who wants to come a chance to you know…why d’ya ask?” “Just drilling into these numbers. I reckon we have enough to fund that to start with,” she paused, “and if the government meet our request then we can step it up.” He nodded. “I put the design idea in for the fliers and posters yesterday. Has to be the most sombre thing I’ve ever drawn.”

“I know,” she said softly, “but it’s gonna make a difference Steve, focus on that.”

He was about to reply but he was cut off when they heard the voice from the security system informing them that the gate had been opened by ‘Emmy Rogers’. Steve glanced at the clock and frowned.

“It’s not even one?”

“They’re on half day,” Katie didn’t look up from the numbers on the screen, “teacher training or something.”

Moments later the front door opened and the chatter of two excited teenage girls hit their ears and Lucky gave a bark, his nails clicking on the wooden floor as he trotted through from where he had been on his bed under the stairs to greet Emmy.

“I know, it’s so cool, right?” Emmy was saying, as her voice grew louder. “I never thought they’d do anything like this, not after the Decimation but, oh hi buddy!”

They heard Lucky’s excited whine as Emmy continued to coo at him, before the two girls and dog appeared in the lounge doorway.

“What’s so cool?” Steve asked instantly and Emmy rolled her eyes.

“Do you earwig into every conversation I have?” She opened the baby-gate and stepped into the room.

“Yes.” Steve deadpanned. “Now spill.” “It’s a Geography field trip Mr R.” Brooke grinned. “Hamilton for the Niagara Escarpment.”

“Canada?” Katie smiled before her smile turned to a smirk as she side eyed Steve “I had a vacation in Canada once.” Steve shot her a glare and his voice dropped to a growl. “That’s not funny.” He said sternly. The memory of what she’d been through wasn’t a laughing matter as far as he was concerned. She flashed him a grin and he rolled his eyes. “So when is it?” He turned to Emmy.

“Last week of term in June.” She answered, reaching down to pick Jamie up who had toddled over to his sister excitedly chattering jibberish as he went. “Just for three nights. I know it’s really short notice but apparently they weren’t sure they could pull it off. Hi Jay!” She swung him up and kissed the little boy on the cheek as Brooke gently tweaked his nose causing him to laugh.

“Six weeks, yeah that is short notice.” Katie pondered. “Do you wanna go?” Emmy’s eyes lit up and she nodded. “I’d love to.” Steve took in a deep breath and Katie looked at him. She could see him grappling with something but Jamie spoke before he could.

“No!”

“Did he just talk?” Emmy’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, he hasn’t shut up saying it for the last hour.” Katie grinned “Look, have you got the details of the trip?” “In my bag.”

“Okay, well leave them on the table, me and your dad will give it the once over and we’ll talk about it later.”

Emmy placed Jamie down on the floor and fished in her bag for the forms before she dropped them onto the coffee table with a soft slap. Jamie wandered this time over to Katie who set her laptop down and picked him up. He sat on her lap and gently wound his hand into her hair, rubbing his face into her neck the way he always did when he was tired.

“I’m gonna put him down for a nap.” Katie stood up and looked at the two girls. “What are you doing this afternoon?”

“Pool!” They both grinned, sharing a hi-five before Emmy looked at her mom, the familiar hopeful expression on her face she always got when she was about to ask for something.

“Can Brooke stay?”

Katie arched an eyebrow. “I thought that was a given, seeing as you’re both already here.”

The two girls grinned and Emmy looked at her mom again, her smile growing even bigger. “And, can we get Thai tonight? It is Friday.” “Dontcha mean Thaiday?” Steve quipped causing Katie to groan as Emmy picked up a cushion off the couch with her spare arm and hit her dad with it.

“That is so lame.” Emmy rolled her eyes as Brooke cackled. “C’mon…”

Katie watched as they left the room, Steve still chuckling at his own joke.

“She’s right.” Katie looked at him, gently re-arranging Jamie slightly as he had started to nod off. “That was lame.”

Steve gave her a look of mock hurt, clutching his chest, before she left and he sat up to read the information Emmy had left on the table. He was struggling a little bit between wanting to let her go and also the worry that had instantly flooded his system about her being safe. He carefully read the details, the trip wasn’t cheap, not that that really mattered, the activities looked good, and a quick google showed him the hotel looked fairly reasonable and was in a nice enough area…

“I knew you’d be on that as soon as you could be.” Katie laughed and Steve looked up at her from his spot on the floor by the table and he gave a sheepish grin.

“Busted,” he sighed, “I just wanted to look into it properly. I really want her to go and enjoy stuff like this but…” “We can’t keep her sheltered, Steve.” Katie reasoned. “No matter how much we want to. She’s gonna be fourteen this time round.” “I know, I know.” He sighed “Do you think we should let her go?” “Yeah, I do.” Katie nodded “We’re lucky enough to be able to afford things like that for our kids, plenty of other families aren’t.”

Steve’s tongue poked the inside of his cheek for a moment as he considered his wife’s words. She was right. Emmy would never have been on a trip like this before, and it did look like a lot of fun.

“Alright.” He heaved himself up off the floor “You’ve convinced me.” Katie grinned “If only everything was that easy.” “It is.” He arched an eyebrow. “All you have to do is pull those eyes at me.” “What eyes?” She asked innocently. “You know damned well what eyes. Those eyes. The ones that can get me to do whatever you want.” “Is it working now?” She looked up at him, batting her eyelashes. “Why, what do you want?” He asked, smirking, knowing full well what she was implying as her hands slid up his chest.

“Well the girls are out at the pool,” her eyes followed her fingers as they started to undo the buttons of his Henley, “and Jamie’s asleep…” Grinning, Steve span her round, shoved her gently forward and aimed a smack to her ass causing her to yelp playfully. “Get up those stairs Mrs Rogers.” He growled, and the pair of them hurried off, giggling like a pair of naughty school kids till they reached their bedroom, where the giggles turned into shared moans, groans and happy sighs.

**** “Thanks for dropping Brooke off.” Jennifer placed a latte down in front of Katie.

“It was no problem, I had to come this way on my way up to the compound anyway.” Katie smiled and then frowned slightly as she noticed the look on her friend’s face.

“You alright?” She asked gently.

“Not really,” Jen sighed, sitting down. “Brooke called last night about the field trip…” “Yeah Steve wasn’t so keen but I talked him round. The girls seem to be looking forward to it.” “That’s the thing.” Jen rubbed at her temple “I really want Brooke to go but, well, business hasn’t been what it used to be before, you know, and I’m not sure I can afford it. Not at such short notice.” Katie instantly felt like a jerk. She knew she was incredibly privileged to be so wealthy but was well aware many weren’t as fortunate.

“I haven’t had the heart to tell her yet.” Jen swallowed and Katie bit her lip.

“Jen,” she leaned over the table dropping her voice, “if you want…” “No.” Jen shook her head, her lips pressing into a thin line, instantly understanding what Katie was offering “I’m not a charity case.” Her voice was clipped. “No, that’s not what I meant.” Katie hastily assured the woman. “Honestly, I didn’t mean to offend you.” “I know.” Jen shook her head “Sorry,that was really ungrateful.” “It’s fine.” Katie waved her apology off, “but the offer is there. We could consider it a loan if you liked.” Jen chewed her lip, and Katie saw her friend’s eyes begin to water.

“Look,” Katie gripped her mug, “it’s a couple of hundred bucks. And this probably sounds crass and really, really fucking shitty when I think about it, but I make more than enough and I really, really won’t notice that amount going out, trust me.”

“I just hate this, you know.” Jen hastily wiped her face. “A few years ago this place was thriving and now, well I just about make enough to cover bills and the thought she is the one that has to miss out…” “Then let me help.” Katie pleaded, looking at the red head opposite her. “Brooke’s been a good friend to Emmy and, well, from a selfish point of view I’d be a lot more comfortable if they were together.”

“That’s really kind of you.” Jennifer nodded after a pause. “Are you sure? I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

“Whenever, it’s not a big deal.” Katie nodded, smiling “On one condition.” “What?”

“You sneak me one of your delicious brownies every once in a while.” Jenifer laughed “Oh honey, you and Steve can get free coffee and brownies for life.” “Erm, yeah, pretty sure in a month you’d be bankrupt if I told Steve that.” Katie grinned and Jenifer smiled.

“Would you like to come over?” She asked suddenly. “The pair of you, for dinner maybe? Tonight? Emmy and Jamie as well, of course.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” Katie smiled. “We’re not doing anything that I know of but I’ll check with Steve and let you know as soon as I can.”

“Great, well, Emmy can stay here if she likes. I’m sure once I tell Brooke she can go they’ll be planning all sorts of mischief.”

“I dread to think.” Katie mused “You know I remember my last field trip. It was to San Fran and I was sixteen. Me and my friend, a girl called Laura, I made some fake ID and we got plastered in a bar. Tony absolutely kicked my ass, before he told me he was actually quite impressed at the quality of my forgeries.”

Jennifer snorted “Yeah, this isn’t exactly filling me full of confidence.”

Katie laughed. “Emmy is much better behaved than I was at that age, Steve wouldn’t stand for her getting into the same amount of crap as I did.” She drained her mug and stood up. “I best be going.”

“Sure, see you tonight? What time will suit with Jamie?”

“Well he normally goes down about seven and he’ll just sleep in his car seat.” Katie smiled “So say six ish? I can feed him and settle him then at yours before we eat.”

“Fab.” Jenifer stood up and Katie mirrored her.“And thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Katie smiled, and she handed Jen her mug. Once the woman was out of sight she dug into her purse and dropped the customary twenty bucks into the tip jar on her way out.

****

Steve was in the kitchen when he heard his wife come home. He didn’t move though, he was too busy watching his son, trying to figure out how the hell the fourteen month old had managed to climb up on top of the breakfast bar unaided. Steve had turned his back for thirty goddamned seconds to load the dishwasher and now his son was crawling along the unit. The only explanation was he’d used one of the stools as leverage, but even that was baffling the Captain, and there was no way Jamie should have been able to manage that, at all.

“Thank you Dr Erskine” Steve grumbled as he swept his son off the surface. “You’re gonna be the death of me, pal.” “No!” Jamie cackled, and Steve sighed, his son carefully held in his arms as Katie walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Doll.” He smiled, dropping a kiss to her lips.

“Hi.” She greeted him, returning his gentle sign of affection before she blew a raspberry on Jamie’s cheek. He giggled as she made her way to the fridge and Steve deposited their boy on the mat at the corner of the room.

“How was Nat?” Steve asked and Katie sighed, grabbing out a bottle of water and opening it.

“Still insisting on flying out to Nepal.” She shut the fridge. “I’ve told her Barton doesn’t wanna be found, but…” she trailed off. “And Bruce has gone again.”

“Where to this time?” Steve frowned.

“Back to the lab in Seoul.” Katie shrugged. “I don’t know what for. Anyway, I told her to come for dinner on Sunday and that if she misses it again this week imma kick her ass.” Steve smiled as Katie took a drink from the bottle “Oh, and speaking of dinner, we’re not doing anything tonight are we?”

“Not at the moment, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me we are.” “Jen’s asked us round.” Katie sat down at the table.

“That’s nice of her.” Steve poured himself mug of coffee, Katie waving away his offer of one. “You wanna go?”

“Yeah, and it’s kind of a thank you so we should do really.”

“What for?” He sat down opposite her.

“Well, she was upset about not being able to send Brooke on the Field Trip so I offered to help out money wise.She didn’t want to take it at first but she agreed in the end. As long as it’s a loan”

“I’m glad she did. I’m assuming Emmy has stayed with them for the day?”

Katie hummed a response.

“Those two are joined at the hip.” Steve snorted

“Another reason I really wanted Brooke to go.”

A movement caught Steve’s eye from the corner of the room and he looked up to see Jamie was now stood up again and was heading back towards the breakfast bar. He quietly observed his son, watching as the boy gripped the legs of one of the stools and pulled himself up. Steve was horrified to see that he was managing to lift his legs off the floor, swinging them onto the foot bar.

“James, No!” He said loudly. The use of their boy’s full name didn’t pass Katie by and she turned in her seat to see Jamie looking at his father before he let go of the stool and fell backwards onto his butt, the pout on his face reminding Steve so much of his wife that he had to stifle a laugh. Katie watched as he got to his feet and toddled towards her.

“He managed to get up onto the kitchen counter before.” Steve eyed the boy as Katie picked him up and sat him on her knee. “What?” Katie’s voice was high pitched as she whipped her head round to look at Steve. “How the hell?”

“Beats me, although from that I suspect he was using the stool as a climbing frame.” Steve sighed watching as Jamie’s attention turned to the now empty bottle of water in front of Katie. “I was loading the dishwasher and in the time it took me to put the plates in he’d made it from his play mat to the top of the damned breakfast bar.” “This is your fault.” Katie laughed, smoothing down her son’s blonde hair. “You and your damned super serum.”

“I know.” Steve shook his head. “I thought we could take him and Lucky out for a walk maybe see if that settles his energy.”

Katie checked her watch “Yeah, we could do. Maybe head to the park. If we go now then we should be back for his nap.”

“Or we can wait a while, and he can sleep in the stroller and I can take you for lunch?”

“Okay so that sounds even better” she grinned “You know, you’re not as dumb as-“

Steve never found out what he wasn’t as dumb as, because at that moment they heard a yell that made his breath catch.

“DADA!”

The parents looked at one another, a shit eating grin spreading across Steve’s face as he leaned forward across the table.

“Dada?” Katie asked, pointing at Steve, bouncing Jamie on her knee. “Dada!” Jamie babbled again, grinning. “Dada!”

“Typical.” Katie rolled her eyes. “I carry you for nine months, give birth, feed you from my boobs and you come out looking like your father and you say Dada first. That’s gratitude for you”

“Guess that means I’m his favourite.” Steve teased, slumping back in his chair, earning himself a glare from his wife. He blew her a kiss, shrugging.

Steve was pleased, however that Katie didn’t have to wait long for her turn. A few days later when she went into Jamie’s room to get him up for the morning he beamed at her and held his arms up exclaiming “ma-ma!” Steve watched his wife on the baby monitor screen and felt his heart swell to what felt like five times its normal size as Katie picked up their son, her eyes pricking with tears and held him tight.

*****

June 2021

Katie woke with a start, pausing for a moment, wondering why it was so quiet. It took her a second but then she remembered Jamie was at Tony’s, staying for a sleepover. As Emmy was on her field trip, Pepper and Tony had taken the boy to give Katie and Steve a night on their own, the first one they had had in a very long time. Tony had rung them mid-afternoon to ask who on earth had taught him the word ‘whatever’, albeit in Jamie’s pronunciation ‘tever’ and Katie had laughed, that one was firmly down to Emmy. He hadn’t quite managed the sign to go with it yet thought, despite her best attempts.

They’d taken full advantage of it too. Steve had gone into complete romantic overdrive, coming home from a meeting at the tower with a bunch of calla lilies for his wife and told her to get dressed up as they were going out. They’d headed into Brooklyn for a meal at a small Italian (Katie only checking her phone five times, which was an improvement on the twenty the first time they’d left Jamie with his Uncle) and they’d had a great time. It had been intimate, and they’d teased each other relentlessly meaning when they got home they hadn’t even made it up the stairs before they’d been clawing at each other, desperate touches and kisses shared in the hallway before they’d both tumbled into the lounge onto the rug in front of the fire. Grinning to herself at the slight tenderness between her legs, Katie turned over and glanced at Steve who gently shifted in his sleep, a sure sign that he was slowly waking. She scooted closer and rested her hand on his chest, her smile widening as he unconsciously let out a soft sigh of contentment. His eyes were moving under their lids, and as her hand started trailing down over his stomach he took in a deep breath, finally opening his eyes and meeting her gaze just as her touch dipped below the waistband of his boxers. He let out a low groan.

“You’re awake early considering the kids are away.” He murmured, kissing the skin in the crook of her shoulder, his morning stubble scratching her skin slightly as she continued her strokes, teasing him lightly.

“Force of habit.” She whispered back, sighing as he kissed her neck again and again. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close until she was pressed against him, his thigh between hers as he rolled them both over so she was nestled under him. His lips made their way to hers and he gave her a deep, languid kiss as she shifted so that her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him flush against her. Steve propped himself up with his left arm while his other hand went under the shirt she was wearing, his shirt, to her chest, his fingertips barely brushing against her nipples. She groaned loudly at his touch, and he was just about to warn her to be quiet, but then he realised he didn’t have to. With the knowledge that he really could make her scream, he hastily pulled the top over her head and his lips crashed back to hers, the kiss hot and intentional as her legs gripped him tightly in an attempt to get a little more friction between them. He went to tug at the waistband of her underwear, barely breaking his lips away from hers for a moment.

“You want me?” He asked, his voice low and raspy.

“Always,” she groaned, aware of the desperation that flooded her tone and Steve let out a low growl. Katie felt the tearing along one side of the thin lace garment he had hold of and she laughed into his mouth, remembering their first time together when he had done the very same thing. Her fingers scrambled to push down his boxers as he repositioned himself slightly, reaching down with his hand to line himself up, before he gently worked into her. Man and wife both let out a satisfied sigh as Steve’s hand grabbed Katie’s knee and hitched it over his shoulder, a move he knew drove her wild. She moaned loudly and her fingers dug into his arms as he starting pushing a little harder, a little faster, then faster, until he had reached a relentless pace making his wife curse and leaving her short of breath.

He slowed for a moment, making her look at him, letting out a noise of protest. “Don’t stop,” she begged, “Please Stevie.”

Grinning slightly he picked up the pace again, enjoying the noises she was making as she keened underneath him, her head pressing further back into the pillow a she gave another loud cry of his name before he felt her tighten round him as she came, her nails biting at the skin on his arms. He continued to thrust three, four more times before the snake in his belly uncoiled and he jerked on top of her with a loud cry of his own and let go of her leg, collapsing onto her, his face buried into her neck.

“Morning,” she mumbled, her hands tangling into his hair and he let out a soft chuckle.

“Morning, Beautiful.”

They stayed in bed for another hour or so, just laying with one another and talking before it was time to shower. They did that together too, and by the time they were climbing into the car to go and pick Jamie up, Katie was feeling literally and figuratively thoroughly fucked and fell asleep on the journey, Steve smirking to himself at the fact he could still tire her out like that after almost eight years of being with one another.

“Late night was it?” Tony quipped as Katie let out a yawn as she walked into his living room.

“Yeah, and an early morning,” she shot back and Tony snorted, shaking his head.

“Dada!” Jamie giggled as he tottered over from where he had been sat on the rug with Morgan and Pepper “Mama!”

“Hi, Baby!” Katie swept him up in her arms and placed a kiss to his cheek “We missed you.” “Nee!” He said gleefully and Katie frowned, and it wasn’t until he pointed to his uncle and repeated the word that she understood. “Nee!”

Steve let out a snort “Uncle Nee. Suits you Tone.” “Shut up, Spangles” Tony raised an eyebrow as Morgan laughed.

“Uncle Pangles!” The two year old quipped as if on cue, and Steve let out a moan

“Did you teach her that?” He looked accusingly at his brother in law.

“Of course he did.” Pepper sighed, sweeping the small girl into her arms as she stood up, smirking at Katie. “You guys eaten breakfast yet or were you too busy?” Katie let out a snort. “If there’s any going I won’t say no.”

Pepper handed Morgan to Steve as she was trying to reach him and he took her, tossing her into the air ignoring the wince from Tony as he did so, catching the girl expertly.

“Again!” she pleaded and Steve obliged happily, knowing that it was winding Tony up only added to the enjoyment of seeing his niece cackle with laughter. “When’s Emmy back?” Tony asked, tearing his eyes away from where Steve was tossing his daughter in the air like he was wielding that fucking shield to look at his sister.

“This evening.” Katie answered. “Spoke to her last night, not sure she wants to come home.” “I remember your field trip to San Fran.” Tony mused, raising an eyebrow and Katie snorted.

“Yeah, so do I.” She smirked “I was telling Jen about that the other month. My first hangover.” “Okay, can you stop that now!” Tony rounded on Steve who grinned and rest Morgan on his hip and she pouted.

“More!”

“Sorry, Moo.” Steve apologised and she gave a huff as he placed her on the floor and she headed off to find her mum in the kitchen. He arched an eyebrow at Tony who rolled his eyes.

“Dick.” He mumbled.

“Dick.” Jamie repeated loudly and Katie’s eyes widened. Steve looked at his son, utterly horrified, then to Tony whose shocked expression was fast turning into one of utter glee.

“Oh you-” Steve glared at Tony as Katie bit her lip to try and stop her laughter “For f-“ he stopped himself, took a deep breath and pointed at Tony. “You are an absolute…”

“Use your words, Old Man!” Tony grinned, delightedly and Steve’s jaw clenched as he turned so his back was to his son and raised his hand, flipping his brother-in-law off.

*****

October 2021

“Your daddy is gonna be soaked” Katie mused to Jamie as she looked out of the window “It’s absolutely pouring with rain.”

“Dada. Rain!” Jamie grinned, chanting the words back at her, ignoring the small piece of toast that was left on his plate.

Steve had gone for his morning run with Lucky before he headed out to the first of the two support groups he was running that day. He had held the first one in September in an old church hall, and at first Katie was worried that more people would attend to take their anger out on him and had wanted to be there to help but Steve refused point blank, but her concern wasn’t completely unfounded as a lot of people were angry at first, but no one else hit him, and he said it was actually therapeutic for him too, as he could answer questions, and speak honestly and openly about how he felt about the situation. As it turned out, Steve was a natural born councillor as well as a leader, and by the end of the month he had six different groups running through the week at different places across Manhattan. It was good for him and he was relishing the fact he could still be useful.

The back door opened, and Katie could hear the man she was thinking about stepping into the small utility room off the side of the kitchen.

“Ahhh thanks, pal, “his voice dripped with sarcasm as she heard Lucky’s tag tinkling along with the noise of the dog shaking, “that’s great. really great.” Katie chuckled to herself, picturing his face as he continued to grumble

“Could have waited until I got a towel.”

“DADA!” Jamie yelled at the sound of his dad’s voice, squirming in his seat, breakfast abandoned. “Ucky!”

“Hey, Buddy” Steve called back, as Katie undid the straps from his high chair and they made their way into the utility area where Steve was drying Lucky off as best he could with an old towel. Lucky took the opportunity as soon as he could to scoot past Katie into the kitchen.

Jamie glanced at his dad and excitedly wiggled his arms and legs as Steve shrugged off his sodden waterproof running jacket.

“Hi!” He screeched “Hi Dada!”

Steve’s bright smile light up his face “Hi, Son.” He kissed him once on both cheeks and Jamie squeaked happily before Katie set him down and he toddled back over to the play-mat in the corner of the kitchen.

“What, no kiss from my baby mama?” Steve asked, sweeping Katie into his arms and rubbing at her neck with his cold, damp face.

She squealed and tried to pull away, to absolutely no avail, and Steve continued to laugh and use her as a drying cloth.

“Ew! You’re cold and damp and sweaty!” She wrinkled her nose.

“You don’t seem to mind my sweat when I’m chasing your fourth orgasm.” Steve quipped cheekily, dropping his voice to barely more than a whisper, making her laugh.

“That’s different.” “How?”

“Because that’s sex sweat, this is run sweat.”

Steve laughed loudly “I didn’t realise I had different sweat pores for different activities”

“I didn’t mean that!” Katie rolled her eyes “I mean that I’m not sweaty now, I’m warm, and dry…” “Yeah, and if you give me a moment I can rectify that situation.”

“Dirtbag.” She grinned, his chuckle vibrating into her chest. "Go get showered and warmed up. I’ll make you some breakfast.”

"Kiss first.” Steve muttered before he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. His lips were warm and despite herself, Katie leaned into his arms, her hands snaking up into his damp hair.

“Kissy!” Jamie giggled, and they broke apart to look at the tot who was sat on the floor clapping. “Kissy, kissy!”

“I’m gonna kill Emmy.” Steve muttered, and then he spotted Lucky expertly stealing the toast that Jamie had left on the highchair, before sidling out of the room with his precious treat. “And that damned dog.”

Katie laughed and gave him another peck on the cheek before Steve swept past his son, giving his hair a quick ruffle. She leaned back against the counter and smiled, before she sighed, her happy expression faltering a little. They’d had almost three years now of pretty much non-stop domestic bliss, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something surely had to come along at some point and turn it all upside down.

That was how things went for them, right?

“Mama!”

Her attention flew back to her son as he toddled over to her and held his arms up. “Hungry.” “Again?” Katie rolled her eyes as she picked him up.

“Yup.” He nodded emphatically.

Katie smiled, kissing his cheek, and moved him so he was perched on her hip. With one arm she placed more bread in the toaster and looked at her son, who smiled at her and pressed his lips to her cheek in a sloppy kiss.

“Love you.” He grinned and Katie beamed back at him, brushing his hair back.

“Love you too, Sweetheart.” And with that simple act, she managed to push those worries she had to the back of her mind, again, content to just enjoy what they had for as long as they had it.

**** Chapter 48 Part 1

**Original Posting**

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